#Okinawa Yakuza War

[blackryan53]

千葉真一   Sonny Chiba

沖縄やくざ戦争   Okinawa Yakuza War  1976

[quietlyimplode]

the language of flowers and silent things

Whumptober 2023: Day 14 - Just hold on

Warnings: canonical violence

Word Count: 1.5k (gif not mine)

Summary: a mission goes wrong for Clint and Natasha.

A/N: this almost didn’t get here - so it’s not been read though. it’s been a really rough start to the weekend, so if anyone has a little extra, a hug or a high five would be great.

Masterlist

Whumptober Masterlist

.

Everything is still new, but the partnership of work is familiar.

It suits them both, the consistency of work in navigating new relationships.

Natasha runs away more frequently than he can keep up with, but he always manages to bring her back, or sometimes, more recently, she returns on her own.

Fury, Phil and Maria know, but no one else does. One met it gleefully, one with expectancy and the other with a slight distain, even though he seemed to predict it would happen.

Fury tells them that things better not change, the tentative trust amongst them all, anything but stable.

It’s one of the things that sets Natasha on edge, the fear of not being useful in the world.

It doesn’t matter how much Clint tells her it doesn’t matter; that it would never matter to him, if she couldn’t work.

Okinawa is beautiful and the beaches make Natasha just want to sit and stare at the waves going in and out.

The tiny island off the coast of Japan is quaint and peaceful.

“We could just stay here,” she sighs, picking up the camera and checking the memory card.

“It feels so quaint, like the Yakuza shouldn’t be here, and we definitely shouldn’t be making deals with them.”

Clint picks up the small drone, and checks that the battery is charged.

“A deal today, then they help tomorrow, the enemy of our enemy and all that,”

He says it nonchalantly but she knows he feels it too.

Clint watches as she readies herself for the mission, almost like she’s readying for war.

Makeup akin to war paint, outfit like armor, Natasha almost looks like a different person, and he supposes that’s the point.

“The drone will follow you,” he clarifies, “high enough so it shouldn’t be heard and I’ll be taking the photos from this building.”

She nods, “Roxxon has their hands in every pie, it doesn’t surprise me that Fury wants blackmail on them.”

Checking the time, she looks out on the ocean.

“It really is beautiful here,” she says again; and he feels his heart tug at her wistful tone.

“Maybe we’ll come back,” he says, standing next to here, taking her hand walks squeezing it.

“Yeah, I think I’d like that,” she smiles.

.

Natasha looks at Akita Yodabashi and stares him down.

“The paper work, is what was agreed on, if, you feel it is not, you can take it up with your superiors.”

She stares at him with distain and almost rolls her eyes at his pout.

“It is not what we agreed on,” he says again, slowly as if punctuating each word.

Natasha switches to Japanese.

“Then, tell me what was agreed on,” she replies.

His jaw clenches.

“Money,” he tells her, raising his gun.

“It wasn’t the deal,” she repeats.

“It is now,” he starts.

“You think we didn’t know? We didn’t do our research, just as you have done?”

He throws a phone at her.

“Check the video,” he smiles.

“Then, take me to my money, as agreed.”

Natasha freezes, heart in throat as she opens the phone.

Clint stands surrounded.

Two men on either side, their large guns sling over their shoulders.

Akita smiles, gold tooth glistening.

“Two man team, Shield is very predictable

“Take me, to my money; or he dies,” he starts, “or maybe, he doesn’t die; maybe we start with his fingers, then his hands, his arms, until you give me what is mine.”

Natasha swallows, nodding slowly. Four on one is not a fair fight, no matter how much faith she has in Clint’s skills.

She glances at the video again, he has two hands crossed over his body, their universal sign for “don’t come.”

It makes her all the more anxious and angry.

He’s still in the safe house, the door frame around him, distinctive enough.

They must have been watching them from the moment they got off the plane.

If she didn’t have misgivings about how being in a relationship made them slower before, she did now.

Fury was right.

Cocking the gun and motioning for her to get into the car, Akita pushes it into her back.

“Take me to my money,” he repeats.

Natasha frowns.

“Fine,” she concedes.

She climbs in the drivers seat and waits for him to climb in behind her, pondering her next move.

She has a plan, but it’s stupid, and Clint wouldn’t approve of it; but given the situation that they’re both in, likely it’s the only play they’ve got.

.

Clint laughs.

“Four of you, in my house? For some babysitting?” he jibes, “how lucky am I?”

“Shut up,” says the man with the four and half fingers.

“Are you all missing fingers? All been bad at your jobs? Is that why you’re here?”

Clint gets pistol whipped and he smiles again, his head pulsating with pain.

He glances at the time, and the inert drone and camera.

Natasha was truly on her own.

He wonders how the meeting is going.

Did they really not notice the team of five following them? Or does the Yakuza have that many eyes on the island?

He sighs, looking around for his weapon; or something that might give him the upper hand in a four vs one battle.

It seems that he may just need to wait it out, find out Natasha’s play and go from there.

Turns out, he doesn’t need to wait long.

A car barrels into the house, hitting two of the men square on.

He takes it as his cue, rolling and grabbing a gun.

Two head shots and the other two are dead as well.

Debris is everywhere, he coughs in the dust and moves towards the car, wondering if the Yakuza honcho is inside.

It’s the mess of red on the white airbag that sends him into a panic.

“Nat??! No no no no no,” he moves, amongst the broken house towards her.

She’s not moving, and he feels his heart beating out of his chest. The car is a mangled mess, and the house around them fairing no better, as it starts to crumble.

“Nononono, shit, Nat,” he reaches her and finds her unconscious at the wheel. At least she was wearing her seatbelt.

“Fucccck, Natasha, what were you thinking?” He admonishes, attempting to pull her back.

There’s no response, no groan, no grimace even as he releases the seatbelt, and drags her out.

Akita Yodabashi lays through the windshield, and Clint stares momentarily at his broken body to see if there are any signs of life.

When there are none, he carries her to the front garden, amongst the tyre marks and broken fence.

Setting her down he taps her face lightly.

Still no response.

He feels a faint pulse and sees blood around her mouth.

“Natasha, wake up, now? Ahh, hold on, please, hold on,” he says desperately. The likelyhood of internal bleeding increasing tenfold, maybe collapsed lungs; broken bones. He just doesn’t know.

Satellite phone in hand, he calls it in frantically.

“Widow down, immediate medivac required!”

He listens for the response, and once his location is set, he pushes down again and waits.

It feels like a lifetime.

Gently, he keeps talking to her, telling her she’s an idiot and that he had it handled.

He could have taken on the four, he would have worked it out, she didn’t need to drive the car into the building to give him a chance.

The Japanese authorities arrive quickly, Police, ambulance, fire, they seem to take one look at the scene and know what’s happened, the analysis too quick of the bodies in the house and the two Americans outside of it.

“Help her, please?” Clint asks in rudimentary Japanese, hands gently holding her.

They’re quick to load her into the ambulance, Clint following close by.

The policeman stares at him and Clint is sure he’s going to detain him, instead, he motions for the ambulance to go, and follows too, providing a police escort to the hospital.

.

Clint paces, calling Coulson first, then Maria.

“No news,” he whispers.

“Tell me exactly what happened,” Phil says, not understanding.

“I don’t…I don’t know,” he says softly, “will you come? They’re asking more questions than I know what to do with and I just want to be close to her.”

“Clint…” he starts.

“No Phil, just come and help me sort this out, okay?”

Clint runs his hands through his hair and looks into the hospital room, three hours in surgery to repair two broken ribs, a collapsed lung, a broken arm and perforated liver.

His concern pulls and he walks back inside changing up on Coulson.

She looks so pale, so fragile, hooked to machines; intubation running out of her mouth to support her frail lungs.

“You’re an idiot,” he whispers, taking her unbroken hand.

“An absolute idiot. What am I going to do with you?”

His kisses her hand, then becomes self conscious as a nurse walks in.

Clint steps back as she checks on Natasha.

His phone buzzes.

“I’ll be there in twenty four hours,” it reads.

.

[animehouse-moe]

Media I Experienced In 2023 That I'm Thankful For

It feels crazy to process that another year's effectively gone by already. A lot of people will always say "this year was worse than the last" in the context of a lot of things, and I'm usually one to disagree with that sentiment. This year though, it's been tough for entertainment in general. But that's not what I'm here to talk about, I wanted to share some of my favorite experiences from this year, and look back on the wonderful and impactful media that I've been able to read or watch!

Witch And The Beast - Kousuke Satake

Yes, this is the third volume's cover, I know. I just really love the color choices and style for it.

Anyways, this was one of those series that I'd always see and never pick up. It took some severe pestering from a friend for me to finally pick it up, and it was totally worth it.

I would say it's definitely far from bad right from the start, but I'd also say that once you reach around volume 3, Satake really catches their stride and provides some beautiful work in the volumes leading up to their hiatus. If you want a world all about magic that prioritizes form over function, it's impossible to not recommend The Witch and The Beast and its wonderful appeal.

A Home Far Away - Teki Yatsuda

Yes, this is a one-shot manga, but the grip that it had on me after I read it was so intense. You know how you can tell when a one-shot wants to go past that single volume but can't? This is like the exact opposite. The pacing, themes, characters, all of it is so well structured for a single volume run that you end up with aimless frustration that it can't continue.

The themes of various types of trauma and the idea of searching for a savior in someone else are just so strong alongside the systemic failure in caring for and helping minors. It's just so so strong and painful in how it represents a slow slip into helplessness as they claw at each other to try and unearth their freedom.

Also, definitely read their serialized manga The Yakuza's Bias! Totally different vibe that is just full of absurdity and humor.

Pandora - Hagiwara Rei

Pandora was a very healing manga to read. Beautiful watercolor artwork is donned by each page in the various short stories appearing in this work. Though each is a different person in a different situation, the themes of survivor's guilt, loss, and the hope to be found at the bottom of despair are very strong to feel. If people are looking for a heavy but positive and emotional read, this is certainly a great choice.

Okinawa - Susumu Higa

I don't think it's a secret to say that anti-imperialist Japan manga is seen as "few and far between" in English. We have a lot of impactful and important works that haven't been translated or are currently out of print, so Okinawa came along at a really great time to help drive the point home alongside other experiences like Godzilla Minus One (which is on this list, of course).

Anyways, stepping away from the general act of the war, or the (typical) experiences of it post-war, Okinawa is an incredible read for displaying the interaction and relationships between the Okinawan people and the two separate armies that occupied their space. It does a wonderful job of not painting anyone as inherently evil, but showing the sinister nature of war and the aftereffects that it leaves on a people. Very very worthwhile read that I can't recommend enough.

Until I Love Myself - Poppy Pesuyama

It's only two volumes, it's a manga essay, and it deals with LGBTQ+ content among other things. This is something that was essentially destined to be criminally underread and underappreciated.

What Pesuyama does in exposing their difficult experiences and personal trauma is beyond valuable to people that find themselves in similar positions. The idea of sexism distilled into every aspect of society through the patriarchy, and how that's reflected on someone that doesn't feel comfortable in their own body is almost impossibly poignant. The frustration, the distance, the fear, it takes an incredibly personal experience and without losing even an ounce of that value is able to translate it into something that almost any reader can grasp. An incredibly powerful piece from an equally brave author, it's also an invaluable resource and experience for many out there.

Skip and Loafer - Misaki Takamatsu

I'm a big P.A. Works fan. I've got a lot of their art books, I watch a lot of their series, I just think they do a lot of good work. I also had my reservations about them doing the Skip and Loafer anime, but it was wonderful.

Simply put, it's a modern classic in the slice of life/high school era genre. The characters feel perfectly childish and immature, the direction of the story and its themes are perfectly on the nose. It just has the perfect balance of everything you could hope for. There's not really much to add past that, really. If you like slice of life or high school stuff, you'll love Skip and Loafer. Incredibly refreshing experience.

Heavenly Delusion

I'm a massive fan of the manga, and I was coping insanely hard when I saw that first trailer. I was praying I was in for greatness and wasn't going to get scammed, and Production I.G brought out arguably their best work in the last decade for it.

Mori Hirotaka and the rest of the staff did an absolutely phenomenal work in transforming Heavenly Delusion into an anime. Massive restructures and thematic changes that feel like sheer art within the context of the series. Ishiguro couldn't have done it better himself, and he made that point known on Twitter. Right up there next to Frieren (and even above it depending on the significance of various criteria) for the greatest anime of 2023, and puts itself in contention for one of the best in the 2020s. Absolutely a must watch.

Undead Girl Murder Farce

Mysteries and series that really encourage you to analyze and break them apart are some of my favorites to experience. Include historical context, a penchant for intense showmanship rooted in Japanese culture, and animation and direction that will knock your socks off, and you've got the Dark Horse of the summer season.

Undead Girl Murder Farce had me absolutely hooked from the very first episode, bringing almost SHAFT-like direction and execution that brings out the absolute most in something so fluid. Lapin Track struck gold with this work. Even though they were struggling a little towards the end, they provided and endlessly satisfying and creative experience that had me on the edge of my seat breaking apart every single little frame for meaning and value. An absolute treat for a mystery fan.

Blue Giant

Like many, I discovered Nut (the studio) through Tanya The Evil. Crazy visual effects and ridiculously competent visuals for such a new studio, I was immediately enthralled with their quality.

Not that Blue Giant as a story isn't incredibly good, but that in this context, Nut brought out every last drop of greatness that could have existed in this movie. I'm really struggling to come up with more to say, but it's just so visually stunning that the experience as a whole just feels like a performance on an incredible level. Simply great, I guess I'm forced to say.

The Boy and The Heron

It's Ghibli, it's Miyazaki, need I say more really?

I don't, but I will. I went and saw it twice in theaters so that I could experience both dub and sub for it. Something that people should be 100% experiencing in theaters, and absolutely should be watching multiple times. Miyazaki doesn't tell just one or two stories with this movie, it's so many experiences in his life rolled into one. A love letter to the man behind one of anime's most beloved studios, but also one that leaves lingering feelings of sorrow for some of what Miyazaki instills in it. So yeah, watch it to your heart's content.

Godzilla Minus One

Last, but certainly not least, Godzilla Minus One. I loved it, I knew I'd love it from the moment I laid eyes on the trailer. The idea of Godzilla being presented in North American theaters, to North American viewers, as a direct and destructive of the atomic bomb and its effects on the Japanese population just set something off in me.

North America's view of Godzilla as some sort of anti-hero over the years has weakened the original sentiment that barely existed here in the first place. Minus One sets the record straight in devastating fashion, and adds to the theme in spades. I'd love to explain but I want as many people as possible to experience this without any spoilers, so I'll leave it at being one of the best Godzilla movies bar none.

And that's the list for this year. I think overall it was a "weaker" year, but I'd be more comfortable with calling it a radicalized year. The bad stuff got worse, but the good stuff got better. The best experience of the year were incredibly good because of that, but it overall felt like slimmer pickings than the prior year.

Not that this list couldn't have added any number of entries like Scott Pilgrim, Frieren, Kamonohashi Ron, Bleach TYBW, Gwitch, and so on and so forth. More so that I wanted to keep this list a little more contained. The idea of importance or appreciation begins to lose its value when everything is important or overly appreciated.

Anyways, that's all the past, this post is in the present, and I've got my eyes set on the future with things like the Hokkyoku Department Store movie, Dandadan from Science Saru, Delicious In Dungeon, and plenty, plenty more in 2024!

So with all that said: happy holidays and I hope people have been enjoying having time off and getting to spend some with their families and friends!

[legacy-miyamoto]

Kokoro and Ryu enjoying their morning tea: 1945

The story so far: In the enchanting countryside of rural Okinawa, there lived a young Japanese girl named Midoriko. Born in the year 1936, she was a spirited and curious child with a heart full of dreams. Midoriko's father, Ryu Miyamoto, was a high-ranking member of the yakuza, a renowned and respected figure in their community. He was known for his strength, loyalty, and unwavering dedication to his family and the values he held.

Midoriko was not alone in her journey through life, for she had two older twin brothers named Kenji and Koga. They were inseparable companions, always looking out for their little sister and teaching her valuable life lessons. Their bond was unbreakable, nurtured by the love and support they shared.

However, the chaos and devastation of World War II cast a long shadow over their lives. In the aftermath of the war, tragedy struck their family. Ryu, Kenji, and Koga, were taken from them, never to return. Midoriko and her mother, Kokoro, were left to grieve their loss and pick up the pieces of their shattered lives.

[mihai-florescu]

Mihai. Mihai my enstars professor mutual. What the heck is going on with ryuseitai

Ok so i read some liveblogs but i havent read comet show or submarine so a lot of references to those were lost on me (im waiting for them to come to engstars) and thus im not the best professor for this story.

But the tldr is that there's an agency in Okinawa (same place Submarine was held in during the ss arc), Crimson Production, that opposes ES's monopoly and that's where a bunch of ex ryuseitai kids have gone to (theyre called Antistars). Tetora goes to help these kids and the media publicizes it as him leaving Ryuseitai. Shinobu goes to find out the truth, talks to Tetora about the opposing ideologies, the next day the news state that he also left Ryuseitai. So the rest of the group go to Okinawa to see what's up. They trespass, Tetora and Chiaki have an argument and fight, but dont worry, Tetora is a spy on the inside of CrimPro and needed to make his loyalty to them believable. Chiaki opens up to Tetora about his time in the war (i realise as i type this how ridiculous this game sounds to an outsider...)

This was a distraction for Kanata and Midori to find and free Shinobu, and to find papers to destroy the company. They get caught. The 5 are reunited inside the agency and Tetora reveals he is a spy for ES but he does genuinely want to help the antistars kids who are mistreated by CrimPro for being former ES idols. So CrimPro are evil and need to be destroyed but im a bit confused at this part ngl. Something something yakuza something something they actually kill people so it's super dangerous (i think this part has a callback to Submarine that im not getting). They cant go to the local police cuz the organization has inflitrated it so the only option for Ryuseitai is to renounce ES and join CrimPro.

While making the announcement theyre actually sending ES secret messages, dangerous stuff if they get caught. Theyre gonna hold a live for CrimPro which is a distraction for ES to intervene, and while theyre preparing for that, Tetora has a self hating monologue about his own skills and merits. He's not being self sacrificial bc he's a hero but bc he doesnt mind putting his life in danger::::)

At the live they discuss about roles and who's the leader. Tetora cant become Chiaki, but he can be his own person with his own skills, and like this maybe he can even surpass Chiaki. They keep their colors but those expectations of having to fill in Chiaki's shoes are going away. So anyway, back to the live, Ryuseitai had secretly sent back to Eichi evidence to condemn CrimPro and now he's ready to bust them down (i dont know if Eichi is there personally with the police or if he's just in charge from above... i assume the latter?)

They tell themselves that they're not harming people but just destroying the environment where the evil had spread (Chiaki compares it to the war, but i think he's being idealistic...people Did get hurt in the war too. There's a cenotaph for the students who killed themselves afterall...) And uh. Then we get to the epilogue, that I haven't seen translated yet. I assume they're successful (imagine if we went through all of this only for someone to die lmao)

So. Ta daa. Thats it. Erm. I know this isnt new to enstars but i feel like things have felt more dangerous and high stakes, especially in the ss arc and 1.5 (negi just. Faked being shot by a hitman. That shit was traumatizing. This is set after that). I dont really know what other stories we could get of Ryuseitai set in our current year if im being honest. This felt like Climax yknow?

Well, im looking forward to translations of this story cuz im not entirely clear on everything just with the livetweets. And looking forward to reading comet show and submarine when they come to the english server. Hope this was helpful^_^

[video-game-kids-tournament]

MEET YOUR CONTESTANTS!

Yakuza spoilers under the cut! Along with a TW for child endangerment!

Name: Haruka Sawamura

Age: “Like 6 in the first game, eventually becomes a teenager”

• "8-16”

• "9 at debut”

Gender + Pronouns: Female, she/her

Video Game: Yakuza

Victims: Razputin Aquato (Psychonauts)

Backstory: “Little girl eventually adopted by her mom’s foster brother. Repeatedly kidnapped. Tries to make her own way in the world.”

• "Orphaned, found in the middle of a bloodbath by a former yakuza and raised by him at his orphanage. Actually helps him run it and raise the other kids. Went on to compete in a pop idol competition show.”

• "Adopted daughter of the main character Kazuma Kiryu! She's originally searching for her missing mother, who is Kiryu's childhood friend. She's adopted by him at the end of the first game, and continues to grow up as the series goes on--By the time of the 6th game, she's 19 or 20 and has a child of her own.”

• “Hunted by several yakuza groups and is protected by her foster uncle and later opens an orphanage with him”

• “She is born in the year 1995 and is raised in an orphanage called Sunflower. As part of the events of Yakuza 1 she meets the protagonist, Kiryu Kazuma, who quickly becomes a father figure to her as he helps her search for her missing mother, who is the sister of Kiryu’s first love, Yumi. At the end of the game it is revealed that the missing mother IS Yumi herself, and she is reunited with Kiryu and Haruka, but unfortunately Yumi dies shortly after. Kiryu takes on the responsibility of raising Haruka, having formed a bond with her, and is a devoted (if flawed) father to her from there on out. They move together to Okinawa where Kiryu runs an orphanage until he decides to go into hiding for the safety of the children (he is an ex-Yakuza). By the events of Yakuza 5 Haruka is living on her own, pursuing a dream of being a JPop idol and hiding her past Yakuza connections. During this time she learns to dance and sing from a team of coaches led by a ruthless instructor, an ex-idol named Mirei Park. During this time you can play as Haruka and engage in Dance Battles for the purpose of defeating opponents. At the end of this game, while onstage at her debut concert in Tokyo, she publicly declares her love and admiration for her father, known ex-Yakuza chairman Kiryu Kazuma.”

• "Haruka grew up in an orphanage after her mother, Yuki, disappeared, and her father was a deadbeat. Her only remaining family relation was her aunt, Mizuki, who visited from time to time but couldn't care for her full time. After a series of events causes ten billion yen to disappear from the coffers of the Tojo clan, the biggest Yakuza clan in Tokyo, with her aunt as one of the prime suspects, Haruka was embroiled in the middle of a criminal civil war. We first meet Haruka, scared little 9-year-old Haruka, huddled in the corner of a bar, holding a gun. Our protagonist, Kazuma Kiryu (usually referred to by his surname, Kiryu), was on the trail of the ten million yen when he discovered her there. Every other person in the bar lies dead in a gruesome tableau. Over the course of the game, we learn that Mizuki, her aunt, was actually Yuki, her mother, all along - she'd sent Haruka to an orphanage run by the crime family for her protection. A lot of drama unfolds, and at the end of it all, she has nobody left on her side - nobody but Kiryu, who adopts her and raises her as his own daughter.”

• “Orphaned at a young age, Haruka runs away from Sunflower Orphanage to look for her Aunt Yumi to find her mother. She ends up in the center of a 10-billion-yen power struggle among the largest and most powerful yakuza organization in the Kanto region of Japan.”

• "goes to find her mother in kamurocho at age 9, kiryu finds her and end up helping her find her mom who ends up dying, kiryu then basically becomes haruka's father figure, some yakuza stuff happens and eventually kiryu gets an orphanage and haruka helps out with some of the other kids, then more yakuza stuff happens and haruka becomes an idol for a bit but cant talk about her father figure bc hes the infamous Dragon of Dojima which nobody is having a fun time about”

• “She's trying to find her mum”

Why should they win the tournament?: “Amazing talented little girl deserves better. Sweet but hard as nails. Parentified extreme. Sawamura Haruka queen of our heart.”

• "She's the most resilient and wonderful child. Unrelenting positivity and hope in the face of horrible circumstances.”

• "Inherits both the best and worst parts of her father's personality in a way I find really compelling”

• “She deserves everything”

• "Haruka grew up unfortunately surrounded by violence- in her first appearance at age 10 she is cowering under a bar holding a pistol. Later in this game she survives being shot and basically brushes it off. In Yakuza 5 she battles on her own, and in Yakuza 6 she’s hit by a car and survives that too. She has mental toughness in spades and faces off with the gangster who burns down her family’s orphanage in Yakuza 3. This girl is made of steel. Despite all the struggle, she grows up into a remarkably caring and empathetic person who would give anything, including her life, for the people she loves. I think she would be incredibly difficult to take down in a fight.”

• “Over the rest of the series, up through Yakuza 5, we watch as Haruka grows and matures. We even get to play as her for a significant portion of Y5 as she chases her dreams of becoming an idol singer. In between the incidents covered by the games, her adoptive father starts an orphanage of his own; as the oldest of several kids, we see Haruka develop into a responsible, good-hearted older sister to everyone. She spends a significant amount of time in the first three games getting dragged into whatever the latest problems her father has to deal with, getting kidnapped or exposed to violence, but after being mostly absent from Yakuza 4, she finally gets to take center stage and assert her agency in Yakuza 5 (upon which she immediately becomes the center of a murderous plot to take down the Tojo clan yet again). (I'm leaving Yakuza 6 out of this as she had aged into adulthood by that point, but uh, that game also doesn't treat her great. Sega consistently does Haruka dirty and it makes me sad)”

• “She has suffered more than Jesus and is the bravest kid to ever exist. She is so kind and strong and is my daughter and I love her dearly.”

• “she has gone through so much already”

• “She become a popstar later, which is pretty pog”

[doamarierose-honoka]

The Yakuza (or Like a Dragon) franchise is known for being a tad wacky, but publisher Sega is bringing the weirdness to the real world by basically hosting a funeral for all the series' dead characters in Tokyo.

As reported by Famitsu and translated by Siliconera, Sega is teaming up with department store chain Parco to host an exhibition where players can visit fake gravestones and leave flowers at portraits of the deceased video game characters.

A play on the latest game, Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name, the event will be called Like a Dragon: The Men Who Perished. It will cost ¥700 (around $5) to enter and will run from December 30 to January 15 in Ikebukuro, Tokyo. Subsequent exhibitions will take place in Nagoya from January 20 to February 4 and Sapporo from February 16 to 25.

Starting in 2005, the Yakuza/Like a Dragon franchise spans seven mainline games but 19 entries in total including spin-offs and remakes. And while its main protagonists Kiryu Kazuma and Ichiban Kasuga swear against murder, there are still plenty of dramatic deaths. One character was blown up atop a skyscraper alongside ¥10 billion, for example, while another was thrown from the top floor of a secret underground castle.

We won't say exactly whose graves can be visited in the exhibition to avoid spoiling the games, but fans can also buy merchandise of their favourites. Dioramas, bookmarks, "death portrait charms", face towels, gravestones, incense sticks, postcard books, stickers, tear-shaped can badges, tote bags, T-shirts, and more are all on offer.

The Yakuza/Like a Dragon franchise is growing again in January 2024 with the release of Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, which despite being the 20th game overall, is basically Yakuza 8. The series had a name change following 2020's Yakuza: Like a Dragon (Yakuza 7), with the subtitle becoming the series main name going forward.

The Yakuza Games In (Chronological) Order

Originally released as a PlayStation 2 game, Yakuza (known as Ryu ga Gotoku in Japan) spawns a lengthy series that follows the steps of Kiryu Kazuma, a member of one of the most important yakuza families (the Dojima family, under the Tojo Clan), in the game’s fictional city of Kamurocho, Tokyo. He and his multiple allies and friends try to avoid the conflicts and plans being schemed by other powerful mob groups.

1. Yakuza 0 (2014)

The sixth released game is actually the first Yakuza when it comes to its chronology. In Yakuza 0, we play as a two protagonists. The first one is a young Kiryu Kazuma in the late 1980s, who is being framed for a murder set up by one of his lieutenants in the Dojima family. The reason behind this has to do with an ‘Empty Slot’, where the apparent murder took place. This is a piece of land that will be a key asset for the person and group who owns it.

2. Yakuza (2005)

The first Yakuza game stars Kiryu Kazuma as its only protagonist after he goes to prison due to taking the blame for a murder he didn’t commit. The victim was Sohei Dojima, Kiryu’s boss, and he was murdered by Akira Nishikiyama, our protagonist’s best friend. The reason behind this crime was that Sohei tried to rape Yumi Sawamura, a friend of both Kiryu and Nishikiyama.

3. Yakuza 2 (2006)

Yakuza 2 starts with Terada, the Fifth Chairman of the Tojo Clan, asking Kiryu to help him prevent a war between his clan and the Omi Alliance, their eternal rivals. After being shot in an ambush, Terada seems to be dead and Kiryu looks for Daigo Dojima, son of Sohei Dojima, to make him the new chairman of the clan

4. Yakuza 3 (2009)

The first entry released on PlayStation 3, Yakuza 3 presents an unusual beginning with Kiryu far away from the yakuza lifestyle. Instead, he’s taking care of an Orphanage in Okinawa called Morning Glory Orphanage. He’s assisted by Haruka, and he looks after many new kids living there.

5. Yakuza 4 (2010)

One year after the events of the previous game, Yakuza 4 raises the stakes and brings another type of story to follow. This is still a tale of families, betrayals, and crimes, but on this opportunity, it is shown from the eyes of four protagonists

6. Yakuza 5 (2012)

If Yakuza 4’s story got complicated with the multiple protagonists’ points of view, Yakuza 5 went all-in in the same direction. This time, you play as five protagonists in different scenarios, making this one the biggest game in the series.

7. Yakuza 6: The Song of Life (2016)

Yakuza 6: The Song of Life is presented as the final beat in Kiryu Kazuma’s life in the Yakuza series. Our protagonist spends some time in prison again, but on this occasion, it is for his past crimes and not by being framed by anyone. At the end of the previous game, Haruka revealed in a concert broadcast that Kiryu was her father and that he was an ex-yakuza member.

8. Yakuza: Like a Dragon (2020)

A fresh new start, Yakuza: Like a Dragon is a big turning point in the series. For the first time, the main protagonist is not Kiryu, but a Tojo Clan member named Ichiban Kasuga, who went to jail for 18 years to protect Jo Sawashiro, his captain. When he gets out, he finds out that nobody is looking for him because the Tojo Clan has finally been defeated by the Omi Alliance.

Infinite Wealth takes players beyond Japan for the first time with a Hawaii map three times the size of the previous game's. Developer Ryu Ga Gotaku Studio has otherwise promised a "monster class" video game.

In our preview of the game, IGN said: "[Our] time with Infinite Wealth was about as brief as Ichiban’s board shorts, but it left [us] to ponder the infinite possibilities for fun that might be hidden around its sizeable Hawaiian island expanse."

[todayisafridaynight]

I love your examples of how Yakuza can be a very stress-relieving game, because they're all completely true and valid but also the polar opposite to my first thought about how to use them to force the stress from your body, which is to join the War on Bones(TM) and commit various acts of violence, probably involving a bicycle at some point

yakuza 3 is not only a nice stress reliever due to the relaxed atmosphere of okinawa but it's also got the BEST bike physics out of all the games and makes throttling people 1000% more fun

[queenoftheboard]

♕ verse . Ryu ga Gotoku/Yakuza status: open to any Ryu ga Gotoku/Yakuza muses or muses with Ryu ga Gotoku/Yakuza verses. This verse and all associated interactions are exclusive with @dojimakaichou's Dojima Daigo portrayal - no other interactions will be accepted for Dojima Daigo and any references to the character are alluding to this specific portrayal.

Eirene Campbell was one of the many children fathered by Bryce Campbell, the 5th head of the Cambpell crime family from Dublin, Ireland. While the Campbells enjoyed a relatively comfortable life largely due to the weapon and drug trade during the 20th century, the arrival of the early 2000s saw a strengthening of the Irish crime legislation, forcing many of the major players out of the country.

Eirene saw an opportunity where many despaired - in face of the upcoming changes, the woman did leave Ireland but not to flee from law enforcement. Unlike her father who favored brute force and an old-style approach to the underworld business, his daughter had different ideas: despite being raised among mobsters and surrounded by illicit activities, Eirene had attended college and graduated from business management, possessing an incredibly rational mind and cunning instincts.

In a move intended to show Bryce Campbell that his best successor was the daughter he neglected for a good portion of his life (on the grounds of being female and just ‘too pretty’), Eirene set her sights on a completely different land and where she considered her chances of success to be increased: Japan. Eirene had studied enough about the East, and the relationship between the yakuza and the local government was unlike anywhere else in the world.

There was a large, untapped (black) market controlled by a mafia in a country where legislation similar to the Irish one showed no signs of being implemented. The cultural aspects played a key role there, and it seemed like the type of gamble she enjoyed - a high risk, high reward strategy; not unlike her favorite chess openings which were only used by players with extreme skill or arrogance (sometimes, both - like Eirene herself).

The early 2000s saw Eirene moving to Japan - more precisely Tokyo, where she established her own corporate empire under the name of Quinn. Although technically legal (at least on paper) and used as a means to open the door for the woman to the local society, it was nonetheless a façade to help cover her desired goals - to actually participate in the local black market responsible for the distribution of weapons, drugs, illegal immigration and even pornography. The quirky and unique loopholes of the Japanese legislation made it fertile land to be exploited - and Eirene was nothing but ambitious and greedy to make a profit.

However, her presence in Tokyo did not go unnoticed - and it also went on to prove that Quinn was not the sole western organization with a hidden agenda in relation to Japan. Unknown to the woman at the time, the major yakuza organization in control of the Kanto region (and therefore Tokyo), the Tojo Clan, happened to be in the middle of a internal power struggle, caused by foreign interference as well - an old and rogue unit from the CIA, known simply as the Black Monday, had placed undercover agents in Japan seeking to benefit from certain development plans in Okinawa, when in reality it had all been orchestrated to lure them out to the open, expose and capture these terrorists for good.

The Black Monday activities contributed to destabilizing the Tojo Clan - and indirectly offered Quinn a stronger hold in certain areas that would have likely been prevented in previous years and at the peak of the power of the Tojo. It was at such moment that Eirene received a proposition for a business meeting unlike any thus far: one with Dojima Daigo himself, the Sixth Chairman of the Tojo Clan. Such occasion was, in fact, more similar to a war council - including a truce of sorts if Quinn agreed to lend their resources to completely purge Kanto of any trace of Black Monday’s influences, with a promise that whatever businesses and territories that Eirene had conquered so far would be free of yakuza interference going forward.

In a show of trust between two strangers, the partnership yielded generous returns: Daigo kept his word, and Eirene saw her investment in Japan paying itself back, offering her the profits from a market that was incredibly exclusive and very well-protected against foreign players. Perhaps it had been luck (or fate) - but if it hadn’t been for the precise moment that Quinn had arrived and began expanding, they would have missed the unique window provided by Black Monday and their local interference.

Eirene decided to stay in Japan after that - not only because Quinn is too new (and precious) to be relegated to remote management, but because the country offers her mind a challenge like no other. It’s more than the obvious cultural or even language barriers that one would expect to find - but the delight in having a worthy opponent. For all her life, Eirene thought herself a queen of the chessboard, but it took going to the other side of the world to find another master at the game: Dojima Daigo.

[dxrknessembr8ced]

Meanwhile....

Through out the ruins of japan helicopters appeared flying all across the country side carrying unidentified military personal only for them to reveal themselves to be the most terrifying amongst the threats that the survivors of japan. Carrying high grade and powerful weapons and high tech technology these soldiers are diclonius created by an unknown organization alongside came the former Kijujian Army who're infected with a new type of plagas parasite similarly to the drones back in the atlantic coast however these majini have become highly aggressive and far more dangerous to this new type of las plagas. What these diclonii soldiers doing here in tokyo is they're searching for the a few more diclonius hiding and still surviving within japan. Their targets are the queen diclonius Lucy along with the diclonii children. No matter the reason they're not gonna stop until they find the targets dead or alive they will kill and tear japan apart if they have to.

Unfortunately for the diclonius soldiers the japanese self defense force or the JSDF simply unlike the atlantic coast and other nations across the world they haven't given up hope for the japanese military alongside both bio organic weapons and darkstalkers fought against the diclonius soldiers with sheer strength in numbers. When they have invaded the country side and attacked the japanese military swiftly retaliated and they came in and came harder with strength in numbers, advancing towards the enemy with a rapid paste no matter their powerful weapons and armor. The people resorted using the sheer brutality and destructive nature against the invaders like they've done in the second world war and with both the bio organic weapons such as the sentient T-103s, highly trained lickers and hunters, and the genetic engineered dinosaurs that once was their threat now highly trained for war and defending their homeland and the darkstalkers of folklore alongside this wasn't a war this is a mass execution.

The diclonius soldiers with their hightech weapons began their assault on Japanese soil against an entire army of the JSDF and their B.O.W.s. and darkstalkers alongside all resulted in massive casualties from their side. Body parts ripped apart from their high tech weaponry, being torn to shreds by dinosaurs crushing, stomping and even the chomping by large theropods such as the tyrannosaurus rex, explosions all around, the velociraptors and Algols together in packs swarming and pouncing onto prey during the battlefield.

" THERE'S TOO MANY OF THEM I REPEAT THERE'S TOO MANY HOSTILES ADVANCING!!! "

{ " What's your status report? " }

" SUFFERING HEAVY CASUALTIES ON ALL SIDES! I REPEAT ON ALL SIDES GOD DAMN! "

{ " What's going on? What do you mean heavy casualties on bo- " }

" THE ENTIRE FUCKING JAPANESE ARMORY IS RAINING HELL ON US WITH FUCKING B.O.WS AND DARKSTALKERS! "

' KRAAT-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT! '

The diclonius soldier screamed his lungs out as he hide behind their vehicle while firing his assault rifle unknown to him right behind him a pack of raptors are on pursuit very quietly.

Finally delivering the elements of surprise one of the velociraptors snatched up the diclonius soldier by his leg.

' CHOMMPP!! '

Upon being bitten from the leg he collapse on the floor dropping his rifle while being dragged by the raptor to the rest of the pack.

" NOO!! NOOO!! AAAHH AAAAHH AAAAAAAAAAUUUUGH-! "

Right there the raptors ripped apart his entire body using multitudes of slashes and bites tearing him limb from limb as he kept screaming while his body is reduces into a shredded carcass as red liquid splattered from his very body.

' KKRRRASSCCCHH! '

' PPWAACCKK!! '

' CCRRUUAASSNCCHH! '

' KKKRRSSCCHH! '

After his screams are no more the raptors now enjoyed their delicious meal while an certain soldier watched during the battle of okinawa. She watched it all happen and that someone is known as Maya a darkstalker known as the mayama Kangaroo. She's what they call a phantom kangaroo all across the world and the united states specifically. She is a japanese american kangaroo cryptid that had fought in wars before in her lifetime first being the second world war in the japanese army then years later she had moved to the united states become an american citizen and volunteered to both the korean war and the Vietnam war. A very dangerous woman with a heart of gold.

" 哀れなバカ野郎... "

{ " Poor dumb bastard... " }

The kangaroo darkstalker chuckled while she twirls her knife placing it over by the holster. Then pulled out her howa type 20 assault rifle with a laser dot device attached under the rifle. This device was created to control and direct both raptors towards their enemies which provides a distraction for the JSDF to get the advantage.

" 八幡、このクソ野郎どもにショーを見せてやろうじゃないか！ "

{ " Hachiman let's give these assholes a show! " }

Right besides her is Hachiman carrying a massive chaingun in his arm. Hachiman is a bizarre rogue prototype clone of the original nemesis T-type and the most unique thing about him is that he's not only named after the japanese god of war but also he can talk.

" そうだよ！ "

{ " Hell yeah ! " }

The two are an inseparable pair as they fight alongside each other ever since the very first outbreak occured. And so onward with the bloodshed as both the darkstalker and the prototype Nemesis marched through the battlefield engaging at the diclonius soldiers with fury. Getting behind Hachiman the prototype mows down a large group of them while using Hachiman as a shield to protect herself while also providing cover fire aiming that laser dot at one of them the raptors stopped and saw the red dot on the soldier's body. They then swarm like crazy and began attacking the large group of them pounding inly a few soldiers ripping them apart while being distracted as the rest of the JSDF have snipers fire from a distance killing only a few of them providing the duo with covering fire as well.

' BANG ! '

' BANG! '

' BANG! '

One of the diclonius collapsed on the ground after getting shot in the chest wincing in pain while the other few diclonius soldiers began retreating and regrouping while one of medics grabbed and carried him over to safety.

" C'MON WE GOTTA GO! REGROUP GOD DAMN IT EVERYONE RETREAT!!! "

Lowering her rifle reach for a frag grenade from her pocket pulling out the ping.

' TCK! '

" 地獄にチャンスはない.. "

{ " Not a chance in hell.. " }

Tossing the frag grenade towards both the injured diclonius soldier and their medic right under his leg as the grenade hit their leg and...

' BOOOOOMMM!! '

The grenade blows the diclonius soldier and medic to bits and pieces flying in the sky reducing into a red miss. Maya started to laugh at the sight of their enemies blown to pieces. The kangaroo darkstalkers patted Hachiman over by the shoulder as he now lowers his weapon as the soldiers retreated and regroup while they still spread across the city of japan all at the cost of more lives as the war is not only but the first battle has just begun.

[1358456]

They just announced Yakuza live action

Oh? Fascinating...

But... doesn't that already exist? I recall seeing a scene in a live-action movie where Majima shows up with a bat during a yakuza war, while this cheerful-ass music is playing, one of his guys toss him a baseball and he hits it directly into the forehead of an enemy goon. A very Majima moment.

... And I also remember that he's missing the wrong eye.

But a new one, huh?

I see.

... I will say. That dragon tattoo... the game one seems much cooler. Something definitely feels off about the live-action one. Doesn't feel complete. It's missing its eyes and it feels like half of its head is missing too. If they're going to call this Like a Dragon/Yakuza, and the main guy is clearly supposed to be Kiryu... why are they using a different tattoo?

There was a whole substory in Yakuza 3 about this. The Okinawa Ryudo Family's Shimabukuro Rikiya shows off his viper tattoo before they fight, Kiryu beats the crap out of him and then asks "if you're so proud of that viper, why did you leave it unfinished?" and Rikiya responds "the tattoo master passed away before he could finish dotting the eye and I couldn't find a suitable tattoo master to replace him. It's not like I can get any random tattoo artist to do him justice." And then much later in Kamurocho, you have the option to take Rikiya to Utabori II, the tattoo master who did the dragon on Kiryu's back, to fill the eye in.

Hmm... details like this can be overlooked if the tone matches the games (though I doubt the main character here will be wasting time in arcades or Pocket Circuit racing, and doing 100 substories). But in my experience, a live-action adaptation of a game usually turns out to be an absolute disaster (like Hitman, which missed the entire point of the games), so... I'm not holding my breath.

... Though that Fallout show was actually pretty good... hmm...

[blackryan53]

千葉真一   Sonny Chiba

沖縄やくざ戦争   Okinawa Yakuza War  1976

[questintheskies]

Suzu Hirose has been cast in film 'Hero's Island'

Set in post-war Okinawa, Japan, Gusuku (Satoshi Tsumabuki) had 3 close childhood friends: On (Eita Nagayama), Yamako (Suzu Hirose) and On's younger brother Rei (Masataka Kubota). On was the oldest of the group and he was like a leader to everybody else. He was also a heroic figure to them. On led his friends into the U.S. military base and they stole supplies to give away to the local residents. Everybody in the neighborhood praised On. One night, they entered the U.S. military based to steal supplies. During their raid, On was chased by U.S. soldiers and went missing. Years later, Gusuku now works as a police officer. Yamako is an elementary school teacher. Rei is a member of the yakuza. These three people are still unable to get over the disappearance of On. They chase after the truth behind On's disappearance and uncover a shocking answer.

[okina-was]

Onsen

Gestern war es auf Okinawa deutlich kühler, es regnete und stürmte. Es fröstelte uns da draußen in unseren dünnen Pullovern. Wir machen das Beste, was man an einem solchen Tag machen kann: Wir gehen heiß baden.

Der vulkanische Ursprung Japans bringt es mit sich, dass zahlreiche heiße Quellen zu finden sind. So gibt es auch auf Okinawa einige. Grundsätzlich sind die heißen Quellen erschlossen, als Badehaus mit Eintritt.

(Beispielbild)

Das Baden in heißen Quellen, das onsen, hat in Japan Tradition. Früher als rituelle Waschung oder auch als Notwendige (als noch nicht jeder Haushalt sein eigenes Badezimmer hatte), ist es heute nach wie vor sehr beliebt.

Die nächstgelegene heiße Quelle befindet sich etwa 6km von unserer Unterkunft entfernt. Beim Rathaus von Nanjo. Der Bus dorthin fährt diesmal quasi vor der Haustür ab, entspannt.

Um die Onsen gibt es viele wichtige Verhaltensregeln. Keine Badekleidung ist eine, Schuhe und Socken aus, vor dem Betreten der Umzugsbereiche eine andere. Höchste Reinlichkeit, Stille und große Rücksicht sind angesagt. Tattoos sind verboten - sie gelten als Symbol der berüchtigten japanischen Mafia-Organisationen - der Yakuza.

Zum Glück haben wir uns vorher belesen, die Angestellten sprechen nämlich keine Silbe englisch. Im schnellen Japanisch wird uns erklärt, wie wir uns zu verhalten und wo aufzuhalten haben. Und, schwupps, finden wir uns nackend im plätschernden Nass wieder. Und wissen immer noch nicht genau, was zu tun ist.

Levin traut dem Ganzen nicht und schaut etwas unglücklich drein. Hier baden - in einer extra bereitgestellten Babybadewanne - möchte er nicht. Nach einer Trink- und Schlafpause ist er aber bester Laune und vergnügt sich außerhalb des Badebereichs mit Krabbel- und Sitzübungen.

Während Levin sichtlich Spaß im Aufenthaltsraum hat und dort mit Thomas im behaglichen Trockenen wartet, frönt Malina dem onsen. Diesmal aber richtig.

Das Onsen findet geschlechtergetrennt statt - das ist seit der Meji-Zeit so üblich. Vor dem Betreten des Badebereichs, ziehen wir die Schuhe aus. Die Kleidung, Tasche und Sonstiges wird in einem Spint verstaut. Man wird auf Schildern daran erinnert, tunlichst viel zu trinken. Das heiße Baden kann auf den Kreislauf schlagen. So gibt es im Umkleide-Raum einen Wasserspender und die schon bekannten Getränkeautomaten.

Bevor man baden darf, muss man sich erstmal duschen. Und zwar ausgibigst. Vier Reihen, mit je fünf Plätzen, Hocker aus Plastik befinden sich vor den eigentlichen Badebecken. An jedem Platz ist eine Duschschlauch installiert, es gibt Seife und Shampoo en masse. Es wird geschrubbelt, eingeseift und gewaschen, was das Zeug hält. Ach ja, das Duschen geschieht im Sitzen, dicht nebeneinander, Aufstehen is nich. Handtücher bekommt man gestellt, ebenso kann man sich Bürsten und Sitzkissen ausleihen.

Nach dem ausgiebigen Waschen geht es ins heiße Quellbecken. Nicht untertauchen, nicht schwimmen. Dafür bis zum Kinn im Wasser sitzen und genießen. Das Wasser scheint etwas schlammig braun, das kommt durch die natürlich vorkommenden Mineralien in der Quelle. Das Wasserthermometer zeigt 42 Grad. Über allem dampft es, Wassernebel, im Hintergrund ist fortwährend das Plätschern der neuen Duschenden zu hören.

Da sich die heiße Quelle samt Badehaus auf einem Berg befindet und eine Wand komplett aus Fenster besteht, hat man beim Baden einen traumhaften Ausblick auf das Tal: Die grüne Pracht mit in sich verschlungenen Pflanzen, dahinter ein größerer Ort Nanjos und dahinter das offene Meer.

Neben den beiden heißen Becken befinden sich zwei kalte Becken - die sind zwar um die 20°C warm, aber im Kontrast zur heißen Quelle eiskalt. Nach der Hitze in dem eiskalten Wasser wird einem schonmal schummrig. Nach dem Abkühlen kann man sich aber schnell in der nebenliegende Sauna wieder aufwärmen. Ein weiteres Highlight ist eine Brause an der hohen Decke des Raums mit der man sich vom pladdernden Wasser den Nacken massieren lassen kann.

Zu Besuch sind vor allem ältere Menschen und ein paar wenige Kinder, was verständlich ist, da wir hier ja tagsüber an einem Wochentag aufkreuzen.

Außerhalb des Badebereichs befindet sich ein Entspannungsraum mit Leder-Liegesesseln, aus dem man noch eine Weile die Aussicht genießen kann.

Nach 5 Stunden machen wir uns auf den Heimweg. Wir sind sehr angetan und haben nun volles Verständnis für die große Popularität der Onsen in Japan.

[thismust]

Sonatine (1993)

yakuza eiga manifest

death by boredom & an Okinawa gang war

When you’re scared all the time, you reach a point when you wish you were dead

is a japanese yakuza film directed, written and edited by Takeshi Kitano

[cerastes]

semi-related to a recent post, but do you think Shirou would be good at melty blood? how would he do at the melty blood tournament that Taiga runs out of his workshop

He’d be kinda dogshit tbh, you’d have to explain soooo much shit to this kid, like reverse beat first of all, then you mention “oh yeah this character has a good dp” and now you have to explain what a dp is and why it’s a good wake up tool, and he ain’t DUMB he gets it, but then he can’t actually do the dp motion, you explain an easy way to 623 is to 6236 and he asks you where the fuck did these numbers come from.

So it’s Shirou (Nanaya) vs Cu (Miyako) on the first game and Shirou is catching the most official hands in the business, and he’s had ENOUGH.

“Trace… On.”

After eating shit the first set, Shirou scans the entirety on his fightstick and gets it, he can now DP on wake up, which is really good against Miyako, whose oki gets shut down hard by this technique, so now Shirou is going on an absolutely greasy streak of warui ne warui ne and Cu cannot for the fervent life of his figure out how to counter it. Shirou takes one set and then one more, and now he’s serving whole ass on a platter, he stomps Saber (Riesbyfe) and Caster (Len) and makes it to the finals: Fuji-nee.

Now, Fuji-nee (filthy CRoa main) is greasy as hell, she’s a barbarian gamer specimen, it takes more than warui ne to beat her because she knows punishes and frame traps, she’s conquered parking lots and hotel showers in Hokkaido, Okinawa, Nara, Ibaraki, Osaka and even Kyoto, so Shirou’s goose is kinda cooked to be honest, finals is best of five sets, so Shirou thinks he’s got some wiggle room, well, he’s wrong because he’s playing with the Japanese Athena, Goddess of War, Taiga is ragdolling this kid so hard, child protection service offices the world over are spontaneously combusting into flames, dear god, she is hitting this kid so hard, anti-ballistic satellites are picking her up, she’s making Shirou so miserable in this match up that Kotomine is taking notes. He’s 0-2 and he needs to do something. Sakura is on life support from the spectacle, nervously chewing on Gilgamesh’s severed leg, Saber is all out of advice, Rin keeps looking up videos of the match up and can’t find anything to help, it’s too much, the difference in power is TOO big.

But we don’t remember Shirou for being a quitter, now do we, no, he focuses, he’s on the corner, Taiga is setting down more thunder crests, and… Shirou discovers it.

“Nine Hundred Blade Works: Thunder Cleaver Papercut”

He discovers Nanaya’s 236B. The spam begins, Taiga cannot set any more Roa crests, the pressure is immense, Shirou shows no respect, and when Taiga tries her safety C, too bad, yakuza girl, warui ne warui ne.

Shirou wins the local tourney, the audience is losing their minds, Kirei grows a new heart from how moving this was, Taiga isn’t even mad, he did it, Shirou became mediocre at Melty Blood, thanks to everyone’s help!

This leads directly to Fate Apocrypha.