[23] They believe that Ichiban is a good example of how slapstick humour can be blended seamlessly with high octane action to create an excellent, engaging story. Nationality Sawashiro, the man who Ichiban gave away 18 years of his life to save, is central to the yakuza now. Associations Afterwards, he interrogates Ogasawara to learn of Aoki's ambitions and plans to use the Omi. [30] Game Informer ranked Ichiban third place on the publication's list of the top 10 characters of 2020, with Joe Juba commenting that Ichiban's characterization balances the story's tension "with an infectious desire to help the people society overlooks". Knowing that they couldn't face so many enemies at once Ryuji and Han decide to split up. Affiliation The family that held him captive were enemies of the Arakawa Family. Ichiban identifies Arakawa, and while he did shoot Ichi and probably doesn't like him anymore he's still the kind of man Ichiban aspires to be. Its just a possiblity. Kasuga appears as a hidden character in the short beat-em-up title inspired by the story of the original Yakuza and the gameplay of SEGA's Streets of Rage franchise. Physical By rejecting non-essential cookies, Reddit may still use certain cookies to ensure the proper functionality of our platform. For example, in a pivotal scene where Ichiban's mentor promises to take him to try Peking duck, he helped the rest of the cast understand what the dish was by ordering some for them to eat.[11]. He ended up joining the yakuza at the age of seventeen under the Hikawa Family, a Tojo Clan subsidiary. "Yakuza: Like a Dragon" takes that formula and gives it a fresh set of characters with a JRPG framework. Due to existing tensions with the Sakaki as well as the fact that they are a higher rank, Masumi would need to make amends. Age Kazuhiro Nakaya, who previously voiced recurring franchise character Akira Nishikiyama, was one of the candidates who read for the role. Damage an enemy with a flying kick. He is also the protagonist of Daigo . While visiting a graveyard, he sees his former patriarch and is ignored by him, learning from Adachi that the Arakawa Family has sided with the Omi Alliance, who forced the Tojo Clan out of Kamurocho. Damage an enemy by hitting them hard in their vital spot. After retrieving the baby from locker 0099, he rushed him to the hospital, where the baby was diagnosed with hypothermia-induced multiple organ failure. On the way, a helicopter spots them on a rooftop and Adachi stays behind. Kasuga Ichinojo (Like a Dragon: Ishin!) Chris Moyse from Destructoid praised Ichiban's character arc for "masterfully blending stoicism, bravery, pathos, heroism, and just the right amount of complete and utter idiocy to immediately win the hearts of the Yakuza faithful". He also discovers that the anti-crime activist group Bleach Japan is indirectly responsible for Nonomiya's death. 39 (Wanderings of the Golden Dragon)62 (Yakuza: Like a Dragon)[a] Kasuga hoped mentioning his name would somehow get him free, but it only backfired. His long history as a hitman and his reputation as the militant leader of the Arakawa Family earned him the nickname "Arakawa the Assassin" (, Koroshi no Arakawa). [24] German publication GamePro lauded Ichiban for his big heart and highly emotive nature, qualities which they feel a lot of protagonist characters lack. Thanks to the split, there is not enough manpower to crush them and Yosuke Tendo joins Masumi's side as he could not resist the urge to fight such a brawl. Gray A Chinese legend tells of a koi fish that ascended a great waterfall . It had the words "Neither justice nor mercy should tip the scale." He eventually grew to view Ichiban as his son and entrusted him with looking after Masato. )Mitsuo Yasumura (former subordinate)Tsukasa Mikuni (subordinate)Vincent Lowe (subordinate)Yosuke Kagami (subordinate) Arakawa and Kasuga catch up after returning to Yokohama, but the next day, he learns Arakawa was killed. Japanese The Chief and Hoshino tell Kasuga of their history with Arakawa, and he learns Arakawa had sent him there intentionally to save him, renewing his faith in his former patriarch. In fact,Ichiban spends the majority of game saying that he has always felt like Arakawa is a father to him, so the reveal that he might actually be his father drives that connection even deeper. They later meet the heads of the Ijin Three at Heian Tower and learn about the scheme they set up with Yutaka Ogikubo, but for information on Kasuga's fake bill, he is asked to retrieve Nanba. [28] Hayes Madsen from Screen Rant said Ichiban is the most important protagonist in games for the year 2020, and called him an inspiring character due to his unfailing kindness and warmth of humanity, and that his story arc in Like a Dragon put forward meaningful commentary on the inequalities of society. After Ichiban leaves prison, he confronts Arakawa to just for Arakawa to shoot him point blank and leave him for dead in Yokohama. In 2001, yakuza Ichiban Kasuga agrees to go to prison for a murder that he did not commit to repay Arakawa Family patriarch Masumi Arakawa for saving his life in his youth. Between 1978 and 1982, he established the Arakawa Family, a third-tier organization within the Tojo Clan's ranks. Boosts all allies' criticality rate by up to 12%. Arakawa says that Ichi was like a son to him, but isn't it hypocritical that only moments later of him stating that Ichi felt like a son to him, he still sells him out making him go to prison because his other actual son (or so he though) messed up ? Arakawa offered them his finger in exchange for Kasuga's freedom and the men quickly let Kasuga go. Member of the Arakawa Family (formerly) This soon fizzled out due to a mutual lack of interest, and Masumi began seeing a woman named Akane in secret. Member of the Arakawa Family (formerly)President of Ichiban ConfectionsLeader of the Kasuga PartyIndependent politician English Privacy Policy. Japanese Yakuza: Like a Dragon: Masumi's face is modeled after his voice actor, Kiichi Nakai. They sneak through the sewers and rooftops to where Arakawa is. His default job is "Homeless Guy", which is a Squishy Wizard setup involving strong area-of-effect skills and strong debuffs. He is more human than Kazama is. Ichiban trails a fleeing Aoki and pleads with him to give himself up. Nicknames Date of Birth Having left a strong impression on Kasuga, he was followed back to the Arakawa Family office, where Kasuga waited outside every day for one hundred days straight until Masumi finally relented and accepted him into the Arakawa Family. Also Known As Appears In [21] Jorge Jimenez from PC Gamer praised Ichiban's optimistic characterization, a "goofy, happy go lucky gangster who loves classic JRPGs", as an effective way of explaining the franchise's drastic genre shift with Like a Dragon. Although he had never met Kasuga before, in order to maintain his reputation, he agreed to the rival family's demands. A powerful skill that damages an enemy with an improvised weapon lying about the city. Biographical Information He later takes Masato to the cabaret club he frequents and receives money from him, which he tries to use as payment for his captain, who realizes where the money actually came from. High chance to land a critical hit. Arakawa is shot in the chest and dies a painful death, the last sight in his life being Tendo's smile. Appearance Daigo Dojima ( , Djima Daigo) is a recurring supporting character in the Like a Dragon series introduced in Yakuza 2. Sawashiro suggests leaking information in exchange for the Family's continued survival. In 2019, now 42, Kasuga is freed from prison with no one from his old days waiting for him. Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio, character_model_model_data (.BIN file), Yakuza: Like a Dragon Supporting Characters. Associations Born and raised in a popular theater troupe called Araboshi-za, Masumi surpassed Toshio as a top-billing actor in the taish engeki genre by the age of fourteen and was celebrated for his female roles as an onnagata. His moveset, much like that of Kiryu and Majima, is a reskinned version of the Streets of Rage series' main character, Axel. [6], Auditions of the character started early in development to appreciate him sooner. Masumi, Tendo, Watase's mysterious bodyguard, and Kasuga and his party fight the opposition and win, allowing the dissolution to succeed. In December 31, 2000, Kasuga is on a collections job for Jo Sawashiro with Mitsuo Yasumura, interacting with his friends on the way. Damage an enemy with a wrestling technique known as a release German suplex. After a discussion between Yokoyama and Nagoshi, Nakaya was chosen for the role. It is revealed that because anti-Yakuza laws in Japan have become so open to interpretation, most Yakuza could be forced to do whatever government officials demanded. Age Horinouchi is also the person responsible for having Adachi demoted. Kaiji Tang When he finds Daigo, he tells Ichiban about where Kiryu's at, and then, just as Ichiban tries to get the truth from Daigo about Arakawa, Daigo gets shot by a character looking to silence anyone saying anything about the Omi Alliance and its plan. Ichiban did turn out fine in the end. When the dissolution is announced, they join Arakawa in defending Dojima and Watase alongside Yosuke Tendo, who had deccided to fight for them, and Watase's mysterious bodyguard. Masumi then heads to Heian Tower for dinner with Hoshino. Ryu Ga Gotoku OnlineYakuza: Like a Dragon After working for Arakawa and doing whatever was asked of him, he got sent to prison for 18 years at Arakawa's request. Counterpart And in an unjust world, heroes such as Ichiban are not only important, they're necessary., Chris Moyse, "2020 may have been a crap year but it gave us some amazing new characters". Through Shuichi Kanbe, the duo find jobs. They meet Hamako and Bleach Japan after a bodyguard job, and Adachi rejoins them afterward. As a yakuza patriarch, Masumi appears as a considerate person towards his underlings, especially Ichiban, whom he treats just like an actual son and able to persuade Ichiban to work better with Sawashiro during his tenure. [35], Render of Ichiban Kasuga as he appears in, Last edited on 12 December 2022, at 08:29, "Ichiban Kasuga Voice - Yakuza: Like a Dragon", "Yakuza: Like A Dragon Dev Explains Creating A New Hero And What's Next", "Yakuza 7 (Shin Yakuza) New Details Revealed, Dev Discusses Possibilities For Yakuza 0 Sequel", "Yakuza series general director on Ichiban Kasuga game: "I'd like to change the game drastically", "Yakuza: Like a Dragon Goes Into Kasuga Ichiban's Birth And Reason For Joining Organized Crime", "Yakuza: Like A Dragon's city is reported to be around 3-4 times larger than past games", "Ichiban Kasuga will lead 'Yakuza' "for the next ten years", "Yakuza: Like a Dragon Voice Actor Confirms Ichiban Will Now Lead the Series", "Ichiban Kasuga wears his heart on his sleeve, and he'd lay his life down to stand up for a friend. Yoko Arakawa (mother)Toshio Arakawa (father)Unnamed ex-fianceAkane (girlfriend)Jo Sawashiro (right-hand, co-parent? Kasuga bluffs to Aoki of having incriminating evidence to lure him and Tendo to the Millennium Tower. They beat Kasuga to the brink of death, and fearing for his life he blurted out the name of a feared yakuza, Masumi Arakawa, saying that if they killed him they'd be hearing from him; in reality, he had never met the man and was only aware of him due to his reputation as "Killer" Arakawa. The end of development for Yakuza 6: The Song of Life, which brought Kazuma Kiryu's story arc to a close, coincided with the commencement of development for the 2018 mobile title Ryu ga Gotoku ONLINE. eventually meeting back up with Masumi Arakawa, when Ichiban and company must fight off the angry former Yakuza, because he feels like he has a life debt to him, Sawashiro felt indebted to the man raising his child, owner of the local brothel came to pull another baby out of the locker, Ichiban shows a video of Aoki admitting to his crimes, Kume, a member of Bleach Japan and a newly elected representative, stabs Aoki. Displaying a personality that was at times warm and. Although he had a loving father, Masumi had a troubled home life as a child, and received the scar on his face at the hands of his mother at a young age. I dont think ichiban realized that this just wasnt a prison sentence but this was for life meaning to never return once he got out cause if he returned then the other family would know that it was the family that ichiban was part of that did kill their guy which is why ichiban boss shot him once he opened the door. Japanese Kasuga hypes himself up and attunes to the flow of battle, boosting his Evasion and Attack for 2 turns. Before they part, Masumi talks about a strange dream where Kasuga and Masato swapped places in their births. Chief producer and writer Masayoshi Yokoyama noted that their goal after Yakuza 6 was not to "create the next Yakuza title" but to "create the next protagonist. An orphan, raised by homeless people, pledging himself to the service of the Arakawa Yakuza Family, after their boss sacrificed a finger to save Ichiban from harm. The announcement is made the following day, when Ichiban and company must fight off the angry former Yakuza. In order to complete this plan, Masumi feigns turning over to the Omi.