I don’t know about you but watching Like A Dragon: Yakuza gave me something of a headache because of just how confused I was watching it. This is not to say the show itself is convoluted, but my lack of any knowledge about Japanese culture and struggling to keep up with the names of the characters as they navigate two timelines definitely had me lost. The show tells the story of 4 orphans, Kiryu and his 3 friends, who want to flee their orphan lifestyle. They live in a foster home and plan a heist at their local arcade. What they don’t realize is that they’ve just planned on robbing the Yakuza family that rules the entire area, the Dojima family. Soon after stealing the money, the 4 decide to get on a bus and escape the place; however, the next day, they don’t end up making the bus, but instead, they’re caught by the Yakuza. The series goes back and forth between the timeline of 1995 and 2005, kind of like “Pachinko.” It’s a violent show, and from what I’m gathering, it’s about finding family outside of home. Anyway, with that said, let’s try and gather all the important information from the first three episodes of Like A Dragon: Yakuza.
Spoiler Alert
How Does The Gang Join The Yakuza?
At the beginning of the first episode of Like A Dragon: Yakuza, the gang, namely, Kiryu, Nishiki, Miho, and Yumi, are all set to steal some money. However, their plans fail miserably, and they’re taken to the Dojima family, where the clan leader gives them one last meal before they die. Of course, this is a shocking revelation, but it seems Kiryu had a plan all along. When he was younger, he saw “The Dragon” fighting in underground fights; now Kiryu claims he wants to be the Dragon for the Dojima and restore the family’s pride. This doesn’t go as planned, but Kiryu says if he fights and wins in one of the underground boxing matches, then he gets to join the family; otherwise, the four have to pay 25 million yen each for ruining the reputation of the family. The Dojima agree, and at first, Kiryu isn’t doing very well; however, he gets some advice from the guy who runs the orphanage, Kazama, who also happens to be a well-respected ex-Yakuza. The match ends in a tie, but this means there’s something in Kiryu, and now he has a new dad, and so do the rest of his friends (after Nishiki almost cuts his finger off). They start to work for the Dojima family. After they’re indoctrinated, things go pretty well for the group of 4. Miho is Nishiki’s sister, and she has big dreams of getting out of the country using the money she earns as an escort (of sorts).
In the 2005 timeline, Kiryu is about to be released from prison when he gets a visitor stating that there may be a war raging between the Ohmi Clan and the Tojo Clan. Dojima belongs to the Tojo Clan. Kiryu claims he’s got nothing to do with them anymore, but the man asks him to reconsider taking the “Gokudo,” or the wicked path (according to a quick Google search, so take with a grain of salt), because he’s the only one who can stop a Yakuza war. In this timeline, Nishiki is the face of the Tojo Clan. The reason the Ohmi Clan is mad is because someone’s stolen from them; this someone happens to be Aiko, Yumi’s sister. The first episode ends with Yumi getting attacked by what I can only imagine is the Ohmi Clan and narrowly escaping death using her skills.
Who Is The Masked Person?
We don’t really have any information about this person except that he/she/they killed a bunch of the Tojo Clan members, including the second-in-command, and engraved inverted pentagrams in their chests. I’m guessing they’re someone on the Ohmi Clan’s side, but that could just be something to throw us off. At the end of the 3rd episode we also see this person in heels, so could it possibly be Miho, who’s been missing in the 2005 timeline? All we know is that he’s called the Devil of Shinjuku.
What Happens to Edgar Beale?
In the 1995 timeline, the Dojima planned a skyscrapper in the city that is designed for work and play called the Millennium Tower. For this, they need to impress an American named Edgar Beale, so he hands over his property to them for development. I suppose Edgar finds himself too righteous and doesn’t want to give his land to thugs and violent animals belonging to the Yakuza. A man named Oishi asks Kiryu to join him in getting the papers and the “Hanko,” i.e., his personal seal, from Edgar’s safe. What they don’t know is that Kazama, who is friends with Edgar, has also seen him give his “Hanko” to his sister Alice. But things get really messy when Edgar is found dead in the bathroom stall right after Oishi and Kiryu come out with the papers. But Kazama might know what actually happened to Edgar.
When Kazama comes to check on Miho, who falls sick after overdrinking, she overhears him speaking to Alice on the phone and tells Nishiki about a Hotel Kanada, where Alice is placed. Nishiki and Kiryu make it there, but they’re not able to reach Alice from reception (for obvious reasons). At the same time, two other men of their own clan are also looking for Alice and show up at the hotel. The 4 start fighting with each other, and Alice escapes, but Nishiki and Kiryu manage to catch up with her. She pulls a gun on them, and as they dodge, one of the other guys who was after them gets shot. So, those two guys pull out their guns in broad daylight and completely ruin Dojima’s reputation, and instead of Kiryu getting the seal, a police officer who they refer to as The Rat gets it to the Dojima instead. Or maybe he was just pretending to be police to scare off the two newbies.
Where was Aiko?
When Yumi was young, she and her sister witnessed their mother walk into a lake and never come back. After moving to the orphanage, Aiko left Yumi and ran away. In 1995, after joining the Yakuza, Yumi decides to look for her sister. Now she has money and contacts to help her out. Yumi learns Aiko is in Osaka with a man named Indy, but he wants 50,000 yen in return for Aiko’s whereabouts. Yumi agrees in a heartbeat, and Miho decides to go with her to Osaka. But what they find is a shady bar and no Aiko. They also lose the 50,000 anyway. What’s worse is that this was Aiko’s plan, because she happens to be there, and all she says to Indy is that her sister’s grown up to be pretty.
In 2005, Aiko runs a manga shop and has a daughter of about 6 or 7. She’s making plans to go to Hawaii and start a shabu shabu restaurant when her daughter asks her to get her doughnuts. Aiko leaves her daughter in the shop with one of her employees and goes off to get doughnuts. Within 5 minutes, a group of men show up in scary-looking masks. They hurt everybody in the shop and set it on fire, but somehow Kiryu manages to save Aiko’s daughter in time and takes her to Yumi’s home. On the other hand, Kiryu and Nishiki reunite. Kiryu wonders if the Ohmi attacked Yumi, and Nishiki acknowledges it.
In the older timeline, The Rat gives the boss the Hanko, and the boss gives him some money in return, thanking him for his work. He then gives him the name “Florist of Sai,” and this becomes relevant in 2005 because The Rat then knows everything about Kamurocho. Remember the Millennium Tower? It exists in 2005, and the Florist sits in the basement with all his surveillance cameras, and he can help find where Aiko’s run off too because she was not found in the manga store. He agrees to give them the information if Kiryu agrees to fight in front of him again. Kiryu signs the papers because he feels protective of Aiko, I guess, or maybe it’s because he might be in love with Yumi? I don’t know yet.
At the end of Like A Dragon: Yakuza episode 3, it’s the 28th of July 2005, and Indy is seen in the middle of nowhere, finding a bar open till late. He drunkenly starts to talk to the bar owner even though they’re way past closing time, but before he can finish his sentence, the masked man smacks his head on the table and drags him out. So this has me wondering: is Aiko kidnapped by the masked man, or worse, is she with him? Or is she him? I’m not sure yet, but we’ll find out next week on Like A Dragon: Yakuza.
