Everybody loves a bad boy, right? That certainly seems to be the case within the Yakuza fandom, where antiheroes like Kazuma Kiryu are celebrated for solving problems with their fists. It appears to be news to series producer and director Hiroyuki Sakamoto, however, who was surprised to learn just how popular antagonist Goro Majima is within a certain subset of the community.
In an interview with Rock Paper Shotgun, Sakamoto was asked what his favourite element of the upcoming Like a Dragon: Ishin! was. He recalled that the studio was having trouble deciding which characters to include in the game, wanting to form an "all-star cast" from among the wider Yakuza-verse, and so held a popularity contest.
The results were unveiled in public, outside of Alta in bustling Shinjuku, a downtown district in Tokyo, on a massive screen in front of a screaming crowd of fans. Unsurprisingly, Goro Majima was revealed to be number one, and Sakamoto describes what happened next, recalling that "there was just this huge horde of female fans that all just screamed and screamed. And at that moment, we were like, ‘Wait a minute, girls like Majima this much? Is he that popular with the ladies?!"
Apparently so. With his icy demeanour, killer sense of style, and the air of danger presented by his iconic eyepatch, we can't be certain we wouldn't have reacted in the exact same way. Do you agree that the Mad Dog of Shimano deserves recognition as the number one best boy across the Yakuza franchise? Freak out in the comments section below.
[source rockpapershotgun.com]
Comments 29
He is super cool. Completely crazy, funny and his demon tattoo is just awesome. My fav character in the series is still the Dragon of Dojima but Majima is undeniably a very cool character as well.
Majima is more comedic value than sexy lol
Kazuma Kiryu an antihero? But he's one of the most wholesome characters in all of gaming!
Majima isn't actually crazy, it's all an act.
Majima is such a well built character. Beneath his Mad Dog persona, there is someone who is incredibly loyal, sometimes even a bit obssessive (especially with Kiryu). He goes beyond limits to protects the ones he loves and trusts.
Yakuza 0 did a good job on explaining his character and shows a lot of the good sides of him and how he turned into the Majima of the later games. How he does everything just to protect Makoto and make her happy even above his own happiness. That was just heart warming and made me like him as character from the start.
They really, reaaally need to take the hint and make Majima a more relevant character in upcoming games. There's a myriad reasons why 0 is the best Yakuza game, but Majima being a protagonist is most definitely among the main ones.
Regardless of whether each individual fan finds him sexy or just extremely appealing as a character, the fact remains he needs to stop getting sidelined. He's their golden goose and they don't even realize it.
Honestly, he always looked a bit dirty / greasy to me (or maybe he just gave off that impression because he kept jumping out from sewers). I think he’d certainly be the most fun as a friend, but being / living with someone that unpredictable? Not appealing. But then I’m not a girl or gay, so I guess I’m not the one to whom the question is really targeted.
Give me super smooth Yakuza 0 Majima over zany Majima.
I dunno about sexy lol, but Majima Goro is my favorite character in the series. 0 remains my favorite Yakuza mainline game.
He gets on my nerves and not even 0 redeemed that but people like what they like. The only thing that is cool about him to me is the one eye.
"Random: Yakuza Producer Surprised by How Sexy Fans Find Goro Majima"
Not the best written headline; perhaps these sexy fans are finding him under a rock, or hiding behind a door?
They really should consider making a Majima focused game at some point. Dude just has such confidence to walk around dressed the way he does so I'm not surprised he is a hit with the ladies!
Majima is a chad, a Yakuza game where he is the main protagonist would be so sick.
Having real people dressed up as a game character is one thing but, thirsting over polygons or animation is quite another...
@SeanOhOgain but those fans sure are sexy, eh? 😉
They probably had some idea lol, love that you guys had it in the article.
He is indeed very sexy. He‘s also barely in 3, 4 and 5 which is a real shame because he’s one of the best characters. He’s then in 6 for literally 3 minutes. Hope he turns up in 7 which I’ve started but not sure if he will.
@Cloud7794 Perfect comment lmao.
KIIIIIIIRYU-CHAN!
Of course, I mean, who's the hottest cabaret girl in RGG? Goromi-chan! <3 Everyone swoons for Majima!
@nessisonett Notice the games he's in are the ones they've remade, and the one's he's not got mediocre 1080p remasters?
@Lavalera They did the survey for Ishin!, which was released originally a year BEFORE 0, and the survey was done to decide what characters to include in it, so it was early planning, so the surprise moment when they found out Majima was hot was likely before that whole character arc in 0 was written. In all liklihood they have the whole "Lord of the Night" arc because the ladies were swooning for him...they leaned into it, but his original popularity with the girls was all based on bat-stuff-crazy Majima to that point
I mean they could have given him a double chin and hairy arms whilst wearing flip flops but instead they put him in a jacket with no shirt underneath and made him strut about with leather trousers on. Look at him, he’s a Japanese bronzed Adonis!
Sakamoto san needs to check himself in to the Goro University of Sexiness to recognise the hunk monster he created!
@NEStalgia Haha yeah it's somewhat crazy to imagine people already loved him so much before 0 even came out. People appearantly loved his crazy bad boy vibe so much. But i guess they already saw the multiple layers of his personality. And i think you might be right about RGG making his part of 0 because he was so popular.
I was late to the Yakuza party and started when Like a Dragon was released and then played 0 to 6 after that. So i got his whole backstory before i got see his mad sides from the later games. And i think 0 was the best thing they could do for him. They probably swayed even the non Majima lovers towards loving him.
Goro Majima is hands down the best character, all my friends who play the Yakuza series like me agree !
Confirmed: women love eyepatches. Gonna buy a bunch now on Amazon
I'm not sexy, so I can't find him.
I always like characters who are somehow cool and badass while also being incredibly eccentric and silly - also see Bon Clay in One Piece.
I don't know. But he pretty cool. A real rival and friend to Kiryu. He was pretty amazing on Yakuza 0 and i was sad that he and the blind girl didn't end together.
Majima is cool in a funny way, but he's nuts! They probably like him because of Yakuza 0!
@BusyOlf - Not to mention the way he sits down in a chair....🥵
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