Kamurocho, Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan Ichiban is first introduced in the 2018 mobile game Ryu ga Gotoku ONLINE, a freemium collectible card game spin-off which is exclusively released in Japan. One of Like a Dragon's main characters is Saeko Mukoda, a mama at a hostess bar who joins Ichiban's party. Sawashiro, the man who Ichiban gave away 18 years of his life to save, is central to the yakuza now. Displaying a personality that was at times warm and. In the ensuing chaos, Kasuga is called by Han and Seong-hui. The "ultimate example of not living up to your name," who'd get the ass-end of life despite the name Ichiban and live it to the fullest like he doesn't see the ironythat's the thinking behind it. Hair Color and our 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. Masumi escaped and told Akane to meet him at Cafe Alps after she had given birth. Yakuza: Like a Dragon / Characters - TV Tropes Also Known As He asks Kasuga to turn himself in, telling him the lie that it was Sawashiro who committed the murder. Arakawa the Assassin Granted, he had a good reason to do so, but when it turns out that Ichiban is Arakawa's biological son, must've been quite painful for him to have to shoot his own son (or rather someone that he regarded as a son) just to get said plan going.. Will Ichiban Kasuga be back? Despite his efforts, this only fanned the flames of the existing rivalry between the Arakawa Family and the Sakaki Family. Theory about Shin Yakuza's plot and why Kiryu : r/yakuzagames The way I see it, he either knew or was very suspicious and hoped Ichi was his real son. However, unbeknownst to him, she hid the baby in locker number 0101, adjacent to locker 0099 where Jo Sawashiro and his girlfriend at the time had abandoned their newborn. Spoilers for Yakuza LaD help with boss : r/yakuzagames - Reddit Masumi Arakawa (former patriarch)Jo Sawashiro (former superior, rival)Mitsuo Yasumura (oath brother, friend, ally)Giichi Kitamura (friend, ally)Shun Akiyama (friend, ally)Mayumi Seto (friend, ally)Hayato Tsuji (friend, ally)Tsukasa Mikuni (complicated ally)Yosuke Kagami (complicated ally)Vincent Lowe (enemy) Arakawa and Kasuga catch up after returning to Yokohama, but the next day, he learns Arakawa was killed. This splits the Omi's forces in half, which would instrumental at the time of both organizations' dissolution. The two reconcile, but before Aoki can turn himself over to the police, Kume, a member of Bleach Japan and a newly elected representative, stabs Aoki. Other One day, in 1993, he was called to the offices of the Shinomiya Family to take responsibility for Ichiban Kasuga, a sixteen-year-old boy who had hospitalized one of their members and was claiming to be from the Arakawa Family. [5] His background of being born and raised in one of Japan's "grey zones" was set from the start. Trying to find answers as to why, Kasuga ends up shot and . Arakawa explains that it was he who leaked inside information to his son, giving him the chance he needed to bring the 3K strategy into play, forcing the Tojo Clan out. On his 24th birthday, Kasuga is called into the Arakawa Family office, where Arakawa informs him of Sawashiro's involvement in the murder of a member of the Sakaki Family. Tang notes that he was able to draw upon his life experiences as an Asian man to help with his performance as Ichiban. Masumi is shot in the chest and dies a painful death, the last sight in his life being Tendo's smile. Described as having been born with "nothing but physical strength," Kasuga has a very muscular build that gives him the opportunity to be proficient at a variety of fighting styles. Despite the amount of bloodshed throughout the story, this is one of the most optimistic endings in the series. He meets ex-detective Koichi Adachi, who explains that while Ichiban was in jail, Arakawa defects to the Osaka-based Omi Alliance and betrayed the Tojo Clan to the Tokyo Metropolitan Police. Yakuza: Like a Dragon / YMMV - TV Tropes Through Shuichi Kanbe, the duo find jobs. English Although he had never met Kasuga before, in order to maintain his reputation, he agreed to the rival family's demands. x Ryu Ga Gotoku Online) How did Arakawa Under the Bridge End? - Squarerootnola.com The announcement is made the following day, when Ichiban and company must fight off the angry former Yakuza. Press J to jump to the feed. When Ichiban gets out of prison in 2019, 18 years after his incarceration, the world has changed rapidly, but the biggest shock is probably that the Arakawa family has joined the Omi Alliance,. 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. However, one hundred million yen in counterfeit bills turned up missing while in Toshio's possession, prompting the Seiryu Clan to eliminate him; in reality, the money had been stolen by Yoko and the man she was having an affair with at the time, his former co-star Tora. [34] RPGFan also regarded Tang as one of the best actors in the entire game based on the impact of his deliveries. He was forced to deal with the matter peacefully, as Sakaki was a direct patriarch above him in rank and feigned innocence in front of the executives. Giovanni Colantonio from Inverse considered Ichiban to be the best playable protagonist of 2020 because he is allowed to be a naive and flawed character who makes plenty of mistakes, a trait rarely seen in most video game heroes, which led to the best character development of any other character in the industry in his view. In Like a Dragon 8, Kasuga's hairstyle is a ponytail once again. Masumi talks about his concerns with Masato and his plans for post-yakuza life and Kasuga expresses his desire to be a family again. I felt like Masato knew Ichiban was his son, but he also knew how tough Ichiban was and how Masato would have no one without him and for sure wouldnt make it in prison. Kasuga Ichinojo (Like a Dragon: Ishin!) Nanba joins Kasuga after Yokohama Liumang member Zheng demands payment from the homeless, and the two drive him off. Ichiban arranges for Aoki to be lured to the Arakawa Family office, and used the opportunity to record incriminating evidence against him and expose his true nature to the general public. The dynamic within the family was tense, however, with Sawashiro's constant abuse of Kasuga often placing Masumi into the role of mediator. Any other thug would simply refuse to go to jail for Sawashiro/Masato. Arakawa, who serves as a father figure to protagonist Ichiban Kasuga, proved to be a much more compelling character than he thought. Kasuga was instead taken in by Shangri-La's manager, Jiro Kasuga, and raised by the people of Kamurocho. Kaiji Tang Kasuga decides to head to Sotenbori after becoming restless waiting for an update from Mitsuo. On the way, a helicopter spots them on a rooftop and Adachi stays behind. Outside the Seiryu offices, the three discuss what happened and Adachi says it's quite a shock that Nanoha would agree to euthanizing her father. Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio, character_model_model_data (.BIN file), Yakuza: Like a Dragon Supporting Characters. Masumi Arakawa ( , Arakawa Masumi), also known by his stage name Taro Arayoshi ( , Arayoshi Tar), is a supporting character in Yakuza: Like a Dragon and Wanderings of the Golden Dragon in Ryu Ga Gotoku Online. Learning from Reiji Ishioda that Tendo murdered Arakawa, the group goes into hiding with Nick and heads to Kamurocho. He and his friends are asked to hold the invading Omi Alliance at bay until they can burn down their operation. Yokoyama said that Nakaya's reading of the character's scripted lines projected a rebellious personality which stood out to the developers. After sighting a picture of Ryo Aoki, the upstart Governor of Tokyo and co-founder of Bleach Japan, Ichiban recognizes him as an actual living Masato Arakawa. Kasuga faces Sawashiro upon arrival and defeats him, then opens the door to a dinner between Omi officers, looking for answers, but is shot in the chest by Arakawa. Kiichi NakaiWPTaishi MurataWP (teen) Yakuza: Like a Dragon / Heartwarming - TV Tropes Biographical Ichiban Kasuga ( , Kasuga Ichiban) is the protagonist of the Like a Dragon series from Yakuza: Like a Dragon onward, as well as the protagonist of The Legend of Ichiban Kasuga: Part 1 in Ryu Ga Gotoku Online. He later learned that Akane was caught by the yakuza and murdered while he was on his way to the hospital. Later that day, he attends a meeting with the other Omi Alliance patriarchs at Heian Tower - where Masumi had hoped to treat Kasuga to Peking duck - when Kasuga barges into the room. [22] Leah Williams and Tegan Jones from Kotaku Australia welcomed the decision to have Ichiban succeed Kiryu as the new lead character of the franchise, lauding his character arc to be simultaneously moving as well as one filled with ridiculous fun. Damage an enemy with an onslaught of headbutts. After the whole Sotenbori business is done you can meet him in Ijincho and he'll tell Ichi about his dream that his son was born at a Soapland. Age At the funeral, Daigo offers Ichiban a job at a security company. Yakuza: Like a Dragon / Headscratchers - TV Tropes Yakuza: Like a Dragon: In his younger days, Masumi wears a black double breasted leather trench coat over a gray snakeskin patterned dress shirt, black slacks, a pair of dark red leather oxfords, a black leather belt with a gold buckle, a pair of black leather gloves, and a black fedora hat. Yakuza: Like A Dragon's New Lead Is The Hero I Need Right Now - Kotaku Its just a possiblity. Ichiban and his friends take this opportunity to strike as they fight their way up the tower to the Arakawa Family office, where Tendo, who had also murdered Arakawa in cold blood earlier, lies in wait for Ichiban to settle the score with. Japanese When he returns, Aoki has the Arakawa Family support him in his political career. After he met and swore Jo Sawashiro into the family in 1982, he came to consider him someone he could place his complete trust in and made him his captain, treasurer, and right-hand man. He tells his crew that he is sticking around, and the game fades to black as he reflects on Aoki's dying words: "Keep living, Ichi.". [20] Michael Higham from GameSpot praised Ichiban as an endearing lead character who is immediately loveable and helps gives the franchise "a fresh start". However, one day, he severely injured and hospitalized a yakuza. )Ichiban Kasuga (son, former subordinate)Masato Arakawa (adoptive son)Hikawa (former patriarch)Mitsuo Yasumura (subordinate)Reiji Ishioda (subordinate)Yosuke Tendo (subordinate)Masaru Watase (ally)Daigo Dojima (ally)Goro Majima (ally)Taiga Saejima (ally)Ryuhei Hoshino (acquaintance)Tora (former co-star) [2], To differentiate him from Kiryu, Ichiban is written to be less stoic and more emotive in comparison. Occupation Black, later graying Ichiban first appears in the 2018 Ryu ga Gotoku ONLINE, which presents an alternate version of his character arc following his release from prison. 39 (Wanderings of the Golden Dragon)62 (Yakuza: Like a Dragon)[a] Also, Sawashiro was too useful (as he is the captain) to be sent to jail. However, Sawashiro later claims that after Arakawa left with Sawashiro's son (Ryo Aoki), the owner of the local brothel came to pull another baby out of the locker (Ichiban Kasuga), who is Arakawa's actual son. Aliases A powerful skill that damages an enemy with an improvised weapon lying about the city. 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. Height Biographical Information He's got a big heart, but I just don't see an actual reason as to why he would get involved. Nanba explains the situation with the Ijin Three and shows Kasuga the severity of his bullet wound, which leads to him discovering a defective counterfeit 10,000 yen bill. Ichiban Kasuga - Kaiji Tang/ Kazuhiro Nakaya . The Hikawa Family regularly killed people without hesitation, which Masumi took advantage of, disposing of the bodies in Ijincho's Homeless Quarter in order to spend as much time in Yokohama as possible and track down the culprit behind his father's murder, with no leads except for the memory of the killer's face. The given birth years of 1959/1960 are an estimate based on Arakawa's age and are not intended as a substitute for an official date. Relationships The tattoo represents the strength and perseverance of the koi as it struggles upstream, as well as a greater destiny that lies ahead, as the koi has not fully finished its transformation into a dragon. His eyes are dark brown and described as having the "hard, flinty gaze of an old killer"[4] by the age of twenty. [3] Yokoyama positioned Ichiban's personality as the opposite of Kiryu's in many ways: "thoroughly uncomplicated, direct, cheerful, reckless". The game then dramatically rolls into a flashback from when Sawashiro was 15, and his girlfriend at the time was pregnant. Hoshino is able to get him to cheer up and suggests he run in the upcoming election to get close to Aoki. Yakuza Like a Dragon - Ichiban Confronts Masumi Arakawa Ichiban Kasuga (Japanese: , Hepburn: Kasuga Ichiban), also nicknamed Ichi (), is a character from Sega's Ryu ga Gotoku media franchise, known internationally as Yakuza. Is Arakawa the coolest character in Yakuza history? Appearance Although Black cards are normally upgraded versions of existing cards, SSR Masumi Arakawa (Black) is the first and only Black card to serve as a character's "debut" card. Kenyu Horiuchi After that, he was compelled to understand why Arakawa shot him and took one dirty job after another. Ichiban Kasuga was first publicly revealed in August 2017 as part of the developer's promotional efforts for the then-upcoming Ryu ga Gotoku ONLINE. [19], Ichiban has received a very positive response from the video game community following the release of Like a Dragon. Ichiban Kasuga ( , Kasuga Ichiban) is the protagonist of the Like a Dragon series from Yakuza: Like a Dragon onward, as well as the protagonist of The Legend of Ichiban Kasuga: Part 1 in Ryu Ga Gotoku Online. They explain their plan to their guests. [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. Kasuga bluffs to Aoki of having incriminating evidence to lure him and Tendo to the Millennium Tower. Out of all people Arakawa called Ichiban and asked him to do it . He can be unlocked after completing the single stage once. Ichiban Kasuga | Yakuza Wiki | Fandom Upon his release 18 years later, Ichiban discovers that Arakawa has apparently betrayed the rest of the Tojo Clan to the Omi Alliance, a rival yakuza organization based in Osaka, and finds himself stranded in the city of Yokohama after he is shot by Arakawa following an attempted confrontation. 1957[b] Year of Birth By Kasuga's release in 2019, Masumi had been appointed the acting captain of the Omi Alliance and continues to cooperate with Aoki. Tojo Clan (formerly)Arakawa Family (formerly)Ichiban Confections Patriarch of the Arakawa FamilyCaptain of the Omi Alliance *spoilers*" - Page 2. After working for Arakawa and doing whatever was asked of him, he got sent to prison for 18 years at Arakawa's request. Sawashiro tries to have Kasuga's finger cut off, but Arakawa interrupts them and takes Kasuga out for dinner. arakawa didnt know for sure. Y:LAD Y:LAD Interestingly, in the English dub, Saeko is voiced by Elizabeth Maxwell, and Nanoha is voiced by Cherami Leigh. Suddenly, a member of the Go-Ryu Clan appears, giving Han a chance to escape. Yokoyama does not believe in portraying unconditional good and evil, as he believes that people with criminal records are capable of righteousness, while members of society who are respected by the public are capable of evil. 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. [26], In a year as tough as 2020, many video game fans looked to the media as a vicarious escape from the misery of an unjust world. Appears In He has two character-specific jobs that remain exclusive to him; Also in Kasuga's arsenal is the Poundmates system, which allows him to summon various characters Kasuga and his team have befriended to give the party various buffs, and attack/de-buff enemies during battle. Theater actor (formerly)Member of the Hikawa Family (formerly)First patriarch of the Arakawa FamilyActing captain of the Omi Alliance Yakuza Like a Dragon - How Ichiban Became A Yakuza / Joined The Arakawa FamilyTwitter: https://twitter.com/Santosx07 [31] Naming Ichiban one of the best new characters of 2020, Destructoid staff observed that Ichiban managed to fill the void left by Kiryu "with relative ease", and that his immediate popularity with the video game community successfully secures the Yakuza franchise's future in their view. [16], Ichiban was generally well received by critics in their preview commentary of Like a Dragon. RGG Studios' chief producer Hiroyuki Sakamoto explained in an interview that Kasuga appears as a Trooper Card instead of a full character in Like a Dragon: Ishin! Ichiban is nursed back to health by Nanba, a local homeless man and disbarred nurse. Advances Heat Gauge by 200 at the start of battle. Arakawa is murdered shortly after he and Ichiban part ways, and Ichiban believes that Jo Sawashiro, one of Arakawa's captains, killed him. Before their fight escalates, Arakawa and Daigo Dojima explain that Arakawa's betrayal was planned by them and Masaru Watase in order to split the Omi forces between Tokyo and Osaka to make their plan of disbanding the Tojo and Omi easier to accomplish. Koichi Adachi is one of the members of Kasuga's party, a former cop who lost his job and pension due to corruption in the department. He explained to Kasuga that being a yakuza meant you had a reputation to uphold, and he would have lost face if he simply bowed his head and asked for him back. In 1984, the year the design of the 10,000 bill changed, he was gifted a defective counterfeit by Hoshino. A man who brought a teenaged Ichiban Kasuga back from death's door. Damage an enemy with a flying kick. Unaware that he was not the baby's biological father, he raised him as his own. For Yakuza: Like a Dragon on the PlayStation 4, a GameFAQs message board topic titled "What do you want to see in a sequel? [32][33] Anime News Network in particular enjoyed Tang's performance as "absolutely spot-on" due to the multiple expressions he gives to his character. After over 40 hours of gameplay, here is everything that happens at the end of "Yakuza: Like a Dragon.". Granted, he had a good reason to do so, but when it turns out that Ichiban is Arakawa's biological son, must've been quite painful for him to have to shoot his own son (or rather someone that he regarded as a son) just to get said plan going.. Afterwards, Zhao directs Kasuga to meet with Mitsuo, who is keeping a low profile. After vowing to make Kasuga pay for all the pain the Tojo Clan has inflicted to the Jingweon, Han and Kasuga start fighting. He spent most of his days fighting people for money, regardless of who they were. Ichiban goes to prison on the first night of the 21st century, and doesn't get out until 18 years later, with nearly two decades' worth of culture and change having passed him by, not to . Japanese In winter 1999, six years after joining the Arakawa Family, Kasuga is tasked to accompany Daisaku Kuze, who was recently released from prison, on a mission to assassinate Ryuji Goda and Joon-gi Han. Age English [17] GamesRadar enjoyed the game mechanics presented towards Ichiban and his allies, making their wait for the game's release worthwhile. A Chinese legend tells of a koi fish that ascended a great waterfall . Eye Color 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. Granted, he had a good reason to do so, but when it turns out that Ichiban is Arakawa's biological son, must've been quite painful for him to have to shoot his own son (or rather someone that he regarded as a son) just to get said plan going. We also get to see her twin sister Nanoha Mukoda in a smaller role during the main plotline. Ryu Ga Gotoku OnlineYakuza: Like a DragonLike a Dragon 8 Appears In Kasuga pleads to Aoki to start anew, but he is killed by Kume before he can do so. Tendo now has a chance at the top and shoots Masumi to get back in the Omi remnants' good graces after betraying them. In 1969, after the troupe's final show of the season in Isezaki Ijincho, Yokohama, Toshio planned to treat Masumi to Peking duck at a Chinese restaurant called Heian Tower. Chapter 12: The End of the Yakuza - Yakuza: Like a Dragon - GameFAQs After retrieving the baby from locker 0099, he rushed him to the hospital, where the baby was diagnosed with hypothermia-induced multiple organ failure. Y:LAD With the rough events, Kasuga starts to lose himself, but an exchange of blows with Kazuma Kiryu gets him back to his senses. After getting surgery in America, he gained the use of his legs and began trying to gather power, hoping to make up for the years when he felt helpless.