Characters / The Legend of Korra - Asami Sato

The Legend of Korra Main Character Index
New Team Avatar (Avatar Korra, Asami Sato, Mako, Bolin) | Tenzin's Family | Beifong Family | Allies (Varrick and Zhu Li) | Seasons 1 & 2 Enemies (Amon) | Seasons 3 & 4 Enemies (Zaheer, Kuvira) | Past Characters | Other Characters | Comic Characters

This is a partial character sheet for The Legend of Korra. Subjective trope and audience reactions should go on the YMMV page.

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Asami Sato

Voiced by: Seychelle Gabriel, Carmen Calvell (European Spanish), Jessica Monceau (French), Anna Bojara (Polish)

"It's all right. People usually assume that I'm daddy's helpless little girl, but I can handle myself."

^{Click here for her Book 4 appearance.} 

A young non-bender and the pampered daughter of wealthy industrial mogul Hiroshi Sato. Despite being a delicate looking beauty, she can look after herself. She was trained in self-defense since she was little, is an avid fan of pro-bending and an excellent automobile driver. She quickly catches the eye of Mako and develops a relationship with him. When her father is revealed to be a high-ranking member of the Equalists, Asami decides to join the New Team Avatar instead of helping him. Eventually becoming the CEO of Future Industries, Asami would go on to help Korra defeat many enemies along the way.

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A-F

• The Ace: Asami is a Head-Turning Beauty, rich, owns her own company, an expert martial artist, a highly skilled engineer, and can drive anything.
• Ace Pilot: Her father did invent the things, after all. She conducts a bombing raid against Unalaq's defenses unescorted through heavy anti-aircraft bombardment.
• Action Girl: In a series full of people who can harness one (or more) elements at a whim for the purpose of attack, it says a lot that Asami has a decent track record in holding her own in a fight, especially considering that she's the only one in her group without any of said powers. More specifically, she has the best track record against the Equalists, never getting chi-blocked and dropped The Lieutenant in seconds, which only Korra could match in a sneak attack or Naga being, well, Naga.
• All Girls Want Bad Boys: The sweet and caring Asami ends up dating the stoic and distant Mako. Subverted for Korra, who by Book 4 is about as nice and sensitive as Asami is because of her Character Development.
• All-Loving Hero: Asami is one of the most kind-hearted individuals in the series. She doesn't have one mean bone in her body and is always willing to help those in need.
• Aloof Dark-Haired Girl: While not exactly aloof, she is very graceful and mature and has long black hair. She is also as tall as her father, only a few inches shorter than Mako and was shown to be noticeably taller than Korra.
• Always Second Best: In Mako's eyes and as long as Korra's in the picture. He dated her first, basically forgot she existed the longer Korra was around and rebounded to her after breaking up with Korra in Book 2, but he needed his arm twisted to even admit he ever dated her as if Korra was his only girlfriend and Asami was just a substitute. Fortunately/ironically, Korra treats her as #1 in her heart and explicitly says so.
• Amicable Exes: With Mako. They still care about each other despite how messed up their relationship became. In Book 2, they even seem to have gotten past their problems altogether and still make an awesome team when they're helping Korra.
• Apologetic Attacker: To her father, after he tried to get her to join the Equalists. Less so in their rematch, where they fought with mecha-tanks and he tried to kill her.
• Arms Dealer: In "Peacekeepers", Varrick suggests she sell her company's mecha-tanks to the Southern Water Tribe, which she agrees to as a means of both saving her company and helping her friend.
• The Atoner: Since Book 2, Asami has tirelessly worked to restore her family's name and Future Industry's reputation after her father's arrest for his Equalist involvement.
• Badass Bookworm: Asami is both brilliantly intelligent and a formidable fighter.
• Badass Driver: Whether it be Cool Car, Cool Plane, Cool Boat or even a Mini-Mecha.
• Badass in a Nice Suit: Not the usual tuxedo or pant suit normally associated with this trope but for the majority of Book 4 she's seen in a very classy business woman's suit (as befitting someone who's become a captain of industry) and it doesn't seem to slow her down at all in kicking ass in the few fights she gets into during "Reunion".
• Badass in Distress:
  • She has found herself in some sticky situations just like the other members — she was arrested by Tarrlok in "When Extremes Meet" and captured by Equalists along with Mako and Bolin in "Endgame". In "The Stakeout", she and Korra were captured by the Earth Queen's forces, though Asami engineered their escape by the start of the next episode.
  • In Turf Wars the end of Part One has a trio of triads ganging up on her before Korra pulls a Big Damn Heroes then Part Two ends with her taken hostage by Tokuga as a bargaining chip with Part Three being she and Korra working together to escape.
• Badass Normal: Being the only non-bender of the new Team Avatar, she deserves this title. She was trained in self-defense since she was a child, and can beat up even the toughest Equalists, like the Lieutenant. During a fight with a motorcycle gang, Asami manages to time her jumps perfectly to disable and disarm her opponents. Even after three years out of actions, she's still very capable of kicking butt in Book 4, taking out one of Kuvira's assassins in "Reunion".
• Battle Couple:
  • Downplayed with Mako. Both of them show their fighting skills before (Mako) and during (Asami) their romance, but rarely fought together. Which doesn't matter in the end, since they broke up by the Book 1 finale and again in Book 2 when Korra returns with amnesia.
  • Played straight with Korra. They show their tagteam skills in Turf Wars while exploring their new relationship.
• Beauty Equals Goodness: In contrast to the plain looking, barrel-chested Hiroshi, Asami is extremely gorgeous and a much better person.
• Beauty Is Never Tarnished: While her appearance does get disheveled at times, somehow her makeup manages to remain mostly intact and not running all over the place. By the end of the series, it's almost become a Running Gag that no matter how bad the fight and no matter what the state everyone else is in, Asami's hair is always perfect.
  • Finally averted in Turf Wars as the battle at the end of Part One musses up her hair into a peek-a-boo Unkempt Beauty, and then in Part Three she's very worse for wear after being kidnapped by Tokuga.
• Belated Love Epiphany: In Turf Wars, it's revealed that Asami realized how she felt about Korra during her three-year absence. Asami almost told her so in a letter, but feared she might scare Korra off.
• Betty and Veronica:
  • The "Betty" (sweet nonbender) to Korra's "Veronica" (Hot-Blooded Avatar) for Mako's "Archie". The Love Triangle is a...complicated one. Initially, Mako and Asami are a couple, but the former has a small Green-Eyed Epiphany moment when Bolin wants to seriously date Korra, leading to a confrontation between her and Mako resulting in a "Shut Up" Kiss...while he's still in a relationship with Asami. Over time, his feelings for Korra become more obvious, and that plus Asami learning of their kiss from Bolin, results in her and Mako ending their relationship. Come Book 2, Korra and Mako are dating, but are having disagreements with one another due to conflicting loyalties and temperament, leading to their break-up; and later on, he gets back together with Asami...only to tell an amnesiac Korra that she and him are still dating. At the end of Book 2, all three of them decide they are Better as Friends, and the series ultimately ends with Korra and Asami getting together.
  • It's also worth noting the irony that Asami superficially matches the trope-naming Veronica in looks and background yet is consistently the Betty in personality.
• Beware the Nice Ones:
  • Asami is genuinely one of the nicest people in the show, but when it comes to conflict and confrontation, she can be very cutthroat. She's capable of taking out Equalists, including the Lieutanant, as well as Northern Water Tribe guards, and was this close to killing her own father in a rage during their battle.
  • In "Beyond The Wilds", she made it clear to Varrick that she will make him pay if he ever betrays her again, complete with an arm twist and a Death Glare.
• Big Damn Heroes: A champion at this:
  • She rescues Tenzin from a dozen Equalists in "Turning the Tides". Her very first instance of badassery in "The Aftermath" may count as well, as stun-gunning her father and the Lieutanent created an opportunity for Korra and the others to escape.
  • In "Long Live The Queen", Asami comes up with a clever way for her and Korra to escape the airship.
• Big Damn Kiss: She and Korra have two in Turf Wars: Part One. The first is just before they decide to leave the Spirit World. The second is after Asami takes a hit and Korra is glad that she turned out to be okay. The second time is in front of their friends, who didn't know they were together yet. It's also worth noting that she initiated the first kiss while Korra initiated the second.
• The Big Girl: Shares the role with Bolin, in a way. Her close combat abilities and electric glove are much more effective on Equalist mooks than bending (she took the Lieutenant in three seconds), and she is definitely the most pragmatic in a fight barring Korra. She also drives the car.

• Bonding over Missing Parents: Although Mako had fallen for her at a glance, Asami's feelings for Mako are cemented when she her's him talk about how a firebender took his parents from him, a pain Asami knows from the murder of her mother.
• Brainwashed and Crazy: Ends up brainwashed during Ruins of Empire along with Mako and Bolin into a rabid supporter of one of Kuvira's generals. Fortunately, it's reversed.
• Brainy Brunette: She has raven hair and her father's brains.
• Brains and Brawn: Asami is the brains to Korra's Brawn. She's the smarter, more rational of the two.
• Break the Cutie: Lots of things go south for her, and through no fault of her own. Her dad turns out to be evil. Her boyfriend ends up dating the Avatar. She loses her wealth and high social status. Her company is going under. And just when it looks like she can pull it back, Varrick tricked her into selling a controlling interest to him. Things look up for her in Book 3, though, as Varrick being exposed allowed her to regain her lost assets and restore the company, and she's worked past her relationship issues in the first two books. In the fourth book, she and her company are in the best shape since her father's outing as an Equalist, and she's decided to give her father a chance at making amends. Her father, however, pulls a Heroic Sacrifice, but she does get together with Korra in the end.
• Broken Ace: She is beautiful, rich, smart and one of the characters that gets screwed over the most in the series.
• Broken Bird: Her mother was killed by a firebender when was only 6. Her father turned out to be working for the Equalists, and later tried to kill Asami, his only daughter because she refused to join. He was later jailed for her crimes. The company Asami inherited was near bankrupt, and Varrick actually swindled her into selling him the majority of her company as a seemingly benevolent act. In the romantic department? Mako returned a kiss from Korra while still dating Asami, didn't tell her and refused to own up to it when confronted, and then broke up with Asami. Sometime in Book 2, Asami tries to start their relationship again, but when Korra gets amnesia and doesn't remember Mako had broken up with her, he chickens out and doesn't tell Korra. Thus, Mako breaks Asami's heart again. She gets by just fine in Book 3 and after the Time Skip. Then, her father and her begin to reconcile, but he pulls a Heroic Sacrifice to help defeat Kuvira. Asami confesses that if Korra died as well she would not have been able to handle it.
• Calling the Old Man Out: In the Book 1 finale, her dad offers her another chance to join the Equalists. She refuses, before saying that his wife would have hated him for what he's become, and that hate has filled his heart.
• Cannot Spit It Out: Realized she was in love with Korra during the Time Skip, but didn't tell her out of fear that Korra will both reject her and never come back.
• Captain Smooth and Sergeant Rough: Inverted among Team Avatar. Asami is the Number Two who is refined, polite and is compassionate towards her friends, whereas Korra is The Leader who is rough, hot-headed, more straightforward in her actions, but still cares for her teammates.
• The Care Taker: For Korra during the first two weeks of being poisoned and was ready and willing to continue doing so at the South Pole though Korra politely declined.
• Car Fu: She even managed to take out two mechas at the same time by crashing the Korramobile into them.
• Category Traitor: Despite not being a bender, Asami sides with Mako and Korra against the Equalists when her father invites her to join the latter in their struggle for the common people. At first this makes him sad, and eventually it devastates him when she won't change her mind, making him accuse her of "aiding the very people who took your mother away."
• Charles Atlas Super Power: Officially, Asami has no superpowers (she is not even a chi-blocker), but in several episodes, she demonstrates what can only be called Super-Strength, performing feats that would be impossible for men three times her size. For example, see "Long Live the Queen!" where she escapes her metal cell by semi-casually jerking loose a piece of steel railing that's bolted to the wall, and then uses it to pry open an inch-thick floor plate almost as though it were a tin can lid. However, it's downplayed by her own admission that the ship's shoddy workmanship, courtesy of the skin-flint Earth Queen buying cheap from the infamous Cabbage Corp., so she's more of an Olympic gymnast than a power-lifter.
• Chekhov's Skill: In the start of season 2, Asami is introduced flying a plane. She flies another to carry Mako and Korra when they look for Unalaq's prison ship, and performs a bombing run on Unalaq's spirit portal encampment later in the season.
• Chickification: In Book 2. While in the previous book, she was defying her father, calling out her boyfriend on his cheating and dropping Equalists left and right whether in a vehicle or on-foot, here she got into zero hand-to-hand fights, to the extent that she watched the real-life fight between Bolin and some Mooks from a distance rather than go down there and actually join him. Averted in the following seasons, when the writers once more made her much more of a typical Action Girl-type strong female character who beat up many Mook villains.
• Chronic Backstabbing Disorder: Inverted. Out of all the main characters, Asami has a case of Chronic Getting Backstabbed Disorder, as people she's been close to or have allied with end up betraying her in some shape or form. First, her father betrayed her by secretly joining the Equalists out of revenge, later for him to attempt to kill her. She accepts Varrick as a business partner, but he ends up defrauding her and tricking her into selling him controlling interest. On the relationship side, Mako ends up being insensitive towards her because he had more feelings for Korra during their relationship, which causes her to completely lose trust in him for a time. After Mako breaks up with Korra and rebounds with Asami, Mako lets an amnesic Korra kiss him. While Asami only gave him a Death Glare at the time, his behavior, past and present, is called out on by Wu, Yin and Tu.
• Clingy Jealous Girl: Averted. When Mako starts to get uncomfortably close to Korra, she calls him out for it, and makes a point that she still likes Korra.
• Closet Key: For Korra.
• Clothes Make the Superman: Starting with the later part of season one, she acquires an equalist shock glove that she continues to use over the course of the series and apparently made a sleeker model during the Time Skip.
• Combat Pragmatist: As The Team Normal, she can't win in a fair fight against any but the most incompetent benders, so she makes sure not to fight fair. Distractions and sneak attacks are particular favourites, and fight scenes involving her tend to be over in seconds as a result.
• The Confidant: The only one of Korra's friends that she's willing to write back to and talk about her Heroic BSoD while recovering at the South Pole.
• The Consigliere: Since Book 3, Asami became Korra's most trusted and reliable advisor.
• Consummate Liar: Aside from dealing with a Living Lie Detector, is the only reason why it's not a general trope among the team to be a Bad Liar as she's suckered her father, an Earth Kingdom guard and Tenzin at one point or another.
• Cool Car: Being the heiress to a mega-corporation in the automotive industry, she naturally has her pick of fancy roadsters.
• Crash-Into Hello: Due to a combination of jaywalking and speeding, Asami crashes into Mako with her moped.
• Crazy-Prepared: Understated example, but "Civil Wars Part 2" shows Asami still has her electric glove, implying she always has it on hand. In "Reunion," she pulls one out of her Satomobile's glovebox. And Turf Wars reveals she keeps it in a drawer at her office.
• Cuddle Bug: Not as over-the-top as Bolin, but is as generous as money when it comes to at least hugs towards the rest of the Krew.
• Cultured Badass: Asami is rich, has a big house, and loves fashion. She can also take down benders without help from bender friends.
• Daddy's Girl: She appears to be very close to her father and immediately defends him when he's accused of being an Equalist. When the truth is revealed, she's clearly affected by his betrayal and cries a Single Tear when she takes him down in the Book 1 finale. In the fourth book, she gives him a chance to redeem himself, and it actually goes well… but he's killed in a Heroic Sacrifice while giving them a critical advantage against Kuvira. It rocks her to the core.
• Daddy's Little Villain: Defies this trope in all flavors. Hiroshi's secret keeping coupled with being a high ranking Equalist who has the means to ruthlessly eliminate all benders have shattered any idealized image she had of him.
• Dark Is Not Evil:
  • Dresses prominently in red and black, but is a really nice person.
  • One fan wrote an entire article about how Asami's appearance belies her personality.
  • Another fan noticed how she has the same color scheme as Vaatu, yet she's still a good guy, with Korra's colors being compared to Raava. His comments about them needing each other to have balance seems especially Hilarious in Hindsight after Book 4: Balance, ended with them as an Official Couple.
• Dating What Daddy Hates: Not that she realized it at the time. One could only imagine what would have happened if Asami had started dating Korra in Book One rather than the Grand Finale in Book Four.
• Deconstructed Character Archetype: Of the Mad Scientist's Beautiful Daughter and Romantic Runner-Up.
  • In the former's case, she is still guilty by association despite vehemently rejecting her father's values, resulting in an arrest by Tarrlok and the destruction of Future Industries' reputation, which she has to spend years repairing on her own.
  • In the latter's case, she leads a humiliating love life: she dates Mako, who neglects her and leaves her for Korra; Asami then rebounds with him after they break up, only for this second go-round to once again fail. Only with time and effort—ironically with her former romantic rival—does she catch a break.
• Despair Event Horizon: Averted. In the Grand Finale, Asami admits to Korra that she didn't believe she could handle losing both Korra and her father on the same day. When it looked like Korra might have died from the poison from Zaheer or from the explosion caused by Kuvira's weapon, Asami appeared to be the most devastated◊. It is hard to imagine what would have happened to her if Korra did die in those instances.
• The Driver: Whenever Team Avatar needs to go somewhere, she's the one in charge of transportation from start to finish. Considering her father invented quite a few of the things she's driving, it makes sense. But for some reason, they also expect her to be able to pilot a flying bison.
• Dude Magnet: Mako instantly fell for her. Meelo referred to her as "beautiful woman". Wu can't stop hitting on her. It makes her ending up with the very much female Korra incredibly ironic.
• Easily Forgiven: By her father, who thus provides a rare villainous example. Despite her betraying him, stun-shocking him and helping the Avatar escape, he still apologizes for having to hurt her by keeping her confined, once the Equalists have captured her, and earnestly wishes for her to rejoin him as soon as she comes to her senses (as he puts it). He eventually comes to realize that she won't be coming back, but only after she has escaped again and spent considerable further time insulting him, attacking him and wrecking his operation.
• Et Tu, Brute?:
  • Her father loved her and truly believed helping Amon was the right action. He could not conceive his child would disagree.
  • Asami is on the receiving end of this with Varrick, as she trusted him to help her company by entering a partnership. However, he attempted to take it over by bankrupting her company and trying to trick her into handing it over. Well into Book 4 when they have to work together again, she does not trust nor forgive him despite his Heel–Face Turn. Asami holds his past crimes from Book 2 against him, proving just how badly his betrayal wounded her.
• Even the Girls Want Her: While she attracts the attention of a number of different men throughout the series, Korra eventually becomes attracted to her, and Asami reciprocates.
• Expository Hairstyle Change: After the Time Skip, Asami sports a braid — showcasing her mastery in the business world, but lets her hair loose in her most serious moments.
• Fallen Princess: After attacking her dad and saving the proto form of the Krew, she leaves her mansion to live on Air Temple Island and fight the Equalists with the street rats. Because of her father's actions, in Book 2 onward she and her family become pariahs in the eyes of Republic City and her company is nearly bankrupt because no one will do business with them. However, by Book 3 she and her company's reputation problems have either been resolved or become irrelevant.
• Femme Fatale: Subverted. She has some of the trademarks of being one — she competes with Korra as Mako's love interest, is the rich daughter of a shady corporate boss, has long black hair, wears plentiful makeup, and dresses in red and black, the same color schemes as Amon and the Equalists. She turns out to be really nice and caring, not the Sixth Ranger Traitor so many fans assumed she'd be based on her appearance. She goes beyond being a Romantic False Lead for Mako—she ultimately becomes Korra's love interest. She was originally written as a femme fatale Equalist early in development, but the writers liked her so much they made her a subversion instead.
• Fiction 500: Asami runs a MegaCorp, Future Industries, and can still direct some money into Team Avatar.
• Foil: To Korra — Asami is the polite, mature, levelheaded, intelligent Girly Girl, a nonbender (still Badass Normal), and is more of a well-rounded character; Korra is the brash, confrontational Womanchild Tomboy, a powerful bender (Avatar, to be exact), and undergoes an enormous amount of Character Development.
• Force and Finesse: Asami falls under Finesse, fighting smarter and not harder. Asami is level-headed, strategic, and relies more on versatility and precision attacks. Korra falls under force, being blunt, hotheaded and takes the straightforward approach to doing things.
• Forgiven, but Not Forgotten: Asami Sato has this attitude towards Kuvira at the end of the Ruins of the Empire. During the crisis. where Kuvira is brought in to help stop a former commander named Guan from restarting the Earth empire using the elections being held to decide who will be the new leader of the Earth Kingdom, Asami made it clear to Kuvira that she is furious at her for killing her father and does not trust her. Later when negotiations with Guan go badly because Kuvira lost her temper and tried to attack Guan, Asami knocks her out. At the end of the story, Kuvira helps defeat Guan, takes responsibility for her actions, apologizes, and pleads guilty in court; the other characters forgive Kuvira and make it so that instead of being in prison, Kuvira would live on probation in Zaofu where she will be rehabilitated. Asami does not oppose everyone’s decision to forgive and rehabilitate Kuvira; however, she makes it straightforward to Kuvira that it will take years, even decades, for her to forgive Kuvira, and while not stated it’s implied that the two of them will never be friends, showing that while Asami is not opposed to giving Kuvira a chance at redemption and her friends forgiving her, she will never truly forgive Kuvira for the death of her father.
• Four-Temperament Ensemble: Phlegmatic, of the "calm and collected Lady of War" variety.

G-L

• Gadgeteer Genius: Asami is a capable engineer, able to repair and construct vehicles with limited resources, such as when she improvised a makeshift sand-sailer using materials from a destroyed airship. She also designed the new wingsuits for the Air Nation. She's also got chops as a civil engineer, having done much work in integrating the spirit wilds throughout Republic City into a reconstructed infrastructure. And the next stage in the Lensman Arms Race of mecha-suits, ones capable of agile VTOL flight, is partly her brainchild.
• Genius Bruiser: While she is of The Big Girl variety in terms of being a capable fighter, she is also a great strategist: getting into Unalaq's heavily guarded fortress was her idea.
• Girly Bruiser: She is the girly girl to Korra's tomboy, being a Spirited Young Lady with long, wavy black hair, fine clothes, lavender eyeshadow, and red lipstick. She's also the most proficient of the bunch in trouncing the average Equalist mook. She's a bit lacking against Mecha-tanks on account of being The Team Normal but she fixes that problem by hijacking one for herself.
• Girly Girl with a Tomboy Streak: She is first introduced as very girly compared to the tomboyish Korra and remains so for the rest of the series, being a Spirited Young Lady with long, wavy black hair, fine clothes, lavender eyeshadow, and red lipstick. She's also a Girly Bruiser and has a love for racing sports cars and is talented with machines in general.
• Good Counterpart: Green goggles, form-fitting clothing with a dark red and black motif and a shock glove? She's essentially a Good Chi-blocker, which is evident in the obvious ways, but also because an Art Evolution made her colors more vibrant so her skin had a peachier complexion, her clothing didn't look so Goth and she's even made a new glove that has a more streamlined and less green look.

• Hair Flip: After taking off her helmet in "Voice in The Night", and again after the mishap with overloading poor Naga in "When Extremes Meet" (though in a more off-hand manner). This may become a running theme with her.
• Headbutting Heroes: Not a fan of Varrick, because his past actions included attempting to take over her company, threatening lives during a peaceful demonstration, and attempted kidnapping of the President. Yet ironically, they're teamed up when they need to plan counter-measures against Kuvira.
• Head-Turning Beauty: Noted several times to be very attractive In-Universe. In contrast Korra is more likely to be noted for her strength and physique rather than her features (even though Korra is far from unattractive herself).
• The Heart: Of the Krew. Sweet, The Captain's love interest and the Girly girl. In true Chick fashion she also ends up with The Hero, Korra.
• Heartbroken Badass: Her mother's dead, her father's an Equalist whom she personally ended up capturing, her boyfriend moved on to Korra, and her company is ruins. Naturally this becomes her subplot in Book 2, though it seems to have been resolved by Book 3.
• Held Gaze: The series ends with Korra and Asami looking lovingly into each other's eyes which represents the two of them becoming an Official Couple.
• Hero with Bad Publicity: Even though she defeated her father, Hiroshi's status as a high-ranking Equalist has shattered her family's reputation, and ever since that happened, Future Industries has lost a great deal of investors. The reputation problems are gone by Book 3, though; or at least they haven't been brought up. However, she along with the rest of Team Avatar are wanted criminals in the Earth Kingdom, which might have worsened her reputation. By Book 4, Future Industries has become the go-to contractor for civil engineering projects in Republic City, overcoming the stain in the company's history entirely.
• Hidden Depths:
  • Starts out as Mako's arm-candy and a source of jealousy for Korra, both shows off her combat skills in "The Aftermath". Not to mention her mad driving skills.
  • She's also one of the smartest people in the setting and at least as smart as Varrick.
  • That, and for a teenage girl in a Love Triangle, she has shown a far more mature behavior than expected. One would have expected to go Clingy Jealous Girl on Korra for Mako, but she defies the trope and directly goes to Mako instead, even making a point on refusing to hate Korra.
  • Turf Wars reveals she was actually more upset over Korra's absence during the Time Skip than she initially let on due to both realizing she was in love with Korra yet afraid to tell her out of fear that it would scare her away.
• Holding Hands: Book Four ends with Asami holding Korra's hand as they begin their vacation in the Spirit World which also marks the beginning of their romantic relationship.
• Honest Corporate Executive: Has taken over Future Industries as of Book 2, after her father is imprisoned. She is one of the main heroes, her main goal with her company is to repair its image, and she is also making great strides in rebuilding Republic City after the events in Book 2.
• Humble Hero: With all her wealth and beauty, Asami isn't arrogant about it.
• Hyper-Competent Sidekick: Not quite Zhu Li's degree (because Korra's not a Cloudcuckoolander like Varrick,) but her dynamic with Korra has essentially been Korra pointing out a problem and Asami eventually coming up with an idea (or three) to fix it, sometimes without being explicitly asked to. A number of notable examples:
  • Korra was unable to fix the spirit vine problem at the beginning of Book 3, so Asami eventually spent the Time Skip working on infrastructure to incorporate said vines as part of the scenery in a symbolic melding of technology and spirituality.
  • The two needed to escape the Earth Kingdom military after being captured and Asami was already playing the guard to chain her to a weak railing to break free, before suckering the same guard by faking an emergency to knock him out and take the keys, rebuilding the airship after it crashes then usig the scrap after a sand-shark eats most of it to rig together a bending-powered sand-sailer to sail back to the Misty Palms Oasis.
  • In Turf Wars, Korra made a big Rousing Speech with no way to deliver on it, but Asami had already used that time to draw up housing plans without being asked as it was more constructive than just standing beside Korra like a Living Prop.
• I Am Not My Father: Her mother was murdered by benders, but while this drove her father crazy, she understands that not all benders are like that. Like Zuko, she ultimately decides that her father is beyond redemption and needs to be stopped. For the rest of the series, she had to prove she isn't like him.
• I Can't Believe a Guy Like You Would Notice Me: Subverted besides being I Can't Believe A Girl Like You Would Notice Me. Despite the numerous beauty tropes associated with her, she sounds genuinely though pleasantly surprised that Korra loves her back upon asking her out on a date. Turf Wars elaborates on this that the reason she never told her how she felt was the fear that it would make Korra never come back.
• Idiot Ball: Despite her own skills, every successful thing she does in Book 2 is due to Mako, Varrick, or Bolin; Asami on her own did very little right on her own. Granted, she was on the verge of bankruptcy, but she was too desperate to even think about whether her allies are truly allies. This is very glaring, even though it has been established that Asami is far from stupid; this is evident especially when Mako tells her that Varrick was betraying them from the start. It's not until Mako is framed by Varrick that she even considers he might have been telling the truth.
  • Additionally, while it is funny, she's just as caught up in watching Bolin in a real fight in the pro-bending arena as Shiro Shinobi is in announcing it to the extent she's clapping instead of going down to actually back-up her own teammate.
• I Have No Son!: Played straight and inverted. She and her father mutually disown each other. After seeing how far her father would go for revenge, and more, it became clear to her that Hiroshi is no longer the father she loves. Hiroshi's hatred of benders drives him to hate anyone who associates with them, even his own daughter. In the fourth book, she decides to try making amends with her father, and while they do reconcile, he gives up his life to save Asami from Kuvira, leaving her without a father again.
• Ink-Suit Actor: Not in the negative sense. Even though Asami was designed long before Seychelle Gabriel was cast, character and VA look remarkably similar◊.
• Irony:
  • She starts off unknowingly part of a rivalry for Mako's affections with Korra. At the end of the series, Korra and her eventually become lovers instead.
  • Also on a meta-level, she was going to be an untrustworthy Equalist spy yet canonically ended up not only an ally to Korra, but more trustworthy than Mako, their mutual love interest.
• The Kirk: Also shares this role with Bolin (though Bolin is more naive). To Mako's Spock and Korra's McCoy. Asami will often suggest a decision that isn't too "standstill" or too irrational.
• Lady of War: She's a mature and collected young lady, and despite having an air of fragility, a tall, graceful Badass Normal martial artist, employing many fluid motions and acrobatics in battle to efficiently take down enemies with her electrified glove. In Book 3, she shows that she can jump over a speeding motorcycle, kick the rider off, and finish with a graceful landing.
• Last Girl Wins: A variation. She's the first girl her age Korra meets, but the last of her potential love interests, and the one she's in a relationship with in the end.

• Like Parent, Like Child: Humorously, Asami and Hiroshi are both Combat Pragmatists in their own ways.
• Lipstick Lesbian: Downplayed. She is technically bisexual, but when dating Korra, she is the more feminine of the two. Extra points for actually wearing lipstick.
• Living Emotional Crutch:
  • Janet Varney (voice of Korra), heavily implies here that Asami is this for Korra.
    "Korra realized that [Asami] was the person she missed, and she was the person that Korra felt she was most understood by, and that she wanted to reach out to and feel close to even though they were so far away."
  • Korra even states in Turf Wars that she's never cared for someone as much as she cares for Asami.
• Locked Out of the Loop: Her father wanted to keep Asami out of his Equalist activities for as long as possible, so she could have the best childhood and youth he could give her without the weight of this burden.
• Lonely Rich Kid: Downplayed, but despite her being as even nicer than she's rich, she's never seen with actual friends, only employees and businessmen she patrons to, in other words, people reliant on her money as well, which also could explain how quickly she bonds to Mako and the rest of the team.
• Long Hair Is Feminine: She has the longest hair of New Team Avatar down to her waist. She's also a Spirited Young Lady of War.
• Lots of Luggage: She takes a large amount of luggage when she moves to Air Temple Island. Mako states it could have been worse.
• Love Confession: Has a mutual one with Korra at the end of Turf Wars. Korra confesses with Asami quickly and happily reciprocating.

M-R

• Mad Scientist's Beautiful Daughter: She has Raven Hair, Ivory Skin, and is the only daughter of Hiroshi Sato. She loves her father dearly, partly because he is her only living relative ever since the murder of her mother. While she isn't exactly sheltered, her father wanted to keep her out of his Equalist activities for as long as possible, so she could have the best childhood and youth he could give her without the weight of this burden. Despite the Red Herring that she's a dangerous Femme Fatale, she stays being one of the heroes and and eventually decides to defy him when she finds out that he secretly supplies weapons and Mini-Mecha to the Equalists. She even ends up falling in love with Korra. Deconstructed because being vehemently and actively against her father still makes her Guilt by Association whether it's being arrested by Tarrlok or Future Industries having a tainted reputation that almost ruined it, requiring years of effort to restore its good name by herself.
• Makeup Is Evil: She was initially meant to be a case when designed as a villain, but ended up subverting it instead. She wears heavy lavender eyeshadow and red lipstick, in contrast to her rival for Mako's love, the protagonist, Korra. This, along with her red and black color scheme, helps give the false impression that she's a dangerous Femme Fatale.
• Masculine–Feminine Gay Couple: Korra and Asami are a rare example involving two bisexual women. The former is a tomboyish Action Girl while the latter is a Girly Bruiser who always wears makeup. This is pronounced even more in the last season, which is also when they get together, as the former cuts her hair shorter. What makes this awkward is that they both previously went out with the same guy who doesn't know how to be in a relationship.
• Meaningful Name:
  • Asami's name is Japanese for "morning beauty" and/or "linen beauty", and Asami's a real beauty.
  • Her last name, "Sato", is Japanese for "sugar", a clear indication of her being a Nice Girl.
• Mistaken for Terrorist: At first, Korra dislikes the friendly and considerate Asami for reasons of Love Triangle, and possibly also other kinds of jealousy. She is very eager to believe that her father, being a non-bender, is somehow involved with Amon and the Equalists. Asami is obviously hurt by these accusations from someone she considers a friend. Tarrlok on the other hand, makes no distinction once it's known her father is a high ranking Equalist.
  Asami: Just because we're not benders doesn't mean we support those awful Equalists!
• Morality Pet: In a twisted way, Asami still manages to be this to her father. She was pretty sure he'd be reluctant to kill her because she, being his only family left, was the last piece of his conscience. Unfortunately subverted during their final confrontation, because Hiroshi already jumped off the slippery slope, and Asami learned the hard way he was beyond reason. It turns out in Season 4 that she has become one again.
• Muggle: So far, the only non-bender on Team Korra. Doesn't stop her from being a badass fighter.
• Muggle Best Friend: By Book 3, she has become Korra's closest friend and most trusted confidant and is the only nonbender of Team Avatar.
• Muggle–Mage Romance:
  • She (a nonbender) become an Official Couple with Mako (a firebender). They break up by the Book 1 finale and briefly re-start their relationship mid-Book 2, but again break up when Korra returns with amnesia.
  • By the end of Book 4 and continuing onto Turf Wars, she becomes an Official Couple with Korra (the Avatar).
• Mundane Solution: What do you do when The Avatar, herself can't deal with a city full of spirit vines as Spiritbending only worsens the situation? Answer: just build around them. Future Industries spent the three years of Korra's absence incorporating them into the infrastructure and again post-Book 4 that works better for both humans and spirits.
• Nice Girl: Belying her traditionally sinister appearance, Asami is an absolute sweetheart and perhaps the kindest character on the show. In contrast to Mako's snarkiness, Asami genuinely admires and respects Korra, and almost always goes along with Korra's ideas, no matter how crazy they are.
• Non-Idle Rich: She doesn't let the fact she is one of the richest teens in town stop her from test driving her father's vehicles, not just the race cars but forklifts too, and living up life. In Book 2, she heads up Future Industries, but somehow still has plenty of time for adventures.
• Not So Above It All: Despite her usual serious attitude, Asami does make some attempts at casual humor, especially in "Long Live The Queen" after the sand-sailer falls apart:
  Asami: Anyone want to buy a slightly used sand-sailer?
• Number Two: Particularly in Book 3, whenever the foursome splits up the brothers go together (with typical Number Two Mako in charge of the B team with Bolin) and Asami as Korra's right-hand woman, and nominal second-in-command on the A-Team.
• Obviously Evil: She's the rival to the hero's love interest, daughter of a villain, has a dark color scheme, and is overall drawn as a very "too pretty to be not evil" kind of beautiful (she especially bears resemblance to Lust of Fullmetal Alchemist)... but she's one of the kindest, most forgiving characters on the show. Word of God is that she was going to be some sort of spy for the Equalists, but they changed their minds pretty early in development. The design stuck, though.
• Odd Name Out: Of the group, Asami is the only one with a family name as per The Verse's custom of the wealthy/nobility having surnames.
• Official Couple:
  • She seems to be in one with Mako throughout Book 1, but she turns out to be a Romantic False Lead and he starts dating Korra instead. They do have another brief romantic encounter with a few dates in Book 2 after he and Korra break up, but it doesn't go anywhere.
  • In the series finale, it turns out the show's real OC is her and Korra.
• Ojou: She's a commoner, but as her dad is the richest man in Republic City, she's still treated like a princess. After her dad was outed as an Equalist however, she lost all that. After recuperating the family company, she got it back, and it took years to recover.
• Older Sidekick: Downplayed. She's only about a year older than Korra.
• Old Flame: She and Mako have but a brief romantic encounter in "The Guide," but events (namely Mako going to prison until he was proven innocent, and then Korra forgetting that he broke up with her) spoil that. Regardless, this encounter never really went anywhere though he's still called out on his constant denial over dating her in general.
• One Head Taller: Averted between her and Mako, she's as tall as he is. Played straight between her and Korra though.
• Opposites Attract: This, and a good dose of Tomboy and Girly Girl, applies to her and Korra. While they had similar privileged childhoods, one is an elegant, girly Badass Normal, and the other is a brash, tomboyish Avatar.
• Out of Focus: Poor Asami tends to get this the most out of all of the main characters, not only does she tend to be the character that disappears the most between episodes, she also tends to have the least number of sub plots per season.
  • After having two massive subplots in the First Book (with her father revealed to be an Equalist and the increasing friction between her and Mako over Korra) Book Two showed her with one main subplot (trying to rebuilt Future Industries after the events of Book 1) and a retread of the Love Triangle of the previous season.
  • She fairs much better in Book Three (appearing in all but one episode) but she doesn't really have a subplot for that season (barring her increasing friendship with Korra of course).
  • Season 4 oddly inverts this trend between her and Mako with Asami arguably getting the most subplots this season (her restoration of Republic City, being Korra's sole correspondent in the 3 year time skip, her reconciliation with her father, helping to design the Hummingbird suits with Varrick to stop Kuvira's Colossus and her Relationship Upgrade with Korra in the Grand Finale, whereas Mako is relocated to the comic relief subplot of the season by being Wu's bodyguard though he somehow still gets more screentime/lines than her during both later seasons.
  • Turf Wars continues this as aside from her relationship with Korra, her company's rebuilding the city once again and she has a past history with Wonyong Keum that dates back to him breaking a deal with her father that pisses her off even more than Varrick.
• Pair the Suitors: Her romantic rivalry with Korra over Mako eventually ends with Korra and Asami becoming a couple in the show's finale.
• Pals with Jesus: Just like the rest of the Krew. Though she stands out the most since she’s the only non-bender in the group. Exaggerated by Book 4, where she and Korra become an Official Couple.
• Personality Powers: A non-bender, but a reviewer noticed her driving skills reflects reliability and another noticed her engineering skills reflect the ability/intention to problem-solve, which is evident in her dynamic with Korra contrary to Mako's dynamic where episodes such as "Long Live The Queen" or "Reunion" is about her finding a solution to the problem instead of simply pointing the finger.
• The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything: Zigzagged. Asami may be head of a huge company, but she's hardly shown actually running the business. However, trying to save her company from bankruptcy was a plot point in some episodes, showing she's serious about her position. Regardless, most of her time was spent going on adventures with the Avatar, even if she does use Future Industries' resources for Team Avatar's benefit.
• Plucky Girl:
  • As the series progresses, Asami loses or sacrifices everything she has. Her home, her wealth, her high social status, her father, and her boyfriend. Despite having every reason to quit and little to gain by going on she never stops fighting.
  • Her own goal from the beginning is to be her own person rather than just "Sato Jr", and would go as far as to prove not only that she is not Daddy's helpless girl, but also that she's not him and can be a better person than him.
  • "Long Live The Queen" is a prime example of this. She and Korra are restrained and out-numbered on an airship en route to the Earth Queen, but she's already steps ahead in her escape plan and adjusting for anything that doesn't go as planned. Can't bust the locks on Korra's restraints? Crawl through the vents and jump the guard while Korra claims Asami's sick. Ship crashes into the desert during the escape? Work with said crew to rebuild it. Sand-shark eats repaired ship? Build a makeshift sand-sailer from what's left and steer it while Korra acts as power source and defense until they end up back at the Misty Palms Oasis before Mako and Bolin's attempt to rescue them.
• Power Fist: Uses an Equalist stun glove as a primary weapon, and has created her own slimmed-down version by book 4.
• Pride: Like father, like Daughter, but downplayed for her. Asami takes great pride in her family's achievements, especially that of her father and lived her life knowing that. However, she's hit hard when she sees what her father became, knowing everything she thought about her father, was a lie.
• Pyrrhic Victory: Victory against her father and the Equalists came at great cost for her. She lost her family, her wealth, and worst of all, she lives with the fact that her father's actions have brought shame and disgrace to her family's honor and reputation. At no point in Book 2 do any of these losses seem recoverable, though by Book 3 she appears to have gotten at least the wealth back. By Book 4, Ms. Sato and Future Industries have been heavily involved in reconstruction after the Unavaatu attack, and President Raiko is seen at a press event standing next to her, so it's safe to say her reputation has recovered from being just the daughter of a jailed malcontent.
• The Quiet One: Unlike the Hot-Blooded Korra, snarky Mako or goofy Bolin, who've all tended to run their mouths more than they should, she's gone entire episodes saying little to nothing as she chooses her words more carefully. Turf Wars is the closest she's come to mis-speaking in stating it was more practical for her to stay and work on housing plans instead of simply standing with Korra in front of a crowd that Korra took as offense before Asami was quick to clarify and smooth things over.
• Rank Scales with Asskicking: In an indirect way, being both the head of Future Industries and a competent asskicker, though the two aren't really related.
• Raven Hair, Ivory Skin: Like most people of the Fire Nation she has dark hair and pale skin. She's also stunningly beautiful, causing Mako to fall for her hard the first time he sees her.
• Rebellious Rebel: Rebels against the Equalists by stun gunning her father, the Evil Genius who made the stun gun in the first place.
• Red and Black and Evil All Over: Inverted. She dresses prominently in black and red but is an absolute sweetheart.
• Red Is Heroic: Downplayed. While red is one of Asami's main color scheme, it's mainly black, but she's still a hero.
• Red Oni, Blue Oni: The calm, elegant blue to Korra's brash, rough-and-rumble red.
• Redemption Rejection: Inverted. Rather, she is softly given the offer by her father to rejoin him and be a family with her once again, but of course, she doesn't buy it and refuses to be a part of his evil.
• Red Herring Mole: Introduced as the romantic rival to Korra, she wears plentiful makeup, comes from a very wealthy family, and dresses in red and black, the same color schemes as Amon and the Equalists... but she remains completely loyal to New Team Avatar, even turning against her own father when she finds out he's part of the Equalists. She was initially envisioned as a mole, with her character design was simply as is when the writers decided she'd be better as a permanent part of the main cast.
• Relationship Upgrade: At the end of Book 4, Asami becomes an Official Couple with her best friend Avatar Korra, which was later confirmed by the creators.
• The Reliable One: The most reliable of the team. If it's within her ability to do so, she. will. do. it. Supply vehicles, plan escapes, morale support and takes this seriously considering the air of guilt/failure at the end of "The Stakeout" where she and Korra got kidnapped then is already steps ahead in their escape plan.
• Renaissance Man: Gender Inverted. An extremely skilled Martial Artist, a Badass Driver, capable of using anything with the ability to steer, and a capable Engineer. She is a Ace Pilot capable of pulling off bombing and strafing runs on her own. In the three year timeskip she worked on the infrastructure of Republic City, building roads and parks, and designed the new airbender outfits. As a meme pointed out and counting all the individual fields of engineering, she's even more this trope than Suyin despite being less than half her age.
• Riches to Rags: She and her company lost a lot of money once Hiroshi is revealed as an Equalist and later thrown in jail. Luckily, Varrick's schemes inject a lot of cash into her company, and by book 4 her company is now the go-to contractor for Republic City's civil engineering projects.
• Romantic False Lead: To Mako. Despite a few dates in Book 2, it ultimately stays ended by Book 3.

S-Y

• Satellite Character: During Book 2. She's also quite noticeably the only member of the Krew to not get a spotlight on her development over the series during the Clip Show "Remembrances," though you can definitely make a good argument that this is only because Korra, Mako, and Bolin all simply caught up to where she was all along.
• Science Hero: Of the technology/engineering variety.
• Second Love: For Korra. Ironically, the first loves of both of them were the same: Mako.
• Sheep in Sheep's Clothing: She seems too good to be true in her first appearance, as after a Crash-Into Hello Meet Cute with Mako, one of the male protagonists, she immediately offers to sponsor him and his brother with her father's vast wealth. Many fans immediately suspected she would turn out to be a Rich Bitch, and it was also quickly theorized that she was really an Equalist spy. While this was how her character was originally envisioned, in the actual show, Asami turns out to be sweet and just as good of a person as she appears (and, in fact, becomes Korra's endgame love interest). There's also a Red Herring in her appearance, as she looks like a Femme Fatale with heavy makeup and wears red and black, but she's really just a case of Raven Hair, Ivory Skin wearing the favored colors of her father's culture.
• She-Fu: Most evident in "Turning The Tides", "The Earth Queen", and "Venom Of The Red Lotus" - her fighting style incorporates a lot of acrobatics.
• Sickeningly Sweethearts: With Mako, at first.
• Silk Hiding Steel: She may seem like a proper lady, but like Toph, has a badass fighting side that helps make her a formidable fighter.
• Single Woman Seeks Good Man:
  • When Asami was dating Mako she explicitly told him, he made her feel safe. She was quite disappointed when Mako kissed Korra and kept it a secret.
  • Gender Inverted. Asami, a woman, falls in love with Korra, another woman. The person who has constantly shown Asami she is a brave, caring, and selfless individual.
• Sins of Our Fathers: Asami ended up becoming a pariah in the eyes of the public due the Sato name being tarnished by her father's involvement with Amon. After getting a contract with the United Republic Government, that phase eventually ended. For most of the series, she did work darn hard to distance herself from her father. Despite cleansing her family name's bad reputation, she's still hurt and bitter towards her father for putting her in that position.
• Sixth Ranger: Turning the Fire Ferrets Power Trio into the Team Avatar Four-Temperament Ensemble.
• Sixth Ranger Traitor: She was obviously built up to be this, and eventually joined her father for about two seconds before she Defied it with a passion, shocking her own father and saving the group.
• The Smart Girl: She has developed a keen eye on technology workmanship, being able to discern high-quality products from subpar ones, as evidenced when she criticized Cabbage Corp's airships for utilizing lighter materials, possibly sacrificing passenger safety. Asami is a practical thinker and a capable engineer, able to repair and construct vehicles with limited resources, such as when she improvised a makeshift sand-sailer using materials from a destroyed airship.
• Smart People Play Chess: She plays Pai Sho and wipes the floor with Bolin several times over. Their talk of different play styles also doubles as Tell Me How You Fight in reflecting her graceful and precise fighting style and methodical tactics.
  • Book 4 has her play against Hiroshi, another genius that she used to play against years ago though it's unclear who won/lost or how many games they played that day.
• Sole Survivor: As of the finale, she is the last surviving member of the Sato family, her mother killed by Firebenders years ago, and her father getting killed by Kuvira.
• Speech Impediment: Slight, but her VA has a slight lisp noticeable when she comforts Korra at the end of "Venom of the Red Lotus" and during the letter-reading scene of "Korra Alone".
• Speech-Impeded Love Interest: Since she dated Mako and ended up the Official Couple with Korra.
• Spoiled Sweet: Daughter and only child of the richest man in the City, is a regular at at least one posh restaurant, has wait staff at her father's mansion, gets to race cars on the company test track, and can pull the Daddy's Girl act on her father to get him to do/approve of things (even after she's done it), but she's very sweet: She offered Mako a more appropriate outfit during their date, she convinced her father to sponsor the Fire Ferrets, and she offered Mako and Bolin lodging after the Arena gets trashed from the Equalist attack.
  • Subverted when she's involved in a competition or conflict: She's downright cutthroat in such situations (she even proverbially sucker-punched her own father!) Simply put, Asami's definitely a girl with strong morals (unlike her father), if a bit naive at times, but she is still a Sato.
• Static Stun Gun: She uses an Equalist taser glove in combat, which works great against benders and non-benders alike.
• Statuesque Stunner: Already pretty tall in Books 1-3, by Book 4, she is the same height as Mako when in heels. This makes her one of the tallest women in either series - the tallest apart from P'Li and Avatar Kyoshi, making her the tallest non-bender woman. Her Raven Hair, Ivory Skin looks explicitly catch quite a few eyes in-universe—most notably, those of Mako and, eventually, Korra herself.
• Stepford Smiler: At the start of Book 2, she had signs of this over the future of her company. In front of her employees, she is confident and smiling. When she walks away alone, her true face shows her worry over the matter.
  • Turf Wars reveals she'd been like this since Korra left until about meeting Mako in Book 4 due to both missing her and afraid Korra would reject her love and never come back.
• The Strategist: The chase scene in "When Extremes Meet" shows her making a lot of great tactics and calling them out to the benders, such as making ramps, being able to take advantage of the enemy's smoke cloud to gain a sneak attack, and attacking Equalists during moments of supposed advantage.
• Strong Family Resemblance: A picture in episode 10 makes it clear Asami received her looks from her mother. Asami would probably look identical to her without makeup.
• Strong Girl, Smart Guy: A rare same-sex version of the trope with Korra. Asami is a practical thinker and a capable Wrench Wench, able to repair and construct vehicles with limited resources. Korra is a strong Boisterous Bruiser who knows pretty much nothing but fighting.
• Sunk Cost Fallacy: She lost and sacrificed so much to do the right thing, and hopes to get the best result out of it. She didn't even have the excuse of turning back before Varrick could buy controlling interest of Future Industries.
• The Team Benefactor: While she's no slouch in a fight, Asami's wealth and technical expertise allows her to supply the team with cars, airships, and other advanced machines.
• The Team Normal: Only non-bender on the current Team Avatar.
• Teeth-Clenched Teamwork:
  • With Mako during the episode "Turning The Tides" as she is now aware of Mako's kiss with Korra.
  • To prepare for whatever Kuvira has in store for Republic City, Raiko has her team up with Varrick. She's understandably not pleased.
• Third-Option Love Interest: To Korra.
• This Is Unforgivable!: Between Asami and her father, when they choose different sides in the Equalist revolution. Subverted, in that they do reconcile eventually, but it takes years of in-universe time, and in the heat of the moment they very much appear to mean the words as they speak them.
  • At first, Mr. Sato is reconciliatory, hoping that she will return to him when she sees the new, more just world the Equalists are building. However, Asami rejects him completely for siding with someone like Amon and trying to destroy her friends' bending.
    How can we be a family after everything you've done? Mom would hate you for what you've become!
  • Later, when Asami is destroying their airplanes while the Equalists are fighting for their lives against the United Forces, he, too, finally accepts that she isn't coming back.
    I now see there is no chance to save you!
  • Turf Wars shows she still harbors a grudge against Wonyong Keum for bailing out of a deal when she was 14. Considering she forgave Hiroshi and Varrick for trying to kill her and steal her company, respectively, this is saying something.
• Thousand-Yard Stare: In the Grand Finale, while everybody is out looking for Korra, who vanished in the spirit energy explosion that destroyed downtown Republic City, Asami just stands there looking stunned and profoundly lost.
• Throw the Dog a Bone: After being put through the wringer in Books 1 and 2, Book 3 shows Asami having recovered some of her losses and emotionally over others. There are no subplots that involve her suffering, doesn't cry, and "Long Live The Queen" even lets her show off by being the one to come up with plans to save the day. Season 4 also cuts her some slack; it sees her finally make up with her father before his Heroic Sacrifice, and ends with her dating Korra.
• Tomboy and Girly Girl: Korra is a dark-skinned Boisterous Bruiser, has a Tomboyish Ponytail which she cuts short, and her life revolves around the study of Supernatural Martial Arts. Asami is a Spirited Young Lady of War with long, wavy Raven Hair, Ivory Skin, lavender eyeshadow, and red lipstick. Though, as Korra lampshades, "girly" does not mean "prissy", "stuck-up", or "helpless". Their relationship evolves over the course of the show from "just on the same team" to "begrudgingly beginning to like you in spite of myself" to "best friends" and, eventually, to Official Couple.
• Took a Level in Badass: Not in a physical sense (since as a normal person physically she can't really get any stronger then she already is) but as an engineer and driver she gets much better over time. While she started out as the Heart/Big Guy of the team there was never any indication in Book 1 she had any real skills as an engineer or a pilot beyond what we saw though nothing contradicting such possibilities given her working with her father. Come the next 3 books she shows the ability to drive any vehicle (including Oogi) becomes the Krew's engineering Smart Gal (able to MacGyver a sand sailor out of downed airship parts and help create the Hummingbird suits that were instrumental in Kuvira's defeat), rescues her company from the brink of collapse and becomes a Captain of Industry in Republic City for helping to fix its damaged infrastructure. Oh and she did all this over the course of three years. Of course, considering how the previous series/70 years ago, a teenaged hunter-gatherer peasant from the Southern Water Tribe rivaled the tech skills of an establish genius old enough to be his father, this is even more plausible.
• Tragic Keepsake: Future Industries is all she has from her family, even if she's found a family with Team Avatar. Fortunately, she makes it thrive.
• Tranquil Fury: In "Turning The Tides" - she took down several Equalist fighters with stoicisim, but the shots before she crashed the Korramobile in a mecha and when she tased an Equalist handling Tenzin clearly exhibited her anger from her father and Mako.
• Trauma Conga Line: Not quite as bad as Korra, but many of Asami's plots involve her going through some kind of hardship. She lost her mother to firebenders at a young age, learned that her father was working for Equalists, and was forced to attack him and abandon him and the affluent life she'd known since she was born. Her boyfriend, while dating her, flirted with the Avatar, and dumped her when she called him out for stringing her along. Her father tried to kill her when he realized she wouldn't support the Equalists. She struggled to restore the name of her father's (who was in jail) company on her own, her boyfriend dumped her again for the same woman and the person she trusted to help her bring Future Industries back double-crossed her and stole her inventory. She watched her close friend whom she'd probably fallen in love with at that point Korra nearly die by the Red Lotus's hand, and subsequently become wheelchair-bound and catatonic for weeks, and has to wait three years with hardly any sign of where Korra was or how she was doing. During the battle with Kuvira's Colossus, she witnessed her father, whom she'd just found it in her to forgive, perform a Heroic Sacrifice to help destroy the Colossus, and even sees him crushed to death. She admits to Korra that losing both her and her father would have sent her over the edge.
• Unbroken Vigil: Twice. She voluntarily watched over Korra's unconscious body while meditating into the spirit world in "The Ultimatum" and like Mako, took care of her for two weeks while Korra was poisoned.
• Undying Loyalty: To Korra. Mako'll reflexively balk, Bolin may be too dense and Korra, herself may be too insecure, but Asami has and will always support Korra in any way possible.
• Universal Driver's License: Roadsters, mopeds, racecars, Mecha-tanks, motorboats, aeroplanes, more than one model of airship... heck, even Tenzin's sky bison Oogie lets her take the reins.
• Unkempt Beauty: At the end of Part 1 of Turf Wars, the battle finally/actually tussled up her hair into a peek-a-boo-style '80s Hair.
• Unwitting Pawn: Thoroughly played by Varrick, which costs her the controlling interest to Future Industries. Though in her defense, Varrick is playing everyone like fiddles.
• Uptown Girl:
  • A rich girl who has her eyes set on Street Urchin Mako. Fitting with the trope, Daddy does not approve, (but mostly because he's a bender) although he pretends to.
  • Played with, after becoming an Official Couple with Korra. Asami is the head of Future Industries, but Korra is the Avatar (making her on the same level as a Queen/King or more accurately, OUTSIDE the social structure).
• Violently Protective Girlfriend: To Korra after they become an Official Couple. As seen in Turf Wars, she threw off an enemy who was about to attack Korra. She also threatens Kuvira Ruins of the Empire where she proclaims she's where she wants to be, protecting Korra from Kuvira; adding that no matter what her plans were, she wasn't going to drive a wedge between herself and her girlfriend. She ends up placing a shock belt on Kuvira where she can electrocute her with a remote control when she starts getting out of hand.
• Vocal Evolution: Very subtle, but her voice sounds much deeper and more mature in Book 4.
• Weak, but Skilled: By virtue of being a non-bender. Her other team members are a Physical God, a talented Firebender, and a powerful Earthbender. Asami finds her niche in the group with her driving skills, awesome martial arts ability, strategic thinking, vast material wealth, and ability to utilize the electric glove she took from the Equalists.
• Wise Beyond Her Years: See Hidden Depths. She is surprisingly mature about handling a Love Triangle than most teenagers and is even taking up the task of running a business. Deep down inside though, she is still an insecure, scared little girl with the trauma of losing her family.
• What the Hell, Hero?: She gives one to Mako regarding his supposed feelings with Korra.
  • Her Death Glare at him for ditching her again for Korra and simultaneously lying to Korra about it is a silent one.
• Woman Scorned: A healthy, mature, and justified case. Since learning about Korra's crush on Mako through the ever-talkative Ikki, Asami appears to at least be growing uncomfortable with the closeness of their relationship. Becomes even moreso in the next episode when she questions Mako's intensity in finding Korra, discovering that he and Korra kissed, and giving displeased looks whenever she suspects there is something more to the two's relationship. Asami deals with this in a reasonable way, while she is annoyed at the Ship Tease between Korra and Mako, she admits that she still likes Korra — it's Mako she has a problem with, shown in "Turning the Tides" where she confronts him about the kiss and tells him to own up to his actions. He doesn't take this well.
• Working with the Ex: With Mako as of the Book 1 finale after he realizes his feelings for Korra. They briefly get back together during Book 2 after his break up with Korra, but after Mako refuses to tell an amnesiac Korra of their break up, his and Asami's romance ends for good. Come Book 3, they are now friends, but he is still awkward around her because of their past history. He gets over it.
• Wrench Wench: In "Long Live the Queen", she repairs a crashed airship. When the airship crashes a second time and is damaged beyond repair, she assembles a sand skimmer out of its wreckage.
• Yamato Nadeshiko: Asami is the young daughter of the richest man in Republic City. She's calm, mature, and graceful even in the battlefield. She fits the looks with her willowy build, long, wavy black hair and fair skin. She shows the core of iron by defying her Equalist father to protect the people she cares about.
• You Can't Go Home Again: From mid Book 1 to the end because her father is an Equalist and she must live on Air Temple Island. Despite regaining her fortunes, she still lives there.
• You Killed My Father: Asami is livid towards Kuvira for her father's death, and she'd get a shot at her if it were up to her.

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