Washu Hakubi
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| Washu Hakubi | |
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| Name Translation: | 'Eagle Feather' |
|---|---|
| Gender: | Female |
| Age: | 22,000+ years |
| Seiyū: | Yuko Kobayashi Akiko Hiramatsu (Sasami: Mahou Shoujo Club) |
| Voice actress: | Kate T. Vogt (a.k.a. Gee Gee Loo Loo) Jessica Gee (GXP) |
| Height: | 4'2"(Washu-chan) 5'2"(Washu-san) Variable(Washu-kami-sama) |
| Hair color: | Pink |
| Eye color: | Green |
| Bloodtype: | B |
Washu Hakubi (白眉 鷲羽 Hakubi Washū), the self-proclaimed greatest scientific genius in the universe, is a fictional character in the anime and manga Tenchi Muyo!. Her character differs depending on the continuity, though she sometimes displays a number of innate powers which she rarely uses, preferring to solve problems with reason or technology. In all incarnations, Washu has also shown to be somewhat prudent and is generally trickier to fool than Tenchi or the other girls, which makes it harder for her to fall into an enemy trap. In all three Tenchi series Washu had also created an interdimensional laboratory in the closet of the Masaki house, although her laboratory is a lot bigger in the OVA series than in both of the TV series.
The name "Washū" is an ancient one for Japan; specifically, the region around Osaka. Washu's hair is derived from a costume from Noh plays, intended to resemble the (usually black) legs and claws of a crab. For her, it's a red crab, because this is a food specialty of Osaka. As such, the red crab logo appears on much of her merchandise and miscellaneous apparel.
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[edit] Tenchi Muyo! Ryo-Ohki
Washu has a much larger role in the OVA than in any of the other series. In fact, she is the catalyst of, if not directly involved in, the majority of the conflict of the series.
In Tenchi Muyo! Ryo-Ohki, she is over 22,000 years old (both Washu and Ryoko count their ages in Standard Galactic years, which are roughly 2½ Earth years) and is the mother of Ryoko and creator of the Souja and Ryo-Ohki, and is also one of the Chousin goddesses (along with Tsunami and Tokimi). But in order to solve the riddle of creating someone more powerful than the Chousin, Washu-kami-sama chose to seal up her powers and memories in the three gems (which were later given to Ryoko) and became human to analyze the mysteries of the universe.
Washu, during her lifetime, also gave birth naturally to a child of her own; the child, whose name is Mikumo Kuramitsu, is actually Mihoshi Kuramitsu's great grandfather. However, because the father came from the prestigious Kuramitsu family, both he and the baby were taken away. Out of grief, Washu chose never to deal with these adult manners again and altered her body to that of a child, although Washu is able to return to her adult form if she wishes to. Washu was locked away by her assistant, Kagato, for 2,000 galactic years until she was freed by Mihoshi.
After Kagato's defeat, Washu moved into the Masaki house and has made Tenchi her love and research project, the latter much to Tenchi's chagrin. Aloof yet down to earth, she balances the household and dispels most of the chaos. She had briefly resumed her form as Washu-kami-sama when Z had threatened the universe by battling Tenchi.
It must also be noted that in the OVA Ryoko has generally the same powers as Washu, except Washu uses them to a lesser extent. Washu has the same ability to phase shift through solid objects, convert matter directly to energy with no entropic loss (in the form of an energy saber), and she can duplicate herself. But Ryoko's power stems from Washu's. It is not yet known whether Ryoko can alter her physical age as Washu can.
[edit] Tenchi Universe
In Tenchi Universe, Washu was banished from the Royal Science Academy for producing weapons of mass destruction, and she was sent to Earth, imprisoned in the Masaki Shrine for 700 years, until she was freed during a squabble involving Ryoko and Ayeka. Washu was portrayed as an egotistical mad scientist, with two dolls (named A and B) that pop up on her shoulders to proclaim her greatness and to cheer her on ("Washu, you are a genius!", "You can do it, Washu!", etc.).
Washu, near the end of the series, talked with Tenchi, who was depressed as his grandfather was easily defeated by Kagato. Washu was able to convince him that he could wield a greater force of Jurai power than his grandfather, and then helped disable a portion of the Jurai fleet in the final battle with her supercomputer virus. At the end of the series, Washu was the elected honorary president of the Science Academy, and was then kicked out again a month later after she was found creating more dangerous weapons. Washu eventually returned to Earth.
[edit] Tenchi in Tokyo
In Tenchi in Tokyo, Washu was a renegade scientist who had helped Ryoko steal the Jurai Light Stone, an artifact of the planet, and was pursued by the Juraian forces (led by Ayeka) and the Galaxy Police (led by Mihoshi and Kiyone). During the chase, Washu sensed an unusual energy source emitting from Earth, and after they were forced to crash-land on Earth, Washu sensed that the power came from Tenchi's necklace (an heirloom handed down from his late mother, Achika Masaki). Throughout the series, while researching his necklace, Washu invented various items that would allow the girls to see Tenchi during his time in Tokyo (notably, a dimensional portal); however, her inventions would often malfunction. Personality-wise, she's still a mad scientist, but she is more mellowed-out than her Tenchi Universe incarnation.
When Yugi's plot had scattered the Masaki family, Washu was the only one not fooled by it, and after analyzing Yugi from her previous attack against the Masaki shrine, Washu found out she came from Jurai. With some help from Ayeka, Washu discovered the ruins to which Ayeka had been previously with Tenchi were actually a prison meant to hold Yugi, as she had been imprisoned for nearly destroying Jurai 3,500 years ago. Washu later sent an analyis robot to analyze Sakuya Kumashiro, as she suspected that Sakuya might be some factor in Yugi's plan, which proved to be true when the scan showed that Sakuya was a shadow of Yugi. With her Gem Analysis complete, Washu went with Katsuhito to Tokyo, and she explained everything to Tenchi about Yugi and why she worked so hard to break them up. After that, Washu observed the final battle against Yugi, when she was transported to Yugi's dimension and at the end of the series went to work on a new Dimensional Tunnel by using the power of the gems.
[edit] Pretty Sammy
In the Magical Girl Pretty Sammy OVA series, she is an Earth child prodigy known as Washu Kobayashi (小林 鷲羽 Kobayashi Washū?), and in Magical Project S (Pretty Samy TV), Washu Fitzgerald Kobayashi (鷲羽 フィッツジェラルド 小林 Washū Fittsujerarudo Kobayashi?). She would help Pretty Sammy on various events, regardless of whether or not Pretty Sammy even wanted her help. When she's not following Pretty Sammy around, she works at Sasami's school as her science teacher. She also has moved across the street from Sasami and Tenchi's house and it was never established if she knew Pretty Sammy's secret identity.
Washu is also credited in Pretty Sammy OVA episode 2 as the inventor of the Internet.
In Magical Project S, she is an American and she has a habit of addressing Sasami's father Ginji as Johnny, just as he has a habit of addressing her as Catherine. Washu's role is similar to that of the Pretty Sammy OVA, but with the addition that she is also the first human to be fully aware of Sasami's secret identity as Pretty Sammy and only moved in next door to Sasami's house to keep an eye on Sasami and analyze her magic for research purposes. Her most notable appearance in the TV series was that after analyzing Pretty Sammy's magic, she was able to develop her own NT system that was used during Romio's attack on the Earth. Not only did it supply Pretty Sammy, Pixy Misa, Ryo-Ohki, and Rumiya with magic, but it also protected them from Romio's NT system.
[edit] Sasami: Mahou Shoujo Club
In the anime Sasami: Mahou Shoujo Club, she is Sasami's cooking teacher, Washu Kozuka (小塚 鷲羽 Kozuka Washū?). She is also the mentor/adviser of the secret magical girl club and teaches its members the fundamentals of being a magical girl. She is also Ryo-Ohki's mistress, using the poor cabbit in some of her cooking demonstrations. Although she is the cooking teacher, it was revealed that she (ironically) cannot cook.
| Tenchi Muyo! characters | |
|---|---|
| Main Characters | |
| Tenchi | Ryoko | Ayeka | Sasami | Mihoshi | Washu | Kiyone | Ryo-Ohki | Noike | |
| The Chousin | |
| Washu | Tsunami | Tokimi | |
| Villains | |
| Kagato | Dr. Clay | Z | Yugi | Kain | Yuzuha | Haruna | Seiryo | Tarant | Yakage | Shima Brothers | Yume | Mikamo & Yataka | Garyu | Dark Washu | |
| Masaki Family | |
| Katsuhito | Nobuyuki | Achika | Tennyo | Airi | Rea | |
| Guardians & Royalty of Jurai | |
| Azaka & Kamidake | Azusa | Funaho | Misaki | Seto | |
| Galaxy Police | |
| Seina | Minami | Misao | Sabato | |
| Pretty Sammy | |
| Sasami Kawai | Pixy Misa | Ramia | Rumiya | Chief Pretty Sammy characters | Chief Magical Project S characters | |
| Others | |
| Nagi | Sakuya | Mayuka | Zero | Minagi | Hiwa | Asahi | Kazuma | Tama | Chief GXP characters | |
| Miscellaneous | |
| Tenchi Muyo! Ryo-ohki | Tenchi Universe | Tenchi in Tokyo | Tenchi Muyo! GXP | Pretty Sammy | Sasami: Mahou Shoujo Club |
