<span class="SFPTagline"> From SCIFIPEDIA </span>

Heroes Character
Ando Masahashi
Status	Alive
Gender	Male
Species	Human
Origin	Tokyo, Japan
Portrayed by	James Kyson lee
First Appearance	"Genesis'"
Profession	Office worker
Relatives
Special Features

Ando Masahashi is a fictional character played by James Kyson Lee on the NBC series Heroes.

Ando Masahashi is a Japanese man who works at Yamagato Industries with close friend Hiro Nakamura. Ando was entranced by images of Niki Sanders on her adult website when Hiro first ran down the aisle to his cubicle to excitedly inform him he'd just manipulated the space-time continuum. Ando was extremely skeptical and jokingly called his friend Super Hiro.

Hiro eventually proved his newfound talent to Ando and convinced him to join him on a trip to Las Vegas in the United States, following the plot of a comic book written by clairvoyant artist, Isaac Mendez. Ando loved Vegas and took advantage of Hiro's abilities to beat the odds in the casinos. Their manipulations got them in trouble however, and they were man-handled and released in the desert.

Shortly after, Ando had a fight with Hiro and the two separated. Ando took the opportunity to visit Niki at her home. He was immediately detained and handcuffed by the police who'd been expecting Niki's fugitive husband, D.L. Hawkins. Nikki advised them to let him go with a lecture on the difference between the internet fantasy and the real thing.

Ando and Hiro eventually made up and reunited to complete their mission to save the world. Ando coached Hiro in English so he could make a phone call to Isaac Mendez to warn him of his imminent death. They traveled together to Texas where they came across Charlie a waitress at the Burnt Toast Diner. She was shortly killed by Sylar and Hiro went back in time to stop it but failed.

Ando then traveled with Hiro to New York where they visited the Museum of Natural History hoping to steak the sword of Japanese samurai, Takezo Kensei which Hiro believed would help return his powers. The sword proved to be a replica and the two traveled to Las Vegas hoping to find the original, owned by Mr. Linderman.

In Las Vegas, Ando became convinced that they should help a woman, Hope retrieve her belongings from the room of her abusive boyfriend. They agreed though Hiro was doubtful and wanted to leave. Ando retrieved the bag on his own and left the hotel with Hope, believing Hiro had already gone. Ando soon learned that the bag actually contaiend gambling chips belonging to Steve Gustavson and Ando gets caught in a shootout between the two and was shot in the arm. Concerned for his safety, Hiro asked him to return to Tokyo.

Ando didn't return and managed to rescue Hiro from Linderman's guards when he is caught stealing the Takezo sword. The two escaped but found themselves transported to New York City after the bomb. It is a horrible future in which Ando learned he was killed by Sylar causing Hiro to become cynical.

The two returned to present day New York where Hiro doubted his ability to kill Sylar as shown in the 9th Wonders! comics. Ando assured Hiro it was necessary as Sylar would kill him. Hiro made an attempt to kill Sylar but failed and destroyed the Takezi sword. He and Ando teleported away and attempted to get the sword fixed. They ran into Hiro's father and Hiro goes to speak to him alone causing Ando to fear that Hiro had lost his way. Ando went off hoping to kill Sylar himself. His attempt failed and he was rescued by Hiro before he could be Killed. Hiro returned him to Tokyo before returning to Kirby Plaza in New York to kill Sylar.

Season 2

In the series' second season, Ando was seen traveling with Hiro's father, Kaito Nakamura. He was witness to Kaito's murder and shared his limited insight into the meaning of the symbol written on the photo left at scene. He identified the helix symbol as Japanese for "Godsend, great talent". Ando returned to work in Tokyo after Kaito's death.

He kept possession of the Kensei sword awaiting Hiro's return. He discovered scrolls hidden within the sword's hilt, messages from Hiro in the 17th century to him. Ando took the stores to document restoration at Museum of Cultural History in Tokyo, where curator, Tatsuya Atsumi helped restore the document to make it readable.