Lao Chu

Lao Chu
ラオ･チュウ (Rao-chū)
English Name(s)	Mr. Lao
Name Pun	"old alcohol", Chinese fermented alcohol
Anime Debut	Dragon Ball Z Episode 170
Japanese VA	Masaharu Satō
Funimation VA	Kent Williams
Personal Data
Classification	Human-type Earthling
Occupation	Shopkeeper
Notable Skills	Martial artist
Relationship Data
Relatives	Lime (granddaughter, possibly adopted)

Lao Chu is a fictional character in the Dragon Ball universe by Akira Toriyama. Son Gohan encountered Lao Chu and his granddaughter, Lime, while searching for an open store to buy spices prior to the Cell Games. Although he lives his life as a shopkeeper, Lao Chu is also a formidable martial artist. His only appearance is in an episode written by Katsuyuki Sumisawa.

Biography

Lao Chu was once a martial artist skilled enough to participate in the Tenka'ichi Budōkai, but by Age 767 he had retired to life as a shopkeeper in Chazke Village. When Imperfect Cell attacked the village to gather energy for his attack against the androids, Lao Chu was able to protect both himself and his granddaughter from the attack, although she lost both of her parents. After Cell departed, the village was visited by Bourbon, a criminal boss, who encouraged the survivors and other scared people from around the world to build and live in his Shelter Dome constructed just outside of town. Lao Chu chose to remain in the town but was frequently harassed by Burbon's men.

Eight days before the start of the Cell Games, Son Gohan visited Lao Chu's shop to buy some ingredients for his mother. He had traveled far as most of the stores were closed because of the panic. Lao Chu was being harassed by some of Burbon's men before they were chased away by Lime calling out "Cell is here!" and scaring away the thugs. Lao Chu invited Gohan to chop logs with him as they discussed the building of the Shelter Dome and the impending Cell Games. When Lime caused a stampede by scaring the people at the Dome, Lao Chu interjected himself to protect her from the angry goons. When he was then confronted by Burbon's hired assassin, he was able to hold his own for a time before Tao Pai-pai got the upper hand. Just as be was about to be killed by a Super Dodon-Pa attack, Gohan stepped in to block it, saving his life. Gohan then destroyed the Shelter Dome to show the people how weak their shelter really was. Although not depicted on screen, Lime was presumably reunited with her parents after all the people that Cell killed were brought back by the Dragon Balls.

Name

Lau Chu's name is never given in the series itself, only listed in the end credits. It comes from a type of Chinese fermented alcohol 老酒 (Japanese: raochuu, Chinese: Lǎojiǔ). Many of the characters introduced during this section of the anime are given alcohol-related names including Bourbon, Lao Chu, and Vodka. His granddaughter's name, Lime, also fits this pattern as lime is frequently used with mixed-drinks.

Production

Due to the production schedule inherent in producing a weekly anime series based on a weekly comic, the writers of Dragon Ball Z interjected anime-only material both as a means of extending the runtime and to flesh out the Dragon Ball universe. Lao Chu and his related adventure was written by Katsuyuki Sumisawa to flesh out how Cell's attacks affected society.

Notable Skills

Lao Chu is a formidable martial artist, capable of going toe-to-toe against the cyborg version of Tao Pai-pai for a time. This places him near the top tier of fighters on Earth, although he has retired to a quiet life as a shopkeeper.

Performance

Lao Chu is played by Masaharu Satō, a Japanese voice actor who had played only bit roles in the series up to this point. He eventually became the primary voice actor for the Turtle Hermit.

Notable Appearances

• Dragon Ball Z Episode 170 - Lao Chu's introduction and only appearance to date.