is a character and the initial main protagonist of Sega's action-adventure beat 'em up Japanese role-playing game franchise Yakuza / Like a Dragon. He is popularly known as due to the tattoo of a dragon on his back and him originally being a fearsome member of the yakuza group known as the Dojima Family, a subsidiary of the Tojo Clan.
Kiryu was introduced in the series' 2005 debut game, where he took the blame for his boss's death to protect his sworn-brother Akira Nishikiyama, resulting in his expulsion from the clan and a ten-year stay in prison. After leaving prison, he fights against the new threats in his life, during which he meets Haruka Sawamura, to whom he eventually becomes an adoptive father.
Kiryu is voiced by Takaya Kuroda in Japanese and by Darryl Kurylo (2005, 2020) and Yong Yea (2023–present) in the series' English-dubbed releases. Besides the main series, Kiryu has also appeared in three live-action Like a Dragon projects: two films and a television series, as well as other video games including Project X Zone 2 and as downloadable content in the spin-off game, Fist of the North Star: Lost Paradise.
Sega producer Toshihiro Nagoshi stated he was created to appeal to a broad audience. Kiryu was the sole playable character for the first three games; in the next three, additional playable characters are included, causing him to take on a smaller role. He was once again the sole playable character in the series' seventh main installment, Yakuza 6: The Song of Life. The eighth installment, Yakuza: Like a Dragon, stars a new protagonist, Ichiban Kasuga, though Kiryu makes an appearance as a supporting character. Kiryu returns as the main protagonist in the spinoff title Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name, and is one of the two main protagonists, alongside Kasuga, in Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, which would be his final journey as he now has cancer and has merely months to live.
Critical reception to Kiryu has been generally positive. Several critics have praised how Kiryu, despite his history as a yakuza, stood out because of his kindness and character development across the series' story.
Creation and development Concept
In creating Kazuma Kiryu, there were some issues regarding how realistic his position and age were. Scenario editor Hase Seishu told the staff the positions were too high for his age and thus Kiryu's age was revised. When describing Kiryu, the staff found his position would be of the noble samurai type who would often protect others. Although Kiryu is the player character for Yakuza, Nagoshi refrained from calling him the protagonist as the narrative was focused on the character Haruka Sawamura who has a character arc instead in the game. The same basis was used for Yakuza 2 where the narrative focuses more on the new character Kaoru Sayama rather than Kiryu. In localizing the games, the character was often referred to by his first name, but by Yakuza 4, producer Yasuhiro Noguchi made him most commonly called Kiryu in an attempt to make him fit with the other main characters also called by their last names. Kiryu was made to be a modern version of a typical Japanese hero. He was conceived as strong samurai-like character, inspired by the main characters in traditional Japanese "Ninkyo" movies.
Personality and development Nagoshi believed that the tale of Kazuma Kiryu had yet to be completed following the release of the second game. As a result, he had Kiryu and Haruka trying to live a "more 'human' life" throughout Yakuza 3. For this game Nagoshi stated Kiryu was highly different from an iconic hero as a result of the way he enjoys his life. Furthermore, Nagoshi said this difference is shown across the series. Nagoshi thanked staff member and series writer Masayoshi Yokoyama that the team could further develop Kiryu's appeal across the franchise. The inclusion of Kiryu running an orphanage for Yakuza 3 was enjoyed by Yokoyama despite rewriting this subplot multiple times. Originally, Kiryu was meant to go to prison once again but because it was going to be obvious they changed his story in this game. Due to Kiryu taking care of the orphans, Yokoyama feared the character became too kind. Initially, there were issues within the Sega staff with regard to how Kiryu would act in the game. Designer Ryosuke Horii came up with the idea of expanding the idea of minigames to the point where the character would do karaoke or go fishing if the player wanted. This was discouraged by Sega as it would be out of character for Kiryu, especially his actor. Horii defended his idea as Kiryu had been viewed as a permanently frowning man and by doing these minigames, Kiryu would come across as a cooler character. Soon Horii's idea was approved by Nagoshi among other members of the team at least as a try.
Across all these games, the development team developed a sturdy understanding of his personality, and there was a lot of effort put into making the character attractive to the audiences as a result of being the only playable character. By Yakuza 4, Kiryu was seen as "indestructible" by the staff, and as a result, he was made the last character playable in the game, following three new characters that stood out thanks to their different traits. For Yakuza 5, while once again there were other protagonists alongside Kiryu, a new one, Haruka, was added as playable for the first time in order to make her character arc connect with the role of Kiryu and the other characters. Kiryu was made into a taxi driver but in a new city where he is not known by other people, this was done by the staff as they thought it would be the best choice for him.
For the prequel Yakuza 0 Sega wanted to make Goro Majima stand out from Kiryu as in this title the two share the role of protagonists. Sega described Kiryu as a "straight man trait – tough but honorable and keeps to himself a bit" implying there are not too many difficulties in writing him. Through this game and the remake of the first game, Kiwami, the relationship between Kiryu and Majima is explored more deeply in contrast to the initial game of the franchise, most notably because of the changes made to Majima's characterization and the way he sees Kiryu's actions, while being both friends and enemies at the same time. Yakuza 0 also served as a story of Kiryu that Sega wanted players to know before reaching Yakuza 6. Kiryu's traits in Yakuza 0 were specifically changed to a "loose-cannon hot-head" to the point where long-time fans would be surprised by his actions. However, chief producer and writer Masayoshi Yokoyama stated the character would mature across the storyline. Despite Kiryu's fame, developer Daisuke Sato noted that players ended up enjoying Majima far more in the franchise.
During development of Yakuza 4, the staff started wondering how they would end Kiryu's story as, unlike other video game characters, he did not possess supernatural powers. They compared the character with James Bond whose actor changed multiple times across his movies. Describing him as "a super-cool and masculine guy, but since he's a well-established character with a specific personality, there are things that he would and wouldn't do", the team decided he would need a successor who would bring the staff more creativity to work with. In late 2016, Nagoshi claimed he had been doing Kazuma's story for nearly a decade, stating "it had its pros and cons". He concluded by saying "I also think that's a way to give back to Kazuma Kiryu. Sooner or later, I want to announce something different." In April 2017 Sega confirmed that while Yakuza 6 would end Kiryu's story, the series would still go on. Deciding to bring the last tale of Kiryu with Yakuza 6, the staff wanted to make the game as appealing as possible. The game focuses on the family relationship between Kiryu and Haruka after years of being separated.
Although Ichiban Kasuga replaces in Kiryu in Like a Dragon, Sega used him in such game as a minor character with an untold backstory in regards to his current whereabouts that is explained in Gaiden. Kiryu was not planned to return in those games but it was collective decision within the development team on reusing the character. His return lead him to become Kasuga's superior but he was noted to keep his original personality rather than have a significant development. In Infinite Wealth, Kiryu's haircut was redesigned. Sakamoto think they have seen throughout the series that Kiryu's attire often represents him, and even his iconic suit has a meaning behind it and is never done without purpose. The new design was made to represent Kiryu's lower health as he has lost weight and shows notable signs of aging.
In retrospect, Kiryu's Yakuza 3 persona received negative response with Yokoyama addressing his poor clothing, obese looking appearance and sideburns. As a result, Kiryu was redesigned for Yakuza 3 Kiwami were is portrayed as more slim and with a different sense of fashion. His relationship with Rikiya was changed specifically with how he befriends his boss after a fight.
Voice actors Nagoshi was impressed by Kiryu's Japanese voice actor, Takaya Kuroda, due to how he sang in the music minigame. Another staff member, Sato, was impressed by the karaoke game as it helped to show a fun side of Kiryu. Kuroda highly enjoyed voicing his character, being anxious in most scenes regardless of the tone he had to make. As a result, he wanted to keep Kiryu in character. Kuroda described Kiryu as a true shy character, stating he does not consider himself too attractive to the point where he could not form a formal romantic relationship with Sayama in Yakuza 2. Kuroda was surprised with the success of the first Yakuza game and thus hoped the series would continue. Kuroda expressed joy with his work, recalling people who recognized his voice from the games.
Kiryu's first English voice actor Darryl Kurylo said that he wanted to sound as good as possible after being impressed by the characterization of Kiryu and the lines he had to give. However, he regrets some lines were lost in translation of the original game. Nevertheless, Kurylo enjoyed the experience to the point of playing the game multiple times alongside his son. In order to fit the lipsyncing from the original Japanese game, Kurylo often had to say a line in different styles. Kurylo had even more fun doing the yells for the fight scenes. After 15 years of the series not being localized alongside an English dub, Kurylo reprised his role as Kiryu in 2020's Yakuza: Like a Dragon.
Prior to the release of Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, Yong Yea was cast as the new English voice for Kiryu. According to Yea, he was originally a candidate for other roles but was personally chosen by Sega of America as the top choice to voice the series's initial protagonist. The reasoning behind this recast is unknown, but Yea was given Kurylo's blessing via Twitter to voice Kiryu, noting Yea's greater dedication to acting and cultural connection to the character. Yea expressed comfort with the Like a Dragon series's voice director, as he often provided aid to the actor in regards to what lines were more fitting for the character. Yea also took inspiration from Kuroda's performance. However, he still aimed to give his own take due to difficulties in adapting so many Japanese lines. Yea in particular was a fan of Kiryu's relationship with Nishikiyama in Yakuza 0 and Kiryu tells his sworn brother to keep fighting even if it meant killing him. Yea also liked the balance in Kiryu's personality as he is both heartwarming and stoic depending on the type of cutscene. He also looked forward to making appealing karaoke mini-games like Kuroda has done.
Appearances
Yakuza