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Shun Akiyama (秋山 駿, Akiyama Shun) is a recurring major character in the Like a Dragon series. He is featured as a protagonist in Yakuza 4 and Yakuza 5. He is also featured as a supporting character in Yakuza 6 and a minor character in Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth.

With a net worth of over ¥100 billion, Akiyama is known as "The Lifeline of Kamurocho" (神室町の駆け込み寺, Kamuro-chō no Kakekomi-dera) due to providing limitless, interest-free loans to those who pass his tests. He runs Sky Finance alongside his secretary Hana.

Profile[]

Appearance[]

Akiyama is a man of above-average height with a medium, toned build and slicked-back, black hair. He has a short mustache and short goatee; during his banking days, he had no facial hair; as a homeless man, he sports a short beard.

Attire[]

Akiyama's signature attire consists of a pair of black chukka boots, black slacks, and a black silk dress shirt under a maroon pinstripe jacket. He also wears a gold chain necklace with a gold circular pendant and a black crocodile leather belt with a gold buckle. In Yakuza 4 and Dead Souls, he is seen wearing a gold watch with a black face, whereas in Yakuza 5 it is replaced with a silver watch with haphazardly aligned numbers on its face and a brown leather band.

Y4 Akiyama

Akiyama with his jacket off

During flashbacks in Yakuza 4 as well as the beginning of Yakuza 6 when Akiyama is homeless, he wears a stained grey hoodie over a blue tee shirt, black track pants with a white stripe down the leg, a brown baseball cap, and a pair of black and white sneakers. At the end of Yakuza 4, he wears a black unbuttoned suit with a white dress shirt, and black leather dress shoes. In a photograph in the Sky Finance office with his ex girlfriend, he is seen with a shorter slicked back side part hairstyle and wearing a dark gray suit with a white dress shirt, blue neck tie, and a lanyard around his neck. At the end of Yakuza 6, his outfit is similar with his black suit and shoes, though he now wears a black dress shirt instead of a white one in addition to a gold chain necklace with a red pendant.

Personality[]

SPOILER WARNING: Plot details for Yakuza 4 follow. (Skip)

Akiyama is a lackadaisical, yet kind person. He is always ready to help people in need, commonly putting the city's residents' needs over his own. Despite his occupation as a loan shark, he selectively lends out his money free of interest and collateral; instead, he gives unique tests to his clients before he loans them money to determine if they are truly in need of the money. He will sometimes help them accomplish their tasks if it is within his power to do so. He will not hesitate to turn down his clients if they fail his tests, though he is not opposed to second chances.

Akiyama is shown to be a slacker and does not appear to take his job very seriously, much to Hana's chagrin. He often sleeps on the couch in his office, and leaves it a complete mess, leaving Hana to do the cleaning. He regularly forgets trash collection day, and has to be reminded of his responsibilities constantly.

He is distrustful of banks to the point where he stores his ¥100,000,000,000 in his office, hidden behind a bookcase. Despite his evidently atrocious memory, he is still able to remember where every single book on the shelf is supposed to be.

He is exceedingly kind to the homeless population of Kamurocho, often buying them food and drinks, and appears to sympathize with them due to his previous situation, being homeless himself at one point.

His loyalty towards anyone showing selflessness is also apparent, and he appears to idolize Kiryu somewhat, as well as Arai for his help back when Akiyama was still homeless. He maintains his belief that it was Kiryu who saved his life (as much as Arai), attributing his success to Kiryu's defeat of Jingu and Nishikiyama, resulting in money raining down from Millennium Tower.

Akiyama also cares deeply for Hana, whom he previously knew from his time working at Touto Bank. He and Hana have a bond that resembles an old married couple, with Hana mothering Akiyama, bringing him food when he forgets to eat and forcing him to do his job. He often displays fond annoyance when she nags him, but appreciates the concern, occasionally returning the sentiment. Their relationship developing into romance has been teased, most notably in the Yakuza 4 epilogue when they have a near-kiss, and throughout Yakuza: Dead Souls, but it is never made official.

SPOILERS END HERE. (Return)

Background[]

SPOILER WARNING: Plot details for Y1/YK1, Y4, Y5, Y6, Y:LAD follow. (Skip)
Toto Bank Group Picture

Born in 1978, Akiyama was considered a golden boy when he was younger, one of the privileged youth who would aspire to do great things. He entered Touto University and graduated with top honors and a business (law in western releases) degree at the top of his class. His talents were sought after by Akihiko Yamori, the head of the Touto Bank's investment branch, who offered Akiyama a position. By 2002, he joined Touto Bank, and quickly became the top employee in the investment department. He started working along Hana, and also started dating his fellow employee, Eri, and the two eventually got engaged.

In 2005 however, Akiyama was fired from his job with charges of embezzlement, after it had been discovered that a sum of ¥1,000,000 was taken from one of his clients' account and deposited into his own. With the goal of discovering the truth, Akiyama spent his entire life savings in the process, however, ended up broke. Without a job or any money left, Akiyama ended up homeless, living on the streets of Kamurocho

Hobokiyama Y4

Akiyama as a homeless man.

In December 2005, 27-year-old Akiyama was sleeping in Theater Square, and was woken up by a bomb exploding in the Millennium Tower, followed by ¥10 million raining down onto the streets below. Akiyama gathered as much money as he could during this "ticket to another crack at life". Obtaining around ¥1,000,000, Akiyama eventually grew tired, and passed out on the streets. Eventually, Akiyama was attacked by a group of homeless hunters. However, Hiroaki Arai witnessed the attack, and defended Akiyama from the homeless hunters. With his money returned, Akiyama began crying to Arai, and the two formed a friendship.

Unable to afford housing with his new money, Akiyama started day-tradingWP using his knowledge of financing. Eventually, Akiyama amassed enough money to start using other methods such as futures tradingWP. Eventually, he opened up Sky Finance, with his former co-worker, Hana, serving as his secretary. In the ensuing years, Akiyama earned himself the name "The Lifeline of Kamurocho" due to his generous loan policies, and amassed a net worth of over ¥100 billion. Akiyama also started funding Kanemura Enterprises, with the promise that Arai would take over the family as patriarch one day.

Involvement[]

Yakuza 4: 2010[]

Arai arrives as Akiyama defeats Ibhara

During one collection run (at the behest of Hana), Akiyama runs into Kido, Arai's underling, and loyal ally. When Masaru Ihara, a member of the Ueno Seiwa Clan causes trouble at Club Elnard, he quickly provokes a fight with Akiyama, who buys enough time for Arai to confront. In desperation, he pulls out a gun at them and shoots Arai. Returning to his office, he finds Arai has murdered Ihara. The police quickly discover the body in the New Serena backlot and take Akiyama in for questioning. He is released thanks to Hana's testimony, however, Sky Finance is put under surveillance by the police following the incident.

Yasuko and Akiyama

During this time, he meets Lily, a woman who resembles his ex-fiancée, Eri. Her request is a ¥100 million loan; as a test, she is told to earn ¥3 million at Club Elise - a net loss for Akiyama as he knows he is unlikely to recover from the loan. During this time, he discovers that several of his clients are being murdered one by one - all whom had connections to the Shibata Family - and he begins to suspect it is the work of a woman. Sky Finance comes under attack, and Akiyama rescues Kido from the Hatsushiba Clan. During the second day of Lily's test, they are attacked by Kazuo Shibata's thugs, who Akiyama fends off.

Lily and Akiyama atop Millenium Tower

Lily earns the required amount within the time limit set, and Akiyama explains to her why he loans his money out to people with no conditions. Wanting to see Lily's dream fulfilled, he gives her the money that she has earned for the test's completion, but not before asking if she was responsible for the deaths of Shibata's men, which she denies. Returning to his office, he checks up on Hana who is furious at him, announcing her resignation after he chases and catches up with her.

Akiyama meets Tanimura again

After a fight with Daisaku Minami, who had been heckling Akiyama's hostess club, Elise, he learns the truth behind Lily, whose true identity is revealed to be Yasuko Saejima.

Some time after the meeting between Majima and Akiyama, he receives the money back from Tanimura who had taken the ¥100 million back from Lily as she was going to Okinawa to find her brother before his execution (which was no longer needed, as it had been discovered that Saejima had escaped from prison) and tells him where the last surviving Shibata family member is located. After Tanimura finds out the truth, they meet again at Homeland when Munakata and Katsuragi make their decisive plays against them, Sky Finance is held under direct investigation, and Akiyama is thrown out of his office under suspicion of coercing people into taking his loans.

Akiyama kicks Kiryu

With few options left, they contact Yasuko, asking her to come to Purgatory where she can meet up with Saejima. However Tanimura and Akiyama are intercepted by Kiryu, who they attempt to fend off in order to keep Yasuko and Saejima safe, not knowing that the two have already been kidnapped by Katsuragi.

Akiyama saved by his money 02

Using the massive fortune he has accumulated over the years as bait, he battles and defeats Arai. With Date's help, they shower the city with a news article that exposes Munakata's corruption. In one final act of vengeance, Munakata shoots Akiyama, who is saved by his very last stack of money hidden away in his breast pocket. Arai goes to prison for his involvement in the murders, and Akiyama reunites with Hana, who self-reinstates herself as his secretary.

Around this time, he becomes acquainted with Haruka Sawamura.

Yakuza 5: 2011-2012[]

After exposing corruption of the Touto Bank and Kamurocho Police Department of 26 years of money laundering to public with Kiryu, Tanimura, Saejima and Date, Akiyama quietly returned to his non-profit business of managing Sky Finance company. Akiyama is approached by Mirei Park seeking a loan of 300 million yen. He puts her though a test consisting of hostess and construction work and she passes spectacularly. He decides to open an office in Sotenbori to receive more clients across Japan. However, he is struggling to open the office to the public even nearly a year since purchasing the premises due to his apathetic approach to work.

While taking an afternoon nap, he receives a call from Hiroshi Horie, an assistant of Park. Horie informs him that Park committed suicide and the 300 million yen was stolen. Akiyama rushes to Dyna Chair office immediately and to his surprise he re-unites with Haruka, now an aspiring pop idol under the Dyna Chair talent agency. Haruka believes that her boss was actually murdered, and requests Akiyama to join him on his investigation. Additionally, he decides it was his duty to fulfill Park's dream of Haruka being on the stage of a Tokyo Dome Concert.

During an investigation with Haruka at Dyna Chair, they overhear Horie being thrown off and catch Kan Ogita in the act. Akiyama fights him and is met upon by a mysterious man named Kamon Kanai. He manages to fend off both of them, forcing them to retreat. The next day, Akiyama sees Park's suicide letter and notices with Haruka's help that it was forged. He visits the man who forged the suicide letter, who reveals that it was requested by Kanai, an underling of Naoki Katsuya of Osaka Talent. He visits Katsuya at his building to discuss Park's death in which he claims he had nothing to do with it, although Akiyama still doubts him. When he returns to his office, an police detective reveals that an organization named Ousaka Enterprises orchestrated Park's death. After he leaves the office, several Omi Alliance members arrive. Akiyama intends to gain info from Hakamada, causing them to fight.

After the fight, Hakamada tells Akiyama that Kanai is currently at their offices an hour away from Sotenbori. Upon arriving, Akiyama is faced by hostile Ousaka Enterprises employees before meeting Ogita, who is heavily injured and begging for Akiyama's help in exchange for his information. He confesses his involvement in Park's accidental murder and that he and Kanai were looking for a letter from Park's ex-husband. After Akiyama finds Kanai, he tells Akiyama that his underlings are currently on their way to kidnap Haruka, leading to a fight with Kanai's goons. Afterwards, Yamaura informs Akiyama that Haruka was kidnapped by some yakuza.

Back at the Dyna Chair office, everyone is greeted by Katsuya, who brought Haruka back. He apologizes to Akiyama for putting Haruka in harm's way, and continues by confessing that he's the president of Osaka Talents as well as chief of headquarters of Omi Alliance and chairman of Ousaka Enterprises, and admitted that Kanai was his underling. During the encounter, he reveals that Park's ex-husband was none other than Goro Majima. After Katsuya leaves, Akiyama tells Yamaura and Christina that Sotenbori is too dangerous for Haruka due to Omi Alliance's prominence, prompting him to leave Osaka and take Haruka to Kamurocho. He notices Haruka act strangely, and follows her to a train station where he rescues her from Kanai's ambush before taking her to Tokyo by taxi.

Akiyama encounters Katsuya again in Tokyo, this time with an offer of 500 million yen to cancel the Japan Dome concert as well as Katsuya's guarantee that Osaka Talent will cover the cancellation expenses, which he declines. Back at Sky Finance, he meets Tatsuo Shinada who requests a 320 million yen loan to cancel a concert in Japan Dome, much to his surprise. Akiyama joins Date, Saejima, Kiryu, and later Shinada at New Serena, and they all offer their assistance to Kiryu in guaranteeing Haruka's safety. The next day, Akiyama and the others fight the Omi Alliance across Kamurocho. Upon defeating Kanai one last time, he gains a high degree of respect from the Omi Alliance, Yamagasa Family, and Kitakata Family to a point where all of the families bow down before Akiyama. He later witnesses Haruka's confession and retirement on a large monitor.

Yakuza 6: 2012-2017[]

Following Kiryu being escorted to the hospital, Akiyama warns Haruka that the two of them may not be able to return to a normal life in the near future due to all the press surrounding them. Kiryu is arrested in a gambit for the police to save face, and Akiyama expresses concern on whether or not he will actually choose to hire a lawyer to contest the charges.

In 2015, the Saio Triad advances into Japan and starts warring with the Tojo Clan. Their conflict leads to the burning of Little Asia, of which Akiyama is informed about by a homeless man. Due to his fame among the yakuza following the fight against Kurosawa in 2012, he fears being hunted down, and closes Sky Finance and Elise sometime in 2016 while sending Hana back to her parents in the countryside until the conflict dies down. He disguises himself as a homeless man and goes into hiding in the Kamurocho sewers.

When Kiryu returns to Kamurocho in search for Haruka's whereabouts in December, after attempting to call Akiyama he finds out that his number has been disconnected, so he decides to head to Sky Finance to ask Akiyama in person what he may know. Kiryu eventually tracks down Akiyama with the help of the local homeless people protecting him. The two briefly catch up on what has happened in the past few years and Akiyama informs Kiryu that he doesn't know the whereabouts of Haruka, but their conversation is cut short by Ed. The two team up to defeat Ed and promptly flee the scene together. While exiting the sewer Kiryu receives a call from Date about Haruka's whereabouts and that she has been in a hit and run accident.

Akiyama accompanies Kiryu to the hospital where they find out that Haruka has been left in a coma from her accident, though he in initially turned away due to his lack of hygiene. It is also at the hospital that it is revealed Haruka has a young son named Haruto. When child-services appear to take the child away, Kiryu decides to kidnap Haruto, stating that he doesn't want him to grow up in an institution just like he and Haruka had to if she takes a turn for the worse. Akiyama, not wanting Kiryu to be arrested and charged with kidnapping, tries to stop him and the two fight inside the children's ward. Kiryu eventually overpowers Akiyama and he reluctantly agrees to let Kiryu take Haruto.

He later is asked by Kiryu to meet, and he directs Kiryu to a hotel in Theater Square. Disguised as a window cleaner, he meet Kiryu, accompanied by his new acquaintance Murota. There, Akiyama tells Kiryu a few things: rumors that Katsumi Sugai was affiliated with the Saio Triad, that the arson's purpose was to give Saio Triad a place to move, staging a war between the Tojo Clan and Saio Triad to bring Daigo down. In return, Kiryu tells him that he's looking for Tatsukawa and also his plan to go to Little Asia to talk with Ed, which he agrees under the condition that Kiryu should bring more men to go there. To meet the condition, Kiryu brings his Hiroshima acquaintances Yuta Usami and Tsuyoshi Nagumo to infiltrate Little Asia.

During the infiltration, a butcher catches him and Kiryu, forcing both men to fight him. They manage to find Ed, however, they have to face the Triads after fighting Ed. After fighting the Triads, he's seen at New Serena, along with Kiryu, Yuta, and Nagumo, where he explains about heihaiziWP and that the Saio Triad had smuggled them to Japan for quite a while.

Much later, Akiyama pays a visit to the now-recovered Haruka at the police hospital. He tells Kiryu that Haruka may have to move around to keep her safe from both Tojo Clan and Yomei Alliance, however, he wants to join Kiryu and the rest of the Hirose Family to have payback against the people wreaking havoc on Kamurocho instead of protect Haruka. While reaching the top of the Millennium Tower, Yuta is injured and Akiyama stays behind to take care of him. After they all return, Akiyama guesses that Kiryu had planned to kill Sugai and Tsuneo Iwami after all they have done and they danger they pose to his family; Akiyama offers to kill in Kiryu's place to not taint his legacy, and leaves to go into hiding until they regroup later. He takes Yuta with him, and learns he escaped from his shack sometime later.

One month later, Akiyama finds Date inside Serena and informs him that Sky Finance is reopening. He talks about Kiryu's supposed death, noting his suspicions that only Date confirmed the body before it was promptly cremated. When Date claims that there was no reason to keep the body intact since Kiryu has no living relatives and that the only reason he could see the body was due to his connections in the police force, Akiyama shrugs it off, remarking that he hopes Date can tell him what really happened to Kiryu someday.

2017-2023[]

Akiyama repeatedly attempts to convince Date to tell him the truth regarding Kiryu's supposed death, but Date refuses every time. Frustrated, Akiyama eventually stops calling Date and answering his calls. He also keeps in contact with Haruka to some extent, and tells her of his theory that Kiryu is secretly alive.

Akiyama travels around the world to move and manage his money, because its gray nature means it could be a target of Ryo Aoki's Kamurocho 3K Plan to crack down on crime. One of his travel destinations is Singapore. Around the time the Tojo Clan and Omi Alliance dissolved, Akiyama catches wind of Kiryu supposedly having resurfaced, but his attempts to follow up on this information prove futile.

Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth: 2023[]

Learning that Date and Kiryu had been meeting at The Harbor Light, he dispatches mercenaries - the White Mask branch of the Yokohama Liumang - to attack them and test Kiryu's strength to verify it was really him. Exposed, Date and Kiryu confirm it, and Akiyama vents his frustration by punching them both. At the bar, Akiyama and Kiryu tell of their circumstances, and the former expresses his displeasure at being left out of the loop due to his alliances with Kiryu over the years, and how much he had looked up to him in the past. He also tries to convince Kiryu to get treatment for his cancer.

Some time after, Akiyama helps Date have Kiryu reunite with Haruka at Serena. While waiting for Date to arrive, he asks Haruka what she would do if Kiryu were to reappear right now. Much later, not knowing that Kiryu had narrowly declined showing himself, Akiyama and Haruka are told by Date that the detective was caught in a car accident, though he was in reality attacked by the Daidoji Faction for breaching their agreement to not have Kiryu meet with the people he knows.

Other Media[]

Yakuza: Dead Souls[]

Akiyama is strolling around Kamurocho when Hana (who suffering from a fever) rushed to him and told him that it's collection day and brought him his cell phone. On their way to Hotel District, Akiyama happened to met Sotaro Komaki who gives him a small memo. While continuing their trip, Akiyama notices a gunfight coming from a building. Upon closer look, he finds a person falling out of a window. Much to the citizens' fear, said person turns out to be mutated into a zombie and Akiyama decides to take things into his own hands by taking a gun that's previously used by said zombified person and telling Hana to run away.

Feeling confused, he tries to escape the zombie by heading towards the underground mall, where he found out that the escalators are closed. Shortly after, Hana follows him to the underground mall, only to be told to return to the office.

The following day, Akiyama wakes up only to found out that Hana's fever is getting worse and that zombies are starting to storm the office, much to Hana's fear. Due to the outbreak, Akiyama decides to cancel any collection for the day and took Hana to New Serena while he heads to the clinic to get a doctor to treat Hana, only to find out that the way is blocked. A low-level yakuza named Tomoaki Nagahama] meets Akiyama by chance, and offers to help him by telling an alternative route at the cost of the gun Akiyama carries at that moment. Akiyama initially refuses, but Nagahama tells him that he can get another piece at a DVD store in Theater Avenue just under the theater. Upon reaching the theater's basement, a woman named Reiko Hasegawa approaches Akiyama, tells him that she needs zombie samples for her research.

At the DVD store, Nagahama brought a few people, where one of them happened to be a former employee told him of the guns stashed at the store, much to his surprise. He tells Akiyama an exit route and decides to tag along. Upon clearing the zombies, both men find a hatch that took them to an underground complex, which leads to a safe zone.

Later on, Akiyama meets Renji Kamiyama (who now runs a pawn shop and a gun shop) and Hasegawa in the safe zone. Hasegawa introduces him to Akaishi, a member of the Crimson Shield group who serves as Hasegawa's right-hand. He makes his way through Kamurocho's underground complex to Theater Square to learn a route that the Crimson Shield use to enter and exit the safe zone. Eventually, Akiyama made it into the clinic, but the doctor wasn't present at that time and that a woman is watching over the clinic. Akiyama manages to get fever medicine after persuading the woman to open the medicine cases. Outside the clinic, he meets someone named Gary who takes him to his "boot camp," a marksmanship training facility located in a basement. Upon delivering the medicine to New Serena, he is shocked by the bar's now derelict condition and immediately starts searching for Hana. Shortly after killing a couple of zombies at the bar, the bar's phone rings and Akiyama answers it, revealing that Hana escaped the bar and is now hiding in Oriental Building in Nakamichi Street. Having reached the building, Akiyama encounters a large mob of zombies that caused trouble even for the Self-Defense Force as the zombies had surrounded their tank. Shortly after seeing the situation, Nagahama tells Akiyama to head under the theater and find an exit route to the safe zone. Inside the safe zone, Nagahama tells Akiyama about an alternate route to the Oriental Building.

Reaching the Oriental Building, Akiyama arrives just in time to save Hana and give the medicine to her. However, not so long after, a zombie appears and knocked one of Akiyama's guns off his hands. Initially, Hana felt worried about him, but Nagahama's men arrive just in time to join Akiyama. After defeating the zombie, Akiyama, Hana ,and Nagahama's men investigated the zombie only to find out that it's a purposely made zombie.

After Kiryu destroys the Oikazuchi Omega form of Nikaido on top of the Millennium Tower, DD says his piece to Kiryu, Goda, and Haruka, before bidding them farewell as a Blackhawk helicopter comes to pick him up. In fact, the helicopter is being piloted by Akiyama, who bails out onto the Millennium Tower rooftop, causing the helicopter to plunge to the ground, killing DD in an explosion.

Kurohyou 2: Ryu Ga Gotoku Ashura-hen: 2012[]

Akiyama appears as an NPC in the Kyushu No. 1 star minigame.

Ryu Ga Gotoku Online[]

MAJIMA CONSTRUCTION IS AT WORK! This section is under construction.

Fighting Style[]

Throughout his appearances, Akiyama consistently fights with a heavy reliance on kicks. The style resembles Taekwondo, but according to Akiyama himself, his fighting style is not based on any particular pre-existing martial art.

Yakuza 4[]

Akiyama's fighting style consists mainly of kicking, allowing him to unleash multiple hits at once.
Combos[]
His Rush Combo is a left side kick, a high right side kick, a right axe kick, a left push kick, and a series of up to 13 slash kicks. After the 1st or 2nd hit, he can throw reverse backfists. Finishers include: a right reverse roundhouse followed by a right knee, a left reverse axe kick followed by a rising right kick, a spinning right back kick followed by a right overhead kick and a reverse upwards kick immediately followed by a downwards kick and a spinning right back kick. Akiyama is able to make potentially infinite combos after completing his training regime with Saigo.
Basic attacks[]
Akiyama's heavy attack is a high right kick, which can be followed up with a left reverse roundhouse kick and a right overhead kick. He can also do a backwards left push kick. His running attack is a right-left forward kick followed by a left axe kick, and his downed attack is a swinging kick. His forward and backward quickstep attacks are Kiryu's, and his left and right quickstep attacks are quick heel kicks.
Grab attacks[]
From a grab, Akiyama has 3 follow-ups: light attack has him do Kiryu's 3-punch combo, heavy attack has him kick the opponent away and grab has him throw the opponent aside.
Blocking, dodging and reversals[]
Akiyama crosses his arms and raises his left knee to block. If his guard is broken, he can quickstep away and re-guard. He relies on dodging to stay ahead of his opponents and he has the ability to dodge while performing a combo, a feature that prevents him from being attacked while hitting another opponent. He can also do Kiryu's get-up kick.
Counterattacks[]
Akiyama has one counterattack: Counter Kick, a powerful right push kick.
Heat Actions[]
Akiyama does not have many Heat Actions, mostly relying on his combos to deal damage. However, among the ones he does have are: one where he throws an enemy against a guardrail and uses his foot to crush their skull against the rail; one where he punches an enemy into a streetlight, jumps off the streetlight and knees the enemy's face; one where he knees an enemy into a wall and repeatedly kicks their face before finishing off with a crescent kick; and one where he kicks an enemy and uses his backwards momentum to somersault and kick two other enemies.

Yakuza 5[]

Akiyama retains his Yakuza 4 moveset though he also gains some new moves.
Combos[]
Same as Yakuza 4, with now up to 19 slash kicks after the left push kick. The axe kick also does 2 individual hits.
Basic attacks[]
Akiyama's heavy attack is now a left side push kick, and he can also do a left reverse roundhouse kick. While an enemy is stuck to a wall, he can knee them. Everything else remains the same.
Grab attacks[]
Same as Yakuza 4, but light attack now has Akiyama kick the enemy thrice.
Blocking, dodging and reversals[]
Same as Yakuza 4.
Counterattacks[]
Same as Yakuza 4.
Special attacks[]
Akiyama gains Launch Strike, a Red Heat flip kick (or flying left knee strike if Akiyama is running) that sends enemies up into the air, followed up with a juggling combo.
Heat Actions[]
Same as Yakuza 4, with a few new Heat Actions.

Yakuza: Dead Souls[]

Like the other protagonists, Akiyama has a personal weapon. He wields 2 handguns that have a high fire rate, a large clip size, and reload quite fast, but are not very powerful in individual shots (quite similar to Akiyama's melee fighting style).

Yakuza 6[]

Akiyama is not playable in this game. His moveset has changed as well; instead of being his Yakuza 4 and 5 moveset, it is now a new moveset with an increased focus on punching, although kicks are still his primary method of attack.
His main combo is a low left kick, a low right kick, a left jab, a right cross and a spinning left back kick. After the first hit of this combo, he can also do a high left kick and a right roundhouse kick.
His basic attacks are a right front push kick and high right side kick. His quickstep attacks are a low left kick from the left, and a left push kick from the right. His downed attack as a boss is a right roundhouse kick, and as an AI partner is the same one he uses in Yakuza 4/5.
He has some kind of knockback or damage reversal as a boss, where he does a right hook. He only uses this in Heat mode.
If he grabs Kiryu, he will punch him once and then throw him using his shoulder.
His "taunt" as a boss is him begging Kiryu to stop.

Trivia[]

  • It was confirmed in an interview by Masayoshi Yokoyama that Akiyama's aloof personality, made to contrast Kiryu's, is partially based off of Spike SpiegelWP from Cowboy BebopWP.[7]
  • In Yakuza 0, the "Debt Collector's Necklace" gear is featured as a reference to Akiyama.
  • Akiyama's watch in Yakuza 5 is designed by real-life Japanese apparel company GaGa Milano.
  • Akiyama appears as a guest character in the following video games: LINE Rangers, Binary Domain, Taiko No Tatsujin DX and SEGA Heroes.
    • His likeness was featured in Persona 5: Dancing in Starlight as a DLC costume for Yusuke Kitagawa.
  • In Yakuza 4, as a reference to the Four SymbolsWP, Akiyama represents the Vermilion BirdWP of the South, often referred to as a phoenixWP, a bird of fire that bursts into flames upon death and is reborn from its own ashes.
    • This correlates to Akiyama's fall from grace as a banker, and his resurgence as a loan shark.
    • In Minamida's IF7-R, Akiyama's AI is referred to as the "Wind Phoenix".

Notes[]

  1. While Mr. A may be considered a nickname, the original Japanese text, 社長 (Shachō, Lit. "Company President"), may not be considered one. Additionally, "Mr. A" is only present in the original English localizations of Yakuza 4 and Yakuza 5, as the remasters translate it as "Chief."
  2. While Akiyama's date of birth has been listed as May 29,[6] the validity of the source is questionable, as it is unclear whether the dates were set in cooperation with Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio, and the dates have not since been acknowledged by Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio. Additionally, this date creates inconsistencies with Akiyama's given ages in Yakuza 4 and Yakuza 5.
  3. Based on Kido's account[2] of Akiyama's age in Yakuza 4 and Akiyama's given age in the Coliseum in Yakuza 5,[5] Akiyama's date of birth would fall between December 1977, and March 1, 1978.

References[]

  1. Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio, Substory Beware of Imposters, Yakuza 4 Remastered (2010; Tokyo: SEGAWP, 2019), PlayStation 4/Xbox One/Windows.
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio, “Part 1 Chapter 1: The Infamous Loan Shark”, Yakuza 4 Remastered (2010; Tokyo: SEGAWP, 2019), PlayStation 4/Xbox One/Windows.
    Oh, him? Shun Akiyama, age thirty-two. He runs a loan company called Sky Finance over on Tenkaichi Street. They call him the Lifeline of Kamurocho. Guy lends money to people with nowhere left to turn.
    — Takeshi Kido to his subordinate, March 1, 2010, Yakuza 4 Remastered
  3. Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio, Substory Dancin' Akiyama, Yakuza 5 Remastered (2012; Tokyo: SEGAWP, 2020), PlayStation 4/Xbox One/Windows.
    Aight, like I promised, you can now officially call yourself 'the man who beat Hide.'
    — Hide, Yakuza 5 Remastered
  4. Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio, Substory Floriography, Yakuza 4 Remastered (2010; Tokyo: SEGAWP, 2019), PlayStation 4/Xbox One/Windows.
  5. 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio, Coliseum Stats, Yakuza 5 Remastered (2012; Tokyo: SEGAWP, 2020), PlayStation 4/Xbox One/Windows.
  6. Hostess Calendar, Yakuza 4 Kuro Edition Ichiban Box (Sydney: SEGA Australia, 2011).
  7. "FFT: Ryu ga Gotoku 4 - Shun Akiyama". fftranslations.atspace.co.uk. Retrieved 2020-01-13.
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