Leo Tanaka is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera Neighbours, played by Tim Kano. He made his first appearance in the main show during the episode broadcast on 22 September 2016. The character was introduced alongside his twin brother David Tanaka (Takaya Honda), and they arrive in Erinsborough to find their long-lost biological father. Both Kano and Honda auditioned for both Tanaka roles and were later awarded their respective parts. The show's producer Jason Herbison had planned their stories months in advance. The shows writing team meticulously researched the show's history to find a way to introduce the two characters into the show's long-standing Robinson family. Leo and David's search ended in the revelation that the show's villainous character, Paul Robinson (Stefan Dennis) was their father.
Leo is characterised as a flirtatious and charming businessman who takes entrepreneurial risks. He is portrayed as both "ruthless and driven", which Kano believed was his character's personality flaw. He thought Leo was an interesting addition to the Neighbours cast because his attitude clashes with the show's moralistic female residents. Leo's stories have focused on business decisions and romance. He arrives in Erinsborough to start a new business. Despite a history in bar management he decides to open a new hostel for backpackers. Romance stories feature a near incestuous relationship with his half-sister Amy Williams (Zoe Cramond) and more prominent relationships with Mishti Sharma (Scarlet Vas) and Terese Willis (Rebekah Elmaloglou).
Other storylines include Leo getting crushed under concrete, feuds with other characters, and Kano filming overseas in London. Leo and Amy's near romance attracted some media attention, with Alex McCarthy from TV Week branding it "awkward" and a Metro reporter viewing it as "gross". In 2019, Kano's management confirmed he would be leaving the serial and he filmed his final scenes in June. Leo's departure aired on 10 September 2019, but he made a guest appearance from 11 December 2019 to 1 January 2020. In April 2021, it was confirmed Kano had reprised his role as a regular and his return scenes began airing from 15 June of that year. His return storyline sees his ex-girlfriend, Britney Barnes (Montana Cox), give birth to Leo's daughter.
Casting On 22 August 2016, Neighbours announced its intention to introduce two new regular characters. It was revealed Leo and David Tanaka would be twin brothers played by Tim Kano and Takaya Honda respectively. Kano was delighted to be cast in the show because he believed Leo is "such a great character to play". Leo and David arrive in Erinsborough to solve "a family mystery". The character was billed as having a "superficial facade" whilst being a good-hearted man.
The casting directors prepared themselves for a long audition process. They were adamant they wanted to find actors who looked alike to accurately portray twins. Honda, who plays David recalled the process as being a strange experience which involved many call backs. Each actor originally auditioned for both roles because directors wanted to see who best suited which character. Kano has stated that his first ever audition had him switching character from Leo to David in seconds. Kano praised Neighbours for introducing two ethnic actors into their show. He believed it was "fantastic" that the Tanakas were regular characters with a "really strong plot line".
Development Characterisation Leo is characterised as a charming individual who is image conscious and boasts a "flashy exterior". He is a self-involved entrepreneur who is unafraid to take risks to fund his materialistic lifestyle. Leo can behave in an underhanded manner to achieve success. His official character biography states that "he is not averse to using dubious methods to improve his lifestyle and believes people have to spend money to make money." In comparison to his serious minded brother, Leo does not make long-term plans. His career aspirations are driven by his entrepreneurial persona. He managed nightclubs prior to arriving in Erinsborough but decides to start his own business. There are stark differences in the twin's personalities. Leo has been touted as a "shameful opportunist" and "ruthless" in comparison to David who harbours a social conscience. Kano and Honda quickly built a good rapport off-set which helped them create brotherly bond on-screen. Both have other siblings and were able to draw from those sibling rivalries to form the on-screen relationship. Kano told Kerry Harvey from Stuff.co.nz that "he's really cheeky, really playful but under all the layers he's definitely a good guy with a good heart. It's nice to know all that's there and I don't just have to play this ruthless, superficial, bad boy all the time."
Leo is cheeky and charming but quite selfish. Kano believed that his character was flawed because he is "ruthless and driven" and lacks consideration for other character's feelings when achieving his goals. Many female characters in Neighbours are family orientated and Leo's attitude does not fit their strong morals and values. Kano believed this created a "great dynamic and tension" for his character. Leo is surprised by other people's perceptions of him and it proves "a good reflective process". Kano added "for Leo, to come to this down to earth town in Erinsborough where people call you out on your lies, it’s a great learning curve to learn there is more to life than what he was previously used to."
Introduction The Tanaka's storyline was planned six months in advance by the show's executive producer Jason Herbison. He was "delighted" with the work Kano and Honda had done, describing watching them as a "very thrilling" experience. Ahead of his first appearance in the main show, the character was featured in a series of webisodes titled Road Trip. The mini-series focuses on the twins' road trip on the way to Erinsborough, where they were joined by Leo's love interest Milly (Eliza Charley). The webisodes were designed to give viewers a chance to watch the "brotherly dynamic" the Tanaka brothers share. In addition they could witness the contrasting personalities they have. Leo made his first screen appearance in the main show during the episode broadcast on 22 September 2016. They arrive to look after their great-grandmother Kazuko Sano (Linda Chin), who has been admitted to the local hospital. Kano revealed that the twins had another motive for being in the area as they were searching for lost relative. When David and Leo spend more time in Erinsborough they befriend Amy Williams (Zoe Cramond), Elly Conway (Jodi Anasta) and Aaron Brennan (Matt Wilson), setting the characters up to become intertwined in one another's storylines.
Leo's main story following his arrival focuses on his and David's search for their biological father. Kano stated that they wanted to solve the mystery of their "interesting and messed-up past". The show's writers played a series of plot twists throughout this story. Initially, David's findings lead him to a Bradley Satchwell (Alfred Nicdao), a local homeless man. He was at the hospital when their mother gave birth and was banned from visiting her. The character is reluctant to reveal details and runs away. But various scenes were included in episodes to suggest Bradley is their father. Months later Leo finds Bradley and bribes him with money to spend time with David. Bradley goes for a medical check up and is again reluctant to talk about his past. Writers introduced a "new twist" into their mystery story by ruling out Bradley as the twins father. David runs a blood test which reveals Bradley cannot be related to them.
Writers developed the paternity mystery further with the introduction of hotel investor Jasmine Udagawa (Kaori Maeda-Judge). She quickly develops a vendetta against Leo and keeps a secret file titled "Tanaka". Amy overhears Jasmine telling Terese Willis (Rebekah Elmaloglou) that Leo could potentially inherit Lassiters and she informs him about the news. This leads Leo to believe he is related to the Udagawa family, who are also Japanese. Jasmine offers the Tanakas ten thousand dollars to leave Erinsborough. He refuses and it leads Leo to suspect that Jasmine's uncle Hiro Udagawa is their father. Amy is featured more frequently in the story and joins Leo in his search to track down Hiro to his last known address. But their search is shortened when they discover Hiro died the previous year.
The show wanted to mislead viewers by publicising a red herring suggesting that historic character Scott Robinson was Leo's father. Jenny Young reprised her role as Kim Taylor after producers rehired her following thirty-two years off-screen. She is revealed to be David and Leo's mother. The link was made because Kim and Scott had previously been romantically involved. On-screen Kim denies that Scott is the twins father this but is shocked to learn Leo has taken Amy away for a romantic weekend. She rushes to prevent the pair from sleeping together. This makes David think his theory is correct because Kim would not want Amy, who is Scott's relative, to sleep with Leo. This episode brought about the culmination of the mystery storyline as the Tanaka's biological father was revealed. In one final "twist" in the storyline, Scott's brother Paul Robinson (Stefan Dennis) was revealed to be their father. The actors knew about the outcome of the story when it began but were forced to be secretive. Kano told Sarah Ellis from Inside Soap that Kim was not certain Paul was their father but knew he could be. He added that could not wait for the audiences reaction to the shock revelation.
The Robinson family Integrating Leo and David into the Robinson family had to be planned out meticulously. The script department did not want the story to appear randomly put together. They had to delve into the show's history and create a link to early characters while staying true to the story. Kano and Honda also had to research the Robinson's family history. Honda told Sophie Dainty from Digital Spy that the Tanaka "family hierarchy is so strange" and Paul's is "insane" because of numerous siblings and children. He said it held such a "great history" and felt honoured that the Tanakas would become part of one of the shows long-standing families.
Prior to the reveal that Paul Robinson is Leo's father, he had been dating Paul's daughter Amy Williams. This meant that Amy was Leo and David's half-sister. The revelation leaves the pair devastated that they nearly consummated their relationship. Kano told Sarah Ellis of Inside Soap that his character had "finally let down his guard" around Amy. He thought he had found "an amazing soulmate" and it was a "huge step" for someone like Leo to be ready to commit to someone. He concluded that the drama leaves Leo stunned. Leo and Amy decide they cannot be together and try to avoid one another. But Amy becomes jealous when Leo dates someone else and is a suspect in the investigation into the backpackers car crash. Her jealousy causes other characters to assume she is guilty. Cramond told a reporter from Tenplay that Leo and Amy's story post-discovery would be a hard journey. She believed they would never really get over what had happened between them. She noted that in time Leo and Amy learn to get along, but "many ups and downs" mar their sibling relationship. One such instance is when Leo takes too much of an interest in Amy's romance with Nick Petrides (Damien Fotiou). He and Paul try to keep the pair apart. Other characters accuse Leo of behaving like a jealous boyfriend rather than a brother.