Okita Soji

Okita Soji (, Okita Sōji), born Hirayama Goro (, Hirayama Gorō), is a major supporting character featured in Ryu Ga Gotoku Ishin!/Like a Dragon: Ishin!.
He is the Shinsengumi Captain of the First Division and shares his in-game appearance with Goro Majima.
== Profile ==
=== Appearance ===
Though similar in appearance to Goro Majima, he does not have any tattoos, and sports a different hairstyle, with his short hair pulled up into a high ponytail.
==== Attire ====
Okita is usually seen wearing a blue Shinsengumi haori but, unlike the rest of the members, he does not appear to wash it and wears the bloodstains on it with pride. He wears grey hakama pants with no shirt, along with a pair of tabi (socks) and waraji (straw sandals).
His other outfit consists of a maroon kimono over a white nagajuban (undergarment). He wears the same hakama pants, tabi and waraji as he does while wearing his haori. He also wears a black beaded necklace and his eyepatch is fashioned from a leather strap and a katana's tsuba. 
=== Personality ===
Okita is no different to modern-day Majima.
Whilst in battle, he shows a fierce verocity that rivals his modern counterpart. He seems to enjoy fighting, seeing as he claims it get's his blood pumping. He was also more than willing to fight Ryoma on more than one occassion just to see how well he can put up a fight.
His personality outside of battle shows a more carefree attitude, as he usually walks with a hand on his sheathed blade. He also doesn't seem to care much for public appearance, as during Ryoma's induction into the Shinsengumi, it shows Okita laying down on both his and Ryoma's spot, showing his disinterest in other people.
After his mentor was found dead, he becomes filled to the brim with rage and anguish, enough to order his division to make sure no one can help his search for his master's murderer. When he eventually finds out the murderer was claimed to be Sakamoto Ryoma, he decides with no second thought to attempt to kill Ryoma in order to avenge his master, showing his vengeful but loyal side.
He seems to have more of a somber side to him, as he does care for his fellow Shinsengumi samurai. This is seen when Hijikata brings the deceased Todo Heisuke to the body of Takeda Kanryusai, where he sheds a tear for his deceased comrades.
== Background ==
Okita used to be known by the name Hirayama Goro and he was once a wandering ronin who deserted the Mito Domain Army alongside his friend, Hirama Jusuke. They eventually met Serizawa Kamo, another Mito deserter, who took them in as pupils and taught them his unique "Tennen Rishin" sword fighting style. The three men became a gang of bandits, living as outlaws for a time until Serizawa met Kondo Isami, a peasant-born samurai from Edo who was putting together a special team of samurai to protect the capital from Loyalist samurai who threatened the Tokugawa Bakufu's authority. Kondo had heard of Serizawa and his pupils' skills and wished to invite them to join this new group, which the three men agreed to do, in the hopes of leaving behind their lives of crime. Kondo's new group would be formed and named the "Miburoshigumi".
In 1866, three other members of the Miburoshigumi, Okita Soji, Inoue Genzaburo and Nagakura Shinpachi, became angered by what they perceived as favoritism on Kondo's part towards Serizawa and his pupils, whom they disdained because of their criminal past. Eventually, Okita, Inoue and Nagakura decided to set-up a trap for the three Mito samurai: One night, they drugged Hirayama and Hirama's drinks to put them to sleep and they awaited for Serizawa to return from a mission. Once the older samurai arrived, the three aggrieved samurai attacked him together. Unfortunately for the traitors, Serizawa proved too skilled for them and he ended up killing Inoue and Nagakura before being disarmed by Okita. By this point, however, the noise of the battle awoke Hirayama and Hirama, who then killed Okita before he could do the same to their mentor.
Immediately afterwards, Chief Kondo and Deputy Chief Hijikata Toshizo arrived. Serizawa tried to explain what had transpired to the commanders, begging that his pupils be spared punishment for having struck down one of their own since they'd only done so to save him. Chief Kondo believed that Serizawa was telling the truth and that the three dead men started the fight, but lamented that this incident of internal violence will ruin the nascent Miburoshigumi's reputation with their Bakufu paymasters, especially since Okita, Inoue and Nagakura had a reputation for being the group's best fighters. Ultimately, in order to cover-up the attempted coup and preserve the renown which the three fallen samurai brought, Serizawa, Hirayama and Hirama agreed to change names and pretend to be Inoue, Okita and Nagakura, respectively.
The Miburoshigumi eventually became the Bakufu's primary force to maintain control of the capital. They were renamed the "Shinsengumi" and they expanded their operations considerably. Having been part of the organization from the start, Okita was inducted into the leadership as Captain of the 1st Division.
==Involvement==
=== Ryu Ga Gotoku Ishin!/Like a Dragon: Ishin!: 1867 ===
In 1867, Sakamoto Ryoma (acting under the alias of "Saito Hajime") decides to join the Shinsengumi to find his foster father's killer, who was a Tennen Rishin user and thus a member of the Shinsengumi's elite leadership. During tryouts, Sakamoto duels Nagakura and manages to keep pace with him long enough that Nagakura agrees to let him join the group. However, the tryout was also witnessed by Okita, who is less convinced about Sakamoto. After Okita belittles Sakamoto's swordsmanship, Sakamoto mocks Okita because he's not as good-looking as his reputation suggested. Amused, Okita decides to test Sakamoto for himself and attacks him with his sword. The two men have a brief crossing of swords, which ends with Okita pinning Sakamoto to the ground with his sword at his neck. However, just as Okita begins to gloat, he realizes that Sakamoto had drawn his wakizashi and aimed it at Okita's heart before falling to the ground, meaning Sakamoto also had him in a killing position and thus their duel has ended in a tie. Annoyed but impressed, Okita concedes that Sakamoto is good enough for the Shinsengumi.
The next day, Deputy Chief Hijikata holds a leadership meeting where he intends to announce both the execution of Yamanami Keisuke for desertion and the incorporation of Sakamoto as his replacement in the position of 3rd Division Captain. Okita arrives late for the meeting and, once he's there, he lies down lazily across both his seat and the 3rd Division Captain's. When Sakamoto arrives, Okita begrudgingly sits up so Sakamoto can sit at his assigned spot, showing contempt for him.
Okita distrusts Sakamoto, so he frequently spies on him and follows him around. When Sakamoto goes to a private meeting with Chief Kondo at Asahi, a restaurant in Gion, Okita spies on the meeting and learns of his true identity, as well as his mission to find the Tennen Rishin user who killed his foster father.
Using this information, Okita decides to stage an elaborate plan with the goal of fighting Sakamoto one-on-one. Okita meets with Sengoku Toranojo, a textile merchant who's been hiding Loyalists in his mansion for money, and offers to spare him for his crimes if he helps him capture the next group of Loyalists who use his mansion as a hideout and also helps him with his plan to lure Sakamoto into a trap. After Sengoku agrees, Okita tells Sakamoto about his plan to raid Sengoku's mansion to capture the Loyalists he's hiding (but doesn't tell him Sengoku is on the plan) and asks for his help in doing so. Sakamoto suspects Okita may have ulterior motives, but goes along anyway.
When the assault on the mansion begins, Okita and his men become occupied dealing with the shishi while Sakamoto goes to capture Sengoku by himself, ultimately pinning him down in his sitting room. Just as Sakamoto is arresting a confused Sengoku, Okita arrives and reveals the scheme to his colleague. Sengoku is relieved to see Okita and begins idly chatting with him, propositioning that he and the Shinsengumi should continue to work together. However, in speaking with Okita, Sengoku makes two mistakes that anger the 1st Division Captain: he insults Serizawa Kamo (who unbeknownst to Sengoku, is Okita's mentor and friend) and he reveals that Okita was tending Sakamoto a trap as well. Irritated by Sengoku's loose-mouth, Okita proceeds to kill him.
Okita then lies and tells Sakamoto that he is the Tennen Rishin user that he has been pursuing, and instigates him further by recounting how good it felt to cut down his foster father. He and Sakamoto fight, and Okita ends up losing. He tells Sakamoto to kill him and get his revenge, but Sakamoto refuses since he's realized that Okita's fighting style is too different from the one used by the assassin he had fought a year prior. Okita concedes, and reveals that he just wanted a true fight between them, with no holds barred. It is also possible that Okita intended to trick Sakamoto into killing him so that he would be sated in his revenge and thus wouldn't keep searching for the true killer, who is Okita's mentor, Inoue.
A while later, while both men return to the Shinsengumi's base, Sakamoto receives a letter informing him of the execution of his childhood best friend, Loyalist shishi Takechi Hanpeita.
Soon after, Inoue is assassinated on the street at night and his body is dumped in the Fushimi docks, where it's found by fishermen in the morning. The murder shocks the Shinsengumi's captains, as Inoue had been one of their most respected members. 10th Division Captain Harada Sanosuke wants to go out into the streets with his men to murder any suspected Loyalist they find. Though he's initially stopped from doing so by Deputy Chief Hijikata, a furious Okita backs up Harada, but insists that his 1st Division should take the lead while Harada's 10th Division should provide support. Hijikata tries to stop both men but Okita is insistent on finding the man who killed his mentor, so he leaves with his troops despite orders to the contrary. Determined to stop a massacre, Hijikata instructs Sakamoto to stop Okita.
Okita and his troops find, interrogate and kill multiple Loyalists throughout the capital and many of them point the finger for Inoue's murder at the same man: "Sakamoto Ryoma". By this point, Okita had also learned that there was a Loyalist who had been using Sakamoto's name as an alias, so he's unsure if the fake Sakamoto or the real Sakamoto is the killer, since the real Sakamoto has the best motive to kill Inoue, given that he was the mysterious assassin who'd killed the true Sakamoto's foster father.
Sakamoto eventually catches up to Okita in Mukurogai, where another confrontation occurs between the two men. Okita accuses Sakamoto of killing Inoue as revenge for his foster father's murder, but a shocked Sakamoto denies this, saying he didn't know Inoue was the Tennen Rishin assassin. Okita doesn't believe him and attacks him once again, this time using a near-perfect imitation of Inoue's Tennen Rishin style which had defeated Sakamoto the previous year. However, Sakamoto manages to defeat and disarm Okita. Immediately afterwards, Chief Kondo arrives and assures Okita that the false "Sakamoto" is Inoue's killer, not the real Sakamoto. He also confirms to Sakamoto that Inoue was indeed the man who killed his foster father, having done so at the behest of this false "Sakamoto", who'd promised to use his influence in the Loyalist movement to get Inoue, Okita and Nagakura pardoned for their desertion from Mito. Kondo also reveals the three men's secret identity changes to Sakamoto.
Kondo then tells Okita and Sakamoto that the false "Sakamoto Ryoma" has been staying at Teradaya, so they ought to go there before any other Shinsengumi captains. Okita and Sakamoto travel to Teradaya and find that Military Advisor Ito Kashitaro and 5th Division Captain Takeda Kanryusai have already marshaled their forces to raid the inn. Since Okita and Sakamoto wish to take the false "Ryoma" alive for questioning and don't wish to risk the other two's forces killing him, Okita tricks Ito into leaving by saying that Chief Kondo wants to speak with him to discuss his possible retirement. 
After Ito and Takeda have left, Okita takes over the raid, but puts it briefly on hold so Sakamoto can warn the inn's owner, Otose, and her maid, Oryo, to get out before the troops burst in. Unfortunately, after Sakamoto warns Oryo, she in turn warns the false "Sakamoto", since she doesn't wish to be complicit in any Shinsengumi killings. With the Loyalists alerted, Okita and Sakamoto rush into the inn to capture the false "Ryoma" before he escapes. The two men find the false "Sakamoto", who is dressed like a masked komuso monk, in a room on the inn's second floor and have a brief fight with him, during which the Loyalist's shirt is torn at the back and Sakamoto sees the false "Sakamoto" has the same scar as his supposedly dead foster brother, Takechi. Okita prepares to chase after the false "Ryoma", but he's stopped by the arrival of Sasaki Tadasaburo and his Mimawarigumi troops, who inform both captains that the Bakufu have assigned them to deal with "Sakamoto Ryoma", meaning the Shinsengumi are no longer allowed to pursue him.
After Katsura Kogoro of Choshu and Saigo Kichinosuke of Satsuma broker an alliance between their two domains to oppose the Bakufu, Chief Kondo plans to put in motion his plan to burn down Kyoto in the hopes of forcing the Emperor to relocate to Edo, where he'll be easier for the Bakufu to control. However, Sakamoto talks him out of this and convinces him and Hijikata to instead draft a proposal for the Bakufu to cede power back to the Emperor in exchange for participation in their new government. Since such a proposal would be tantamount to treason, it can't be delivered through normal channels, so Kondo tasks Sakamoto ands Okita with traveling to Edo, breaking into the Shogun's castle and delivering the proposal by hand.
While sailing to Edo, Sakamoto and Okita try to read the proposal, but the overly embellished calligraphy and formal language Kondo used makes it difficult for them to parse it. Instead, Okita bullies another samurai sailing with them who appears intelligent to him into reading the letter out loud. Fortunately, this samurai is able to read the calligraphy and tells the two Shinsengumi captains about its radical contents to completely restructure Japan's government. Okita proposes that they add something to the letter, initially pitching that they include a provision about giving great retirement benefits to Shinsengumi captains, but Sakamoto talks him down, since it would be too obvious that they wrote that. Instead, Sakamoto gets the third samurai to include a provision in the proposal eliminating all class systems in Japan and mandating that a new government be formed on the basis of skill.
Once in Edo Castle, Sakamoto and Okita go to the palace gate and attempt to request an audience with Shogun Tokugawa Yoshinobu. When the guards turn them down, Okita commandeers a cannon and blows a hole in the gate, after which the two samurai storm the castle and fight their way past every guard who comes after them. When approaching the Shogun's throne room, a large group of samurai close in on the two Shinsengumi captains, prompting Okita to tell Sakamoto to go ahead without him and confront the Shogun while he holds back these guards. Okita eventually defeats these reinforcements and joins Sakamoto in the Shogun's audience chamber, by which point Sakamoto has already bested Yoshinobu in a duel and gotten him to agree to accept Kondo's proposal and to negotiate with the leaders of the Satcho Alliance.
Days later, when Okita and Sakamoto return to Kyoto, they find a massive fire raging through the city, which Shinsengumi troops have been responsible for starting. Fearing that Chief Kondo has gone through with his plan to burn the city down to relocate the Emperor, Okita and Sakamoto travel to meet him in Gion. However, they are waylaid by Commander Sasaki of the Mimawarigumi, who attacks them in retaliation for the fires. Okita chooses to remain behind and hold off the Mimawarigumi while Sakamoto proceeds to find Kondo. Ultimately, Sakamoto discovers the fires were started on the orders of the false "Sakamoto Ryoma", who also ordered Chief Kondo's murder via Okada Izo. Sakamoto manages to stop Okada from assassinating the Emperor and, through their confrontation, he also finally admits to himself that his foster brother, Takechi, is the false "Sakamoto".
The following day, Deputy Chief Hijikata tricks Military Advisor Ito into admitting his role in the fire and Chief Kondo's murder, since he's betrayed the Shinsengumi to work for Takechi Hanpeita. Hijikata, Okita, Sakamoto and Nagakura prepare to execute Ito, but they're stopped by 5th Division Captain Takeda and 8th Division Captain Todo Heisuke, who reveal they're now working for Ito, with whom they intend to form their own pro-Emperor paramilitary group, the Goryo Eji. At gunpoint, Todo and Takeda force the other Shinsengumi Captains to let them and Ito leave the base alive.
A few days later, Okita, Hijikata, Sakamoto and Nagakura meet to plan their next steps in dealing with Takechi and with Ito and his traitors. At this meeting, Hijikata reveals that Todo's betrayal was staged and that he's actually a double agent working for him. Todo joins the meeting and reveals that Takechi and Ito are trying to secure a meeting with the leaders of the Satcho Alliance to encourage them to pursue war against the Bakufu in spite of Yoshinobu's call to negotiate a truce. Armed with this knowledge, Sakamoto proposes contacting the Satcho leaders, both of whom he's acquainted with, and talking them into helping set a trap for Takechi.
Later on, after Todo is killed by Takeda for his betrayal of Ito and Takeda is in turn killed by Sakamoto for Todo's murder, Okita helps Hijikata stage Todo and Takeda's bodies to make it look like both were killed by the Shinsengumi, thus covering up Todo's role as a double agent from Ito.
On the night of the ambush against Takechi at Omiya, Okita takes part in the raid. He, Sakamoto, Hijikata and Nagakura barge into Omiya after Takechi has arrived to meet with Satcho leaders Katsura and Saigo. Ultimately, the raid fails to kill Takechi, as his spies had already caught onto the Shinsengumi's plans. Following the failed ambush, Takechi, Ito and Sasaki leave Kyoto and travel to Tosa to take refuge in the palace of their co-conspirator, Lord Yamauchi Yodo.
Faced with no other options, the Shinsengumi captains plan to sail to Tosa to attack Lord Yodo's castle to kill Takechi and his allies. Prior to departing, a small funeral is held for Chief Kondo and Captain Todo at the Shinsengumi's base, with their bodies being buried in the yard outside the high-command's meeting hall. After the burial, Okita and Sakamoto have a brief conversation where Sakamoto professes that, through their shared struggle, Okita has become like a sworn-brother to him, much like Takechi had once been prior to his betrayal. Okita is moved and left a little awkward by Sakamoto's sincerity, but thanks him and refers to him as a brother as well.
The Shinsengumi captains travel to Tosa and assault Kochi Castle. As the group advances through the fortress, they gradually become separated as members stay behind to deal with their various adversaries. Nagakura stays behind to fight Sasaki and his Mimawarigumi men, while Hijikata stays behind to fight Ito and the Goryo Eji. Okita and Sakamoto eventually arrive to a dry dock where they encounter Thomas Glover, a British merchant who has been selling weapons to the Tosa Loyalists. Since Okita and Sakamoto intend to kill one of his best clients, Glover and his garrison of British Navy troops attack both samurai, but fail to beat them. When reinforcements arrive, Okita chooses to stay behind and hold them off while Sakamoto ascends the last section of the castle to confront Takechi.
Ultimately, Sakamoto duels Takechi and defeats him, after which he convinces him to give up his mission to modernize Japan by any means necessary and instead opt for a less violent approach to bringing about change. However, both brothers are attacked by Lord Yamauchi, who reveals that he intended to betray Takechi eventually, since he's been conspiring with the British government to turn Japan into a colony with himself as their local puppet ruler. Yamauchi prepares to kill both men, but he is stopped by Okita, Hijikata and Nagakura, who defeated their respective adversaries in the lower levels of the castle. Now disarmed, Yamauchi begs for his life and pleads that the four Shinsengumi captains will need a man of his standing and influence if they want to reform Japan. However, all of them ignore him and proceed to cut him down for his crimes.
== Fighting Style ==
=== Ryu Ga Gotoku Ishin! ===
Okita is fought three times in Ishin!. In all of his fights, he wields a katana like most other bosses, but he also uses a wakizashi shortsword in the second phase of his first fight. In both styles, he will often use Quickstep Cancel to attack from a different angle. He emits a purple aura.
==== Katana ====
As a Tennen Rishin practitioner, Okita uses Inoue Genzaburo's moveset with a few unique moves of his own. His attacks are listed below:
* the standard Tennen Rishin Rush Combo, triple-stab attack, thrust-double slash-upward slash combo (2nd fight onward), quickstep attacks and downed attack,
* a one-handed combo, consisting of a right-hand thrust and a left-hand thrust, followed by two to four downward diagonal left slashes (2nd fight onward); and
* a lunging one-handed thrust.
Inoue's QTE is also recycled for his second boss fight.
A basic version of Okita's sword style is used as the 'Weapon Master (Sword)' moveset for Majima in Yakuza 0. Said variant is also used by Fei Hu and all other katana-wielding enemies in the aforementioned game.
==== Wakizashi ====
In his first boss fight, Okita unsheathes his shortsword after throwing his katana at Sakamoto during the QTE, using it for the remainder of the battle. He uses Majima's Yakuza 5 moveset with some extra attacks. These include:
* a combo consisting of a downward diagonal left slash, followed by two spinning diagonal left slashes, and ending with him lifting his left hand and laughing maniacally; and
* a four-hit attack where he performs a downward slash-side flip downward slash, a spinning diagonal dowanward left slash, and a backstepping rightward slash before twirling backwards.
=== Like a Dragon: Ishin! ===
Both of Okita's movesets are, for the most part, unchanged from the original Ishin!. His attack animation speed has been increased all around, and he can now use the thrust-double slash-upward slash combo in his first fight as well. However, his downed attacks have been removed.
When Okita enters Heat Mode, he can use an attack where he laughs maniacally before performing a leaping knife plunge, releasing a wave of red, concussive energy that can knock Sakamoto off his feet.
His aura is now pinkish red with purple accents.
During his phase with the knife, he does the Mad Dog style switch animation with the voice line.
== Trivia ==
* Okita is stated to be from Mito, a domain in the Kanto region, but speaks with a Kansai accent. Although there is no stated reason for this discrepancy, it may have been done to maintain Majima's characterization. Majima has a distinctive manner of speech, a core feature of it being his fake Kansai accent, dubbed the "Majima accent."
==Gallery==
===Ryu Ga Gotoku Ishin!===
RGGI! - Character Render - Okita Soji.png|Full-body Ryu Ga Gotoku Ishin! render of Okita
RGGI! - Character Render - Okita Soji (Edo).png|Full-body Ryu Ga Gotoku Ishin! render of Okita outside of service
RGGI! - Character Render - The Real Okita Soji.png|Full-body Ryu Ga Gotoku Ishin! render of the real Okita
Goro Hirayama.png|Hirayama Goro
Goro Hirayama and Kamo Serizawa.png
Goblin Okita.png
Okita vs Ryoma.png|Okita vs. Sakamoto
Ryoma pinned down.png
A tie.png
Okita and Nagakura.png|Okita and Nagakura
Okita Watching Ryoma.png
Okita and Ryoma being sneaky.png|Okita and Sakamoto outside Terada Inn
Face off.png
Okita Defeated.png
Okita vs Ryoma second fight.png
Okita.png
RGGI! - Character Profile - The Real Okita Soji.png
===Like a Dragon: Ishin!===
LADI! - Character Render - Okita Soji.png|Full-body Like a Dragon: Ishin! render of Okita
LADI! - Character Render - The Real Okita Soji.png||Full-body Like a Dragon: Ishin! render of the real Okita
LADI! - Character Profile - The Real Okita Soji.png
=== Ryu Ga Gotoku Online ===
RGGO - Card - SSR Okita Soji.png|SSR Okita Soji
RGGO - Card - SSR Okita Soji (Decisive Battle).png|SSR Okita Soji (Decisive Battle)
RGGO - Card - KSR Okita Soji (Ishin Kiwami).png|KSR Okita Soji (Ishin Kiwami)
Category:Historical Figures
Category:Tennen Rishin Users
Category:Miburoshigumi
Category:Shinsengumi
Category:Ryu Ga Gotoku Ishin! Characters
Category:Like a Dragon: Ishin! Characters
Category:Ryu Ga Gotoku Ishin! AI Partners
Category:Ryu Ga Gotoku Ishin! Supporting Characters
Category:Ryu Ga Gotoku Ishin! Bosses
Category: Like a Dragon: Ishin! Bosses
Category:Ryu Ga Gotoku Online Characters