Super Hiro: Japanese nerd is hit of ‘Heroes’

Viewers know Hiro is in for hard times because, well, they’ve seen television before. Maybe even read some books. The wide-eyed and naïve, the characters who represent childhood, always take a fall — that is, they are forced to grow up.

Viewers also know Hiro’s fate because they’ve seen it. It’s future Hiro who coined the “Heroes” anticlimactic catchphrase, “Save the cheerleader, save the world.” He travels back in time to deliver the message to power-poseur Peter Petrelli (Milo Ventimiglia).

Frankly, future Hiro is a drag. He’s lost both his glasses and his accent, wears all black, sports a soul patch and a ponytail, and carries a sword. He looks like a dude having a midlife crisis, nothing like the joyful imp who raises his arms and shouts “Yatta!” (“I did it!”) every time his power works. If “Heroes” writers know what they’re doing, they’ll take a long time to beat the life out of current Hiro.

As Oka plays him now, Hiro is the embodiment of “kawaii,” the Japanese aesthetic of “cute,” usually reserved for females and Sanrio products. Many online fans declare Hiro a heartthrob — but you have to wonder if they’d feel so enamored if he was the IT guy fixing their computers. Flirting with the sexless Asian stereotype, Hiro would be offensive if not for Oka’s deft portrayal.

Masi Oka is so cool, he should get an award just for being Masi Oka. The digital effects artist-cum-actor still works several days a week for George Lucas’ Industrial Light and Magic, where he crafted special effects for such box-office hits as the Star Wars prequels, “The Perfect Storm,” and “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest.” The 32-year-old Japanese-born actor also is a delight on the talk-show circuit, making jokes about traveling back in time to warn himself about a certain girl, and demurely answering questions about his 180 I.Q. He is the geek to Hiro’s nerd.

It’s hard to imagine any other actor bringing Hiro to life. Even Oka says that as soon as he saw the script, he knew the part was his. Oka moved to the United States at six, but visited Japan frequently while growing up. Translating his scripts from English to colloquial Japanese, Oka occasionally adlibs Hiro’s broken English for fun. When flying politician Nathan Petrelli (Adrian Pasdar) asks Hiro if he’ll win the election, Hiro tells Nathan he’ll win by a “mudslide” (instead of the scripted “landslide”).

Hiro and Nathan got another opportunity for comedic chemistry on Monday's episode, “Godsend” when they met again in New York City. Discussing the city’s impending doom, Nathan attempts (without success) to teach Hiro how to pronounce “villain.” It’s bittersweet that such moments will pass as Hiro’s English gets better and his naïveté is lost. Still, it’s exciting to watch Oka expand his character from manchild to true hero.

Though the Golden Globes blew it, there are still the Emmys in September. Maybe this time Oka will get his much-deserved reward.

Helen A.S. Popkin is a freelance writer in New York City.

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