Kasuga wakes up under a pile of garbage in Isezaki Ijincho, having been patched up by Yu Nanba. 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. Counterpart Appears In For each Attack-type ally, nullifies 15% of all damage received (except damage received from status abnormalities) and accelerates all allies' cooldown timers by 15%. In 2019, now 42, Kasuga is freed from prison with no one from his old days waiting for him. Japanese Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio, character_model_model_data (.BIN file), ONLINEPS, , Yakuza: Like a Dragon Playable Characters, Ryu Ga Gotoku Online#Wanderings of the Golden Dragon, https://www.thegamer.com/like-a-dragon-ishin-interview-hiroyuki-sakamoto/. During recording of the game, Tang befriended Greg Chun, who voices supporting character 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. There, they meet the Liumang leader Tianyou Zhao and convince both him and Mamoru Takabe to stand down temporarily. It had the words "Neither justice nor mercy should tip the scale." 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. Sawashiro felt indebted to the man raising his child and joined his Yakuza family. After he joins the yakuza, he slicks part of his hair back in a more clean-cut style. Tendo now has a chance at the top and shoots Masumi to get back in the Omi remnants' good graces after betraying them. Following his defeat, Sawashiro informs Ichiban that Arakawa's son was switched for his own son as an infant, and implies that Arakawa may have been Ichiban's birth father all along. [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. Kaiji Tang shares his experiences voicing Ichiban in Yakuza: Like a Dragon", "Kaiji Tang Interview - Ichiban's voice talks Yakuza: Like a Dragon, 13 Sentinels & Trails of Cold Steel", "Say Hello To Kazuga Ichiban, The Next Hero Of The Yakuza Series", "Ichiban Kasuga Teaches Everyone How to Make an Omelet", "Yakuza Series April Fool Joke Involves Ichiban Kasuga In An RPG Battle", "Yakuza SuperGroupies Items Are Inspired By Kiryu, Majima, and Kasuga", "Smell Like Kazuma Kiryu and Ichiban Kasuga With the Latest Yakuza Colognes", "Yakuza: Like A Dragon - Everything We Know About Sega's Newest Yakuza Game", "Yakuza: Like a Dragon preview: What turn-based combat means for a Yakuza lover and JRPG hater", "Yakuza: Like a Dragon Cosplay Performance Is Impressively Accurate", "Best Games Of 2020 - Yakuza: Like A Dragon", "Yakuza: Like a Dragon's secret weapon isn't a magic baseball bat, it's optimism", Ichiban Kasuga Is A Worthy Successor To The Yakuza Throne, "Yakuza's Ichiban Kasuga is an awesome dude, and his story may have only just begun", "Ichiban Kasuga hat das, was vielen Helden fehlt: ein groes Herz und Emotionen", "Yakuza: Like a Dragon Proves that It's Time for the Yakuza Series to Grow Up", "2020 may have been a crap year but it gave us some amazing new characters", "2020's best video game hero exposes the worst part of 'Last of Us 2', "Yakuza's Ichiban Is the Most Important Protagonist of the Year", "Yakuza's Latest Protagonist Is The Hero I Need Right Now", "Yakuza: Like a Dragon reinvigorates the series, but can't shake all of Yakuza's flaws", "Yakuza: Like a Dragon Review Xbox One, Xbox Series S/X, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Steam", "I Wish Kingdom Hearts' Sora Was More Like Yakuza's Ichiban Kasuga", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ichiban_Kasuga&oldid=1126987462, This page was last edited on 12 December 2022, at 08:29. Overview Gallery The incident had a profound effect on Masumi, who spent the next seven years searching for the killer. IchiIcchanKasugacchiSoapy IchibanIchi-badNumber One 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. Kazama machinations are pretty much the plot calls for it, whereas Arakawa is basically a tired dad that wants the fighting to stop, but will fight as needed. [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. Kasuga puts all his energy into a single punch that may leave the enemy stunned. 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. Arakawa asks Kasuga to shoulder the blame and go to prison on Sawashiro's behalf, and that he is banished from the family. At the Arakawas' funeral, Kasuga turns down an invitation into a security firm by the ex-Tojo and Omi officers to stay with his newfound treasured friends in Ijincho, and reflects on Aoki's last words to him. Kasuga is also a huge fan of Dragon Quest, a video game he loved to play ever since his youth. Search for hidden treasures scattered throughout the city. Japanese Afterwards, Ichiban gets to reunite with Arakawa, whom he tells he feels is like a surrogate father, and the two share a nice moment. [18] Eurogamer describes him as a kind character due to how Ichiban aims to become a hero regardless of not being as intelligent as other Yakuza main characters. [14][9] A line of Yakuza franchise merchandise developed by apparel company SuperGroupie was launched in June 2021, including watches, bags, jackets, and shoes, all of which will have details inspired by Ichiban's appearances in the games. 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. Masumi's body was thrown in the river and recovered the next morning. Now, he is given the opportunity to pursue whatever he wants alongside his friends. In Ryu Ga Gotoku Online, he is the patriarch of the Arakawa Family and the captain of the Omi Alliance. Create an account to follow your favorite communities and start taking part in conversations. Associations It depicts a dragonfish (, rygyo), the in-between state of the koi in the legend of a koi that swims up to the top of a waterfall and is rewarded for its tenacity by being transformed into a dragon. After Aoki dies, the game cuts to Juro Horinouchi, the Kamurocho police commissioner who worked closely with Aoki and took money from him. The game follows Ichiban Kasuga, who spends 18 years in prison for a murder that he didn't commit at the request of his patriarch, Masumi Arakawa. May instantly knock out the enemy. 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. 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. Nicknames But more towards that arakawa didnt know. [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. The three are directed to Otohime Land to work for Isao Nonomiya, and rescue Nanoha Mukoda from having to pay large fees to Sunlight Castle, and meet Ryuhei Hoshino, who recognizes the bill. 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. Japanese Physical Place of Birth Araboshi-za (formerly)Tojo ClanOmi AllianceHikawa Family (formerly)Arakawa Family In Chapter 12 of the game, Ichiban and his crew make their way through the Tojo clan headquarters, eventually meeting back up with Masumi Arakawa. Despite his efforts, this only fanned the flames of the existing rivalry between the Arakawa Family and the Sakaki Family. [19], Ichiban has received a very positive response from the video game community following the release of Like a Dragon. 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. Associations Privacy Policy. A masked Joon-gi Han frees them and they rush to Chinatown to stop a war between the Liumang and the Seiryu Clan. While it is never revealed that Sawashiro was telling the truth, Ichiban still felt as though both he and Aoki were sons to Arakawa. 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. [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. He briefly became an antagonist and was the final boss for Kiryu in Yakuza 4. 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). By using our Services, you agree to our use of cookies. Boosts their criticality rate by up to 80% for 8 seconds. Aliases 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 ? Cost decreases with each level. Part of his little finger on his left hand is missing. [2] As a major story theme in Like A Dragon concerns the struggles of individuals who are not clearly defined by moral absolutes, this allowed the game's writers to position Ichiban from a perspective that humanizes such individuals as common everyday people. Member of the Arakawa Family (formerly) 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. He is the new main protagonist of the Yakuza series, succeeding Kazuma Kiryu. 6 Persona Connection. He also wears black leather loafers with gold buckles and a matching black leather belt with a gold buckle. On New Year's Eve in 2000, Arakawa takes Ichiban Kasuga out for Peking duck, but all restaurants serving it are closed. Aliases By 1980, he managed to track down his father's killer: Ryuhei Hoshino. The patriarch of Hikawa Family eventually arranged a relationship between his daughter and Masumi. A destitute Ichiban starts a new life and forges new connections in an unfamiliar city, where he is eventually thrust into a conspiracy involving a money laundering scheme which involves Japan's political establishment. Age English He asks Kasuga to turn himself in, telling him the lie that it was Sawashiro who committed the murder. Knowing that they couldn't face so many enemies at once Ryuji and Han decide to split up. He also discovers that the anti-crime activist group Bleach Japan is indirectly responsible for Nonomiya's death. The game then dramatically rolls into a flashback from when Sawashiro was 15, and his girlfriend at the time was pregnant. Nationality 18 years later, Ichiban is released from prison. Relationships He learns Aoki had ensorsed Sota Kume for an election. At the funeral, Daigo offers Ichiban a job at a security company. Eye Color One of Like a Dragon's main characters is Saeko Mukoda, a mama at a hostess bar who joins Ichiban's party. With the rough events, Kasuga starts to lose himself, but an exchange of blows with Kazuma Kiryu gets him back to his senses. Appears In Through Shuichi Kanbe, the duo find jobs. 23-41 (The Legend of Ichiban Kasuga: Part 1). Prior to this, his hair was styled into a much shorter punch perm, growing out long enough during his time in prison to be tied into a short ponytail. Sawashiro reveals that he did not commit the murder all those years ago, but it was in fact Arakawa's own son. Affiliation Date of Birth Nationality "[2] Realizing that this new protagonist could serve as the franchise's "catalyst for change" by moving away from the exploration of a modern version of a typical Japanese hero in Kiryu, Yokoyama set about creating and portraying a "life-sized hero", a protagonist who is essentially a "normal guy" who is not as strong or mature as Kiryu. After vowing to make Kasuga pay for all the pain the Tojo Clan has inflicted to the Jingweon, Han and Kasuga start fighting. He is clean shaven in his younger years but has a small goatee on his chin by his most recent appearance in 2018. Any other thug would simply refuse to go to jail for Sawashiro/Masato. Nanba joins Kasuga after Yokohama Liumang member Zheng demands payment from the homeless, and the two drive him off. 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. Part of his little finger on his left hand is missing. Masumi talks about his concerns with Masato and his plans for post-yakuza life and Kasuga expresses his desire to be a family again. English Espaol - Latinoamrica (Spanish - Latin America). His plans, besides shooting Ichiban, actually make a lot more sense than Kazama. Due to existing tensions with the Sakaki as well as the fact that they are a higher rank, Masumi would need to make amends. The Hope of KamurochoPrisoner 1119 Associations 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 . Kasuga decided then and there he'd follow Arakawa for the rest of his life. Ichiban is nursed back to health by Nanba, a local homeless man and disbarred nurse. It is the second card released as part of a series of SSR cards known as Black cards, which center around various antagonists in the Yakuza series. In Yakuza: Like a Dragon, he is the first patriarch of the Arakawa Family and the acting captain of the Omi Alliance. [6], Auditions of the character started early in development to appreciate him sooner. He was the Patriach of his family surely he could've found someone else to take Aoki's place right ? We were still figuring the new protagonist out when Nagoshi said, "I want to burden this man with the name 'Ichiban.'" 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.". After defeating them, Kasuga learns that Ryo Aoki is actually the supposedly-dead Masato Arakawa. Aliases Kasuga hypes himself up and attunes to the flow of battle, boosting his Evasion and Attack for 2 turns. [29] Chingy Nea from Kotaku praised Ichiban as the Yakuza series most relatable protagonist and one of its best characters, and the main reason why Like a Dragon was a source of comfort and joy for her in late-2020. Hair Color There, he explains that Arakawa is at peace, and that Ichiban should get revenge on Aoki. Damage an enemy with an onslaught of headbutts. Really cool twist but I can't believe Arakawa never knew under these circumstances. Daigo says that together with the Omi Alliance, they would disband both Yakuza organizationsto prevent the Yakuza way of life from being twisted by the government. Black Unaware that he was not the baby's biological father, he raised him as his own. So after this, Kiryu and Saejima go to jail. Initially a street thug, Daigo becomes the Sixth Chairman of the Tojo Clan by Kazuma Kiryu's recommendation, representing a new generation of yakuza. Ryu Ga Gotoku OnlineYakuza: Like a Dragon Between 1978 and 1982, he established the Arakawa Family, a third-tier organization within the Tojo Clan's ranks. 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. Press J to jump to the feed. 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. Kasuga bluffs to Aoki of having incriminating evidence to lure him and Tendo to the Millennium Tower. Also, Sawashiro was too useful (as he is the captain) to be sent to jail. Here, it is revealed that Governor Ryo Aoki (who is also Masato Arakawa, the son of Masumi) was able to drive crime, and the Yakuza, out of Kamurocho using information from Arakawa with Daigo's permission.