Tenchi Muyo sorry to sound like this .

Maybe not as bad as you think. Mostly, there are a number of scenes that got cut or lines changed due to how much you can't get away with on American-type television.

The most notable things I can remember:

*** NON-SPECIFIC NON-SPOILER ***

-"Sake" is substituted for "Tea". I guess consuming alcohol, even if you're animated, and it fits your culture, is a bad example for kids.

-The hot springs scenes feature the infamous "painted on bikinis". In the uncut version, Ryoko is very unashamed with running about in the nude. Same scenes in every respect, but note that wherever it doesn't make sense to wear a bikini (such as when bathing), there has been editing. Ayeka accidently flashes Tenchi in one such scene, to which she and he are very embarrassed - and it's not because she's wearing a swimsuit under that towel...

-Some pointless fanservice shots (as short as they are) are omitted. Basically a few shots of cleavage and whatnot.

*** SPOILERS AHEAD ***

-Tenchi's father Nobuo is, to put it bluntly, a pervert. He spys on Tenchi and Ryoko in his bedroom with a videocamera. The broadcast omits these scenes very easily, but there are some references left for the wary watcher - When Ryoko shrinks his house, Tenchi sees his dad flattened in the yard out back - with a videocamera and ladder.

-Shortly after Ryoko's capture, Ayeka is torturing her and Ryoko enjoys it. Parts of this are cut short, particularly a comment about Ryoko being a masochist.

-Tenchi's Grandfather takes hold of Ryoko from behind and gropes her briefly in one scene. Dirty ol' lecher.

-Washu gets a little exploratory on Tenchi. In the episode where she's running tests on him, the netwrok version jumps past the point where she pulls on the gloves for a "sperm sample".

-The dreams that accompany Sasami's coming into womanhood are cut (or cut short, can't remember for certain). Reason are, is that they're very bloody.

-In Tenchi in Tokyo, several scenes are reworded slightly - one that comes to mind is when long distance communication is messed up, and the gang is watching Tenchi thru a distorted version. The uncut depicts him as "Satan" (being stoned IIRC), but the broadcast version changes it to "egg-hating monster". In tune with the joke, I actually find the second version funnier, to tell the truth...

*** END SPOILERS ***

All in all, you're not really missing too much, and it doesn't affect how "Tenchi was meant to be". With edits, it still remains true to the Tenchi spirit.