| “ | I know what you all must think of me, but I love Republic City, and I would do anything to save her. | „ |
| ~ Hiroshi to Team Avatar and their allies. |
Hiroshi Sato was the tertiary antagonist turned supporting character in The Legend of Korra. He was Asami's father and Amon's former third in command man. He was also a non-bending, barrel-chested businessman with a complex personality.
He was voiced by Daniel Dae Kim.
Overview[]
Hiroshi was a nonbending industrialist and the founder of Future Industries, whose family lineage extends back to the first Fire Nation colonists. A brilliant inventor, he designed the revolutionary Satomobile, an idea that caused him to become the captain of industry in his era. During a police search of his secret factory, he revealed himself to be an Equalist, creating high-tech weaponry to fight against benders, and later became one of their most recognizable leaders. He was imprisoned for his crimes after the Anti-bending Revolution was put down.
By the fourth season, Hiroshi grew remorseful over his actions and tried to reconcile with his daughter, Asami. When Kuvira threatened Republic City, Hiroshi was momentarily released from prison by Lin Beifong and helped to equip the prototypes of the hummingbird mecha suits with plasma saws. He ultimately sacrificed his life to give Team Avatar the opportunity to take down the Colossus and its spirit energy cannon by cutting through its platinum armor and giving them an entry.
Personality[]
As a successful business man, Hiroshi developed an arrogant side to himself, always telling new people the story about how he came from humble beginnings. He took great pride in his inventions, always eager to test them out for whatever goal they may have. When first introduced, Hiroshi appeared to be a kind-hearted, generous man with great respect for anyone who showed true dedication in their goals. As such, he was willing to sponsor Mako's pro-bending team, the Fire Ferrets, so they could enter the tournament. Later however, Hiroshi revealed a much darker side to himself that he had been hiding for years. Having lost his beloved wife to a murderous firebender, Hiroshi took his anger out on the concept of bending itself, viewing it as the cause of all problems in the world, especially hating the idea of his only daughter associating with benders.
As noted by Asami, Hiroshi became so consumed by anger and hatred that he no longer cared about family and loved ones anymore, only unleashing his rage wherever he felt justified. This view was proven right as ultimately, Hiroshi turned on his only remaining family to accomplish his goals of revenge. His hatred of bending fueled his ruthlessness and desire to avenge his wife's death on all benders, not just the one who took her life.
While serving his time in prison, Hiroshi reflected on his past and became remorseful of how his actions destroyed his relationship with his daughter and ruined their family name. Acknowledging that he could never forgive himself or hope to be forgiven, he nonetheless hoped to make amends with the daughter he denounced four years prior, writing to her regularly. Despite Asami's resentment, Hiroshi still expressed immense pride in her for all that she has done, citing her as his greatest creation. In the end, Hiroshi sacrificed himself to give his daughter and her friends a chance to save Republic City from Kuvira.
Abilities[]
While not a bender, Hiroshi Sato proved himself a dangerous man. With his intellect as his greatest attribute, he considerably helped in the development of the world's technology, having created, almost single-handedly, many remarkable inventions like cars and planes, as well as inventing all the Equalists' weapons, such as the mecha tanks and biplanes. He had no difficulty with piloting a biplane. After aligning himself with Amon, Sato focused the majority of his talent toward making various powerful weapons of war, which usually overwhelm benders in their first encounter. Hiroshi also demonstrated himself to be a capable actor and strategist. For over twelve years, he was able to effectively hide his hatred toward benders by using various subtle tactics such as sponsoring a pro-bending team, allowing his daughter to date a bender, and planting Equalist weapons in a building owned by Cabbage Corp, Future Industries' rival company.
Hiroshi was also skilled in a slow, methodical method of Pai Sho and taught his daughter the same strategy.
External Links[]
- Hiroshi Sato on the Avatar Wiki
- Hiroshi Sato on the Villains Wiki
- Hiroshi Sato on the Inconsistently Heinous Wiki
- Hiroshi Sato on the Heroic Benchmark Wiki
