![]() (Fun fact: when Kiryu shows up as a boss in Like A Dragon, he will never attack the women in your party.) Throughout the series, men like Kiryu, who treat women with respect and kindness, are those most worthy of sympathy and admiration. He becomes cold and clinical, subbing out his flashy suit and bob cut for a white two-piece and slicked-back hair - and speaks to women with sneering condescension. Nishiki is a perfect counterpoint - the good-natured young man who had been Kiryu’s adoptive brother in Yakuza 0 changes dramatically by Yakuza Kiwami. To many of his fellow Yakuza, this is (wrongly) perceived as a sign of weakness. Throughout the series, Kiryu bawls, howls, and weeps - all the while utterly unconcerned with how that might appear to those around him. “To me… you were my true father!” Once again, our hero is left crying in the night. “It’s okay, pops,” Kiryu says, cradling Kazama as he draws his final breath. His mentor’s demise calls back to that fateful night where Kiryu cried out to him in the rain about orphans deserving the right to dream. Yakuza Kiwami sees Kiryu protect an orphaned girl named Haruka, and the care he shows for her is a direct reflection of the love Kazama showed him. Kiryu’s tenderness in Yakuza 0 allows the major emotional beats of Yakuza Kiwami - a remake of the original game from 2005 that stars a 37-year-old Kiryu - to hit even harder. Both perspectives are crucial to understanding Kiryu as a whole. To these people, the legendary Kazuma Kiryu was just another grunt, someone who almost wasn’t even allowed to join the Yakuza in the first place. When Yakuza 0 came out, some longtime fans of the series were already well-acquainted with the powerful man Kiryu eventually becomes - but many others were meeting him for the first time. Kiryu’s ability to be true to himself is what will ultimately allow him to become the kind of man Kazama himself would respect.īut that vulnerability and willingness to feel emotion are an integral part of Kiryu’s character, both before and after the prequel. Ironically, it’s this intensity of feeling that convinces Kazama of his strength. Yet in the moment, he is overcome by emotions and has seemingly lost the faculty of reason. Kiryu reveres the conventionally masculine aspects of Kazama’s character: his car, his confidence, and the respect he commands. Is that so wrong!? Is that too much? Do orphans not get to dream!? You’ve got no right! We’ve looked up to you for all this time. And don’t play the saint - you’re Yakuza yourself! Considering that… you have no right to tell us we can’t be Yakuza. I owe you everything, but this isn’t about that. ![]() Why can’t we, Kazama-san? It’s our lives. ![]() In response, Kiryu breaks down, in a scene that sets the entire series in motion. ![]() His guardian Kazama responds with a beating and a blunt refusal. Early on, 20-year-old Kiryu requests to join the Yakuza along with his adoptive brother, Nishiki. But Yakuza 0, the acclaimed prequel released in 2015 in Japan and 2017 internationally, is arguably the best place to start. No matter where you jump into this sprawling series, you’ll soon realize that Kiryu is nothing like other action game protagonists. But by the end of 2009’s Yakuza 3, he becomes a father figure to nine orphaned kids. To his Yakuza associates, he is the feared and revered Dragon of Dojima, the legendary Fourth Chairman of the Tojo Clan. He’s six feet tall, wears an expression that could knock a rhino unconscious, and tends to resolve arguments with his fists. Kazuma Kiryu, the protagonist of the series until 2020’s Like A Dragon, is the pinnacle of modern masculinity. Never one to turn down a stranger in need, Kiryu models for a photo shoot. Throughout the series, protagonists like Kazuma Kiryu, Goro Majima, and Ichiban Kasuga consistently unsettle and subvert our expectations of what a man should be - with unforgettable results. But one thing that remains consistent is the series’ staunch resistance to the toxic masculinity we see in so many other games. The series routinely oscillates between the grave and the absurd - the somber mood of a mysterious murder can be interrupted by the intrusion of a diaper-wearing cult. Sega’s Yakuza series is rooted in the criminal underworld, and its heroes radiate an overbearing macho presence that could make a ferocious tiger cower in fear - maybe even two.īut Yakuza is anything but typical, always at odds with what it was ten minutes prior. Honoring a vow to your oath brother might lose you an eye, but leaving a life of crime behind could land your nine favorite orphans (and a gorgeous Shibu Inu) in the line of fire. Murder, torture, espionage, deceit - being a yakuza is not for the faint of heart.
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