Sandbox / Dragon Ball: Master Roshi

Master Roshi (武天老師, Muten Rōshi/Wutian Laoshi, lit. Martial Heaven Old Master)
AKA The Turtle Hermit (亀仙人, Kame Sen'nin)

Voiced by (Japanese): Kouhei Miyauchi (Dragon Ball and Z), Joji Yanami (DB episode 137 only), Hiroshi Masuoka (Z, GT, Yo! Son Goku and His Friends Return!), Masaharu Sato (Movie 13, Kai, Battle of Gods, Resurrection 'F', Super), Kinya Aikawa (The Path to Power), Takkou Ishimori (Dragon Ball: Advanced Adventure)
Voiced by (English): Clifton Wells (Harmony Gold dub); Michael Donovan (DB ep. 3, Curse of the Blood Rubies), Ian James Corlett (DB ep. 7-8, DBZ ep. 1-34, Edited version of Movie 3), Peter Kelamis (DBZ ep. 50), Don Brown (DBZ Movies 1-2, Uncut version of Movie 3), Terry Klassen (DBZ Season 4-6) (BLT/Ocean dub); Mike McFarland (Funimation dub);^note Chris Forbis as Jackie Chun in Z ep. 166 flashback Dean Galloway (Blue Water dub); Ed Marcus (AB Groupe/"Big Green" dub); Nesty Ramirez (Creative Products Corp., Philippines); Dave Bridges (Animax dub); Kirk Thornton (Bang Zoom!/Toonami Asia dub in Super)
Voiced by (Latin American Spanish): Jesús Colín (DB, Z and GT), Jorge Roig (Kai), Miguel Ángel Sanromán (Battle of Gods, Resurrection ‘F’, Kai the Final Chapters and Super)
Voiced by (French): Pierre Trabaud (DB, Z), Gérard Surugue (GT), Gilbert Lévy (Kai, Super)
Voiced by (Italian): Mario Scarabelli

"Goku... Krillin... You're the ones who showed this old fossil he still had something left to give. That it was too soon to let the limits of age sentence him to sit idly by on the sidelines. You boys who were never content to stop, who kept aiming for and climbing greater and greater heights want me to take it easy? Now listen to me boys! Always remember these words: Work hard! Study well! and eat and sleep plenty. That is the Turtle Hermit way! We must master the art of peace in addition to the art of war! The Turtle Hermit School will be with you... always! This will be my greatest, most powerful Kamehameha!"

Goku's first mentor. A hermit whose home is located on a small island in the middle of the ocean. Very strong (at least at the start of the series) and with a keen eye. Also very perverted and usually hits on any pretty tail that comes his way.

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A-L

• Achilles in His Tent: He doesn't get involved with the Red Ribbon Army Saga despite being superior to Son Goku around this time.
• Adaptational Badass: In the anime version of the Tournament of Power, he was already formidable enough, but in the manga, even though a lot of his spotlight got sidetracked, he was able to survive long enough, being the 6th overall fighter to get taken out from the Tournament of Power, even outlasting Gohan, Piccolo, and Android 18. He singlehandedly took out a Pride Trooper (Kahseral) and even managed to endure Jiren temporarily as an attempt to buy Goku time to rest.
• Adaptational Jerkass: While Roshi was always characterized as lecherous in the manga, he never outright assaulted anyone and his only crimes were acts of voyeurism. On the other hand, Toei's anime filler goes out of its way to give him far more dodgy sexualized scenes for comedic relief, mainly of him groping female characters (with the character Maron basically being created to be the butt of these "jokes"), that would certainly get him indicted on some kind of register in real life. He usually receives comeuppance for his dirty deeds, however.
• Animal Motif: Turtles.
• Awesome, but Impractical:
  • His Max Power form makes him strong enough to destroy entire mountains and the Moon with a single Kamehameha, but the muscle increase greatly slows him down, and using even one ki attack will burn him out. As of Resurrection 'F', he's more mobile and can use more than one energy attack while in that state.
  • The Mafuba. In terms of power and use, it's virtually a OHKO that can work on anyone, even beings who are far stronger than Roshi is, and since very few people know about the attack, Roshi is almost guaranteed to land it when he is able to use it. However, the technique has a steep cost to use, and can often kill the user if they are unprepared for it, such as what happened to Roshi when he used it on Demon King Piccolo back in Dragon Ball. Even if the user doesn't die, they are left exhausted as a result, and if someone is able to learn about the attack, they can reverse it and seal the caster, or another target.
• Baldness Mockery: For all the depth of his conflict with Master Roshi, Master Shen, Roshi's Evil Counterpart, is not above teasing the "300-year-old pervert with a head that is bald and shiny".
• Big Good: In Dragon Ball, by virtue of being the wisest and most experienced of the group. Kami effectively took this role after his introduction up until his fusion with Piccolo.
• Bilingual Bonus: A very interesting case for his name. Outside of the translations of his titles seen above at the top of his page near the folder, note that "Laoshi/Rōshi" literally means "Old Master" In the most current English dub, he basically is called "Master Old Master" if one literally translates "Master Roshi".
• Bishōnen Line: When he buffs up, his missing teeth grow back.
• Brilliant, but Lazy: Roshi was, for a long time, one of the most powerful people on the planet. However, he spends his days watching porn and exercise videos, letting his students save the earth rather than get off his island.
  • Subverted when Frieza comes back to life and invades Earth while Goku and Vegeta are absent, during which he's seen fighting off the alien armada alongside Gohan and Piccolo. He would then join Team Universe 7 in the Tournament of Power and was able to hold his own for a relatively impressive amount of time.
• Broke Your Arm Punching Out Cthulhu: He came the closest to stopping King Piccolo by using the Evil Containment Wave to seal him into a rice cooker. He misses the cooker and dies soon afterward, allowing Piccolo to get his wish to regain his youth.
• Bunny-Ears Lawyer: He's a 300-year old perverted man... who happened to be the creator of the Kamehameha, tutor of Goku and Krillin and in early parts of the series, the greatest martial artist on Earth.
• Butt-Monkey: To extreme levels after being Demoted to Extra, but had moments in Dragon Ball.
• Buxom Beauty Standard: He's attracted to women with large busts, such as Bulma, Launch and Krillin's Filler girlfriend Maron, though it's shown that he'll go for any girl in general regardless of bust size as long as they're considered attractive which he does later on with Krillin's wife Android 18 and Gohan's future wife Videl.
• Can't Catch Up:
  • He retires from fighting during the second tournament arc, admitting that the new generation is both stronger and no longer needs his guidance. During later story arcs, he expresses frustration at not being able to help during the major fights. Though, considering how strong Frieza, Cell, and especially both Buu and Beerus were, he wouldn't had a chance.
  • Averted as of Resurrection of 'F. He takes on Frieza's henchmen with ease and Toriyama states that he could have always been that strong, and started to train himself rigorously again.
  • In Super, during a brief arc where he gets mind-controlled, he defeats Tien and Goku had to put effort into beating him and later notes that he must have been training in secret the whole time. He is later chosen to be a part of the team in the multiverse tournament, while Yamcha, Goten, and Trunks, are not. This is partly because, due to the way the competition is entirely based on ringing out opponents, combat experience is as equally important as raw strength. While Yamcha had tournament experience, he's deemed too rusty to be a strong competitor. In contrast, the fact Master Roshi clearly had been continuing his training, in conjunction with being a character with one of the most experience under his belt leads to the hope that he'll be a good teammate. Goku's judgment is spot on, as Roshi quickly proves to be one of the most effective members of the team.
• Chick Magnet: He's perfectly capable of getting women if he wanted to. As Jackie Chun, girls even asked for his autograph before his fight with Man-Wolf.
• Clark Kenting: His disguise of Jackie Chun involves taking off his shades and putting on a wig. Only Yamcha saw through it until Roshi tricked him and Goku didn't think he was Master Roshi since they didn't smell the same, Roshi covered his scent with perfume.
• Combat Pragmatist: What he becomes by necessity in Super. He's absolutely ancient by human standards and even with the arena specifically designed to prevent Ki-based flight abilities and balancing the Super Weight that heavyworlders (or those who train like them) gain when fighting on an optimal field, he relies on trickery, esoteric techniques, and wisdom to defeat opponents who outclass him by power alone. This goes so far as Roshi specifically seeking out warriors he knows will trip up his stronger, but less canny, students. The no-flight clause is played to his advantage, as Roshi never actually learned the ability to fly without assistance.
• Comedic Sociopathy: He's a perverted old man who would be in jail for sexual assault if he was a real person. Him being regularly beaten up by Bulma, Blond Launch, adult Chi-Chi, and Android 18 is karma for the most part and invokes almost no sympathy from anyone.
• Confusion Fu: When he's using his Drunken Master technique. He pretends to be drunk to make his movements unpredictable. This works extremely well against Goku since he can't copy this technique since he has never been drunk.
• Cool Old Guy: Back in Dragon Ball. Regains most of this status in Super and Resurrection ‘F’
• Cool Shades: Never without them since he fought as Jackie Chun in the 22nd Tenkaichi Tournament. Until the Tournament of Power in Super forces him out of retirement, that is.
• Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass:
  • The poster boy for this trope since he's normally a goof and a Dirty Old Man, but when he decides to get serious, he is a very skilled fighter with the power to destroy the moon with one shot, making him one of the biggest badasses in the original Dragon Ball up to as far up in the timeline as the later parts of the Saiyan Saga.
  • The sunglasses, Hawaiian shirts, and (most of) the sex jokes fall by the wayside during the King Piccolo arc, as he takes charge of the situation.
  • Taken to extremes where it's revealed via Resurrection ‘F’ that he could have stood up to a few of the Z villains if he'd bothered trying rather than letting his students take care of everything.
  • In Super, he proves that despite not having the raw strength of his two students anymore, he more than makes up for it with his wisdom and skill, effortlessly dodging combatants using direct attacks and outwitting the trickier opponents. And when all of that fails, he reveals that his signature move, the Kamehameha, is still nothing to scoff at.
• Cutting the Knot: When Goku transforms into a Great Ape during the World Martial Arts Tournament. Yamcha tries to tell him he needs to cut off Goku's tail to change him back. Roshi opts for a more permanent solution by blowing up the moon itself.
• Dangerous Forbidden Technique: The Mafuba (Evil Containment Wave in the dub) is the technique that Master Mutaito used to seal King Piccolo during his original rampage. The attack requires so much energy that it more often than not kills its user, as Master Mutaito died from using. Master Roshi attempts to use the Evil Containment Wave to reseal King Piccolo after he escapes, but not only does he misses the rice cooker, he end up dying like his master. In Super, he reluctantly teaches the Evil Containment Wave to Goku since it's the only way to defeat Future Zamasu who is an immortal. By the time of the Tournament of Power, Roshi has trained enough to be able to use it three times before being fatigued, with the last two times being very close to each other in terms of usage.
• A Day in the Limelight: The second DBZ movie, The World's Strongest, gave him a pretty big role, helping Goku and friends fight against Dr. Wheelo. Resurrection 'F' also gave him a considerable role, helping to fight off Frieza's army. The Universe Survival arc in Super has a whole episode dedicated to him taking out 3 of Universe 4's fighters.
• Death Seeker: Played with in that he's not actively trying to die during the Tournament of Power, but he's more than willing to spam dangerous techniques on multiple occasions even if he risks killing himself in the process just to give U7 any edge he can so his disciples can go on living. His heart actually stops beating after he puts everything he has into a giant Kamehameha and Goku has to ki-blast jumpstart his heart working again. And even after that, he continues to fight until he ends up getting saved from having to perform a Heroic Sacrifice by Vegeta, who urges Roshi that it's time to forfeit and let the others take care of the rest because he's done his part.
• Demoted to Extra: In Z and GT to ridiculous degrees like everyone else. By the time Dragon Ball Z rolls around, the only purpose he really serves is just having a house for all the characters to frequently meet up at in-between fights or for the non-fighting characters to wait around while watching TV. In Super, he does get a little more screen time since the series retells Resurrection 'F', in which he fights Frieza's men, and he teaches Goku the Evil Containment Wave. He is also chosen to be part of Universe 7's team for the Universe Survival Saga.
• Department of Redundancy Department: Roshi means "old master". Therefore, in the English dub, Master Roshi leaves us with "Master Old Master".
• Dirty Old Man: Probably one of the most recognizable anime examples. He provides the page image, having made perving on women his favorite pastime. He has a steady supply of girly mags, is easily distracted by any female that catches his eye, and will cop a feel at every given opportunity. Roshi always ends up paying for it, but he'll just do it again anyway. In Super, he realizes these tendencies are his greatest weakness, and undergoes training to learn to control his urges... and in the Tournament of Power, we see this actually worked, as he does not fall for a female opponent's attempts to seduce him, and he is able to No-Sell Universe 2's Maidens use of a love-themed attack.
• Doting Parent: Whenever Master Roshi spends quality time with young Goku and Krillin (such as eating with them, playing with them, and teaching them how to read and write) and whenever he affectionately pats their heads in praise. For both now-adult warriors, he is the closest thing they have to a father. Especially for Krillin, as he ends up living with Roshi through the rest of the series (even when he gets married and has a kid!).
  • His horrified reaction to Jiren brutally beating Goku to as close to death as he could without killing him is much like a father who doesn't want to see his son get hurt but can do nothing about it. He sounds like he's on the verge of tears and can't help but avert his eyes.
• Drunken Boxing: One of his fighting styles. It acts as the perfect counter to Goku's Awesomeness by Analysis since he has never been drunk before, so he can't properly copy it. However, Goku is able to counter it by just acting completely insane.
• Eccentric Mentor: To Goku, Yamcha, and Krillin. He is a big pervert who spends his days reading and watching porn and hitting on hot women. He was also the strongest man in the world until Goku's generation.
• Ephebophile: Went too far on this trope. He did a few times showed his perverted side to minors, once with Bulma (asking to see her underwear in exchange for his Dragon Ball, though he originally didn't expect her to be completely bottomless), groped Android 18's breasts (not only is 18 still physically a teenager herself, he did this right in front of her infant daughter Marron no less), and one with Videl (poking her chest on Kami's Lookout). Both Bulma and Videl were 16 at those points, while 18's age is far harder to guess as she has no memory of her old human life.
• Flanderization: The anime adaptations of both Z and Super massively overplayed the pervert aspect of his character, to the point of turning him into a multi-time attempted rapist. His Hidden Depths come off as inexplicable by comparison.
• Foolish Sibling, Responsible Sibling: The foolish sibling to Baba's responsible, Baba is a capable and serious fortune teller that is well known for her magical abilities and essentially has her own business. Roshi is a very perverted martial arts hermit that is more invested in ogling ladies than he is actually teaching.
• Forgotten Phlebotinum: In the 21st World Martial Arts Tournament, he almost defeats Goku using an electricity-based attack that paralyzes the nerves, leaving the target helpless. This potential Story-Breaker Power is never mentioned again until Roshi is suddenly catapulted back to relevance in Super and uses the technique against Tien while under mind control. He uses it again during the tournament to paralyze a fighter from Universe 4, helping Tien easily knock the man out. It's heavily implied that he simply doesn't like using it because the technique is potentially lethal and he's a Martial Pacifist.
• Genius Bruiser: He has many years of wisdom, as well as being the strongest human at the start of the series
• Hard Work Hardly Works: Despite spending roughly a hundred years training, Goku is almost equal to him after a few years of training. In fact, it took Roshi fifty years to master the Kamehameha Wave, and Goku learned how to do so after simply seeing Roshi use it once. To make matters worse, Krillin was able to use it on the basis that he saw Yamcha do it and reasoned he should be able to do it as well.
  • His training regimen is demonstrated to be one of the toughest on the planet. It would soon be overshadowed by aliens, mutants, and supernatural beings who were born leagues above Roshi's strength, along with secret techniques and fantastic methods that amplify an individual's strength far more than Roshi's training ever could.
• Hermit Guru: Well, he is called the Turtle Hermit.
• His Name Really Is "Barkeep": He shows his driver's license in an episode of the anime (confirmed to be accurate by Daizenshuu 4) which shows that his name really is Muten-Rōshi, or "Master Roshi" in the FUNimation dub. For context, Muten-Rōshi would never be perceived as a proper name by someone who knew its Japanese meaning; Rōshi just means "old master", while "Muten" is a combination of mu (martial) and ten (heaven), meaning his name is literally "Old Heavenly Martial Arts Master."
• Horrifying the Horror: Despite being much weaker than King Piccolo, he manages to scare the Demon King shitless by revealing that he knows the Evil Containment Wave. Although Roshi fails to trap Piccolo and dies, Piccolo is left shaking on the ground for several seconds.
• Hypnotic Eyes: Has been shown hypnotizing Goku into falling asleep and the Man-Wolf into believing that Krillin's head was the full moon so he could recover his human form.
• I Am Not Left-Handed: In most of his fights, he appears to be a wrinkly old man. However, he can bulk up to Hulk-like levels with his MAX power. Also, there's his immense collection of techniques and tricks, including hypnosis and shooting lightning from his hands.
• I Was Quite a Looker: Claims he was very attractive when he was young. In a filler storyline, Goku went back in time and met the young Roshi, who showed there was truth to his claim. When looking at an old photo of him, even Bulma commented he looked attractive.
  Bulma: Whoa, he's handsome! Who is he?
  Roshi: That's me.
  Bulma: Nuh-ah. That's impossible, he has hair!
  Roshi: I wasn't born bald, you know!
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: He can be an obnoxious pervert, but beneath it, he's still a kind-hearted person. His first lesson for Goku and Krillin was to never use martial arts for aggression and only for self-defense. During the first tournament, he showed compassion to Nam by explaining he did not need the prize money to buy water after he was defeated by Goku and gives him a capsule to store water from a well to take back to his village. In the English Dub, it's even implied Roshi would have thrown the fight if Nam beat Goku and made it to the finals.
• Kamehame Hadoken: He invented it.
• Killed Offscreen: Played straight in the manga which only shows a stick figure of Super Buu killing off the majority on Kami's Lookout via the Elder Kai's globe. Averted somewhat in the anime where we get the admittedly horrifying Shadow Discretion Shots of Roshi and the others being changed into chocolate bars and eaten by the Majin.
• Living Legend: When he was introduced, Master Roshi was revered as the God of Martial Arts and the World's Strongest Man; in the episode "Tien's Atonement", he's even able to get Tien off the hook for a murder accusation just through his personal endorsement.
• Lovable Sex Maniac: Roshi is seriously perverted but he's shown to be a really nice person at several points. He loves Goku and Krillin like they were his own sons and lets the latter start a family at his home.

M-W

• Manchild: Master Roshi is of old age, but behaves like a child. A very perverted child.
• Master-Apprentice Chain: He is the master of a number of characters who pass his style to the next generation, giving him one of the longest chains in the series: Mutaito and Korin > Master Roshi > Son Gohan, Sr and Ox-King > Son Goku, Yamcha, Krillin, and Chi-Chi > Son Gohan, Son Goten, Pan, and Uub
• Meaningful Name: "Roshi" means master.
• Mentor Occupational Hazard: Sacrifices his life to try and reseal King Piccolo, only for the attempt to fail. He does get resurrected later, although, by that point, his role of mentor has been passed to other characters. He tries it again in Super several times, thinking he must have this mindset for his students, until Vegeta makes it clear in a few short words it isn't necessary to die there and that he has already fulfilled his duty as a warrior in this battle.
• My Death Is Just the Beginning: Gives such a speech to King Piccolo after his failed attempt to reseal him:
  Roshi: You haven't won. Your dark dreams will never come true. Somewhere, someone will succeed where I failed. Until that day, live in fear. You will fall. We're only human... but... but we will survive. We will... survive...]]
  Roshi [Latin American Spanish dub]: I...I thought...that this would bring your end and all would return to normal, but unfortunately, I was wrong. I have the hope that someday, someone more powerful than you...will be able to finish you and save the whole world, of that I'm sure...it wouldn't be fair to be wrong.
• Obsolete Mentor: For everyone but Krillin by the start of Z. Even Krillin is mentioned as explicitly being stronger than him in the very beginning when Bulma gets the Scouter working. This gets Subverted somewhat in Super, since Goku goes to him to learn the Mafuba, called the Evil Containment Wave in the dub. During the tournament arc, Goku and Krillin also went to him specifically to re-train their basics, and he was actually able to still teach them a thing or two. So, yeah, his students may now be stronger than him, but his wisdom definitely makes him by no means obsolete.
• Older Hero Versus Younger Villain: Roshi vs. Goku at the climax of the 21st Tenkaichi Budokai is told from Roshi’s perspective, with Goku as the Hero Antagonist.
• Old Master: Was once the strongest man in the world and mentor to several of the main characters, and they still think of him as their master despite most of them being stronger than him.
• Passing the Torch: Did this when he retired from being Jackie Chun.
• The Peeping Tom: Roshi tried to use Bulma's inventions for this twice. Before, he used a watch that can shrink the person who is wearing it as a way to spy on Bulma while she is on the toilet but failed. Again, when he used Bulma's little fly robot to spy on some girls on the beach.
• Porn Stash: Owns a huge collection of lewd magazines. Strangely, he also sometimes leers at women's aerobics shows despite all the actual porn he owns.
• Really 700 Years Old: Thanks to the Immortal Phoenix (or Paradise Herbs in the Super anime), he's over 300 while still looking in his 70s.
• The Resenter: Briefly, when he realizes that Goku has surpassed him during the 22nd Martial Arts Tournament, he's so upset about it that he can barely concentrate on his matches. Fighting with Tien snaps him out of it, as he realizes that the new generation surpassing the old is good for the future of the Martial Arts and that he's truly proud of his best students.
• Retired Badass:
  • When he was satisfied that the younger generation had surpassed him, he stopped training. Though at times when the world's at risk, he regrets this. However, considering the ridiculous amount of Sorting Algorithm of Evil that happens in Z, he couldn't reach the level of Frieza's Mooks, let alone Frieza. And that's not even getting into Cell, Buu, and Beerus.
  • Averted in Resurrection 'F', where he fights off Frieza's army along with several other Z-Fighters.
  • Again in Super's fifth major arc, where he's part of the team representing Universe 7.
• Reused Character Design: His appearance is based on the God of Earth in Doctor Slump (not to be confused with Dragon Ball's Kami-sama).
• The Rival: To Master Shen and his Crane school. They used to be friends until the Crane Hermit turned to evil after being corrupted by King Piccolo.
• Secret-Keeper: Knew that Goku was really an alien after Grandpa Gohan confided to him, and kept it a secret from Goku until the day that Raditz came to Earth and confronted Goku.
• Secret Identity: Jackie Chun. He never does let the others know he and Chun were the same person.
• Shock and Awe: His used-only-twice ultimate technique, the Thunder Shock Surprise/Bankoku Bikkuri Shou. Justified in that he can't actually do anything else while he's using the move, and it doesn't cause enough pain to severely harm opponents of extreme durability.
• Signature Laugh: The English dub gives him an extremely unique laugh that anyone can recognize. Yamcha even uses it as evidence that he was Jackie Chun since they literally had the same laugh.
• Signature Move: The Original Kamehameha.
• Sunglasses at Night: Rarely takes his shades off. When he does it when not wearing a disguise, get ready to run.
• Super Mode: His "Max Power" form, where he basically bulks up like the Hulk.
• Supernatural Sealing: Roshi can use the Mafuba to seal demons away by sucking them into a special container, which requires a large amount of stamina. Roshi later uses the technique in the Tournament of Power, using it to eliminate one opponent, and nearly succeeds with two others, but is prevented from completing the seal both times.
• Team Dad: In the original Dragon Ball. He was the mentor and father figure to Goku, Krillin, and later Yamcha and even Tien.
• Telepathy: The first to use it in the series. Nam, a participant of the 21st Tenkaichi Budokai, even suggested this ability is a sign of a great martial arts master.

• Took a Level in Badass: During the lead-up to the Tournament of Power, Goku realizes Roshi has gotten stronger over the years. It's not nearly at the level the Z-Fighters are usually fighting at, but Roshi can hold his own against opponents at roughly the same tier as base-level Goku. As icing on the cake, he learns to get over his habits as a Dirty Old Man.
  • In episode 107, Roshi, while exhausted from previous fights, is briefly able to fight off Frost in close combat, even though Frost outpowers him by orders of magnitude!
  • In the Super manga, he manages to outlast 18, Piccolo, Gohan, and every other universe outside of U11 to be one of the 10 remaining fighters in the Tournament of Power after Kale's rampage, subsequent fusion with Caulifla into Kefla, and her elimination by Gohan.
    • Also from the manga, he fights Jiren alone in order to teach Goku that skill can surpass raw power. He lasts a while, dodging Jiren's attacks far more efficiently than anyone else up until that point - Beerus compares Roshi's technique to Ultra Instinct.
• Training from Hell: In-universe, he's infamous for it... And it's actually harsher than rumored. The exercises he's seen subjecting his pupils to are:
  • Delivering milk on foot over vast distances that include climbing a mountain (there's a staircase, but it's still a few kilometers), crossing a river near the top of a waterfall, walking on a fallen tree over a cliff, crossing a desert, and being chased by a dinosaur, all with a single break on top of the mountain. All but the mountain is to be done running, as it's speed training and the delivery has to be made in time. This is only the early morning training;
  • Plowing a large field bare-handed to reinforce their hands. This is done after a short break after the Milk Run from Hell, and before breakfast... Assuming they do the job quick enough to earn the breakfast;
  • Perform construction work for at least five men, each, to increase physical strength (and earn some money). They can use tools for this, but nothing with an engine;
  • Swimming across a lake and back ten times. While chased by a giant shark;
  • Reflex training? Dodge angry bees while tied to a tree. After the shark, this is pretty tame;
  • After the first day, he has them wear 20 kilos shells on their backs all the time, progressively increasing the weight. He himself wears a 40-kilo shell all the time;
  • Reconstruction as he knows what he's doing, he gives his pupils only exercises they can deal with (and actually makes sure they're strong enough before accepting them as trainees), grants them enough rest between the exercises (something Goku takes to heart for his and Gohan's training session in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber; it's also at first implied and later stated outright that Vegeta, having been born supremely powerful, never learned the importance of rest, resulting in his own training from hell being far less effective than Goku's), feeds them all they need (even Goku), and takes time to teach them other basic skills such as writing and reading, math (this actually was crucial for Krillin's victory over Chiaotzu: the latter was winning until Krillin distracted him with math questions, and pummelled him when he tried to count on his fingers, as Chiaotzu's teacher had neglected to teach him math), common knowledge, manners, honour, and so on. In fact, the Milk Run from Hell, plowing a field and performing construction work double as legitimate work, so they can learn its value..
    "Work hard, study well, and sleep plenty, that's the Turtle Hermit's way to learn."
• Tritagonist: For the First and Second Tournament Arc and the King Piccolo Arc.
• Wake-Up Call Boss: Serves as this when disguised as Jackie Chun. He easily beats Yamcha and Krillin, and hands Goku his first real defeat, showing them that they still have a lot to learn. He is also the first one to really challenge Tien, although he surrendered.
• Warrior Poet: Rarely shows it clearly, but his wisdom is undeniable-and more covertly, his Training from Hell includes lessons of basic skills such as reading, writing, and counting, and teaches both the value of hard work and some hard but useful professions.
• Wax On, Wax Off: His method of training includes having his students work by delivering milk by foot at the break of dawn, then sowing fields with their bare hands, then helping out at a construction site, all the while wearing heavy turtle shells on their backs. And boy, does it pay off. Unlike the trope namer, Master Roshi is actually upfront about it (although there's little room to argue considering the tasks are anything but easy).
• Weak, but Skilled:
  • Roshi's hat in the Universe Survival Saga; he may not have a ton of raw power, but he has a lot of experience, and unconventional techniques on top of that, such as hypnosis, the Evil Containment Wave, and his paralysis technique. Roshi himself notes that compared to most of the cast who usually get focus, he's more inclined to fight dirty if he is allowed to. During his one-on-one fight with Ganos, the latter is explicitly stated to be much stronger and faster, but Roshi beats him anyway because he can easily read Ganos' movements and turn his own power against him, leading him to be the third consecutive fighter from Universe 4 that Roshi knocked out.
  • This doesn't hold up nearly as well when facing an opponent who was powerful and cunning. Roshi got stomped by Frost, had to resort to the Evil Containment Wave, but ended up missing after his stamina was drained. He tried it again for Magetta, but Frost intercepted it and successfully turned it on Vegeta. Roshi was able to salvage the situation by using a directed ki blast to shatter the bottle and free Vegeta.
• We Used to Be Friends: He and the Crane Hermit used to be friends who trained under the same master. That is until King Piccolo corrupted Shen and they became bitter rivals.
• Wig, Dress, Accent: Well, more like "Wig, take off the sunglasses" and "Not Even Bothering with the Accent"... Now, who is this mysterious Jackie Chun? For a moment, it seemed like kid Goku saw through it, but Goku actually guessed that Roshi and "Chun" were related. Roshi pulled out a prop family tree and falsely acknowledged Goku's guess.
• World's Best Warrior: Even though he's no longer the world's strongest, he's still the most skilled martial artist in the world by far, to the point where even Goku still comes to him for fighting advice. The Tournament of Power arc showcases this nicely, as he beats several opponents far stronger than he is, and he displays insight that is so finely attuned that Beerus actually mistakes it for the god-like Ultra Instinct ability.
• World's Strongest Man: He was, at one point, the most powerful human being on the planet. He willingly gave up this position at the 22nd Tenkaichi Budokai, where he stepped aside to let the next generation take over. By Super however, he has become the most powerful flightless human, and, more notably, the most powerful flightless mortal in Universe 7.
• Wowing Cthulhu: His successes in the Tournament of Power are so great that he impresses Beerus.
• Would Hit a Girl: Inverted when he is habitually beaten by the majority of the female cast, and he never makes an effort to fight back. He just takes the beatings. He is a creepy old hermit, but still...
  • In Super, he had no problems fighting Yurin, and he states that he will fight the female combatants of the Tournament of Power. It seems that while he normally will not fight women, he makes exceptions if they are causing evil or need to be defeated to save the universe.
  • Alternatively, the hits he gets from women he pervs on aren't fights, and most of them aren't fighters. He doesn't bring out the kung-fu skills against them for the same reason most wouldn't seriously fight someone who simply slapped them in the face a single time. In short, if approached as a true martial artist, he WILL give the honor of a fight regardless of gender.
• Wrestler in All of Us: At the end of the 21st Tenkaichi, he considers using the Cobra Twist and the Figure Four Leglock to defeat Goku before discarding them due to Goku's excessively small size. We later see him using his considerable grappling skills against Tien in the following tournament, to such great effect it would have been a very quick victory by ring-out had Tien not been able to fly.

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