Washu's Profile

Washu is aproximately 20,000 years old, the mother of Ryoko, and the creator of Ryo-Ohki and the Soja. She considers herself to be the greatest scientific genius in the universe, which is reasonable considering her achievements. For example, she created a system that allows the user to make anything out of thin air ( such as a formlua perfectly suited for Taro's nutritional metobolic needs), provided a blueprint exists. 5,000 years earlier, Washu was kidnapped from the Royal Space Academy on the planet Todain and imprisoned by her student Kagato, until detective Mihoshi of the Galaxy Police recently freed her accidentally. Washu was still wearing her old Space Academy uniform at the time of her release. It is unclear whether or not Washu was encased in crystal the entire time that she was held captive. Considering that Ryoko is 2,000 years old, it is also unclear whether Washu was forced to create Ryoko for Kagato's purposes or whether it was a voluntary action on her part. Perhaps Washu needed a way of preventing the three gems from falling itno Kagato's hands, so she created Ryoko to house them, knowing that Kagato could not use them directly. Nonetheless, Washu considers Ryoko to be her "important work".
   Ryoko was created through a combination of Washu's ovum and the life form called the Mass. Ryo-Ohki was created by combining the mass with a mineral life form. Washu considers herself to be Ryoko's mother and asks Ryoko to call her "Mom", but it is not certain whether this is a heart-felt request or whether Washu only wants to annoy Ryoko. Washu often tries to force Ryoko to feel guilty about different things but in general, she seems to be unsuccessful. However, whenever it will suit Washu's purpose, Washu does not hesitate to remind Ryoko that she is her mother. She enjoys teasing Ryoko, especially about her appearance and age. Washu is intricately connected to Ryoko and knows Ryoko's deep feelings for Tenchi. Washu showed no fear when Ryoko threatened her by holding her sword to her throat. This is likely because Washu knows that Ryoko isn't a killer and can feel the goodness in her heart. Washu does care deeply for Ryoko and can be quite gentle and understanding with her, however after she assimilated Zero and Ryoko, Washu gleefully videotaped Ryoko's cries after she left her alone and imprisoned in her lab.
   After the Soja exploded, Washu moved into the dimension under the stairs of the Masaki house. She installed a cat-flap so Ryo-Ohki can access her realm, and she has a noisemaker over her door in the shape of a crab. Her compter is there but it is accessible to her at any time and in almost any place upon her command. Washu often stays awake for days on end, working and researching with her computer and various other projects that she keeps in her dimension. It is not known whether Washu sleeps because she needs to or simply wants to, and although she is 20,000 years old, she seems to have the basic limitations of any human, such as the requirment to eat and breathe.
   Washu was aware that Mihoshi had a control cube the moment they met, and Washu was skilled in its use. Although Washu considers Mihoshi to be sometimes annoying, Washu is extremely kind to her when she locates her shuttle (Yukinojo) in subspace and repairs it whenever necassary. Mihoshi is the one person who can completely exasperate Washu, especially when she breaks her equipment and/or disrupts any of her sensitive experiments. Washu cannot understand how Mihoshi manages to enter her dimension without knocking or being invited first. Still, Washu has remarked that Mihoshi is a genius on occasion.
   Washu is attracted to Tenchi and "wants to make him hers!" However, her attraction is very different that Ryoko's and Ayeka's. Washu saw that Tenchi could create the Light Hawk Wings and is therefore extremely interested in studying him to further her own knowledge. Washu is very forward and invasive when she examines Tenchi-to the point of being prepared to do anything to collect a sperm sample from him. During serious or touching moments, Washu calls him "Lord Tenchi" ("Tenchi-sama"), which suggests her fondness for him is not purely academic.
   When Washu first met Taro, she was afraid of getting close and pretended that she was indifferent towards him. However, her tactics of denial quikly proved useless and she became the primary caregiver for Taro while he stayed at the Masaki house. Washu suffers from flashbacks and painful memories about her own son. Many years ago, long before she was abducted, Washu married a fellow student of the Royal Space Academy (who had blonde hair) and together they had a son with blonde hair and green eyes. Washu loved her son and husband dearly, and did not want anything else in the world. But one day when she was away from home, messengers came from her husband's family and he and the baby were taken from her. Washu believes that his leaving involved issues surrounding lineage and social status (of which Washu had none). It is too painful for Washu to remember her life as an adult so she hides behind the mask and appearance of a child. Washu's work-a-holism may be a coping strategy to forget her grief. Her past may also explain, in part, why she chose to create Ryoko with her ovum and the Mass. Her unresolved sorrow regarding her husband and her son may have made it too emotionally difficult for Washu to give birth to another baby. However, when Washu was with baby Taro, she was the most in touch with her feelings and finally able to express some of her desolation. Although Washu claims that she has no use for lineage and social status, it is interesting that she has taken the self-appointed title of "the greatest scientific genius in the universe". Washu may appear as a child, but unlike Sasami, her eyes belie this facade. They are smaller and, when one looks deeply enough, are filled with the pain and wisdom gained from living for 20,000 years.
   Washu knows Dr.Clay quite well and thus, enjoys antogonizing him. While at the Royal Space Academy, Washu competed with Dr.Clay for the director's chair. Dr.Clay was expelled from the Academy due to his lust for power and lack of love for his work. Although it is never explicitly stated, it is reasonable to assume that, with her competition eliminated, Washu was elected as director. Whether or not she managed to fulfill this position before Kagato kidnapped her is not known.
   Washu has a fondess for images of crabs. Aside from the noisemaker over the door to her dimension, Washu styles her hair in the shape of a crab and wears two black beads in her hair that resembles its eyes. At night or when she is taking a bath (and her hair is tied up tightly) Washu wears a crab on the top of her head. Her screen-saver shows images of crabs that scurry across her screen and she placed the picture of a smiling crab on Taro's formula and on his bottles.
   Washu has a strange sense of humor and has demanded that others call her "Washu-chan" or "Little Washu". Strangely, she was embarrassed when Lady Funaho confronted her with her odd nickname. Washu can be particulary vulgar with gestures and comments, especially those concerning sexual issues. Remarks about the small size of her breasts (when she appears as a child) easily infuriate her, but not to the point where she will reveal her true adult form. On the other hand, Washu flatters easily with just about any comment, but especially when she is given one that involves her intelligence.
   Even though she is 20,000 years old, Washu knows when to use a facade of humility to get what she wants. For example, she realized that she would not have to repair the Hot Springs Inn if she showed great respect and politeness to the old woman. Notwithstanding her eccentricities and arrogence, Washu can be sensitive to emotional situations and knows what to do. She prevented anyone from interfering with Sasami's revelations concerning her true identity. Then, at the appropriate moment, she forced Tenchi to become involved. Washu also showed great empathy and sensativity towards Zero and granted her desire to remain in Ryoko's body forever by assimilating the two of them. Perhaps Washu's generosity is due to a deep understanding of loneliness and identity crisis, given her past.
   Overall, Washu is crafty and never rushes into battle. Instead, she takes the time to study her opponent and tries to detect and weaknesses. She can identify Ayeka's trap on Tenchi's door and knows what its effects will be. She is versed in the arcane arts and was able to bring Ryoko's body to the reversed world layer of the Soja and dispel the stone curse that Kagato placed on her daughter. She was also able to do the same for Ayeka so Ryoko would be able to use her full powers to fight Kagato.
   Washu recognized Tsunami on sight and is aware of her history, but unlike Lady Tokimi, she never reveals ties to sisterhood. While on the Shunga, Washu claims that she does not remember Lady Tokimi because she was locked up for 5,000 years, which may be a ruse. Washu's age, abilities, and ownership of the three gems suggest that she has been connected to Tsunami since her begginings.