#lad ishin spoilers

[tobiasrieper]

My fame precedes me. Shinsengumi, First Division. Okita Soji.

[dekaja]

You got good, Hajime-chan.

[thecindercrow]

In times like these, what good would a conscience do me? Or anyone? Traitors forfeit their lives. It’s a cruel law but it binds us together in this cruel world. And it works.

[chainreh]

damn bridge to the turnabout looks a lot different than i remembered...

[zaddyazula]

up to the point where you go to the shogun with okita but i was getting washed so i’m letting my brother play

[gamerism]

This is my "I think Ishin is trying to imply Okita and Todo have a relationship off screen that Ryoma just isn't really aware of" essay. Finally written down so I can stop repeating it all the time.

[Spoilers ahead for events that take place late into the events of Ishin, including major character death.]

I'm going to start by saying that I think Okita is immediately slightly queercoded by association, as Majima is a queercoded characer. (If you require evidence, simply read the dialogue in any Majima Everywhere event.) And Okita is acting as his mirror in this story. By acting the same way Majima does, he also subtly shows the same queer traits as Majima, but that alone isn't really enough for me to call Okita queercoded, more just that he has the potential/background work.

Todo and Okita don't have much in the way of interactions outside of group contexts, which effect the way they act with each other. So the first thing that really points to potential queerness in either of them (beyond what I've already said about Okita) that I want to mention is not directly related to Okita or Todo but from someone else. It's Takeda expressing interest in Todo in this creepy-as-hell scene:

This dialogue is the second line that makes Takeda's interest in men explicitly clear to the audience (the first being a come-on towards Ryoma), but if you're familiar with the way in which relationships between samurai were for a time somewhat accepted, though as I understand it not exactly outright acknowledged (please correct me here/add nuance if you know more about the subject), this does, in it's way, reflect back on Todo. At least as the subject of interest. (And give it's implications about Todo's orientation and the perception of his orientation in the Shinsengumi.)

Moving on to the direct interactions between the two. At the meeting in Ryoma's room after the Shinsengumi splintered into two factions, Okita follows the reveal of Todo ('Heisuke' to him, the only character he does not use an honourific with to my knowledge, implying their closeness*) being a supposed traitor clearly surprised and despondent.

(*Cont. Okita's a straightforward person, everyone is -chan to him because he's a playful & impertinent guy, except Inoue, who is -san out of deep respect. The lack of honourific would also have a straightforward meaning.)

Okita is known for big emotions but not deep ones, and rarely honest ones if they don't relate to the people he really cares about (seen with how real he gets emotionally about his mentor dying and him going on a warpath). So this reaction is understated, but it feels real rather than fabricated as most of his reactions to things (somewhat) are.

This follows with Todo making his entrance and the reveal that he faked his betrayal to act as a spy in the ranks of the Goryo Eji. We focus on Okita's reaction to this news (both now and before we aren't given much on Ryoma or Nagakura's reactions, Okita's is the focus) the relief is obvious in his voice.

Next we skip ahead to Todo's death. Okita is shown to be the one who carries him in to the scene, laying him down gently on the ground. Immediately as we're shown the reactions of everyone in the scene he's clearly the most emotional externally based off expressions.

He stares down at Todo on the ground in the background as Ryoma discusses the plan with Hijikata.

When Ryoma turns to Okita, Okita threatens him. Something he hasn't done in a serious manner since the scene in Mukurogai following Inoue's death (and his brief belief that Ryoma was the one responsible). As Okita threatens him a tear visibly falls.

This is by FAR the most vulnerably emotional we've seen Okita in the game. It's hard to say if he's more distraught than when his mentor (and seemingly somewhat father figure) was killed but he's going so far as to be vulnerable enough to cry. And we know Okita has a special connection to Inoue and Nagakura that sets the group apart from the rest of the Shinsengumi captains. Sure, he's had the chance to grow close to Todo since the man joined. As it is stated early on that Todo joined the organisation soon after that fateful night where Hirayama, Hirama and Serizawa 'died'. So while he wasn't in on the secret he has been around for quite a while. (At least as far as I understand that part, the game is a little so-so about explaining if anyone beyond those present in the scene where the real Okita, Nagakura & Inoue die are in the know or not.)

But I feel that the game leaves us with the implication that Okita would not get anywhere near this emotional over the death of anyone besides Nagakura and Inoue, with their shared history. So why does Todo's death hit him so hard?

It feels to me like they're trying to subtly imply that the off screen relationship between the two of them was just different to Okita's relationship with the other captains, even the ones he got on with. So pair the off screen, not quite acknowledged nature of this with real historical context....it feels like a romantic implication to me personally.

in conclusion:

But also I can't tell if I'm just reading way into at this point, tell me if I need to go lie down and think less about the text until I stop seeing gay ppl everywhere or no

[yakuzacasual]

A bento! Made with care! By a loving wife!

The only thing on my mind while doing that side quest was Kashiwagi and it shows. Possibly ishin spoilers for names, and Akiyama specifically so thread carefully. Also I am using the yakuza names in brackets cause i cannot for the life of me remember them by Ishin names.

Ishin men get a bento from their partner with (Kashiwagi) Inoue Genzaburo, (Ryuji) Saigo Kichinosuke and (Akiyama) Katsura Kogoro

(KASHIWAGI) INOUE GENZABURO

- You’d think he will be all embarrassed and troubled to be handed a bento right before his squadron and other captains. You’d think WRONG. Much to everyone’s surprise, he is very smooth about it. His lips bend into a rare, kind smile as his calloused hands gently wrap around the package, carefully wrapped in a colorful cloth. He stares right at you with this wistful gaze, like you are his entire universe and more... Although you can imagine that in reallity, he is definitely gauging reactions out of the corner of his eye.

- Gen is not the kind for pettines. Yet, whenever it comes to his beloved partner, he feels immense pride in rubbing it hard into the wounds of the starved shinsengumi hounds. Showing them what they could never have. In some ways, he thinks of you as a trophy, but with how kindly he treats you it hardly feels like an insult. If anything, being able to tame one of shinsengumi’s best is to be worn like a badge of pride.

-  He makes sure to thank you with a kind word for your dedication and is most regretful he cannot offer a kiss to the knuckles of these hands, that prepared the meal for him. Not right away, that is. Instead he inconspiciously leans closer, tips of his ears slightly burning, as he whispers to meet him by the riverbed. Gen needs not say anything more, you’ve been at it for a while after all. This meticulous little mischief of yours, that starts with handing him a bento for all to see and ends in a secluded spot where he consumes the food while listening to your day. Otherwise know as his favourite part of the day.

- So both of you slip away from prying eyes, enjoying each others’ presence to the tune of soothing sound of waves. He sits by you, his face filling with little wrinkles of joy as he uncovers the delicacies of the homemade bento. The conversation you share is so engaging, that before you know it he is already halfway through, his free hand sneaked around yours with fingers drawing circles into your skin. Gen’s touches are always so gentle and yet barely a little brush sends warm tingles running through your body. Fondness. Both yours towards him and his towards you.

- It’s pretty much his habit to share the bento with you, so he always encourages you to fill at least some part with your favourite foods. Even if you deny him that little pleasure, you will suddenly start hearing about how much he loves that meal or the other that you just happen to enjoy. You can’t beat the old fox. If you ask him to feed you, he would certainly grumble about how you “are no longer a child”, but at the same time Gen would never dare truly deny you.

(RYUJI) SAIGO KICHINOSUKE

- Still not over the fact that he did actually score you, the best goddamn thing ever, as his partner. And now you even bring him a lovely, homemade bento? Not even his big ego can help him wrap his head around this, even if he makes sure to look otherwise. There is a full fledged smirk on his face as you approach with the wrapped goods, his hands crossed nonchalantely on his chest. The aura he exudes just screams smug, confident and in a way not surprised he is having people fawing over him. Even his men, despite the fact that they are pretty sure you are the first one to ever do that, try to pay no mind. No one dares point out the twinkles in his eyes, knowing it leads to nothing but trouble. For you, however, these twinkles are the most endearing thing about your lion of a lover.

- Saigo has no sweet words to offer, instead messing up your hair with his big hand and accepting the bento like he is doing it for your benefit, more than his. The only sweet thing is the time he takes to tease you about it, asking if you want to poison him or perchance court him - like you are not partner already. He enjoys the bickering, and keeping you around longer, almost as much as the dishes you prepared for him so you make sure to entertain his playful side at least sometimes.

- While you cannot accompany him during the dinner, you can be sure to find a cleaned out bento right outside of your room the following evening. On more busy nights it just appears on its own, but the little trinkets left just by it - like a freshly picked flower - assure you that you were visited by the lion himself. Every other time, however, Saigo makes sure to stop by in person, even for a brief spell. His partner will not be left wanting for his attention, that’s for sure. Be it some intimate time in your room - just so spying servants are less likely - or a date out on the city, the man will pour all his heart into making you feel appreciated and loved. 

- If you happen to make it a habit, he will get incredibly worried when you stop bringing him food. “Did they get kidnapped” kind of worried. He has his men all over Kyo, himself included if circumstances allow, looking for your whereabouts only to find you completely oblivious and enjoying your time. It takes some explaining to get it through his thick head that you were being late or maybe didn’t have inspiration to cook today altogether. He doesn’t want to make you feel guilty about it, not in a malicious way but... The puppy eyes do make you feel at least SLIGHTLY guilty. You can’t help but accept an invitation for shared dinner now. And the whole situation causes quite an uproar for the days to come, with all the factions on edge. It just so happens to be the perfect excuse to offer you to stay with him for the time being. Forever, maybe?  

(AKIYAMA) KATSURA KOGORO

- So giddy when Ikumatsu presents the bento you left for him! His trusted spy is left giggling mess as she watches her boss light up in joy, his fingers impatiently unwraping the material around dinner you lovingly prepared. Kogoro spares no vocal compliments, boasting loudly to every usual patron enjoying their drink in the bar. No one seems too bothered, at this point they are used to his antics and if anything, watching him so entranced is just endearing. Just as he is about to dig in, you suddenly reveal your presence previously hidden by the kitchen door - a little ruse Ikumatsu came up with to surprise the leader.

- Somehow, his smile manages to get ever wider and in no time he strides over to your side, hands gently placed on your shoulders. The comforting warmth of his fingers seeps down into your core, as the man’s voice trembles with geniuine passion. It’s only a few words of gratitude and yet this sincerity is near dizzying when you realize all the eyes on you. Kogoro pays no mind himself, but in a second thought he does worry he might cause you trouble. Immediately backs down with a sheepish expression, hands twitching at his side ever so slightly now that they are no longer hooked around your figure.

- The next time you come over with a bento, he makes sure to be prepared. Even Ikumatsu backs off when he explains his master plan to pay you back for your kindness. As you settle down in the bar, enjoying the slow business with a sip of tea, Kogoro bursts out of the kitchen not unlike you did. Much to your surprise, he is wearing an outfit more appropriate for a cook than Choshu leader - topped off with a cute little apron barely tied around his waist, clearly belonging to some of the more feminine chefs. In his arms he cradles his favourite dish, clearly fresh and... Slightly off. He looks truly defeated like never before. He lost, and to a meal no less.

- Hopefully you are willing to still give it a try. It doesn’t look outright poisonous, at very least, and the look in his eyes tells you that it might yet lift his spirits. Just a kind “thank you” coming from your lips makes him brighten right up. He watches you like a hawk, as you take the first bite only to discover, that it is actually pretty good! Although some elements are all over the place and presentation was less than appealing, you can tell there was a lot of effort and heart put into it. You find that it just gets better with each bite through the simple reality of him by your side. Finally as the dish is cleaned, Kogoro finds it in himself to ask for your review. Can you imagine how happy he will be when you ask him to cook for you again some time?

[trixibebe]

Heisuke Todo with a gun

[maiavonsneeper]

Hijikata: Saito-kun you have a mission, so come with me-

Ryoma: But first. Let me take a selfie

[bother-blame]

they couldn't bring back osaka castle without also bringing back the two tigers kiryu tiger dropped in the previous gold plated osaka castle

[skrunksthatwunk]

oh yeah now that I've finished ishin lemme just say that the WHOLE game is ryoma undercover and like. just a series of finding out the entire cast knows lol. "yeah no i know your deal :)... sakamoto... ryoma-san!!!" or at the very least thinking he's a fake and/or loyalist bitch. he's literally immediately so bad at it lmfao people will say something about the loyalists (who he's supposed to be working against) and he'll be like "!! takechi hanpeita? tosa?? 🥺🥺" "huh? is something wrong?" "n-no... it's nothing..." like girl you are SO suspicious it's not even funny. literally everybody knows <3

hey can we talk about kiryu being fucking awful at disguising himself? just really bad at being discreet in general like

he shows up to events (i.e. the funeral in yk1, y7) "in disguise", which is actually just a different suit + sunglasses (to some extent i get that when you wear the same suit for 20-30 yrs to the point where ppl impersonating you include it, wearing a different suit might be legit good enough but. come on man. clark kent ass)

in y5 when he moves away from morning glory but keeps wiring them money and haruka's like "jeez dad. you're really not good at this"

and then he also chooses suzuki as his fake ID taxisona name, which is literally the fake name saejima used in y4. i mean there's no reason NOT to steal it but it feels a little lazy

in y6 the several times he goes into smth with a ski mask on for discretion and then takes it off for literally no reason

in y7 when he reveals he's actually alive and saejima and majima are BOTH like "oh finally. we knew you weren't dead lol"

in the trailer for gaiden when he's like working undercover and his codename is joryu. like aye good thinking babe they'll never catch you now

in y8 his hair's gray and ungelled and he wears different clothes and (assuming he hasn't fully retracted his fake death) this is still his idea of disguise. not dyeing his hair and letting it lie flat/dyeing it gray/getting a wig that makes the top of his head look slightly too tall. as a possible disguise he's improved but like. not beyond halloween office party levels y'know

[tobiasrieper]

Get yer ass good ‘n ready, Hajime-chan. ‘Cause the only way yer gettin’ to the bottom of yer Tennen Rishin mystery is through me.

[datorchoe]

Well so I finished all the Yakuza games just recently, and I wanted to share my thoughts on them individually and rank them if someone wanted a good reason to start the game series. Side note, I played LAD: Ishin a long time ago so it’s not included, but I did enjoy it a lot.

Warning for minor spoilers for all the Yakuza games!!

1: Yakuza 0

0 had one of the most tragic stories imo, with Majima and Makoto. All the side characters were amazing, and the way that the stories all ran together were truly masterful. Love this game.

2: Man Who Erased His Name

If the story was longer, it would probably be #1 on my list. I absolutely loved this game mainly for the fact that Kiryu is finally being deconstructed and becoming “human” instead of the legend.

3: Yakuza 6

I’ve heard some conflicting opinions on this game, but I think it’s a great game. I love this story and I think everything with Haruka in this game did Kiryu’s character justice (The scene where he finds out Yuta got Haruka pregnant and punches the absolute shit out of him was literally priceless and probably my favorite scene in the whole game)

4: Infinite Wealth

God. This game should have been called Infinite Agony. I cried so much during this game. But I think it was a really good send off to Kiryu’s character. And the story was really, really good.

5: Like a Dragon

Ichiban is one of the greatest fictional characters ever made. He is so well written and you can genuinely feel his emotions when playing. The story was so good, and it really did a good job with the forgiveness agenda. (Yet another of Ichi’s amazing character traits)

6: Yakuza 4

Ok, I loved this game a lot. It really did a good job with all the separate characters storylines and connecting them back together. (Akiyama is one of the best characters in the whole series you cannot change my mind)

7: Yakuza 3

OK, I know SOMEONE is gonna dislike this one being higher than one and two. Both great games, but Kiryu was just so good in this game. It was just refreshing to see him be so genuinely happy for a while. I love the introduction to the orphanage in this game too.

8: Yakuza Kiwami

C'mon man. Majima? Fantastic. Haruka? Fantastic. The Florist? Fantastic. Date? Fantastic. I loved all the characters in this game so much. Such a tragic story as well.

9: Yakuza Kiwami 2

Ok, this is where I start to be a hater lol. I really liked this game, but the story just seemed very all over the place in my opinion. And I genuinely HATED Sayama’s character. I was glad they put a female protagonist into the game, but they did such a like, mediocre job of writing her character that it just made me mad. But Ryuji was one of the coolest villains in the series so he gets a pass lol. (Also Daigo? Love him so much. Him and Kiryu’s father son relationship is so tragic and I will never get over it for as long as I live)

10: Yakuza 5

Ok, mega hater time. I literally remember like next to nothing about this game cause I hated playing it so much. I remember Kiryu soloing 100 dudes who had rocket launchers, I remember Saejima fighting the bear, I remember wanting to die for the entire Haruka part, and I remember Shinada being a really good character. That’s it. Half of the game was alright, and the other half was just genuinely boring and weird. The addition of Haruka as a playable character was definitely interesting, and I was excited for it but I think the story with her was just boring. I think my favorite part was the end where she gave her big speech about how much she loved Kiryu, which was amazing but GOD this game was slow to start.

[thecindercrow]

Serizawa Kamo Inoue Genzaburo Like A Dragon: Ishin

[zaddyazula]

i don’t find this funny

[gamerism]

i think if gaiden had a legendary difficulty that coliseum fight with fake kiryu would turn from bargain basement wild dancer into real wild dancer and would be nigh fucking impossible lol