I know that the similarities between Yakuza and Gintama have already been discussed in this subreddit, but I wanted to complete the previous statements.
**HEAVY SPOILERS AHEAD**
•Locations Many users may know that Kamurocho (Kamuro District) is the real life Kabukicho (Kabuki District).
In Gintama, Kabuki District is where Yorozuya Gin-chan located.
Yorozuya (万事屋 Yorozuya?) is an outfit doing errands or odd-jobs for a fee, founded by Sakata Gintoki (Main Protagonist of the Gintama Series).
(Kinda Similar to Cabaret Grand for Goro Majima in Yakuza 0, Club Sunshine in Yakuza 0, Club Fourshine in Yakuza Kiwami 2)
Yoshiwara is an underground red-light district governed by different laws.
(Similar to The Underground Red-light District)
Eateries:
Snack Smile, Normal Restaurants, etc.
Entertainments:
Snack Otose, Clubs, etc.
Store:
Normal Shops
Story:
Yorozuya Gin-chan
•Some of the Organizations -4 Devas of the Kabuki District:
In Gintama, The 4 Devas of the Kabuki District (かぶき町四天王, kabuki chou shitennou) are the de facto 'overlords' in the Kabuki District.
(Similar to Five Billionaires)
-Machine Hall:
Owner: Hiraga Gengai (平賀 源外) is Edo's greatest mechanic and inventor. He has helped Sakata Gintoki and the Yorozuya at several occasions.
(Similar to Dragon & Tiger in Yakuza 0)
-Murata Family Swordsmith:
A swordsmith shop where the Murata Family once resided. It is now the home of the last known living relative, Murata Tetsuko.
(Similar to Dragon & Tiger in Yakuza 0)
-Takamagahara Host Club
Takamagahara is Kabukicho's top male host club. The club is owned by Honjou Kyoushirou. also Kyoushirou is an ally of Sakata Gintoki.
(Similar to Stardust Club and Kazuki)
•4 Devas of the Kabuki District Empress Otose, currently only known to operate the pub called 'Snack Otose', who occasionally intervenes in matters involving the yakuza and residents.
(Kinda Similar to Leisure King in Yakuza 0)
Peacock Princess Kada operates almost all the gambling outfits in Kabuki District also she is the former 4th captain squad of Harusame Space Pirates.
The Space Pirates Harusame is the largest Amanto crime syndicate in the universe involved in many illicit dealings within Gintama. They are one of the few recurring antagonists in the story.
Amanto is the Japanese blanket name for the outer space aliens in the universe of Gintama. They and the organizations they formed have directly or indirectly influenced every character's lives in the series.
(Similar to Gambling King in Yakuza 0, He was a former Yakuza)
The Demonic and Divine Mademoiselle Saigou, operates an okama club now(Okama: A derogatory term that refers to male homosexuals, effeminate men or transvestites.).
(Similar to Pleasure King in Yakuza 0)
Doromizu Jirochou the Gallant, is the head of the Dobunezumi Group, a yakuza outfit.
(Again, Similar to Gambling King in Yakuza 0)
•Combat System Have you guys ever heard of Ryu Ga Gotoku Ishin! ?
According to
wikipedia this game is in the Edo Era;
Same era as Gintama's!
There are swords and guns in this game, Just like Gintama!
Okita Souji, Hijikata Toushizou and many other historical figures are featuring in this game, same as Gintama!
Gintoki learns new abilities after each fight(THATS RAD) also, he has godlike stamina, same as Kazuma Kiryu, something that you call 1 man army.
Sakata Gintoki is the main protagonist of Gintama; he fights using a Bokuto(Wooden Katana).
Kagura is the main female protagonist of Gintama and she fights with an umbrella(Gentleman's Umbrella Heat Action needed LMAO).
•Side Quests Yorozuya Gin-chan's jobs can be used such as Judgment's Cases and Yakuza 0's Sub-stories.
•Enemies Fortunately, there are many types of Amanto that can cover up Goons, Bikers, Delinquents, etc.
-Bosses:
Similar to Ishin's 19th boss, Okada Izo, we got Okada Nizo in Gintama and other edo period historical figures.
*SORRY FOR MY POOR ENGLISH SKILLS
Source(s):
Gintama Wiki |
Yakuza Wiki So i just played through all the yakuza games released on pc and i see like a dragon releases today but when i googled it and on wikipedia it says its the eight game in the series so i wondered if i can play it even if i havent played past kiwami 2, does like a dragon spoil the entirety of the past few games or?
submitted by Get ready for a massive fucking wall of text built with my feels. I just finished Yakuza 0--so far, the only Yakuza game I've played--and promptly spoiled myself on the rest of Goro Majima's anti-hero arc throughout the series due to a combination of a quarantine situation and my unhealthy obsession with his lore, which I'm purging by writing this. While somewhat inconsistently written over the years, his transformation between Y0 and Y1/Kiwami 1 and ensuing characterization carries undiscussed literary depth within the context of details like his tattoo. It goes without saying that
spoilers follow in the discussion, though I've blacked out some character reveals or deaths in the main post.
Biography/Character Development As series fans are aware, at some point between the end of Yakuza 0 (1988) and the start of the first Yakuza game/Yakuza Kiwami (1995/2005), our favorite one-eyed boi's personality does a 180 from a calm, collected gentleman to the Joker counterpart to Kiryu's Batman--at least, from the point of view of someone who started with Yakuza 0. Hell, Mark Hamill even voiced him in the English dub.
Fan discussion varies on whether Majima's crazy side (shown in most of the series and around the other yakuza post-Y0, and particularly in Kiwami 1) is an exaggerated defense mechanism for him to operate efficiently in the yakuza underworld, if his sane side (shown around civilians and occasionally Kiryu/Saejima, particularly in Y0 when he's imprisoned in his 'gilded cage' in Sotenbori) is a repressed/depressed act, or if both represent him accurately (à la Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde) and he's not acting. The only consistencies in his character seem to be his loyalty and his respect for people who display courage, honor, and independence. Out-of-universe, he debuted as an insane character who was later given backstory and depth; in-universe/in-game, chronologically, his seemingly gentle nature gives way to a maniac with touches of sanity. It is worth noting that the lead English translator for the game, Scott Strichart, has said that Majima
"makes a conscious choice to... let loose," though this is never alluded to in-game.
To recount the rest of Majima's history: 1985 - We are unaware of how he acted pre-Yakuza 0, but know that he
endured a year of isolated torture for insubordination to his superiors out of concern for his oath brother. 1988 - Yakuza 0 takes place. Even in Y0, Majima acts a little crazy at times in karaoke and in his Breaker Style, more so than Kiryu would. Additionally, during Y0, we see the
loss of people he admires or who died to defend him, including Lee, Awano, Sagawa, and especially Nishitani--all of who contribute to his later personality. His wild persona is partially inspired by how he's treated while he's acting like a gentleman, including
him being used by Sagawa and Shimano throughout the game--hence the 'dog' part of his 'mad dog' title--and giving up Makoto so she can have a happy life, both of which could have their own textposts. 1992 - As revealed in Yakuza 5 in 2012 anecdotally by
his pop idol/superstar ex-wife Mirei Park: sometime between Y0 and Y1/Kiwami 1,
he goes through an ill-fated marriage at 28 with a then-18-year-old, hits her after finding out she aborted their child without telling him, and divorces her in part to save her career. 2005 - The original Yakuza game/Kiwami 1 takes place. Majima stalks Kiryu every chance he gets. 2006 - After the events of Kiwami 2, Majima also
temporarily leaves the yakuza to begin a construction company--a venture that recalls his business acumen and many dualities (civilian/criminal, destruction/construction, and the ultimate duality of the Yakuza series itself: strategic management minigame set against a lighthearted story/cartoonishly violent beat-em-up set against a serious story).
(Majima continues to show up in future Yakuza games, but I haven't seen any character development easter eggs in his reactions to major game events like his oath brother Saejima being released from prison. Every biographer is biased, though--I believe I've underplayed Saejima's role in Majima's motivations simply because I've only played Y0, a game in which Saejima was barely mentioned. See character analysis by Scott Strichart in an AMA here) (contains major Y5 spoilers). I argue that Majima's tattoo, which existed pre-1985, foretells his arc and represents the conscious dualities of his nature.
The Tattoo Concept art of Majima's tattoo Y0 Majima wearing the tattoo on his front Y0 Majima wearing the tattoo on his back Every Yakuza (game) character's tattoo has an animal or figure that symbolizes them to some extent, but I believe Majima's has a deeper connection to his story arc as opposed to just his personality. (The same could be argued for
Nishikiyama's koi in relation to Kiryu's dragon and Japanese folklore, or how four of the protagonists' tattoos from later games represent the
four Eastern Guardians, but those are their own walls of text.)
According to the
Yakuza fandom wiki (emphasis mine):
[Majima's tattoo] covers his biceps, upper chest, and stretches from his neck to the back of his thighs. It consists of a floral motif (similar to Shimano's), with a Hannya on his back, and twin snakes wrapped around his arms and chest.
I'm going to analyze Majima's tattoo in two parts: the symbology of the twin snakes in relation to his arc and the symbology of the Hannya.
Snakes - Analysis Why the snake, of all animals, to represent Majima? Why not the dog, given that his nickname is 'The Mad Dog of Shimano'? While Majima matches the energy and loyalty of a dog, a dog would represent only the acted, artificial facets of his personality: him being 'leashed' in Sotenbori or 'barking' at thugs. Even this nickname is a red herring; if he were called 'The Serpent of Shimano,' that'd ruin the point of his entire façade(s). The serpent, in addition to a plethora of more specific cultural and historical symbologies associated with it, is hidden, agile, flexible, cunning, and deadly. This suits both of Majima's personalities more completely--even as his 'Lord of the Night' persona, in his
Y0 introduction, he uses calculated, indirect methods to deal with a disruptive customer as the manager of The Grand. (In my opinion, all of the Youtube video clips of this introduction leave out the best part: the end of the night, when the player controlling him returns to a tiny, bare apartment on the trashy side of town after having just made 100 million yen managing his lavish cabaret, and collapses sleeplessly on a bare mat on the floor
for another night of PTSD flashbacks.) In battle, especially in Y1/Kiwami onwards, Majima's style is quick and knife-like, relying on his speed and agility rather than brute physical force. We also see in multiple cutscenes, especially in Y0 (if you don't already believe he's acting most of the time either way), that he's capable of deception and guarding secrets when needed.
This begs the second question--why
twin snakes? As you can see in the concept art linked above, one of the snakes--the one prominently displayed on his chest--has its mouth open as if to strike, whereas the other--less visible and hanging off his shoulder--does not. They may represent the series' recurring theme of the Yakuza way of life being a dichotomy between criminality and civility. The snake alone represents the infinite cycle of death and rebirth in the classic symbol of the ouroboros, where it eats its own tail, and also has been portrayed for the dual contrasts of medicine/poison and good/evil. Whenever Majima embodies one of his personas, he 'sheds' the skin of the other, because much like pedestrian life (blood/married family, legitimate business, honesty, civility, tuxedo used for work, and long hair tied back) and Yakuza life (crime/sworn family, illicit business, manipulation, violence,
snakeskin jacket that he chose, and loose short hair), the two are incompatible. His eyes are also symbolic in this way: one eye sees normally, while the other is mutilated and covered with a black eyepatch. This duality is displayed in Majima's many "snake skins," for (minor Kiwami 1 spoilers ahead) Majima is neither female (Goromi), lawful (Officer Majima), dead (Zombie Majima), a beloved celebrity (in-universe, anyway--Everyone's Idol Goro), nor a domestic service worker (at least in Kiwami 1--Taxi Driver Majima). We'll cover his last persona, Hannya-man, in the next section. The reason for Majima's duality existing is that psychologically, Majima needs both in order to be healthy and true to what he is: he needs to ground himself on occasion so he doesn't totally fly off the handle, and inversely, he needs to let his 'crazy' out in order to stay sane.
Hannya - Analysis According to the
Wikipedia article for Hannya:
The Hannya mask is said to be demonic and dangerous but also sorrowful and tormented, displaying the complexity of human emotions. When the actor looks straight ahead, the mask appears frightening and angry; when tilted slightly down, the face of the demon appears to be sorrowful, as though crying.
The original Japanese legend of the Hannya tells the story of a jealous, hideous she-demon-slash-beautiful woman twisted by betrayal. The 'frightening' side of the Hannya is Majima's crazy side that he shows in battle and when dealing with other yakuza, whereas the 'sorrowful' side is Majima's life outside of the yakuza. In real-world Japanese culture, the face of the Hannya is a mask used in kabuki theatre; Majima is wearing a mask at all times (both figuratively, and also on the tattoo on his back). There is no one in the world whom Majima can show both his sensitive/caring side without being hurt or manipulated, and his bloodthirsty/criminal side (he joined the yakuza of his own free will multiple times and seems to enjoy the thrill of a fight) without being feared or putting others in danger, to except for possibly the powerful but righteous and emotionally-balanced Kiryu, which helps explain why Majima's so drawn to him.
We now focus our attention on Hannya-man, one of Majima's masks that he literally wears in a battle against Kiryu. In Kiwami 1, the main reason he fights Kiryu, despite threatening to kill him, is conversely to make Kiryu stronger
after Kiryu gets out of ten years of prison. At the end of Yakuza 0 and Kiwami 2 (this entire section is gonna be one big spoiler about Majima's personal life through Yakuza Kiwami 2 and Yakuza 5 - I wouldn't click past the next spoiler if you haven't played Kiwami 2),
Majima goes out of his way to avoid revealing who he is to Makoto in-person, even though he loves her; his ignorance of her in order to shield her from the yakuza life is his greatest act of love. It's interesting how much Makoto and Mirei compare and contrast in their personalities and relationship with Majima. This addresses the question of why the Hannya mask appears "sorrowful, as though crying" from a different angle.
Majima never fully got over Makoto, the only character who understood what his year of torture and losing an eye was like; when Makoto gives him a massage and some closure by chance at the end of Kiwami 2 after she reveals that she ended up having a son with the doctor who saved her, Majima mutters to himself that by thanking him and telling him that she's been happy, she's untied some loose knots he's had "for 18 years." He's kept count of this in his head. The game executes the 'show-not-tell' rule of storytelling masterfully here--Majima never directly shows her nor tells anyone that he's in love with her. We only get this impression by his body language, actions, and dialogue from other characters like Shimano. Majima doesn't discuss his civilian life, at least in-game. We wouldn't even know about (major Y5 spoiler)
his failed marriage and dead baby from 1992 if it weren't for another character's dialogue in Yakuza 5. For all we know, Majima could really want to become a father, but can't--in addition to his actions (again, Y5)
towards Mirei upon finding out what she did, he displays fatherly instincts multiple times during Y0's civilian substories/hostess training, especially towards Yuki, and throwaway lines of dialogue during those trainings indicate he's not completely averse to having a kid. Unlike the Hannya in her jealous fury, Majima accepts that he would never receive a 'happy ending'
from his relationship with Makoto, only a bittersweet one. Yes, that was a symbolic massage pun. His civilian life is, in some ways, ironically more tragic than his yakuza one.
To conclude, Majima's tattoos tell their own lore--that of the multiple dualities of his story and character arc.
I'll wrap up with a quote from Kurt Vonnegut, a 20th century writer who turned to the absurd to sculpt the effects of PTSD:
We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be.
Additional miscellaneous credit for this writeup goes to commenters on Youtube, Tumblr, Reddit, and various gaming forums.
Yakuza: Like a Dragon Cast . Ichiban Kasuga voiced by Kaiji Tang and 1 other. Jo Sawashiro voiced by Brian Bloom and 1 other . Yu Nanba voiced by Greg Chun and 1 other . Masumi Arakawa voiced by George Takei and 1 other . Saeko Mukoda voiced by Elizabeth Maxwell and 1 other . Kouichi Adachi Yakuza: Like a Dragon completely changed the battle system of the previous entries. After playing, how do you feel about the change? Does Ichiban Kasuga live up to your hopes as a new protagonist for the series? How is the amount of content in your opinion? How was the story? Do you find yourself invested in the characters and/or plot? Yakuza: Like a Dragon is a new frontier for the Yakuza series, and the life and crimes of the series feels right at home in this new setting. Ichiban is an instant addition to the pantheon of Yakuza legends, his party an endearing band of ruffians, with the combat doing just enough to make everything familiar feel new again. Like a Dragon or Yakuza: Like a Dragon, released in Japan as Ryū ga Gotoku Gekijōban (Japanese: 龍が如く 劇場版, lit. "Like A Dragon: The Movie"), is a 2007 Japanese crime film directed by Takashi Miike, based on the 2005 PlayStation 2 video game Yakuza. The film stars Kazuki Kitamura, Goro Kishitani, Show Aikawa, Yoshiyoshi Arakawa, Kenichi Endō and Tomorowo Taguchi. Yakuza: Like a Dragon (龍が如く7 光と闇の行方, Ryū ga Gotoku 7: Hikari to Yami no Yukue, lit."Like a Dragon 7: Whereabouts of Light and Darkness"), also known as Yakuza 7 and previously known as Shin Ryū ga Gotoku (新龍が如く, lit."Like a New Dragon" or "New Like a Dragon"), is a role-playing game (categorized as a "Dramatic RPG" on SEGA's official Ryu ga Gotoku 7 website) for Yakuza, also known as Ryu ga Gotoku, is a series created by Toshihiro Nagoshi and SEGA, beginning in 2005 with Yakuza, and ending series protagonist Kazuma Kiryu's journey with Yakuza 6 in 2016. Yakuza: Like a Dragon stars a new series protagonist, Ichiban Kasuga, who debuted in Ryu ga Gotoku Online.Several spin-offs to the series include Ryu ga Gotoku Ishin! and Ryu ga Gotoku Kenzan Yakuza: Like a Dragon is a new start for the eccentric action-RPG series. It was announced during an Inside Xbox stream as one of many third-party games coming to Xbox Series X, but the game is Please login to add your score for Yakuza: Like A Dragon Graphics played on the ps4. Lifespan This is an average score out of 10 left by our most trusted members. [Images]Like a Dragon / Yakuza: Like a Drago / Yakuza: Like a Drago / Yakuza: Like a Drago / Yakuza: Like a Drago / Yakuza: Like a Drago / Yakuza: Like a Drago Like a Dragon coming soon. Sorry, you are not able to view this website with your browser’s cookies disabled.
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