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Shintaro Kazama is one of the overarching protagonists in the Like a Dragon (Ryū ga Gotoku, formerly known as Yakuza in the west) franchise, specifically serving as one of the overarching protagonist of the Yakuza Saga.
He is the patriarch of the Tojo Clan's Kazama Family, the former captain of the Dojima Family, and the owner of the Sunflower Orphanage, where he raised Kazuma Kiryu, Akira Nishikiyama, and Yumi Sawamura, among others. He was the main reason why Kiryu became a yakuza and also was responsible for making him the Fourth Chairman of the Tojo Clan.
He was voiced by the late Tetsuya Watari. In the English dub for the first game, he was voiced by Roger L. Jackson.
His Good Ranking[]
What Makes Him Admirable?[]
- After feeling remorse for the murders he caused, he opened Sunflower Orphanage, where he housed the children of the people he murdered.
- During the events of Yakuza 0, despite being in prison, he sets up a plan to prevent his corrupt boss Sohei Dojima from getting his hands on the Empty Lot, as this would result in Dojima gaining full control of the Tojo Clan as he would become its third chairman. This plan involved colluding with Tetsu Tachibana, helping him set up a Real Estate business that Kazama's adopted son Kiryu would join, both so that Kiryu could help him bring down Dojima and so that Kiryu could hopefully find a life that isn't in the yakuza world. The latter reasoning shows that Kazama cares for Kiryu as he didn't want him tied up in the dangerous yakuza society.
- His plan ends up being successful as his ally Masaru Sera, president of the Nikkyo Consortium, gets ownership of the Empty Lot, instead of Dojima, after he worked with Goro Majima. This leads to Dojima's downfall as Sera becomes the Captain, and later Third Chairman, of the Tojo Clan.
- When an assassin sent by Kyohei Jingu attempts to kill Yumi Sawamura and her baby daughter Haruka, Kazama appeared and shot the assassin, saving the two of them. He also talked to Sera, who was in on the plans as he was in leagues with Jingu at the time, shaming him for being willing to sacrifice Yumi and Haruka and convincing him to betray Jingu. Kazama, Yumi and Sera all work together to steal ten billion yen from Jingu, which in turn kickstarts the event of Yakuza (and by extension its remake Yakuza Kiwami).
- He indirectly released Kiryu from prison after he took fall for Nishikiyama after the latter murdered Sohei Dojima.
- It is revealed he saved Kiryu from being tortured at the hands of Lau Ka Long and the Snake Flower Triad.
- He sacrifices his life to save Haruka from a grenade that Futoshi Shimano threw at them.
- In Yakuza 2 it is revealed in the past he saved a young Kiryu's life by shooting the leader of the Jingweon Mafia after he tried to kill him as Kiryu attacked the Jingweon leader due to thinking Kazama was in danger. Before being interrupted by Kiryu, he tried to convince the Jingweon leader to leave this building along with his men as him and Shimano were ordered by Dojima to lead a raid there, which the ruthless Shimano sadistically followed.
- Also during the Jingweon Massacre he managed to spare two Jingweon men, Yeongmin Ji and Daejim Kim, the latter of whom later became Kazama's ally and changed his name to Yukio Terada.
- Overall, he passes the admirable standards due to having less screentime compared to other characters and managing to oversee the downfall of the vile Sohei Dojima and sacrificing his life to save Haruka.
What Makes Him Inconsistent?[]
- Kazama overall could be considered an anti-hero and/or morally grey, due to the reasons below.
- Being a hitman who killed a number of people, even if he did later regret this, it is still too violent for him to be NPG or PG.
- Still taking part in the Jingweon Massacre as ordered to by Sohei Dojima, even if he was reluctant and spared as many members as he could.
- In Yakuza 0, Elder Chen states Kazama, as well as Dojima, was involved in a dispute involving his Chinese mafia ending in a brutal attack where many innocent women and children were killed in the crossfires.
- He reveals to Kiryu he killed his parents, as well as the parents of everyone else who lived at Sunflower Orphanage.
- Flashbacks in Yakuza 0 reveal that Kazama beat up Kiryu and Nishiki when they tell him that they want to become yakuza like him. While it could be argued that it is understandable as the yakuza society is very dangerous and Kazama was likely juat looking out for the two, this is still him showing abuse to his adoptive sons.
Trivia[]
- He and Masayoshi Tanimura are currently the two Like a Dragon characters to be considered Inconsistently Admirable.
External links[]
- Shintaro Kazama on the Heroes Wiki.
- Shintaro Kazama on the Yakuza/Like a Dragon Wiki.
- Shintaro Kazama on the Magnificent Baddie Wiki.
- Shintaro Kazama on the Guile Heroes Wiki.