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| “ | Who did you say was inept? Who'd you say has less potential than Kiryu? Here's a gift you can bring to hell with you... The man who killed Dojima... It was me! | „ |
| ~ Akira Nishikiyama to Matsushige after he stabs him. |
| “ | Did those ten years make a difference? Prehaps you've gotten weaker after all? | „ |
| ~ Nishiki, during his last battle with Kiryu in the original Yakuza. |
Akira Nishikiyama, also known by his nickname Nishiki, is a major character in SEGA's Like a Dragon (Ryū ga Gotoku, formerly known as Yakuza in the west) franchise, specially of the Yakuza Saga.
He is one of the two main antagonists (alongside Kyohei Jingu) as well as the final boss of Yakuza and it's remake Yakuza Kiwami, and one of the two deuteragonists (alongside Makoto Makimura) of it's prequel Yakuza 0 (specifically serving as the deuteragonist of Kiryu's scenario and an minor character of Majima's scenario).
Starting out as a soldier alongside Kiryu, he rose to the rank of captain and eventually became is the first patriarch (Don) of the Nishikiyama family and the sworn brother of Kazuma Kiryu. Once a loyal and kind friend, he became a cold and ruthless man who wanted to prove his superiority over Kiryu. After being defeated, he realizes the error of his actions and sacrifices himself to kill Jingu. Despite his death and betrayal, Nishiki is still heavily remembered by Kiryu, who still grieves for him.
He was voiced by Kazuhiro Nakaya. In the English dub for the first game on the PS2, he was voiced by Michael Rosenbaum who also played Lex Luthor in Smallville.
Appearance[]
Nishikiyama has a muscular build and loose, black shoulder length hair in Yakuza 0, as well as the prologue and flashback sequences in Yakuza Kiwami. In Yakuza/Yakuza Kiwami, his hair is slicked back after killing Matsushige and wiping it with his blood.
Nishikiyama's tattoo depicts a red koi swimming upwards and was tattooed by Utabori. The koi is red with white fins and red scales with white edges. The koi is surrounded by gray waves. His tattoo represents his ambition to climb the ranks of the Tojo Clan, as in Japanese and Chinese mythology, the Koi must swim upstream the Yellow River through the dragon's gate of Longmen to turn into a dragon. In Yakuza 0, only his tattoo's outline is finished.
In Yakuza and Yakuza Kiwami, Nishikiyama wears a double-breasted white suit, black dress shirt, white patterned necktie, and black crocodile leather oxfords.
In Yakuza 0, he wears a maroon suit with a black and gold patterned dress shirt, a necklace with a silver pendant that has a diagonal checkered pattern, a dark brown leather belt with a gold buckle, and shiny dark brown cap toe oxfords.
During the prologue and flashback sequences of Yakuza and Yakuza Kiwami respectively, he wears a two button notch lapel white suit jacket with black slacks and a black dress shirt with a popped collar, instead of the double breasted peaked lapel white suit and black dress shirt with a white tie that he wears later on.
While he was in school, Nishikiyama wore a black gakuran over a magenta t-shirt with black oxfords.
Personality[]
Before Yakuza/Yakuza Kiwami, Nishikiyama was a model modern yakuza, and he often teased Kiryu for being old-fashioned and not getting in with the times. Despite this, Nishikiyama was very loyal to Kiryu and their adoptive father/mentor Kazama, as seen when he was willing to betray the Dojima family and fights Goro Majima in order to protect Kiryu and Makoto. Nishikiyama was also very popular with the ladies, which he only did in order to gain the respect of higher-ups. Nishikiyama fought alongside his sworn brother many times and promised that he'd always be there. Nishikiyama also seems to worry about Kiryu for his reckless attempts against the Dojima Family. He also firmly believes that people can succeed in the world through appearance rather than substance.
But after ten years, in the first game, Nishikiyama has drastically changed to a cold and vengeful person. This stems from his deep inferiority complex against Kiryu, triggered by the Dojima Family, who made it clear to Nishikiyama that he is useless and unfit to be a leader of a family much less the chairman. Compounded with Kazama's favoritism towards Kiryu, Nishikiyama frequently misinterpreted the words of those around him, thinking that they're tormenting him, except for Matsushige, who he fully understands and knows if he's insulting him or not. An example of the misintepret is when he goes back to Reina to tell her of what happened that night in October 8, 1995. Reina then gets distraught over how Nishikiyama didn't keep his promise in not making her worry over Kiryu and Yumi and frantically asks why he couldn't do anything to save them. But Nishikiyama misunderstood and thought she was calling him useless like those Dojima Family Members were. Reina tries to deny it, but Nishikiyama slaps her anyway in rage.
There are hints of Nishiki's transformation in the next game in Yakuza 0, where he tearfully disparages himself for not having the strength to kill Kiryu so that he could spare him from being punished by the Tojo Clan. But in Yakuza/Yakuza Kiiwami, to get to the missing 10 billion yen, he went as far as hurting his former friends and betraying them for his ambition of becoming chairman, even getting some of them killed. It was at the end of the game where he was defeated that he finally regretted his actions and sacrificed his life to stop Jingu, as well as attempting to reassert one last degree of control in his life.
Quotes[]
Yakuza 0[]
| “ | What does killing this guy get you? A lot of nothing! Someday, if the time ever comes where you have to cross that line… I’m crossing it with you! | „ |
| ~ Nishiki urges Kiryu not to kill Shibusawa. |
Yakuza/Yakuza Kiwami[]
| “ | Kiryu: Nishiki. Take Yumi and get out. Nishiki: Are you nuts?! You take her and go! Kiryu: If you were gone, what would happen to your sister? Isn't her next operation her last? How is she going to get through without you? |
„ |
| ~ Nishiki's protest to Kiryu when he vows to turn himself in after he murdered Dojima only for the latter to declare to take the blame instead and remind him about his dying sister and how he can only save her |
| “ | Nishiki: Are you calling me useless? Reina: No! That's not what I- Nishiki: YOU THINK I'M GOOD FOR NOTHING, TOO!?! |
„ |
| ~ Nishiki to Reina after she asks him why he couldn't keep his promise in not making her worry over Kiryu and Yumi and frantically asks why he couldn't do anything to save them before slapping her in a fit of rage. |
| “ | Are you serious, Kashiwagi-san? | „ |
| ~ Nishiki to Osamu Kashiwagi when he finally gets the news by Shintaro Kazama that he is to run his own family |
| “ | Matsushige! I dare you to say that again! | „ |
| ~ Nishiki to Matsushige when the captain speaks against him in a Nishikiyama Family Meeting. |
| “ | I'll make it to the top... | „ |
| ~ Nishiki vowing to himself to make it "the top" |
| “ | Nishiki: What have you fools done? Goon 1: I'm sorry, boss. We couldn't get her to talk. Nishiki: Who told you to kill her? Goon 1:Huh? B-Boss? (Nishiki shoots Goon 1, killing him. Goon 2 collapses onto the floor in horror. Nishiki then turns his attention to him) Goon 2: Wait! Please! Nishiki (In Pure Rage): She was Yumi's sister! Who told you to kill her?! WHO TOLD YOU!?!?!? (Nishiki repeatedly shoots Goon 2, alerting other family members, including Koji Shindo, who come running into the room. After his ammo runs out, Nishiki throws his gun at Goon 2's body in disgust.) Shindo: Boss! Leave it to us. We'll clean this up. (Nishiki then stomps out of the room, slamming the door behind him.) |
„ |
| ~ Nishiki finding out about his goons killing "Mizuki". |
| “ | The responsibility is mine, so let me do this. | „ |
| ~ Nishiki's last words before pulling the trigger on the gun to blow up the bomb in the vault and killing both himself and Jingu.
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Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- Nishikiyama shares the same voice actor as the series' newest protagonist, Ichiban Kasuga.
- Nishikiyama's theme in the original Yakuza is remixed for each boss encounter with him throughout the rest of the games.
- In Yakuza 6, after obtaining the photograph of him within the Millenium Tower, Nishikiyama's ghost may appear in photos taken in certain areas across Kamurocho.
- In Yakuza 2 and its remake Yakuza Kiwami 2, Kiryu pays his respects to Nishiki at his grave, which is situated alongside the graves of Shintaro Kazama and Yumi Sawamura. The player will then have the option to play a recap of major events in the previous game, which are by narrated by Kiryu in flashback sequences. In the ending of Yakuza Kiwami 2, as well as during Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, it is shown that Yukio Tereda's grave is also situated near their graves.
- Nishikyama has a doppleganger called Okada Izō, a samurai assassin in the video game Ryū ga Gotoku Ishin!
- Nishikiyama's quote "Ten Years In The Joint" became an popular internet meme, even appearing in some Yakuza videos.
- Devilleon7, a Yakuza Youtuber, once beat this guy in a "fair fist-fight" while other players would go crazy on him with the furniture around Ares or the weapons they brought to the fight.
- The Tattoo on his back, The Koi, forshadows his story and his ending: A carp is closely connected to the dragon, based on the Chinese mythological tale of carps leaping over the Dragon Gate. According to the legend, carp that swim up the Yellow River in China and leap over a legendary waterfall known as the "Dragon's Gate" are transformed into dragons. But the saddest part of this is that he dies in his journey in 2005. All he wanted was to become a legendary dragon like Kazuma Kiryu.
- Nishikiyama was the only villain/final boss in the Yakuza Series to be recurring (Yakuza 0) and to be related to the protagonist, Kiryu.
- Players have argured for years over whose fault was it that Nishikiyama changed. Some say that Kazama was responsible when Futoshoi Shimano accuses Kazama of giving Nishikiyama men he can't control. Some say it was Matsushige's for insulting him too much and some say it was Kiryu for taking the blame instead of Nishikiyama since Kashiwagi said that Kiryu would have been a better leader of his own family than Nishikiyama.
- Players have said that when the original Yakuza game released in 2005, they didn't feel remorse for Nishikiyama and called him "The Evil Brother Who Just Betrayed You". But after playing Yakuza 0 (2015) and seeing the flashback cutscenes in Yakuza Kiwami, it made them feel sorry for him and made them cry.
- He was also the only final boss in the Yakuza Series to turn from a deutragonist to an antagonist while the others remained evil for the rest of the games.
External links[]
- Akira Nishikiyama on the Heroes Wiki
[]
 Villains
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Tojo Clan Chairmen: Masaru Sera | Yukio Terada | Daigo Dojima Dojima Family: Sohei Dojima |
Daisaku Kuze |
Hiroki Awano |
Keiji Shibusawa |
Lao Gui |
Yoneda Others Omi Alliance Go-ryu Clan (Ryuji Goda | Hiroshi Hayashi) | Tsubasa Kurosawa | Hiroshi Kugihara | Shigeki Baba | Homare Nishitani | Homare Nishitani III | Kamon Kanai | Tsukasa Sagawa | Toranosuke Sengoku | Ryo Takashima | Jo Sawashiro | Kosei Shishido | Reiji Ishioda | Yosuke Tendo Daidoji Faction Other Criminal Organizations Jingweon Mafia: Daejin Kim |
Yeongmin Ji |
Joon-gi Han Police Bleach Japan Mr. Shakedowns Mutoh Realty Order of Munan Chohept Onast Amon Clan Other Spin-offs See Also | ||