OAV Information
In the original series, Washu is a scientific genius with a very convoluted
and mysterious past. Over 20,000 years old, she regularly appears as a 12
year old girl. She used to attend the Galactic Acadamy, where she made a
few enemies, it appears. Shortly after (or perhaps during) this time, she
fell in love with an unknown noble and had a child by him. Unfortunately,
since she was not of noble birth herself, the child was taken away from
her and the father disappeared. It was at this time that Washu decided to
follow Peter Pan and never grow up, eschewing her adult form for that of
a child. She can revert to her "real"
self at will, however.
5,000 years ago, Washu started working with a brilliant young scientist named Kagato. While Washu pursued science for pure knowledge, Kagato had more sinister motives. After helping her design and create Ryoko and Ryo-Ohki, they built the Souja, an immense battleship. After its completion, Kagato trapped Washu in the reverse side of the ship and imprisoned her within a crystal. He then took control of Ryoko and Ryo-Ohki, and began plundering the galaxy in search of the ultimate power; the key to Tsunami, the most powerful of the Trees of Jurai. This is what Ryoko was looking for when she attacked Jurai.
Through the events of the series, Washu is eventually freed (quite by accident) by Galaxy Police Detective Mihoshi. She subsequently observes Tenchi generating the Wings of the Light Hawk, and decides that he will be her next project. At the end of the second OAV series, we are given a titilating clue to Washu's deep past, and her links to Tsunami and Tokimi, a shadowy, otherworldly goddess.
Washu is cute, curious, arrogant, and utterly brilliant.
She comes off as somewhat cool at first, spending much of her time in her
lab, but this is just the aloof scientist in her. Inside her resides a tremendous
capacity for caring, and more common sense than all the other characters
(with the exclusion of Yosho and Kiyone) combined. Contrary to what some
people might say, Washu is a decent cook...she's just not used to simple
appliances like stoves and such. Give her a high-tech kitchen (i.e., her
lab) though, and watch her go! Who else could have come up with that bizarre
baby formula?
Washu's symbol is a crab, though what relevance this has (other than
to her hair) escapes me. Other characters have more obvious symbols attached
to them, like octopi, carrots, and cats. Does someone know the real meaning
(i.e., the Japanese symbolism) of these representations?
TV Series Information
In the TV series, Washu is a mad scientist banished from galactic society 700 years ago for creating too many weapons of mass destruction. Imprisoned in a crystal-like meteorite, she winds up on Earth as the main focus of the Masaki Shrine. Ryoko and Aeka accidently free her while fighting over Tenchi, so now they're stuck with her. While her overall personality isn't too different from the OAVs, she is a bit more maniacal. It also seems that galactic domination (or at least recognition) is a long term goal of hers.
TV Washu also has more going on around her. She's much more inventive than her OAV self, creating all sorts of weird things. (700 years behind in her projects, as she says.) She is accompanied by two odd little robotic puppets (identified only as A and B) that pop out of her hair and onto her shoulder at various times. They serve solely to boost her ego, spouting such things as, "Washu-chan, you are a genius!" and, "Washu-chan, you are the best!" Whether they are actually seperate entities, or merely aspects of her personality solidified is debatable, however.
