Goro Majima
Goro Majima (Japanese: 真島 吾朗, Hepburn: "Majima Gorō") is a major recurring character in Sega's "Yakuza" video game series and one of the main playable protagonists of "Yakuza 0" and "", as well as the Majima Saga of "Yakuza Kiwami 2". Introduced as a member of the Tojo clan and patriarch of its subsidiary family Majima family as well as lieutenant of Futoshi Shimano nicknamed "Mad Dog of Shimano", he develops a sadomasochistic obsession with the protagonist Kazuma Kiryu. He is seeking continually to fight him, seeing him as the perfect rival, but eventually, bonds with him across  the franchise. He is also the sworn brother of Taiga Saejima who is one of the protagonists of "Yakuza 4" and "Yakuza 5". Majima's character is explored in more detail during the prequel "Yakuza 0", in which he is a 24-year-old former Yakuza and a playable protagonist along with Kiryu. In this game, Majima has a much calmer and serious demeanor that develops into his standard sadomasochistic one during a war between a number of families in a fight for a patch of land known as the Empty Lot. Majima also appears in the spin-off "Dead  Souls" as well as the crossover "Project X Zone 2". The Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio created Majima as a "clown" character who would contrast his calmer characterization in "Yakuza 0", where the localization shifted Majima's character arc so he would not come across as insane. Majima has been popular with the "Yakuza" fanbase, having earned a CD with all the songs Ugaki plays in his karaoke mini-games while topping a popularity poll. His character and fighting style in "Yakuza 0" were highly praised by critics. Creation and development. According to Scott Strichart, who handled localization and production on  a number of "Yakuza" games, Majima is a bit of a "class clown"—someone with a "joker-esque personality"—which is opposite to his calm demeanor in the prequel. However, he noted that while fans felt that Majima went "insane", the Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio said that he "makes a conscious choice to... let loose". This was something the translators found challenging while localizing the game. Strichart pointed out that through Majima's interactions with Nishitani, he gains insight into how someone like that would live. The goal of the localization team was to make Majima and Kiryu more likeable with their  changes, although Strichart believed Kiryu was more popular than Majima in Western countries. Strichart said that while fans might miss previous "Yakuza" characters like Kiryu and Majima, he hoped they would be receptive to Takayuki Yagami, the protagonist from the next game "Judgment". Series' producer Daisuke Sato said that ever since the release of "Yakuza 0", Majima has become far more popular, to the point that many developers thought it was possible to create a new spin-off game focused around him. Appearances. Goro Majima first appears in the original "Yakuza" game as a supporting character. Nicknamed "The Mad Dog  of Shimano" (嶋野の狂犬, Shimano no kyōken), he takes an interest in protagonist Kazuma Kiryu because Kiryu refuses to fight him when provoked. This results in Majima spending the rest of the game's plot trying to goad Kiryu into fighting him just for fun. To achieve this, Majima attacks Kiryu while he is escaping from Chairman Sera's funeral; kidnaps Haruka, daughter of one of Kiryu's best friends; and drives a truck into a soapland when Kiryu was questioning one of the sex workers for information. The remake of the game, "Yakuza Kiwami", added further scenes where Majima stalks  Kiryu, aiming to make his rival stronger through new fights. During "Yakuza 2"—and its later remake, "Yakuza Kiwami 2"—Majima appears again. In between the events of the first and second games, Majima left the Tojo Clan because of disagreements with its new leader, Chairman Yukio Terada. He then formed his own criminal organization, the Majima Construction Company, which ran several construction rackets, along with an underground fighting arena and an illegal casino. Because of the looming threat of an invasion of Tokyo by the rival Yakuza organization, the Omi Alliance, Kiryu convinces Majima to ally with the Tojo Clan once  again and provide the Majima Construction Company's support if a war breaks out. Though initially hesitant, Majima ultimately agrees after Kiryu beats him in a fight in his underground coliseum. Majima's crew ultimately prove instrumental in defending Tokyo against Omi attacks. Majima helps save the city when he disarms the bombs planted all over Kamurocho by another rival crime syndicate, the Korean Jingweon Mafia. During "Yakuza 3", Kiryu pleads with Majima once more to go back to the Tojo Clan and support the newly appointed Sixth Chairman, Daigo Dojima, as a contingency against any future troubles. Sometime later , Majima is blackmailed by Goh Hamazaki as a suspect in the clan's internal dispute. In "Yakuza 4", Majima follows the trail of Yasuko Saejima, determined to protect her on behalf of Taiga Saejima. Majima tells Akiyama that he is looking for Yasuko to protect her and to make amends with Saejima. On his way to see Majima, Kiryu, having returned to Kamurocho, witnesses Majima's arrest and calls out to him. Majima tells him that it was Daigo Dojima who set him up. In "Yakuza 5", Majima is in negotiations with the Tsukimino branch of the Omi Alliance under  Dojima's orders to help put a stop to the rising tensions between the two clans. Despite his claims he wants peace, Tsubasa Kurosawa orders assassins to kill Majima mid-negotiation, which he survives. Majima reveals that the reason he was unable to resist Kurosawa was the threat to the young girl Haruka Sawamura at her debut concert. Majima's next appearance is in the prequel "Yakuza 0". He is forced to manage a cabaret club in Sotenbori, Osaka, and is nicknamed by locals as "Lord of the Night" due to his managerial acumen and proven success in turning the  club's fortunes around. Flashbacks reveal that he was thrown out of the Yakuza after having his left eye gouged out for attempting to aid his sworn brother Saejima in an attack on 18 men which landed the latter in prison. Wishing to return to his yakuza roots, Majima gets the opportunity to make a comeback via his former boss Shimano's sworn brother Sagawa, by killing a woman known as Makoto Makimura. However, he accidentally bonds with Makimura and is unable to kill her. Instead he becomes determined to protect her from a current yakuza fight as Makimura is  part of an "Empty Lot" dispute, which is the centerpiece of the power struggle for all the dark organizations across Japan. To find the truth behind such a power struggle, as well as maintain their innocence and safety, Majima sets out to investigate the events surrounding the Empty Lot incident. Majima manages to protect Makimura, but he distances himself as he returns to his yakuza life, hoping Makimura enjoys a peaceful life instead. Additionally, Majima decides to develop his infamous sadomasochistic persona based on the many eccentric men he encountered in his quest, to rise above the world that mistreated  him and meets Kiryu for the first time at the end of the game. Majima later reunites with Makimura in the remake of "Yakuza 2", where Makimura has formed a family. During a conflict within the Tojo clan, Majima goes on to dissolve his family, and creates his construction company, Majima Construction, taking over Purgatory and beginning work on Kamurocho Hills. Majima also appears in "" as a minor character, and reappears as a major character and summonable ally alongside Saejima in "". Spinoffs and other appearances. Outside of the main "Yakuza" series, Majima is playable in "", fighting against an army of  zombies. He also appears alongside Kiryu in the crossover game "Project X Zone 2" as well as "Binary Domain". In the film "Like a Dragon", an adaptation of the first "Yakuza" game, he is portrayed by Goro Kishitani. In the "Ryu ga Gotoku" stage play, he is portrayed by Shunsuke Kubozuka. Reception. Goro Majima has been popular with the "Yakuza" fanbase. His songs performed during his appearances were collected in 2017 on a CD titled "Goro Majima's Best Hits". In a 2018 popularity poll, Majima was voted the most popular "Yakuza" character. "GameInformer" also listed him as the best  main character in 2017 based on his characterization from "Yakuza 0". Several writers enjoyed the character's fighting style in "Yakuza 0", finding him more interesting than Kiryu. "EGMNOW" liked the contrast the duo had in the narrative because of the different quests they had to pass to achieve their goals. "GameSpot" highly praised Majima's character arc in that game for changing into the narrative, as well as how many allies and enemies he makes. Similarly, "IGN" liked the handling of Majima's and Kiryu's storylines, finding them simple in contrast to the ones in "Yakuza 5", which  the website deemed convoluted. "Polygon" stated that Majima was quite different from his portrayal in the regular games in the series because his story was set in the past. A similar comment was made by "PlayStation Life Style" because both Majima and Kiryu change across the plot of this prequel. "The Jimquisition" said that both characters were "like-able protagonists who consistently have to act as straight men in a variety of weird situations". "Destructoid" enjoyed the comical characterization in "Yakuza Kiwami" because of his constant interactions with Kiryu. "Game Informer" noted despite not being playable with his longer screen  time Majima manages to aid the player to make Kiryu a stronger fighter. However, they were highly critical of his different personality in "Kiwami", calling it "jarring", and added that "Yakuza 0" failed to close this character arc. While calling him "Zero's standout character", "GameSpot" stated that they enjoyed these interactions, as it added more side content to the remake of the first "Yakuza" game. "IGN" referred to this take of Majima as "lovably weird" based on his traits. "Polygon" criticized Majima's fights for lacking the challenge seen in regular boss fights. They added that "Majima's constant  intervention feels a little more ingrained in the story, providing some character depth that the original game lacked." With "Yakuza Kiwami 2", "Destructoid" criticized Majima's "overpowered" abilities, which players continuously pressed the same buttons to use them. "Game Informer" praised Majima's story in this game, as it helped to develop his change of character from "Yakuza 0" further, while also finding his mini game refreshing because of how different it is from common regular fights. "Game Revolution" agreed, finding Majima's interactions with Makoto during his own side story provides further depth to the "fan favorite" character. Despite  liking the character, "GameSpot" criticized him for lacking his own character progression during his chapters. "IGN" had similar comments with regard to his character's depth but found his scenario to be relatively short.