These are the characters that debuted in the third game of Sega's long-running Like a Dragon series, Yakuza 3.

For Kazuma Kiryu, see his page.
For Goro Majima, see his page.
For Haruka Sawamura, see her entry on the Character Index page.

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Morning Glory / Sunshine Orphanage

In General

"Morning Glory" ("Sunshine" in the early English localizations) is an orphanage sited in Okinawa, with connections to the Sunflower orphanage where Kiryu, Nishiki, Yumi, and Haruka grew up in. After the previous owner had passed away, Kiryu decided to take over the place along with Haruka following the events of the second game. There are eight orphans residing in the orphanage aside from Kiryu and Haruka.

Things change for them in Yakuza 5 when Kiryu and Haruka leave the orphanage, in order for the latter to pursue a career as an Idol Singer, and so the older kids wouldn't have to make sacrifices to support the orphanage. They're all still there by Yakuza 6, now teenagers, and play a large part in what kicks off the game's plot.

The Bus Came Back: Though they were reduced to background characters with very small minor appearances at best in 4 and 5, they have a more substantial appearance in 6 having also grown up more in the time that has passed.
Dub Name Change: It was originally named "Morning Glory", but was changed into "Sunshine" for the game's localization. It has been reverted back to "Morning Glory" in Yakuza 6 with the remasters of 3, 4, and 5 following suit.
Heartwarming Orphan: All of them really. That they suffer pretty harsh prejudice for lacking real blood families and not having blood ties to one another yet still act like they're inseparable helps.
Meaningful Name: The original name for the orphanage was "Asagao" (Morning Glory), named after a Japanese flower. Kiryu gave it the name based on the orphanage he was raised in, "Sunflower". "Sunshine" can also be seen as a tribute to the place Kiryu was raised in.
Nice Guy/Nice Girl: They're all pretty friendly and considerate kids albeit with some character flaws here and there which they tend to resolve or at least are working on anyway. Kiryu seems to think it has less to do with his parenting and more with how independent yet close to one another they are, though he's clearly having a positive effect on their values.
Retcon: The subsequent games state Kiryu founded the orphanage even though in 3 it was established he took over after the previous director passed away.
Secret Secret-Keeper: At the end of Gaiden, Taichi mentions in a hidden camera recording that they weren't fully convinced that Kiryu was gone, so he and Ayako thought of leaving a message in case it was possible.
She's All Grown Up: In Yakuza 6, all of the orphans are now teenagers. Come Gaiden and Infinite Wealth, they are now all young adults with careers and bright futures ahead of them, which they all owe to Kiryu raising them right.
Ungrateful Bastard: Downplayed but aside from Haruka, the kids are revealed to not be as vocally thankful towards Ayako for being so selfless and considerate towards them and always helping them with their problems when they need it. When Kiryu points this out during a family meeting, they all definitely feel guilty about it so they band together to apologize and properly thank her.

Taichi

Voiced by: Shunzo Miyasaka (Japanese), Caleb Yen (English)

Taichi as he appears in Yakuza 3.

A tough boy with an aspiration of becoming a professional wrestler. Ten years old as of Yakuza 3, and in his second year of middle school by the fifth game. However, he planned on getting a job to support the orphanage instead of pursuing his education. When Kiryu and Haruka leave the orphanage, he's the one who takes over in their absence, and writes Haruka a fan-letter using the pen name "Dragon Mask Man".

The Ace: He is like a natural leader to the rest of the orphans and wishes to protect the orphanage from the yakuza when he grows up as a professional wrestler.
The Captain: When Kiryu and Haruka leave the orphanage, he's the oldest boy left and tries to be as responsible and dependable as they were.
Continuity Cameo:
- Appears in the fourth game during Kiryu's segment as well as a flashback in Dead Souls.
- He and Ayako discover the hidden camera watching Kiryu's grave in Gaiden, allowing the two of them to deliver one final message to Kiryu in the off chance he's watching them.
- He appears again in an Ijincho hostess club in Infinite Wealth, on an invite from Date so Kiryu might tie up any loose ends before he dies. Taichi has made Kiryu his role model and thinks of him whenever he runs into danger in his new job as a firefighter.
Meaningful Echo: In Infinite Wealth, his one-liner when defending the cabaret girl is (in the Japanese version) word-for-word the same as what Kiryu said in Yakuza 2 when defending Kaoru ("I'm not the kind of adult who'd let a woman get hit in front of me and do nothing"), highlighting how much Taichi is growing up to be like Kiryu.
Plot Allergy: Chapter 10 in Yakuza 3 has him pass out from an asthma attack and worry his dreams of being a pro wrestler may be over before they begin due to asthma. It turns out he's allergic to buckwheat, the main ingredient in soba noodles.
Tender Tears: When Kiryu returns to the orphanage in Yakuza 6, Taichi immediately glomps him with tears in his eyes.
Stout Strength: He's a bit on the big side, and the strongest of the Morning Glory kids.
Vitriolic Best Buds: With Mitsuo.

Ayako

Voiced by: Yumi Sudo (Japanese), Cassandra Lee Morris (English)

Ayako as she appears in Yakuza 3.

The eldest of the orphans second to Haruka, age 11 as of Yakuza 3. A quick thinker who is also quiet, caring and committed, she carries a motherly role to the orphanage, but tends to put others ahead of her own needs. By the time of the fifth game, she texts Haruka letting her know she and the others watch her on TV. Like Taichi and Koji, she was planning to find work to support the orphanage at the expense of her education.

In Yakuza 6, she learns of the scandal surrounding Haruka and catches her trying to leave the orphanage because of it, but is told to keep it a secret from the others. When Kiryu returns without her, she realizes she wasn't told the whole truth either, and informs him of the scandal and why she left.

Accidental Athlete: After making Kiryu chase her throughout downtown Ryukyu, he and the others realized she was rather athletic and convinced her to join the track team. In the fifth game Kiryu can send her Christmas money to buy new running shoes.
Continuity Cameo:
- Appears in the fourth game during Kiryu's segment and a flashback in Dead Souls.
- She and Taichi discover the hidden camera watching Kiryu's grave in Gaiden, allowing the two of them to deliver one final message to Kiryu in the off chance he's watching them.
Cool Big Sis: She is the eldest of the orphans and helps all of them out whenever she can, whether it's clothes, homework, money, or attending to injuries, feeling its her responsibility. Unfortunately, they tend to take advantage of her kindness and take her for granted.
Dude, Where's My Respect?: She runs off after she's fed up with their ungratefulness and refuses to go back with Kiryu, giving him a run for his money as he chases her throughout Downtown Ryukyu. He manages to convince her they're grateful, and they're apologetic afterwards.
Extreme Doormat: Puts the needs of the other kids before her own and can't bring herself to say no to them even when it's clear that she's hitting her limit.
Girlish Pigtails: A pair of braided ones.
My God, What Have I Done?: See Secret-Keeper below. After Kiryu returns from him sentence, shocked to see Haruka isn't with him, Ayako breaks down in tears realizing her mistake, and is blamed by the others for not telling them the truth. Kiryu however tells them no one's to blame but himself.
Office Lady: Taichi mentions she's working in an office in Okinawa during their message to Kiryu in Gaiden.
Secret-Keeper: In Yakuza 6, she reluctantly agrees to keep Haruka's departure and the scandal a secret from the others so they wouldn't worry about her and blame themselves for it. But she's told Haruka would be near Kiryu when she actually heads off to Hiroshima instead.
Team Mom: Looks after the younger orphans in this fashion and noted to have more success in the role than the relatively more feisty and driven Haruka.

Koji

Voiced by: Yuta Kasuya

Koji as he appears in Yakuza 3.

An active boy who is into sports, particularly soccer and baseball, and generally plays with the other orphaned boys on the beach. Ten years old as of Yakuza 3. Like Taichi, he's also in his second year of middle school by the fifth game, and also planned to find work to support the orphanage instead of going to high school.

Continuity Cameo: Appears in the fourth game during Kiryu's segment.
Lovable Jock: He's the orphan with the most interest in playing physical sports on a real team and a very friendly and considerate kid too.

Eri

Voiced by: Kanae Itō

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/eriy3.jpg

Eri as she appears in Yakuza 3.

A girl who has trouble getting along with other orphans, who took it hardest when she lost her parents. She tries fitting in but learned it was best to just be herself. Nine years old as of Yakuza 3.

I Just Want to Be Normal: Tries harder to fit in with the other kids at school so that they won't see her differently for her lack of biological parents. A big part of the reason she borrowed money from Ayako without asking was out of desperation to have enough money to go to the movie theater with classmates who invited her. She didn't want her excuse to be that as an orphan in an 8-child household, she doesn't get enough allowance to pay for her own movie ticket.
The Eeyore: She's somewhat quieter and gloomier than the others. She keeps to herself more often too.
Friend to All Children: In their message to Kiryu in Gaiden, Ayako and Taichi mention Eri is pursuing a career in child care.
Girlish Pigtails: Sports them.

Mitsuo

Voiced by: Kimito Saito, Kokei Yamazaki (Yakuza 6)

Mitsuo as he appears in Yakuza 3.

The son of an American soldier and a Japanese woman. He was orphaned when his father returned to the United States without even knowing he had a child and his mother died. He's nine years old as of Yakuza 3, and in his first year of middle school by Yakuza 5. He's got a huge crush on Riona.

In Yakuza 6, he's become an active baseball player at his school, and his skills have been recognized to the point that it could earn him a college promotion. Now that Haruka is known to have been raised by the yakuza and lives in the same orphanage they do, the others fear it will interfere with his chances to make it big in life, which plays a large part in why she leaves them.

Bully Hunter: He finds Riona being harassed by the rich boy she was supposed to go see a movie with, who along with his friends discriminated against her for her burnt scars. Mitsuo puts a stop to it but gets beaten up in the process.
But Not Too Foreign: Half African-American, half Japanese.
Call-Back: If you give him a dragon print t-shirt to wear on Rikiya's dress-up competition to make him look cool, the shirt itself appears to be purple and the dragon is gold. This easily shouts out Shinji Tanaka from the first game.
Disappeared Dad: His dad doesn't even know he exists.
Lovable Jock: In 6, he's become very skilled in baseball, playing for the middle school baseball team.
Puppy Love: With Riona, which Rikiya called the trope by name. In the fifth game, he writes a fan letter to Haruka under the pen name "I Heart Riona", asking for advice on how to impress his crush. Even Kiryu thinks he'd be good for her.
Small Role, Big Impact: His baseball scholarship aspirations are what drive Haruka to leave the ophanage to avoid hurting his chances thanks to her now very known connection to a Yakuza member and kickstarts the events that changed their lives forever.
Surpassed the Teacher: Taichi jokingly notes how Koji was the one who taught Mitsuo the basics of baseball and now Mitsuo's better than him at the sport.
Token Minority: Partially black due to having an African-American father who is in the United States Army. He even uses his skin color as a means to comfort Riona, telling her he's also different from others when it comes to his appearance, which is why scars don't bother him.
Vitriolic Best Buds: With Taichi.

Riona

Voiced by: Sayaka Maeda

Riona as she appears in Yakuza 3.

A girl whose parents died in a burning building and had her arms burnt badly. The trendiest kid at the orphanage, she's into fashion and clothes. Mitsuo also has a crush on her. Nine years old as of Yakuza 3.

Big Little Sister: While not related by blood, she lives with the other Morning Glory orphans as family and is taller than most of the boys despite apparently being the second youngest member after Izumi. Downplayed after they've all become teenagers. All the boys have gotten significantly taller but she still seems to be a little taller than the older Eri.
The Fashionista: The orphan at Morning Glory who's most concerned with fashion trends. She continued this trend into adulthood and is now working in the fashion industry, per Ayako and Taichi's message in Gaiden.
Lovable Alpha Bitch: Has shades of it. She's more concerned with phsyical appearances, fashion, and appearing trendy than the other kids and tries hard to make friends with some of the more popular kids at school. She also rejects Mitsuo's romantic advances primarily because of his darker skin tone though she has enough tact to not say so to his face. In any case, she's still a rather friendly kid and her experiences with the far more judgemental kids at school humble her. She comes to really appreciate Mitsuo's kind personality when he stands up for her when the popular kids insult her over her bad burn scars. She tearfully apologizes to Mitsuo afterwards and the two have apparently been hanging out more ever since.
Noble Bigot: Kiryu's parenting has given her a fairly friendly and considerate attitude but she rejects Mitsuo's invitation for a movie date due to his dark skin which reflects poorly on her more when you consider how she accused him of stealing the movie tickets. She ends up learning her lesson about judging others the hard way and apparently started hanging out with him more since then.
Scars Are Forever: Her arms are burnt from the fire that killed her parents, which she covers by wearing long-sleeve shirts.
Pink Means Feminine: Wears a pink sweater with a heart on it.

Shiro

Voiced by: Mariko Tonomura, Makoto Ohara (Yakuza 6)

Shiro as he appears in Yakuza 3.

A shy and smart boy who wants to grow up to be a doctor since his parents died of different diseases, and enjoys reading books about space. Eight years old as of Yakuza 3. In the fifth game, he writes Haruka a letter under the pen name "Professor Cosmos".

Asian and Nerdy: He's a smart young Japanese boy who loves the sciences and reading books. Ayako and Taichi mention he's a science major in university by the time of Gaiden.
Butt-Monkey: He got constantly bullied at school by someone who turns out to be the son of a teacher.
Beware the Nice Ones: He decided he had enough and fought back against the bullies.
Geek Physique: He is very smart, but not strong or athletic. The poor kid is frequently made fun of by other kids because of this.
Grew a Spine: Encouraged by Kiryu to stand up for himself when he keeps getting physically tormented by a bully at school. He ends up getting in a fight with the kid and comes home with bruises but he turns out feeling a lot happier about the situation since he still got some hits in and didn't submit to the bully as usual.

Izumi

Voiced by: Mai Aizawa

Izumi as she appears in Yakuza 3.

The smallest and youngest of the orphanage. She is very lonely and quite selfish. She takes care of a dog named Mame (Rex in the English version) who reminds her of her previously owned pet dog. Eight years old as of Yakuza 3.

Intergenerational Friendship: Gets along very well with Mikio (in his 20s) who can build a doghouse for Mame.
Interspecies Friendship: She is considerably best friends with Mame, the maru dog of the orphanage. Her love for Mame leads her to become a pet groomer in adulthood, per Ayako and Taichi's message in Gaiden.

Ryudo Family

Shigeru Nakahara

Voiced by: Shigeru Izumiya

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/nakaharay3.jpg

The Patriarch of the Ryudo Family in Okinawa who threatens Kiryu with a sudden eviction notice to give up the land the Orphanage is on. When Kiryu decides to discuss the issue, he turns out to be quite a reasonable and decent guy and is only looking out for the Okinawa's economy. But it's when his foster daughter Saki is taken from him that the two get on good terms, and swears an oath of brotherhood to Kiryu when he rescues her. A year later, he's shot around the same time Daigo is, which kicks off the game's main plot.

Ain't Too Proud to Beg: When Mine and Tamashiro start to demolish the Morning Glory Orphanage Nakahara gets down on a Pose of Supplication to plead with them to stop, citing how the kids have nothing else. Unfortunately, considering who he's trying this on, his pleads fall on deaf ears.
Asian Lion Dogs: Prominently tattooed on his back.
Charles Atlas Superpower: When Saki screams for him when he's about to be attacked by a charging bull, he grabs it by the horns and managed to overpower it as well as the remaining two offscreen.
Cool Old Guy: An elderly man who cares about the wellbeing of the people of Okinawa, and badass enough to fight multiple bulls in the ring.
Drowning My Sorrows: He became extremely upset and inebriated after the Tamashiro Family came into his office to steal Saki away from him.
Good Parents: Clearly adores Saki as his own daughter, which the poor girl desperately needs considering how horrible her biological mother is.
Heroic Spirit: When he's shot at the beginning of the game, the doctor mentions he was shot three times at point blank range, and still managed to call the ambulance himself. And it really comes into play when, well, see Charles Atlas Superpower above.
Katanas Are Just Better: Threatens Kiryu with one when he thinks he's being disrespected. Thankfully, Kiryu manages to talk him down before things get ugly.
Mythical Motifs: A shisa ("lion dog"), which is symbolically a guardian in Okinawa, Japan and China.
Neighbourhood-Friendly Gangsters: Initially tries to evict Kiryu and others from the beachfront location, but only because Nakahara thought it would be best for the resort deal that would help the town financially. He even offers to help Kiryu with acquiring a new place to use as an orphanage. He's also highly regarded by the town's folk.
Oh, Crap!: After swearing an oath of brotherhood to Kiryu, this is his reaction when he realizes the man he tried to evict earlier is none other than the Dragon of Dojima himself.
Shigeru Nakahara: I just swore an oath of brotherhood to one crazy bastard.
Papa Wolf: Adopts Saki from her troubled parents.
Red Oni, Blue Oni: The blue to Rikiya and Tamashiro's red and Mikio's purple.
Put on a Bus: With Ryukyu, Okinawa only being relevant and explorable in Yakuza 3, him and everyone associated with him have not made any further appearances in the series after the events of said game.
Stout Strength: He definitely has a fair bit of a gut, but he is powerful enough to survive being shot at point-blank range and wrestle a bull into submission... then two more in succession.
Sworn Brothers: Becomes one with Kazuma Kiryu in 3. The process is even shown on-screen with Daigo officiating.
Tattooed Crook: The Shisa, as mentioned above.
Tender Tears: After he saw Saki's thankful drawing of his face surrounded with flowers.
This Is Unforgivable!: Along with Rikiya, he never approved of Saki's abusive mother after she stormed off.
Saki's mother: If you want the kid that badly, you can have her!
Shigeru Nakahara: [disbelieved] What kind of mother... could do that to her child?
When Elders Attack: In spite of being a chubby elderly man he doesn't hesitate to raise his fists to the significantly taller, younger and more athletic Kiryu when he feels disrespected, though he does have a minor freak-out when he realizes just who he was picking a fight with. He is also capable of wrestling a bull into submission, and calls for an ambulance by himself after being shot multiple times at close range.

Saki

Voiced by: Umeka Shoji

A mute girl that comes from an unstable family, which leaves her under Nakahara's greater care. She only communicates by showing her drawings on her sketchbook.

Abusive Parents: See The Voiceless.
Big Damn Heroes: She gained the ability to speak again while her foster father is about to be massacred by bulls Tamashiro provoked by shooting his gun in the air three times; this boosted Nakahara's hopes up and managed to take down the bulls all by himself.
The Eeyore: Rather depressive because of her troubled past.
Happily Adopted: An unhappy home life left her mute, but Nakahara took her under his care. Despite the fact that he believed she hated him, she came to see Nakahara as her father, even drawing him in her sketchbook with "Daddy" written.
The Stoic: In addition to being The Voiceless, she emotes very little.
Talking with Signs: To be precise, drawings.
The Voiceless: Cannot speak due to a traumatic incident with her father who hung himself to death and her alcoholic mother who blames the girl for ruining her life. Averted when she witnessed Nakahara going to be assaulted by a bull, becoming Suddenly Voiced.
Yakuza Princess: She is looked after benevolently by Shigeru Nakahara who took her in after her father hung himself while her abusive alcoholic mother was was happy to give her away.

Rikiya Shimabukuro

Voiced by: Tatsuya Fujiwara

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rikiyay3.jpg

"I've got a viper on my back. The soul of Okinawa. No matter what comes my way, I'll strike at it, fangs out."

The captain of the Ryudo Family and the most loyal friend to Kiryu in the third game.

Animal Motifs: Has a tattoo of a viper on his back, which he calls it "the heart and soul of Okinawa" which was left unfinished due to the death of his tattooist. A substory in Kamurocho while he's hanging out with you will have it finally be completed by Utabori II, the same tattooist responsible for Kiryu's own dragon.
Badass in a Nice Suit: In Kamurocho he wears a pinstriped blazer over his usual floral-print shirt and black dress pants, giving him a somewhat more refined look.
Big Eater: When he comes to Kamurocho and after defeating Tsuyoshi Kanda, he tells Kiryu that he has a big love for yakinuku and when agreeing to visit the Korean restaurant, he orders a long list of kalbi and other Korean dishes along with bottles of beer. Kiryu tries to be a bit frugal with him.
Death Glare: Throws some of these at Kiryu initially and continues to do so at anyone else he considers an enemy.
Defeat Equals Friendship: He's far more friendly to Kiryu once you defeat him.
Distressed Dude: Lau Ka Long and his men capture him and hold him hostage.
Died in Your Arms Tonight: He dies in Kiryu's shortly after he takes a bullet for him.
Expy: Once they're on good terms, he's similar to Shinji from the first game as they're both young Lancers who look up to and have Undying Loyalty for Kiryu.
Fire-Forged Friends: With Kiryu.
Fragile Speedster: A variant focused on avoiding damage. He only ever has a single healthbar as a boss fight even in postgame content, but his evasive skills, short quick attacks with little ending lag, and ability to block almost all attacks from the front make it rather difficult to find any openings to deal heavy damage to him especially since he's fought so early in the story that your combat options are so much more limited. MovesetClones of him in later games are similarly characterized by having strong defensive abilites that make them trickier to damage than most opponents.
Have I Mentioned I Am Gay?: Played with when trying to enter the Red Brick Hotel in Kamurocho to confront Kanda and being refused access because couples are only allowed in, by lying to the receptionist that he and Kiryu are gay and this worked well... much to Kiryu's dismay.
Heroic Sacrifice: Takes the bullet from Tamashiro which was meant for Kiryu.
Hero-Worshipper: Seriously looks up to and respects Kiryu after being beaten by him and learning he's a big name yakuza who once made it to the top of one of the nation's biggest yakuza families. He also insists on calling Kiryu "aniki" even though Kiryu doesn't care for the moniker much since he's not longer yakuza.
Hot-Blooded: Young and full of energy to the point where multiple characters take note of it. Overlaps with Keet at times, particularly if you hang out with him in Kamurocho more.
Hypercompetent Sidekick: Not so much towards Kiryu, but as Captain of the Ryudo Family, he's this to Nakahara. He's described by locals as unmatched in a bare-knuckle brawl and with his Patriarch getting on in the years, Rikiya's become the family's primary provider.
I'm Cold... So Cold...: During his death scene. Poor guy.
Intergenerational Friendship: With 40-year-old Kiryu; in his 20s.
The Lancer: To Kiryu throughout the game.
Mirror Boss: Somewhat. His simplistic street-brawling techniques are refined enough that they're comparable to a low-level Kiryu which is what you're guaranteed to be the first time you have to fight him. Moveset clones of him in later games are suggested to be either skilled street fighters or experienced martial artists presumably because of the similarities some of his attacks share with karate techniques, most noticeably his stunning karate hammer fist. This similar to how Kiryu himself is a street fighter at his core but he incorporates martial arts into a number of of his attacks like his Komaki Style Parry essentially being a Muay Thai grappling knee strike. Probably best shown by the fact that the Kiwami 2 remake of the second game gives Kiryu's imposter the same fighting style.
Naïve Newcomer: He's this to Kiryu's Experienced Protagonist. He may be a Yakuza with a strong reputation around Ryukyu, Okinawa but he's relatively young being in his 20s and proves to be out his element when dealing with mainland Yakuza like Kiryu. When he visits Kamurocho, Tokyo, he's stunned by how many "weirdos" there are hanging around and how frequent street fights seem to be.
Neighbourhood-Friendly Gangsters: Shortly after his boss fight, Kiryu quickly discovers that he's well-liked around town.
Nice Guy: He might be a Yakuza, but he's kindhearted, friendly, and loyal. An early NPC even notes how strangely aggressive he's been acting in terms of trying to evict Kiryu and his surrounding neighbors since he's normally so polite.
Oh, Crap!: When Tamashiro is about to shoot Kiryu, only for him to throw his life at.
Punch a Wall: He does this in the hospital in the prologue after hearing Nakahara had been shot.
Red Oni, Blue Oni: The red to Kiryu and Shigeru's blue and Mikio's purple.
Sensitive Guy and Manly Man: The Sensitive Guy to Kiryu's Manly Man.
Shout-Out: Because of the tattoo on his back, he refers to himself as "The Fighting Viper."
Taking the Bullet: He takes the bullet from Tamashiro in the bullfighting arena where Nakahara is held hostage.
Tattooed Crook: A pit viper as mentioned above, but is also unfinished, which signifies his youth and immaturity.
Tender Tears: Only gives very few while dying.
This Is Unforgivable!: He does not take Saki's mother's rejection of her own daughter too kindly.
Saki's mother: This kid ruined my life! She's been in my hair ever since she was born!
Rikiya Shimabukuro: How can you say that in front of your own daughter?!
Uncertain Doom: Strictly speaking, it's never actually confirmed whether or not he did in fact die after he's shot through the stomach in the 3rd act. He begs Kiryu to stop Mine's plans, becomes limp in his arms... and then he's literally never brought up again, not even in the ending of 3. While he does pop up in the postgame Premium Mode alive and well, it's just a matter of convenience to ensure that the substories that require him don't become impossible to complete so his appearance there is usually considered non-canon. It doesn't help that from 4 onwards, Kiryu's life in Okinawa never gets any substantial focus any more so even if he was alive, there wouldn't be any reason to show it.
- He's also noticeably absent from the many "Ghost Cameos" in 6 that feature the ghosts of multiple major characters seemingly confirming their deaths.
- In a meta sense his voice actor is later used in the series in the role of Yuta Usami, something that Nishiki's voice actor did taking up the role of Ichiban, and Nishiki died. It's safe to assume the same has been done here.
Undying Loyalty: Whenever Shigeru or Kiryu get themselves into trouble, he's always willing to aid them no matter what the cost.
Warm-Up Boss: He's got a tight defensive fighting style with less openings compared to Majima who's fought before him but he also has only one health bar as well as a attacks that aren't too damaging unless you allow him to use a heat action on Kiryu when he grabs him. Being fought in an area with a lot of grabbable outdoor furniture also helps though regular combos with the chairs will prove to be ineffective against his blocking skills.
Wrestler in All of Us: During his boss fight, he'll perform a belly-to-belly suplex on Kiryu if he grabs him and he doesn't escape in time.
- Later in the story, he stages a wrestling match with Kiryu to cheer up Taichi. As Ricky Mask, he uses a completely different fighting style from his usual refined street fighting skills. Instead he focuses entirely on pro wrestling techniques with a heavy lucha libre influence: He'll use frankensteiners, jumping tornado DDT's, shining wizards, and a frog splash.

Mikio Aragaki

Voiced by: Daisuke Miyakawa

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mikioy3.jpg

A young blond-haired lieutenant of the Ryudo Family who is usually praised by the merchants of Downtown Ryukyu for protecting their businesses.

Big Eater: People in Ryukyu mention him getting free samples of food from every merchant he meets on the way. One sidequest exhibits this where he requests Kiryu to secure Downtown Ryukyu's market and it mostly has him trying out different sorts of food the merchants offer him for free.
Disney Death: Got the back of his head bashed by a sledgehammer wielded by one of Tamashiro's thugs to shield Mame's doghouse but failed to do so in the process. It was later revealed that he survived the blow.
Hidden Depths: It would be easy to dismiss Mikio as a Fat Idiot, but it would be a very severe mistake. As has been mentioned in other places, he is extremely tough and while not an excellent fighter, he holds his own off the back of his ability to soak damage. He also bonds with Izumi over a mutual love of dogs, and proves to be pretty good with his hands when he builds a doghouse for Izumi and Mame. On top of this, dialogue implies that he is the one who takes care of the Ryudo family's bookkeeping, and he is well-respected by local shopkeepers for his friendly and helpful nature.
Intergenerational Friendship: With Izumi, aged 8; in his 20s.
Made of Iron: He managed to survive and recover from his head repeatedly being beaten in with a sledgehammer.
Mighty Glacier: Shares the same fighting style as the generic fat mooks with slow, hard-hitting hits that can knock enemies off their feet easily.
Neighbourhood-Friendly Gangsters: He is very respected by the Ryukyu merchants.
Optional Boss: It's possible to fight him as an arena boss after the main game, albeit as part of a Dual Boss with Rikiya as part of the "All-Star Tag Tournament".
Red Oni, Blue Oni: The purple (colour-coded by his clothes) to Rikiya's red and Shigeru and Kiryu's blue.

The Tojo Clan

Yoshitaka Mine

Voiced by: Shido Nakamura II

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/y3mine.jpg

"...Every last thing I do is done with the aim of aiding the Tojo Clan. A motive I'm sure Daigo-san would approve of. Anyone that stands in my way will be eliminated. Even if that person… is one of our own.

The Chairman of the Tojo Clan's Hakuho clan, a family that emerged during the time gap between the second and third games. An extremely rich young man who was brought into the Tojo Clan by bribing Kanda. Since then, he's come into his own under Daigo's wing and suffers an erratic breakdown when Daigo is shot, which sets the events of the third game into motion.

Affably Evil: Barring his major Kick the Dog moment, he always acts well-mannered and polite to everyone he meets, even people who he obviously dislikes like Kanda, Kiryu, and the Morning Glory orphans. Truly a businessman and professional no matter what.
Alas, Poor Villain: His final moments are portrayed in a very tragic light as he seems to have realized his mistakes and immediately tries to take the villain down with himself as a means of atonement. He even tells Kiryu that wishes he'd met him earlier in life and then tells Daigo that he hopes to be reborn as someone more worthy of the care and attention Daigo's given him. When a disconsolate Daigo asks Kiryu if Mine was the Tojo Clan traitor, Kiryu responds that Mine was loyal to the end.
All of the Other Reindeer: When he was a kid, he was ostracized by others his age due being poor and an orphan.
Ambiguously Bi: He's heavily implied to be attracted to Daigo and Katase. However, he dies with his heart broken by the latter and feeling like he doesn't deserve the love of the former.
Authority Equals Asskicking: Head of the Hakuho clan, and one of the most formidable fighters of his time.
Badass Bookworm: His most notable trait is his intelligence granting him great success as both a civilian and a crime boss, but don't underestimate his fighting skills. Kanda found out the hard way.
Because You Were Nice to Me: Daigo was the first person to show him sincere kindness and respect as an equal, and he latched on hard.
Berserk Button: Do not in any way insult Daigo, as one of his goons found out the hard way with a butter knife embedded into his hand.
Big Bad: Emerges the winner of the power struggle within the Tojo Clan after Daigo's near-assassination, and is colluding with Black Monday.
- Big Bad Slippage: Believe it or not, Mine at the start of the game shows no antagonism towards Kiryu. In contrast to the other patriarchs who seek to kill Kiryu so they could become Chairman themselves after Daigo's hospitalisation, Mine's proposal is to let Kiryu take charge until things cool over. But as things start going even more sour for the Tojo, Mine decides to take matters into his own hands.
Bling-Bling-BANG!: His personal weapon is a gold-plated SIG-Sauer P230.
Boxing Battler: He's first seen boxing in his office-gym. In his boss fight, he will utilize Dempsey rolls in his orange Heat Mode.
Brains and Brawn: The brains to Kanda's brawn.
Breakout Character: To an extent. Despite only appearing in a single main-line game, he's consistently been a rather popular character according to fan polls and word-of-mouth. Thus, Ishin has him play the role of a major supporting character on the hero's side while Online goes over part of his past when he used to work with Kanda under the Nishiki Family.
Broken Ace: Smart, cunning, wealthy and a skilled fighter to boot. But his internal issues and obsessive love for Daigo ends up driving him over the edge.
Chekhov's Gun: He tosses aside his gun just before his battle with Kiryu. Daigo uses it upon waking up from his coma to save both Kiryu and Mine, gunning down Richardson and his Black Monday goons.
Child Hater: His scene with Kiryu's orphans, reeks of this.
Contrasting Sequel Antagonist: Ryuji was the son of a powerful Yakuza boss and a savage Blood Knight motivated by a selfish desire to be the best and surpass said father to the point where he betrays him early on. Mine is a cold, calculating Genius Bruiser who clawed his way from poverty by hard work and ambition alone and his villainy motivated by his Undying Loyalty to Daigo. Combat-wise, Ryuji was also The Big Guy with a hulking physique and a gift for brawling that saw him whooping teens and adults as a kid, while Mine trained hard for his deceptively athletic build and highly technical and evasive fighting style.
Corrupt Corporate Executive: Mine is the chairman of a large venture company by day and a Yakuza patriarch by night.
Cultured Badass: An educated, refined, sharp-dressed, well-mannered businessman. He's a savvy executive at a glance, but he's also an extremely competent criminal mastermind who is as good in a fight as he is at a board meeting, pulverizing the powerhouse Kanda without breaking a sweat and going toe to toe with the legendary Kiryu.
Dark Is Evil: The dark, muted color-scheme of his maroon two-piece suit and tie contrast greatly with Kiryu and even past Big Bad main antagonists of the series. Not even his gold-colored tie and pocket protector does much to offset the relative darkness of his clothing.
Deceased Parents Are the Best: What little of his childhood memories depicted his adoptive father as a caring, supportive man whose early death due to illness unfortunately left Mine alone in a cruel world that refused gave the lone orphan any more proper love and support due to his poor upbringing, at least until he met Daigo. In any case, for most of Mine's life, all he had for support was his adoptive father's dying request to not waste his strong intellect.
Decomposite Character: A gameplay example but three of the Final Bosses from the sequel Yakuza 4 have certain characteristics that Mine has all of:
- Hiroaki Arai has multiple different Heat modes similar to Mine along with having the same axe kick as him.
- Takeshi Kido can heal himself just like Mine though he's completely invincible while doing so. Also he has one of Mine's three-hit boxing combos.
- Daigo Dojima is probably the least like Mine ironically but he is the only boss in the main story of 4 to have 3 full health bars like Mine and he's also fought by Kiryu as well.
Despair Event Horizon: Daigo's apparent death. Mine loses his shit when the only one guy who accepted him is on the verge of death and almost kills Daigo's vegetative self at the hospital.
Desperately Craves Affection: His original goal of becoming a successful businessman was to become wealthy, as he believed money could buy affection. Unrelated to his wealth, he finally found someone who could give him affection in Daigo... which unfortunately drove him off the deep end when Daigo fell into a coma after being shot with the possibility of never fully recovering or even waking up.
Desperately Looking for a Purpose in Life: After Daigo, the man whom he loved, is shot and left comatose, Mine wanted to find a new reason to live for, and found a new purpose in attaining more power for the sake of the Tojo Clan Daigo's worked so hard to run.
Disney Villain Death: Drags the Greater-Scope Villain, Richardson, off of Toto Hospital with him.
The Dog Bites Back: His story in Yakuza Online revealed that Kanda abandoned him when they were ambushed by a rival family. This makes Kanda's execution at the hands of Mine all the more fitting.
The Dragon: Yakuza Online reveals that he served as Captain of the Nishikiyama Family under Kanda, before starting off on his own.
Even Evil Has Loved Ones: He genuinely loves Daigo as he's the first person to treat him with genuine kindness. He also cares for his secretary Katase, and is genuinely hurt when she calls him out of concern for the state of the company, which only reinforced his worldview that people only care for money and power.
Evil Cannot Comprehend Good: Due to having grown up without love or affection, acts of genuine kindness befuddles Mine. He considers Kiryu's decision to run an orphanage rather than take charge of the Tojo Clan in a time of crisis to be "cowardice", "irresponsible", "meaningless", and "mere hypocrisy". His insistence on using savage and underhanded means to keep the Tojo Clan afloat also shows that as much as he respects if not outright adores Daigo's selflessness, he doesn't truly understand it and he personally sees no reason to engage in such behavior himself if there isn't any worthwhile benefits. During Kiryu's final confrontation with him, he admits that seeing selfless people like Kiryu that never stop trying to help others outright pisses him off. He just can't understand how a fellow orphan like Kiryu could end up so different from himself.
"I suppose that's one of the reasons why Daigo-san liked you. But me? People like you who stop at nothing to help others make my fucking blood boil! Why do you do it?! You were an orphan, just like I was! How can you keep playing these games?!
Evil Counterpart: Like his predecessors, Mine is another one to Kiryu. In contrast to Nishiki who was a reflection of Kiryu should he succumb to the Despair Event Horizon, and Ryuji who was a bastardization of Kiryu's noble traits, Mine is a dark reflection of Kiryu's own self-destructive desire to help others. Thus while Kiryu is an All-Loving Hero who helps others out of selflessness, Mine's desire to help the Tojo Clan in his own twisted way was out of his selfish desire for validation from Daigo. And to cap off the similarities between them, both Mine and Kiryu were orphans, the difference being that Kiryu grew up with friends like Nishiki and Yumi, whereas Mine had no one after his adopted father passed away.
Evil Is Petty: He has Morning Glory Orphanage bulldozed. While the justification on paper seemed to be for the Okinawa resort deal, Mine's bitter remark towards the orphans implies that it was partly out of spite and misplaced jealousy.
Final Boss: Of 3.
Flash Step: The way his quickstep sometimes functions based on where you're looking occasionally lends itself to suddenly zipping around you in an impossibly quick fashion just to make sure he ends up beind you.
Freudian Excuse: As a child, he grew up with no support from anyone, often being ridiculed for his poor origins. This has led him to believe that money and power were everything. His pursuit of money and power caused him to be surrounded by like-minded people resulting in him being constantly betrayed by those around him. Daigo was the only person who treated him as an equal with no strings attached, which led Mine to attach himself to Daigo to an obsessive degree.
Friendless Background: Never had anyone to support him while growing up as an orphan. This wound up being the source of his issues.
Genius Bruiser: His success with the Yakuza is owed through a combination of frequently being both the strongest and the smartest guy in the room.
Graceful Loser: Lampshaded. He's shocked over he feels after Kiryu violently thwarts his plans to take over the Tojo Clan and ensure its prosperity: At peace. Everything's he's worked so hard for has come crashing down and yet all it amounts is all the immense pressure being lifted off his shoulders.
Green-Eyed Monster: It's implied that the reason why Mine decided to bulldoze Morning Glory Orphanage was out of jealousy that the children of the orphanage get to have a second chance for a happy childhood, something that Mine never got to have.
Mine: You like it here, huh? Funny, seeing you kids leech off an adult's generosity... It makes me sick to my stomach. You're stray pups, sure. But that alone doesn't mean you deserve protection. I'd rather see you all put down.
Healing Factor: Can heal himself when his Heat Aura turns Purple. Interestingly enough, his healing move is considered an attack since as it staggers Kiryu at close range. Thus, proper timing with the Komaki Parry can be used to interrupt it completely and keep him from healing.
Heel–Face Turn: Daigo's continued concern for him despite all the things he's done up to trying to Mercy Kill him causes Mine to show deep remorse for his actions.
Heel Realisation: After his defeat, he discovers how much destruction his ambition had caused. Before sacrificing himself to take Richardson down with him, Mine laments that he and Kiryu had not met sooner.
Hidden Depths: He's an avid art collector. According to Online, it's because "paintings cannot betray anyone".
Hyper-Competent Sidekick: Kanda never would have risen as far as he did without Mine's assistance and financial backing. Technically subverted by the time of 3 as Mine's more or less Kanda's equal if not outright superior seeing as he's now running his own Yakuza family.
Impaled Palm: He does this to one of his subordinates for insulting Daigo... with a butter knife.
I Owe You My Life: His devotion to Daigo kickstarted, as revealed in Yakuza Online, after Daigo saved Mine from a rival family and was willing to take a bullet for Mine.
I Just Want to Have Friends: Having spent most of his childhood in solitude and poverty, all Mine truly wanted was to have friends. He became a successful businessman because he believed that money would win the affection and companionship that he craved. When that turned out to be superficial, he joined the Yakuza because of their ideals of loyalty and brotherhood.
Kick the Dog: He has the Morning Glory Orphanage destroyed in the game's climax out of spite.
Kingpin in His Gym: He's introduced this way, showing that he's not a pushover, considering he's the game's Final Boss and all.
Lack of Empathy: With the exception of Daigo, Mine cares for no one else but money and power. Even that love of Daigo has its limits since he's disgusted to see Daigo in a deep coma and very nearly perform what he sees as a Mercy Kill if the man he adores never recovers and spends the rest of his life in a state of permanent unconciousness though it's his Sanity Slippage is likely affecting his sense of reason.
Laughing Mad: To show just how unhinged he's become by the end of the game, Mine lets out a few slight, but no less deranged cackles in his pre-fight conversation with Kiryu. Considering Mine never laughs up to this point, it's treated as incredibly creepy.
Leitmotif: "Fly".
Lightning Bruiser: His speed and agility are on par with Majima and he hits like a runaway train. Of course, as the final boss, you'll spend quite a while chipping away at his massive health bar, too.
Love Makes You Evil: The whole game's plot more or less started because this guy had a mental breakdown over finally finding love and acceptance from Daigo only for him to be put in a coma not much later. As a result he's dedicated himself to gaining further power and keeping Daigo's Tojo Clan running by any means necessary.
Man of Wealth and Taste: His choice of maroon pinstriped double-breasted peaked lapel suit with pinstripes works well in expressing both his profesionalism and his wealth as a result of the hard work and financial success he brings to the Tojo Clan.
Mr. Fanservice: His first scene shows him shirtless during a training session, showing his well-toned physique and tattoo.
Mythical Motifs: The Kirin, known in Chinese legends as the "Qilin", a mythical creature said to appear with the arrival or passing of a sage or ruler, and is the only known creature that can slay a dragon. The Kirin is also regarded as a symbol of fertility and protection, which reflects not only as the Tojo Clan's top earner, but also his Undying Loyalty to Daigo.
Nouveau Riche: Date describes him as this.
Only Sane Man: After Daigo falls into a coma, he serves as this alongside Kashiwagi in the Tojo Clan. While Kanda and Hamazaki were more obsessed over power-grabs than keeping the Clan alive, and Majima prefers to keep to himself, Mine's proposal is to request Kiryu to become chairman again temporarily.
Pragmatic Villainy: Disposes of Kanda once he's outlived his usefulness, not that Kanda didn't have it coming to him.
Psycho Supporter: Downplayed, then subverted. His obsessive devotion for Daigo and subsequent mental breakdown over his apparent death drive his many evil acts, and he goes as far as to try to kill him himself, believing it would be a Mercy Kill. At the same time, that love is sincere and ultimately his most redeeming quality, and drives his Heel–Face Turn. Before performing his Heroic Sacrifice his wish is to be reborn as someone truly deserving of Daigo's affection.
Purple Is Powerful: Wears a purplish-maroon suit, is the Final Boss of the game, and is one of the most dominating yakuza patriarchs of his time. He also has a purple aura in his healing phase.
Rags to Riches: Was incredibly poor as a child but used his smarts to become incredibly rich and powerful.
Redemption Equals Death: Throws himself into gunfire protecting Daigo from Black Monday, and sacrifices himself to stop Andre Richardson from killing Daigo. See Taking You with Me below.
Red Baron: He's often nicknamed the "Treasurer of the Tojo", as it was the Hakuho Clan's income that was keeping the Tojo Clan afloat in times of strife.
- The non-canon All-Star Tournament refers to him as the "Lone Entrepreneur".
Red Oni, Blue Oni: The stoic blue to Kanda's hot-blooded red.
Reused Character Design: Yakuza Kiwami has an unused model of Mine in the game's files. This model is apparently reused for one of the MIA agents who is fought as a boss, due to the agent's strong resemblance to Mine.
Sanity Slippage: In Mine's early scenes, he's shown to be remarkably composed, patient and professional. However, he becomes more and more susceptible to his emotions and rage from unresolved psychological issues as time goes by; see Big Bad Slippage, Not So Stoic, and Would Hurt a Child below. He's noticeably more unhinged and illogical when Kiryu confronts him atop Toto Hospital.
Shoryuken: One of his attacks.
Self-Made Man: Rose to the top using only his determination and smarts.
Sequential Boss: He's fought immediately after Andre Richardson.
Sophisticated as Hell: Usually speaks in polite and professional manner befitting his status as a suave businessmen. When sufficiently riled up, such as hearing one of his men badmouth Daigo or when going over his Dark and Troubled Past, he starts dripping into the rougher speech patterns as other Yakuza characters in the series.
Stance System: Mine has multiple fighting styles, each of them having different colored heat auras, in his boss battle with Kiryu.
- His orange Heat Mode primarily has him rely on fast and speedy attacks while also gaining resistance to knockdowns.
- In his red Heat Mode, he becomes Immune to Flinching entirely and will use more telegraphed attacks like heavy haymakers and spinning backfists. They are slower and relatively easier to avoid than his orange Heat Mode attacks, but they hit a lot harder, enough to send Kiryu flying.
- And finally, his purple Heat Mode allows him to regenerate health while fighting more defensively with the same resistance to knockdowns as orange Heat Mode as well as gaining complete immunity to grapple attempts as he'll automatically pull a Counter-Attack when grabbed.
The Stoic: He never shows any emotion, commented one several times by other characters.
- Not So Stoic: When two of his goons insult Daigo, Mine completely snaps and proceeds to stab one of them with a butter knife, all the while snarling right in the poor sap's face. He also loses his composure when Kiryu criticizes the man's whole philosophy.
Straw Nihilist: The hardships he experienced in life led him to believe that people only value money and power, which have become the only things he values. Then Daigo came along and changed that, but to worrisome levels.
Strong and Skilled: Displays borderline superhuman strength, agility, and skill with his Mixed Martial Arts-based fighting style. He's possibly the only opponent to go toe-to-toe with a completely uninjured and unhindered Kiryu and still leave him bruised, bloodied, and exhausted despite still losing against him. It helps that he is one of the only characters who is shown devoting time and effort to training instead of getting by on experience and raw power alone, as he is seen in his personal gym with weights and a heavy bag. This fits his character, having had to work hard his whole life to get anywhere.
Stronger Than They Look: Almost quoted word for word before he beats the shit out of Kanda. While he's rather tall, he mostly comes across as more of a dignified and intelligent businessman than the brutally strong and talented fighter that he is on top of his business acumen.
Sworn Brothers: With Kanda and later Daigo.
Taking You with Me: To the Greater-Scope Villain, by giving him a Dragon Suplex off Toto Hospital, a 30-story building, in a similar vein to Nishiki in the first game.
Tattooed Crook: The Qilin as mentioned above.
There Are No Therapists: See Straw Nihilist, Yandere, Love Makes You Evil... All of these traits manifested in him because no one was there for him when he was younger.
This Is the Final Battle: He says a variant of this:
Mine: Kiryu, this will be your final battle. Make the most of it.
Too Powerful to Live: Not only is he the Tojo Clan's top earner, he is also a powerful fighter nearly on par with Kiryu himself. Both of these factors, alongside his Undying Loyalty to Daigo, would've made him a powerful ally for the heroes. His Heel–Face Door-Slam at the end of the game means that the Tojo will continue to be in dire straits for the next three games.
Tragic Villain: He would not have become the man that he is now had he been raised with love.
Tranquil Fury: Kanda wrecking his office like a brat due to the beating Kiryu gave him was the final straw for Mine. When Mine calmly tells Kanda to show some respect while in his office, Kanda tells him to stuff it, trashes more artworks, before attempting to punch him. Mine, however, after pointing out how much the items were worth, easily kicks his ass with cold efficiency to show he’s finally done with Kanda.
Uncertain Doom: Considering that Richardson managed to survive the fall from the hospital, it's unclear if that means Mine also made it out alive. At the least, it would fit the running gag of characters that died in 3 showing up under new identities.
Undying Loyalty: To Daigo. Unfortunately, that doesn't keep him from targeting his friends like Kiryu if that's what it takes to keep Daigo's Tojo Clan running.
The Unfettered: He'll do whatever it takes to keep the Tojo Clan up and running. After all, it's what Daigo wants right?
Vehicle-Based Characterization: Drives a left-hand drive sports car, fitting his Nouveau Riche background.
Villain Has a Point:
- For all of his actions, his intent in forcing the Okinawa resort deal to go through could very well have saved the Tojo Clan from the issues that ensue in Yakuza 4, as the bankruptcy ensues near-entirely due to Daigo's refusal to take the deal in 3 and Mine's subsequent death. In a fit of Irony, Daigo even has to take his own immoral measures and betray former allies to make ends meet, unwittingly justifying at least some of Mine's twisted world view.
- One that would only be fully realized in Yakuza 6. Mine calls out Kiryu for abandoning the Tojo Clan when it was in crisis, wondering why Daigo still looks up to him. At the end of 6, Kiryu apologizes to Daigo for pushing the role of Tojo Clan chairman onto him and not properly mentoring or spending time with him, feeling that his strong desire to leave the clan behind ultimately caused both Daigo and the Tojo too much grief.
Well-Intentioned Extremist: The reason why he becomes the Big Bad of the game was that he signed the Okinawa resort deal, believing that it would save the Tojo Clan from bankruptcy.
White-Collar Crime: Started his fortune via insider trading and the such.
Worthy Opponent: Years after his death, Infinite Wealth shows that Kiryu considers Mine among the lines of Ryuji and Nishiki as his most personal fights through his "Essence of Remembrance" skill where he invokes his memories of them to deliver a particularly brutal attack.
Would Hurt a Child: Destroys Morning Glory Orphanage out of spite for Kiryu, then hits Haruka back when she slaps him over it.
Yandere: He can't bear to see the usually strong Daigo on the verge of death, not knowing if he'll live or die, so he'd rather put him quickly out of his misery than see him suffer.
You Are What You Hate: Before their final confrontation atop Toto Hospital, Kiryu calls Mine out for his actions, and that he's become no different from the very people he hated.
(Original)
Kiryu: Do you still hate those who left you?
Mine: Of course! Those heartless shits care about nothing but money! If they were here now, I'd slit their throats! What about it?!
Kiryu: You're no different from them. Like them, you've let money control your life. You never tried to confront people. You only ever cared about yourself. And you never really loved anyone else. That's why no one loves you.
(Remastered)
Kiryu: What about the people who left? Do you still resent them?
Mine: Of course I do! Money's all those heartless bastards live for! All they crave! I'd slit their throats if they were here now! Have a problem with that?!
Kiryu: You're just like them. You and them... You both let money control your lives. Never stopped to face those around you. All you've ever cared about is you. You refused to trust a single soul but yourself. That's why you've always been alone.
You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: Once Kanda has become more of a liability, Mine quickly has his men dispose of him. Amusingly down the line, he outright says this almost word for word with himself when Andre Richardson is about to finish him and Kiryu off post-Final Boss.

Goh Hamazaki

Voiced by: George Takahashi

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/hamazakiy4.jpg

Hamazaki as he appears in Yakuza 4

Patriarch of the Hamazaki family that works on the fringes of the Tojo, they are vital but mistrusted for their close links to the Chinese Triads, and helped take over Yomohama with the help of Lau Ka Long. Big, ugly and nasty, Hamazaki is an opportunistic thug who will do whatever it takes to succeed. He goes to jail at the end of the third game, appearing in the fourth game where he recognizes Saejima and uses him to plot an escape. He subsequently not only starts to see Saejima as a genuine brother, but also gains possession of Okinawa Penitentiary No. 2's ledger, sparking off Kiryu's involvement. He suffers several critical injuries in the process, and after helping Kiryu and Yasuko escape the prison's staff, they reopen, leading to his death.

Alas, Poor Villain: Although 3 portrays him as a thoroughly unpleasant man to the end, his death in the fourth game comes off as a tragic surprise.
Because You Were Nice to Me: In 4, he becomes this way to Saejima during their prison break, when Saejima tries to hold the line to ensure Hamazaki's escape and especially when Saejima referred to him as his brother. He states that nobody has ever trusted him like this before, prompting his Heel–Face Turn.
Becoming the Mask: Initially using Saejima as a means of revenge against the Tojo Clan, Hamazaki ends up genuinely befriending Saejima. It prompts his Heel–Face Turn.
Determinator: After helping Saejima break out of prison in the beginning of his chapter in Yakuza 4, Hamazaki had seemingly died taking a bullet from the head guard and plunging himself and said guard into the ocean. It’s then revealed he not only survived, Hamazaki also winds up on the shore outside of Morning Glory Orphanage where he receives some first aid and tells Kiryu about how much trouble the Tojo Clan will be in. He lasts long enough afterwards to protect Yasuko only for his wounds to open up from the effort. He would later die in a hospital bed, telling Haruka to give Kiryu one final message.
Dressing as the Enemy: Part of his plan to escape from prison in 4 is to use a stolen prison guard uniform to infiltrate the warden's office and dig up any sort of dirt that can be used to leverage his ensured freedom after he escapes.
Easily Forgiven: In Yakuza 4, by Kiryu. Hamazaki asks for his help in exposing the truth behind the ten billion yen incident and honor his oath to Saejima. His old enemy agrees to help him, believing even those who have tried to kill him deserve a second chance. Haruka's none too pleased, having been traumatized after Hamazaki nearly killed Kiryu in front of her eyes.
Enemy Eats Your Lunch: In his introductory cutscene in 3, he threatens a Chinese restauranteur by chopping off the head of a Peking Duck and crunching on it as loudly as possible.
Evil Sounds Raspy: Usually speaks in a pretty harsh, sometimes raspy manner, mainly to emphasize how much of a conniving, smug, and evil person he is.
Expository Hairstyle Change: His slick pompadour in 3 has been shaved into a buzzcut by the time of 4 due to being imprisoned. It certainly makes him seem humbler and it goes well with him developing into a less villainous character.
Faux Affably Evil: His relaxed, casual manner of speech compared to Kanda doesn't hide how very little he cares about anyone except himself. His experiences working together with Saejima in 4 has him outgrow this and become a legitimately more decent guy.
Genius Bruiser: A capable planner and manipulator who's larger than Saejima. That said, he doesn't get too many opportunities to really get his hands dirty. Gameplay-wise, the only mandatory time you'll see him in action is during a single room full of enemies in 4 where he works together with Saejima to take them out. His only other gameplay appearances are as a non-canonical Optional Boss in a few postgame minigames in 3.
Gonk: He's not exactly a looker to begin with being clearly on the older side but the cartoonishly evil and exaggerated facial expressions he makes in his introduction push him into this territory. Seemingly phased out by his last appearance in 4 where he's generally calmer and more dignified looking.
Good Scars, Evil Scars: Has a fairly large burn scar around his right eyebrow and he's prone to rather sinister looking facial expressions in 3. Averted in 4 in which he comes across as much less evil.
Handshake Refusal: Kiryu offers him a handshake when offering to give Hamazaki a second chance, only for Hamazaki to instead stab him in the gut.
Heel–Face Turn: In Yakuza 4 as a result of Saejima's selflessness and developing camaraderie with him.
- Heel–Face Door-Slam: After he tries to help Kiryu, his wound reopens and later dies from it before he's able to fully redeem himself. However, Hamazaki's death still has a positive legacy. His sacrifice convinced Saejima, who was content to return to prison upon hitting the Despair Event Horizon after losing Yasuko, to join the others in stopping Munakata, as saving the Tojo Clan was Hamazaki’s dying wish.
Heroes' Frontier Step: Despite his cruel personality in 3, he finds himself unable to abandon Saejima in 4 when he tries to hold the line to allow Hamazaki to escape from prison safely on his own. When the cruel prison guard Saito attempts to put both of them down for good, shooting Hamazaki with a gun in the process, Hamazaki grabs Saito and sends the both of them off the roof of the prison and plummeting into the ocean. He manages to survive and proves to have turned a new leaf.
Heroic Sacrifice: After protecting Yasuko while Kiryu works on dealing with Saito and his prison guards, he later suddenly collapses to the ground from a huge wound on his back either suffering a bullet wound at the time or having his previous bullet wound from Saito open up from the effort. Either way, Kiryu seems to consider his final actions to be this trope.
How the Mighty Have Fallen: Once one of the most powerful families in the Tojo Clan, now reduced to a bum living in the streets by the end of 3 where he then gets arrested after trying to stab Kiryu to death. Downplayed in 4 where he apparently has enough connections outside of Okinawa Penitentiary No. 2 to bribe the guards for certain requests.
Jerkass: The first thing we see him do is threaten a chef with a butcher knife while snacking on some of his fried chicken. Then he proceeds to blow up his restaurant when the chef refuses to pay protection money all with a horribly smug grin on his face. He grows out of it in his appearance in 4, though it's not too long after he does that he dies.
Killed Off for Real: In 4, he's wounded when he takes a bullet for Taiga. After he helps Kiryu and Yasuko escape from Saito, he passes out when it's shown that the wound is fatal, and passes away in hospital not long after. His death isn't shown, and Kiryu learns about his demise through a phone call from Haruka.
Made of Iron: Survives getting shot through the back by the prison guard Saito and then plunging into the ocean and not making ashore until at least two days have passed. Sadly, it's not enough to keep him from dying after his gunshot wound opens up from over-exertion though he makes it all the way to the hospital to give Haruka his final words.
Manipulative Bastard: Tries to blackmail Majima into killing off Kiryu using a compromising photo of him speaking to Minister Suzuki, implicating him in pushing the Minister's Okinawa Resort Plan and possibly hold responsibility for several of Kiryu's allies being targetted in related violent attacks.
- He knows the truth behind the Ueno Seiwa hit, and tries to get Saejima to help him break out of prison by convincing him that Majima betrayed him to get higher in the Tojo Clan and fuel a need for revenge. He eventually regrets doing so, and tries to make his way to Kamurocho in order to explain himself to Saejima in person. He doesn't get the chance to do it himself.
Mighty Glacier: His gameplay appearance in 4 gives him the same slow, heavy moveset of the generic larger enemies. Somewhat odd since his postgame Optional Boss fights in 3 gave him a completely unique fighting style comprised of strong yet rather quick attacks and a tight defense.
Moveset Clone: As a Optional Boss, he has the same exact fighting stance as Tsuyoshi Kanda and he shares a lot of the same attacks too though they both have some unique attacks of their own. Hamazaki in particular can perform a jumping sobat kick from mid-range and also has a unique slide tackle. He also has a unique heat action after grabbing Kiryu where he'll perform a jumping German Suplex. Conversely, he lacks Kanda's backwards body slam, his two hit knockdown combo, and his spinning double lariat.
- In 4 during the escape from prison, he's one to Futoshi Shimano from the original version of the first game.
Obviously Evil: Very shady and sleazy-looking in 3 with his flashy suit, greased hair, and sinister facial expressions. He's even mockingly compared to a washed up porn-star at one point. Less so in 4 after spending a year in prison with a shaved head though Saejima clearly doesn't fully trust him and offhandedly mentions that he doesn't seem like much of a good person.
Oddly Small Organisation: The Hamazaki family is only made up of 10 members, since he primarily relies on the Snake Flower Triad to serve as his muscle. This ends up biting him in the ass when the triad turns against him and wipes out his family.
Optional Boss: He can be fought in the postgame as part of the "X-Tiger, the House of Extras" minigames by talking to the fortune teller at the Kamurocho Hills construction site.
Out of Focus: Despite being introduced as a major antagonistic faction in 3 alongside Kanda and Mine, such a role gets supplanted by his Yokohama associate, Lau Ka Long of the Snake Flower Triad who leads the charge against Kiryu in Hamazaki's stead. After Lau's death, Hamazaki's family is destroyed by mainland Triads as retribution, removing him from the plot entirely. ...At least until the ending.
- Downplayed in 4 in which he provides Saejima with his motivation for breaking out of jail and actually becoming part of the main plot. In the aftermath of his death, he continues to motivate Saejima to continue supporting the Tojo Clan the best he can.
Red Baron: Nicknamed the "Emperor of Hama".
Red Oni, Blue Oni: The blue to Taiga's red.
Redemption Rejection: In the ending of 3, Kiryu offers him a second chance in life, only for Hamazaki to stab him.
Reformed, but Rejected: While Kiryu is willing to accept that his experiences with Saejima have really turned his idealogy around, Haruka is far less forgiving. You really can't blame her since the last time she saw Hamazaki, he had a knife handle-deep into the gut of her beloved Uncle Kiryu. For his part, Hamazaki fully acknowledges her to be justified in her thinking and promises to never bother her family again.
Sharp-Dressed Man: Wears a flashy looking silvery gray suit, darker than Kiryu's, over a black dress shirt. Once his family is destroyed leaving him disgraced, destitute, and fearing for his own life as a fugitive, he's now wearing much shabbier clothing with a tattered dark grey trench coat and a matching bucket hat. His clothes in 4 are also much more casual though he does briefly don a prison guard outfit as a disguise.
Soft-Spoken Sadist: Has a rather soft, casual manner of speech even when he's giving out thinly-veiled threats.
Spanner in the Works: He becomes one in 4, after he discovers Munakata's conspiracy which led to him bringing both Saejima and Kiryu into the plot.
- When you think about it, Saejima probably would have stayed in prison and accepted his execution without complaint if Hamazaki hadn't been there to tell him that he failed to kill Yoshiharu Ueno during the shootout and make him suspicious of Majima's absence.
Tattooed Crook: Unusually for a yakuza elite, he completely averts it as he's shown shirtless in 4 after being bandaged up at Morning Glory Orphanage without a single trace of ink on his back. While no one comments on it, it does suit him will as he has the mindset of a more modern, ruthless, and pragmatic yakuza, not really having any ideals or beliefs associated with such irezumi tattoos... at least until he met Saejima anyway.
Took a Level in Kindness: Saejima's selfless nature has had an incredibly positive effect on him. Even before Saejima considers him a brother, he decides to come back to help Saejima escape despite Saejima telling him to just abandon him while he distracts Saito and the prison guards. Hamazaki even notes how leaving him would leave a bad taste in his mouth. It's solidified when he finally sees Kiryu again in Okinawa. It's possible that Kiryu's selfless actions a year prior helped him grow a conscience and care more for his fellow man, even commenting on Saejima being the second person in his life to ever trust him since Kiryu was the first. By the time he reunites with Kiryu, he shows complete awareness of what a terrible, deceptive person he's been and somberly accepts that Haruka will never forgive him for nearly stabbing Kiryu to death a year ago. When Kiryu hesitates to go on yet another potentially deadly journey back to Kamurocho on account of Haruka's misgivings over the risks of this new conspiracy, Hamazaki reassures the two that Kiryu doesn't have to leave if he doesn't think it's important to him. Hamazaki ultimately decides to return to the deadly penitentiary he escaped from since it gives him another shot at reuniting with Saejima and properly apologizing to him for lying about Majima.
The Unfought: Though he's a major bad guy in the third game, you never actually fight him. It's even more odd since - as stated above - he is a non-canon bonus fight in the arena, where he even gets his own unique fighting style.
What Happened to the Mouse?: In the third game, he vanishes off-screen once his plans have been screwed up and his family destroyed. He comes back right at the end, accuses Kiryu of ruining his life and (near fatally) stabs him in the gut.
Wrestler in All of Us: As an Optional Boss, he fights like a pro-wrestler with moves like a double axe handle or a jumping German Suplex from a grapple.

Tsuyoshi Kanda

Voiced by: Hiroyuki Miyasako (Yakuza 3), Taketora (ONLINE)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/kanday3.jpg

The third patriarch of the Nishikiyama family. Loud, rude, violent and ignorant, he's against Kiryu returning to the Tojo Clan considering what happened to the previous patriarchs of the family. When Daigo is shot, he's just as eager to claim the position of Chairman like the others.

Asshole Victim: Gets disposed off by Mine's men once he acted out of line, not that he didn't deserve it.
Bald of Evil: Bald, and a huge scumbag.
Beware the Silly Ones: Downplayed. He comes across as the most pathetic of the antagonists in 3 with even his scrawny direct subordinate Hasebe showing more vigor than him. Don't think that makes him push-over however. He's one of the few bosses in the game to have more than 2 health bars. He definitely didn't reach the position of Nishikiyama Family Patriarch because of his brains that's for sure.
Big Bad Wannabe: He is simply too violent, and ignorant to be main villain material. He ends up being turned in by the third game's actual Big Bad, who had him as an Unwitting Pawn all along.
Brains and Brawn: The brawn to Mine's brains.
Call-Back: Seems to be fairly reminiscent of Futoshi Shimano due to his appearance and personality.
Charles Atlas Superpower: In his boss fight, he's capable of lifting up stone ornaments even larger than he is and swinging them around as an improvised weapon.
Classic Villain: His introduction and his past conviction for sexual assault make it clear he's a lustful man, but he also spends almost all of his screentime shouting in rage for any reason so his wrathful side is more prominent.
Curb-Stomp Battle: Is effortlessly pulverised by Mine.
Decapitation Presentation: It's strongly implied that Mine had him decapitated and stuffed into a suitcase to show to Kiryu.
Dirty Coward: For all his bluster during a Tojo Clan meeting about how much he despises Kiryu and wants to kill him, he acts submissive and frightened when Kiryu first meets him before suddenly making a break for it and yelling at his men to keep Kiryu away from him.
Dumb Muscle: Despite taking over the Nishikiyama Family after Shindo's failed usurpation of the Tojo Clan and his death at Daigo's hand, it's clear he didn't get the job because of his brains and more because he can heft slabs of stone several times his size no problem.
Everyone Has Standards: More of an Informed Attribute but even he seems to consider his Captain, Hasebe to be the most dangerous man in the Tojo Clan.
Fat Bastard: He's fat and a greedy hedonist.
From Nobody to Nightmare: Downplayed. He was originally just a plain old Mook in the Nishikiyama family who got sent to prison on sexual harassment charges. Fortunately for him however, he was released around the time Shindo, who took over the family after Nishki's death, was killed during his attempted coup on the Tojo Clan, giving Kanda free reign to put himself in charge and use aggressive tactics to take property from the Kazama family, allowing him to rise up the ranks quickly. That being said, he's more of a Big Bad Wannabe and is quickly disposed of by Mine when he's no longer useful.
Hair-Trigger Temper: Flies into a violent rage at the slightest provocation.
Hate Sink: Boorish, violent, and kidnaps women to give them rough massages, he's meant to receive scorn from the players. It thus makes his death all the more satisfying.
Improvised Weapon: During his boss fight he'll often try to grab any piece of furniture that isn't nailed down and swing it at Kiryu. He even Heats up whenever he's holding things. It gets rather ridiculous when he starts ripping the huge stone ornaments on the wall of the room off and uses those against Kiryu.
Jerkass: His brutishness is his most notable aspect in every scene where he appears.
Killed Offscreen: By Mine.
Laughably Evil: He's so over the top and childish that it's damn near impossible to take him seriously. A Quick Time Event during his Boss Fight has Kiryu brutalize him in a particularly humiliating fashion.
Mean Boss: Shows no respect for his underlings as he's introduced slapping an entire row of them hard across their faces. All because one of them was briefly confused by his question and a little too slow to answer it.
Mister Big: Unlike previous Patriarchs like Nishiki or Shindo who were rather tall physically imposing men, Kanda seems to be on the shorter side with Kiryu towering over him and even the young Rikiya appearing taller than him. It's especially odd when in-game measurements say he's 180 cm tall while Rikiya is supposed to be 177 cm tall.
No-Holds-Barred Beatdown: Is on the receiving end by Mine's hands.
No Indoor Voice: His first scene has him screaming at his subordinates and he continues to speak in such a manner practially every other time he shows up.
Oh, Crap!: Has this expression when Mine completely overpowers him before sending his men to dispose of him.
Psychopathic Manchild: His temper tantrum in Mine's office after being beaten by Kiryu shows that he's nothing but one, tearing apart Mine's office like a spoiled brat. It also doesn't help his case that the art he destroyed in Mine's office was worth 1 billion yen (Approximately ~$10 million dollars!)
Punctuated! For! Emphasis!: [slapping each of his subordinates] "That's! What! I'm! Fucking! Talking about!"
Rape Is a Special Kind of Evil: Double Subverted: Introduced engaging in what sounds like some pretty messed up activities offscreen with a screaming woman, just so you know he's a nasty piece of work. Later it turns out Kanda likes kidnapping women so he can give them rough massages. On the other hand you know the guy's a nasty piece of work since he was convicted of sexual assault.
Red Oni, Blue Oni: The red to Mine's blue.
Say My Name: Repeatedly screams Mine's name as he's about to be killed by his former blood brother's men.
Smug Snake: He really thought he had a chance at killing Kiryu and taking control of the Tojo Clan. Once Kiryu got involved, any plans he had began to fall apart at the seams.
Spin Attack: One of his stronger moves is to perform a spinning clothesline whilst covered in heat energy.
Stout Strength: Strong enough to use the massive stone wall decorations in his room as weapons against Kiryu.
Sworn Brothers: Technically Mine's though neither him nor Mine really respect this supposed bond. To be fair to Mine, Kanda did effectively leave him to die in the past as revealed in Yakuza Online so it's no wonder why Mine doesn't acknowledge their ties at all.
Tattooed Crook: A Tennyo and multiple Okame masks on his arms.
Underestimating Badassery: Kanda made the mistake of trying to attack Mine to show he’s the one in charge. It’s the last mistake he’ll ever make.
Villain Decay: Not him as he wasn't much of a threat to begin with, but the fact that he managed to become the new patriarch becomes this to the Nishikiyama Family as a whole. In the first game, they were among the most powerful families in the Tojo Clan, a status which carried on in the second game. But by the third game, the family is a shell of its former self, relying on Mine's income to keep them afloat and after Kanda bites it, the entire family crumbles.
Villainous Breakdown: After Mine gives him a great beating and sends his mooks to kill him, he cowers in fear.
Weaksauce Weakness: While he's got a bit of fighting ability and strength, he only truly poses a threat once he grabs furniture around the room he fights in. However, the "Essence of Destruction" Heat Action will instantly destroy his weapon while dealing great damage, nullifying his greatest strength. Unfortunately for you, this Heat Action is a Revelation and can't be learned until right after his defeat, so the only way you'll be able to abuse it against him is through New Game Plus.
The Worf Effect: He's quickly demolished by Mine, establishing Mine as a far more formidable threat.
You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: Brought Mine into the organization, and then proceeded to take him for granted. This was a bad idea.

Hasebe

Voiced by: Kazuya Nakai

The captain of the Nishikiyama Family and the most dangerous member of the Tojo Clan, even from the perspective of Kanda, his boss. He tries to keep himself composed but often loses his cool and resorts to violence.

Ax-Crazy: Suggested in his in-game profile and more subtly implied through his on-screen behavior.
The Dragon: To Kanda.
Faux Affably Evil: Revels in violence but tries to go about things in a somewhat civil manner via negotiations and cash offers though his behavior on-screen suggests that he's not all that good at it. All bets are off when that fails.
Flunky Boss: Rolls into Stardust with a whole mob of Nishiki Family members.
Hair-Trigger Temper: Implied in his character profile and he does seem to resort to violence quickly when he feels he's being disrespected.
Iaijutsu Practitioner: With his katana out, he can take on the classic stance and will then slowly approach his target until he's within range to suddenly slash forward. Provided he doesn't actually have a sheathe but his pose gets the message across all the same.
Informed Attribute: The remaster of 3 has his character profile emphasize how dangerous he is but he doesn't seem all that impressive, especially when the Tojo Clan has stronger heavy hitters like Majima or Mine. Presumably, it just means he's the most dangerous to the general population of Kamurocho because of how quick he is to resort to violence compared to actually stronger yakuza. Hell, he pulls out a lethal weapon on Kiryu, Kazuki, and Yuya even though they're all considered civilians.
Jerkass: Rather loud and vulgar from the moment he opens his mouth. He doesn't even show much proper respect towards his superiors like Kiryu who he knows is the former Fourth Chairman of the Tojo Clan. It's not until he has his men surround Kiryu that he finally shows some level of proper decorum by bowing to him and even then his demeanor reeks of condescension.
Katanas Are Just Better: Pulls out a katana when his fight against Kiryu, Kazuki, and Yuya in Stardust doesn't go his way.
Mighty Glacier: Despite his small, wiry frame, he uses heavy, sluggish swings. The most he'll do if Kiryu tries to put distance away from him is to jog after him at a leisurely pace. Otherwise, he prefers to slowly pace around in combat. He gets more aggressive when he pulls out his katana but his movement speed is still rather slow, especially if he readies his sword for a wide swing.
Mister Big: Captain of a yakuza family and pretty small and scrawny.
Moveset Clone: Uses a variant of Futoshi Shimano's moveset from the original Yakuza. It's identical to the moveset used by certain enemy types.
Purple Is Powerful: Captain of the notorious Nishikiyama Family and considered the most dangerous member of the Tojo Clan. Downplayed however as he poses little threat to Kiryu and is most certainly not a major player in the grand scheme of things. He effectively vanishes from the plot after his defeat.
Slasher Smile: When Kiryu, Yuya, and Kazuki refuse to give in to his demands, he gets this before siccing his men on them.
Smug Snake: He's well aware of who Kiryu is as the former Fourth Chairman of the Tojo Clan. Despite knowing that, he still acts overly casual, familiar and generally disrespectful towards Kiryu and refuses to tell him what his agenda is when questioned, simply telling him to scram. When Kiryu refuses to leave until Hasebe reveals his plans, he decides it's a good idea to try and attack him with the support of his goons. He gets his ass kicked in return.
Suspiciously Similar Substitute: Comparable to Koji Shindo from the first game, being the Captain and thus 2nd-in-command of the Nishikiyama Family and fighting with a katana. His cornrows are somewhat similar to the blonde streaks Shindo had in his hair as well.
Turns Red: He's really not all that threatening until he loses half his health and pulls out a katana, gaining a HEAT aura in the process with a new resistance to knockdowns and using faster unblockable moves. He even gains a unique Heat Action if Kiryu falls to the ground near him (identical to Musashi's katana heat action on downed enemies in Kenzan). Unfortunately for him, his sword will break when he takes too much damage which will also nullify said aura and benefits.
Violence is the Only Option: Double Subverted. Violence is said to be in his nature in the original release of 3, but he's got enough restraint to use negotiations and bribes first. However when that fails he's all too eager to start causing mayhem.
Villain Respect: Comments on Kiryu being a "fucking beast" in awe after his defeat, acknowledging how he never stood a chance against him.

Tetsuo Tamashiro

Voiced by: Unshō Ishizuka

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/tamashiroy3.jpg

The ruthless patriarch of the Tamashiro Family, who are rivals with Nakahara's Ryudo family. He was working with the Tojo Clan to ensure the Okinawa resort deal goes through before Daigo called it off, and was beaten by Kiryu to get Saki back from him.

Alliterative Name: Tetsuo Tamashiro.
Arch-Enemy: Of Shigeru Nakahara.
Boom, Headshot!: Received from Joji before he can kill Kiryu.
Boxing Battler: Once he switches to brass knuckles, he uses a boxing stance and relies heavily on powerful boxing style punches. This is especially noticeable during his Quick Time Event. That said, some of his swings break away from proper boxing conventions like his double axe-handle swing or spinning backfist and he lacks the swift-footed evasiveness normally associated with boxing that other clear-cut boxers in the series have. His Counter-Attack from a block is also a kick rather than a punch. Moveset Clones of him in the Coliseum modes of multiple games including 3 have been described as kickboxers which could explain such discrepencies.
Call-Back: The encounters with him, first at day and second at night, can bring one back to the time when they fought Shimano in the first game, since the second encounter usually involves Kiryu's closest ally Taking the Bullet and involves one child character.
Classic Villain: Much of what we know of him firmly cements him as a man of Lust.
Combat Pragmatist: Never takes on Kiryu unarmed and even calls in for backup during your second bout with him despite carrying a pistol.
Counter-Attack: Pressuring him while he's blocking will usually lead to him reacting with a heavy kick. During the rematch when he has a pistol on hand, he'll also take a shot after throwing out a counter kick.
Dirty Coward: A tough fighter, but he also plays dirty, resorts to kidnapping and takes hostages to get an advantage.
Dirty Old Man: He slept with a lot of women, runs many brothels in Downtown Ryukyu's red light district and is meant to have an affair with Saki's mother.
Degraded Boss: Several of his punching attacks have been reused for mini-boss strength foes in 3 as well as in several games released after.
Evil Laugh: Seems to really find the suffering of others to be amusing and will even laugh mid-battle. He lets out a more bombastic laugh while having his men demolish the Morning Glory orphanage.
Evil Old Folks: He's in his mid-50's and is a force to be reckoned with.
Evil Sounds Deep: Only when he shouts and screams. It even helps that he is voiced by Heihachi Mishima's second voice actor, Unshō Ishizuka.
Evil Redhead: Auburn variant.
Flechette Storm: A more realistic example; his knife-fighting skills are far more reliant on throwing a bunch of throwing knives at Kiryu rather than actually trying to slice and stab at him like most other characters in the series. His skill in throwing knives is somewhat foreshadowed by the dartboard covered in fresh darts that can be seen from certain camera angles in his introduction cutscene.
Flunky Boss: Calls in for backup twice during your second boss fight against him.
Four Eyes, Zero Soul: Wears glasses, and is among the evilest characters in the game.
Gun Fu: Downplayed. He may twirl about or perform backwards somersaults before shooting at Kiryu during the 2nd boss fight against him.
Hate Sink: One of the series' villains who stands out for being as despicable as possible. With everything he does in the game, you'll be looking forward to the catharsis after seeing just how much abuse he can take.
Hero Killer: Ends up killing Rikiya when he Takes the Bullet for Kiryu.
Jerkass: He kidnapped Saki to make things harder for Nakahara, rejected Saki's mother's offer to become family, gives the Ryudo Family a tough time, destroyed Morning Glory Orphanage with the help of the Hakuho Clan and put Nakahara's life in danger at a bullfighting arena.
Knight of Cerebus: While he's not exactly biggest threat amongst the antagonists in 3, his utterly vile and selfish actions and personality are all treated completely seriously without any sort of levity or sympathetic moments to lighten the mood. He's also front-and-center of some of the most intense moments in the story to such a degree that he even kills off a major supporting protagonist before getting killed himself in a rather grim fashion.
Lack of Empathy: Shows absolutely no kindness at all to everyone he comes across, especially women and children.
Leitmotif: He doesn't have one but the Tamashiro Family he runs has the aptly named "Pure Malice" playing during several story encounters.
Licking the Blade: Licks the blade of his knife after he's done threatening Kiryu.
Manipulative Bastard: Something of a villainous Casanova. He's described by an NPC as a playboy having relationships with women from all over Ryukyu only to ship them off to one of his brothels the minute he gets bored of them. Real caring guy.
- Coerced Saki's mother into kidnapping her estranged daughter back from Nakahara in the name of "starting a family together" when all he really wanted was to use her as leverage against Nakahara to acquire the deeds to the land Kiryu's running his orphanage on. Saki's mother is shocked when he lets this slip while he mocks her for ever thinking he'd ever "shack up with a hag".
Mighty Glacier: Zig-Zagged after he switches to brass knuckles halfway through your first fight against him. He tends to pace around slowly or casually saunter towards Kiryu but once he starts attacking he's aggressive and can be surprisingly fast and unpredictable with his various punching combos.
More Hateable Minor Villain: Chronologically the first real villain introduced in 3 and much a smaller player than any of the Tojo Clan Officers running things back in Kamurocho. His barely contained cruelty and selfishness still make him the most evil and despicable of them all. It's telling that Mine's willingness to cooperate with him in the final act leads to the heroes focusing on taking Mine down.
Never Bring a Knife to a Fist Fight: Threatens Kiryu with a knife and initially fights with it but switches to brass knuckles after losing enough health and he ends up a lot more dangerous as a result.
Past Victim Showcase: Threatens to kill Kiryu and send a box full of his fingers back to Nakahara as a warning so he's definitely not above this sort of behavior.
The Pawns Go First: He summons a few waves of his mooks to keep Kiryu at bay on his second encounter.
Power Fist: Uses brass knuckles after a good amount of his health is depleted during his first boss fight.
Pragmatic Villainy: A minor example, but he slaps around and insults Saki's mother for berating him. Considering said woman is a selfish Gold Digger who regularly cheated on her husband and was an absolutely ''horrible'' mother to Saki before abandoning her it's hard not to cheer.
Psycho Knife Nut: He licks his knife as he threatens to cut off Kiryu's fingers in his introduction. During his first encounter he will brandish it and throw multiple of them at Kiryu.
Psychotic Smirk: Just look at his picture above. It's usually his default expression when he's in a good mood.
Rank Scales with Asskicking: He may be an old bastard but as the Tamashiro Family patriarch, he's seriously tough with the skill to wield a variety of thuggish weapons with impressive proficiency.
Rapid-Fire Fisticuffs: One of the Quick Time Events during his boss fight has him try to nail Kiryu in the face with several brass knuckles-assisted punches at a swift pace. During the IF 7 rematch against him, he gains a new move borrowed from some of the heavy generic enemies where he'll throw a bunch of quick punches in front of him before reeling back for a big haymaker punch.
Recurring Boss: He's one of the early bosses in the third game, and returns toward the end for a rematch after the Big Bad makes his move.
Red Baron: "The Ryukyu Assassin".
Red and Black and Evil All Over: Red suit over a black shirt. You could probably tell he's a bad guy just from a glance really.
Red Oni, Blue Oni: The red (given the colour of his suit) to Shigeru's blue.
Sadist: At his most cheerful when destroying lives and making others suffer whether physically or emotionally.
Screaming Warrior: Despite his rather luxurious appearance, he roars and bellows like a wild animal when he's fighting.
Sharp-Dressed Man: Wears a flashy red suit with a black shirt and some expensive-looking glasses.
Silver Fox: He's in his 50's but is still an infamous playboy around Ryukyu.
Slasher Smile: Has a pretty fearsome one whenever he's causing trouble.
The Sociopath: He's got enough charisma to be a well-known playboy in Ryukyu but he'll have women sent to a brothel the moment he gets bored of them. Overall, he's a completely selfish man who only ever treats other people as tools to be used for his ambitions and desires or trash to be disposed of.
Spectacular Spinning: For some reason he tends to perform spinning side steps to avoid attacks when he's wielding a knife or a gun. Downplayed for when he's using brass knuckles and has a single spinning backfist he may use as an attack.
Spell My Name With An S: A rare Japanese variant. His given name is written with the kanji 鉄生 most of the time, but there are cases where it is written as 鉄夫 instead, both of which can be read as "Tetsuo".
Turns Red: Halfway through the fight, he switches from throwing knives to brass knuckles while gaining a Heat Aura. He's much more damaging and aggressive and you'll find that most of your attacks won't be able to knock him to the floor anymore nor can he be grabbed either.
- In the rematch when he's packing a pistol, he'll gain a Heat Aura after calling in some of his goons to help him, granting him knock-down immunity. Defeating all of his flunkies will make said Heat Aura fade, weakening him once more.
Villain Forgot to Level Grind: He's legitimately threatening the first time he's fought due to an increase in difficulty. However when he's rematched late into the game, you'll find that his health bar hasn't changed at all from being 2 bars long despite having already fighting several bosses with more than that amount of health and leveling up significantly since the last time he was fought. That gun he's carrying around, as well as the 3 waves of henchmen he'll send at you mid-battle does prevent it from him from being a complete Anticlimax Boss though.
Wake-Up Call Boss: If the previous fights against a Willfully Weak Majima or Rikiya didn't test you enough, then Tamashiro should prove to be your first major challenge in combat. He's aggressive, has decent defensive skills, relies on weapons to deal out extra pain, and is the first boss with multiple health bars, a heat mode that prevents him from being knocked down, and Quick Time Events comprised of multiple button presses and harsh punishments for failures. Not helping matters is that him being fought rather early deprives you of upgrades that would make him far more manageable. Hope you have some healing items on hand.
Would Hit a Girl: Slapped Saki's mother when she berated him for lying to her about their affair and then he almost knifed her in the face.

The CIA

Joji (SPOILERS!)

Joji Kazama

Voiced by: Tetsuya Watari

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/jojiy3.jpg

"When your chairman tells you to do something, you damn well do it. And the CIA is my "chairman." They say I need to kill someone, no matter the target... I'm going to kill them."

The younger brother of the late Shintaro Kazama. He's an agent of the CIA who seeks to ensure the Okinawa resort deal goes through by any means necessary.

Backup Twin: Downplayed. He bears a strong resemblance to his older brother Shintaro Kazama, to the extent of sharing the same voice actor and they're both implied to be The Ace in their respective fields. However unlike Shintaro Kazama's attempts to defy the orders of the ruthless Dojima Family, Joji proves to be more dedicated to following the CIA's ruthless orders to the point where Kiryu has to beat him down to make him reconsider his actions. In any case, the most obvious motivation behind his inclusion in the game is to give Kazama a chance to shine in gameplay as a Boss Fight against Kiryu, even if it's not the Kazama that we've become acquainted with in earlier games. Once his role in the plot is over, he never appears in the series again.
Big Damn Heroes: After switching to Kiryu's side he shoots Tamashiro in the head before he can try to do the same to Kiryu whose guard was down at the moment. Unfortunately, he sorrowfully notes that he was too late to save Rikiya who had already been shot through the chest and is bleeding out.
Bilingual Bonus: Thanks to him being fluent in English due to becoming a CIA agent. Compares Kiryu's eyes to his brother's eyes when he meets him for the first time, heavily implying that his brother is Shintaro Kazama, Kiryu's adoptive father whom Joji heavily resembles. However since he said it in English, Kiryu doesn't understand at all though and frankly the player might not've either if they were Japanese and playing without subtitles.
Cool Old Guy: He's sixty years old and still thoroughly kicks some ass.
Counter-Attack: Better not hit him if when if he stands in place and makes a small circular motion with his hands opening. The audio cue may make it seem like he's taunting you and letting his guard down but don't be fooled. He'll even start pacing around while still being in "counter mode". You can tell that he can still counter attack because his hands are open since they're normally closed into fists. It won't be safe to hit him until he either closes his hands back into fists or he performs an attack, ending his counter mode.
- If he's in Heat Mode, he'll automatically counter any grapples with a punch to the face and another to Kiryu's gut.
- For the entirety of the fight he can also perform a counter combo if he blocks too many hits in a row.
Defeat Equals Friendship: Joins Kiryu's side once you beat him in a boss fight.
Dub Name Change: Changed to Joji Fuma to keep it consistent with his brother from the first game. Averted in the remastered release.
Duel Boss: The inevitable confrontation with him is quite hyped, and he is one of the few bosses in the third game that fights fair and square, no weapons, no mooks, just a straight up honorable showdown between two men.
Feeling Their Age: After his defeat he states that he's getting to old to be getting wrapped up in fist-fights though Kiryu seems to disagree.
Leitmotif: "Lyricism Without Tears".
Lightning Bruiser: If age slowed him down it sure as hell isn't apparent. His strength and agility seem to surpass Kiryu's at times particularly during his Quick Time Event. Even Kiryu admits he probably would have lost had Joji been in his prime.
Only Friend: To Tamiya. They met back when they were Japanese cops working up the ranks. Even now they're working together to expose and take down Black Monday.
Put on a Bus: As a loyal agent of the CIA, he really doesn't have much of a place in any of the later Japan-centric plots unless they decide to involve the CIA again.
Red Herring: Turns out he's not actually the one who shot Daigo and Nakahara.
Shared Family Quirks: Gun-slinging, overall badassery, and Manly Facial Hair must be common in Kazama's family.
The Stoic: His icy cold demeanor doesn't falter once. At one point, he does offer a smile to Kiryu when he compliments his eyes and compares them to his brother's but it just makes him even more mysterious, especially since he does so in English to prevent Kiryu from understanding. Even when you're fighting him, he has the most subdued voice lines for a boss fight in the game.
Strong Family Resemblance: Heavily resembles an older Shintaro Kazama, to the shock of Kiryu and Kashiwagi.
Undying Loyalty: To the CIA. When it was discovered that his older brother was the infamous Shintaro Kazama, high-ranking Tojo Clansman and hitman with hundreds of confirmed kills under his belt, Joji was forced to resign from the police from such a scandal since it was a more conservative time period in Japan. He was left in a dark place in life until the CIA reached out to him. He was offered a fresh new start in America where skill and competency mattered more than whatever your family members did. Now, he'll do whatever the CIA asks of him even if it involves gunning down his own countrymen in Japan regardless of whether or not they're even criminals as poor Toma nearly found out. Thankfully Kiryu was there to help him have a bit more principles... in his own way.
Villainous Rescue: He goes out his way to save Rikiya's life before he gets executed by Lau Ka Long's goons. For added measure, he also offs Lau Ka Long as well before he can recover.

Andre Richardson (SPOILERS!)

Voiced by: Charles Glover (Japanese, Y3, RGGO), Fred Tatasciore (English, Y8)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/richardsony3.jpg

"Looks like you're a little late."

The leader of a terrorist group known as Black Monday. He infiltrated the CIA and conspired with Mine to bring about the events of the third game.

For his later appearance, see the Revolve Bar bartender.

Arms Dealer: His goal is for the Okinawa land deal to go through, increasing Japan's military prowess and driving neighboring countries to buy arms from Black Monday.
Badass Longcoat: It definitely stands out since none of the men he leads dress like him.
Big Bad Duumvirate: He shares this position alongside his collaborator Mine. But because Mine only starts becoming an antagonist later in the game, and Richardson being the the man responsible for shooting Daigo and Nakahara, not to mention the leader of Black Monday, he can qualify as the game's true Big Bad.
Bilingual Dialogue: He speaks solely in English, making his scenes with Kiryu this. In Kiryu's case however, rather than actually understanding him he instead follows his gestures (pointing upwards to indicate that Daigo's on the rooftop). The Agent himself is implied to understand Japanese at least.
Boss in Mook Clothing: Kinda. A lot of the time he's made to seem like a miniboss or The Dragon, but he's actually the more evil of the game's Big Bad Duumvirate and could be considered the story's main villain, even if he's not the final boss himself.
Bottomless Magazines: Played Straight for his dual pistols but Averted for his shotgun. He will in fact crouch down to reload it.
CIA Evil, FBI Good: Subverted. Leads the CIA's corrupt Black Monday division, but the rest of the CIA is trying to stop his evil plans.
Climax Boss: Arguably the game's real main antagonist but he's fought right before the Final Boss who's more conflicted over the matter.
Cold Ham: Always calm and composed but rather expressive and melodramatic once he starts talking. His tendency towards hand gestures probably helps with communicating to the rest of the Japanese-speaking cast who for the most part do not understand his English. Overlaps with Evil Is Hammy especially when he pulls off an Evil Laugh later.
The Conspiracy: It's said that he and his organization orchestrated the massive global stock market in 1987 for their own benefit. The organization of "Black Monday" is even named after the nickname given to said event.
Counter-Attack: He'll perform two-hit backfist and kick combo if you pressure his block too much.
Dark Is Evil: Wears all black with a dark red tie and is always fought at night in rather dark, poorly lit areas.
Degraded Boss: Weaker Elite Mook Moveset Clones of him may appear on the streets in random battles though they're uncommon.
Disney Villain Death: He falls off Toto Hospital, which is 30 stories high, or rather, gets suplexed by Mine off of it.
Evil Is Bigger: Post-game bonus content gives his measurements as being 196 cm or 6'5", making him one of the tallest characters in the entire series.
Evil Laugh: Gives a couple rather hammy ones after the Final Boss. Disturbingly, he does so after getting shot through the chest and bleeding from the mouth at one point.
Extremity Extremist: His hand-to-hand fighting skills are heavily reliant on agile kicks though he will use his hands for a couple swings and grapple techniques. Moveset Clones of him in the Coliseums of other games are described as practicing Savate, a French form of kickboxing.
Flunky Boss: Fights Kiryu while aided by three other dark-suited foreigners the first time they meet. The next couple times he's fought, he takes Kiryu on solo though he's sandwiched between other encounters filled with several waves of goons.
Greater-Scope Villain: He's the one who shot Daigo and Nakahara, and the Okinawa land deals were all a ploy to flush him out of hiding.
Gun Fu: Switches between a shotgun and Guns Akimbo in the second fight against him in the hospital. A QTE sequence involves Kiryu trying to avoid getting shot while he pulls off some impressive gymnastics.
Leitmotif: "FM-Sound's Storm".
Lightning Bruiser: Incredibly agile and very aggressive in combat. The last time he's fought, he actually has as much health as the game's Final Boss though his lack of a Healing Factor means he shouldn't take as long to take down.
Made of Iron: A tough bastard with some of the largest health bars in the game. By the time of the finale he's a two phase boss with the first phase boasting 2 and a half health bars, and the next having 3. He later recovers in time to confront Kiryu and Mine after their Final Boss fight. Even after Daigo shoots him in the chest, sending him to the floor, he gets back up a minute later with a cheerful Evil Laugh despite blood trailing from his chest wound and out of his mouth. More impressively, Infinite Wealth all but states that he survived Mine dragging him off the roof of the hospital.
Meaningful Name: His organization is named after the nickname "Black Monday" given to the massive global stock market crash in 1987 which they're even believed to be responsible for.
The Men in Black: When first fought, him and his men are even referred to as such by name. He's later revealed to not just be a CIA operative but also secretly the leader of a terrorist group that the CIA have been hunting down for ages.
Mole in Charge: He infiltrated the CIA as Joji's partner pretending to stop Black Monday's machinations when his true motives involve making sure they go back under the radar never to be detected again.
Moveset Clone: Once he starts dual-wielding pistols, most of his attacks are lifted from Kazuto Arase from the original game though he's got some new unique attacks of his own like a kicking melee combo, a backflip kick followed by a shot from both guns, and shooting combo with a distinct wide-sprayin shot. Also Arase's diving shot has been replaced with a more mobile rolling shot.
Neck Snap: When he's unarmed, he may try to perform a Charged Attack in which heat energy visibly gathers around him before unleashing a kick followed by gut punch. If the gut punch lands, he then grabs Kiryu by the neck with both arms and snaps it. Thankfully it won't kill Kiryu but it definitely hurts.
Perfect Play A.I.: Downplayed when he's fighting unarmed. At close-range he's not much different than any other boss being rather defensive with strong blocking skills and having a decently effective Counter-Attack should you pressure his block too much. From a distance however, he'll always try to rush Kiryu with a jumping axe kick. It's especially troublesome since it can come out surprisingly quick and will stun you, opening you up to damaging combos so it's generally better to stay close to him so he won't keep using this attack. However, it's possible to abuse his A.I. by purposefully making him use the jumping axe kick, using good timing to avoid it, and then attacking him from behind while he's still recovering from the ending lag.
Recurring Boss: You haven't seen the last of him after you beat him the first time.
Red and Black and Evil All Over: His red tie carries this off as a distinction.
Sequential Boss: He's fought before Yoshitaka Mine.
Shotguns Are Just Better: Occasionally busts out a shotgun the third and last time you fight him. Aside from occasionally pausing to reload, it really doesn't slow him down at all.
Silent Antagonist: Doesn't make a single sound in his earlier cutscenes even when he's about to start a fight with Kiryu. Averted mid-combat and later on when Kiryu confronts him during the conclusion of the game.
Sinister Shades: Wears a dark pair of sunglasses to highlight his sinister nature, and as well as being the leader of a terrorist group.
This Cannot Be!: Utterly dumbfounded when Daigo who's spent the entire game after the prologue in a coma suddenly rolls out of his hospital bed, grabs Mine's gun, and unloads on all of Richardson's men.
What the fuck!?
Token Minority: As of this writing, the only major character throughout the plots of any entry in the series to be a white, Caucasian male unless one considers his historical look-alike Thomas Glover in Ishin.
Villainous Breakdown: Resorts to first angrily declaring he is going to kill Kiryu, then screaming for Mine to stop grabbing him and pulling the both of them to their deaths from the rooftop of Toto Hospital.
Andre Richardson: I won't let it end like this. I'll kill you all! (begins shooting at Mine) Die, damn you! Die! (is dragged to the edge of the roof) Stop! [...] Stop it! Are you nuts!? [...] Let me go! Let me go! Let me go!
Villainous Cheekbones: Has more visible, detailed cheekbones than most of the cast and is definitely not the sort of face ya want to meet in a dark alley... which is exactly what happens to Kiryu.
Villain Forgot to Level Grind: Subverted. The first time you fight him a third into the game, he has a respectable two and a half health bars while also being accompanied by three other CIA operatives with above average health for mooks. The next time you fight him, he's on his own now and still has the same fighting style and amount of health despite how much Kiryu has improved since then. However, after taking him down and four more CIA operatives in the next room, he suddenly returns with two pistols in hand and three healthbars, the largest of any boss in the main storyline, matching that of the Final Boss. Now he has a new fighting style that's skilled at both close-range and long-range combat while periodically switching to a shotgun and proving to be just as dangerous with it.
Western Terrorists: Heads a group of illegal arms dealers within the CIA called Black Monday.
Why Don't You Just Shoot Him?: Actually has an opportunity to shoot Kiryu after losing against him the first time, but he ultimately retreats when he hears police sirens. He remarks later, that he should have gone through with killing Kiryu after seeing how much trouble he's caused for his plans. Funnily enough, his later attempts to avert this a la Guns Akimbo end much the same way as his first bout with Kiryu.
You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: After Mine is defeated, Richardson attempts to dispose of him, saying that there will be plenty of others who could replace him. Unfortunately, he ends up being dropped of a thirty-storey building in return.

Politicians

Ryuzo Tamiya

Voiced by: Akio Ōtsuka

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/tamiyay3.jpg

The Defense Minister, Ryuzo appears in the third game as one of the two politicians vying for the Prime Minister job. His big plan for winning the position revolves around a new missile defense system for Japan, built in co-operation with the Americans.

Big Good: As Defense Minister his position in society is one of the most powerful and high-ranking in the entire series and his true goals turn out to be surprisingly virtuous as well as aligning with Kiryu's. After helping Kiryu understand what's really going on, he only asks in return that Kiryu save the life of his apprentice who is being targetted after learning the truth as well. It works out for Kiryu anyway since he also hopes to keep the assasin, Shintaro Kazama's brother Joji, from unnecessarily killing any more lives like his brother regrets doing.
The Chessmaster: He tells Kiryu the entire base expansion bill is nothing but a ruse to draw out Black Monday, an American terrorist organization. And it works.
Face of a Thug: Your first impression of him is a grumpy old bureaucrat with a wrinkled, tired face. He doesn't seem to care about how the base expansion bill will affect Okinawans and is much less personable and charismatic compared to the more smooth-faced Suzuki. Turns out he doesn't actually want anything to do with the land Kiryu lives on and it's just all part of a plot to expose and take down dangerous terrorist arms-dealers. He's also quite a bit more pleasant when Kiryu actually talks to him face-to-face even if he's still rather cynical.
Good All Along: "Good" might be stretching it a bit, considering most characters in the series, but early impressions of him make him seem like a villain, while his actual motivations are to protect the country. He turns out to be a surprisingly decent guy once he meets Kiryu face-to-face.
Hero with Bad Publicity: You won't find anyone else who's more dedicated than this guy when it comes to protecting Japan, but his stance on military and defense makes him extremely unpopular among the people.
Knight in Sour Armor: He's very cynical and is definitely not an idealist. Still, he does legitimately care about protecting the country.
Mr. Exposition: When he finally meets Kiryu face-to-face with Date tagging along, he gives a rather massive Infodump on his plans, revealing much of what's really happening in the plot behind the scenes.
One Degree of Separation: Back then he was a cop working in what would later be known as the Foreign Affairs Division. He used to work with Joji Kazama, the younger brother of Shintaro Kazama, the adoptive father of Kiryu.
Reasonable Authority Figure: He's actually a surprisingly nice guy, and gets along very well with Kiryu.
Token Good Teammate: From a series-wide perspective, he's one of the very few high-ranking political figures in the government to actually be a pretty decent person.

Shoyo Toma

Voiced by: Ryōtarō Okiayu

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/tomay3.jpg

The defence minister's apprentice and assistant. He wishes the best for Okinawa, which is why he agrees with the base expansion bill. Upon learning it was a ruse, he defects to Suzuki (Tamiya's possible rival in the future election) to get the bill to pass.

The Atoner: Apparently takes a plane back to Tokyo to personally apologize to Toma but after turning himself in to the police, presumably for attempting to leak Tamiya's false plan to install a military base which also involves working together with high-ranking yakuza, Yoshitaka Mine.
Distressed Dude: He becomes the target of Joji Kazama late in the game, requiring Kiryu to save his hide.
Easily Forgiven: Tamiya forgives him the moment he learns of his betrayal, pleading for Kiryu to save him from being killed by Joji.
He Knows Too Much: Word-for-word stated by Tamiya to be the reason why he's being targetted by Joji Kazama. He just knows too much about Tamiya's plans and he's sided with Tamiya's political rival in getting the bill passed which goes against the agenda of not just Tamiya but the CIA who are colluding with him.
My God, What Have I Done?: After Kiryu tells him Tamiya asked him to save him from Joji in spite of Toma's betrayal of Tamiya as well as how proud Tamiya is of Toma as a politician, the regret drives him to tears.
Not So Stoic: Presents an incredibly stern and professional veneer when he first meets Kiryu but he's later shown to be bombastic and gloating over his ambitions to see Okinawa prosper. To be fair, he's at a hostess club filled with pole dancers, being fawned over by hostesses he's trying to impress, and he's probably more than a little sloshed. When Joji pulls a gun on him to off him for the CIA, he's appropriately scared shitless. Also as noted above, he gets very emotional once he realizes how much Tamiya cares about him.
Well-Intentioned Extremist: All he wants to do is to see his birthplace Okinawa flourish and to that end he'll do anything to ensure the base expansion bill passes. He's so driven that when he learns that it was created simply to lure out terrorists, he defects to Suzuki's side and even collaborates with high-ranking Yakuza Yoshitaka Mine to ensure it is successful. On a lighter note, even while drunk he seems to honestly believe he's saving Okinawa while gloating about it at a hostess club.

Ryukyu Residents

Renta Kamiyama

Voiced by: Jun Orihara

Much like his twin brother Renji, Renta is a craftsman and not-so-legal arms dealer, operating Kamiyama Works from outside of Kamurocho.

He used to operate in Okinawa but was arrested prior to 4 while accidentally selling to "fine gentlemen" who turned out to be yakuza. He ended up in Okinawa Penitentiary No. 2, where he meets Saejima and helps build the grappling hook that Hamazaki and him need to break out. In the middle of the chaos of their attempts, Renta is able to escape on his own and later shows up on a rooftop in Kamurocho specializing in modding armor with unique properties.

As of 5, he's now operating Kamiyama Works in the district Nagasugai of the city of Fukuoka.

Always Identical Twins: Looks completely identical to his twin brother Renji Kamiyama. The only real difference is that Renji wears a flannel shirt with different colors.
Ascended Extra: Downplayed. Of the two siblings, he's the only one who makes an appearance during the main storyline, helping Saejima escape from Okinawa Penitentiary No. 2 by building him a grappling hook. He doesn't make any more major appearances unless you find his rooftop hideout in Kamurocho but that's still more than can be said for his brother who consistently sticks to being optional content.
The Blacksmith: Equally as skilled at crafting weapons as his brother.
Identical Twin ID Tag: Wears a red and white plaid shirt compared to his brother who wears a green and white shirt. In 4, he's only ever seen wearing light grey Institutional Apparel even after escaping from jail.
Karma Houdini: He's not a villain at all, but as a "jail version" of Unexplained Recovery, there's zero explanation for how he's able to be freely walking around the streets of Nagasugai in 5 after being arrested and breaking out of prison in the previous game. He basically acts as if he's never been to jail in the first place. He doesn't even have the excuse of having Tojo Clan connections that the main characters regularly breaking the law have. Even if he had served his time, he definitely shouldn't be out of jail only two years after 4 when he should be imprisoned for at least 5 years at the lowest for manafacturing firearms and other ordinance. And that doesn't even account for how much jailtime, he would have gotten added on for escaping prison.
Let's Get Dangerous!: While we never see him in action like his brother, he's definitely more competent and resourceful than you might guess based on his timid demeanor. He somehow manages to escape from Okinawa Penitentiary No. 2 all on his own during the chaos Saejima and Hamazaki made during their own escape. He even manages to scrounge up the money to fly from Okinawa to mainland Japan and set up shop long before Saejima who had to first get money from Kiryu.
Put on a Bus: Doesn't appear in any games after 5 but since he usually works outside of Kamurocho and was last seen in the Nagasugai district of Fukuoka which hasn't made a reappearance, it's not all that surprising.

Shoji Yonashiro

An Okinawan kobudō master who is asked by his student and local weapons smith Renta Kamiyama to help Kiryu learn to use more weapons so Kamiyama can sell more weapons to him. A little eccentric but his skills and training are the real deal.

He becomes an opponent in the Underground Coliseum once his training is completed. He continues to do so in 4 as an opponent, but has no lines of dialogue.

In 5, he's joined the Victory Road as a competitor for Shinada in Kiniecho.

Afro Asskicker: Hides an impressive afro underneath his straw hat. He claims that he wears the hat to contain his power and that he can only fight at full strength when exposing his afro.
Blood Knight: He leaves Okinawa for Kamurocho after hearing about the underground Coliseum in Purgatory. While his profile description 3 details how enamored he's become with it, his new profile in 4 implies that he's become obsessed with the Coliseum and can't stop himself from competing in more and more matches. By the time of 5, he's joined the Victory Road, travelling around around the country and cheerfully honing his combat skills against other competitors to prepare for his return to the Underground Coliseum.
Bunny-Ears Lawyer: He's rather silly with his insistence on how much stronger he is when exposing his afro, calling it "his final form" on top of his laid back wisecracking manner of speech. However his fighting ability is no joke and he proves to be an effective training master to Kiryu and a consistently fearsome opponent in Coliseum matches
Leitmotif: "Encounter the dragoon".
Moveset Clone: Fights unarmed for the first time as a Victory Road competitor for Shinada in 5, reusing the same martial arts as Lau Ka Long in 3. He switches back to his usual nunchaku techniques after seemingly being defeated and of course removing his straw hat to show off his afro.
Multi-Melee Master: His preferred weapon is the nunchaku but he's also highly skilled in fighting with kali sticks and the tonfa.

Kamurocho Residents

New Serena Mama / Mariko

Voiced by: Mie Sonozaki

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mamay5.jpg

Mama as she appears in Yakuza 5.

The proprietress of New Serena, and the widow of a police officer killed in the line of duty who worked under Date's jurisdiction. Date felt responsible and looked over her following her husband's death, but became quite smitten with her. She's largely absent in the fourth game as she attends to her family, with Date taking her place, but she returns in the fifth.

The Bartender: Serves as one for New Serena, and lets Kiryu and his pals use it as a hideout.
Broken Bird: Her late husband was a cop who was killed right in front of her. She's afraid of growing attached to Date fearing he'd suffer the same fate as her late husband, but begins to reconsider after he saves her from the man who killed her husband.
Damsel in Distress: She was taken hostage when her husband Keisuke was killed. When her husband's killer comes for Date years later, he makes it a point to abduct her again.
Love Interest: Is this to Date, with the two being Happily Married by Yakuza 6.
Named by the Dub: In the Japanese and international remastered versions, she goes under the nickname "Mama" (a common nickname for a female bar owner), but was named Mariko in the original English translations of Yakuza 3, 4 and 5 for the PlayStation 3.
Only Known by Their Nickname: She's only known as the "Mama of New Serena", or "Mama" for short. Even her husband only calls her by that name, though we only ever see them interact while she's at work.

Michiru

A local male crossdresser introduced in Yakuza 3. He frequently chases Kazuma Kiryu around Kamurocho lovingly for just his beauty.

Abhorrent Admirer: Kiryu's, partially due to Incompatible Orientation partially because the guy just flat out doesn't get that Kiryu isn't into him.
Adapted Out: Michiru's substory has been removed from the remastered re-releases of Yakuza 3. His cameo in the remastered verison of Yakuza 4 (see below) was kept intact, however.
Adaptational Heroism: Removing his substories in 3 while retaining his appearance in 4 definitely makes him seem a lot less unpleasant.
Black Comedy Rape: There's a reason Kiryu's reaction to seeing him is "run like hell." Also the reason why he was removed from all versions of the remaster of 3.
Continuity Cameo: Returns in Yakuza 4 where he takes a drink at Earth Angel in the Champion District. He meets Akiyama during a storyline segment in said district and tries to flirt with him but to no avail.
Creepy Crossdresser: He's a crossdresser by lifestyle, and his mannerisms don't endear him to the player.
Depraved Homosexual: Tries to accost Kiryu for his good looks.
Fan Disservice: Downplayed. He wouldn't be as bad looking if he chose a dress that fits his muscular frame and didn't slather on the makeup. However, his dress is too small for him, and he does.
Identical Twins: He has three siblings, all of whom look like him.
Crossdresser In Red: Wears a bright red dress.
Stalker with a Crush: Kiryu's.

Characters / Yakuza 3

Morning Glory / Sunshine Orphanage

Voiced by: Shunzo Miyasaka (Japanese), Caleb Yen (English)