Tadashi Hamada

"People keep saying he's not really gone, as long we remember him. But it still hurts."

- Hiro to Baymax about Tadashi

Tadashi Hamada is the older brother of Hiro Hamada and the tritagonist of Disney's 2014 animated feature film Big Hero 6. A gifted robotics student at the San Fransokyo Institute of Technology, Tadashi is the creator of Baymax: a robotic, personal, healthcare companion.

Tadashi's sudden death in a mysterious fire catalyzes the events of the film, leading Hiro, Baymax and Tadashi's best friends to band together to investigate the "accident" and catch the culprit responsible for it.

Background
Tadashi Hamada is a brilliant inventor and the older brother of Hiro. Together, the two live with their aunt Cass in the beautiful city of San Fransokyo. Their parents died 10 years prior to the events of the film, growing up together in Cass' cafe and bakery. Tadashi was also a student at the San Fransokyo Institute of Technology and worked alongside his best friends Wasabi, Go Go Tomago, Honey Lemon and Fred under the guidance of their mentor--the world-renowned Professor Callaghan.

Aside from innovating and inventing, Tadashi spent his days with his little brother and best friend Hiro and often made attempts to convince the young prodigy to use his intellect to do great things. Under Callaghan's guidance and with the funding of San Fransokyo Tech, Tadashi now has the means to create useful technology that could change the world--an opportunity he eventually seizes to create Baymax.

Official Description

 * Tadashi is a good guy. He just is. He actually developed, built and programmed a state-of-the-art nursebot—a Healthcare Companion named Baymax that will likely help millions worldwide. But it's his role as big brother that makes Tadashi truly special. Every kid needs a guy like Tadashi looking out for him, and Hiro knows just how lucky he is to have him in his life.

Personality
Incredibly kind, encouraging and hard-working, Tadashi is considered the epitome of a great brother, nephew and student, always there when people need him. He has an energetic sense of humor and can be silly and excitable.

Tadashi is very hard-working and intellectually gifted. He does not believe in "dead ends" and values hard work to accomplish goals. He also has a large understanding of health and medicine. Ever the optimist, he successfully balances this rising career in cutting-edge technology and providing moral and emotional support for his younger brother Hiro while keeping a good attitude and a happy smile. He also even appears to be athletic and he is known to have taught Hiro some karate; Baymax's statement that Tadashi was in 'excellent health' also indicates that he is physically fit.

As the only male figure in Hiro's life, he has carried the burden of responsibility from a young age, knowing that he had to lead Hiro and be a good role model. Having to care for Hiro alongside their aunt Cass has made Tadashi gentle and understanding, though as the big brother, he can still be rough on occasion. He is also not above scolding Hiro or becoming upset with him, getting angry at Hiro's unwillingness to try and make something of his life, showing a slightly frustrated side to his personality not seen anywhere else. He encourages Hiro to be the best that he can be and supports him in his endeavors. He was also sneaky, as he promised Hiro he would take him to a bot fight but in reality took him to his university, claiming he "needed to get something" before they headed off in order to get Hiro to come to his university and become interested in it while technically keeping his promise of "taking him to the bot fight" without actually doing it.

However, he was also shown to have a silly, goofy side to himself. When he introduced Baymax to Hiro and Baymax asked if he is experiencing any pain, Hiro asked "physical or emotional", causing Tadashi to comically pout. When Hiro ran out of ideas, he grabbed Hiro and shook him upside down in order to shake some ideas into his head and stated that Hiro needed to "look at things from a different angle"--a philosophy that Hiro eventually adopts as his own during the film. He was also excitable, as shown when he was happy after finally activating Baymax (after 84 tests) and ran around and kissed Baymax.

Tadashi also values his aunt; he does not like to make her upset and is appreciative for all she has done to raise them, especially having done it alone. His concerns extend to the general public, developing Baymax with the sincere hope that the healthcare companion would help people all over the world. He is dedicated to helping others no matter what the cost is to him--a statement undeniably proven when he makes the ultimate sacrifice in an attempt to protect his teacher.

Physical Appearance
Tadashi is a tall, slender, slightly muscular teenager of a larger build than others in his family. He has large, warm brown eyes and neat black hair cut above his prominent ears. His face shape is different from those of his aunt's and brother's, with a longer face, larger jaw and slightly larger nose.

His most notable physical trait is his preference for a black baseball cap with a red-and-gold San Fransokyo Ninja lettering on it. He is rarely seen without this cap in the film, except for a few scenes such as when he takes off his moped helmet, and it is also off in many family photos that can be seen.

Since he changes his clothes daily, he does not wear any one outfit for much longer than others. However, he owns many similar articles of clothing, only varying in color. He owns several blazers, crew neck t-shirts and cardigan sweaters, usually in the colors white, black, tan, red or various shades of green. He often wears mint-colored sneakers with white soles and shoelaces and occasionally carries a tan satchel across his shoulder.

When he introduces Hiro to his friends, he is wearing a white crew neck t-shirt with artwork of a ninja, along with a grey cardigan, brown pants rolled up around his ankles and his mint-colored sneakers. He wears the same shirt to bed that night, with green plaid pajama pants.

On the day of his death at the San Fransokyo Tech Showcase, he wears an olive green blazer over a black shirt, with a similar pair of rolled-up brown jeans. Before he runs into the burning building, his hat falls off of his head, which Hiro retrieves and keeps as a memento.

Role in the film
One night, in the city's illegal underworld, Hiro engages himself in a bot fight against a group of thugs, specifically the boisterous Mr. Yama. After facing a humiliating defeat, Yama seeks revenge by ordering his goons to attack the young genius, who is immediately rescued by Tadashi on his moped. The brothers make their escape as Tadashi reprimands Hiro for his actions, only to find themselves caught and arrested by the San Fransokyo police. Yama and his gang are forced to share a cramped cell with Tadashi, while Hiro has a separate cell to himself due to being a minor. Tadashi was not happy with this and silently glared at Hiro across from his cell for getting them into the situation. Fortunately, they are released on account of Aunt Cass, who scolds the two on the ride home.

Frustrated with Hiro's bot-fighting obsession, Tadashi takes his younger sibling to his school, the San Fransokyo Institute of Technology, in hopes of sending him down a better path. At the Institute, Hiro meets Tadashi's closest friends (Go Go Tomago, Wasabi, Honey Lemon and Fred), Tadashi's latest invention Baymax and Professor Callaghan (an aspiring master of robotics and Hiro's personal idol). The experience successfully manipulates Hiro into having a strong desire to attend the school.

To gain acceptance into San Fransokyo Tech, Tadashi suggests that Hiro participate in the school's annual science fair. Should his invention and presentation impress Callaghan, he'll be allowed enrollment. Unfortunately, Hiro reaches a creative rut until Tadashi steps in and advises that he look from a different angle. Tadashi's advice leads to the creation of the Microbots. On the night of the fair, Callaghan shows amazement at the sight of Hiro's latest invention, leading to the latter's acceptance into the school. After the successful presentation, Tadashi and Hiro have some time alone, during which the older brother congratulates the younger one on his accomplishment, showing pride in the new path that he's willing to take.

Just then, a fire breaks loose at the school and the brothers immediately rush to the action. While most civilians manage to escape, Tadashi learns from a survivor that Callaghan is still trapped inside the burning building. With no help around to save him, Tadashi volunteers his own life. A fearful Hiro immediately stops his brother, but reluctantly allows the decision upon seeing Tadashi's humanity and motivation to rescue his mentor. After rushing inside, the building violently explodes, killing Tadashi (even though his final moments are not shown, the junior novelization implies that he was crushed by a falling beam). After Tadashi's death, the people of San Fransokyo mourn his loss while a heartbroken Hiro falls into a deep state of depression.

Though mentioned several times during the events following his demise, Tadashi would not appear again until after Hiro's anger and frustration consume him, leading Baymax to show a series of footage (which was recorded while Tadashi was in the process of building the healthcare companion) to comfort the boy. In it, it is shown that Tadashi had spent multiple attempts testing and perfecting the robot, each time ending with a major failure. Although there were many major setbacks, Tadashi never gave up on building him. During the eighty-fourth test, Baymax was finally functional, causing Tadashi to express excitement for his success. With Baymax working properly, Tadashi stated his eagerness to now be able to help others with Baymax, especially when he would get to show Baymax to Hiro. Tadashi's inspiring words and loving ways throughout the footage successfully heal Hiro's damaged heart, and as such, the young prodigy vows to use his intellect to change the world for the better, which he does by defeating Yokai (the man responsible for Tadashi's death) and using the Big Hero 6 team to selflessly protect the city.

During the credits of the film, a newspaper shows a ceremony of a building dedication in Tadashi's name taking place, in which Hiro accepts the honor on behalf of his late brother. The building is most likely a replacement for the showcase hall that was intentionally incinerated by Callaghan during the convention, which also took Tadashi's life.

Printed Media
Tadashi has appeared in a few books related to Big Hero 6, including novelizations, coloring books and the manga.

The prequel manga, Baymax, which is currently in serialization, describes Hiro and Tadashi's childhood and provides an alternate version of the film. Beginning with his first meeting with Hiro at his birth, the first chapter elaborates on Tadashi's opinion on growing up alongside Hiro and what he wants for Hiro's life. As children, Hiro is always seen as the smarter of the two despite his age, and Tadashi originally expresses slight jealousy, though he grows out of it with age. Overall, he decides to not give up and continues to work hard as he creates his greatest work, Baymax.

His death in the manga is entirely different from the film. Instead, he dies protecting Hiro from a portal that Yokai activates from underneath the robotics lab, pulling Hiro to safety while a loose pipe knocks him over the ledge. After confessing his pride and love for Hiro, he is sucked into the portal, and is never seen again.

He is the center of the book Hiro and Tadashi, alongside his brother. The book gives more insight into the Hamada brothers' closeness and the importance the relationship has on Hiro, as they build an "awesome robot" for Professor Callaghan's class. According to the book, the brothers are always coming up with secret rules for each other (at least 457 of them), and mentions Tadashi as being the one who gives Hiro the journals he uses to brainstorm inventions. This is also exhibited in the Hiro's Journal book -- the first page includes a letter from Tadashi, telling him that to use the notebook because "every invention needs to start somewhere".

Tadashi also appears in the Big Hero 6 Golden Books, which are condensed versions of the film for small children. The Little Golden Book does not detail the circumstances of his death or Callaghan's involvement in it, mentioning him only as the creator of Baymax and having been lost in an accident at school. However, the Big Golden Book (written for slightly older children) discusses Tadashi and his death at length, calling him the "best brother ever".

In a few publications, he is mentioned to be eighteen years old during the events of the film.

Trivia

 * Tadashi may be based on Hiro's father in the comics, Tomeo Takachiho, whose death prompted Hiro to build Baymax to fill the void left in his heart.
 * Before the film was released, Tadashi was rumored by many fans to be Yokai.
 * Tadashi's main choice of apparel are based off of a smart-casual type of fashion, which are usually neat, conventional, yet relatively informal in style. His choice of outfit and colour coding reflect his personality, smart yet vibrant and full of energy.
 * Although his death was accidental, the 2013 Rotoscopers video and early information regarding the plot somewhat implies that Tadashi was deliberately murdered by Yokai in some early drafts of the script. The Rotoscopers video also depicted Tadashi as already attending classes with Hiro and was also the man in charge of a science research team (most likely consisting of Honey, Go Go, Wasabi and Fred) in which each individual would make different things and would eventually lead up to a competition.
 * During an interview with Tadashi's voice actor, he said that Tadashi would be around 19 or 20 years old.
 * According to Japanese media, Tadashi is 21 years old.
 * This information is contradicted by official Disney publications, which state that he is eighteen.
 * In the scene were Tadashi and his brother Hiro, are caught at the bot fights by the police, it can be implied that Tadashi is at least 18 years old because he's in the same cell as the other bot fighters. If he was a minor, like Hiro (also shown because Hiro had his own cell), he would have his own cell also.
 * Artwork by the film's character designer Shiyoon Kim suggests that Tadashi wore glasses at some point.
 * In older concept art, he was also much older in appearance.
 * The colors of the logo in Tadashi's hat invert between the film and the illustrated books. In "Hiro and Tadashi", the N is red while the S and F are gold, but it is vice versa in the film.
 * According to the junior novelization, Callaghan was the last person Tadashi saw before meeting his demise.
 * In the manga version of Big Hero 6, Hiro was bullied by other children, due to his intelligence. Because of this, Tadashi would protect him. In order to cheer Hiro up, Tadashi would give him a lollipop, possibly being an inspiration for Baymax to give his patients lollipops after treatment.
 * In Avengers: Age of Ultron, while Tony Stark is getting the A. I. Card for F.R.I.D.A.Y., Tadashi's name can seen on one of the other A. I. Cards.
 * Tadashi is a Japanese name which means "loyal" or "true", which fits his character very well, as he is loyal to his friends and family, and true to himself and to others.