History Characters / TekkenKazuyaMishima

* {{Jerkass}}: Less overtly so than [[LargeHam Heihachi]] given his [[TheStoic frequent stoicism]], but Kazuya, in addition to his [[AmbitionIsEvil ruthless ambition]] and [[TheUnfettered merciless nature]], [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking isn't much fun at parties]]; he's cold, callous, dismissive of opponents he deems weak (hence his catchphrase), and happy to backstab or eliminate whoever he has to in his pursuit of power, often with a PsychoticSmirk on the face; there's a reason his feud with Heihachi is predominantly EvilVersusEvil. While he has a few people that he respects above all (Jinpachi, Kazumi, Jun), he makes that side very hard to see.

** One of these is a twisted sense of Honor. If he commits to a fight, he'll see it through to the end without cheating or relying on dirty tactics, instead being determined to crush his opponent through power alone; if they die in the process, so be it. He's also prepared to die himself if the opponent is actually stronger than him (since he seems to believe in the 'The strong tramples the weak' law), but thus far no one has come even close to actually killing him.

* MeanBoss: He's way too [[{{Jerkass}} himself]] to be considered a BenevolentBoss, but Kazuya is a surprisingly even-handed employer; he gives his henchmen plenty of leeway and room to succeed, and genuinely praises them when they do...just as much as he punishes them harshly when he [[YouHaveFailedMe gives up on them.]]

* DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu: In his non-canon ending in ''2'', Kazuya is disappointed that Devil is defeated by him. But then, Devil tries to cheap shot him from the back, only for Heihachi to cover for him for certain reasons. Kazuya turns his shock into advantage as he proceeds to use Heihachi as a human shield to tank Devil's lasers and gives him one final Dragon Uppercut, defeating Devil for good and proving that Kazuya's martial arts skills dominates the devil.

** On the topic of his red gloves, they too have also changed. After his first pair were seemingly destroyed in ''7'', they were replaced for his dougi outfit. This new pair goes about halfway towards his forearms but overall retains the same design as the original. He has another set for his default outfit; this pair are at wrist-length as the original but with a black cloth base and red padding.

* AdaptationalHeroism: Kazuya in [[Anime/TekkenTheMotionPicture the first Motion Picture]] is what happens if he sticks with what's presented as his characterization in the first game. He's just an aloof AntiHero that still won't kill people indiscriminately if it gets him to his goal of {{Revenge}} against Heihachi. And even then, the AdaptationalEarlyAppearance of Jun also influences Kazuya further that he eventually decides against killing Heihachi in the end, rescues Jun, and presumably [[SparedByTheAdaptation lives on]] to be the off-screen, aloof dad for Jin.

** Those who read the manuals of ''1'' can afford to not get [[BaitTheDog baited]] with Kazuya's [[TheHero hero]] status and know he's [[VillainProtagonist bad news from the start]]: His stated goal is to [[TakeOverTheWorld 'launch a worldwide coup']] by taking over the Mishima Zaibatsu. The Russian government catches wind of this and sends Jack to assassinate Kazuya instead of Heihachi.

** Kazuya's very existence alone embodies the series' darker tones, especially in the first game after the player is believed into thinking he's the protagonist until they see his ending. This is further emphasized in ''2'' where he served as the main antagonist. While Heihachi may have lighthearted moments in his character endings, most of Kazuya's endings are ''pretty dark'' to say the least (except [[spoiler:for his character episode in ''8'']]), to the point of betraying and killing those he cared about -- from murdering a dying Jinpachi to absorbing Unknown out of [=TTT2=]!Jun.
** By ''Tekken 8'', Kazuya further cemented himself as this after his triumph over Heihachi and further bring the entire world down to its knees. He declares that under his Darwinistic regime, losers not only get rewarded with death, but also get to watch their home country wiped out from the face of the Earth; to the point most of the cast decide to join forces with Jin to stop Kazuya's tyranny.