Yakuza series

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Re: Yakuza series

Postby OL » Thu May 03, 2018 4:33 am

I dunno, I think "poser" is the wrong word. Posers do things because they think they make them look cool (like just about anyone who's ever been in a punk band post-1990, for example). It's very clear at the end of the game that Majima ain't doing the crazy act to look "cool."
Actually, there's a scene around the last chapter that sums it up pretty well, where he's
wandering through Kamurocho talking to himself, mumbling words like "You want me to be your fool? Fine, I'll be your fool." It's like he's so sick and tired of being treated like an idiot throughout the whole game, being lied to and double-crossed and so on, that he finally resigns himself to this idea that the universe has relegated him into the role of a clown.
So his transition into the crazy guy we knew to begin with isn't something he's doing to seem impressive, nor is it even a coping mechanism; it's an acceptance of what he ultimately views to be his lot in life.

It's a very, very Japanese-style storytelling element, granted, where symbolic actions tend to be viewed as more logically-acceptable. It's not the kind of thing we often see in western storytelling, so I get why you might initially interpret it the way you do.
And even with that all being the case, I'd further say that the "crazy" bit isn't even necessarily an act, so much as just a genuine part of his personality that he later pushes to the fore. When he's making his way through the
Dojima offices
and he's ranting and raving threats as his eye shakes violently, you see the "Mad Dog" part of his nickname come out. The dude is unhinged, genuinely.
And last thing, I wouldn't liken his starting personality in the game to Kazuma so much, that of the "quiet and serious" type; if anything, he's got more in common with the way Nishiki acts. He's more the charming and cool type, who begins to act a bit more desperate because of the crappy position he's put in.


Anyway, finally passed Akiyama's part in Y5. Have to say, the fact that he's saddled along with Haruka in the same chapter really works to his detriment. I used to love Akiyama so much in Y4 and Dead Souls, but I was left uninterested playing his stuff here. It's just not very compelling, when all his story stuff deals with the same ridiculous "dreams of a pop idol" crap as Haruka. Not to mention that Sotenbori looks really ugly in this game, all sun-drenched and washed-out. Hard to look at.
Regardless, that means I've finally moved on to Shinada. And man oh man, what a refreshing change that is. I didn't read much at all about him beforehand, only knowing that he was an ex-baseball player. But on top of that, he's now a perpetually-in-debt writer for an adult entertainment magazine?
Compelling, original, and fun. As a character, I just love this guy so far. Have to see where his story goes, but I'm hooked as it is now.
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Re: Yakuza series

Postby Haruto » Thu May 03, 2018 10:58 am

Not to mention his rush style is an indicator of his more wild way of fighting. Majima is just that person but after all the BS he goes through he chooses to accept it and no longer suppress it.

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Re: Yakuza series

Postby MJMW » Thu May 03, 2018 4:47 pm

Maybe poser was a weak term, but at the time I interpreted it as Majima's way of saying "this world is fucked, so I'm gonna be fucked with it".

I don't know if I'd compare Majima with Nishiki; his charm just seems to be part of his job whereas Nishiiki is a ladies' man in general.

speaking of Nishiki, that's another gripe I had with 0:
The way he was portrayed in 0 made his downfall in Kiwami just feel forced and out of character. He was extremely loyal to Kiryu and practically saw him as an older brother. The man who talked Kiryu out of killing with his emotional speech could just go on to kill someone else so easily?(from what I remember, he was in a position where death could've easily been avoided). Not only that, but he didn't really have any redeeming qualities in the end; I felt like he just killed Jingu out of personal vendetta and not because he was trying to save the others. How was he supposed to know the bomb wouldn't kill everyone in the building?


I'd have to play it again to get a better understanding of it but I just got Yakuza 6 so I'll be playing that soon. Haruka supposedly has a kid which is pretty sick to think about.
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Re: Yakuza series

Postby OL » Thu May 03, 2018 5:09 pm

Yeah, the thing about Haruka having a kid kind of weirds me out too. Could be wrong, but I feel like there's gotta be some kind of twist about it; stuff rarely seems to be that straightforward in this series.
Should be able to get into it soon myself, so I guess I'll see. It's just weird thinking of Haruka in the same light as the many teenage mothers I knew back in highschool.
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Re: Yakuza series

Postby Haruto » Thu May 03, 2018 6:57 pm

I think they explain it fairly well. I want to say the reason even vague but still might be a spoiler so just play the game. Y6 feels like Y1/Kiwami in a way of going back to something a little more basic and less side missions as 0.
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Re: Yakuza series

Postby AnimeGamer183 » Thu May 03, 2018 9:15 pm

wait the baby in Y6 is Harukas?? Who has she been fucking??! It does feel weird knowing this... I mean we saw her crazy introduction in the first game, and then the orphanage arc in Y3 really makes her feel like more a daughter like relationship with Kazuma/the player, now shes got a kid as a teenager (do I even want to know how old she is in this one?...)? What a time to be alive.
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Re: Yakuza series

Postby south carmain » Thu May 03, 2018 9:43 pm

AnimeGamer183 wrote: wait the baby in Y6 is Harukas?? Who has she been fucking??! It does feel weird knowing this... I mean we saw her crazy introduction in the first game, and then the orphanage arc in Y3 really makes her feel like more a daughter like relationship with Kazuma/the player, now shes got a kid as a teenager (do I even want to know how old she is in this one?...)? What a time to be alive.

she's 19. Young, but I wouldn't say shockingly young. Then again I'm from the UK where "teenage pregnancy" usually refers to girls under 16 having kids.
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Re: Yakuza series

Postby AnimeGamer183 » Thu May 03, 2018 10:09 pm

19 in japan looks like 12 to the rest of the world. But 19 is an acceptable age... does anyone else still feel like their in game step daughter has been sullied though? Why the fuck is this actually making me kind of feel like a concerned father figure? I think its something about Kazuma and how he took care of her for so long, hopefully hes more understanding of her baby in the game than I feel right now lol
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Re: Yakuza series

Postby OL » Thu May 03, 2018 11:06 pm

^^I understand the notion that she seems a bit sullied by this, but that's only if you take it at face value.
At face value, it makes it sound like she's been fucking around a bit. And that idea, without context, sounds really weird when you're talking about the baby-faced, super-responsible, gag-inducingly peppy little pop idol from Yakuza 5.
But, like I said, the elaboration in-game probably fits everything properly into place, so I'm not too worried about it. I have a lot of faith in the writing team after playing through the excellence that was Yakuza Zero. It just sounds odd without context.


As a side note, is anyone else kind of disappointed by Haruka's character arc throughout the series?
The squeaky little "do-no-wrong" teacher's pet type of character she becomes by Y5 just feels... off.
How the fuck does a child grow up into that, when your adopted father of more than ten years is a guy who literally solves every problem he comes across with his fists?
Seriously, just about every side-quest, every main story beat from Yakuzas 1-5 has Kazuma beating the ever loving shit out of someone, even in the "hometown" Okinawa sequences from Yakuza 3 (which ought to have been a basic reflection of everyday life for him). Even with little things like handling a middle-aged drunk, what's the basic solution for Kazuma?
Curb-stomp the motherfucker.
Sure, he's usually pushed into every fight, but that doesn't mean he needs to go just as brutal with them as he would with a murdering yakuza boss.
So then... how would that affect the personality of a child under his care?
I think it would have been a helluva lot more interesting to see her grow up as a bit of a problem child, emulating Kazuma in some ways, smoking, getting into fights, all that kind of stuff. Essentially, taking his example in the wrong way. Have him feel guilty for setting that example for her, and eventually having to right his own wrongs by re-teaching her how to be a decent human being.
Shit could have been compelling as hell. Also would have made her having a baby while still a teenager a lot less surprising. :lol:
But then, I still cringe at all of her pop idol bullshit in Y5, so maybe I just would have preferred anything as an alternative.
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Re: Yakuza series

Postby AnimeGamer183 » Thu May 03, 2018 11:28 pm

That explanation sounds like the opposite extreme OL, I find Haruka turning into a bloodied shirt street brawler a bit hard to believe as well (although for comic relief, I guess having her as a playable character would have been very Yakuza like lol but idk as non serious as these games take themselves that might even be a stretch). I guess ever since the bar scene where we first meet her, she has behaved as some one that needs protecting and I think instead of embracing Kazumas ways and making them her own, she plays the weak fragile princess that runs behind Kazuma in a bind because perhaps THAT is all she knows.
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Re: Yakuza series

Postby OL » Fri May 04, 2018 2:48 am

I don't think it's all that extreme, really. Draw a line straight down from the parent, and that's usually where kids end up. Nice, religious, non-confrontational parents typically breed nice, religious, non-confrontational children.
Thing is, lessons from people like that are straightforward and easy-to-learn. Be good to each other, stay out of trouble, etc.
But when your adopted father is Kazuma Kiryu, a guy who constantly, without fail, gets into street fights left and right... what sort of person are you going to turn out to be?
Granted, he tends to fight for good reasons, sure, but grey-area stuff like the use of violence for a good cause is hard for a kid to grasp. You can explain things afterward all you like, but realistically, being around a guy who solves all his problems by punching is going to teach a kid one golden rule: might makes right.
Your description of a "bloodied shirt street brawler" does make it sound a bit out there, but that's only because we're so used to the idea of Haruka being so gentle and well-mannered. I'm not saying she should be some psycho blood-drinking street fighter, but she really ought to be the type of character who doesn't mind kicking a guy in the balls if she sees him being a dick to somebody. Sixteen-, seventeen-, eighteen-year-old Haruka ought to be completely capable of that.

It's all just make-believe, sure (and I would never expect the Yakuza series to genuinely attempt realism), but I still think she could have turned into a really compelling, rounded character if things had just gone another way. But instead they stuck us with an anime-cliche, always-virtuous little pop idol.
In a series full of round holes, she's always stuck out to me as a square peg. Quite honestly, I think she's the worst thing about the series. She could have been so much more.
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Re: Yakuza series

Postby Haruto » Fri May 04, 2018 3:02 am

Again,it's explained in game. I can't divulge why. Animegamer it's better you play it than try and guess.
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Re: Yakuza series

Postby AnimeGamer183 » Fri May 04, 2018 11:04 am

Yeah I have a few games to catch up on, so I am not fully aware of where her character goes. Just seems to me that she really could have gone either way, and there may be some cultural japanese standard that us westerners dont quite understand regarding the decisions they made with her character? Thats really all I can speculate as to why they decided to take her in this direction, or maybe all the exposure to the hostess bars made yearn for the glitz and glam?
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Re: Yakuza series

Postby Haruto » Fri May 04, 2018 12:01 pm

It has nothing to do with those things. A deeper reason than that. It's not over westerners heads.
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Re: Yakuza series

Postby AnimeGamer183 » Fri May 04, 2018 12:52 pm

Yeah I am terrified to play Y5 now... THANKS OL :lol:

Could I realistically just skip to 6? My damn 40 gig PS3 fat has prevented me from playing Y5 since it came out, and with the way OL has described certain parts of the years, I havent had the motivation to even try to rectify the situation.
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