Sotaro Komaki

Sotaro Komaki (, Komaki Sōtarō) is a recurring character in the Yakuza series introduced in the original Yakuza. In Yakuza 0, he goes by the pseudonym Sometaro Komeki (, Komeki Sometarō).
He is the heir and current master of the Komaki Style, an ancient martial art. He runs the Komaki School of Martial Arts, where he teaches the style to his students.
== Profile ==
=== Appearance ===
Komaki is an old man of average height. He has a long, straight beard and a small mustache and hair in a chonmage style. His hair is black in Yakuza 0, and is gray throughout the rest of the series. He has sharp features, a small widow's peak, and is slightly shorter than Kiryu.
==== Attire ====
Komaki is usually seen wearing a light gray hanjuban under the uwagi keikogi, baggy navy pants, black tabi socks, rain boots, brown fingerless gloves, and a white towel with a blue dot pattern worn over his neck. His uwagi keikogi's lapel is gray with a white dot pattern. The rest of his uwagi keikogi is brown with a fur texture in the rest of the series. The sleeves of his uwagi keikogi are white, and have been ripped at the ends to presumably keep them from getting in the way as he fights. In Yakuza 0, his rain boots are light blue and navy and his uwagi keikogi is pine green instead of brown, though his boots are never seen in Yakuza 3 as he is only seen indoors, wearing his black tabi socks. 
=== Personality ===
Komaki is an old-fashioned man, wanting to preserve and pass down the arts of his school to future generations. Nonetheless, he adapts to his contemporary context so that his students could easily apply these arts into practice.
==Background==
Komaki was born as the heir to the Komaki Style.
Komaki's son and daughter-in-law were tricked into taking out a large loan. When hard times fell on them, Komaki handed his life savings to his son and disappeared, which resulted in his homelessness.
== Involvement ==
=== Yakuza 0: 1988 ===
"Komeki" travels to Sotenbori. He helps teach Majima to fight in Thug style, introduces him to Fei Hu, and accompanies Majima when watching Areshi breakdance. When not in the park, he trains in the wilderness to keep his edge from dulling. He attempts to teach Goro Majima several Komaki-style techniques, but instead, Majima improvises brand-new moves during their training sessions. After finishing all of their training, Komaki reveals he is using an alias and seeks to compete in the Bed of Styx to find a potential disciple.
=== Yakuza/Yakuza Kiwami: 2005 ===
Komaki takes residence in West Park. He senses that Kiryu is a "diamond in the rough", and after witnessing his fighting prowess in the Coliseum, he takes him as an apprentice, under the promise that he will grow much stronger.
==== Yakuza ====
In the original game, Komaki is located north of the park, and he will teach Kiryu several techniques from the Komaki school if he has progressed enough on his Abilities.
* His first lesson requires one point on Shin, Gi and Tai, and it teaches Kiryu Komaki Swordsmanship, increasing the damage output and changing the animation.
* His second lesson requires 6 points in Gi, and it teaches Komaki Fist Reversal
* His third lesson requires 6 points on both Gi and Tai, and it teaches Komaki Evade and Strike
* His fourth lesson requires 7 points on both Gi and Tai, and it teaches Komaki Cat-Like Reflexes
* His fifth lesson requires 7 points on Shin, Gi and Tai, and it teaches Komaki Knock Back.
* His sixth lesson requires 8 points on Shin, Gi and Tai, and it teaches the always powerful Komaki Tiger Drop.
* His seventh and last lesson requires 9 points on Shin, Gi and Tai, and it teaches the Komaki Parry.
After learning all of his moves, Komaki will remain in the West Park, but he won't teach Kiryu more moves. He can also be fought in the last tournament of the Coliseum.
==== Yakuza Kiwami ====
Komaki is located west of the park, near the fountain. He teaches Kiryu several techniques in exchange for various wood carvings he had donated to the underground coliseum as prizes, hoping that Kiryu's demonstration of Komaki-style martial arts would attract other students. These lessons are tied to the game's substories, therefore learning them is necessary to face Jo Amon in the final substory of the game.
The requirements needed to progress with his lessons can be seen in the Dragon tree in Abilities, and for certain skills, certain encounters with Majima are needed.
=== Yakuza 2/Yakuza Kiwami 2: 2006 ===
Komaki appears in the Champion District, and trains Kiryu once again. His final training involves a one on one battle with him. After that, he will appear as a high level opponent in the Coliseum. In the original, Komaki will only appear in the Maximum Grand Prix after defeating all the other fighters, except Akira Yamaoka.
After completing the substory Sango Amon, Kiryu finds Komaki beaten up in the Champion District once again. According to him, he was bested in battle by a very powerful opponent, stealing his Book of Ultimate Secrets in the process, but he ends up fine.
Yakuza Kiwami 2: At West Park, Komaki joins Majima Construction after asking Kiryu.
=== Yakuza 3: 2009 ===
Komaki opens a dojo in the Dragon Palace. Once the substory Return to the Dragon Palace is complete, Komaki will send a disciple to Stardust to hand Kiryu a letter of invitation. Kiryu meets him once, and to prove that his skills aren't rusty, Komaki assigns him to beat three of his former pupils. Back at the dojo, Komaki will have Kiryu face one of his current pupils as his final test. He decides to train Kiryu with his secret techniques, but, as the required text had been stolen, Kiryu needs to hunt it down first.
=== Yakuza 4: 2010 ===
Komaki takes interest in Shun Akiyama merely by observing his walking pattern and teaches him about memos.
Later on, Komaki sends Kiryu an email telling him to stop by his dojo when he has some spare time. When Kiryu visits the dojo, he's a bit disappointed about how Kiryu left Kamurocho without saying goodbye to him and for not regularly updating his blog. Despite the disappointment, he feels happy that Kiryu for paid him a visit, and he's willing to re-train Kiryu.
Meeting Komaki at the dojo will give Kiryu access to his Revelations.
=== Yakuza 5: 2012 ===
Komaki's dojo remains operational during the events of Yakuza 5. He provides breakthrough training for all of the characters, including Haruka. Completing Komaki's breakthrough training will unlock the level cap for each of the protagonists, allowing them to learn all of their skills. He is also accompanied by his grandson, Sosuke Komaki.
=== Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth: 2023 ===
Komaki is told he does not have much time to live. On a trip to the Champion District, he runs into Kiryu and realizes his former pupil is keeping his identity a secret. He requests a no-holds-barred duel with Kiryu.
== Other Media ==
=== Fist of the North Star: Lost Paradise: XXXX ===
Komaki appears in substory #78, "The Master's Challenge", where he waits near the tree at Respite Street. He sends Kenshiro a letter of challenge, wishing to test the might of Hokuto Shinken.
Once the substory is complete, he can be fought in the Coliseum as "Komaki the Eccentric."
== Fighting Style ==
Throughout each of his appearances, Komaki uses various movesets, but with a marked preference for Kiryu's moveset. This goes from his basic combos, to the techniques that he can teach to Kiryu, such as the Tiger Drop or the Komaki Evade and Strike. Depending on the game, he can also use a different technique that Kiryu cannot.
In Yakuza 5, his Coliseum fighter profile states that he fights using kobudo, an ancient martial art from Okinawa.
=== Yakuza 0 ===
Komaki's appearance in Yakuza 0 is by far his weakest. He uses the Dragon of Dojima style, and lacks the speed that he would have in the future, but certain moves remain the same. Unique to this game and Yakuza Kiwami is a very fast but predictable rushing elbow attack that covers a lot of distance.
=== Yakuza ===
During his training (especially during the teaching of Tiger Drop and Parry), he attacks with a slow punch that the player has to time correctly to pull of either the Tiger Drop or the Parry. He otherwise only uses ordinary thugs' movesets.
In his Coliseum fight, he fights very differently. He jumps and prances around a lot, evading Kiryu's hits with ease. His main attacking tool is Lau Ka Long's three hit rush combo and Aota's kick combo. The Komaki Tiger Drop, Komaki Parry and Komaki Knockback work fine as well, if you time them correctly. Because of his constant dodges, he is very difficult to hit, and even in the event that the player manages to hit him, Komaki might use the Knockback himself. Grabs do not work on him, as he will free himself immediately. 
Because of his fighting style; the prohibition of use of medicines, weapons and gear and the fights with two strong opponents before facing him, Komaki can be considered one of the the hardest challenges in the game. He has two health bars.
=== Yakuza Kiwami ===
In the Coliseum fights, he uses the Dragon of Dojima style. Like in Yakuza 0, he also has access to a very fast dash that ends in a powerful elbow attack, but is quite predictable.
=== Yakuza 2 ===
In Yakuza 2, Komaki fights exactly the same as Kiryu, barring Heat Actions. He has access to all the moves from the Komaki school, including the Komaki Tiger Drop and the Komaki Parry. This means that he can counter any attack from Kiryu at any given time, so being aggressive against him is very dangerous. The best option for Kiryu is to use the Tiger Drop himself. 
Komaki tends to break the grabs done against him almost instantly.
=== Yakuza Kiwami 2 ===
Komaki uses Kiryu's Yakuza 6/Yakuza Kiwami 2 moveset. After reducing his health to half, he will enter Extreme Heat mode, where he will be stronger, faster and can usually counter all of Kiryu's attacks with the Tiger Drop.
Notably, there is a bug exclusive to Komaki, where if grabbed at the very beginning, he can be attacked infinitely with the light attack button, until the player stops pressing it or attempts to do something else. This bug works in either of his encounters.
=== Yakuza 3 ===
During the training of the Komaki Parry, he uses the basic thug attacks such as slaps, elbows, and haymakers. He is also extremely fast, making him very unpredictable, and if Kiryu attempts to block while he is dashing, he will counter with a grab. He also has a grapple counter if Kiryu attempts to grab or delay the Komaki Parry.
By far, the best tools Kiryu has are the Komaki Tiger Drop and the Komaki Parry, to which he is very vulnerable, provided that the player knows the timing of those attacks well. The Komaki Evade and Strike also works very well.
=== Yakuza 4 ===
His Yakuza 4 incarnation uses Kiryu and Joji's movesets in combination with Saejima's grab follow-ups and Lau Ka Long's stance.
=== Yakuza 5 ===
He uses Kiryu's moveset, but slightly slower, probably to compensate for Sosuke's appearance. 
If Kiryu attempts to attack Komaki while in Dragon Spirit mode, he will block each of the attacks if done from the front, but he is vulnerable to the grab attack. As such, the player should only use this mode to counter Sosuke's.
=== Fist of the North Star: Lost Paradise ===
He uses the Dragon of Dojima style, and has a bright green aura with red attack trails.
== Related minigames ==
=== Clan Creator ===
Sotaro Komaki can be hired as a member of Majima Construction:
Description 	Rarity	Type 	Combat style	Skill 	Ability
Kiryu's master and leader of the Komaki School of Martial Arts	R 	Attack	Komaki Style	Essence of Repair	Stun Kick
=== Bed of Styx ===
==== Yakuza 0 biography ====
Komeki turned up at the Bed of Styx of his own free will, eager to challenge anyone using a bare-handed style all his own. Although he has lost some battles, observant spectators claim he did that on purpose to spare his opponent's life.
== Trivia ==
* Komaki is able to fight to fight Kazuma Kiryu in the Bed of Styx 17 years prior to meeting him.
* The Bed of Styx announcer announces Komaki's real name rather than his alias.
== Gallery ==
=== Yakuza 0 ===
Y0 - Character Render - Sometaro Komeki.png|Body render
0_coliseum_komaki.png|Komaki's Coliseum portrait.
=== Yakuza Kiwami ===
kiwami_coliseum_komaki.png|Komaki's Coliseum portrait.
=== Yakuza 5 ===
Sōtarō Komaki (Yakuza 5) 02.jpg
=== Ryu Ga Gotoku Online ===
RGGO - Card - SR Sotaro Komaki.png|SR Sotaro Komaki
RGGO - Card - SSR Sotaro Komaki.png|SSR Sotaro Komaki
RGGO - Card - KSR Sotaro Komaki (Assault).png|KSR Sotaro Komaki (Assault)
=== Fist of the North Star: Lost Paradise ===
Fotns komaki.png|Komaki in Fist of the North Star: Lost Paradise.
== Notes ==
 
== References ==
Category:Coliseum Fighters
Category:Yakuza 0 Characters
Category:Yakuza 0 Supporting Characters
Category:Yakuza 0 Masters
Category:Yakuza 0 Bosses
Category:Yakuza Characters
Category:Yakuza Supporting Characters
Category:Yakuza Kiwami Characters
Category:Yakuza Kiwami Supporting Characters
Category:Yakuza 2 Characters
Category:Yakuza 2 Supporting Characters
Category:Yakuza Kiwami 2 Characters
Category:Yakuza Kiwami 2 Allies
Category:Yakuza 3 Characters
Category:Yakuza 3 Supporting Characters
Category:Yakuza 3 Bosses
Category:Yakuza 4 Characters
Category:Yakuza 4 Supporting Characters
Category:Yakuza 4 Masters
Category:Yakuza 4 Bosses
Category:Yakuza 5 Characters
Category:Yakuza 5 Supporting Characters
Category:Yakuza 5 Masters
Category:Yakuza 5 Bosses
Category:Yakuza: Dead Souls Characters
Category:Yakuza: Dead Souls Supporting Characters
Category:Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth Characters
Category:Ryu Ga Gotoku Online Characters