5 most memorable antagonists in the Yakuza franchise
If there’s anything Yakuza is known for as a franchise, it's the antagonists. They widely range in character and background as well. Some have terrible yet sympathetic falls from grace, others are jealous of Kiryu, and the rest are just unrepentantly vile with zero redeeming characteristics.
Kiryu and Ichiban are both wholesome characters who fans have come to love over the years. But what about the antagonists of this franchise? Which characters have come to be unforgettable?
It’s important to note that this list is not ranked. The way these characters appeal to players will often vary, and these are not the only memorable characters that Kiryu and Ichiban wind up fighting. As intense, story-driven games, the foes Kiryu fights need to be memorable. They need to have plenty of depth.
Despite many of them being criminals, they have origins and backstories that have ultimately led them to this place, standing at odds against Kiryu. Not all of them are even especially bad people.
Every villain in the series is different, but these stand heads and tails above the rest.
This list will contain spoilers for the Yakuza franchise.
Ryo Aoki is the final boss of Yakuza: Like a Dragon, and for the early part of the game, he’s just the son of a Yakuza, bound to a wheelchair. The visual changes between “Ryo Aoki” and “Masato Arakawa” are incredible, and so is the governor of Tokyo and founder of Bleach Japan, throughout the events of the game.
Masato Arakawa basically did not exist. Ostracized for being the son of a Yakuza Patriarch, it changed the character’s view of the world in a dark way. Changing up his name and his physical features, he chose to be a politician. Instead of developing empathy for other people that suffer, he chose to
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