#akiyama is the sad wet boyfriend everyone knows that

[grandwitchbird]

I used to, like most people, think Y0 was a fine place to start the Yakuza/LAD journey. Watching the folks who do start there stay confused about everything over the years has changed my mind.

Here’s the thing. It’s a great game. It’s a phenomenal period piece. And it adds so many layers to Kiryu and Nishikiyama’s relationship in 1/Kiwami. It’s great. Playing as majima is also fun. But that last bit is where we run into trouble. Unfortunately 0 Majima is easily the worst thing in the series (see tags).

See, Majima was never meant to be your sad wet boyfriend (see tags). And he definitely isn’t meant to be running around doing Kiryu stuff. And it shows. It shows if you’ve played the series before getting to 0 and you notice that the game has no idea what to do with him outside of generating angst. It shows if you start with 0 and then spend the whole franchise looking for that much weaker version of the character. It shows if you’re attentive and you notice how much more nuanced his relationship with Kiryu is as it shifts across 2-3. It really really shows if you go back and replay 0 after 4-5 (which is the original release window) and you realize that everything you actually learn about him was handled better and with more nuance in 4-5 with a fraction of the screen time. Hell, his entire backstory with Saejima (which should be the contrasted arc with Kiryu/Nishiki) is relegated to the exact same footage you saw in 4. It’s rough. Equally rough is the fact that 4-5 had an entire handful of protagonists who all had content and activities tailored to their characters. 0 has… young!Kiryu and majima!kiryu.

It’s also put rgg on the back foot when it comes to using Majima since. He’s somehow more clownish than ever and also defanged, trotted out for fanservice in most of his appearances. It was always a fine line with the character, but 0 crossed it fully. We’ll see if being a pirate gives him his groove back. Should at least be as funny as the sad old man shack, so I’m hopeful this is progress. And if you’re wondering where to start with the series. My vote is Kiwami or 7. You’ll have a more fair view of what the series as a whole is about with those two.