Yakuza: Difference between revisions

 

{{examples|Yakuza make appearances in the following works:}}

* The final arc of the second season of ''[[Black Lagoon]]'', "Fujiyama Gangsta Paradise," centers around a war between two rival yakuza groups triggered by the death of one of their bosses, a war that [[The Mafiya|Russian mob]] boss [[The Baroness|Balalaika]] wants to use to gain a foothold in the Japanese underworld. The yakuza, as befitting of the show's tendency to take [[Refuge in Audacity]], play every mafia movie cliche in the book to the hilt, but [[Curb Stomp Battle|unfortunately for them]], Balalaika is a [[Magnificent Bitch]] and [[Combat Pragmatist|doesn't play by their rules]]. And then, Rock and Revy meet up with Yukio Washimine, the girl who is about to become the leader of one of these groups...[[It Got Worse|yeah,]] [[Heel Realization|it doesn't]] [[Downer Ending|end well.]]

* In ''[[Blood+]]'', Mao Yahana's unseen father is a Yakuza; she steals money from him so she can afford to follow the heroes all over the world.

* ''[[My Hero Academia]]''; the main antagonist of the Shie Hassaikai Arc is Kai Chisaki (aka Overhaul), a Yakuza leader. Overall, the Yakuza have dwindled in number since All Might first debuted, the Shie Hassaikai being one of the last few surviving groups. Toga doesn't even know what a yakuza is, and Compass Man claims Kai is "an endangered species leftover from old times".

 

* In the [[Frank Miller|Dark Knight Universe]], the Joker was apparently a member (or at the very least bears a tattoo of a large red dragon on his back), as opposed to his usual depiction as having [[The Mafia|mafia ties.]] Probably because we already knew about Gotham's mafia (pretty much ripped from ''[[The Godfather]]''), and the Joker had to be a wild card. (Hence the name.)

** The Yakuza are one of the many crime factions in Gotham City in the main DCU.

* In ''[[Drunkard's Walk|Drunkard's Walk S]]'', dimensional traveler Doug Sangnoir makes use of the Minato-area yakuza organization the Minato-kai to get sufficient (and sufficiently good) false paperwork and ID that he can live "aboveboard" in Tokyo. (He notes that this is not an uncommon tactic for him in worlds with governments that are organized and centralized enough to require it.) It later transpires that the Minato-kai are aware of the Sailor Senshi and their enemies, and are willing to provide them with aid -- especially after Sailor Moon rescues its leader's granddaughter from the same juku where Sailor Mercury awoke to her powers.

 

* Pretty much every single Japanese character in ''[[The Fast and the Furious]]: Tokyo Drift''.

* The Bride goes after O-Ren Ishii, the queen of the Yakuza, and her personal army, the Crazy 88, in ''[[Kill Bill]] Part 1''. The Yakuza also feature heavily in O-Ren's tragic [[Backstory]], with Boss Matsumoto and his men, who killed O-Ren's parents when she was just a little girl which prompts her rise as the [[Lady of War]] boss we meet.

* ''[[War]]'' features the Yakuza fighting the [[The Triads and the Tongs|Triads]] in [[San Francisco]].

 

* [[William Gibson]]'s [[Sprawl Trilogy]] contains many references to the Yakuza, which has become a major international force. In "Johnny Mnemonic," the Yakuza send a vat-grown cyborg assassin to kill the main character.

* In [[Charles de Lint]]'s [[Cyberpunk]] novel ''Svaha'', the Yakuza (or, to use in-universe slang, the "yaks") are the primary antagonists—in Canada.

* [[Time Scout]]'s [[The Syndicate]] is composed of [[The Mafia]], [[The Mafiya]], and these guys. Their control of Japanese construction made them, effectively, the most powerful people in Japan. They even show up as tourists on the Time Terminal, occasionally.

 

* ''[[The Daily Show]]'' interviewed [http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/mon-november-16-2009/jake-adelstein Jake Adelstein] (he was also interviewed by ''60 Minutes''), a reporter who wrote a book about a particular Yakuza boss who was able to [[Refuge in Audacity|secure a visa to get into the US and receive a liver transplant, and then got livers for some of his friends.]]

* An episode of ''[[CSI: Miami]]'' revolves around the Yakuza, but for some reason insists on never using the word and instead referring to them as "Sakiru." This is the ''least'' of the [[Did Not Do the Research|errors]] in the episode.

* The ''[[Leverage]]'' team inadvertently ends up having to con the Yakuza when they try to shut down a sweatshop in "The Runway Job."

* A ''[[Time Trax]]'' episode deals with the Yakuza.

* The [[Body of the Week]] on one episode of ''[[Quincy]]'' was an LAPD detective investigating a Yakuza group that was working out a gun buy from [[The Mafia]]. Said detective was stabbed in the heart with a tanto (a dagger shaped like a miniature katana). As luck would have it, Quincy's Japanese-American assistant Sam Fujiwara knew some people...

 

* Japanese Trip-Hop artist [[DJ Krush]] was a Yakuza member before beginning his musical career. Actually, he once found [[Yubitsume|a severed finger]] [[Squick|wrapped in paper on his desk]]; after discovering that it had belonged to his best friend, he decided to leave.

* There are persistent rumors that rock/pop/ vocalist [[Gackt]] is either a member or somehow in massive debt to the Yakuza.

* Though always officially denied, [[New Age]] musician Kitaro is rumoured to have connections to the Yakuza, with his fame at least partially being due to their influence. These rumours are, in no small part, due to his first wife being the daughter of a former leader of one of the more influential clans.

 

* The ''[[Ryu ga Gotoku]]'' series (or as it's more commonly known, ''Yakuza'') is about a former yakuza by the name of Kazuma Kiryu who took the fall for his blood brother's not unjustified killing of the patriarch of their family, and ten years later returns to the Kamurocho district (a fictionalisation of the real Kabukicho in Shinjuku City, Tokyo) after his release from prison, where he quickly finds himself being pulled back into the Yakuza underworld. One of the recurring themes of the series is its portrayal of Kiryu as a kind of Quixotic figure, for whom honour, justice and care for the little guy are not just PR spin but something he genuinely practices, and how that leaves him caught between the older generation who might as well be feudal warlords and the newer generation who find maintaining even a thin veneer of civility and values a hindrance to the pursuit of power.

* Furio Tigre, from ''[[Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney]]: Trials and Tribulations'', has connections with Yakuza (or the Mafia in the translation). {{spoiler|Mostly, he owes a Yakuza/Mafia boss a large sum of money after almost killing his beloved granddaughter in a car crash. For worse, the girl has sorta fallen for him, so he uses her in his plans.}}

* The Yaki [[Space Pirate|pirate]] faction in the [[X (video game)|X-Universe]] are explicitly Yakuza <small>[[Recycled in Space|IN SPACE!]]</small> ([[Bilingual Bonus|Fun fact]]: the word "yaki" means "many yakuza" in Japanese.)

 

* There is an urban legend that ''[[Bob the Builder]]'' cannot be shown in Japan as he only has [[Four-Fingered Hands|four fingers on each hand]]—which could be misconstrued [[Yubitsume|as a finger cut off by the Yakuza.]]

* Likewise, this is usually cited as the reason why [[Donkey Kong Country|Donkey and Diddy Kong]] have gone from four fingers on each hand to five.

* This is ''actually'' the reason Mudokons were [[retcon]]ned into having three fingers instead of four in the ''[[Oddworld]]'' series.

* Briefly mentioned for a joke in a ''[[South Park]]'' episode:

{{quote|'''Officer Barbrady:''' I'm sure you're wondering why we're standing in a pile of money with no pants on. I can assure you it has [[Suspiciously Specific Denial|nothing to do with the Japanese Mafia]].}}