#I think Daigo would think it was really funny

[tojosuggestionbox]

[todayisafridaynight]

I’m fairly new to the fandom, but I do have a question if you can answer it! Why do people ship Daigo with Aoki / Masato? I tried looking to see if they’ve interacted before, but couldn’t find anything! Sorry for asking I’m just </3 dumb AND I LOVE YOUR ART OF THEM!!! Nerd looking ahhhhhh

hi ! welcome to the community i hope you're having a lovely time so far and ty for enjoyin my stuff :) no need for apologies it's a very fair question to have :]

i cant speak for everyone (all. ten people into masadai anyway) but Personally To Me i just think the idea of them together is very funny. thats quite literally it im afraid..

[dirt-str1der]

I miss y5 so much kiryu is trying his best to just be some guy and everybody in the world keeps trying to seek him out and tell him no ur not

[jellophoid]

well

only reason I know (or think) mine is not the big antagonist is cus of all the gay sex I see of him and daigo

[yakuzacanons]

Hello! How about playing pocky game with the boys? For some guys it definitely would be an adorable clumsiness (or clumsy adorableness?)

OMG I haven't thought about the pocky game since I was in high school lol of course u can, thanks for ur patience btw

Kazuma Kiryu

Either hasn't thought about this game in years or doesn't even know what it is. Learns by trying it out. Kind of blushes every time the pocky stick breaks. When it does break, he just kind of slowly nibbles it in silence.

Majima Goro

Has inhaled the pocky stick in one bite just to kiss you. Ain't no snack getting in the way of the REAL snack. Which is you. If you didn't know. Fun fact.

Saejima Taiga

Knows what it is and kind of chuckles, saying "That takes me back". Totally would stare you down during it to intimidate you because it makes you flustered and he thinks that's cute.

Akiyama Shun

Absolutely down for the challenge and will do his darn best to succeed cuz he wants that kiss dammit! If the stick breaks, he'll just ask you to play again with the now shortened stick.

Tanimura Masayoshi

Kind of has a childish excitement about it as he's known of the game but never really tried it before. Plus, snacks are involved. He loves those. Almost as much as he loves you. He's not good at it though, breaks it a lot but keeps asking for a rematch.

Ryuji Goda

This big-heart-small-brain gorilla of a man will just bite straight through the stick on the first attempt, saying something about how he thought he was supposed to eat it. Turns out he just misheard the instructions. It's totally funny to you until he figures out how it ACTUALLY works, then watch out. He is getting that kiss if it takes him all day.

Nishikiyama Akira

Actually one of the few boys that might initiate the game with you. Also the type of guy if you ask him to play to say something like "Ah, you want a kiss that badly? Hmmm... okay, let's do it."

Daigo Dojima

Our shy and innocent Daigo has heard of the game but never got the chance to try it in high school, likely out of shyness. He looks super calm doing it, as he always looks doing most things these days, but inside he's like "Man, I hope I don't screw this up..." In a way, that classic stoicness kind of only makes him hotter, so it's really just up to who finds the other person hotter more to win at this game.

Mine Yoshitaka

The concept of the pocky game is befuddling and fascinating to him. He's thinking "A game using food? For kissing?... Huh??" But what the heck, he'll try it if only as an excuse to be in close proximity to you.

Tatsuo Shinada

Also one of the few boys who might initiate this game with you. If he knows that you're open to the idea of playing it, then whenever he happens to be eating pocky as a snack he'll just offer the idea up playfully. Loses a LOT though, he is NOT good at it.

Ichiban Kasuga

The last of the boys to likely initiate this game, mostly as a cute means to get closer to you. He'll say something like "Hey, remember that game all the kids used to play back in high school? Wonder if anyone still does that..." Uses strawberry pocky because he thinks it's cuter that way somehow.

Tianyou Zhao

Doesn't initiate but wouldn't turn down the opportunity to try it. After the first time, literally everytime you buy pocky, he'll be like "Ah, are we playing that again?" just to get a flustered reaction out of you. Also the type of guy to hold a piece of pocky dangling out of his mouth at you to tease you. He's a silly head.

Joon-Gi Han

The concept is lost on him, at least verbally and conceptually. Does not understand why you don't just kiss normally and eat the pocky normally. It isn't until he's physically giving it a try that he's like "Oh... I get it".

[majimasleftasscheek]

Here’s a brain scratcher aniki, besides Kiryu and Kazuma-San what kind of parent would each of the main cast be. (Just the major players from the games IE protags and antags. You can include Ichiban’s party to!)

let's see...

Majima: good! but irresponsible parent. would spoil immensely, compensates for things he can't do or messes up. very open to whatever the kid wants/thinks but can be unintentionally harsh when scolding. promotes living to the fullest but will worry to the expense of his health when he can't be around to take care of things. will be overbearing with good intentions but suffocating.

Saejima: very nurturing and attentive but tough, a bit overbearing on the life lessons and shit like that. would leave a child to their own devices often to encourage individual growth and accepts failures well, very patient. would be hard to get a read on though normally, leaving a kid to guessing how he's feeling/doing, making his parenting feel a bit lonesome.

Nishiki: great with kids in a cool uncle sort of way. would be friends with his kids vs being their actual parent as he worries a lil too much about what they think of him. spoils them a lot, especially if it makes him look pretty great in front of others. doesn't handle problems very well and has only the basics of advice for a struggling child - would have to ask others what to do.

Ichiban: good parent but bumbling. would try his best to be a good dad but realistically good vibes and idealism isn't always enough. would rely on others for help with kids, especially if it's something he can't provide himself. would teach them to be kind and open minded, careful to not be too strict. would prolly relate the most to kids, being a child at heart himself though his personality would make it seem like he's not taking things seriously.

Ryuji: would raise a kid to be just like himself, brutish and confident. the type to be like, let's go to the junkyard and smash car windows for fun. values traits that align with his own like strength and a strong will - would be disappointed in anything he'd deem too whimsical. would think it's funny if his kid rebelled against them and teach them the hard way that it wouldn't fly but also encourage them to keep trying to be their own person anyway.

Daigo: would be a good parent to the best of his ability, compensating for his own experiences (Dojima lol). very patient and a good listener, excels at consoling to where his kid would feel very comfy telling him anything. can be a bit too soft and unintentionally ignorant to underlying problems a child might have. a child might feel guilty towards him for his kindness and oppositely *not* want to dump their worries on him. sometimes plays too much a teacher than a parent.

Mine: no lmao actual answer: he'd suck ass. he'd be a tiger parent, strict and cold. growing up is about accomplishment and being self sufficient. if a kid wants his time, better schedule an appointment. would teach a kid the harsh realities of life whilst ignoring the good stuff to temper expectations. punishments are often harsh. doesn't really relate to his kid other than they both breathe and blink.

Akiyama: do I even gotta say it ksdlagjlds he would be *squint* alright at parenting in the same way it's alright to drink bleach. he's there and he exists but is irresponsible. can't be counted on to make important dates on time or remember things a kid needs. frequently has to ask for help (Hana). will 100% give a child secondhand smoke and be skeazy about the types of life lessons he'd not necessarily teach outright but would imply with his behavior.

Tanimura: I don't got much of a read on him tbh but being that he's got a gambling problem, I feel like that would have some play in childcare lol, that being he's prolly a bit inattentive until it comes to money. he's a bit skeavy so he would prolly turn a blind eye to his kid doing something wrong and enforces rules poorly. would at least instill good teachings to help others, tho how, would be sketchy.

Shinada: he'd do pretty well I think if he had a stable living situation. he's very passionate about his interests and would share that with his kid, and if the kid wants to do their own thing, he'd encourage following that too. being goofy, he'd be a fun dad. I'm prolly the only motherfucker on earth who ships him with Milky-chan so I think they'd do really well as parents who come from rough lives trying to make a better one for their kid.

Sagawa: including him cuz he's my fav villain. he defo seems the type to have a kid somewhere with an estranged partner who left him first. he's caring, in a sinister type of way, one that makes you feel like you're being manipulated but not sure enough to say. "he knows what's best" and would for sure turn a child against his partner. in an alternate sense, he could also lead a double life, being an actual decent person to his family but a dickhead on the side. very psychopathic.

[nochangeintheplan]

hiii! just want to say how happy I was to find your page. it seems like everywhere on the internet (except tumblr- but even then I've seen some hate) DESPISES yakuza 3.. like they won't even acknowledge the good the game has. is it the best? no! but they would sooner brush off the plot the game set up and the amazing characters to say it's ass and looks bad, just say ur going through a quality drop from yakuza kiwami 2. yakuza 3 brought us MORNING GLORY. THE PLACE THAT IS KIRYUS MAIN MOTIVE?? like it's the whole reason kiryu went into hiding.. it set up the future games. (also humanized him soo much but that's a topic for another day) THEN I CAME ACROSS THIS PAGE! your love for this game clearly shows through your introspective art and beautiful ask blog! I spent ab a whole night going through ur page gushing bc 'omg someone who writes mine and daigo correctly! and doesnt make mine's ONLY character trait about being obsessed with daigo!!' keep up the amazing work!! I also look forward to seeing your other works that are unrelated to yakuza! have a wonderful day!

(In case u see this ask again somewhere else I sent it to the wrong blog at first LOL)

Thank you so much for sendin in your ask! I'm really glad you've enjoyed the stuff I've been throwing up on the internet about my favorite little guys.

And yeah, for a good while in most fan spaces people had a pretty big dislike for Y3, and I think a lot of it just comes down to fandom bandwagoning dissuading people from playing it or giving it much of a chance. Right now actually I've seen somewhat of a shift in some spaces where suddenly 3 is underrated and people are apparently (?) dogging on 2 where it used to be considered peak. It's all cyclical really, but I'm glad when 3 gets the attention I feel it deserves.

I do understand where people's dislike comes from honestly, but it is definitely my personal favorite! For all its faults, I think it has some of the strongest character moments of the games, personal stakes, and drama, with stellar animation that more than makes up for the older graphics that might put some people off. And of course, Mine lmao. I can't say how right I am in how I characterize Mine and Daigo since I'm sure I fall pretty short of even my own standards of how I see them (and am guilty of simplifying them because its funny lm ao), but I'm happy folks like my take on the guys! I have A LOT OF THOUGHTS on these dudes (obviously) which I'd love to write up sometime. I have an ask about my Minedai HCs where I will probably dump it, but that and a lot of asks have been put on the backburner until I get the time to address them all to the extent I want to.

If you wanna look at my non-yakuza stuff, I have a main which I basically do not use; but it does exist!

Anyway, thank you again for writing in! I really do appreciate it a ton, and I love all the lil things y'all send me.

[yakuzabrainrotlive]

I have started Like A Dragon! I've actually already made it to chapter 5.

Why hadn't I made a post already, then?

Well, there's no sugar-coated way to put this so... let's just rip off the bandaid now.

I haven't really enjoyed myself playing this game this far. Yet. Maybe I will at some point. But for now I honestly just haven't had much to say in terms of what's happened in the plot besides the beginning. I don't hate the game, it's just that it hasn't been able to really hook me in yet.

I'll keep going since I've heard this game is one of the generally more loved ones in the franchise. And I know RGG loves its slow burn.

I hate to be a Negative Nancy, but I wanna be totally honest. I doubt y'all would want me to lie about how I feel about the game.

More about all that right at the end of the post. I will list my positives and negatives when it comes to this game (and talk about the battle system) down there.

I know this type of thing is common in RPGs, but I like it all the same. Neat little game mechanic. There's quite a few different ones here, but it's cool.

An interesting background for a main character. Yeah, being an orphan is more than common. But being raised by the employess in a soapland and the townsfolk around him? That's really out there - in a good way.

This was very sad. Ichi lost 15 years of his life to the joint and got nothing in return. The shock and disappointment on his face when he was released and there was just. No one waiting for him.

And after that, all that awaited him was just... betrayal. That's just brutal. I fully understand why Ichiban went into Total Denial Mode for a while; it must have been a totally incomprehensible and shocking situation.

-He got out of prison after 15 years and where he expected to find his family waiting for him, he found nobody. AND he suddenly had the freedom of choosing what to do, when to do it and where to go after 15 years. That can be scary.

-He witnessed how much the world and general society had changed in his absence and probably felt very confused.

-He saw his home totally wrecked and abandoned.

And now his mentor and beloved patriarch, the one who saved his life. The man he would have happily been ready to die for at any moment. That man had changed completely and acted like he didn't know Ichiban.

Yeah... the denial, frustration and desperation are totally valid.

Oh dear. Well, Kiryu wasn't there anymore, the Tojo upper brass kept changing and there was constant conflict within the clan itself. It was just a matter of time before Omi would take advantage of the situation.

I hope Majima and Daigo are okay. Or at least alive ;-;

*Faint sounds of Majima cackling in the distance*

Oops. Majima better hope Ichi doesn't find out who the driver was lmao. I feel bad for Ichiban, but I also love how this single random idea of Majima's still has these consequences that are brought up, even after all this time.

God bless Nanba. He's a sweetheart. That's all I can say about him. I also kinda like Adachi. I'm not attached to these side characters yet, but they're neat. I think they'll grow on me eventually, it's just that I tend to be slow when it comes to becoming attached to new characters.

Legends say that if you pull this bat out, Shinada will appear in front of you and ask for some money....

I did play through the whole soapland thing and then some. I don't have much to say 😭. We do have a woman fighting with us, finally after all this time! #Girlboss

I would honestly happily die for Nancy. No questions asked.

OKAY UHH POSITIVES AND NEGATIVES.

Positives:

-Ichiban

-Interesting premise

-The different jobs satisfy my hyper-optimizing, excel-sheet-making, micromanaging self

-Funny enemy titles like "Piss Wizard"

-Free full heal spots my beloveds❤️

-Voice acting (in the Japanese dub at least) is excellent

-Substories have been fun!

Negatives:

-EXP yield is... not optimal; grinding takes FOREVER unless you go fight higher-level people than yourself, but then the battles can take ages. Job exp grinding especially feels about as pleasant as pulling teeth.

Am I supposed to grind in this game?? I've started to wonder about that since it's such a slow process. I have absolutely no idea. Have I missed a thing that helps exp gain??

-Unless you get lucky with the ability to find treasure, money yield can be tight at times, too. Which is rough, considering the cost of gear with 4 team members (and probably backup members later).

-The premise is cool, but the stuff I've played through in terms of the plot after leaving Kamurocho hasn't been very interesting to me this far (early-to-mid chapter 5) :/

-Substories don't give you EXP 😭

How about the elephant in the room - the battle system?

Well. I'll come out with it straight away; I'm very, VERY picky when it comes to turn-based combat. Shin Megami Tensei and Persona have unfortunately spoiled me too much, so this game had some unfairly MASSIVE boots to fill. And it didn't quite fill them. My bar is way too high and I acknowledge that 100%.

I get that they didn't want to make the system completely "passive" by just having to select moves and it all going smoothly from here. But I dislike the timing-based quick time stuff in the middle of attacks and perfect guard. I can pull off the attack dmg boost thing most of the time, but perfect guard is just... it feels way more difficult to pull off than Tiger Drop in any previous game. It's very frustrating. I frankly feel stupid, having this difficult a time with it.

Grinding is further hindered by spread moves being kind of unreliable - if the enemies are spread out, you're only hitting a single foe. For now. Maybe there will be better moves later on.

Idk if it's just me, but characters' MP pools feel very limited compared to the cost of the moves combined with how little damage you do at times? Maybe it's just the fact that I'm in the earlier parts of the game, but I feel like I have to be replenishing MP constantly.

I like how all the different types of gear can have additional special effects. It's neat.

All in all the battle system feels... very laborius. I can work with it! Absolutely. I'm just not the biggest fan.

God, I wish I could just gush about this game and sing its praises, but that's not happening yet by a long shot. This far? Maybe a 6-6.5/10. I hope my opinion changes for the better as I progress; I really wanna love it as much as other fans seem to.

[skysquid22]

well of course have to ask for mine….

Rise up Mine heads

First Impression: I've shared this here before, but I have an exact time and date for it. My first impression was "woah cool dragon" and "this guy is giving me a lot of Patrick Bateman vibes".

Impression Now: Not as Bateman as everyone jokes! Mine is such an interesting cookie. Even when not at his extreme, his rationale, justification, and overall thinking process are just so damn interesting to pick at. Deeply, he is someone that wants to be loved, but is more afraid of people betraying him than he is of being vulnerable.

Favorite Moment: Oh, so many to pick from lol. I have too many favorite moments on equal playing field so I'll pick a sleeper hit for many. In the vacation RGGO story, when Kanda asks him to go pick up women and the music cuts out, looks like a sad worried dog, and asks, "Me?" it's so funny. Never underestimate his ability to be funny.

Idea For A Story: Would like to write a whump-centered fic around Mine getting shot and Daigo patching him up. Would be a thing where Mine is with them in the fishing village type of beat, so they have to go to a vet to get help.

Unpopular Opinion: this is going to get rocks thrown at me but my headcanons for characters' sexuality change depending on what caters best to the story and my default is usually making Mine bisexual with an ace leaning.

Favorite Relationship: Minedai....... <3. Daigo just has such an interesting and undeniable effect on Mine that it completely changed the course of his life. His only true friend and the only man he's ever loved. Even if you're not paying attention to Daigo's feelings, Mine's feelings for Daigo are a perfect moment of insight into his character. You can see his desperation plainly. Fascinating.

Favorite Headcanon: Hmm... I don't have a favorite, just a lot I enjoy. So here is one. Daigo once won him a black Oinklet from a ufo catcher and gave it to him as a gift. It's the first gift a friend had ever given him so he cherishes that Oinklet with his fucking life. Plushie in the bed type of deal. Ohhhh Oinklet we're really in it now...

[jichanxo]

Hmmmmmm. Daigo perchance?

first impression: my first experience with daigo was (unsurprisingly) his yakuza 0 substory, which makes for an interesting first impression lol. i don't remember having a strong feeling about him, but i thought of him as bratty and mildly amusing. funny kid. what are you doing

impression now: a reliable handsome man. i dunno maybe it's the chairman aura but he just kind of… exudes this…. polite calmness… it charms me… i like him (currently the daigo i am imagining in my head is him around the end of y7. handsome fella.)

favourite moment: in y3 when i saw daigo on that damn stretcher on the roof and that gun on the ground, i knew in my heart exactly what i wanted to happen. and it did. i'm sorry it was the funniest shit ever fucking GET EM DAIGO

idea for a story: kind of a hard one because i'm not a Daigo Guy, but if i had to sit down and write something about him right now i think it would be something about his loneliness. he's at the top and to some extent it means he can't get too personal with some people. and so many of his relationships are just in passing, or not that deep. he has people he'd confide in, but nobody really sticks around. i think i would like to pull on that a little. think of some quiet moments in his life and press down on it and let the empty echo of the room speak for itself, or something. surrounded by grandeur and such little substance. i dunno i can't imagine anything i think of hasn't already been done

unpopular opinion: he's a fine chairman, you guys are just mean.

favourite relationship: mine/daigo is probably the one I find myself thinking about the most of them all. (unsurprising) i like seeing when people make him hang out with haruka too. cute. siblingisms. daigo/masato also gets an honorable mention because it's not my cup of tea but by GOD are the implications too funny to pass up

favourite headcanon: the only thing holding this man together when he's stressed is listening to music he was into during his emo/goth(whatever. sorry i don't know the difference T_T) phase

[designernishiki]

friend and I have been talking about the concept of an alternate timeline where they didn’t kill off mine and instead, while laying low and trying to unlearn being Evil basically, as both penance for his actions and as a tojo-mandated involuntary vacation, he’s sent to okinawa (with some sort of supervision, of course) to work for morning glory. ie; mr. orphan hater has to help babysit orphans to pay for his orphan-related crimes and hopefully learn something in the process. shenanigans ensue.

[todayisafridaynight]

mine only having one render ever is still the funniest shit in the universe like that one singular render from 2009 has been carrying this fucker through what little merch he can get AND now multiple games at this point

[ace-reviews]

FALL 2023 ANIME RECOMMENDATIONS

There are too damn many premiers this season. I tried to watch all of them, but eventually I had had enough and gave up. For the love of God, anime industry, quality over quantity, please.

These recommendations are of things the recommender has no prior familiarity with, so none of us can recommend Frieren but you should watch Frieren, and I can't speak to the quality of Undead Unluck as an anime because I'm not about to pay for fucking Hulu but the manga is good. Also Fen would probably say to watch SHY but she’s taken a vow of silence.

Pretty much anything not recommended or otherwise mentioned here is shit, crap, and/or ass, because "crowded season" does not mean "good season."

ACE’S RECOMMENDATION: MIGI&DALI

This is a weird show. It’s creepy, unsettling, a bit off-putting, and very, very funny. There’s a lot to unpack with this show, enough that I could write an entire essay just about the tone and setting if I were so inclined. It’s a ride.

Firefighter Daigo: Rescuer in Orange and The 100 Girlfriends who Really, Really, Really, Really, REALLY Love You are also good and should be checked out. Kamonohashi Ron is fine.

CHARLIE’S RECOMMENDATION: I’m Giving the Disgraced Noble Lady a Crash Course in Naughtiness

The art and animation is a bit standard, but I think that actually works in its favor. A delightful take on a couple of popular trope characters who were, in fact, a delight to have in class.

FEN’S RECOMMENDATION: Reject Modernity & Embrace Nature

[yakuzacanons]

Hello! Could I request headcanons for the boys falling asleep on their s/o laps please? S/o is also stroking their heads, gently smiling. I think it would be kinda adorable 😚 Thank you! <3

OUGH finally getting to this one, thanks for ur patience. Every month the list of boys grows longer I stg lol. Headcanons below.

Kazuma Kiryu

Never lays his head in your lap with the intention to fall asleep mostly because he'd feel a little bad for pinning you in one spot. He has this funny habit of crossing his arms when he sleeps, especially on his side, so he looks kind of grumpy despite being peacefully asleep.

Majima Goro

He has to be VERY tired for this to happen, otherwise he's usually spooning or cuddling you to sleep. He'll likely be sprawled out, full starfish style and probably snoring with his mouth open.

Saejima Taiga

Kind of a mix between Kiryu and Majima. He doesn't intend to fall asleep with his head in your lap because he knows he's a big guy and would be hard to move but if he's exhausted, he just might not be able to help it. Being around you calms him greatly. He'd just turn into a warm, cuddly puddle honestly.

Akiyama Shun

Would fall asleep with his head in your lap on purpose. The feeling of you stroking his hair just lulls him to sleep. Probably falls asleep with his arms lazily wrapped around your sides.

Tanimura Masayoshi

Constantly a sleepy boy because his job is physically demanding and he can kind of get called in at any time, so he might actually just crash with his head in your lap. Might even mumble something silly or weird occassionally, although if you tell him what he said, he will not remember a darn thing.

Ryuji Goda

Basically like Saejima for the most part. He does find it really relaxing to just kind of lay there and get pat on the head by you though. He doesn't let most people touch his hair so it's especially nice coming from you.

Nishikiyama Akira

Secretly baby about it. Sometimes he just needs some cuddles but he's too stubborn for his own good to ask for it, especially on bad days. Just wants to nuzzle comfortably to sleep, honestly.

Daigo Dojima

If he's being completely honest, this is his preferred method to sleep. He has a lot of late nights and you're his happy place and comfort person, so falling asleep with his head in your lap while you stroke his hair is basically his idea of heaven.

Mine Yoshitaka

He'd have to be absolutely exhausted for this to happen because Mine is absolutely a top and a dom. It's a rare baby moment for him to fall asleep like this, being coddled a little. Deep down, he desperately needs moments like this, even if he doesn't know it yet.

Tatsuo Shinada

Loves laying his head in your lap just in a general sense, so it was kind of bound to happen that he would accidentally get too comfy and fall asleep. Feels kind of bad for just conking out on you though.

Ichiban Kasuga

He's too shy to admit it at first but he just loves laying his head in your lap and feeling all comfy and cozy with you. In reality, Ichiban is kind of baby on the inside. It's really easy for him to fall asleep near you in general.

Tianyou Zhao

Doesn't fall asleep that way intentionally. Type of guy to wake up, realize what happened, and say something snarky to try to cover it up like "Ah, did I fall asleep? Sorry, your lap is just so comfortable."

Joon-Gi Han

Silly goose didn't even realize he fell asleep. Normally, he's pretty good about not just crashing in random places. Probably inadvernently wrapped his arms around you while he fell asleep or grabbed your hand in his sleep, but he'd deny it if you told him. He gets embarassed.

[lorillee]

ok yakuza 4 thoughts time............ as always it's gonna be egregiously unorganized and mostly sorted by things i remember first

ok well for starters the ost was reallyyyyyyyyyyyyy good this game. Like not to say it was bad for the others but some of the tracks really stood out really quite enjoyed. if im honest

the plot i think was a lot more tightly woven this time which i really really liked - like because youd think with four different protagonists the level of convolution and largely pointless rug pulling ive grown accustomed to at this point would worsen but in actuality it. seriously improved. Like a whole lot

like at this point im convinced the biggest struggle with past few plots is that the writers are given a length for the storyline they need to meet but the actual plot does not have the bandwidth to sustain a story that long, so they stretch it out by introducing a whole lot of loose strands and "omg THIS was the mastermind behind it all.... no actually it was THAT GUY............ But Wait: There's More" types of events.

that being said by having to split the plot amongst four different guys they didnt have to stretch things out because . well when youre dealing with four concurrent storylines it stretches out quite naturally on its own

as always there were some things i wish had gotten a little more time to get fleshed out - daigos entire situation definitely couldve benefited from some more screentime i think in both clarifying what was going on and fleshing out why he felt the need to take such drastic measures. but daigo usually gets the short end of the stick so its not particularly new but still disappointing. to all the people who want a daigo gaiden. i understand you. i agree even. hope sega gets on that sometime

well we'll just go about this in a somewhat orderly fashion i guess. first off we're gonna talk about tanimura Mostly because i dont have that much to say on him

hes like. Ok i guess. one thing that pissed me off kind of was how everybody was like omg....... Hes like the one true honest cop............................. <- When like the first thing we learn about him is that he runs around exploiting criminals for money so that he wont report them. And also beating people up who tell on him to his boss. like i guess in comparison to the crap everybody else in this department is pulling its pretty small potatoes but like also Well i wouldnt go as far as to say hes a particualrly upstanding member of society

but whatever. his plot was pretty solid though i dont really have many complaints. the buildup slotted nicely into everybody else's ongoing storylines, his final boss made sense for his character arc and was someone he had a tangible and relevant connection to, both in-story and like narratively speaking

i dont hate him as much as i did when he was first introduced but id be fine if we never saw him again. That being said i know we do but like again im not particularly disappointed by that fact. currently my opinion on him is Deeply Neutral.

sooooooooooo lets talk about some guy who my opinion on is NOT Deeply Neutral!

its kind of insanely funny they dont even attempt to explain where akiyama gets his money from after the initial millennium tower explosion incident and im deeply obsessed with it. i hope they never change this.

akiyama is like. an egregiously fun character i actually quite like him. honestly i think in another universe where majima didnt exist he very well mightve ended up as my favorite character. his relationship with hana is also insanely funny and i really hope we get to see more of them in the next game

that being said his relationship with yasuko is like deeply underdeveloped and does not particularly compel me at all. as is the case with most of these sorts of things they throw the romance in there with the expectation that the audience will just go "Oh theyre in love. Woaw!" <- and then automatically be invested. But like sorry i kindaaaaaaaa dgaf. they will literally never make another majimako honestly if/when i replay y0 after getting thru the rest of the games in this series i very well may end up making a long and detailed post about why i think their relationship works and why the other pairings this series keeps dumping on me do not compel me even in the slightest. But this is a post for a later time.

i do wish they had done more in terms of giving him and arai more of like a reason to fight at the end. like because obviously its important that yasuko plays a siginficant role in his plot because she and saejima and their relationship is a major part of the centerpiece holding this game together so of course you cant cut her relevancy out of akiyama's storyline, but the romance was insanely weak and Okay because this is the issue. maybe this is just a me thing but i frankly wouldve found the relationship to be a lot more compelling if there were no romantic feelings involved.

like in the sense that i feel like their connection is stronger if akiyama doesnt really have anything to get out of it i guess? im trying to figure out how to word this idrk. of course also the romance was so borderline irrelevant its not like cutting it makes a difference time wise i just think it shouldve happened. LOL

anywyas back on track i wish they had done more with arai and akiyama's relationship even if it was just making them more like foils or something. feel like we couldve put a little more effort into that. Or alternatively made his opponent kido because that is a relationship we spent a lot more time developing on screen

aaaaaand of course what would a yakuza game be without kiryu. honestly though he's more incidentally relevant to the plot than a particularly relevant driving factor - his storyline is mostly just used to tie together everybody else's so theres not too much to say

Again this kind of goes back to the daigo issue - i wish they had spent a bit of kiryu's storyline on doing something with that bc i feel like it wouldve made both of them. feel more relevant LOL

like we dont really feel the tojo clan struggling as badly as daigo clearly seems to think it is and i think it kind of does a disservice to making his stake in this feel . well again actually relevant. which again is kind of a shame

i also said it during the liveblog but im actually like still obsessed with haruka literally not caring even the slightest bit about whatever was going on with the file and the millennium tower melodrama because she just wants kiryu to stay away from the tojo because every time he goes back to deal with some issue he literally always almost dies. crazy about it even

okieeeeeeeeeeee Lets Discuss: The Saejimas

i know i already made that joke about it in the liveblog but genuinely insanely funny to make saejima and majima worlds worst hitmen. like jaw droppingly funny You guys are so bad at this. truly brothers in arms

and on a more serious note im actually like. well honestly im crazy person insane about them making YASUKO be the one with an actual on screen bodycount because like. ok we've gone thru these games together and also presumably have watched at least a few of the same things if youre here. They dont like letting women kill and especially not in a setting as male-dominated as the literal yakuza

like because theres the ever present underlying kind of idea that women dont really belong in organized crime because theyre inherently purer or whatever and its like treated as a woman playing around in a man's world which she doesnt really understand and certainly doesnt belong in. like basically whatever was going on with sayama

HOWEVER. to have the reveal that saejima's (whose entire like reputation and legend is founded on the hit) hands are actually clean and YASUKO is the one whos personally offed multiple guys........... CRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAZYYYY?!??!?!!? IM CRAZY ABOUT IT?!?!?!?!?! AND HOW WE GET TO SEE HER PERSONALLY KILL THAT GUY ON SCREEN AFTER SAEJIMA REFUSES...... HELLOOOOOOOOOO!?!!??!?!!!!?!?!? BOOOOOOOOOONKERS. IM OBSESSED . THANK YOU?!??!?!!?! THAAAAAAANK YOUUUUUUU

additionally i love her insane codependent relationship with saejima and it like actively kills me we didnt get to see them interact more on screen. LIKE HELLO??????????????????? sooooooooooooooooooooooo so good. additionally i also insanely appreciate how deeply irrelevant her romance subplot with akiyama was at the end of her story <- I will never forget whatever was going on at the end of kiwami 2.Ever

this all being said lowkey i do wish they had pushed her death to the climax of the story id have to actually sit down and think about how to work that but i feel like it wouldnt be that hard. like i understand why they set it up the way it did but i feel like because she dies before the climax it makes the climax itself feel a little disjointed i guess. i dont know

and you already KNOWWWWWWWWWWW i mean ok if u scrolled through my liveblog even alittle bit u already know saejima and majimas relationship and interactions made me start seeing devils. additionally while i know that he's not a main character in this story and as a result they needed to put him into prison so that he would stay out of the final battle lowkey pisses me off he didnt even get to go to the little mini memorial they had for yasuko. but whatever (kicks rocks

^like i understand why plot-wise this could not have happened. But like well i would have liked . to see it

anwyays i think thats all for now? I dont know maybe ill have something else to say later but in conclusion definitely my favorite yakuza game so far after 0. i i think for me the ranking currently stands y0 <- y5 <- k1 <- y3 <- k2(Not including majima storyline)

^problem with ranking k2 is that i love the majima story so much it makes me want to start attacking people in the streets But also like i cant in good faith rank it on its own. but this is neither here nor there