[4], Ichiban is an orphan raised in Kamuroch by Jiro Kasuga, the manager of a soapland, a type of prostitution establishment that provides its services based on the exploitation of a loophole in Japanese law. After Ichiban was shot by Masumi Arakawa and lost consciousness, Nanba saves his life and begins working with him. 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. Ichiban was designed by franchise developers Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio for Ryu ga Gotoku ONLINE, though a decision was later made by executive director and franchise creator Toshihiro Nagoshi and his team to position Ichiban as the lead character of future mainline entry games. Nationality Also Known As Although he appeared to have assistance from his men, raising Masato proved difficult. Kasuga puts all his energy into a single punch that may leave the enemy stunned. During a visit to the former Omi chairman's grave, Kasuga sees and calls out to him, but he feigns ignorance to avoid blowing his cover. Ichiban Kasuga Afterwards, Zhao directs Kasuga to meet with Mitsuo, who is keeping a low profile. Discover more experts answers from Gaming. However, that night at the restaurant, Toshio was murdered by a hitman sent by the Seiryu Clan. 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. Kasuga hypes himself up and attunes to the flow of battle, boosting his Evasion and Attack for 2 turns. His eyes are dark brown and described as having the "hard, flinty gaze of an old killer"[4] by the age of twenty. 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,. 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. Eye Color 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. Associations In December 31, 2000, Kasuga is on a collections job for Jo Sawashiro with Mitsuo Yasumura, interacting with his friends on the way. After he joins the yakuza, he slicks part of his hair back in a more clean-cut style. 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. Due to existing tensions with the Sakaki as well as the fact that they are a higher rank, Masumi would need to make amends. Arakawa, who serves as a father figure to protagonist Ichiban Kasuga, proved to be a much more compelling character than he thought. [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. Eye Color Eye Color [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. Arakawa is shot in the chest and dies a painful death, the last sight in his life being Tendo's smile. RGGO So after this, Kiryu and Saejima go to jail. Despite the amount of bloodshed throughout the story, this is one of the most optimistic endings in the series. 22 (Wanderings of the Golden Dragon)23-41 (The Legend of Ichiban Kasuga: Part 1) IchiIcchanKasugacchiSoapy IchibanIchi-badNumber One She joins the trio after tearfully asking for their help, and they eventually learn they might meet him at the Yokohama Trading Company. 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. 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. Also in 2017, the newly-elected Tokyo governor Aoki pressures the Arakawa Family into leaking Tojo Clan intel in order to dismantle it using the Kamurocho 3K Plan, threatening to use the anti-yakuza laws to arrest him if he did not comply. He asks Kasuga to turn himself in, telling him the lie that it was Sawashiro who committed the murder. So he asked his son to go in prison instead of Masato- that's what I dont understand. Place of Birth Part of his little finger on his left hand is missing. Its just a possiblity. Upon his return to Kamurocho, he crushed the Hikawa Family completely as vengeance. Would be cool if he knew the entire time after recruiting ichiban because he casually mentioned his mother's name in conversation, so he kept him close but it was too late to declare things. Masumi's first card in Ryu Ga Gotoku Online, SSR Masumi Arakawa (Black), was first released on September 24, 2020 and depicts the version of him seen in the main story of Ryu Ga Gotoku Online. He is more human than Kazama is. Physical We were still figuring the new protagonist out when Nagoshi said, "I want to burden this man with the name 'Ichiban.'" He also wears black leather loafers with gold buckles and a matching black leather belt with a gold buckle. https://twitter.com/airzach/status/1330802989183893504, Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name, KSR [Bullet with a Message] Masumi Arakawa (Y:LAD Kiwami), While Masumi's exact age is not stated in-game, the game files differentiate his models by age. Y:LAD They explain their plan to their guests. January 1, 1977[1] He believes that Ichiban fits the Yakuza setting due to his love for Dragon Quest, as well as his heroic demeanor which goes along the new type of gameplay Like a Dragon provided to the franchise. On the way, a helicopter spots them on a rooftop and Adachi stays behind. Only Ichiban, Sawashiro and Arakawa cared about Masato. Appears In Nakaya interpreted Ichiban as an energetic and vivid character when reading the script. 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. Year of Birth Appears In His default job is "Homeless Guy", which is a Squishy Wizard setup involving strong area-of-effect skills and strong debuffs. Out of all people Arakawa called Ichiban and asked him to do it . [6], Auditions of the character started early in development to appreciate him sooner. Relationships Counterpart Chris Moyse from Destructoid praised Ichiban's character arc for "masterfully blending stoicism, bravery, pathos, heroism, and just the right amount of complete and utter idiocy to immediately win the hearts of the Yakuza faithful". Having left a strong impression on Kasuga, he was followed back to the Arakawa Family office, where Kasuga waited outside every day for one hundred days straight until Masumi finally relented and accepted him into the Arakawa Family. Masumi was born in 1957 to Yoko Arakawa and Toshio 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. Araboshi-za (formerly)Tojo ClanOmi AllianceHikawa Family (formerly)Arakawa Family Aoki's arc is sad, as he spent the first several years of his life wheelchair-bound, feeling like he had no control over his life. Consequently, a storyline starring Ichiban would naturally include more comedic or goofy scenes due to the character's nature. Fighting Style Ichiban and the Ijin Three leaders resolve to field a candidate they would endorse to compete with Bleach Japan loyalist Souta Kume's candidacy for the upcoming regional representative election. He is a former member of the Arakawa Family, a Tojo Clan subsidiary. Japanese The announcement is made the following day, when Ichiban and company must fight off the angry former Yakuza. arakawa didnt know for sure. Hair Color Ichiban learns from Seiryu Clan chairman Ryuhei Hoshino that the counterfeit bill is proof that Arakawa shot him in a non-lethal manner to create a false impression of his demise. Arakawa is a yakuza and saved his life, he grew up in the slums where the proper Japanese job archetype would spit on his face and it's the Assassin that gives him a job and some sense of worth. The betrayal causes Tojo remnants to attack Masumi every once in a while, but he survives and climbs the ranks. They find Nanba collaborating with Mabuchi, Bleach Japan, and Hajime Ogasawara. Appearance The Rock Bottom DragonPrisoner 1119 Yakuza Like a Dragon - How Ichiban Became A Yakuza / Joined The Arakawa FamilyTwitter: https://twitter.com/Santosx07 Kasuga's unconscious body is placed in a homeless camp whose chief has a pact with the Arakawa Family and Masumi had secretly placed one of Ryuhei Hoshino's defective counterfeit bills in his suit's chest pocket as a message to Hoshino. Due to how often the troupe moved from place to place, Masumi never developed friendships in school. Ichiban declines, saying that his place is in Yokohama with his new friends. He meets Koichi Adachi, who did his research on Kasuga, but he is not interested in partnering with the detective. (Arakawa Masumi) RGGO Yakuza Like a Dragon - Arakawa Death Scene / Ichiban And Arakawa Catch UpTwitter: https://twitter.com/Santosx07 Kasuga asked him why he would go to such lengths for someone he didn't even know, to which Arakawa responded, "Maybe I just wanted to look cool in front of a kid who knew who I was.". They sneak through the sewers and rooftops to where Arakawa is. If you have any familiarity with the "Yakuza" franchise, you know that developer Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio likes to blend soap opera-style drama with absurd gameplay and side stories. Japanese Although beloved, he lived in poverty and the people who raised him were considered "trash" by the rest of society. Member of the Arakawa Family (formerly)President of Ichiban ConfectionsLeader of the Kasuga PartyIndependent politician 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.. Ichiban is nursed back to health by Nanba, a local homeless man and disbarred nurse. 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. 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. Japanese 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. 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. Arakawa offered them his finger in exchange for Kasuga's freedom and the men quickly let Kasuga go. They beat Kasuga to the brink of death, and fearing for his life he blurted out the name of a feared yakuza, Masumi Arakawa, saying that if they killed him they'd be hearing from him; in reality, he had never met the man and was only aware of him due to his reputation as "Killer" Arakawa. As Ichiban and company prepare for Arakawa and Aoki's funeral, Ichiban says that he doesn't feel the need to get a DNA test to prove if Arakawa was his real father, because he feels as though Arakawa was his father regardless. Kasuga Ichiban (Ryu Ga Gotoku Ishin! Aoki admits that he is the one who committed the murder that sent Ichiban to prison years ago. 1959/1960[d] Physical He appears to have a relatively slim build. Daigo wants Ichiban to not place all the blame on Arakawa. Actors Biographical Information He ended up joining the yakuza at the age of seventeen under the Hikawa Family, a Tojo Clan subsidiary. At Omi Alliance headquarters, Masumi interrupts Goro Majima and Taiga Saejima's fight against Kasuga and his party and introduces the latter to Dojima. [7] Following the worldwide release of Like A Dragon by late 2020, Nakaya indicated in an interview with Famitsu that Ichiban will lead the series for the foreseeable future, and that he was grateful for the support from Takaya Kuroda, Kiryu's voice actor, with regards to the transition. arakawa didnt know for sure. Patriarch of the Arakawa FamilyCaptain of the Omi Alliance Tojo Clan (formerly)Arakawa Family (formerly) He also discovers that the anti-crime activist group Bleach Japan is indirectly responsible for Nonomiya's death. Occupation [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. The Yakuza franchise's developers, Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio, wanted to create a new lead character to continue the narrative of the fictional universe they have created. After a discussion between Yokoyama and Nagoshi, Nakaya was chosen for the role. and our Masumi's body was thrown in the river and recovered the next morning. Ichiban first appears in the 2018 Ryu ga Gotoku ONLINE, which presents an alternate version of his character arc following his release from prison.