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| “ | I've got my own brand of "Justice" | „ |
| ~ Masayoshi Tanimura |
Masayoshi Tanimura is one of the four main protagonists (alongside Shun Akiyama, Taiga Saejima and Kazuma Kiryu) of Yakuza 4, the fourth main installment of the Yakuza Saga in SEGA's Like a Dragon (Ryū ga Gotoku, formerly known as Yakuza in the west) franchise.
He's born to a Thai mother and a police officer named Yusuke Kaga. He's voiced by and his face likeness is based on Hiroki Narimiya. A young Japanese man of mixed ethnicity who somehow endures the prejudices of Japanese society. Tanimura learns that the murder of his father mightbe related to the corruption in the force and begins a journey to seek out the truth.
In the original, he was voiced by Hiroki Narimiya. In the remastered version, he was voiced by Toshiki Matsuda.
Biography[]
Masayoshi is a corrupt cop called "The Parasite of Kamurocho." He takes bribes, tickets anyone who looks at him funny, and ignores his beat to go gambling, drinking, and visiting hostesses. The death of his father at the hands of the Tojo family has left him with a venomous hatred of yakuza. Despite his flaws, he does genuinely care about the people of Kamurocho.
Personality[]
Tanimura has a very lackadaisical approach to enforcing the law, often gambling viciously while on the job, is prone to as much excessive violence as any other Yakuza protagonist, and doesn’t hesitate to extort and accept bribes from places hiring illegal immigrants. However, his heart's still in the right place, as he uses those ill-gotten gains primarily to support the community of poor immigrants in Little Asia, particularly the children separated from their parents due to deportation.
Fighting Style[]
Masayoshi's fighting moves are Police Combat Style, with influences from aikido and jujutsu. He mainly does parrying and submissions (e.g. bonebreaking) during combat. The end of each of his combos will activate Heat Action. Masayoshi however has low health, and his attacks are slow. He only relies on building up Heat and using combos, as well as using his main technique being the parry.
Trivia[]
- On December 2, 2016, Hiroki Narimiya would face drug allegations from Japanese tabloid Friday. Despite initially proving his innocence, Narimiya would leave the entertainment business.[1] This controversy not only led to Toshiki Masuda voicing Tanimura in the remaster but also a redesign as well, as the original Tanimura was based on Narimiya's likeness.
- This has led to some misconceptions where Tanimura's disappearance from Yakuza 5 and onward was due to these drug allegations. However, the allegations occurred after the releases of Yakuza 5 and Yakuza 0, where he was already nowhere to be seen.
- Tanimura is the only character who fights the final boss instead of Kiryu in the mainline series leading up to Yakuza 6.
- Tanimura is a polyglot, being able to speak multiple languages due to his upbringing in Little Asia. Based on what is confirmed in Yakuza 4, Tanimura also speaks Mandarin Chinese, Korean, Thai and Tagalog.
- There are a few references to Tanimura after Yakuza 4:
- During the events of Yakuza: Dead Souls, some civilians discuss a cop who always visited mahjong parlors during work, and that he was dragged out of the force. It is highly implied that this former cop is Tanimura. Furthermore, a young child in Little Asia references a "Masa" when asked if he spoke Japanese, which is Tanimura's nickname.
- In Yakuza: Like a Dragon, the Job EXP item for Koichi Adachi's Detective Class, Vintage Notebook, has a description that reads: "A notebook detailing the life of a man who never lost sight of his vision of justice". Tanimura wrote his revelations in a notebook, and the kanji form of his given name Masayoshi (正義) translates to "justice".
- During Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, one of Kiryu's memories, triggered by examining a spot in Little Asia, references Tanimura. Kiryu has lost contact with him but hopes he is doing well, and notes that Little Asia is still recovering from the catastrophic fire it faced during Yakuza 6.
- In Yakuza 4, as a reference to the Four Symbols, Tanimura represents the Black Tortoise.
- In Minamida's IF7-R, Tanimura's AI is referred to as the "Impregnable Tortoise".
External Links[]
- Masayoshi Tanimura on the Inconsistently Admirable Wiki
- Masayoshi Tanimura on the Yakuza/Like a Dragon Wiki
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- ↑ [Japanese Entertainment] The unfortunate story of an actor's career being destroyed over false allegations- the story of Hiroki Narimiya