|
"Mature Content Warning!"
The content featured in this article may feature mature subjects or situations that aren't suitable for younger viewers. If you are 18 years or older or if you're comfortable viewing graphic material, feel free to view this page. |
| “ | Brother! Hold out! Someday... if the time ever comes where you have to cross that line... then I'll cross it with you! | „ |
| ~ Nishiki begging Kiryu not to kill Shibusawa, Yakuza 0 |
| “ | Who did you say was inept? Who'd you say has less potential than Kiryu? Here's a gift you can bring to hell with you... The man who killed Dojima... It was me! And don't forget it.
|
„ |
| ~ Nishikiyama to Matsushige before stabbing him and killing him, followed by his declaration to surpass Kiryu, transforming into the ruthless yakuza boss that Kiryu would encounter in Yakuza 1/Kiwami's main story. |
| “ | Ten years in the joint made you a f*cking p*ssy! | „ |
| ~ Nishikiyama's most infamous line towards Kiryu in the English dub of Yakuza. |
| “ | The responsibility is mine... so let me do this. | „ |
| ~ Nishikiyama's last words before aiming his gun at the remote bomb and pulling the trigger, ultimately destroys the ¥10 billion, Jingu and himself in an explosion, garnering some redemption for his actions. |
Akira Nishikiyama or Akira Nishiki (in the English dub for the first three games) also known by his nickname Nishiki is a major character in the Yakuza/Like a Dragon franchise.
He is the first patriarch of the Nishikiyama family and the former sworn brother of main protagonist Kazuma Kiryu, who serves as one of the two main antagonists (along with Kyohei Jingu) in the first Yakuza and its remake Yakuza Kiwami, a major allied/supporting character in the prequel Yakuza 0, and a posthumous character in Yakuza 2, Yakuza Kiwami 2, and Yakuza 3.
He was voiced by Kazuhiro Nakaya in the Japanese dub and voiced by Michael Rosenbaum in the English dub of the PS2 version of the first Yakuza.
What Makes Him a Base Breaking Character?[]
What Do People Like About Him?[]
In General[]
- He has a very cool and attractive appearance in both Yakuza 0 and Yakuza Kiwami.
- His Japanese' VA, Kazuhiro Nakaya gives an amazing performance as Nishiki that sounds relaxing and magnificent.
- He's considered one of the most complex and best written Yakuza characters ever created all thanks to Yakuza 0 and Kiwami giving him more depth.
Yakuza 0[]
- He is introduced as one of Kiryu's closest pals in 0, and he and Kiryu spent a lot of time together doing activities like karaoke, bowling, and dancing on the disco floor. And his interactions with his friends and loved ones are both comforting and amusing, making fans of Yakuza 1 and Kiwami sadder before and after the release of Yakuza 0.
- He and Kiryu would have an emotional scene when Nishiki is unable to kill Kiryu, bursting into tears, and telling Kiryu he is nothing without him.
- On that note, his voice actor, Kazuhiro Nakaya gives a tearjerking performance during that scene.
- During Yakuza 0 he has shown himself to be loyal and helpfully to his friends and allies. Some examples included:
- Refusing his fellow men's orders to kill Kiryu when the two meet each other again after the former's attempted assassination on Kiryu, instead joining forces with the latter to help him fight off the Dojima Family in order to find Tetsu Tachibana and defeat Daisuku Kuze and his men who were holding Tachibana captive, even when the Dojima Family men offered him credit if he succeeds.
- Refusing to reveal Kiryu and Makoto Makimura' current locations to Goro Majima when he arrives at Serena with the intention of demanding him their locations even fighting Majima in order to protect them under the guise that Majima's here to get them. before they fight, he ironically saying that he won't betray his brother, and he would fight Majima to tried to protect Kiryu and Makoto, beginning a fight between two iconic characters of the series, the rival turned anti-heroic ally of Kiryu and eventual Ascended Extra (Majima) and the ally turned main antagonist of the first game (Nishiki).
- His theme during this fight "For Buddy" is beloved from fans due to this being associated with a more friendly and innocent Nishiki before his transformation into the main villain that Kiryu would face in 1.
- Assisting Kiryu in defeating the Dojima Family and rescuing Makoto from Keiji Shibusawa. When Kiryu won the fight against Shibusawa and was ready to kill him due to the former's actions, Nishiki came just in time and urgently (and ironically) tells Kiryu that he "can't cross that line," making Nishiki part of the reason why Kiryu hasn't killed anybody in his yakuza career.
Yakuza 1/Kiwami[]
- Many fans believed that some of his kills towards other characters were deserved considered what those characters have done. These characters are;
- Sohei Dojima, whom Nishiki shot and killed in anger when the former attempted to rape Nishiki's childhood friend, Yumi Sawamura. Considering what Dojima have also done prior to his death, such as the events of Yakuza 0 and ordering the Jingweon Massacre, which became a plot point in Yakuza 2/Kiwami 2, many fans agree that his death was well deserved.
- And Matsushige, whom Nishiki stabs and murders for repeatedly insulting and mocking him; many fans believe Matsushige's death at the hands of Nishiki was well-deserved as the latter would cause trouble for Nishiki such as purposely doing business in Kashwagi's turf in order for his boss to get in trouble with the latter, and having Nishiki beg resulting in Matsushige putting his foot on Nishiki's head with a smile on his face.
- Fans who saw the heartbreaking scenes in Kiwami that concluded with Nishiki becoming the cold-hearted adversity that Kiryu would confront in the main story felt bad for Nishiki and what he had to go through, such as being disrespected by his subordinates, having to deal with being chewed out by his superiors as in the case of Kashwagi and Futoshi Shimano and grieving by letting out a Skyward Scream when he felt like he was humiliated and defeated when the doctor scammed him out of his money resulting in his sister, Yuko's death resulting in Nishikiyama attempt to commit suicide up until Matsushige came in the room and disrespected him again, comparing him to Kiryu which sends him over to the edge resulting in the latter's well deserved death by Nishiki.
- Some fans would even claim that the added Nishiki scenes was one of, if not the best addition to the Kiwami remake even to some fans who might think Kiwami's story was a mess as they found his Start of Darkness to be both tragic and interesting.
- He has many Evil Is Cool moments that makes him beloved by fans despite his villainous personality at this point. Some examples include the leading a huge yakuza subsidiary group that would make him a strong pillar of the Tojo Clan which rivals that of Shimano and Shintaro Kazama, the aforementioned performance from Nakaya and his final boss fight with Kiryu.
- On that side note, his final boss fight in Kiwami with Kiryu is incredible, with the Dynamic Intro showing both men discarding their shirts to reveal their tattoos on their backs before fighting till the bitter end and being evenly matched. The fight is also tragic, with the Kiwami remix of "For Whose Sake" and the flashbacks that occur throughout it, which some fans regarding Nishikiyama's final fight as the best Yakuza final boss fight ever.
- His boss fight in the English dub of the PS2 version of the first Yakuza is also unintentionally hilariously due to Michael Rosenbaum's performance to the point where some of those voice lines became huge memes in the Yakuza/Like a Dragon community with the most popular being "Ten years in the joint made you a f*cking p*ssy!"
- On that side note, his final boss fight in Kiwami with Kiryu is incredible, with the Dynamic Intro showing both men discarding their shirts to reveal their tattoos on their backs before fighting till the bitter end and being evenly matched. The fight is also tragic, with the Kiwami remix of "For Whose Sake" and the flashbacks that occur throughout it, which some fans regarding Nishikiyama's final fight as the best Yakuza final boss fight ever.
- He redeems himself by ambushing and stabbing Kyohei Jingu with a knife when the latter tries to kill Kiryu, Yumi, and her daughter Haruka. Nishikiyama would then direct his gun at the explosive in the vault, preparing to blow it up. Despite Kiryu's pleas, Nishiki pulls the trigger, blowing up himself and Jingu and launching the ¥10 billion into the streets of Kamurocho to atone for his misdeeds. Fans consider this to be one of the series' saddest and most heartbreaking death scenes. His death is also played for sympathy as Nishikiyama felt like his efforts were all for nothing.
- He is also indirectly responsible for making one of the main characters of Yakuza 4 and a fan-favorite character, Shun Akiyama, rich, as Akiyama (who was homeless at the time) was near the Millennium Tower when Nishiki blew the bomb, and he would collect ¥1 million until he got tired. Akiyama would later amass a net worth of over ¥100 billion and earn himself the title of "The Lifeline of Kamurocho."
- Despite his actions in the first Yakuza game and the Kiwami remake, many people still miss Nishiki after his death due to his fleshed-out character and he is considered to be one of the most tragic Yakuza characters ever written. It also helps the fact that prior to Yakuza 0 and Kiwami's release. Nishiki is considered an underdeveloped villain compared to other main villains of the time such as Ryuji Goda from Yakuza 2 and Yoshitaka Mine from Yakuza 3 who are considered to be better written than him.
What Do People Hate About Him?[]
- He is considered to be underdeveloped and flat writing wise before Yakuza 0 and Kiwami's releases, especially when compared to other main villains around that time such as Ryuji and Mine. It doesn't help the fact that he barely gets screentime to develop before his death.
- In Yakuza 0, some people believe he is overly emotional especially during the car scene with Kiryu to the point where Yakuza 0 Nishiki is memed as a crybaby.
- Some detractors feel like Nishikiyama stabbing Matsushige and using his blood to slick back his hair was done just to make him look more edgy.
- His betrayal in Yakuza 1/Kiwami was considered as poorly pieced together, even with the additional scenes in Kiwami that explained his Start of Darkness which don’t justify his crimes through the narrative.
- Despite redeeming himself by blowing Jingu and himself up and sending the ¥10 billion down the streets, many of his detractors find him too easily forgiven by the story when Kiryu forgave Nishiki with barely any discomfort, not helped that his family would continue to bother and harass Kiryu and cause problems with the Tojo Clan even after his death up until Yakuza 3 when the family finally dissolves.
- Despite the fact that Kiryu felt bad for Nishiki and even misses him years after his death, including paying respects to his grave, and singing karaoke songs that are tributes to him such as Tonight -restart from this night-, and Baka Darou, most of Nishiki's detractors feel like it would be better if Kiryu doesn't forgive Nishiki and that he shouldn't take the blame for Dojima's murder for Nishiki.
Trivia[]
- Nishikiyama is currently the icon of the "Video Game Base Breaking Characters" category.
- Due to similarities in their personality and story, some people considered Nishikiyama to be the Like A Dragon equivalent to Anakin Skywalker.
External Links[]
- Akira Nishikiyama on the Yakuza Wiki
- Akira Nishikiyama on the Heroes Wiki
- Akira Nishikiyama on the Villains Wiki
- Akira Nishikiyama on Wikipedia
- Akira Nishikiyama on the Likability Scaling Purgatory Wiki
[]
 Base Breaking Characters
| ||
|
Yakuza 0 Yakuza/Yakuza Kiwami Yakuza 2/Kiwami 2 Yakuza 4 Yakuza 5 Yakuza 6 Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth |
||