That said, Kajishima-sensei then announced (in his doujinshi Omatsuri Zenjitsu no Yoru GXP-ban 4) that there would be an OAV 3 special episode done.  AIC later confirmed this and it was released in September of 2005.  It went by the name OAV 3 +1.

In Japan, the cost for a single TM!R episode on DVD is ¥4800 (~$45.00 depending on exchange rates).  As you can see, it is very expensive to purchase these OAV's in Japan.  So by spacing them out, it allows people to save money to purchase the next DVD/episode.  Also, it allows the production staff time to make sure they get everything right. 

Volume 2 (Target Tenchi)  The following will also be included on the DVD:

• Episodes 4-6 (17-19 overall) of OAV 3
• The Real Tenchi Tour (checking to see what this is...hopefully this will be a tour of the actual sites in Japan used as the basis for the Masaki Shrine grounds, including Ryoko's Cave)
• Japanese TV Spots
• Lovely Cooking (ED theme) Music Video

Volume 3 (Final Confrontations)  The following will also be included with the DVD:

• OAV 3 +1 (episode 20 overall)
• Himitsu Nabe Tenchi Muyo! Special (this is the item that was released on DVD in Japan between episodes 16 & 17 when we had that 6-month delay) which contained the following items:
  1) 40-minute Live Action Special (This features the seiyuu for Fuku-chan and Ryo-chan discussing GXP and the OAV series and basically confirms everything you see in this FAQ.)
  2) 30-minute Radio Drama (This features several shorts with "slide-show" pictures telling several non-canon stories.)

To help ease any of you who were worried about her performance, she rocked. We worked with her on the voice until she nailed it. She is much, much better than she was in GXP. A lot of this is due to the fact that she has been doing voice work since the 1970’s and is an absolute pro. She even does voices for a lot of the female parts on South Park.

A TM!R dub fangirl who's also an intern at FUNimation couldn't identify which VA didn't return based on a viewing of episode 14.  Take that as you will.  Opinions are mixed as to her performance.

That said, FUNimation does tend to over-domesticate their dubs.  While the subs are great and gears to hardcore fans, the thinking on the dubs is to make a title more appealing to a wider audience and so we get the over-domestication.  I'm told that with Kiddy Grade, FUNimation did a good job with the dubs.  With GXP, the dub script is changed in places.  So who knows how they'll do the OAV 3 dub script.  One hopes it will be pretty accurate.

That said, there are certain things in the STM novels and doujinshi that would foreshadow the secret of a certain individual, but the last episode will still be a shocker!  I wouldn't read any further if you don't want to be spoiled!

It is fair to compare Noike from the Ryo-ohki Universe to Kiyone from the Tenchi Universe.  Both were Mihoshi's partner at Galaxy Police.  Both end up living in the Masaki estate with Tenchi and the other girls.  The comparisons stop there. 

Noike is the adopted daughter of Seto-sama, the notorious "Oni-hime" (Demon Princess) and grandmother of Aeka and Sasami.  Through an arrangement by Seto-sama, Noike is Tenchi's official fiancée.  I think it is safe to say that you won't hear Noike complaining about how Mihoshi is killing her career.  In fact, she is very able to handle Mihoshi as seen in episode 15.  Further, Noike is linked with Naja and Kagato.  It appears that Noike is either one of the Ryoko prototypes or a clone of Naja, the original Kagato.

As for Noike being a copy of Kiyone, I've heard this argument but I don't think that is fair. Speculation: considering how Kajishima-sensei had the Tenchi Muyo! Ryo-ohki story fairly plotted out from the start, it is more likely that he had some sort of idea for Noike from the start (though she may not have been named then).  By all the accounts I've read, Kajishima-san had the name Kiyone picked out for Tenchi's mother, yet that was the name chosen anyway for the GXP Officer in the Hasegawa novels.

Regardless of how you feel, in the Ryo-ohki continuity, the name Kiyone belongs to Tenchi's mother.  GXP Officer Kiyone will continue to appear in the various non-canon spin-off titles and universes.

Considering that Noike arranged matters so that she could once again live with Tenchi and the girls, I think she does love Tenchi a great deal.

Additional: In the 2005 doujinshi Omatsuri Zenjitsu no Yoru - Omake, K-sensei confirms that Noike and Tenchi are intimate.

As for Tenchi, there are any number of reasons he'd go along with this.  Arranged marriages, while not common, still happen in modern-day Japan.  It is more common to be done in the rural areas of Japan and among very traditional families in Japan.  An industry of sorts has been created just for arranged marriages which is like unto a dating service (only with marriage in mind rather than dating).  So a family can submit information and photos of their son/daughter/grandson/granddaughter to this agency where potential suitable matches are made and portfolios sent.  An omiai (formal marriage interview) can then be set up before the parties decide to proceed with the marriage or not.  As such, like a good Japanese boy, Tenchi submits to now having this fiancée.

Another thing people forget is that in OVA 3, Tenchi still doesn't have romantic feelings for any of the girls as he sees them all as family.

Eventually, the three sisters came upon a new plan of attack.  Washu placed her Choushin powers and conscious into three gem-balls, then created an infant human body for herself in the 3rd dimension.  She had no memories of anything prior to being left at the monastery and she then set out to learn everything that could be learned from scratch.  With this approach, she hoped to find the kami.

Tsunami came to the 3rd dimension as well.  Using her own existence, she attempted to create a new type of life -- the Royal Trees on Jurai.  However, with the man who would become the first Emperor of Jurai, Tsunami saw potential that a superior life form would be born from them.  Thus, she swore to protect him and his descendants while she waited for the birth of Sasami (whom she was destined to merge with) and Tenchi, who is the kami they sought.

Tokimi-sama followed the original plan and distorted the harmony they had created in the multi-verse (the multiple dimensions of the universe).  She did this to cause anomalies from which she hoped the kami would emerge.  Z was the result of her actions and Tokimi took him as he was the greatest potential she'd found. 

The Choushin considered (past tense) Tenchi to be another potential (albeit the best one yet, due to his material conversion ability), but Tsunami and Washu decided that they cared more about Tenchi as a person than whether or not he was that superior hyper-dimensional being. That is why Tsunami interfered and Washu said that she wanted to leave it up to Tenchi. After Tenchi killed Z, it became apparent that Tenchi was indeed that being that the Choushin were looking for. That is why Tokimi became ecstatic and Noike began to cry happily.

However, as Tsunami and Washu stated, finding out should be fun and not rushed, therefore they will continue their lives on Earth with Tenchi.  Whether Tokimi joins them or not remains to be seen.

True Sheol adds these thoughts:

OK, was that woman who prevented Tokimi-sama from taking Tenchi really Misaki, the mother of Sasami and Aeka?

It is currently theorized that the Counteractor is the counterforce to the Choushin's lower dimensional presence.  Even while the Choushin are sealed, there has to be a counterbalance to their lower dimensional force.

True Sheol adds these thoughts: 

Kajishima explored this in Photon, with Ao and Un-Ao. When the emperor became the nexus of Ao energy, the counternexus had to form somewhere. It did so, centering on the boy called Photon.

Now, I could have misinterpreted this and Misaki could be the counter to Tenchi (Ying and Yang, dark and light, male and female), but when Tenchi-kami-sama manifested, Misaki returned to 'normal'. So, it does not seem as if they are opposites. Also, Tokimi was aware of the existence of the "Counteractor". If the Counteractor was the opposite of Tenchi, then it should have been equal to Tenchi, thus suitable for proving the
Choushin's theory in the first place. Incidentally, I saw no evidence of Misaki as being hyperdimensional, like the Choushin, so she might be strictly a lower-dimensional manifestation.

*fune=ship

It rather seemed to me that Misaki wasn't counteractor so much as she was infested with counteractor for some reason. Now, that could be because she's already anomalous and as such a prime target for such infestation, but I don't think the evidence that she "is" counteractor is very conclusive. Once Light-Tenchi cleans her up, she seems rather dazed and confused, as though she wasn't quite herself during the incident.