The Best Yakuza Villain

An analysis / discussion of the best villain in Yakuza 0, Tsukasa Sagawa.
I only recently got into the Yakuza series, and I'm head over heels for it. Eventually I'm going to do a massive video that (hopefully) will cover Y0, Kiwami 1, Kiwami 2, Y3 and LAD, but that's a waaaaaays off. For now, this hyper-specific conversation will have to do. Hope you enjoy.
Patreon: / purposelessrabbitholes
Twitter: / prabbitholes
Shibusawa intro video by Shi Amon:
• the RAREST shibusawa i...
Sagawa fan artists:
Numanoinu
Relina Ru
#yakuza #ryugagotoku

[@PurposelessRabbitholes]

Random late addendum: One thing I wish I'd mentioned more was Sagawa's sense of humor. He's jokey and almost affable on the surface, and it makes him more lovable (and scarier) than his smug ass has any right to be.

[@ismathrelatedtoapplesauce]

Yo, this video got me to play Zero, and then both kiwami games. Then the remasters and now I'm on Six. So, thanks!

[@Omabatfartsbruh]

@@ismathrelatedtoapplesauce how did you play them all in one sitting

[@Foxbear_]

i agree with you on him being a piece of shit because most of the time i hated him for having a weird hair line and a smug face for the rest of the game

[@cleverman383]

He's such a lovable and charming villain. The way that he treats Majima is literally like a pet that he has affection for. The times when he "fucks with Majima" just feel like him essentially "house training" him, giving a little spray of water to show him who's in charge. And when Majima tried to break his rules, he seemed genuinely disappointed and betrayed with the "You're the worst, buddy." And he doesn't even have any regrets at the end. Just "well that was fun while it lasted, huh?" and "well, time to go" He did what he had to as Majima's handler, which could get pretty rough considering the job he had, but otherwise was a pretty chill boss. Under other circumstances, the two of them might have been friends. I could never hate him for what he did because I knew it was literally what his job in the Yakuza was, and he was probably treating Majima much nicer than most Yakuza in that position would have. Great character.

[@AntiActionFox]

Fun fact, if you play some of Majima's substories during a part where sagawa has to be spoken to to progress the plot, Sagawa will be awkwardly in the background staring holes through majima while talking to NPCs during substories. It's wonderful.

[@regularbloke2117]

Majima : "does the hustle to get into a cult" Sagawa : The fuck is that boy doing?

[@androsow2838]

Really, is there any videos of this

[@rubyy.7374]

Something similar happened in Y3. There’s this part of the game where you have to look for Mitsuo, but there’s a substory that takes place right in front of him. I tripped into it, so throughout the substory, he was just creepily staring at me the whole time.

[@bakacdaz]

I did Cabaret Club side story and Majima keep dating the girls in front of him lol. I think I recorded it but not sure if I accidentally deleted it or not.

[@AntiActionFox]

@@bakacdaz omg like on the bridge right?

[@iagonovidelsky8290]

About the last scene between Sagawa and Majima, you can see Sagawa fully respects him now. In the office of the Grand the first time, he sticks a cigarette for himself, and Majima must light it for him. In the ending scene, he sticks a cigarette for Majima, then for himself and then lights them both. That whole simple act, for me symbolized how high Sagawa tought of Goro before meeting death

[@PurposelessRabbitholes]

Mad af at myself for not mentioning the fact that he lights Majima's cigarette at the end. I had a few sentences written for it and everything, just didn't integrate it into the final script cause I wanted to get the video out fast. It's such a small detail in their final scene, but it parallels their first moments together in such a great way, like you said. I don't think it necessarily means he _highly_ respects Majima, but he definitely respects him more after what they've been through together, and their relationship has changed. They're officially colleagues now, and Sagawa has to treat him as such. Plus he's a little nuts, so he likes to think/feign that they're good buddies, lol

[@liveyourdreammedia]

I actually felt sorry for him when he got cappped. Felt like he and Majima finally bonded a bit.

[@balazscsotai8354]

I didn't. He deserved it for the shit he threw at Majima.

[@blutarchmann9070]

Warning: LONG I actually agree with both of you. He _did_ deserve it, but I still felt bad for him. I mean, Sagawa enjoyed "disciplining" Majima, but he never really did it outside of when it was objectively necessary. Plus, the two came to bond near the end, in a way that makes as much sense as Majima hiding in a traffic cone to jumpscare Kiryu (not much). Majima actually learned from Sagawa, enough to not resent him. Thus, choosing to live as his unchained Mad Dog self, he earned Sagawa's respect (or at least I see it that way).

[@liveyourdreammedia]

@@blutarchmann9070 yeah gotta add, at any point in the story Sagawa could have either killed Majima or givin him to higher ups to be dealth with, but that glare he gives to Majima near the end, the "I am curious to see what he will achieve, I did my best to teach/set u straight, now you're free from your cage" had me be "oh what an unexpected but feel good ending despite them being jerks back and forth". Until few sec later *Blam* 😂

[@MobKnowledge]

Eh, he killed Lee. I was fine.

[@rikustorm13]

Yeah same :(

[@NiCoNiCoNiCola]

I love how the most "evil" guys are just yakuzas doing their job, be it Kuze and Awano, Arase and Katsuragi or even half of Yakuza 6 character

[@ashikjaman1940]

One of the reasons Sugai and Iwami are so god damn hatable

[@NiCoNiCoNiCola]

@@ashikjaman1940 I genuinely felt bad for Hirose He's a bad guy, but he's not evil

[@skrishna3]

@@NiCoNiCoNiCola Bruh, he murdered Yakuza captains for just knowing some secret, then proceeded to act like a father to the kids of the very people he killed. He's definitely evil, cause he manipulated kids from a young age. Same with Kazama Shintaro. HE doesn't reflect on his actions, justifying his actions as just doing his job. HE took so many lives and in no way can be excused. It's scary how characters look up to the very people who left them as orphans in the Yakuza series.

[@NiCoNiCoNiCola]

@@skrishna3 he did manipulate Yuta, but technically he didn't have much guilt with him I don't think he really wanted harm to Nagumo, Matsunaga and Tagashira

[@definitelynotcharaznable7749]

@@skrishna3 na bruh, it's called taking responsibility. He killed their father, so after that he filled the position as their father

[@n08itches]

Sagawa has always been an extremely strange character in my eyes. All we really see of him in the story are threats and torture of Majima and yet so many people grieve his death at the end. We even justify all the abuse he's inflicted by saying things like "he was only doing his job", when we don't feel the need to make excuses like that for characters like Lao Gui or Oda. It's all very peculiar, like some kind of stockholm syndrome. It feels like the creators have really succeeded at making us see this character through Majima's eyes and it's entrancing.

[@PurposelessRabbitholes]

Yup, he’s so manipulative that he manipulates the audience haha. He’s also just affable in his own strange, backhanded way, and generally entertaining as hell to watch because Tsurumi’s performance is so magnetic. I think that gets people attached. Plus he does sorta have a ‘pushing Majima to be better OR get out of the game’ thing going, lots of people have commented on that and opened my eyes to that part of his character a bit more, but even still, it’s masked by layers of dreck and sociopathy. God I love Sagawa so much I could talk about him all day lol

[@n08itches]

@@PurposelessRabbitholes Very good points as well! Absolutely stellar performance on the VA's part and you gotta hand it to him, he has this charm about him that you're never quite sure if genuine or a manipulation. Maybe the curiosity is why we feel so hypnotized by this dynamic, always wondering about his genuine feelings on Majima and the events that unfold. But of course not having a clear-cut answers only makes us that much more drawn to him. It's definitely a sociopathic sort of charm though, yeah. Probably why I enjoy picking it apart like this since I've always been fascinated by this line between hostility and civility. It's such a great touch to a game focused on the mob, I imagine mentalities like Sagawa's are incredibly common in organizations like that.

[@Serrifin]

@@PurposelessRabbitholes I’m bad at followimg what’s going on in movies and cinema, but even I knew something was wrong in the last scenes with him, seeing him so defeated just fills you with a sense of doom. Especially as hardly anything else seemed to really faze him.

[@boxtupos7718]

It's because you don't know if he's being genuine or sarcastic when he gives "words of wisdom" to Majima. Like in the beginning Majima got out of the life and is allowed to exist because he makes money; And he clearly has a portion of that money. What he gets mad at Majima for is lying to him; He even tells him "If you can go without killing, then do that". He genuinely cares about Majima, but at the same time like the cat in the story, he'll kill Majima if he crosses him.

[@anonymou66790]

lol i like lao gui and oda

[@petermaguire8139]

The symbolism in Yakuza is just top notch - Sagawa calling Majima "Tiger" could also be read as Sagawa mocking Majima for his failure in relation to Saejima, his own blood brother, but who else has a tiger tattoo? Shimano, Sagawa's blood brother and effectively his boss, so in essence we have Sagawa taunting Majima over his past while reminding himself of his own fears of what will happen if he fails in his own schemes.

[@rikustorm13]

WOAH u right :o

[@stovespiegel]

"Tiger" isn't in the japanese script

[@Dotmw]

Tigers and Dragons are also thematic opponents which contrasts him with Kiryu

[@deepflare1028]

I think it's just a coincidence, people use the word Tiger sometimes to call someone

[@csrjjsmp]

@@stovespiegelone of many reasons the English translation is better

[@MASTERRAGE]

I wish i could experience this game for the first time again :(

[@KanyeWestHashi]

30hrs? Hell nah

[@Fahad-369]

Oh you can? Pretend you know nothing. Act like you're playing it for the first time. Dont let anything stop you from enjoying the game, go nuts tiger.

[@frootloop3568]

@@KanyeWestHashi worth it

[@iwebweeb4585]

@@KanyeWestHashi bruhh

[@rubyy.7374]

@@KanyeWestHashi Yakuza 0 was the best 80 hours of my life. 10/10 would waste again.

[@ZeR0W1]

Nice video! Quick note though, the “tiger” nickname is actually a liberty taken by the translators. At times throughout the series, the translators took some liberties when it comes to translation, in order to better convey subtleties or implications set by character’s tone or demeanor(I assume). In actuality, Sagawa addresses Majima as “Majima-chan” or “omae”(informal masculine “you” in Japanese). To the credit of the translators though, they do a very good job of conveying those, and the translated lines do end up fitting the characters very well imo, including Sagawa’s “tiger”.

[@InReserveProductions]

See I always thought it was a jab at Majima for the perception that he chickened out of the Ramen Shop Hit. A constant reminder of the Tiger he failed with Saejima...guess I read too much into that.

[@ZeR0W1]

@@InReserveProductions holy crap I never thought that far but nah, "tiger" was just added in translation

[@mat8791]

Yup, translation in the Yakuza series is never about literally translating what one is saying but about the intent that said character conveys. Take for example Akiyama and Arai in 4's finale, in the cutscene preceding it if it's literally translated, there is not mention about regretting anything, just the two of them wanting to beat the stuffing about each other and have a good fight, in the remastered translation though, Arai mentions living a life where he lets go and doesn't let his regrets take a hold of him and Akiyama agreeing with him on this. Here intent is conveyed rather than stuff is literally translated. And it's a good effort on their part, good job on them.

[@amgil9938]

@@mat8791 oh yeah what about fuckin "Only children believe in dragons" lmao, shits still makes me giggle

[@frenchfriesfan2005]

@@amgil9938 Yeah that was goofy af. Not as bad as them putting an entire line in Nishina's mouth while he's just breathing, but still bad (Nishina was the chief of the hunter village in Yakuza 5)

[@dumbledoresnape656]

I respect Sagawa as the pick, but Nishiki will always reign supreme. He has the development of yakuza kiwami AND 0. Shows the seeds for his downward spiral and the added scenes in kiwami make him an actual person with flaws that grew to overshadow the nice but kinda dumb brother to Kiryu.

[@fredericabernkastel8354]

You just don't understand how bad I cried at the end of k1, nishiki did NOT deserve this end

[@themonarchserupt4051]

Nishiki was never the dumb brother to kiryu, he was a far more succesfull guy in 0 in terms of money making, he wanted to be famous as kiryu tho

[@dumbledoresnape656]

@@themonarchserupt4051 dumb as in he didnt realize that the yakuza world was far too ruthless for those with heightened emotions.

[@andreadebernardis4390]

to be fair, Nishiki got the development from Yakuza 0 in Kiwami they added more scenes, but in the original game he's just #EvilBrotherWhoBetrayedYou

[@ldking5132]

@@dumbledoresnape656 Well the same could be said about Kiryu to a certain extent.

[@ramjet94]

Congratulations, you should now just become a yakuza channel explaining the myriad of incredibly complex characters and their connections with others and in a hilarious yet accurate way. Please do more

[@AntiActionFox]

I'm glad someone agrees. I absolutely love Sagawa. His performance is better than main actors in triple A movies not even exaggerating. TIGER

[@roshaanreddy8107]

I was sad when he died

[@Elozero250]

Same here. He was like a mentor to Majima. And i do relate and i tell you what this kinda mentor is one of the best in real life

[@KusabiTetsugoro]

Well he's modeled after and performed by Shingo Tsurumi, who is a pretty famous and respected actor in Japan

[@Calhasnopals]

I think I only realised how much I liked Sagawa after he got shot. I was waiting for it, I knew he was fucked since the beginning of the climax, but it still hit like a truck. It was such an "....oh" moment I've never really felt in a game like that. That entire scene at the end is so perfect as well. The Voice acting is so subtle, the music "Mad Dog unleashed" is so bittersweet and then it's over before you're really ready. God, I love Y0

[@dirkjehovah4731]

I’ve never played a Yakuza game, but watched this video all the way through. Great work as always, Charlie.

[@eindummkopf2970]

I have never played yakuza either but I love the style and characters so much

[@liveyourdreammedia]

I recommend giving at least Yakuza 0 a go. Booted it up to play a game and I kept playing for the story 😂 when in doubt buy on sale. Just know real Yakuza use a gamepad.

[@fortress2233]

I highly suggest you go get them they’re on sale on everything all the time it’s on game pass on sale on PC all always on Psn store

[@TCapButterCup]

Play Yakuza 0, do it.

[@RobertEdwinHouse9]

Missing out

[@MrAnimeFan4Eva]

The design of all the villians and the voices are so awesome man

[@mr_coke1401]

This comment is hilarious, the characters were based on real people

[@MrAnimeFan4Eva]

@@mr_coke1401 doesn't make it anymore awesome man

[@mortomultiverse8778]

The only villian I don't like at all of the Yakuza series so far is Jungo (I think is his name). Not only he's bland, generic, uninteresting and is the "main" character with less screen time in the entire game, the performance and acting is horrible. Every time he was speaking I was trying to not laugh, because he sounded like a cheesy villian from a 70s cartoon. Other than that, the villians are awesome.

[@JokoTingkirCute]

@@mortomultiverse8778 Yeah Jingu is so bland and boring. It feel like he just appear as extra character even though he supposed to be the main villain.

[@trustypatches669]

@@mortomultiverse8778 His stupid laughter was hilarious though.

[@PurposelessRabbitholes]

Who is _your_ favorite Yakuza villain, and why is it Sagawa?

[@TheExFatal]

It's actually the one from Lost Judgment but Sagawa is cool

[@jasonblundelldobebussing]

My one would actually be the Japanese economic system. The thing basically has started it all.

[@ketrub]

takasugi from yakuza 5 because they literally copied him to 0 (except worse) as sagawa

[@Janfon1]

He has the best looking face, that's all, he's just so unique and interesting to look at

[@tgkthebawse]

@@ketrub Except Shinada goes on to like Takasugi

[@KmiloO13me]

Yakuza 0 has kuze and sagawa, just because of that the Game is worth playing

[@tgkthebawse]

Don't forget Nishitani

[@KmiloO13me]

@@tgkthebawse oh sh1t you're right

[@duongnhdn]

And yuki

[@TalkingRacoon922]

Personally, from the beginning, I always thought that he was a false villain and that he was trying to either convince Majima to keep a simple life and stay out of troubles, or drive him to rebel against the Yakuza.

[@bisexualmajima]

This. He was a fucked up guy but he really did care about Majima in his own strange way and wasn't lying when he said he liked him. He could tell Majima wasn't really cut out for yakuza life and had a sad road ahead of him and was always very frank and honest with him, but Majima was just in too bad of a place and was too loyal to Saejima to see it.

[@davisthegamelord]

That district manager comparison you gave sagawa is pretty damn accurate. I used to work retail and I got flashbacks every time he was on screen. Anyone else who worked retail can agree.

[@frankenwaifu8092]

Sagawa is like if Rockstar made Micah from RDR2 somehow likeable and compelling without removing any of the scenes that made players hate him in the first place.

[@Vanish_123]

When I first played this game, I couldn't remember Sagawa's name. So I kept calling him "Sussy-gawa" and eventually I just kept calling him that cause I found it funny. Little did I know how little I appreciated his relationship with majima and how he affect the story. Thank you for bringing to light an unappreciated antagonist.

[@elonmuskett]

@da343 it’s just an Amogus boss fight

[@predeterminedmeat5024]

@@elonmuskett among us is the only real boss

[@elonmuskett]

@@predeterminedmeat5024 Tsukasa Sussy-gawa, patriarch of the Amogus family, Omi Alliance

[@randodox8375]

He's the Omi Alliance among the Tojo clan after all.

[@Maxphyte]

Sagawa definitely stood out for me. Which is amazing when you consider the fact that all of 0’s antagonists were pretty noteworthy. Of the Yakuza series and it’s spin-offs… I think Lost Judgment probably has the best developed antagonist. But it’s tough to top 0 when it comes to a whole collection of great antagonists.

[@h4rshturtle456]

Yaluza 0 is also a hard game to top it has really good combat only kiwami has better and lost judgment if you count that the story is great and yeah the whole game just felt like a movie to play with a lot of shit to do

[@brandawgz]

This feels little different from your typical content and it’s really good! I think we’d all love to see more content like this along side your other content!

[@necroticsynthesis4958]

I've always respected Sagawa. He's definitely a weasel, but he never felt like he was trying to directly oppose Majima, and instead was simply doing as Shimano told him and was trying to have a little fun with Majima, either to try and cheer him up a little or just for that pet/master dynamic you mentioned. Even in the car bomb scene, I couldn't bring myself to hate Sagawa. Mans was just doing his job. As far as my favorite Yakuza villain? That's a hard tie between Sagawa and Baba. And only partially because I think the way Saejima says "Baba-Chan" is really funny.

[@God_gundam36]

I always thought the funny thing about majima was that the yakuza version of prison is to just work a normal job

[@alleislazy6850]

and get no cash from it

[@alleislazy6850]

@Florida Man yeah i know i was talking to the other guy. also it didnt help that he was always being watched in sotenbori and didnt even get to leave for a little bit without getting tortured again

[@edef1244]

And then keep none of the money. If Grand's profits were all Majima's, he would be ridiculously wealthy. -disregarding the fact that you can bully Mr. Shakedown out of billions of yen-

[@insanitybrickboi7168]

Yakuza 0 is hands down my favorite game, purely for the convoluted yet emotional journey it took me on. I really fucking hated both Sagawa and Kuze during the first half of the game but by the end they were my favorite characters. Smarmy, cocky, and never-endingly stubborn... a huge part of their charm is definitely due to the actors' charismatic performances, but like you said, the tenacity and integrity they show within the context of a Yakuza gangster's lifestyle just makes them all the more interesting and strangely likeable. The first time I saw you tweeting about Yakuza 0 it was about a month after I finished it for the first time. It was kinda cool to see someone else go through the process of falling in love with the series at roughly the same time I did. I was hoping you'd do a vid like this so thanks for the great content on such an amazing series.

[@gurkensohn7807]

Sagawa always stood out to me as one of the most memorable characters from Yakuza 0 and this video perfectly put into words why. I love how the writers managed to make me hate him within the first 5 minutes of him being on screen purely because of how he abuses the power dynamic between him and Majima. Not only does it make Sagawa a great villain, it also helps make you empathize with Majima and thus, makes you care about him and his story a lot more.

[@SomeGuy-mt4hq]

Finally, the lord and savior uploads. It's a blessed day indeed. Plus it's a yakuza video? Truly a gift

[@dammitperseus]

Man I still get chills from that final scene lmao, I don't know how many times i've watched it, it just doesn't get old. I'm not sure if this is wishful thinking on my part, but I do read Sagawa as caring for Majima from the get-go (albeit in a fucked up way, but as you said, he /does/ have a fucked up way of navigating his relationships). It doesn't excuse the abuse he put Majima through, but I think he's actively trying to make him "grow up" throughout the game. At the beginning of the story, my understanding is that part of the reason why he puts so many hurdles in Majima re-joining the clan is because he believes he's not ready yet (and I can't blame him for that line of thinking, if you're trying to be a yakuza and you aren't willing to kill for your boss, there might be a few problems waiting for you down the road). I also see a bit of that when Majima finally breaks free from Sagawa, who actually sounds quite proud of him. I suppose some part of Sagawa might have been trying to push Majima further and further until he snapped, finally got his shit together, and stopped accepting to get bossed around. Sagawa fully expected that outcome when he put him through the wringer.

[@somethingfunny8516]

top tier video, I always wondered why saguawa hit me the hardest out of all the zero villains, and this really helped me figure out why! thank you

[@I_love_bread_and_Hungry_Jacks]

It's not that often that there's a villain that tortures the protagonist & then at the near end of the game for all of a sudden, you have slight milliseconds thinking "maybe I don't want to kill him anymore" like Sagawa.

[@goldendevereaux]

Haven't finished the video yet, but I've been so happy seeing you go through this series. It's so great.

[@BigHatAlef]

Didn't think this channel could get any better and then you made a fantastic video on one of my favorite game franchises

[@ThatsGoosey]

the way you strung together the cutscenes was rly good, it really maintained energy through the characters' movement ✨🗿

[@cursedinari7434]

Thank you so much for doing this. I’ve always loved sagawa’s character, it’s nice to see an analysis like this

[@N0toriousIdiot]

Wow, I'm surprised I'm not the only one who saw Sagawa as a great antagonist. He took every trope that made up his character and added his own twist to it. Oh, we have a master and pet dynamic going on with him and Majima? Make it so that he's totally fine with letting his pet out of his cage, so long as it's on his terms (Which, to be fair, are still strict). Want to make him a cocky villain that gets under your skin? Let's also add some genuine charm and humor to him so that he feels more like a chill dude kidding around at Majima's expense. Like, not to say he's a minor character in the story, but for how much he appears there's a surprising amount of depth to him. I'm glad other people see that in him, too. Oh, and if I were to pick a favorite villain in this series, it'd probably be Kuze, if not the handsome man I just rambled on about.

[@benji4153]

This is one of my favorite yakuza videos. Like, in my year of playing the games I actually found myself extremely invested in this. Well done, I hope to see more videos like this.

[@imranicanovic1154]

When you annouced this video it came outta fuckin left field dude. But, I loved it. And the video does showcase why Sagawa is such a fantastic villain (and also why I was slightly miffed I couldn't bash his damn skull in like I could do with other characters.) All in all, another fantastic video by you, and I kinda hope you do more of them. As for who I would personally pick as my favourite villain? It's a tie between Nishikiyama and Mine. Can't explain why because I'm bad with words, it just is like that.

[@user-xu9km3si8l]

Honestly, keep this up! I don’t see much analytical content on specific Yakuza characters on KZbin (none that get much traction at least) and this was great. Earned a sub

[@verynaisu]

I think Sagawa does care for Majima or grew to care for him simply because he was hesitant on giving Majima the hit job on Makoto. The dude was even trying to keep Majima in The Grand by telling him to just stay and run the place because he's honestly brought it from being a shit hole to a complete success. He's kinda like Majima's Kazuma Shintaro. A guy who saw an honest dude and tried to keep him from straying further into the yakuza. The whole point of his bullying and everything was to help Majima break out of this cage- this leash that he was held on tightly by him and Shimano. In a sense, he was trying to help Majima become free from this hell he was put in. That's why near the end where Majima confronts SAgawa about coming after Sohei Dojima, he says something along the lines of "so you've finally broken free from your cage" and why he was content on seeing Majima finally decide to live the way he wanted and not let anyone else run him but himself. I wouldn't necessarily consider Sagawa a villain in this game, moreso an antagonist. If he were a villain, we would have already gotten our fight with him and we wouldn't be seeing Sagawa feeling content that he helped Majima become his own man.

[@redsgrave2003]

Good video. I always thought Sagawa and Shimano were forced to be blood brothers by higher ups in an arranged marriage sort of deal to make sure the Omi and Tojo didn't really go to war at the drop of a hat due to their men being tied to honor. Or something. Always struck me as odd too.

[@ViperleoneNevar]

I've honestly been subconsciously waiting for a video like this since I played 0. Well fuckin' done. Sagawa's the GOAT, Greatest of all Terrors.

[@residentevil9-TheReckoning]

I flinched in pure happiness seeing that you’ve done a yakuza video, I nearly got whiplash

[@jonkbonk7107]

I feel like what makes sagawa such a good villain is how he shows his personality and motives, with kuze, awano, and Shiba-sour, they try to act as tough as possible and make their motives known. Sawaga however literally shows no empathy or emotions, just a screw it attitude and exceeding at pissing of Majima just by existing.

[@IGoTNoAiMBoT]

Someone finally giving the man some credit!!! Love the video, Hopefully you make more yakuza ones :D

[@stevenpham1044]

There are only a handful of Yakuza villains that I hated at the beginning but grew love in the end. Kuze, Sagawa, Ryuji, Mine, and maybe Young master. There are only a couple legends that would’ve made a powerful force with Kiryu/Majima.

[@RobertEdwinHouse9]

Mine I never hated

[@thenamesniva5193]

Purposeless Rabbitholes uploads: *Nice* He is talking about Yakuza: *Amazing* The video starts with Pledge of Demon: *Godly*

[@Morariu94]

Really enjoyed your video! Would like to see more Yakuza characters analysis as I just recently got into the series too!

[@Fahad-369]

Loved this video Brother. Make more videos on Characters from Yakuza , you're rad when you explain stuff. Keep it up brother.

[@ziqqerlad]

the first vid i watched from you is about flash games, and the rest is history. i regret not subscribing, but now youtube has blessed me with yakuza content ever since my yakuza 0 purchase. bless you

[@fishonmydish7774]

I think 5's might either be your most hated, or almost most loved when you get to it. His final fight is fucking amazing, and my personal favourite in the entire series with it being the most cinematic and epic, but you'll understand the problems when you get there.

[@leithaziz2716]

I think 6 could cut it for most hated in a well executed way. Won't spoil, but most people will likely side with Kiryu in wanting to put an end to him. My only complaint is that for a finale to Kiryu's saga, it's a bit lackluster in flair. Only one QTE and no dramatic finish. It's like 5's but flipped on its head.

[@fishonmydish7774]

@@leithaziz2716 I don't know, I don't think 6's has done worse shit than someone like, let's say, Mine for example. Dude toppled his orphanage, tried to get those close to him killed. I do get what you mean, but I think just in comparison, the last boss for 6 is just way too underwhelming to be enjoyable for me.

[@leithaziz2716]

@@fishonmydish7774 Mine is a favorite of mine, but he doesn't feel like a heartless bastard in the same vein if you get where I'm coming from. It's more that he thinks everyone besides those he looks up to are hypocrites or pieces of shit. He's like a dark mirror of Kiryu. One who thinks Kiryu's a monster for beliveing he's any better than him or the Yakuza. So I end up feeling a bit bad for him. 6's on the other hand has no qualm killing family members, innocent people, or even a baby to get his way. Obviously, Mine is more interesting and charismatic and I probably prefer him more, but he's not as aggrivating or punchable as someone like "him". It also ties in to the theme of the relationship between fathers and sons. If we're talking 6, he's not my favorite antagonist in that game (that goes to Someya), but for what he's suppoused to represent, he does his job well.

[@fishonmydish7774]

@@leithaziz2716 Ah, I see, in that context yeah I definitely agree. It's just disappointing to me how lackluster his final fight was, I don't get why we got something less than 5's absolutely stunningly choreographed fight for kiryu's FINAL game as a playable character. It's just a little sad to see.

[@leithaziz2716]

@@fishonmydish7774 Mostly due to change to a new engine. I still don't get why the fight itself felt so basic when Someya's felt so climactic. So I get you.

[@dilfasriel6354]

Love ur humor, man, keep it up with the good content

[@vuautsu358]

I never really payed any proper attention to this character, but- damn, you're so right and I freaking love 'im now! Thank you! Very cool video (also apreciate the Friday Night at the end)

[@HeroicPunk]

I would absolutely love to hear your thoughts on the other villains, especially after you finish the rest of the games in the series. There are some good ones coming up, so yeah. Awesome video.

[@marvelboy2923]

I literally drop everything everytime charlie drops a new video

[@trevorduckworth2946]

Please do more Yakuza-oriented content. I started with Like a Dragon and have been blazing through them since. I desire more introspective Yakuza takes. I desire!

[@alexandras3596]

What a wonderful Christmas gift

[@Perfectix]

awesome video, never thought of him like that.

[@Beeyo176]

I love this channel

[@letskissnow987]

dude i cant wait for the yakuza games coverage, merry christmas!

[@SakuraSura]

A simple video concept, a friend talking about a character/game he likes. Brilliant

[@BattyWanderer]

a Yakuza video from you is my dream come true.

[@nostradamusnew6301]

Finally a video about Yakuza. I hope we will see more and the future. And yeah we all became to love Sagawa in the end. And cried after he got clapped

[@bisexualmajima]

Great video man, he's my favourite Yakuza antagonist too, I loved all his interactions with Majima and even if you despise him at first you come to understand him, and it's weird but amazing on the part of the writers when you realize he ultimately did have Majima's best interests in mind and could see that he was never really cut out to be a yakuza and that he had a sad life ahead of him with how much his big heartedness didn't gel with the lifestyle they'd chosen. I remember him at points trying to get Majima to stay at the Grand and stick to being a manager and him telling Majima how murdering someone changes you forever. I almost see him as a fucked up mentor/father figure to him who just doesn't know how to speak with or get through to him; we know what Sagawa's relationship is like with his own parents, so I don't think it's that much of a stretch to say he views Majima as a weird pet/son conjunction and that he really did care about him in his own strange, cold way but he generally can't connect with others due to the lifestyle he's had for so many years and he also understands the reality of the situation, how harsh the world around them is and what's at stake here so he obviously can't afford any niceties with Majima and was preparing him in the harshest way possible for the path he was insisting on taking. His relationship with Shimano is also indeed very interesting compared to all the other kyoudai bonds and I thought it was worth mentioning that according to RGG Online he had a kyoudai prior to Shimano in the Omi Alliance who was murdered, I don't know how canon it is though.

[@beorge7925]

Best video i’ve ever seen my favorite yakuza 0 character always has been

[@ahuman5192]

My personal favorite Yakuza villain is Ryuji Goda He completely dominates every scene he's in and has a pretty good story it isn't to complex but it isn't a bland story I also really like his boss fights a lot i heavily prefer his boss fights in the PS2 game cause Kiwami 2 combat kinda sucks and his boss themes are top tier Also he's a really good character in Dead Souls after realizing how Kiryu is the strongest Dragon he doesn't get mad about it he just accepts it and says Kiryu is stronger and starts making some good Takoyaki

[@PurposelessRabbitholes]

Really wish Ryuji canonically survived past Y2/Kiwami 2 (I’m not sure Dead Souls counts?). He’s such a good foil for Kiryu, and seemed like a pretty chill dude all things considered, haha. He would’ve been a great recurring villain-turned-ally. Just wish he got a bit more screen time/development throughout his game. Fun character though, no doubt

[@ScarNoobXD]

@@PurposelessRabbitholes yeah, deal souls isn't canon xd

[@SourTb]

Also, the fact that you could see him reconsider his entire life for a split second after realizing he had a younger sister really puts into perspective how shitty of a life that dude had to live. He's a GREAT character.

[@forastero54321]

What do you mean by saying ps2 combat was better?

[@dezgasting]

Honestly since I got through halfway of Kiwami 2 I kind of stopped seeing Ryuji as a villain. An antagonist, sure. But not a villain. I see him more as a rival to Kiryu. They're two dragons, and there can only be one dragon standing. But I wholeheartedly agree that his story is fantastic and he REALLY grew on me once I finished YK2. The more I played YK2, the more I liked him, honestly.

[@Ziggylata]

Nice, as always.

[@m1l22]

Just made my day better

[@aushuaisuahsa]

waiting for the 1 hour essay of dying light 2. thanks anticipated. love your videos.

[@kacklina]

puff, great and fun analysis! I love when villains get good recognition, subscribed, sadly from your channel I can see that from the games you talk about I only played the yakuza games...but I played almost all, I just need to play dead souls, sooooooooooo, hope I can see more of your Yakuza content xD.

[@autumnwalters1150]

This video convinced me to finally get into Yakuza 0, and the series in general. Thank you for introducing me to this beautiful story, friend 💖

[@forastero54321]

How are you enjoying it so far?

[@pale96_47]

Been saying that for years. First time seeing someone who shares my view

[@freshmadgod]

Please do more Yakuza vids cause this vid is really good

[@zakitebbakh8561]

Damme when I heard that you were about to upload a video I literally jumped off my set and demand a 20 m break from work

[@ineedbacon9624]

God I wish I could watch the video but I still haven't play Yakuza and I want no spoilers but knowing you the video sure it's great I'll comeback when I play all the Yakuza games

[@sakul971]

Sagawa is my favourite villain as well, but for slightly different reasons. I think because there is still so much mystery around him I interpreted his character a little different. To me he is less rat or weasel like and more just a man of duty. His job is to watch majima, get the kill done on the girl and that's what he is going to achieve. He is not concerned with being a good fighter or human, his focus is being a good yakuza. So when Majima "fucks up" by trying to save the girl, he intervenes and drops that line. Not just to be cold after killing majimas friend, but simply because majima failed his task and on top of that thought he could trick him. I don't think he ever disliked Majima and I even think he liked him because he did what Sagawa couldn't see for himself: doing whatever he wants. It just never alligned with Sagwas duty and idea of how to live the yakuza life. So yeah, in general I see him less as an asshole and I also think he has a higher respect for Majima.

[@what0hno]

You GOTTA do more like this, it's great

[@LoFiLime]

Excellent vid mate, I didn't think enough about Sagawa at the time, I was just like this guy is a JERK and then went to run my cabaret club for hours. Now I have to replay Y0

[@fortunatesoul12]

Just got into Gamepass and I see most of the Yakuza games are leaving soon. This video is making me consider to just download and binge them. Edit: Also, I don't know if it was planned, but I got an ad right after "Wel'll be right back", just perfect

[@youraverageanimeviewer6495]

Trust me bro binging the series is worth it but you may need to have alot of time on your hands because all of the games are pretty long ESPECIALLY yakuza 5 im on yakuza like a dragon right now and im really enjoying it and im almost getting emotional because im going to finish such an amazing series whitch has taken me almost a year to complete i got faith that youll finnish the games before they get removed from the gamepass tho. Btw there are a shit ton of emotional scenes so be prepared cry like a man also do karaoke

[@badasscrusader]

Same boat finished k2 just in time felt bad about speed running k1 and 2 but at least I got the story beats,time for 3 and I don't have to worry about speed running it this time

[@cdn205]

Last i checked theyre on sale I bought like 4 of the games 3 of them at 3.99 each

[@analysissel]

I'd always loved Sagawa's role in the story but I'd never appreciated it to this extent. And honestly? I'm glad you're here to do that for me, because I definitely would've overlooked precisely how great he was if it wasn't for you.

[@ThinkpieceTribe]

Wake up babe...new Purposeless Rabbitholes video just dropped

[@MrAwewqe]

loved it, plus engagement!

[@bluescarblues6473]

Hidenari Ugaki i'd say is the best performance in the game. This man is capable of switching between goofy, to serious, to suave all in one scene. Every emotion is brought to life by Ugaki. It takes serious skill to seamlessly switch between all those emotions, pitches and tones while still sounding like that character. Honestly, RGG really knows who to cast. This series is full of amazing performances that you can pick pretty much any performance and have a valid reason as to why they are the best.

[@ok-tchau]

Kuze is the one I would love to play as main character on a 70s or 80s spin-off.

[@jcman-lp6lg]

I cannot unsee that Shibusawa scene no more thanks...

[@thatwouldbeme]

Honestly dude if you made a big boi video on all of Yakuza 0 my life would be complete but I get that's insane

[@LazyRare]

Amazing

[@zman-rf9md]

NEW VIDEO LETS GOOOOOOOOOOO

[@tupll997]

Honestly i loved sagawa he was one of my favorite chars i was pretty sad when he got shot at the end

[@Elozero250]

Yes he got that mafioso killed ending

[@tupll997]

@@Elozero250 Haha true

[@jasonblundelldobebussing]

2:22 Ah yes, I agree. Goro and Kiril are two of the characters in gaming history. (Can you name them all though?)

[@idwiw172]

Snake,jacket… idk the rest

[@KanyeWestHashi]

Kiril

[@jasonblundelldobebussing]

@@KanyeWestHashi , yes.

[@kakkadasekazvam3968]

Metodii?

[@jasonblundelldobebussing]

@@kakkadasekazvam3968 , absolutely

[@joecipoletti4764]

Maybe one day we'll get a game explaining Shintaro Kazama/Kashiwagi, Shimano/Sagawa, and Dojima/his lieutenants backstories. I know yakuza 0 is the prequel game, but still would be interesting imo. Probably not, would be rad tho.

[@zumo3359]

I just love the fact everytime he randomly shows up a song plays like it’s his theme, it’s so funny to me

[@burningknuckle26]

Incredible storytelling

[@absentminded2254]

FINALLY finally sagwad has gotten the attention he deserves

[@vincevileborne]

THE HOMIE CHARLIE IS BACK✊🏾💯‼️

[@holymacarony_8784]

Very cool

[@DMAN99]

Man you’re gonna love a certain old man in Yakuza 6.

[@katunu6030]

Im sad that I looked through your channel and found no more yakuza videos.

[@swagitstunas]

[Spoilers just in case you haven’t played or finished Y0, in which case, do it right mf now] Honestly out of all characters, Sagawa was the one that I kinda forgot about, but out of all the moments with him and Majima, the one I remember the most was the last scene they have together. Something about the way they say goodbye made me kinda warm up a 𝚕𝚒𝚝𝚝𝚕𝚎 𝚋𝚒𝚝 to Sagawa’s character a bit after all the bs he put Majima through. It’s just so damn genuine and I’ll admit, I was kinda sad when he died. Imagine if Sagawa wasn’t so hard on Majima’s ass about the Empty Lot and Makoto, and The Grand, and was just like (another) brother to him. There’s so much stuff in this game that you can rewatch and replay again to find out more new details and appreciate it even more. Tho I will agree, he’s a dick and might be a sociopath lmao, that scene with him telling the story about the cat as a kid was out of pocket

[@jojobrojo5062]

Would love to see a video on the Judgment games