#tsuneo iwami

[nebjamin]

These are some of my favorite screenshots I got while playing Yakuza 6.

[worstmalerggcharacterpoll]

Round 23: DOWN WITH CAPITALISM

It’s not about who you like more! It’s who you think sucks more as a character!

[danielladigitalbunny]

Yakuza 6 / Ryu Ga Gotoku 6

The Song of Life

[rggtattoos]

Like a Dragon Tattoo Analysis

💮🌙Sawamura Yumi — Queen of the Night

🐟⚫Masato Aizawa — Black Carp

🐍💀Daisaku Minami — Panther, Peonies, Snake, Woman and Skull

🐟🔴Akira Nishikiyama — Red Carp

🍑👦Hiroki Awano — Momotaro

🐕🌺Shigeru Nakahara — Shisa and Hibiscus

🐉⚫Kazuma Kiryu — Oryu “Responsive Dragon”

🐲🐟Jo Sawashiro — Ryugyo - “Dragonfish”

🐍🌴Rikiya Shimabukuro — Habu Viper and Windmill Palm Leaves

🦄🦌Yoshitaka Mine — Kirin (Qilin)

👹🐍Goro Majima — Hannya, Snakes and Cherry Blossoms

🐉🔵Yosuke Tendo — Rising Dragon

🦇🟢🟠Tetsu Tachibana & Jun Oda — Bat

💃👘Tsuyoshi Kanda — Okame and Tennyo

🐅🎋Taiga Saejima — Tiger

🦢☁️Naoki Katsuya — Crane

👑⚖️Daisaku Kuze — Great King Enma (Yama), Ox-head and Horse-face

⚔️🪢Daigo Dojima — Fudo Myo-o

🐅🎋Futoshi Shimano — Tiger

🐉🟢Keiji Shibusawa — Seiryu - “Azure/Blue/Green Dragon”

👹☸️Masaru Watase — Asura King

🐉🟡Ryuji Goda — Yellow Dragon

🐂👁️Tsuneo Iwami — Hakutaku (Bai Ze)

⚔️🐉Wen Hai Lee — Guan Yu and Dragons

🐲🐟Ichiban Kasuga — Ryugyo - “Dragonfish”

[finalbossanalysis]

Final Boss Analysis #3

Yasutaka Shirakaba

Lost Judgment: The Kaito Files

Guess who just finished The Kaito Files? Here we have a shorter analysis compared to the last two, but he's a noteworthy and unique final boss in RGG nonetheless.

Shirakaba is not a Judgment Final Boss

Throughout the Judgment games, we've seen a stark contrast between the final bosses of the Yakuza games, and those of the Judgment games. While Yakuza titles usually consist of manly men ripping their shirts off to duke it out for their ideals, the trend of Judgment final bosses seems that they're going to be more dark characters, like Kuroiwa, Kyoya Sadamoto, and partly Kuwana.

Shirakaba clearly does not fit the description of dark, or mysterious. He's timid and lonely, but he's good hearted, and strong enough to protect those he cares about. Keeping Mikiko in the dark was questionable at first, but when you learn the alternative is her getting gutted by Sadamoto, it actually seems pretty reasonable.

The Duel

Here we have two shirtless manly men duking it out for their ideals. See? Yakuza final boss.

Mikiko and Jun are finally safe. However, Shirakaba still has unconfessed feelings for Mikiko, even though he knows he will probably get turned down, he resolves he needs to get it off his chest anyway, even if it ends in denial. Knowing Kaito, and his feelings for Mikiko, he sends him a letter, asking him for a duel, giving Kaito a chance to show Mikiko his dedication, and Shirakaba a chance to show off the guns he was secretly packing all along.

The Theme: Duel Of Love

The soft guitar, violin, and piano take the center stage here, backed by an electric guitar and some subtler electronic sounds. It has feelings of happiness, determination, and finality. There is no "off" sounding note here. Everything down to the instrumentation seems intentional, not hiding anything from the listener. Other Yakuza final bosses can be well intentioned, but are usually held back by ambition, emotion, or jealousy. But I can say with confidence to Shirakaba is a good man, through and through. (A first for Yakuza final bosses. (Kinda))

Fighting Style

Shirakaba's style is karate, and he is exceptionally skilled. Sadly most of his moveset is borrowed from Shibusawa from 0, but he does have a few unique attacks to keep you on your toes. Once you drain all his health, he'll regenerate everything, and enter heat mode.

Heat Aura

Shirakaba's aura is pure white, untainted by any ill will, or anger. It's kind of reminiscent of Kiryu's Legend Style aura from 0.

After The Duel

After losing to Kaito, he simply accepts defeat, thanking Kaito for helping him communicate his feeling for Mikiko.

Conclusion

Well, that's another one checked off the list. Apologies for the shorter format here. Next up i'll probably take a look at Tsuneo Iwami from 6, or maybe i'll do a non-Yakuza villain.

Blah blah leave comment for boss ok bye

[hangozoe]

Even the fucking game refuses to accept Tsuneo Iwami as Kurusu, only referring to him as his CEO position

[1358456]

there are so many what I can only assume are boss battle songs. they're all the ones without any lyrics, right? which ones are your favourite?

Hmm... not all of them are boss fights. The songs without lyrics are either boss fights, fighting style themes, or long-battle themes.

My favorite? Like... my favorite theme or boss fight? I guess the theme goes with the boss fight, so... my top 10 favorite boss fights in the whole series!

#10: Kiryu Kazuma vs. Iwami Tsuneo. Yakuza 6: The Song of Life. Theme: The Way of Life.

The only boss that Kiryu doesn't show a shred of respect towards. And for good reason. F*ck this guy. I like this fight because it feels good just beating the sh*t out of him. Kiryu: "You're about to find out just who you picked a fight with."

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#9: Kiryu Kazuma vs. Mine Yoshitaka. Yakuza 3. Theme: Fly.

Ah, the foil to Kiryu. Mine could've become a really good friend and ally, had things turned out a little bit better for him. And this is the fight that keeps on giving... because Mine's fighting style is really hard, and it shows up repeatedly in Yakuza 3, 4, and 5 in the battle coliseum from particularly hard opponents.

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#8: Yagami Takayuki vs. Soma Kazuki. Lost Judgment. Theme: Viper.

You fight him twice (technically three times, but that one hardly counts), and the theme is the same both times. And you really get the vibes that you're facing a serial killer. And you are, hence it fits very well.

And he fights like a freak. I don't know how else to describe it.

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#7: Kasuga Ichiban vs. Majima Goro (and Saejima Taiga). Yakuza 7: The Path of Light and Darkness. Theme: Receive and Turn You (aka Receive You the Hyperactive).

An entire game with a completely different cast with only passing mentions of characters from Yakuza 0 ~ 6. And then suddenly, two legends from the past games emerge as the plot really unfolds. And the difficulty suddenly spikes up. Yakuza 7 is so far the only game that's a turn based RPG. Until this fight, you don't need to do any level grinding. And then this fight happens. And the shock of seeing the familiar legends turns into the feeling you get when they're beating the sh*t out of you. Hahaha. ... Majima is 55 years old in this fight. Wow.

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#6: Kiryu Kazuma vs. Kuze Daisaku. Yakuza 0: The Place of Oath. Theme: Pledge of the Demon.

You fight this man 5 freaking times in Yakuza 0's story. The first four fights have this theme, while the fifth changes to Oath of the Demon. What's notable about this series of fights is that Kuze's view of Kiryu changes drastically as time passes. The first four fights, Kuze views Kiryu as just some punk who joined the yakuza on a whim, and upon first hardship, decided to quit. And Kuze is all about resilience. Kuze: "In the world of the yakuza, there are no KOs. The guy who's beaten in a fight isn't the loser. The guy who can't tough it out until the end, he's the one who loses."

And after the fourth fight, Kuze realizes that Kiryu is not fighting for himself, but for others. And that's when Kuze acknowledges him. Kuze: "Well I'll be. The punk's finally turned. Turned into a real yakuza." And in the fifth and final fight, he only fights you because his pride demands that he fights you again, one on one, man to man. The respect you gain for this guy is as high as the respect he gains for you.

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#5: Kiryu Kazuma vs. Shibusawa Keiji. Yakuza 0: The Place of Oath. Theme: Two Dragons.

Calculating and ruthless. Shibusawa is quite the villain.

Shibusawa: "We write our names in other people's blood. It's the yakuza way. And I aim to pen my legacy in yours. I'll kill you, surpass Kazama, and become the Dragon of Dojima." Kiryu: "I don't care about the nickname. But there can only be one dragon."

Since Yakuza 0 is a prequel, I know that line is deliberate because of...

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#4: Kiryu Kazuma vs. Goda Ryuji. Yakuza (Kiwami) 2. Theme: A Scattered, Eternal Moment.

Ryuji: "There can only be one true dragon."

The Dragon of Kansai, Goda Ryuji. Man, is he big. But despite his appearance and objective, he's an honorable sort, who wants a fair one on one fight with the Dragon of Dojima to see who is superior, and won't resort to stuff like bomb threats or kidnapping. He's the one who kills the guy who kidnapped Haruka, thus adding another one to the number of people that the poor 10 year old girl had seen get killed right in front of her.

The theme is really perfect for the situation, as the two dragons clash to be the last one left standing... as a bomb is ticking down next to them. They've both been shot twice in mirroring places, so they know they're not going to escape before the bomb goes off. So this fight is a matter of pride. ... Of course, the bomb didn't have an arming trigger, as the guy who planted it didn't want it going off, but hey.

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#3: Kasuga Ichiban vs. Kiryu Kazuma. Yakuza 7: The Path of Light and Darkness. Theme: Receive You Version 7 (aka Rolling Eyes Fall Down the Dragon Wall).

... Fighting the guy that you've been playing as in Yakuza 0 through 6. Oh my. The fight intro starts with Ichiban realizing that he's kind of screwed, and ends with Kiryu knocking him out cold. ... Kiryu is 51 years old in the time of Yakuza 7 (2019), so in Yakuza 8 (2024)... oh my. The legendary dragon is now 56 years old. He was 20 in Yakuza 0. ... So Majima is going to be 60 years old?

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#2: Yagami Takayuki vs. Kuwana Jin (aka Kitakata Yu). Lost Judgment. Theme: Unwavering Belief.

... This game is so good.

Kuwana: "You know that if she turns herself in, she'll never see Mitsuru again. She'll be torn away from her son who finally awoke after 13 long years. Is that the justice you want?"

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Honorable Mention: Kaito Masaharu vs. Shirakaba Yasutaka. Lost Judgment - The Kaito Files DLC. Theme: The Duel.

This fight doesn't even have a dynamic intro. And yet, it gets a spot in the honorable mention, because this fight is truly the ONLY fight in the entire series that's genuinely heartwarming.

This dude is a doctor. He found a woman unconscious one day and started taking care of her, steadily falling in love with her as well. And as he finds out that a certain gang is after her, he goes through rigorous training for two years so that he may protect her. But unfortunately, she's already in love with the player character (Kaito), and has been for a long time since their shared past. And so in the end, Shirakaba challenges you to a duel so that you can prove to him and to everyone that you can protect her better, and so that he can admit defeat and walk away afterwards with his head held high. Aww.

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#1: Kiryu Kazuma vs. Nishikiyama Akira. Yakuza (Kiwami). Theme: For Whose Sake.

Ow, my heart.

So, Kiryu, Nishikiyama, and Sawamura Yumi (Haruka's mother) are all from the same orphanage. Kiryu and Nishiki are best friends since those days, and join the yakuza at the same time for the same reason. So in the events of Yakuza 0, Nishiki is with Kiryu the entire time, fighting uphill battles for the sake of his sworn brother and best friend.

When Majima fights Nishiki in Yakuza 0 for information about Kiryu, Nishiki says that he'll never sell out his sworn brother. And the fight theme is titled "For Buddy". Contrast to the fight theme when Kiryu fights Nishiki in Yakuza 1/Kiwami, titled "For Whose Sake" because Nishiki has lost sight of everything in the 10 years of hardship since Kiryu's arrest... and Kiryu was arrested because he took the fall for Nishiki.

And then the game starts throwing in flashbacks... in the middle of a fight. Tidbits of Nishiki's downfall, to flashbacks of happier times.

And the lines he says in Yakuza 0 are deliberately set to contrast what happens in the first game. So... ow, my heart.

"Climbing the ranks of the Tojo Clan without you is meaningless!" -> "... I'll get to the top, no matter what it takes..."

"You can't do it! Kiryu! You can't cross that line yet. Once you do, you can never go back. What does killing this guy even get you? Fight it! If one day, you need to cross that line, I'll go and cross that line along with you. Don't go ahead of me, brother!" -> "... What's the difference between killing one person and killing two? ... Yes... my path was set in stone from the day I killed Dojima and abandoned Kiryu. ... I'll show everyone. I'll definitely make it to the top... and to do that, I'll kill as many people as it takes!"

"I have a sister Yuko. And as her older brother, I don't know what I'll do if anything happened to her. So I understand how Tachibana feels." ... Nishiki hangs on to his self until the day Yuko dies, at which point he snaps. ... Ohh...

... And then as an added bonus, the karaoke song Tonight got added in Yakuza Kiwami! Its scenes are nothing but flashbacks of Nishiki from Yakuza 0! And the lyrics too. Ahhh...

Hehe. So in Yakuza Gaiden, and even in 8, I'm guessing Kiryu will have 3 karaoke songs to sing. One is going to be Tonight, where he sings about his dead brother who he can never see again. One is going to be Hands, where he sings about his "grandson" who he took care of during the entirety of Yakuza 6, who he can never see again. And the last one is going to be a new song about Haruka, the adopted daughter that he loves so much who he can never see again. ... I can't wait. ... I'm already crying.

[qentin-fuckre]

Yakuza 6: “He Means Nothing to Me”

I’ve been thinking about Yakuza 6 a lot lately. I have some issues with it, namely the fact that it feels unfinished and Majima got unfairly shafted in Kiryu’s final game. But most things there I really like. It’s an emotional, focused plot centered solely on Kiryu and his conflicted feelings about the yakuza, and has a solid set of supporting characters who almost all have great, satisfactory character arcs. Yuta, Someya, Nagumo, etc are all really cool and really good.

But an aspect that I don’t see talked about that often is the main antagonist of the game and final boss of the Kiryu Saga; Tsuneo Iwami. And it’s not hard to see why. He’s not a particularly memorable or complex character, and neither is his conspirator Sugai. The only thing that makes him stick out is how slimy and heinous his actions are, and even then it’s not enough to make me really hate him. Not genuinely.

So what is there to say about Tsuneo Iwami? Personally...I think that something about him really works. Kiryu’s sheer disdain and disregard for the man extends all the way into Kiryu’s description when he fights him.

“He means nothing to me.”

The final boss of Kiryu’s story means nothing to him. This really struck me while going through it, and it’s taken me a bit to realize why. And I’ve come to realize that Iwami and Sugai being so forgettable...is kind of the point.

Yakuza is full of charismatic men who rip their shirts off and fight for masculinity, honor, to see who’s strongest, and the like. But the Kuze’s, Ryuji Goda’s, Watase’s, and Nishiki’s of the series are often the exceptions to the rule as men who exemplify or try to exemplify the yakuza’s ideals. 

Far, FAR more often...the yakuza are nothing more than garden-variety power-hungry assholes. From the thugs that Kiryu continually fights off every game, to Shibusawa in 0, to Sohei Dojima, to the schemer Takashima in 2, to Katsuragi’s weird-ass in 4, to the man who outright loathes charismatic yakuza Kurosawa in 5...Kiryu’s games are filled with unremarkable assholes granted power by the yakuza and he has to continually fight them off over and over again.

The Ryuji Goda’s and Kuze’s of the world are rare. But people like Iwami have populated the entire series, and Kiryu has taken them down every time. As the yakuza themselves have worsened, those charismatic yakuza have found less and less of a place in a criminal enterprise that at the end of the day is about power and money.

So in the end, another “big rival to Kiryu who wants to prove he’s strongest” doesn’t work. Kiryu’s final boss is a representation of every smug prick he’s had to grind into the dirt to keep him and his family safe, without the veneer of masculinity, honor, or strength to guise it. The yakuza is Kiryu’s curse, and Iwami is representative of just how pervasive that curse is in Japan’s society.

The yakuza as a whole mean nothing to Kiryu. 7 games have whittled him down to the point he wanted nothing to do with it. But even after he leaves, assholes like Iwami will keep on popping up, whether he likes it or not.

[azureseadragon]

Yakuza Series tattoos from the 15th anniversary guidebook

Tsuneo Iwami’s tattoo --- Hakutaku (Bai Ze)

*Original scan size + 2x AI upscaled version*

- Guidebook scans shared by Taro

[paganminiskirt]

y5 aizawa, majima, y6 iwami

Flashing that enormous, ornately detailed sword then just fucking dropping it and not using it at all was an absolute baller move

I think there’s a lot you could do with him in any given piece of fanwork, considering how little we’re given about him in game (despite him being such a major boss battle) - the social darwinist view of the yakuza, the inheritance from his father vs. “I don’t give a fuck about that old man” or whatever the line was.

One of like forty people who decides he’s got beef with Kiryu while barely knowing his ass but Aizawa is also the only person in the series with Grand Canyon titties so I’ll forgive him anything

HOT

I’d be really interested in reading some character centric writing about Majima in the period between Yakuza 0 and Yakuza Kiwami; he’s considerably more violent and erratic at the beginning of the latter than he seems at the end of the former and that would be a cool thing to see delved into

The continuous theme of masks and the isolation of performance at work within his character is really potent, despite the surface level wackiness, and the writers definitely had a lot to say with him in the first few games especially.

Gave us the Kiryu line Little Baby Iwami and I will always appreciate him for that

[tarokro]

Character Introductions Yomei Alliance

Tsuneo Iwami Takeru Kurusu Koshimizu Kanji

From the Yakuza 6 guidebook,  龍が如く6 命の詩。　完全攻略極ノ書 (ファミ通の攻略本)

[hazeldough]

undefined

kiryu: i'm gonna call the man that threatened my family a little baby 

me: that's so ballsy and funny king, please go on

[danielladigitalbunny]

Yakuza 6 / Ryu Ga Gotoku 6

The Song of Life

DON! DON!!

Introduction screens

[kulemii]

Yakuza 6 was a game about deadbeat dads and their kids growing up to have daddy issues... I shan't expand on this.

[rggtattoos]

厳見 恒雄, Iwami Tsuneo

白澤 - Hakutaku (Bai Ze)

Type: Traditional

Features:

Hakutaku - Also known as the “kutabe” or in China “Bai ze,” Its name means “White Marsh.” It is a creature with the face of a man, the body of an ox or lion, 9 eyes (three on the face, three on each flank), and horns on its head and back. The hakutaku only appears when there is a virtuous ruler in power. It is said to have knowledge of all evil creatures and taught an emperor how to overcome and subdue evil. The hakutaku protects against illness and represents medicine in reference to a legend where it appears to a man to warn him of a coming plague. The haukutaku shared the knowledge of how to make talismans that would ward off the plague.

Flames - Passion, Energy, desire, movement

Clouds - The heavens, the realm of the gods and admiration of nature.