Anonymous: “Why do everyone smoke. Like you can be talking some serious crime then they pulled out a Seven Stars”

Goromi on rupauls drag race lmao

“Everybody’s a gangster until a gangster enters the room.”

we miss you og Rikiya😔

Tomi <3

Small shrine update after my friend gifted me stuff for my birthday!

Getting busier. Might have to consider another shelf very soon :)

The Doro of Dojima (Hikiyami?)

My friend’s birthday presents to me omg 🥹🙏

Kazuma Kiryu and Goro Majima from Yakuza are kismeses!

I'mnotcryingyoucryin

Kiwami 3/Dark Ties: History Repeats Itself

I’m in Blue~

The moment the announcement for Kiwami 3/Dark Ties came on during RGG’s 2025 Summit, I honestly couldn’t believe my eyes. It was great knowing that I’ll be seeing Kiryu spending time with his beloved kids again, though what really caught my eye of course was…

………………………….

What did we do to deserve Dragon Engine Mine….

ok but Mine Gaiden?! After the last time I saw him was in Ishin and he made me go My Vice Captain Can’t Be This Cute?! Sign me up!!!

I will start this post though with saying that while I’m aware of that controversy surrounding this game, me choosing to buy this game doesn’t mean that I endorse that creep at all. It’s really unfortunate with that whole situation and RGG’s response to it makes my eyes roll. But I don’t like it when people just decide that buying this game is a representation of someone’s morals, or that Yakuza fans have to boycott the entire series as a whole. It doesn’t solve anything. At the end of the day, the responsibility lies with RGG and not the fans.

I listen to and adore DIR EN GREY. Does that mean I endorse the questionable/problematic things in their videos? Hell no. Do I think they’re great musicians and one of the coolest bands in the world? Hell yeah.

What I do want to talk about in this post is the things I believe this game did well in as well as the not so good parts. Yakuza 0 was the very first Yakuza game I played and it pushed me to complete the rest of the series and made me fall in love with Yakuza as a whole, while the story often blunders especially towards the end (I still think 0 and 7 respectively have the best and second best story), I argue Yakuza does a fantastic job with its lore and making you care for its endearing cast of characters.

This scene is still just as heartwarming as the first time I saw it when I played the OG Yakuza 3 (I’ll be referring to it as O3 and Kiwami 3 as K3)

I personally loved the new Morning Glory Orphanage side content, it felt better paced compared to O3. What I love especially about the Yakuza series as a whole is that lovely balance between serious and funny, as well as the side content which serves as a great breather between the serious and plot-heavy story beats.

The little Kiryu patch is way too cute, my heart!! (≧◡≦) ♡

But yes playing this sewing minigame had me laugh and scream a lot xD My brother came to check on me thinking that Regeneradors have once again scared his poor big sister xD

I absolutely loved helping my kids solve their homework (and getting humbled while I’m at it), cooking their meals, caring for my plants and animals, making money off selling my goods no Fever ☆ Time though, playing around with them and just…being there for them.

No matter what people say about Yakuza 3, I argue that it’s quite important for Kiryu’s arc and Yakuza as a whole, compared to the big stakes conflicts in Y1 and Y2, it was a nice change of pace seeing a softer side to Kiryu. It’s beautiful that Kiryu being an orphan himself decides to pay it forward by taking all these kids under his wing, and just trying to raise them the best way he can.

Not gonna lie…there were several moments in the Morning Glory story bits that really tugged at my heartstrings. QQ But this, knowing what happens in Y6 and that emotional ending scene in The Man Who Erased His Name, ughhhhhhhhh my kokoro QQ That ending scene never fails to bring me to tears and is honestly one of Takaya Kuroda’s best performances yet

My own daughter throwing shade at me…but it’s OK she’s my daughter and I’d do anything for her QQ

I also loved all the times Haruka went, “Are you sure you can do it, Uncle Kaz?” whenever Kiryu decides to help out with the chores xD Also why does she have so much pocket money to give me…at this point I was wondering who was the real Yakuza of the household…

Uncle Majima isn’t going to pop out of this, right? Right??

Seeing Kiryu’s cooking improving, as well as all the kids learning to accept him as their father, was very much worth it for me. <3

The main story itself more or less progresses in the same way as O3 (including “The Plot” chapter lol), what is noticeable though is the huge cut in substories and a certain retcon that I’m especially not fond of…(more on that later and especially in the Dark Ties section of this post)

I personally feel that the hate towards the cut in substories is overblown, as O3 has about a hundred substories which imo is a bit too much and kind of hinders the pacing in the game especially when a lot of said substories are just chase sequences or fetch quests.

What they should definitely have kept though are the Murder at Cafe Alps substory and the Talking About Me substory, the former being a treat for people who love Ace Attorney and the latter being one of the most grounded depictions of trans acceptance in a video game and a Japanese one no less, that whole story is really progressive for its time especially considering how conservative Japan is, and it’s simply heartwarming with the way Kiryu just listens to Ayaka properly and offers advice like he would do with anyone else in need of it. He didn’t treat her any different just because she was trans and if more people could think like Kiryu here, the world would be a warmer, brighter place.

Some substories in K3 I’m quite fond of, like all the bonding moments with each kid and of course silly ones like this one:

Close enough the very pretty man aside from Kiryu lol BTW is Yo-ka from DIAURA you’re welcome

I had wayyyyyyyyyy too much fun with dressing up Kiryu and I can totally understand why he’s such a hit with all the ladies and Rikiya too lol

That substory where that single mom wants him to become their family’s new dad was also just golden. xDD Equal parts heartwarming and just funny in the best way. xD

I’m delivering soba so I can save up for my next vkei gig. :D

It’s hard being a vkei fan. ･ﾟ･(｡>ω<｡)･ﾟ･

*AHEM* As I surmised though when I played the demo, my ✨super cool✨ outfit carries to the “cutscene” cutscenes, so I sadly had to change back to normal lest I start laughing too much at the serious cutscenes and my final showdown with Mine ends up becoming like this. which is still pretty lit but I digress

Another personal highlight for me is being able to customize my flip phone, I didn’t care too much for the socializing aspect as it felt very superficial to me but for such a ~kawaii~ ojisan like Kiryu, he needs an equally ~kawaii~ phone. (｡•̀ᴗ-)✧

Name’s Kazzy, get ready to be ✨rizzed✨ and for me to wax poetic about Fly.

And of course, the Stardust Host substory was just so much fun. xD Seeing Kiryu bring such enthusiasm to whatever he can do to help is always one of my favorite things about him, it’s incredibly endearing.

Ah but for every glazing I give this game, there are some parts that I felt would have really benefited from RGG allowing themselves to cook longer. K3 as a whole, despite its good parts like graphical upgrades and improved gameplay, did give me a feeling that it was really rushed during the development process.

For instance, one of the very first things I noticed was the “Dynamic” Intros…or rather lack there of. As someone who loves cool fight scenes, the lackluster intros were just really…boring to look at and very “static”. A lot of the voice lines in O3 that made the fights more impactful are just missing. I’m gearing up for a fight, of course I want a cool intro to get my blood pumping!!

I get that O3’s only dynamic intro is the Mine fight but please RGG, this is a remake, you’re supposed to improve on parts that were lacking in O3. QQ

And despite K3 being a newer game, while visually it looks more polished than O3, some parts are just…lacking. Certain backgrounds just look unfinished (the Richardson looking over the city shot comes to mind, Tamiya’s office building somehow looks worse), and some lighting choices are just weird. If there was Kiwami 2 Green, now there’s Kiwami 3 “Blurange”. xD

I also felt that the OST just didn’t have that same “punch” like O3, for instance the battle music in the Majima fight in the intro was just not doing it for me. The old Receive and Stab You was better. Maybe the new version will grow on me but the song just felt very muted during the whole fight, it lacked “bite”.

And while I love the new theme song Ikizama a lot, its instrumental version replacing Clay Doll on the Cradle for that tense sequence before the amazing Mine fight is just criminal. QQ

I was also really looking forward to the Mine fight and the expected new remix of the god-tier song Fly, but I thought that something was lacking from the new version, and then someone pointed out that it sounded more triumphant than the original Fly, and I thought what made the OG Fly so great was that tinge of melancholy present in its composition, which imo fit Mine’s character and arc so well and…better to be honest. Don’t get me wrong, Kiwami Fly is still a great remix and the new violins are amazing, but OG Fly was already peak, and you can’t improve on what is already deemed perfection.

Soar from Ishin was a perfect remix because in that game Mine is actually your ally, so Soar sounding more triumphant than OG Fly made sense not just musically but narratively.

That said, this mashup of both versions is amazing. It’s like OG Fly and Kiwami Fly combined and brought out the best in each other, while filling in for what the other didn’t have.

But my biggest gripe with K3 has to be what I deem to be the worst character death retcon yet. I personally didn’t mind Kashiwagi returning in Y7 despite the very impossible odds of surviving getting gattling gunned to death, and that scene where he and Kiryu meet again after so long in Y8, fully knowing who the other is but having the most subtle conversation with each other, is one of my favorite interactions between these two. Lau Ka Long and Richardson however was kind of pushing the death retcon thing, but I turned a blind eye as it didn’t affect the overall narrative too much, just like with Kashiwagi.

But retconning Mine’s death is just truly ridiculous. As much as I love Mine and a diehard Mine girlie I am, Mine must die. QQ Mine’s death and sacrifice is one of the most poignant moments in the entirety of Yakuza and him living just removes a lot of the narrative weight of his character arc, as well as affect the narratives of later Yakuza entries negatively.

Like what even was that new ending?! The whole conversation Mine had with Hamazaki was just very off and didn’t make sense, I could only think Mine said those words just to placate Hamazaki, but it just felt really flat to me.

K3 as a whole just gives me really mixed feelings, and while I do get that it being compared to O3 is an inevitability, it screams double standards when people are criticizing K3 and praising O3 for the very same things that were being criticized back then when O3 came out, it’s ironic that Yakuza 3 has become that controversial entry yet again.

But hey, I don’t like talking negatively for so long even when it’s needed to be critical (don’t glaze too much, at the same time don’t bash too much) towards the media we consume. Let’s talk Dark Ties.

“Oh my…what a handsome man! He must be catching kitty dolls for his lucky girl~”

“I’m getting this kitty for Daigo to let him know how cute he is…

…and one for myself so we match.” ( ˘⌣˘)♡(˘⌣˘ )

*AHEM* My kitty catching adventures are cut short though because I have to “tail” Kanda. :(

Ok while it may be my huge bias towards Mine speaking, I personally adored Dark Ties and thought it was a short, albeit fantastic Gaiden game just like The Kaito Files DLC for Lost Judgment. That, and since I’ve never really played any of the RGG Online episodes, all of this story content was new and very fresh to me.

Ever since Infinite Wealth, the more recent Yakuza entries have kind of steered too much into the funny side imo, don’t get me wrong I love funny things but the whole appeal of Yakuza is that balance between serious crime drama and wacky side shenanigans. So Dark Ties having a more serious atmosphere felt like a real treat to me.

The more serious atmosphere carried on to the substories as well, as Mine is essentially a dark version of Kiryu, he does help others but not necessarily out of pure altruism. I personally loved the substories for expanding more on Mine’s alreading fascinating character and showing how he would react in certain situations.

The fact that Mine refuses to tell Kanda his “real” type and one of the choices essentially being a way to flatter Kanda-aniki is just hilarious to me xD

I personally really liked his relationship with Kanda and all the “bro time” moments really did put a smile on my face. xD Like these two have a certain chemistry which is just really fun to watch Mine’s chemistry with Daigo however is a whole other beast and damn the tension. There’s a strong Boke and Tsukkomi potential between these two. xD

The Kanda Damage Control section of the game felt a lot like the Akame Network in The Man Who Erased His Name, but better in the sense that it helped build more character for Mine and Kanda, Mine being exasperated on dealing with Kanda’s bullshit 24/7 and having to pose as “Kanda-san” while doing good deeds will never not be funny to me. xD The mission with finding the Panty Thief and Mine’s frustration at Kanda was just hilarious. xD

Had it been Daigo’s wallet, I don’t think he would have forgotten :(

I only have one lady and his name is Daigo Dojima-

*AHEM* Combat-wise, even if I didn’t do the Hell’s Arena part much, Mine’s combat is super fun and the bouncing mechanic felt great. The Dark Awakening mechanic is also really fun for me because as a edgy, angy metalhead, learning that Mine probably has metal in his workout playlist sends me to heaven. (*/▽＼*) Hell, having him as a protagonist and seeing things through his eyes was just really refreshing, and gave me strong Light Yagami vibes. xD

The Dark Ties OST is lovely, Mine’s Combat Theme (strong Infinite Handcuffs vibes), Brute Instinct, and Sand Castle are some of my favorites. <3

But what really made me love Dark Ties without a doubt is the story, and the development of Mine and Daigo’s deep and tragic bond.

I liked that Mine was simply curious of Daigo at first, and even found himself disappointed at first and disdainful of Daigo preaching his ideals. He thought that as long as he made money for the Tojo Clan, everything would be fine, that as long as he was useful to the Tojo Clan, that’s what mattered. Because that’s what he taught himself at a young age, that nobody would truly care for you unless you had something to offer them.

“Mine…watch your hands…”

*AHEM* But he gets a rude awakening and a challenge to his own values in the form of Daigo, who said that he cared for everyone in the Tojo Clan and meant it. That Daigo put his life on the line for him, not because Mine was useful to the Tojo Clan, but because he truly cared for him, that Daigo would willingly sacrifice tons of money (the thing that Mine understood most as the way to “connect” with people) just for him. Mine couldn’t comprehend that this type of person existed. And to me this whole cutscene was cinema and I could pinpoint the exact moment Mine had his heart stolen. QQ

I argue too because Daigo sees himself in Mine, someone who’s around his age and just like he did, walking down the wrong path in life. I believe that in a way Daigo wanted to “save” Mine from darkness in the same sense that Kiryu steered him on the right track. And knowing what happens in K3’s main story, Daigo really was Mine’s anchor. Mine finally learnt why people would sacrifice their lives to save Daigo, and Daigo found a peer and confidante in Mine.

The parallels and longing hnggggghhhhhh

Do not even get me started on the conversations at the bar that just the two of them frequented together. 😭😭😭

These scenes were simply excellent, full of restrained yet tense emotion. When Daigo finally cried and mourned Mine, I was clutching my own heart because shit I really couldn’t believe what I had just witnessed. Fucking. Cinema. The instrumental version of Sand Castle made that scene all the more poignant. And this would have been the most perfect, absolutely bittersweet ending if it weren’t for the retcon.

Mine’s whole point for joining the yakuza was to find true bonds, all his life he’s used to using people and being used by people, it has made him jaded and bitter. He has status, power, money…but all those things cannot fill the void he has in the heart. As Disco Elysium said, “The first death is in the heart.” He’s made himself numb to the world and views it with cynicism, yet he can’t help but long for sincerity. And as edgy Dark Awakening is, it makes sense narratively with Mine being very guarded with his emotions (which you could symbolize by a chained heart), and Daigo is literally the first person who he felt he could truly bear his heart to.

His fight with Kiryu is also one of my all time favorites not just for being balls-out (lol) amazing, but serving very well narratively, Mine is a dark reflection of Kiryu and their fight was not just a physical one but one of clashing ideals. Mine losing and admitting defeat, having his ideology broken down, was his rebirth in a way. But he couldn’t bear the guilt of betraying Daigo and atoned in the only way he knew how, to give his life for him. It’s interesting that for a very business-minded yakuza, Mine possesses old-school yakuza values with a heavy emphasis on honor and protecting your kyodai, that deep down he is as Daigo describes, a passionate person who cares about real bonds more than anyone else. Mine’s redemption by sacrificing his life is incredibly poetic and imo a perfect cap to his character arc.

That said, as much as I hate the retcon, it doesn’t negate all the good parts of Dark Ties for me, I still give it a solid 9/10 and had such a great time with it. Mine is one of my absolute favorite Yakuza characters and MineDai is truly a ship to jump off a building for and my personal favorite Yakuza ship of all time. (╥﹏╥) I’m absolutely thrilled that it’s finally getting more attention now. <3

I think about these two a lot, their dynamic and bond is just inherently fascinating and the kind of tragic I would cry in Courvoisier XO with this song playing in the background to. QQ I’ll be a good Asian aunty and offer you this lovely fic by yukine, it was a knife to my heart in a really good way. QQ

So yeah Dark Ties is amazing, my MineDai plants are watered and god. Just. God. QQQQQQQQQ

I also recommend this lovely video essay from one of my favorite Yakuza youtube channels Gokudoni, learning that he’s a DIR EN GREY and the GazettE fan just made him exponentially cooler in my eyes. ^^

Time for some silly stuff so I don’t wallow my MineDai feels in the NANA ost xD

While I’m extremely disappointed that I can’t dress-up my darling Mine (missed opportunity from RGG I tell you), the purikura is the next best thing. xD

Above is Mine preparing to send his お見合い (Omiai = matchmaking) photo to Daigo. Probably with the caption: “This champagne isn’t the only thing that will be spraying later. ;)”

Some things never change. :D

I’m pretty sure Kiryu could beat Goku

Tiger Drop negates any damage.

Мем буквально для полторы человека….

since i’m gonna do headcanon asks now, here’s like a list of interests that y’all can request for.

you can suggest nsfw stuff, but, depending on the specifics, i might get embarrassed and not answer it 😭 or i just wont feel comfortable answering it, either way i’ll still respond to it to communicate as such. it won’t just sit in limbo forever.

i’ll also do au and crossover stuff. like one day maybe i’ll post about my yakuza hockey au 😅

alright on to the list.

- yakuza/rgg. can be mainline games, jugement, and the spinoffs (that are available in the west). i’ve played/watched my brother play all of them so there’s not really any restrictions. until kenzan and kurohyo are remade or we break down and decide to emulate them, those are off the table.

- what i call the “Hannibal Lecter-verse”. that’s the Thomas Harris books, the movies (including manhunter), and the show Hannibal. i’ve been severely hyperfixated on all things hannibal lecter for the past like 6 years.

those are the big 2, here’s just a rapid fire list of other stuff i like that ppl may want to ask about:

invader zim and johnny the homicidal maniac, hellsing and hellsing ultimate, death note, the tv show archer, the boys, the saw movies, the final destination movies, it’s always sunny in philadelphia, jojo’s bizarre adventure (i am an anime only so just up to stone ocean so far till sbr is out), mr robot, the view askewniverse (mallrats, clerks, etc), uma musume (game. i haven’t watched any of the anime yet, i’ll change this when i do), vocaloid/vocal synth (hatsune miku, rin/len, teto, etc), and twilight.

crazy list of interests, and that’s only some of them. i just listed what i think ppl would ask about. but if you see me post about any media, feel free to send an ask about it lmao

now to put all these in the tags too 💀

adding this to the masterlist so ppl can refer back to it

forgot to talk about my F/O’s list with you! 💕 i’m sharing with almost everyone (most characters here deserve a lot of justice, they’re so underrated💔) except for two of them! (with one i’m really scrupulous, that’s why i put my status as “selective-sharing”)

friendly reminder that doubles are welcome and you can chat to me, i don’t bite‼️

I just had the discussion with Kiryu and Tomizawa about karaoke. I’m so sad that Tomizaawa refuses to sing.

I would love to hear Satoru Iguchi sing in the game. His voice is incredible.

i’d love to do those like headcanons asks things. i think it’d be fun but i’m afraid ppl wouldn’t like my headcanons and interpretations 🙃

but maybe that makes ppl interested in them? cuz like i like reading different ppls headcanons to see how different ppl view things (unless they’re just wrong and it pisses me off, which Will happen to me if i do it. it’s just inevitable lmao but that’s ok)

it’d be for like yakuza mostly. if i did it, i’d make a list of stuff i like that i’d be open to asks for. and i’d just add a hc section to the masterlist lmao

should i? i think it would keep me active on here and it’d be a fun creative writing project lol

His evil brother he doesn’t know is his brother (and who also isn’t his brother) who is ICE and ruining the country for everyone murdered all 18 of the older men he viewed as father figures and he’s not supposed to kill anyone about it?!?! insane I would be on the news maybe even mentioned in history books I would be committing crimes no has ever heard of I’d be inventing new ones