Shu Todoroki

Shu Todoroki
Vehicle type	2006 Le Motor Prototype J8
Color	White, red and black
Occupation	Le Motor Prototype racer World Grand Prix racer (briefly; formerly)
First appearance	Cars 2 (2011)
Latest appearance	Cars Daredevil Garage (die-cast, 2015)
Main performer(s)	Paul Nakauchi
Character information Alias(es) The Dragon Gender Male Home Mount Asama, Japan
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"I will dominate."

—Shu Todoroki, Cars 2: The Video Game

Shu Todoroki (Japanese: シュウ・トドロキ) is a Japanese, prototype race car from Mount Asama, Japan. He competes in the Le Motor Prototype racing series with the number 7. In 2011 he competed in the World Grand Prix representing Japan.

History

Cars 2

In Cars 2, he participated in the three World Grand Prix races and in the Radiator Springs Grand Prix. Shu revealed himself to be one of the best racers in the competition. He finished in fourth place in the Tokyo race, and kept that position most of the time in the other two races. He was the last car in the Porto Corsa race and one of three cars in it whose engine exploded.

He violently enters into a collision with Miguel Camino, and Max Schnell hits them both, which they both couldn't brake in time. They eventually hit and pileup. After time comes, Raoul ÇaRoule and Rip Clutchgoneski are also trying to brake, but it's too late, and they also crashed into Shu. At last comes Jeff Gorvette and Lewis Hamilton. They braked very fast and didn't crash into Shu Todoroki. However, he was able to recover and participate in the final race in London. In that race, his pit was between Francesco's and Miguel Camino's, and he was seen in the 9th position behind Nigel Gearsley and Carla Veloso. After passing through the Admiralty Arch he was in the 8th position, passing Carla. In the Radiator Springs Grand Prix, first he was seen talking with Carla Veloso and was next seen at the 4th position in front of Rip Clutchgoneski and Miguel Camino.

Cars 2: The Video Game

In Cars 2: The Video Game, Shu is a playable character that is ready for action/available from the start of the game.

Cars 2: The Video Game (DS/3DS)

Story Mode

In Cars 2: The Video Game (DS/3DS), Shu first appears in the Japan Challenge Event in the Story Mode. Here he greets McQueen by saying “konbanwa” which means good evening in Japanese. He then tells McQueen how he and his inner dragon, Ka-Riu, respect his drifting skills and asks him to teach them to which McQueen agrees to do so, initiating the race. Afterwards, McQueen says that it was great. Shu then appears as an opponent in the Japan WGP Event.

He isn’t mentioned again until after the Italy WGP Event where it states that he experienced an engine breakdown which knocks him out of the race. He is referred to as a very good car by Luigi when he tells Lightning about Shu’s accident. Despite this, he returns as an opponent in the Germany WGP and Welcome Home events.

Unlike the home console versions of Cars 2: The Video Game, Shu is not available from the start and must be unlocked by winning the Japan Challenge Event in Story Mode.

C.H.R.O.M.E Mode

Shu can appear as an opponent in the Single Race Mode and is also the default rival in the Japan Rivalry Races when Quick Play is turned on. He also appears as an opponent in the Speed Cup, the WGP Cup, the Royal Cup, and the Tourist Cup where he is considered a fast opponent in most of the races. He is equipped with the ability to stand on 2 wheels, meaning that he will be more faster on road surfaces. However, like Francesco and Finn who also have this ability, he is much slower on dirt surfaces.

Shu also has 2 alternate themes which are his Waves and Cherry Blossom. His Waves theme is unlocked by either entering the spy code “540649” on the DS or by winning any Japan Circuit Race in the Single Race Mode. His Cherry Blossom theme is unlocked by winning any Japan Rivalry Race in the same mode.

Disney Infinity

In Disney Infinity, Shu appears as an opponent during challenges in the Cars Play Set.

Cars: Fast as Lightning

Shu appears in Cars: Fast as Lightning as a playable character. He is unlocked after Carla and has his own track called Shu's Track.

Bio

Shu Todoroki is a Le Motor Prototype racer representing Japan and bearing #7 in the World Grand Prix. Shu was raised at the base of the active Mount Asama volcano in Japan, and soon became a champion on the Suzuka Circuit. His sleek design sports the kanji, Nihon (日本), the Japanese word for Japan and a fiery red Ka-Riu dragon, which Shu borrowed from the Japanese legend because he relates to the small, yet fierce nature of the dragon. His team legacy is filled with victories – his coach, a Fairlady, was the only Japanese car to ever win at Le Mans – and Shu hopes to prove his champion-level racing on the international stage of the World Grand Prix.

Livery

Shu is painted white, with various red designs, the one on his hood resembling the Ka Riu Dragon design. His racing number is 7 and has the kanji 日本 (the Japanese word for Japan) on his front and side. He also has a large white spoiler on his rear.

Character design and development

In a few recent Q&A sessions with former Pixar Cars character and production designer Jay Shuster, he explained that the idea for Shu Todoroki was to portray him as a high-tech race car, as Japan has a strong high-tech culture. To reflect this, the team designed Shu as a Le Mans Prototype, a high-performance race car used in endurance racing. However, Shuster explains that various compromises were made to his appearance.

To get the eyes and mouth working together, an important consideration when designing any Cars character, the team had to push and pull Shu's windshield closer to his nose/mouth area, which resulted in the character featuring awkward proportions. Shuster adds that this, along with some features like the air ducts on his rear fenders (found on lesser prototypes and earlier F1 cars that suffer from poor brake-cooling solutions), made Shu appear more antiquated in his opinion, even for the time frame they were designing in.

When it came to the specific LMP cars that would influence Shu's design, Shuster states that the ultimate goal was to incorporate "the most aggressive shapes.” While Japanese race cars, including the Toyota GT-One, were looked at for inspiration, they were part of a broader pool of international LMP references, as Shuster states that the character was directed to be more "multi-international-flavored." Furthermore, he adds that the current LMP race cars at the time (e.g., Epsilon Euskadi EE1, Lola LMPs, Peugeot 908 HDI FAP, and Dome S102) played a bigger role in shaping Shu’s aggressive appearance.

In addition to designing the character, Jay Shuster says: “Unfortunately, on Cars 2 there was a quick push to get the backfield of racers into production early (and, of course, they shaved a full year off of our production schedule to give another production breathing room), so it was a mad-rush to get characters like Shu designed and built.” To streamline the process, the team gathered references, chose a car shape to use as Shu’s primary starting point, took orthographic views of that car, and then started modeling. After making the base model, they would add in the details and make notes on his model, which would later become his final design. While efficient, Shuster says this method was “not ideal,” as it took a lot of the fun out of designing him and the other racers.

To make Shu feel more authentic to his Japanese heritage, the team looked at traditional Japanese culture for inspiration. Graphic designer Craig Foster used kanji elements on Shu's front hood and side, which is a common design on many Japanese race cars. Shu also features a fiery, red paint job inspired by the Ka-Ryu Dragon from folklore and mythology, which helped shape his calm yet determined personality. Shu’s backstory also makes nods to Japanese motorsport history, with his coach’s success as the first Japanese car to win Le Mans being a reference to the Mazda 787B’s victory in 1991.

In an early concept design of the World Grand Prix Racers, Shu originally had a navy blue paint job with orange decals and stickers on his sides representing unknown sponsors. However, Shu still featured the number 7, similar to how it appeared in the final film. His body shape had a slight resemblance to the 2007-spec #7 Peugeot 908 HDI FAP, despite its rearview mirrors and air ducts being absent on its front and rear fenders.

List of appearances

Title	Year	Notes

Gallery

For this subject's image gallery, see Gallery:Shu Todoroki.

Names in other languages

• Japanese: シュウ・トドロキ
• Lithuanian:
  • Šu Todorokis
  • Šu Todorakis
• Polish: Ziu Takakita
• Russian: Сю Тодороки (transcription: Syu Todoroki)
• Ukrainian: Шу Читояма (transcription: Şu Citojama)

Trivia

• Shu Todoroki's coach, mentioned in his backstory, alludes to the Mazda 787B, who won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1991, and remains the only Japanese car to date to have won this competition.
  • Also, in Cars 2: The Video Game, Shu's description mentions the real life Suzuka International Racing Course.
• In the essential guide for Cars 2, Shu's top speed is miscalculated as 250 mph/400 km/h. In reality his top speed is 203 mph/326 km/h.
  • This same mistake is also present on Jeff Gorvette's profile.
• Shu's pit crew chief is Mach Matsuo.
• Shu is a 2006 Le Motor Prototype J8 Racer according to the Meet the Cars book. It is a fictional LMP based on the #7 Peugeot 908 HDi FAP LMP1 with a few elements of a 1999 BMW V12 LMR and a 1992 Toyota TS010. He also resembles a Dome S102 and an Epsilon Euskadi EE1.
• Shu's Mattel diecast of the pit launchers and the rubber tires are shown to have a white bumper on him, although the revamp of him has a black bumper.
• Shu's engine is a 6.0 liter naturally aspirated V12 with 700 HP. This type of engine was used by various sports prototype cars. The only LMP-class prototype cars with this engine were the BMW V12 LMR, the Lola B08/60, and Lola Aston Martin DBR1-2.
• Shu's model name "J8" could be a reference to the 1967 Ford MK IV (J8).
• Before it ended, you could buy the Ka-Riu dragon costume in Ramone's House of Body Art in The World of Cars Online.
• Shu has a Formula 1 engine in Cars: Fast as Lightning, when he is revving up for the start of the race. This engine is the same as Francesco's. According to the files, Shu also also has this engine in Cars 2: The Video Game.
• Shu's big fan is Todd Marcus in Cars: Fast as Lightning.
• In all of the races, his pits was named "Todokori" rather than "Todoroki", for unknown reasons.
• Russian translation of his name, Сю Тодороки (Syu Todoroki), uses wrong transcription of the name "Shu", spelling it as Сю (Syu) instead, Шу (Shu) which is usually used in transcription of the name from Japanese and Chinese. The mistake comes from applying rules of transcription from English name, instead of from Japanese.
• According to a documentary video for Cars 3 called "Cars to Die-Cast For", Shu got his first name from Jay Shuster, a character designer for the Cars franchise.
• In Toy Story: That Time Forgot, there are multiple toy cars that have the same model as Shu.
  • There are also toy cars that have the same model as Miguel Camino, Fernando Alonso, and Rip Clutchgoneski.

Quotes

• "I will dominate!" - Cars 2: The Video Game
• "How did you get on the track?" - Cars 2: The Video Game
• "I enjoy this." - Cars 2: The Video Game
• "I will not soon forget this!" - Cars 2: The Video Game
• "So it begins!" - Cars 2: The Video Game
• "This cannot be happening!" - Cars 2: The Video Game
• "It is only polite to share the road!" - Cars 2: The Video Game
• "So rude!" - Cars 2: The Video Game
• "Go home! Take driving lesson!" - Cars 2: The Video Game
• "Mission accomplished!" - Cars 2: The Video Game
• "Sayonara!" - Cars 2: The Video Game
• "This boost is ticket to victory!" - Cars 2: The Video Game
• "Onward to my victory!" - Cars 2: The Video Game
• "It is....fate." - Cars 2: The Video Game
• "How dare you insult my honor!" - Cars 2: The Video Game
• "Did you run out of gas?!" - Cars 2: The Video Game
• "Power only!" - Cars 2: The Video Game
• "Ha, ha, ha, ha!" - Cars 2: The Video Game (DS)
• "Rai, ha, ha!" - Cars 2: The Video Game (DS)
• "Practice is essential." - Cars 2: The Video Game (DS)
• "Stop!" - Cars 2: The Video Game (DS)