#kiryu kazuma was a real person

[dirt-str1der]

One last post because this has literally been keeping me up but it haunts me how ice cold kiryu is. The man is like a fucking robot , like yeah he is the warm and compassionate protagonist of our beloved like a yakuza series who loves to help people and adores his nine kids but he gives zero shits about consequences as long as they all fall onto his shoulders and is a huge fan of abandoning everybody who has ever loved him because he cant just Not have his cake and eat it , he also has to fake his death and run away from it

[designernishiki]

kazumaji nation, if the pairing were to be canonized in y8, how do you imagine it happening? either realistically or ideally. go

[athenaholmesartistsguild]

I love how Kiryu is SO BAD at changing his identity.

Like. This man has had to pretend that he’s not who he is at least TWO TIMES (three if he changes his hair in 8 to go undercover) and his first attempt was naming himself the equivalent to John Smith. Then he tries AGAIN and he changes his name to JORYU.

Kiryu is so beautifully autistic and I love it. He just saw a rule and he followed it.

[square-coconut]

Okay, so, I just finished Yakuza 3, and I have many, many mixed thoughts and feelings. I'm sure someone has said this before but I want to talk about the "parallelism" between Mine and Daigo (in Yakuza 0), because I just realized it and I'm okn't. If they did this on purpose, they are sick.

I'm sure we all understand the ending of Yakuza 3 by now. I mean, it's pretty straightforward. Not being able to establish any genuine relationship was creating a void within Mine that was getting bigger and bigger.

In his childhood he was unable to make any friend because for other people he had no value. This must be very hard for a child's development, but during adulthood it didin't get any better. He earned a lot of money so more people started approaching him, obviously in a interested way. That must have really hurt him and so his "beliefs" solidyfied and he didn't even try any more to connect with people. We know that, he literally says so.

So, in the "Family Heir" substory (Yakuza 0), Daigo talks about how he's experiencing something similar. It's more like what Mine experienced when he was an adult; everyone approaches him out of interest, for his money or his status, but the conclusion is the same; two children incapable of forming genuine relationships/friendships with the people around them.

The difference? Kiryu Kazuma threatening to beat him up (will work with me to, not gonna lie). I choose to believe it's on purpose. RGG really like their connected by fate gays, don't they?

The speech he gives to Mine is similar, a little faster but I mean, Mine was pointing a gun at him lol

And he proceeds to beat him up! That's Kiryu's love language I guess

The sad thing is that in the end he got it, the seed to change was there. It really seemed like he wanted to change but the feeling of "not deserving something real" won, especially after betraying one of the few persons he ever loved. I went into this fight hating this man and ended up crying.

Mine was right, I wish he had met them a little earlier in his life (difficult with both Kiryu and Daigo in prison lol).

And to be honest, I think it worked better with Mine than Daigo because if you look at Kiwami 2, it didn't look like he had any friend (does he have any now? Majima and Kiryu don't count, they're his parents)

In conclusion, being gay in Japan (2009) must have been hard enough to justify going to therapy, I can't imagine dealing with this on top of that.

[great-kung-lao]

KazuKaoru: Everlasting - An Essay

(This art belongs to amamaiiya, please go and follow, like, reblog her magnificent works)

What defines a good relationship? What makes fictional couple a good one? Each of these questions can have a different answer depending on the person asked, because it is often that in fiction people prefer something they would never allow themselves in real life. You know how they say, the forbidden fruit is sweet. But personally, I have equal preferences for both. In my honest opinion a good relationship has to be, above everything else, a healthy one and consist of trust, mutual understanding and support, where both partners have things in common, respect one another and don't hold back each other. This is what I saw and liked in a dynamic of Kiryu Kazuma and Sayama Kaoru from Like a Dragon (aka Yakuza) series.

Some might say they had a rough start, with them being on opposite sides of the law in a world where people are labeled and treated with prejudice. But that is the whole theme of their love story throughout Like a Dragon 2. It is a relationship that defies what people assume as normal, where characters are developing to see through the superficial and realize that despite their surface level differences, there is much more in common on a deeper level.

They are both humans, shackled by outside perception of them and because of it they might feel they have to act a certain way instead of being themselves. But being themselves is exactly what they manage to achieve around each other, which is something that even Haruka notices about her Uncle Kaz. Isn't that the best kind of thing that can be in a relationship? To be yourself without hiding it and be loved for it? KazuKaoru is that kind of pairing.

Isn't it ironic that he turned to be that someone? Interesting camera work here is that while he says this, it zooms at him. Not very subtle, but nice foreshadowing nonetheless.

Often I come across an assumption that KazuKaoru is rushed. Not one bit. We are talking about two grown up people with experiences, who know or at least feel what they want from life and their partner. It is hard to determine when exactly Kiryu fell for Kaoru, but Kaoru definitely starting falling for Kiryu at the rooftop scene after date. But that scene leaves us with an impression that her feelings are unrequited. She wants to stay with him to watch the stars, but he politely refuses and asks her to rest. There is a moment of hurt and disappointment.

Potential of denial is followed up by a scene at New Serena. After Kaoru suffered through shocking discovery and family member loss, she is a mess and her actual real self with all that baggage might not be loveable at all. She confessed to Kiryu about her insecurities and the truth ended up more harmful than she was prepared for. She started crying after saying this line:

I always read it as her implying something along the lines "you don't need me anymore". With her heart on disaply she is met with silence. But whoever was responsible for this subplot of Yakuza 2 liked to live in a happy land, so we've got this beautiful response from Kiryu that finally showed his true colors and feelings towards Kaoru:

"I would never think less of you" meaning that he accepts her entirely, with whatever may come her way. He loves Kaoru for the person she is and might be. This is pure, kind and tender form of love that is so easy to enjoy. He makes sure she knows that he doesn't want her away, so he asks her a very important thing to do later:

Yakuza and a police officer. Two people on the opposite sides. But both are warriors for justice, upholding same ideals of helping and protecting those in need. They both have power, but use it for good. This is the kind of common ground that can lead to something special and beautiful if they are ever allowed to reunite in later games.

Thankfully Like a Dragon 8 left us with hope. We have a confirmation that Kiryu Kazuma and Sayama Kaoru still have feelings for each other even after 17 years of being apart. This is why I call this essay as Everlasting. Because this is the kind of love they hold for each other, still waiting for a moment where they can be together again.

There is actually a lot more I would have liked to put into words about them. This is my all time favorite video game couple and maybe even my all time favorite OTP. Both characters are outstanding individually and together they are unstoppable. Ultimate power couple whose love story is there to each us a very important lesson in life that we all can take to heart and follow through with it:

[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".

[onecantsimply]

Hi. I'm back. After like a month or two. Maybe more of not updating, I'm back. I've basically been doing things on Wattpad and Ao3, but I've never took the time to go on here unless I needed to take in my daily dose of Jack content. For once that I didn't update... that's my bad LOL-

Okay. I’m doing a JTR oneshot on here- I discussed something with my best friend over on Discord- And I want to try it on here just to give a sample-

So I present to you... Metal Bat, the Yandere JTR Jikenbo x GN Reader I actually want to update lol-

This is basically a Goro Majima Reader x Yandere JTR Jikenbo characters. But be aware that Reader is already in a relationship. With Jack. And he will not let them go HH-

Characters like Kiryu and Jack do not belong to me, nor does the concept of Majima belong to me.

Now that we're done with that... let's get this going.

Warnings: Some violence, Gender Neutral Reader, Reader being addressed as Sir because "Mx" sounds too weird in a non-disrespectful way, Reader being crazy because they're basically Majima-

————

"Wh-Who are you?" A male mumbled to a black haired man who carried a suitcase of money. 

"I saw that shit, Kiryu-chan!" Another person's voice spoke. The pair looked towards it, seeing someone carrying an umbrella over their shoulder with a grin. They had an eyepatch over their right eye, as well as a suit over their figure. "M-Mx-?! Kiryu-?! You mean..." The first man mumbled. "Yep! The Dragon of Dojima, Kazuma Kiryu-chan!" The black haired man silently bowed his head. "It's been a while, Sir (Y/n)." Kiryu spoke as the person in front of him chuckled, the two men behind them following after with soft glares over their faces. "Put a lid on the formal shit. Heard you were gonna head up yer own family soon." They spoke while walking around Kiryu to the man on the floor. "By the way... this bar over here." (Y/n) looked up at a building. "That's where your sweetheart works, right? And I hear she's real easy on the eyes. Everyone's sayin so." (Y/n) continued to walk around Kiryu's figure. "They all just want in on the action!" He stayed silent with his same expression as he saw the person lean in. They then looked back at the man on the floor. "Anyways, whaddya wanna do with this fool?" He jolted. "I'm sorry! I didn't know it was you, Sir Kiryu!" He shook his head. "No, it's fine." The male spoke. "Too soft, Kiryu-chan! Soft as a marshmallow! You gotta make things right! Like this!" 

(Y/n) whacked their umbrella into the man's face. 

"I ain't even done!" 

They continued to smack their umbrella down on the unfortunate man's face again and again. 

(Y/n) then turned the umbrella around, aiming to stab the man right in the face. 

Well, that was until their wrist was suddenly grabbed, stopping the man from his own possible death. 

"The hell?" (Y/n) glared at Kiryu. "He's had enough." The male replied. "But I was only doin' it for you." The person tilted their head with barely saddened eyes. "And I say it's enough, so-" Kiryu was cut off. "Oh...? Well, fine then." (Y/n) nodded. "But when ya get your own men, you're gonna have to lay down the law. Let's roll." The person turned as their men did the same. "Yeah. I'll keep that in mind." Kiryu replied. "But..." This made (Y/n) stop. "Huh?" They looked back at Kiryu. "But what?" They questioned. "I'm going to do things my own way." Kiryu answered. (Y/n)'s eyebrows seemed to furrow as they walked towards the male. "And what way is that?" They questioned. "It'll be the right way." Kiryu answered. "The hell? You tryna start shit?!" (Y/n) leaned closer to him, their remaining eye glaring into his face. "I'll fight ya right here, right now!" They spoke. "No." Kiryu firmly answered as he stood his ground. "I've got no reason to fight you." He spoke. "There's no point." He added. 

(Y/n) immediately slapped the male across the face. 

"How 'bout now?" They questioned with a grin. "That enough reason to fight?" The person asked again. "... If I've made you angry, Sir (Y/n), I apologize." This response only seemed to irritate the person even further. "What was that?" They questioned. 

(Y/n) then whacked Kiryu across the face with their umbrella. 

"C'mon! Show me you've got some balls and fight back!" 

He received another hit to the face, making blood trickle down the side of his head. 

"And with that... Are we done here?" Kiryu questioned. "Huh?!" (Y/n)'s eyebrows furrowed yet again as they tossed their umbrella off to the side. They then took out their Demonfire dagger, pointing it up to Kiryu's face. He stood entirely firm without any sense of hesitance. "You talk tough... But I wonder how long that'll last." (Y/n) spoke. 

(Y/n) pulled their knife back before stabbing it at Kiryu's face. 

Yet, he stayed entirely still, his figure still entirely still. 

Just like a statue. 

As (Y/n) expected... 

"... Whatever." They sighed as they tilted their head. "No point? You're just makin' things harder on yourself. Deprivin' yourself for no reason." (Y/n) slightly leaned towards Kiryu while sheathing their dagger. They then placed a hand over his shoulder. "You think the world gives two shits about if there's a point or two? Keep that up, and it'll break ya." 

(Y/n)'s eyes somewhat reflected of sadness. 

"You can see it however you want. But... Nothing you can say is going to change my mind." Kiryu answered. "... No matter what happens?" (Y/n) tilted their head again. "... Right." Kiryu nodded. The person took a few steps back with their arms crossed in thought. But in a simple minute, they grinned while looking at him with clear mischievous intent. "You got it then! I'm gonna see those ideals of yours to the end! I'll have my remaining eye on ya 24/7!" Kiryu could feel his brows somewhat furrow with confusion. "What?" He questioned. "And then, when there's a point... Are ya gonna be willing to fight me?" (Y/n) leaned forward with anticipation. "... I won't know till the time comes." Kiryu answered. "Hell yeah!!" 

The person clapped their hands before punching their fist into the air. "Then all I need to do is come up with a plan to make ya fight me! Let's bounce, guys!!" They turned to their men with a laugh as they bowed their heads. (Y/n) walked past them before stopping, looking back at Kiryu. "See ya soon, Kiryu-chan! Looking forward to some fun!" He only stared with narrowed eyes as (Y/n) continued to walk out of the alley. "Man, this is gonna be sweet!" They jumped into the air before clapping one side of their foot with the other. 

- Later on - 

It was now night time within London, with (Y/n) silently walking down the dark streets. Rain showered down on the surfaces of the ground and the roofs as the person continued to make their way down the soaked streets. They could both hear and feel the pattering of the rain on their figure. It felt... odd. Weird. It didn't feel right. The person then continued to walk forward as they heard men ushering prostitutes towards them. Some had played along as others immediately walked away. (Y/n) then made their way towards a certain house. As they walked towards the window, they saw a silver haired man cooking something. A post it note was beside him on the counter.

(The man kept that. -(Y/n))

They softly chuckled before tapping on the window. The man looked back, only to stop once he saw them grin faintly. He only smiled in reply while walking over, opening the window. "You could have used the front door, Dearest." He spoke. "So? It was easier gettin' your attention like this, Jacky." (Y/n) crept in through the window before shutting it behind them. "You're drenched!" The silver haired man spoke with worry. "Eh? This? Nah, don't worry about that." (Y/n) smiled. "You'll get sick! You brung an umbrella. Where is it?" Jack questioned. (Y/n) stopped. "Ah... Wanna leave that for later, Prince?" They answered with a question. "That's the fifth one you've lost, (Y/n)." The man sighed. "Ah, come on, Prince." They walked over to him. "I was talking to Kiryu." Jack looked towards (Y/n). "Do you mean whacking him?" He questioned. "You know me so well." They smiled as well before they looked back at the food. "Watcha cookin', Prince?" They questioned. "I planned on serving this to you when it was actually ready. However, you got home a little earlier than I thought." Jack smiled faintly. "Oops?" (Y/n) arched an eyebrow. "The only thing you need to say that for is being drenched and getting the floor dirty." They looked down at the ground. "... Oops." Jack gently pushed them out of the kitchen. "Go take a shower." He spoke. "Fine, fine." (Y/n) took off their shoes before heading up the stairs.

Whilst they had done so, Jack had continued to cook.

It didn't take long until (Y/n) had came back down with more casual wear. "My Dear... Why do you wish to wear that?" Jack questioned. He turned off the stove before gently adjusting (Y/n)'s snakeskin blazer. "Is it not comfortable?" They smirked faintly. "... You know... You don't need to be like this with me." Jack gently placed one of his hands by their face, seeing their smirk slightly drop. "... You know fully well I can see through you like a mirror. What's wrong, Dear?" He questioned.

(Y/n)'s amused expression, as well as the rest of their smirk seemed to drop when they leaned into his figure with a tired sigh. "... Difficult day?" Jack questioned as he gently hugged them close. They silently nodded as the male brushed his hand through their damp hair. He then gently pulled away. "Why don't you tell me about it by the table?" Jack smiled faintly. "Alright, Prince." (Y/n) faintly nodded with a soft smile.

[favoritesegacharacterbracket]

With Round 3 concluded at last and the results revealed to the public, the contestants had gathered one more time to receive the news with their friends and allies. Hugs were exchanged, there were tears, both happy and sad, and above all else, the air was alight with a jovial spirit. 

Kazuma Kiryu offered Makoto Yuki a firm handshake as the latter felt the “pling” of a new social link chime in the back of his head. 

Whisper the Wolf carefully petted AiAi’s head, comforting the little monkey over his loss, all the while muttering “You still fought well…” under her breath. 

Shinjiro Aragaki was mildly surprised (but not at all disappointed) that he had been bested by a tiny, blue bird and, when nobody was looking, pulled a little package of birdseed out of his jacket to start giving the victor their well-deserved prize. 

Dr. Eggman ragged over E-102 Gamma’s performance, criticizing every little mistake he had made and pledging to upgrade and update the robot’s systems first thing he got home. 

Hatsune Miku was very busy singing a fan-composed anthem to the badassery of Surge the Tenrec, which Surge mistook as a form of mockery, loudly screaming at Miku to stop and fight her “for real” if she really “wants to have a go so bad”. 

Kit the Fennec didn’t mind his own loss, much too preoccupied by trying to calm down Surge a little. Tangle the Lemur, meanwhile, was happily bouncing all over the place, psyched to have advanced yet another round, eventually grabbing the nearby Whisper's hands and pulling her into a tight hug. 

Rouge the Bat was posing and winking at the audience, keeping an eye open for anything shiny or glistening that she, ahem, might ‘reappropriate’ for her own uses. Haruka was too bewildered by all the strange sights around her to care much that she had lost. If nothing else, this had been a unique networking opportunity.

Morgana stood in awe at the sheer might of Bayonetta and her clearly unshakable ideals and was mumbling to himself about the likelihood of recruiting her to the cause of the Phantom Thieves. 

Sonic the Hedgehog and Goro Majima were having a laugh exchanging their favorite one-liners. 

Tails was surprised and psyched that he’d managed to defeat a being made of pure energy and information so decisively and immediately started to run the probability calculations again, which NiGHTs found very fun to watch. They silently hoped they'd be able to welcome the little fox in a dream one day. 

Shadow the Hedgehog was still not entirely sure WHAT it even was that he had fought, but its insistence that his angry demeanor was most likely the result of unaddressed trauma and the resulting attachment issues still sat very wrong with him. 

Amy and Cream were playing Hide and Seek together (Amy was not about to celebrate winning over a literal child.) 

Futaba Sakura was too busy awkwardly asking all the cool fictional characters all over the place for their autographs so she could put the collected signature collection on her wall at home to be all too upset at losing against one of the more forgotten Sonic characters. 

Absolutely nobody was surprised that Ichiban Kasuga had beaten Infinite. Not even Infinite. If one listened closely they could faintly hear Shadow the Hedgehog smirk and cackle in the background. 

As for the two matchups not included here… Well… [TO BE CONTINUED]

Disclaimer: There's a lot of characters in here that I know only very little about, so if I got anyone's personality wrong, I apologize profusely.

I should make this the pinned post. This is very impressive

Part 2 here

[lethesomething]

Yakuza and coping mechanisms

Yakuza has been my on and off hyperfocus for years now but also in particular the past month, so let's talk about it. And particularly, how many friggin coping mechanisms are in this game.

Disclaimer: I do literary analysis, not psycho analysis, don't come for me.

For all its silliness about fighting roomba's and disco minigames, the world that the Yakuza games is set in, is fucking brutal. They are, at their very core, crime drama's. People get murdered a lot, lives are ruined in various ways, a good third of protags spend large amounts of time in jail, usually for a crime they didn't commit. Most politicians and police are corrupt, racism is blatant and if you don't have a place in the very strict hierarchy of society, it's hard to get back on your feet (hence all the crime). I tend to read a lot of indictments of Japanese society in these games, partly because they are so clearly based on old school yakuza crime drama's.

This means that the characters go through some shit. And what's fascinating, is how they deal with this.

Spoiler warning for, uhh, almost all yakuza games except Song Of Life (since i never played that)

Pretending it's not real

Kasuga Ichiban

The direct reason I'm even making this blog post because he's the most blatant about it. Kasuga is Peak Himbo in that he's not the sharpest tool in the shed, but he manages to take being beaten down Repeatedly and overcomes that with a sense of genuine good nature and optimism that is… honestly kind of hard to believe. The way he deals with any of this, is that he's a nerd who pretends to be in a video game. It's the whole premise of Yakuza Like a Dragon.

And to be fair, Kasuga suffers from an amount of mistreatment that makes me Very Angry in his stead. He has every right to be upset! He is literally homeless in the beginning of the game. If he requires the escapism of going around pretending to be in a jrpg to survive, more power to him. Especially since it works. Dude goes around helping people and making friends. Which is a good thing, because there's no way he'd make it out of Yokohama alive if he didn't have some back-up.

Side note: something similar happens to at the very least Majima, i think, in the admittedly non-canonical events of Yakuza Dead Souls. (yes i played it solely for Majima, no i do not recommend it, the game is garbage and you get more Majima in Zero anyway). In Dead Souls, Kamurocho is overrun by zombies. As a lover of all things Horror, Majima decides he may as well have a good time mowing them down like he's in an FPS while he trudges through the wreckage of society.

Self sacrifice

Mostly Kazuma Kiryu and  Saejima Taiga

If you hate yourself, at least try to be of use to someone. Let's be honest, a lot of the plot of Yakuza games is driven by self sacrifice or at least following some code of honor to its ludicrous ends.

Kiryu is the main example here. The game kinda glosses over this a lot, but he is, at least in Zero, a criminal. He goes around extorting money from businesses. He consistently solves problems through violence. It's kinda the point of the games. But he's also borderline a saint and 80% of the shit he gets into is because of his need to throw himself to the wolves for any person he cares about. He voluntarily does hard time for Nishikiyama, for one. He picks up a stray kid that he will now protect with his life. And it just goes on from there. See, Kiryu may be the famous Dragon of Dojima and the Fifth Chairman of the Tojo Clan and all that, but he would very much prefer not to be? Dude wants to live a quiet life and raise some kids, it's just that he's the protag of a game series about how hard it is to say goodbye to the yakuza life. So the plot keeps finding ways to bring him back, usually as a reluctant warrior to save the Tojo clan or Haruka  or whatever. If he was a little less honorable, he could still be chilling as a taxi driver with an unreasonably hot girlfriend, I'm just saying.

Saejima is very similar, but somehow even worse? Much as I love the guy, he's an idiot. He suffers from the same loyalty and selflessness as Kiryu, but he doesn't even get a cute daughter out of it. He spends Twenty Five years in prison for a crime he (we later find out) didn't commit. He escapes months before his parole to solve the convoluted plot of Y4. Then Goes Back to Jail to atone for (again) a crime he only thought he'd committed, only to escape (again) when he thinks Majima, his sworn brother, got murdered in Y5. As far as i can tell he goes back to jail one last time to finish his actual sentence, and to like, protect the name of the Tojo clan or some shit. My dude. My friend. Come on.

As a side note, acts of selflessness are kind of a big deal in the Yakuza games and one of the main ways to tell if someone is a good criminal or a villain. Kasuga and his crew are pretty big on the whole 'acts of selfless kindness' thing. It also seems to be one of the traits of Daigo Dojima, whose whole being screams 'I don't want to be here but who else is gonna fucking do it'. But in the case of Kiryu and Saejima it's very much verging on reckless self-endangerment.

Fabricated identities

Majima Goro, baby!

The Yakuza games really love this one, but I'll start with the big guy, everyone's favourite character: Majima. This dude has seen some shit. We see him throughout several flashbacks and the span of the games, but most tellingly we see him in Zero, at his rock bottom hero stage. And he's intriguingly unlike the other times he shows up. This is a Majima that's recovering from torture and backstabbing, and forced to do some dude's bidding for scraps. He's a chained dog (pun very much intended) and he's about to lose it.

What's fun about Majima is that he has So Many of the traits in this list. He has a lot of the reckless endangerment and self sacrifice that his buddies Kiryu and Saejima have. He gave himself up a few times for Haruka, he keeps trundling back to save Tojo and Dojima, but there's also a whole other layer of … Flamboyance to him.

And while Majima probably started out as comic relief, the games make clear that it's not all he is, and we get several glimpses of 'old Majima' throughout the series. He'll be in the middle of a self inflicted fight and drop some wisdom, for instance. He acts erratically, he is blunt, violent, exuberant in his dressing up. When given a task his first thought seems to be 'how can i make this Extra', but that doesn't mean the guy is unstable. You don't become a successful businessman with a building company, or a patriarch of your own family, without being smart and strategic. A lot of classic Majima behaviour, i feel, is a case of a mask he constructed to hide the severe depression, that became more of a second nature to him. Majima is one of the clearest examples of 'do what you need to do'. He's a survivor, through and through. Somewhere in there is a decent human being, but Majima will kill people to survive in a harsh world. It just seems like he constructed an extra layer to shield himself from all that.

Joon-gi Han (Like a Dragon): This is more a case of stolen (inherited??) identity, but again, if you don't want to be you, just be someone else. In this case someone he admires. Again: super tragic backstory, questionable life choices. As an aside, Joon-gi is fun because he is both a deadly assassin with someone else's name and face, but also  a Knight stereotype who would do everything for his queen and I think that's neat.

Zhao Tianyou (Like a Dragon): Somewhat more subtle, but Zhao is also a dude that was at one point confronted with a Situation, namely 'oh shit my dad died and now I'm in charge of a violent gang'. And to deal with that he decided to construct a persona that gives exactly zero fucks. He is very joking and very avoidant but we do learn that a fair amount of his laid back attitude is just veneer. Dude in fact gives several fucks. You don't decide to give up the throne and become a homeless sidekick to Himbo Supreme because you don't care. You do it to stop him from getting ultra-murdered by the parade of heavily armored gangsters he keeps storming into.

Akiyama Shun (Yakuza 4-5): I debated putting him here, because part of me believes Akiyama is just kind of a dick. A dick I love as a character, but still, ya know. At least some of the dickish persona is a front, though. Akiyama is another one that just saw his life's work destroyed at some point, and decided that emotional detachment was the way to go. Akiyama is different because he was never actually a proper criminal. He was homeless for a bit, and then came into some money (through Extremely Convoluted Plot Means) and now he's a moneylender. And like Zhao, he mostly pretends to be completely devoid of feelings, while having a fair amount of feelings. Enough to get into like… fist fights. With actual gangsters. Who have guns.

Vice

Sex, drugs and everything in between

The preferred way for noir drama's to show someone is Going Through It, is by giving them a classic addiction and Yakuza isn't any different. It's why several characters are shown mournfully smoking, in particular Kiryu and Majima. Yes I know it's because it looks cool and harks back to old crime movie atmosphere. That doesn't make it a healthy coping mechanism.

Another obvious one, considering the setting of the games in several red lights districts, is erotica. Both Adachi, the ex-cop from Like a Dragon and Shinada, the ex-baseball player from Y5 and also my least fave protag ever, are both in various stages of obsession about porn, sex work and the likes.

Tanimura, the cop from Y4 has a pretty severe gambling problem in the actual canon, though gambling games and casino's are a general mainstay of the Yakuza series. It's just that when Kiryu interrupts his busy day of solving the convoluted intrigue du jour to gamble in an illegal underground casino, it's not a character flaw.

Also: almost everyone drinks ludicrous amounts of heavy alcohol in these games. Both in canon and as part of the gameplay. 100% ing the games usually involves drinking tons of whiskey, but the whole Ichiban crew, sans I think Eri, is shown drowning their troubles at various times.

Violence: I mean, that's kind of the game, but an unhealthy amount of characters consider fist fights to be a good way to resolve conflict, bond with people and generally reinvigorate themselves. Particularly Majima is shown to get a real kick out of doing damage and being beaten up. There's just a lot of reckless behaviour, which is what makes the games good.

Karaoke: fake it till you make it, man.

Extra note:

You'll notice there's no women on this list, and that's because honestly the game is kinda sexist. So while there's already Very Few women in the game, the ones that are present don't exactly have super complex characters.

Mukoda Saeko, the hostess from Like a Dragon, drinks like a fish but that's about her main flaw.

Other notable female characters are Kiryu's kid Haruka, Kiryu's love interest Sawamura Yumi (Kiwami) and Kamataki Eri, the business lady from Like a Dragon. They're all stereotypical Good Girls who have no flaws apart from indecisiveness and an unhealthy tendency for selflessness.

Saejima Yasuko is ever so slightly more complex: her main trait is self sacrifice. The story promptly fridges her for it.

[gaytanimura]

Kiryu Kazuma. One of the greatest and most attractive characters ever thought up. He can fight at peak strength, take out enemies with heat moves, and best of all, he's red colored and knows how to handle the Fellas. Speaking of Fellas, the Yakuza universe might also be classified as "Hot Dude Heaven" because there's such a mess of very beautiful and tough men that it will make you love the franchise even more! And since Valentine's Day is around the corner, I've been inspired to make a top 10 list of the most beautiful male yakuza characters. Grab yourself a snack and a glass of staminan X, and try not to reach through the screen because HERE WE GO!

10: Try this question on for size. Who chases and fights Kiryu all the time and wields a powerful tanto? Why it's Majima Goro of course! Though more of a cutie than a hottie, you can't deny the fact that he’s still attractive. Two things that make him attractive are the fact that he wears snake skin jacket, and when have you ever seen an eyepatch on somebodies left eye? I haven't! So once again, Majima Goro is lovely; that is until he goes mad dog and starts cutting stuff with his tanto.

Who's at number 9? It's this 6th chairman from tojo clan. Daigo, from Yakuza 2. He got a message saying that Tojo Clan was under attack by the opposite clan Omi Alliance. He doesn't do much except get shot in the chest and drink alcohol. The real reason he lands at the #9 is that he becomes Shinada Tatsuo’s sweetheart, something Shinada needed for a long while.

Numero Ocho. Kiryu Kazuma’s mother, Kashiwagi. Hes attractive and the size of an average human mother. What really surprises me about him is that the ex-detective, Koichi Adachi, falls in love with him. Kinda silly, don't you think? He’s another character that doesn't do much, but in Yakuza 7, He helps Ichiban Kasuga have a place to stay along with his friends.

What number's next? Seven, of course. Yoshitaka Mine from Yakuza 3. People always root for the good guys, but sometimes, the bad guys steal the show.His mathematic IQ is equal to Sera. He also happens to be the smartest member of Tojo Clan. I wonder why he isn't the chairman. Like Ryuji Goda and Nishiki, his specialty is dying. With a stunning laugh and soulless eyes, Mine will rock your socks. If only we could see him take wing.

Numero Six. Ichiban Kasuga from Yakuza 7. Named after the number one, Ichiban is the son of Masumi Arakawa. He’s a newer character that hardly does a thing except beg his brother to stop being so violently mysgonisic. He also traps himself inside a box so that he could get a jump on lower ranked Liumang. When you're the son of a person in the killer Arakawa gang, you need to look your best and Ichiban delivers perfectly. That's why he’s #6.

Number #1, #2, #3, #4, #5! Ah-Ah-Ahhh! Saejima Taiga from Yakuza 5. How could you go wrong with a guy that looks like this? He can fight nearly as good as Kiryu and he went from being a Prisoner to being a Top Tojo Clan executive. Next to Majima he looks more collected than the other characters. Who could top someone who has a bald ass head?

This fella standing at number 4: Ryuji Goda. One word: TITS. How would you like to have that cup size? I mean Ryuji could play around in the Himalayas for hours and he would be perfectly fine! Also, his blonde hair makes him look like an American. I really like the fact that he has a relationship with the Jingweong agent Joon-Gi Han. The combination of this gay couple makes these two a reliable couple. But what lands Ryuji in the #4 spot is that his attitudes is apparently different from the other males.

Next up is #3. What's better than having a Male with Huge Tits? How about a Male with Huge Tits and Ass? Shinada Tatsuo, another Kiryu Saga has that feature. He’s Active, knows exactly what to do as a Nightlife Writer, and even fought Amon once. He’s also the guy of Daigo's dreams. Heh, lucky him. His younger self in the spin-off: The Wandering Dragon is just downright hot! Just look at them big tiddies! Now we're talkin'!

1, 2, button my shoe! Kiryu Kazuma. There's a lot to say about this character. He’s the heir to the Kazama Family, Yakuza’s first official protagonist, the only character that used to say slurs, brave and athletic, the most kind character, and is like a father to Haruka. In the Sixth installment of the series, The Song of Life, one antagonist, the sexy Joon-Gi Han constantly tries to woo Kiryu, but doesn't succeed because... he fucking dies! The Dragon is also a semi-perfect example of an excellent protagonist, although there were a couple of times when he really snapped and acted like a lunatic; in the early installments, that is. But overall, Kiryu Kazuma really stands out amongst the slew of males not just because he’s Yakuza’s first official protagonist, or because he’s the only one who show his ass three times, but because in the comics, he grew very perky boobs, and married Majima in the future, becoming the 5th Chairman.

So, you've seen a Yakuza Chairman, a baseball star, two gorgeous Ex-Yakuza, and even a Dragon! Who could possibly top those kinds of Males? Well, get ready folks; this is the #1 hottest Yakuza Male character. Yu Nanba. If anybody denies it, how dare you? This man can summon pigeons, he’s as strong as a paper bag, and is a manloser, seducing other characters into getting what he wants. Instead of having one love interest, he has two! Ichiban and Tianyou Zhao. Being a homeless man, his only interested in one object set; Alcohol, especially the Legendary Malt. There actually have been situations where Nanba’s cock and balls has been exposed, but it eventually got censored. What a price to pay. I think the best part about this beauty is that he wears three different outfits unlike the other male characters. And who wouldn't want to Sleep at anytime, be strong as a fetus, and flirt with any male, anytime, anywhere. These three traits make Yu Nanba triumph over all of the Yakuza malws. My hat goes off to you Sega Team Japan. You oughta be proud.

There ya have it folks. Those were the hottest male fellas in the Yakuza universe. I hope you enjoyed it, happy Valentine's Day, and I'll see you later. HERE WE GO!

[kyndaris]

Tosa Calling

Although I know it's been a year since Like a Dragon: Ishin! released, it wasn't until I came back from my trip to Japan that I managed to find some time to sink into the hefty title. I know, I know. It's shameful! But in my defence, last year I was swamped with games. And lengthy ones to boot!

I mean, given the evidence, I think, dear readers, it would not be wrong for me to ask that y'all give a gal a break. Especially because playing video games and writing up my impressions of them is a hobby. And having a full-time job does not make playing games, reading books and writing stories any easier. Throw in the FOMO from watching whatever is popular on streaming and also socialising with real-life people, I think the fact I manage to get through games at such a steady clip is a commendable exercise.

Anyway, back to the topic at hand. Or, at controller, if you'll pardon the terrible attempt at wordplay.

Unlike the Yakuza games that came before it, Like a Dragon: Ishin! is a game set in the mid-1800s as Japan grappled with foreign diplomatic and military pressure to change. And instead of stepping into the shoes of Kiryu Kazuma, players are thrust into the shoes of one Sakamoto Ryoma - a real-life historical figure who advocated for democracy, return of power to the Imperial Court, abolition of feudalism and the modernisation of Japan during the Bakumatsu period.

Of course, Like a Dragon: Ishin! does take a more fanciful approach to their interpretation of history as they have Ryoma playing double-duty with another real-life historical figure: Saito Hajime - Captain of the Shinsengumi's 3rd Division.

But, hey, what's a bit of artistic licence to give us some excellent blockbuster action scenes and build up a conspiracy about the Tosa loyalist party and the best interests of the budding nation of Japan? Why not even throw in a fight with Scottish merchant Thomas Glover too (which was passingly strange for me to deal with considering I visited Glover Garden while I was in Nagasaki while in Japan and failed to find nary a mention of how the man duked it out with Ryoma with a set of twin pistols)?

As always, Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio keeps the main story dramatic and relatively grounded with Ryoma on a quest for revenge when his adoptive father Yoshida Toyo is assassinated. The majority of the game then takes place in Kyo (the modern day equivalent being Kyoto) as Ryoma tries to hunt down the man responsible. He does so by deducing the style of swordplay and looking for dojos who teach Tennen Rishin.

It isn't long before he is informed that the Tennen-Rishi is practiced by the Shinsengumi. Ryoma soon joins the organisation, hoping to whittle down who among the captains was the killer.

Along the way, he must deal with a second 'Sakamoto Ryoma' who is trading with guns and other weapons to the Satsuma Domain and hatch a civil war in Japan in order to take out the Shogunate that had reined for nigh on 300 years. It later turns out that this second 'Sakamoto Ryoma' is his brother and leader of the Tosa Loyalist Party: Takechi Hanpeita (another real-life historical figure).

While the game does incorporate actual historical events such as the Ikedaya incident and the assassination of Sakamoto Ryoma at Omiya Inn, it does certainly take quite a few liberties of the actual events. Like how the person assassinated at Omiya Inn was just a stand-in and both the actual Ryoma and his brother Takechi survived for a final battle back in Tosa as they engage in battle due to competing ideologies.

From a gameplay perspective, Ishin! only really incorporates one of the fighting styles from the Yakuza games. This, being of course, the brawler style. As Ryoma is a samurai, he also had a swordsman style (my default one that I used for most of the game) and mixed it up with the occasional use of a revolver. While these all had a variety of different abilities, I found myself focusing on swordsman and wild dance throughout most of my playthrough as they easily ripped through the fodder you faced on the streets and were mighty effective against bosses as well.

Unlike the other games, Ishin! also introduced the concept of troopers. This boosted Ryoma's health and granted him additional abilities that could be triggered in the midst of battle, such as triggering additional damage or conjuring a gravity well to draw all the enemies to one part of the battle arena.

This helped mix-up the combat, especially after hours of using the same moves and combos throughout the game.

Boss battles, too, forced me to vary my strategy. Rather than brute forcing my way through most enemies, I'd often have to play more defensively - seeking to use my stronger attacks only when necessary and throwing in the occasional heat action to give Ryoma some breathing space.

But while the story and the combat are worthy of praise, it was the side content in Ishin! that stole my heart. I loved all the wacky stories Ryoma somehow got suckered into. As is RGG tradition, there are also numerous minigames such as singing and buyo dancing. True, it didn't have a crane minigame but it DID allow me to play rock, paper, scissors with a geisha.

And my gosh, I have never been so glad my mother doesn't often see what I'm playing when I first went through the song: Truehearted Samurai. Initially, I was confused there were live-action actors. Then, I was bewildered when they started acting flirtatious even as I was trying to nail most of the notes for the very fast-paced song.

To be fair, the Sensual Healing portion of the geisha interactions also earned a raised eyebrow from me.

As for buyo dancing, it was probably the most tame of the mini-games (at least when it came to salacious material), but it was difficult to master. I'm no slouch when it comes to rhythm games and I very much enjoyed the dancing mini-games in Yakuza 5 and Lost Judgment but Ishin! was a different beast entirely with how it implemented its controls.

Overall though, Ishin! is a must-play for Yakuza fans. Though its replaced the shady crime drama with an historical period plot, it still retains the heart and soul of the Yakuza games. Especially because many of the character models have been reused, like Kiryu Kazuma acting as both Sakamoto Ryoma and Saito Hajime. Then there's Goro Majima as Okita Soji and Taiga Saejima as Nagakura Shinpachi.

Oft times, I had to ask myself if I wasn't just playing another Yakuza game with just a historical skin on top.

True, maybe I should have instead dived into Rise of the Ronin (I will play this game eventually as I've actually bought it), but Ishin! took precedence. Besides, it's not every day that one gets to play as THE Sakamoto Ryoma.

For anyone who might say otherwise, I'll shall simply retort with: ee ja nai ka.

[satoshi-mochida]

Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name further details story, characters, and organizations

Gematsu Source

Publisher SEGA and developer Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio have released new information and screenshots on the story, characters, and organizations of Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name.

Get the details below, via the official website.

■ Story

What must you sacrifice to protect the ones you love?

A former legend in the yakuza world, Kazuma Kiryu fakes his death in order to protect his loved ones.

Having become an agent for the Daidoji Faction and assigned the codename “Joryu,” Kiryu hunts down an illegal gold smuggling site in the Port of Yokohama. It was supposed to be an easy assignment; little more than loose change for the organization. When he arrives, he finds several dozen Daidoji agents on standby. Despite having reached the rank of chairman within the Tojo Clan, Kiryu has maintained a relatively low profile among his peers here. Unable to resist their provocation, he ends up violently lashing out, which only widens the gaping hole inside him.

However, at that very moment, a mysterious group shows up.

The deal had gone sour. No outsider should have known about it. And amid the chaos and confusion, the shady group seems to recognize Kiryu. They mustn’t be allowed to vanish into the shadows.

Though he had severed all ties to his past, Kazuma Kiryu finds himself stepping into the maelstrom of the underworld once more…

■ Characters

Kazuma Kiryu (portrayed by Takaya Kuroda)

“This fight is just my way of killing time—so is the rest of my life.”

A former legendary yakuza who has erased his past and name.

A former legendary yakuza who made a pact with the Daidoji Faction and discarded his past. Once famed as the Dragon of Dojima, Kiryu reached as high as Chairman of the Tojo Clan. He also ran the Morning Glory Orphanage in Okinawa for a time. However, all traces of his past life have been buried away, and he intends to keep it that way. Forever cut off from his children at the orphanage, Kiryu aimlessly fills the void with missions from the Daidoji Faction.

Kosei Shishido (portrayed by Yasukaze Motomiya)

“If ya wanna beat me, you’ll have to kill me first. There ain’t no rules in a deathmatch!”

The Watase Family’s ace-in-the-hole.

The Watase Family is the most powerful group within the Omi Alliance and is led by Masaru Watase, who is next-in-line to become chairman of the alliance.

A capable lieutenant within the family, Shishido wields deadly weapons without any regard for his victims’ lives. He commands authority through terror and intimidation.

Yuki Tsuruno (portrayed by Yoshiyuki Yamaguchi)

“There’s no use playing dumb. I just get the job done—no questions asked!”

A yakuza sworn to the Watase Family.

Tsuruno is a captain of Watase Family and its second highest-ranking member. A bold and meticulous planner, he leads the group in the absence of its head with loyalty and tenacity. He has laid a mountain of traps to ensnare Kiryu.

Akame (portrayed by First Summer Uika)

“The truth is, yer nothin’ on yer own.”

A shadowy figure who knows the ins and outs of Sotenbori.

Akame is a jack-of-all-trades based in Sotenbori, Osaka. She is deeply acquainted with the city’s underbelly thanks to her Akame Network, which spans across every nook and cranny of the city. She also acts as an intermediary for a certain person, guiding them to their destination.

Homare Nishitani III (portrayed by Kim Jaeuck)

“That ain’t your real name, am I right? …Aren’t you s’posed to be dead?”

Third patriarch of the Kijin Clan, a direct subsidiary of the Omi Alliance.

Nishitani is a young yakuza who quickly rose up through the ranks and took over as head of the Kijin Clan. His dashing looks betray the madness swirling beneath. He loves nothing more than to put his life on the line in a fight to the death. Within the Omi Alliance, Nishitani is an immensely influential figure on par with Watase.

Kihei Hanawa (portrayed by Hiroki Tochi)

“Your next job just came in. For codename Joryu, of course.”

Leader of the Daidoji Faction.

As a handler for the Daidoji Faction, Hanawa serves as the only point of contact between Kazuma Kiryu and the outside world. His interactions with Kiryu are strictly professional and lack any warmth. He shows no hesitancy in reprimanding the legendary yakuza.

■ Organizations

Omi Alliance

Japan’s largest yakuza organization based in Osaka. With the weakening of its former longtime enemy the Tojo Clan, the Omi Alliance is on the brink of ruling all of Japan.

Daidoji Faction

A group with deep ties to politics and industry, who secretly inherited the wealth and authority of the late “Fixer of the Showa Era,” Minoru Daidoji.

Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name is due out for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC via Steam and Microsoft Store on November 9.

View the screenshots at the gallery.

[ask-paradox-and-friends]

HERE WE GO! EINHERJARS HEADCANNONS

@splatoonfan88 @hazawatsugu feel free to add if you want.

Bun

Hair is so curley and unruly he isn't aware when spiders crawl into it until someone screams there's a spider in his hair.

When the timeline gets rebooted/gets isekaid into a new world cause some gods are dicks due to him losing his eye to Hajun he's colorblind in that eye if not blinded fully. Funnily enough his other eye adapted and is better then most eyez.

Due to the early years training his quirk he can't fully close his fist without strain.

His teeth are naturally sharp. People used to claim he was part shark or part dog.

He hasn't combed his hair in a long time. Its bed head.

Even when he was burned more then dabi he wasn't Sure how he kept his hair.

He has a pair of handprint scars on his chest cause in the reboot timeline a doctor with a defibrillator hand quirk had to resuscitate him.

He can't stand the smell of anything that smells like burnt sugar which smells like nitroglycerin aka BAKUGOUS QUIRK (hint hint)

Saito

He's horribly dense and can't tell if someone is flirting with him.

The real life Ryoma grew up in a well to do family that rand a brewery and a linen tradery while also eventually making a navel trading company that eventually became part of the Japanese navy Saito started all these businesses in the reboot timeline Tsugu and Garou both unknownly get some clothes from their brand and According to Bun the Sakamoto name is held in as high regard as the 3 great unifiers of Japan do to Saito.

Saito has 3 names. Birth name Ryoma Sakamoto, shinsengumi captain Saito Hajime, and the new identity after she 'kills' both the last two Kiryu Kazuma which he has a birth name when reincarnated into modern times.

Despite being born a woman Saito has the face and body of a man. She gets reincarnated into a males body (Based female Saito off both Fates and Yakuza what gave that away?)

Saito was blessed by Ebsu. One of the seven lucky gods of Japan. More specifically the god of luck involving trade and fishing. Considering he runs a well off trading business and can easily fish up large tuna octopi and even great white sharks. Yea. It's obvious.

He dosent mind being called he or she as it dosent bother her. (1st life born a woman looks like a man. 2nd life born a man but having hobbies that were dubbed feminine [bonyo fan dancing, dressed in drag once to sneak into a place. And is the kind of father to answer the door covered in makeup as her daughter wanted to make daddy look pretty.])

Absolutely has the highest alcohol tolerance of the Einherjars due to the drinking games in the yakuza games.

Garou

Massive mommy and daddy issues. He maybe stuck to bangs side as bang was kinda like a dad. [We don't see much of garous dad and a bonus page claims garous crush looks just like his mom but qoute 'unlike her she is actually a kind and gentle person']

Due to him only getting caught and fined for dining and dashing and shoplifting he was only wanted for 50$

He's next in line to inherit bangs dojo if he proves himself to his master.

He'll eat about anything. Monsters. Burnt animals. Bugs. Any. Thing. Within reason.

He'll avoid fighting child Emperor at any cost because he will do anything to protect children.

He having a crush on the actor of a yellow sentai ranger you know he is a fan of super sentai the power rangers and Kamen rider.

(If you want I'll doo trivia on Derail and Paradox.)

[1358456]

Top Favorites

So, before I went away, I revealed that Platinum wasn’t my favorite character of all time, and not even my favorite female character of all time. And I later revealed who my top favorite male and female characters were. And I even revealed what my top favorite franchise was as well. So… who are my top 5 favorite male and female characters, and how does the franchise distribution look? 10 characters here... so will there be 10 different series?! ... No. Of course not. Do I even know characters from 10 different series? I'd be real surprised if there were more than 5 different series here.

To keep things relatively simple, I’ll be considering 6 major character aspects for this listing. In no particular order, these are…

Traits: how much I like the character’s personality traits Progress: how much the character had developments/progress Design: how much I like the character’s appearance and outfits Story: how much I like the character’s past and present stories Potential: how much I like the character’s future story potential Prowess: the character’s combat prowess

Here we go. I’ll list the top 5 male characters first, then the female characters. This is a LOOOONG post. After all, even if I put in only 500 words per character, that's still going to be 5000 words. So if I put in 500 - 1000 words per character, and there are 10 characters... oh boy.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

M1: Majima Goro, from Yakuza

Ah yes. Majima Goro, the Mad Dog of Shimano, the Lieutenant Advisor to the Tojo Clan, Patriarch of the Majima Family, and President of Majima Construction.

… Also the manager of Cabaret Grand, manager of Cabaret Club Sunshine, and Sotenbori’s Lord of the Night. … And also known as Gorogorogoro-chan the Sotenbori postcard master, Goromi the hostess of Club Shine, and Hannya-Man the mysterious man in black. Also shows up as Everyone’s Idol Goro and Officer Majima. And as a zombie because why not. And of course, Okita Soji, the Captain of the First Squad of the Shinsengumi. ... Er, Hirayama Goro, the guy who killed the real Okita Soji and then took his name. Whatever. They're all Majima.

It should be no surprise that he’s all the way up here, as he was my top favorite back in 2022.

Traits: The Mad Dog. What’s not to like? He’s an honest madman who does whatever he wants and in a manner that gives him the most fun.

Progress: Technically, Majima has no character development from Yakuza 1 onwards. But he’s SO damn different in Yakuza 0, which is before he snaps. He becomes the Mad Dog at the very end of that game, and thus the legend is born. He went through all the character development ever needed at once.

Design: He’s certainly unique. No one else can rock an attire like that. And he’s unnecessarily handsome.

Story: Ah, his story in Yakuza 0 and Kiwami 2… ow, my heart.

Potential: Unfortunately, at this point, I don’t think there’s anything left to look forward to. The Tojo Clan disbanded in Yakuza 7, and in Yakuza 8, if it takes place in 2023 instead of 2024, then Majima would be 59 years old. It’s time to let him go? Though I guess… if Yakuza Kiwami 3 would exist, there could be something new involving him. Like… Majima Everywhere wasn’t in original Yakuza but it’s there in Yakuza Kiwami. And the whole Majima Construction side game and story wasn’t there in 2 but is there in Kiwami 2, along with a whole Majima Saga.

Prowess: Majima is a beast, capable of obliterating a Yakuza family invasion by himself. “You’re late, Kiryu-chan! I already smeared all of Sengoku’s girls.”

… I wonder what he’s doing now. He appears in Yakuza 8, so I guess I won’t have to wait long.

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M2: Kiryu Kazuma, from Yakuza

Also shouldn’t be a surprise. Kiryu Kazuma, the Dragon of Dojima, the Fourth Chairman of the Tojo Clan, Chairman of the Kiryu Clan, member of Tachibana Real Estate, foreman of Majima Construction, the caretaker of Morning Glory orphanage, and the manager of Cabaret Club Four Shine. No wait, he’s Kazuma-kun, the legend of Kamurocho’s Pocket Circuit racing! No wait, he’s Suzuki Taichi, the Taxi Legend of Nagasu Taxi, and future Daidoji Agent! No wait, he’s a Daidoji Agent, codename: Joryu, the leader of the Joryu Clan! No wait, he’s Joryu-kun, the legend of Sotenbori’s Pocket Circuit racing! No wait, he’s Sakamoto Ryoma, a samurai from Tosa! No wait, he’s Saito Hajime, the Captain of the Third Squad of the Shinsengumi!

… (Yakuza 7 Gaiden:) The Man Who Erased His Name has had many names and monikers throughout the years. He’s even been Judgment Kazzy the Kamurocho postcard master, and Ono Michio the beloved mascot of Onomichi in Hiroshima who does not forgive thugs who make children cry. "If you ever make another kid cry, I will end you."

… I will miss him very much.

Traits: He’s pretty straight forward, a little baffling at times, but that is what makes him the Legendary Dragon. Always dead serious and yet gets into all sorts of comical nonsense. “I thought she wanted “pizza”, but she was really saying “visa”. I’m such an idiot...”

Progress: Honestly, he’s pretty much the same as he was in Yakuza 0 as he is in Yakuza 7 Gaiden. That said, his overall mood and behavior changes from game to game. In 0 he’s determined. In 1 he’s kind of sad. In 2 he appears guilty and in a “take responsibility” attitude. In 3 he’s happy. 4 he’s normal. 5 he’s very frustrated and lonely. 6 he’s pissed. 7 he looks depressed. 7 Gaiden he’s kind of falling apart. And in 8… …

Design: His outfit is iconic now, and his dragon tattoo is amazing. And curiously, that outfit doesn’t look good on anyone else.

Story: His personal story has been pretty big in Yakuza 1, 5, 6, and 7 Gaiden. Even in 0, now that I think of it.

Potential: … Yakuza 8… He has cancer and he seems to be dying. I’m not surprised, given how much he smokes and drinks, but… NOOOOoooo… Yakuza 6’s ending had 6 games’ worth of feels crammed into one ending, and I cried so damn much. 7 Gaiden’s ending was absolutely devastating, with all the feels of 6, plus even more, and I don’t even want to think about how much I cried. And now, 8 will have 9 games’ worth of feels crammed in it. … I am not ready. I will never be ready. But I need that game right now. Hahaha… …

Prowess: He’s the Legendary Dragon who has not lost a fight once. He can even beat multiple tigers in a fight at once! “Wh – What are ya?! Some kinda monster?!”

… I need Kiryu to be happy. And I especially need him and Haruka together again. But… if Kiryu meets Haruka, then he’ll be happy but she won’t be since she’ll get to see him die again. But if the meeting doesn’t happen, then Haruka will live on normally, suspecting that he’s still alive somewhere and waiting for him to return one day, while Kiryu is denied the last possible chance of a reunion. UGH. … Please be happy… No more pain…

AHHHHHHHH-

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M3: Alarak, from Starcraft

Tone shift required. And so here is Alarak, the Highlord of the Tal’darim! The only character in this whole post who's more sadistic than I am! Which is saying something, given the later entries on this post!

Traits: He’s such an asshole. And it’s hilarious. Unlike all the other Protoss characters who are most always formal or speaking in proper manner and are always noble warrior or assassin types, Alarak is… such an asshole. “So tell me. How did the Zerg defeat the mighty Templar? Did they leap up and chew on your starships?” “Is this the best healing you can do?” “Are you finished yet? Or must I keep slaughtering the Zerg here?!” “You are unworthy of conversation.” “I did not invade your ship to make idle chatter!” “Amazing how many different ways you find to waste our time.” “Oh, I did not realize I could be even more powerful.” “For creatures with such short life spans, you humans are always so eager to die.” “Kill them. Slowly. But painfully.” Such a breath of fresh air, really.

Progress: He has no development whatsoever. Which is actually good in its own way. But… no developments.

Design: He looks so condescending even without his condescending tone and speech. The Tal’darim psionics are red for some reason, and it suits him fine.

Story: He does quite a bit in Legacy of the Void campaign. But… it’s Starcraft 2. The story is a disaster anyways, and as an RTS game, the story is pretty irrelevant. So his performance is cool, but… ehn.

Potential: He’s the Highlord of the Tal’darim, the most dangerous faction of the Protoss. So in that aspect, things could involve him, but… again, Starcraft 2 story. It’s… bad.

Prowess: The Tal’darim only cares for combat prowess. Everyone is bound by the Chain of Ascension with the Highlord on top (now that the fallen Xel’naga Amon is gone). In order to climb the Chain of Ascension, the member must invoke the ritual combat of Rak’shir and beat (kill) the one directly above. So being the Highlord of the Tal’darim means that Alarak is the strongest of the entire faction (or is considered as such). In short, he’s probably the strongest or very close to being the strongest Protoss in the story.

Alarak is also fun to use in Starcraft 2’s coop missions. But it’s always his snide smartass comments that pulled him up here. After all, this kind of character is pretty rare.

Vorazun: “You think us fools?” Alarak: “Yes, but that is irrelevant!”

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M4: Kasuga Ichiban, from Yakuza

The hero himself. The new protagonist of the Yakuza series, receiving the torch from Kiryu in Yakuza 7. The man with a Gyarados on his back. Well, it’s a Dragonfish, but that’s what Gyarados is, so…

And I recently found out that the voice actor for Kasuga is the same one for Nishikiyama (Kiryu’s best friend and “brother”) from Yakuza 0 and 1, and now I can’t un-hear it. … So Nishiki had a koi tattoo while Kiryu got a dragon. And now Nishiki’s voice is Kasuga Ichiban, who has a half-dragon half-fish tattoo. … Well, he’s getting there, I guess. Magikarp has become a Gyarados. Still ain’t a dragon.

Traits: So far, Kasuga is like a more reckless and dumber Kiryu, which isn’t… amazing for a “replacement” player character. But unlike Kiryu, Kasuga has certain comical tendencies and is not deadly serious all the time, which makes his substories more amusing than Kiryu’s, which were already damn amusing.

Progress: He’s mellowed out a bit throughout Yakuza 7, which is great.

Design: The afro and eyebrows… ehn… I mean, the afro was a mistake even in the story. “Hey miss… what have you done? This… isn’t a punch perm, isn’t it?!” And his suit colors are the opposite of Kiryu’s style. Kiryu has white/gray suit and pants on the outside and a red dress shirt inside. Kasuga has a red suit and pants on the outside and a white dress shirt inside. So for a brand new character, he kind of mirrors Kiryu a bit too much. So far, anyways. Maybe as time passes he can make his look become iconic.

Story: His story in Yakuza 7 mirrors closely to what Kiryu goes through Yakuza 1. They both lose their father figure and their brother figure. While Kiryu also loses his love interest, long-time yakuza junior, the clan chairman who highly respected him, and even the long-time friend and the owner of his regular bar, thus leaving him broken and all alone with no one to provide emotional support except Haruka (thus her critical importance to him), Kasuga has a pack of friends with him and their banters are great. And all those friends are coming back in 8.

Potential: His legend is just beginning… supposedly. I mean, Yakuza 9 is going to happen at some point. I’m eager to see his epic tale unfold. Hopefully it doesn’t end as sadly as it will for Kiryu. Though it might, if he starts losing his friends one by one. Uh oh.

Prowess: Well, he’s no Majima or Saejima or Kiryu, but he’s still real strong in a fight.

A big part of Kasuga rising in this ranking is because his voice is the same as Nishiki. I guess that’s why in Yakuza 8, when Kiryu sings Judgment, Kasuga is there taking support role.

Because in Yakuza 0, when Kiryu sings Judgment, Nishiki does exactly that. And vice-versa when Nishiki sings it.

... Look how young Kiryu was back in Yakuza 0...

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M5: Fenix, from Starcraft

The oldest character on this list, and almost story-wise too. Fenix is from the original Starcraft, which is from 1998. Compared to Kiryu and Majima who are from Yakuza 1 in 2005. Or Alarak, who debuted in Starcraft 2 Legacy of the Void in 2015. And since Protoss live very long lives, it’s also possible that Fenix is the oldest character here. Only “possible” since I don’t know how old Alarak is.

Raynor: “You sound like a tired old man, Fenix.” Fenix: “Do not let the fact that I am 368 years older than you dull your impression of me, young Raynor. I am still capable of… how do you Terrans say it? “Throw down with the best of them”!” Raynor: “… I stand corrected.”

And also Fenix is the only character on this list who has died, not only once, but twice… and is still around.

Traits: Fenix is a straight forward honorable warrior type, but also a war hungry zealot. “I hunger for battle!” “I am the blade of Artanis!” Whenever I said in the past that I would like a zealot-type character, I always had Fenix in mind. “I fear no enemy, for the Khala is my strength! I fear not death, for our strength is eternal!” “There is no shame in defeat, as long as the spirit is unconquered!” “Come, brothers. Join me in glorious battle!” It’s not common to have such a bloodthirsty zealot type protagonist, so it’s quite refreshing.

Progress: No development whatsoever. Or at least, what little he may have developed got undone in Legacy of the Void.

Design: In Starcraft 1, the hero units have unique portraits, but have the same model as the non-hero variants, but only green in color due to player settings in each campaign map. … Except Kerrigan, who also have unique models for her regular Ghost hero variant and Infested Terran variant. So Fenix was a Zealot hero, so he looked exactly the same as Protoss Zealots. Then he comes back as a Dragoon hero, so he looked exactly the same as Protoss Dragoons. And in Legacy of the Void… that design… is dumb. It’s like a half Zealot, half Dragoon, and it looks baffling. I still don’t know how he thought he was a Dragoon when… well, Dragoon units don’t have arms… or an upper body. So he should’ve known literally right off the bat that he wasn’t a Dragoon when he could turn his head and move his arms. And yet…

Story: Fenix’s participation in Starcraft’s story is pretty important, but… also largely ignored by everyone. But I guess that’s just the nature of an RTS campaign. That said, Fenix’s story in Legacy of the Void is what sparked the creation of my Legacy story. It’s even called Legacy because the critical scene came from Legacy of the Void. More on that later.

Potential: Fenix comes back in a Purifier platform. As in, he’s an AI now who didn’t know that he was an AI. The existential crisis that came from this realization (thanks to Alarak) is again, largely ignored because it’s an RTS campaign. But given the precedent of the other Purifiers… well, there could be something happening. Too bad it won’t happen. But more on this in the female character listing.

Prowess: A battle maniac Protoss warrior? “Strong” would be a huge understatement. “Now is not the time for words, not when glorious battle lies ahead!”

So, Fenix… He’s a normal biological Protoss warrior in charge of defending a city of the home world Aiur from the Zerg. But the city gets overrun and he dies. But because he’s Protoss, his battered body is recovered and like all other Protoss whose dead/dying bodies are recovered, he gets put into a Dragoon shell so he can continue the fight. “I now reside in a cold, metallic shell of a Dragoon.” After all, a Protoss Dragoon is just a life support tank with legs and a phase disruptor cannon. And a Protoss Immortal is just a Dragoon with a big ass turret on top of it, but that’s a Starcraft 2 unit, so Fenix is in a Dragoon shell.

So Fenix comes back as a Dragoon. His voice lines are exactly the same as his Zealot form, but now there’s a faint mechanical tinge to it, which is cool. And then in the Brood War campaign, Kerrigan betrays and kills him.

Fenix dies in Brood War (1998) but no one really mentions him from that point on. Though Raynor does mention him exactly once in Heart of the Swarm (2013). But then Fenix suddenly returns in Legacy of the Void (2015). It turns out, the Protoss had a Purifier project, which cloned the memories and personalities of notable Protoss warriors, essentially creating expendable AI clones of powerful heroes. The project goes awry when the Purifiers revolted and killed everyone on the research station and the planet it’s orbiting around. Because it turns out, if proud honorable warriors were cloned and they don’t realize that they’re AI clones, and then they’re stuffed in robotic shells and then treated like machine servants, they’ll rebel. Who would've thought. So the Purifier project became the forbidden project. But in Legacy of the Void, desperate times called for desperate measures so Hierarch Artanis reactivates the Purifier project and retrieves its data from another research station. And there, he finds Fenix (deactivated), and learns that Fenix had his personality and memories uploaded to the project as ordered before the events of Starcraft 1. “I am a warrior, old friend. You know this as well as any. It is not my place to question the orders of a Judicator.” So the Purifier Fenix has no idea that he’s an AI, and has no recollection of anything from Starcraft 1.

Fenix spends most of the Void campaign realizing that something’s off with his memories, and studies the archives. “These records are fascinating, Artanis. I can hardly believe the stories they contain.” And then Alarak breaks the news to him.

Fenix: “These are lies, Artanis!” Alarak: “Oh I am the liar? Are you not but a lie incarnate? Machine Protoss?”

And shortly afterwards, Fenix discovers records of his own deaths in the archives, and thus the existential crisis happens. “I am not Fenix, but I hold his memories as my own. I need time to make sense of this.” But this is Starcraft 2, and especially Legacy of the Void where the campaign story is… a disaster. The Void campaign story can basically be summarized as “it turns out, the Protoss are absolutely overpowered”. Even the loading screen tooltip hints that. “Protoss units excel at charging into dangerous territory and annihilating all opposition.” So anyways, Fenix’s existential crisis is not focused on, and he gets over it pretty quickly. I guess that suits his personality since he is a very straight forward warrior type.

And so when I played the campaign, I thought this part might be worth exploring and experimenting with in my stories. So I contemplated on which Dex Holder this would impact the most. And since Legacy of the Void came out in late 2015, this was shortly after the Pairing Shift. So the most impactful at the time would’ve been Blue. So in Legacy (as listed in the spoilers), Blue dies but she had her memories and personality uploaded (without her knowledge) and the uploaded data is converted into an AI with a cloned body (K3). And right before the good/bad ending split point, Blue/K3 has an existential crisis, and Red’s decision directly impacts the outcome of the crisis. The good ending mirrors Fenix where Blue accepts her new role (though she won’t get a new name like Purifier Fenix, who renames himself as Talandar). But the bad ending hints at K3 going rampant and seeking revenge, like how the main Purifier faction did. Except K3 doesn’t have access to Protoss weaponry that can glass a planet in seconds.

Which means, Fenix is the only character on this list whose story directly affected the plot of one of my stories. Not even Platinum can do that, since she would be affected by that story, and not be the one to affect it.

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So in summary of the male characters…

And now onto the female characters.

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F1: Sawamura Haruka, from Yakuza

No surprises here, given how I revealed this the last time I was here. Nothing changed since then. If anything, the missed opportunity in 7 Gaiden and the trailer for 8 has only solidified her position. After 8… we’ll see.

Traits: I definitely love Haruka’s character traits. She’s very kindhearted and sweet, but also incredibly hardened. She’s wildly mature beyond her years due to the hardening, and while she might be a bit naïve at times, she’s really not most of the times. “Haruka is not someone who’s blinded by the glory of being an idol.”

Progress: She was 9 when she first appeared in Yakuza 1. She’s 20 in her last appearance of 6. She’s grown up quite a lot. If Yakuza 8 takes place in 2023 instead of 2024, then she’ll be 27. Oh, how much she would have changed…

Design: … Haruka’s regular outfits copy Kiryu’s color scheme. Kiryu wears a white/gray suit and pants with a red dress shirt inside. So Haruka almost always wears a red shirt and a white sweater outside. Even her clothes show how much she wants to be with him. Ow, my heart.

Story: Haruka’s story is big in Yakuza 1, not really big in 2, 3, and 4, and then massive in 5 and 6. The sheer amount of pain caused by her actions in 5… ahh… And in the end of 7 Gaiden, Ayako and Taichi from Morning Glory orphanage find a hidden camera pointed at Kiryu’s grave and think it’s Kiryu watching them from wherever he was hiding. So they give a message to him, which is very sweet but also absolutely devastating, as Kiryu completely breaks down while watching that message. And Ayako and Taichi say they’ll bring Haruka and the others with them tomorrow so they can give him their message. However, the camera is removed by the Daidoji faction so they don’t get a chance. Which means, Kiryu didn’t get to see Haruka again or hear what she had to say. Which both sucks horribly, and also a tremendous relief, since I don’t think Kiryu would be able to withstand hearing her message. As Majima once said, “that girl means more to Kiryu-chan than life itself”. And if Haruka thinks that Kiryu is still alive and that he had faked his death even to her, there’s a chance that she’d be pretty upset about it, and I think Kiryu is afraid of that. Because unlike in Yakuza 5 and 6, Kiryu doesn’t think at all about Haruka in 7 Gaiden, as if he’s avoiding thinking about her. And now, with that in mind…

Potential: So, Haruka kicked her pop idol career out the window in Yakuza 5 (2012) so that she could be with Kiryu. Kiryu immediately got arrested for 4 years after that point, and when he came out, Haruka was in a coma. And when she woke up, Kiryu “dies” in front of her (to prevent anyone else from targeting her in order to get to him) so she never sees him again. Fast forward to Yakuza 8 (2023?), Kiryu has cancer and is dying. And in the bucket list trailer, Haruka’s voice is heard for one line only. “Are you asking me what I would do if I could see Mister again?” … There is no happiness at the end of that dialogue. Only pain. There is literally nothing that she can do or say that would create happiness for anyone. If she’s upset that Kiryu faked his death even to her… ouch. But if she understands that he had his own reasons and thanks him for all the years he looked after her, and wishes him to return when he’s ready (like how Ayako and Taichi said), then… OUCH. One way or another, only pain awaits.

Prowess: Haruka does not fight. Unfortunately. While it would’ve been hilarious if she had picked up a heat move or two from watching Kiryu fight so many times, it would conflict with her character… unless something went horribly wrong… or right. Hehe. The rival idols give Haruka way too much sh*t in Yakuza 5 due to jealousy. So if Haruka was to smash their faces in with an Essence of Might… “You just had bad luck, is all.” Only if… Hmm… I wonder if she can pull off a Komaki Tiger Drop…

As I mentioned before in the past, if I like a character beyond a certain point, their pain hurts me. And at this point… I just want Haruka to be happy. And ever since Yakuza 6’s ending, I don’t know how Haruka is doing, since her face had not appeared on camera. But Ayako and Taichi said that she’s doing okay, so… I guess she’s okay? But at the same time, I need Kiryu to be happy too. In his last days, I’m sure he’d want to see Haruka again. But… if she was to see him again, she’ll just lose him again to cancer. Is there no way for both to be happy in Yakuza 8? … Only doom awaits? Oh no.

… I simultaneously need that game to have come out last month, and also for it to not exist. ... Just a little over a week left to go.

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F2: Platinum Berlitz, from Pokémon Special

… I don’t have another big image of her anymore… Well, I guess she'll just get the short end of the stick here.

Now, I don’t think I need to explain this entry all that much, after all these years. However, since I’m only considering the canon for all these characters, it does nerf Platinum’s preference a bit.

Traits: Of course I really like Platinum’s character traits. But mostly because of…

Progress: Platinum’s immense character development. From cold and distant to warm and super adorable!

Design: … I don’t really like her design though. Of course, that’s not her fault, since her attire is forced upon by the DPPt games’ female player character. That’s the reason why I updated her attire a long time ago in my stories.

Story: Platinum has no backstory to speak of since her memory seems to be have been wiped. But DPPt does sort of revolve around her, even if she ends up not doing anything in the finale. Twice.

Potential: I believe her future potential is what I had worked with for a long time, even if none of that would happen.

Prowess: For someone who just started as a Pokémon Trainer, she is immensely strong. … Her physical prowess is probably nonexistent though.

I don’t quite know whether I like canon Platinum enough so that her pain brings me pain. I know that Platinum in my stories is liked enough for that. But given her nonexistent performance in the finales and the sh*tsack canon team, I kind of doubt it.

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F3: Alice Synthesis Thirty, from Sword Art Online

Hey, speaking of a strong female character who does nothing in the finale twice… Well, Platinum was reading and then simply watching in her finales. Alice was unconscious, and mostly unconscious before being ejected from the world during her finales. … Not sure which is better.

Traits: I like Alice’s traits quite a bit. Especially her speech reminds me of Platinum. But the whole “noble knight” thing… not unique for me. Even then, Alice’s noble warrior type is a lot more interesting than Artanis from Starcraft. That said, Alice goes through quite the change over time. She was a strong and merciless knight before the first wave of truth is dropped on her, at which point she’s kind of broken and shattered. Then she works her way back up, and then the next wave of truth is dropped on her, which breaks her again. And at that point, it’s entirely possible that she’s now vulnerable to depression… just like after the first truth bomb. Let's see how many truth bombs she can take before she's irreparably broken!

Progress: Hmm… Alice’s character development is a bit… odd, I feel. She goes through a lot of changes and ultimately ends very similar to her starting point, just a bit mellow. A lot of distance traveled but very little displacement, if you will.

Design: The knight armor is pretty cool, but it’s mostly a uniform with slight differences. The golden armor is cool though. Reminds me of Protoss Templar’s golden theme.

Story: I really do like her story. She was kidnapped, had her memories wiped, and became an Integrity Knight. … And then has a rather hostile encounter with her childhood friend who she can’t remember, but who most certainly remembers her. Ooh. He kind of dies shortly after so there isn’t a lot of time for guilt and whatnot, which is a shame. But I do love the premise. It would’ve been real interesting if the two got to talk once things settled down. Painful for them both, sure, but amusing for me. Hehehe…

Potential: … And after all that, coming to terms with the fact that she had her memories wiped, and effectively reconciling with her long lost sister who she still can't remember… she’s yanked from that world and the truth is dropped onto her like a bomb again. She’s essentially a human simulation in a simulated world that’s designed for AI development. In essence, she’s an AI without knowing that she was an AI. … So, a proud Integrity Knight, who doesn’t know that she’s an AI, gets stuffed into a robotic shell and finds out that she’s artificial and is now a property of a company. Where have I heard that before? Well, at least Alice doesn’t have access to Protoss weaponry that can glass a planet in seconds. Still though, the doom potential is quite strong in this one. She fought so hard (figuratively) to prove that she wasn’t a puppet that can be toyed with, only to end up in a robotic shell as an AI that’s literally going to be studied and experimented on. Ouch. And that rivalry thing she has going on with Asuna? I’m quite amused, though I’m very sure it’ll end up very poorly for Alice, along with many other things, really. Even the realistic details. A robotic shell isn’t going to have nerves. No feeling of warmth or comfort? I hope she didn’t hope to get married and have kids someday, because that ain’t happening, ever. And most of all, she has no one who could possibly relate to her, or understand what she’s going through. Yikes. … I wonder if at some point she’d go berserk. Hehehe… … Clearly my liking of Alice is not high enough for her pain to hurt me. Let's see how much pain her mind can take before she breaks!

Prowess: I think Alice is the strongest knight canonically? I don’t know. She doesn’t really do much with that power though.

When I first saw Alice’s fate, the first thing that came to mind was the Protoss Purifier faction. But unlike in Starcraft where an individual’s personal stories aren’t exactly focused on except for Kerrigan, Alice’s fate can actually be explored. It’s a different question if it WILL be explored, but hey. “I am not a puppet!” … But that sure seems to be her fate, to be experimented on as an AI until she’s discarded and replaced by a new AI model. And worst of all, Alice herself had no say in anything that happened to her. It was an accident that caused her to break the “law”, which got her kidnapped. It wasn’t her choice to become an Integrity Knight, as it was truly forced upon her. And it certainly wasn’t her choice to be pulled out of her world and into the real world as an AI. So she’s been a puppet bound to the wills of someone else her entire life.

Also, in a strange boon to Alice’s preference ranking… I quite like the name “Alice”. But it’s for quite the strange reason. As a “mathie”, I’ve seen and solved more math problems in Grade 10 alone than what most people would see in their entire lives. And for whatever reason, in a math word problem, if a character is to be represented with a variable “A”, that character’s name is more often than not, Alice. “A” is for Alice, “B” is for Bob, “C” is usually Charlie, and then it’s pretty random from that point on. So the first female name for the letter A that comes to mind is Alice. That’s also why in that old “Ideal Dex Holder” post, I gave the theoretical character the name Alice.

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F4: Asada Shino/Sinon, from Sword Art Online

Hey, sniper rifle! I mean… … Okay. She’s on here mostly because her character most resembles my go-to style for any shooter game. There’s something about doing a ton of damage from afar that strikes my preference. I guess that’s why my favorite Starcraft unit is the Protoss Tempest, a long range aerial siege unit that sucks absolute ass after all those nerfs. … There was a brief but glorious moment when a Tempest’s attack range covered half the map, which… definitely warranted a nerf because that is admittedly freaking ridiculous. Not that it ever did a lot of damage, for balance reasons. Though I’m sure lore-wise, a Tempest would be able to one-shot a city…

A Protoss Tempest is almost a kilometer long. So that is a big ass death ball of energy it shoots to attack. ... What do you mean it doesn't one-shot a Marine? And it doesn't do splash damage? What the f-

Anyways…

Traits: I do like her cold exterior that shows a lot of cracks. Understandable too. I think a huge part of why Sinon is up here is because she’s a sniper with a lot of understandable vulnerabilities on the verge of shattering. So she puts up a good façade, but she’s breaking. Kind of like Blue, except she does a lot better job than Sinon.

Progress: And that icy exterior comes shattering by the end as her trauma is steadily overcome, which is awesome. I especially like how in any game that takes place before her trauma is overcome, she’s really cold and distant and quiet. But afterwards, she talks a lot more, reacts a lot more, and so on. Kind of reminds me of Platinum in that aspect.

Design: Sniper rifle. … I mean… The Solus attire is pretty cool though. Those floating blades look like a massive pain in the ass that’ll bump into anything and everything, but that attire is one of a very limited few with a blatant asymmetry that I tolerate.

Story: … Strangely, I think Sinon is quite possibly the first and only character in this post who actually killed a human being. At least, as far as I’m aware, since I don’t know if Alarak or Fenix killed any Terrans themselves. Alarak does participate in repelling the Terran Mobius Corps' boarding of the Spear of Adun, and Fenix is in that one Brood War mission where you face Terran while he’s there, but it's unclear what Alarak even did since it happens off screen, and you can keep Fenix away from combat, so… hmm… And anyone in a simulated world could not possibly have killed any human beings by definition. Anyways, Sinon’s backstory and the resulting trauma and her attempts to overcome it… very good! Although… who the f*ck robs a post office with a gun? And Sinon had to shoot him three times to kill him. What a deranged madman. ... Then again, so are all the other bad guys in this series. They're all just insane lunatics, and not in wild, fun, and harmless-to-civilians ways like Majima.

Potential: Unfortunately, now that her trauma is sorted, she’s basically just “another one” in the group. And there are a lot of those. Not a lot to look forward to. The only ranged support, sure, but as a character… Unless that trauma relapses… ... What if she's the one to get shot this time outside the games? Hmm... Nah, that's not that entertaining. Sinon needs to watch someone else get shot, and someone very close too. Now that would be entertaining... for me.

Prowess: She’s a sniper. Snipers don’t really do much by themselves with no support. She needs a tank or a front-line fighter to draw the attention of enemies in order for her to deal critical damage. Just like a Protoss Tempest. Does nothing by itself. You need like 30 supply of Tempests to do anything valuable, but that costs a lot and that also means you don’t have enough supply of everything else so the main army gets overrun and-

… I feel like I mentioned more Starcraft than Sinon in this entry. Well, Starcraft is my favorite franchise for a reason. It’s everywhere.

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F5: Eydis Synthesis Ten, from Sword Art Online

Hey, this is the one character who I barely know who still made it up here! It either shows how much I liked certain aspects of her, or how few female characters I know about that I care about. Or both. Remember that my preference for canon Pokémon Special female Dex Holders is not that high for most of them. That said, Blue almost made it here.

I think Eydis is a game-only character and thus technically non-canon? I don’t know how that works. And I honestly don’t care. Eydis is up here for one reason only, and that is her story and the sheer amount of doom potential it contains. Like, if I wrote for SAO instead of Pokémon Special, she would be my main victim, instead of Blue in SA ��� Destiny era. I’m not counting Black & White since they’ve only been receiving one-time doom (as opposed to story-wide doom) due to their pairing and the Light Stone incident. I mean, the latter is not my fault in the slightest. And it certainly wasn’t my fault that he was in that thing for… how many days was it? Like 1600?

And also… another character who’s missing an eye. 3/10 characters on this post have an eye missing. Even my profile picture is missing an eye these days! Though Alice gets hers back, and I think Eydis gets hers back too. … Majima ain’t getting his eye back though.

Not after that.

Traits: I don’t know Eydis all too well, but what tidbits I gleamed are okay, I guess. She’s bright and bubbly, and a little teasing. But she also has a real dark side. Honestly reminded me a lot of pre-FRLG Blue. She also seems to be very calm and collected? So that's nice.

Progress: If I don’t know her character traits all too well, I certainly won’t know her character development, or if there even was any.

Design: Not a huge fan of her hairstyle, though her knight armor variant is pretty cool. And I quite like her hair and expression change when she went berserk…

Story: Doom and pain. Pain for her, entertainment for me. … That didn’t sound nice… So. Eydis breaks the “law” to provide for her crippled beloved younger sister since no one else can, and as a result, she got kidnapped, had her memories wiped, and turned into an Integrity Knight. And at some point, her memories were released and she goes berserk, completely losing her mind and self as she demands to see “her” again, even if she doesn’t remember who that is. And after overcoming that shenanigans which she has no recollection of, she subconsciously longs for a younger sister figure so much that she latches onto Alice when she comes along a long time later. Integrity Knights had their age frozen so who knows how old Eydis is and how long she had to deal with that longing. But that’s a lot of pain that she doesn’t remember. Such a deliciously doomed past. Hehehe… I think I’ve made something like that with Platinum. So it’s a nice reminder.

Potential: So, if Eydis was kidnapped while caring for her crippled sister… what happened to that sister? And how long ago was this? Wouldn’t that sister have died a long time ago? Ooh. And so, her soul longed for a younger sister so much that she latched onto Alice. But of course, Alice got taken away for that AI project. So Eydis loses another sister figure (who wasn’t that close to her though). Ooh! And Eydis still doesn’t remember her actual sister who may or may not have died a long ass time ago. What happens if her old memory seal leaks and she goes berserk again? Last time, she was with someone strong enough to restrain her if necessary. But Eydis is the strongest knight now. If she goes berserk… OOH! And how would she react if she found out that the reason why she keeps looking for younger sister figures is because her subconscious dearly misses her actual sister who may or may not be dead? Hehe. I once wrote a backstory chapter for Platinum that's very reminiscent of this. Of course, I wrote that chapter years before I found out about Eydis, so that was a nice reminder indeed. Such a delicious doom potential! Even if there’s a high likelihood that I don’t know enough to accurately measure the tragic past and potential, it’s certainly entertaining enough to warrant her being up here! … Down here, I guess, since she’s the last entry.

Prowess: So… canonically, Alice is the strongest knight, but… Eydis is the strongest non-canon? … Whatever. It doesn’t matter who’s strongest. All that matters is that Eydis is a powerhouse of a fighter. “Careful. Despite how she looks, she’s monstrously strong.” Sure. Also, I think Eydis’s combat style is the Tennen Rishin style that select Shinsengumi Captains use in Yakuza Ishin. I recognize that style even in other games since it was actually a plot point. And also… Eydis’s sword can’t be blocked? It just phases through the defender’s weapon? Well that’s not very fair. It’s like melee-fighting a Protoss warrior whose psi/warp blades tear through everything with no resistance except other psi/warp blades. In the lore, the only way for non-Protoss to beat a Protoss warrior in melee combat is to either throw so many bodies at them that they end up tripping over the pile of corpses (Zealot vs. Zergling), or simply have a body so big that the Protoss blades aren’t long enough to pierce vital parts (Zealot vs. Ultralisk). I wonder if that's Eydis's weakness too. Either flood her with so many enemies that she eventually trips over their corpses, or attack her with a dude/creature so damn big that her sword isn't long enough.

Looking back, I believe Eydis is the only character on this list who has gone berserk at some point. Which is certainly unique and probably has something to do with why she's on this listing. I do love it when characters lose themselves for whatever reason, whether that’d be tragedy, fit of rage, or mind alteration. Ram-page! Ram-page! Ram-page!

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So in summary of the female characters…

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So, out of 10 characters listed, 4 are from Yakuza, 3 are from Sword Art Online, 2 are from Starcraft, and 1 is from Pokémon Special. Nice triangular number form-

Now, if Starcraft is my top favorite franchise of all time, and Yakuza is my third, does that mean SAO is my second, given how 3/5 top favorite female characters are from there? … No. SAO is one of those series that I don’t like that much (as in, not a big positive) for a variety of reasons, but I do really like the characters (well, some of them). And also, I mentioned that my second favorite franchise also has nostalgia, as I remember playing a game from that franchise that came out in 1998. I don’t think SAO is remotely old enough for that… Right?

As it turns out, I can like a series without liking the characters all that much, and vice versa. And for games, a good story is not necessary. Look at Starcraft, my top favorite franchise. None of the main characters (Raynor, Kerrigan, Artanis, Nova, Zeratul) made it remotely close on my listing, and the story is crap. … Nova Covert Ops had a decent story though, with cool implications. For once. But still, I really like that franchise because… well, nothing in-game. I just love the game, especially watching pro matches. ASL, GSL, Ultimate Battles, Major Pro Leagues, etc. And my second favorite franchise is also like that. None of its characters will ever make it onto my Preference ranking, the story is also rather irrelevant, it’s a single player game so no pro matches, but I do so love the games.

And curiously, the two characters on this list who sings Get to the Top are both on the top of their respective lists. ... I guess they got to the top.

[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."

[fabiansociety]

yakuza kiwami’s majima everywhere system is the best mechanical implementation of a romance system i’ve ever encountered in a video game

wait, that needs a little context, let me back up.

romances in video games—ones with some kind of systemic element, rather than the ones that are purely a function of a cutscene narrative—tend to follow the same arc as a final boss: an early encounter establishes the romance, regular conversations at the beginning or end of a mission deepen the emotional connection without consummating it, culminating in a final physical climax at the end of the game. in both instances, the relationship functionally ends with the consummation: romances make sex the final reward for correctly completing assorted conversations and subquests, antagonist relations make fighting and defeating the villain the end of the story: commander shepard goes to bed with their lover right before the final push to the end of the game, saren slips away after every story beat until the final fight. it’s a very transactional view of relationships: conversation and quests go in, sex or violence comes out, like an emotional vending machine.

but that’s not how real relationships work, is it. declarations of love or knockin’ boots are the START of a long term relationship, not the end of one. there are layers and layers left to a person once you get past the dating phase, and highs and lows, ruptures and reconciliations that can span years and decades. it’s not that there aren’t any games that look at the long second act of a relationship, but most games that do so relegate those stories to cutscenes or otherwise scripted segments, or focus on the day to day maintenance of a physical relationship.

and so: majima everywhere. in yakuza kiwami, majima goro, the mad dog of shimano, is a crazed yakuza with a consuming passion for the game’s protagonist kiryu kazuma. he loves nothing more than fighting him, will except nothing less than a rumble. in many games—including the original version of yakuza 1—this homoerotic combativeness would consist of a handful of cutscenes and a final plot relevant fight, but yakuza kiwami instead makes majima a full nemesis, who can appear at any time from any place, thundering down from the arch of a gate or rising in gleeful fury from a manhole to call kiryu out.

it’s a brilliant system for making the player invest in the relationship, and one that escalates without withholding: majima isn’t a climactic fight, he’s the daily pulse of combat, the water in which you swim, the ghost haunting kamorocho. it’s a model that could be adapted easily enough to less subtextual or combative romantic relationships — make the love interest a load bearing part of the game’s mechanics, tie mechanical progression to engagement, not just narrative progression—the model is there. more games should steal that model; it’d be a healthier art form for it.