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In-Character Information
Name : Goro Majima
Game/Series: Yakuza (Ryu Ga Gotoku)
Teacher/Student/Other: Security guard
Canon Point: pre Yakuza 4, 2009
Age: 44
Dorm or Living Arrangement: Has a dorm as a decoy, actually sleeps in an apartment in the city.
Personality:
"You've got no idea how lonely I've been since ya got outta the game last year. Oh, but I knew! I knew my Kaz would be back someday!"
Back when Goro Majima was the first lieutenant of the Shimano Family, affiliate of the Tojo Clan, he earned himself a nickname amongst those in the Japanese underworld: the Mad Dog of Shimano. While Futoshi Shimano himself was known for being particularly ruthless, his right hand man managed to take it to a whole different level. Most people who know Majima would describe him as being batshit insane, and rightly so. He's eccentric, unpredictable, brutal, and there's nothing more he'd like to do than to wreck havoc across the streets of Kamurocho. After all, everything's just so boring when it's peaceful and shit. Majima craves excitement like a tubby child craves candy - a one-eyed, violent child who's been in organized crime most his life. Naturally, he's drawn towards chaos.
Majima has moods that can change on a dime, going from cackling glee to a dangerous and threatening in the same breath. It's hard to tell what will set him off, as even the most trivial of matters can peeve him. When he's happy, he's positively manic. Anything bizarre and fun that can tear through the monotony of day to day life is a welcome treat to him, the weirder the better. And for a big shot patriarch of his own Family, he's not above shameless flirting, trolling, and being an all-round trickster when he's not expected to lead.
But, strange as it sounds, Majima has been one of the Tojo Clan's most reliable allies. Mad though he may be, but he has the loyalty of a dog as well. He has an innate sense of fealty to the few friends he considers to be his brothers, and the Tojo, to whom he swore his oaths to long ago. It's not in Majima to break a promise, and he'll go to extreme lengths to uphold his word when necessary. If he decides to recognize you as a person of respect, then consider him - and his hundreds of men - at your disposal. And as contradictory as it may sound, Majima has a liking for honest people, for people with very straightforward personalities. They're easy to understand. It's a refreshing change from the world of thugs, liars and thieves that he knows. And if there's children in his line of fire, he won't hurt them either. There's an honour system he functions under that isn't normally found in thugs of his ilk.
Of course, being Majima's friend often comes with some strings... like having to take a stab wound sometimes. The guy loves fighting. He loves. Fighting. So much so that he doesn't even have to win in order to get his kicks. It's all about really being able to let loose with a worthy opponent, being able to experience someone so tough that he can get his ass handed to him. It's a rush, it's a high. It's a bit sadomasochistic, yes, but to him, the best battles are all about spectacle and domination. He'll take any excuse to seek that thrill, oftentimes neglecting other, probably more important matters. Majima respects defeat more than kindness. He won't bow his head to anyone weaker than him, and it only stands to reason that he can't let any weak shits take out his betters - even going as far to take a near fatal blow for his best friend, just so he can have the privilege of killing him himself one day.
He's a pack creature by nature, being in such a hierarchical organization. If there's no one strong enough to call himself the boss, then it'll be in his inclination to take over. Even if Majima's ambitions in rising up in the underworld has dulled since the good ol' days of having two eyes, he can't completely stifle the haunting question: how far could he get? And would it be worth it? After all, being in the yakuza for so long means that Majima's been at the shit end of a set up enough times that he's learned to keep his cards close to his chest. Internal politics, bureaucracy, mindless yes-men, manipulation - all that stuff he'd rather not bother with. And backstabbing? Please. Anyone who deserved to get stabbed ought to get stabbed straight to the face. He'd rather pack up and leave than get caught up in that bullshit, or get stuck under a boss who stifles him.
Make no mistake though, Majima's no fool. He's much smarter than he lets on - sure, he's no financial executive, but his one eye has been especially good at seeking out potential revenue. He'll take advantage of any opportunity to roll in more money and power for himself. On top of his very profitable construction contracts, he rules over Kamurocho's literal underground paradise, complete with brothels, gambling, fighting tournaments, and with access to the most advanced monitoring system in the city - all of this, sought out and claimed on his own. It pays to stay informed, and Majima likes to make sure he's in the know about all the players in his field. Everything from rumours on the street to reading the Wall Street Journal - ignorance is something sorely punished in his Family. It helps that Majima's got the devil's own luck when it comes to his instincts, too. It takes a lot of money and power to mobilize a hundred men, so he's always got an ear to the ground, preparing for the next big wind to sweep through Japan and the affects it'll have on the Tojo Clan.
Unfortunately for Majima, his own shrewdness and ambition ends up working against him. The larger and more powerful his Family grows, the more they depend on a steadfast patriarch to lead them - and that means he can't run wild anymore. He's already had to temper down from the days where he'd regularly beat his own men to near-death, but having to sit around acting respectable can bore him to tears. Prosperity means peaceful times, alas. Majima really shines during a crisis, or when he gets to act as an enforcer with no limitations.
In a sense, he suits Final Destination City quite well. Sure, it's not as seedy as he'd like (oh, he can fix that), but as long as there's no shortage of excitement, Majima should feel right at home.
Backstory:
"Soon as we stepped into this world, that was it. Duty bound. Never squeal. And the price for betrayal's death, even if it's your own brother."
Sometime in the 80s, Goro Majima and Taiga Saejima stepped into the world of the yakuza and joined the Tojo Clan - the most powerful organization in Kamurocho - to see how far they could get in this world. Saejima, indebted to the patriarch of the Sasai family, threw away his old dreams and joined them for the money to save his sister from kidney failure. Majima, on the other hand, served under Futoshi Shimano in the Dojima Family. Despite joining different Tojo affiliate groups, the two men were closer than brothers. Having come from nothing, they were determined to do whatever it took to carve their name into the world, with absolute dedication to their bosses, even if it meant death.
In 1985, a hit was planned. The two of them were to assassinate the chairman of the Ueno Seiwa Clan on the day he was released from prison, crippling the rival organization. The Dojima Family would use this opportunity to expand their territory, and left job to the Sasai Family. It was only fitting then, that Majima and Saejima would be chosen to carry out the act - one man from each family. They were to ambush the chairman and an estimated 10 Ueno Seiwa men at a ramen shop, and guns had been procured by the Dojima Family for the task. Considering the harsh gun control laws in Japan, this by itself was no easy feat - but they were provided 6 revolvers, with 6 bullets each. But 2 against 10 were still ugly odds, and Majima offered to take on the hit by himself. Even if everything pulled off without a hitch, it'd still be ten years in the slammer, minimum - and Saejima still had a sister that relied on him. But the other man would not be swayed.
April 21, 1985. Majima never showed up for the hit. And rather than 10 men, a total of 19 waited for Saejima instead. In a bloodbath that would become legendary among their ranks, he killed 18 men that day, leaving only one lieutenant who survived his wound. Saejima was sentenced to death row.
But in truth, the entire hit had been a set up from the beginning, one that had been planned by traitors in the Tojo, the Ueno Seiwa, and even the Tokyo Metropolitan police. That day, Majima had been called to meet Kazuo Shibata, of the Tojo affiliate Shibata Family. He'd voiced his concerns about the assassination, and urged Majima not to go in order to save the Dojima Clan from becoming involved. But it was already too late - Saejima was already on his way to the ramen shop, and there was no way in hell that he could leave his blood brother to just get killed. Shibata wasn't about to give him a choice in the matter, however, and soon revealed the entire meeting to be an ambush.
It took dozens of Shibata's men to take Majima down. He was captured and chained in order to keep from interfering with Shibata's plans - but his henchmen were only under orders to keep him alive. Unwilling to bow his head to his captors, Majima told them straight out that he'd rather lose an eye than grovel. So they complied, using his own knife against him, and carved his left eye from his head.
Majima lost his only family that day. Saejima's sister went missing, and soon a hit was placed on Saejima's boss, Sasai, who quickly went into hiding. In an attempt to protect the man that meant so much to his brother, Majima found him and brought him to the safety of Kamurocho's secret underground district, but there was little else he could do for him. Sasai was a shell of his former self.
Something changed in Majima after that event. He unhinged somewhere, let go of his restraint and transformed into a violent maniac. The head of the Dojima Family, Sohei Dojima moved on to become the 2nd Chairman of the Tojo Clan, and Shimano created his own Family, with Majima as his right hand man. It was around then that Majima started his own Family and met Kazuma Kiryu, the Dragon of the Dojima Family. They were... well, friends. Strange friends. As his junior, Kazuma was always very respectful towards Majima, and he was tough as nails. The mad dog became extremely fond of Kazzy, Kiryu-chaaan. And he was especially fond of fighting him.
1995, Kazuma was sentenced to 10 years in prison, covering up for the murder of Sohei Dojima at the hand of his childhood friend.
December 2005, and 10 billion yen has been stolen from the Tojo Clan. The 3rd Chairman, Masaru Sera, was killed shortly after the news was made known to the affiliate Families, and soon there was a mad scramble for the missing money, and for Kazuma, who had just been released from prison. Majima couldn't really care less about all of that yen, but he was glad for any excuse to cross swords with Kazzy again. He had his men kidnap Haruka, the 9 year old girl that had found her way into Kazuma's custody by chance and circumstance, as a way to lure out his old friend to the Yoshida Batting Centre for a fight.
But one of his men, concerned with seeing the Dragon of Dojima kick the stuffing out of his boss, decides to make the genius move of interfering in their fight and stabbing Kazuma while his back was turned. This proved to be a mistake, as Majima protected Kazuma from the deadly blow by stepping in and taking it himself. Even if he nearly died from the wound, that didn't stop him from hunting down his friend's location and then driving a truck through the wall of a soapland not too long afterwards to continue the fight. Obviously he got his ass kicked, but it was an awesome fight where Majima somehow managed to punch Kazuma through the floor.
Kazuma went on to confront his traitorous childhood friend and evil government guys on a rooftop and have a shirtless fight. Everyone Kazuma cared about, except Haruka, promptly died in some way or another, and the rooftop exploded. The 10 billion yen went flying everywhere. Kazuma becomes the 4th Chairman of the Tojo Clan, and immediately opts to give the title to Yukio Terada in order to go on the straight and narrow.
2006, and Majima is sick to death of Terada's reign as the 5th Chairman of the Tojo Clan. As far as he was concerned, Terada made them look weak, and surrounded himself with nothing but yes-men while designating old hats in the Tojo to meaningless positions. He takes his Family and leaves, establishing a construction company in his name instead. At that time, Kage the Florist - owner of Purgatory and legendary information dealer - had up and left the place to go back to working for the police, and Majima very quickly took his place as head of the underground paradise. He cleaned up the area and began construction on Kamurocho Hills, all the while profiting from the steamy secret world he ruled over.
December 2006, Terada is assassinated by a rival yakuza organization from the Kansai region, and the weakened Tojo Clan was scrambling to prevent war. Kazuma pleads to Majima to lend the power of his Family to the Tojo in this hour of need and - with a bit of tournament fighting persuasion - he agrees. During the 5th Chairman's funeral, the Omi Alliance from Osaka began their invasion of Kamurocho, taking advantage of Kazuma's absence in the city. While the Dragon of Dojima had his hands full deaing with the treacherous Dragon of Kansai, Ryuji Goda, and a traitor in the Tojo who had sold out, the Omi's Sengoku Family marched through the streets in droves, met only with Majima in opposition. The lone madman took them all on single-handedly, smearing them across the pavements of his city.
By the time Kazuma was actually able to return, Majima was bloodied but triumphant. He was taken to the Emoto clinic where he was treated, and was up and running in time to return to Kazuma's aid once it was revealed that the Korean mafia had planted bombs across the city. The surviving members of the Jingweon mafia massacre at the hands of the Tojo had teamed up with Ryuji for their ultimate moment of revenge against Kamurocho, a moment 25 years in the making. But thankfully, Majima had preserved the Florist's immense video surveillance system, therefore saving all their asses and allowing the information dealer to pinpoint their locations. After that, Majima Constructions spread out across the city to defuse them, with Majima himself trying his hand at the task. He somehow managed not to blow up the city, or himself, despite knowing zero things about electrical engineering or bomb disposal, relying on pure instinct and an eeny-meeny-miney-moe song to get through the ordeal. It was kind of amazing.
Later, it turned out that Terada was the hugest traitor of all, because he faked his own death and was also a Korean. Then he got backstabbed too. And there was another bomb, but Kazuma and Ryuji decided it was more important to have a shirtless fight instead of to not explode. Ryuji died. But then the bomb didn't explode anyway.
After the crisis with Osaka and Koreans, Kazuma was ready to leave the Tojo Clan, and Kamurocho, for good this time, really, he means it. Pleading for Majima's help one more time, he requested his old friend to rejoin the Tojo Clan officially and support the young Daigo Dojima as the 6th Chairman. While Sohei Dojima's son had the charisma and kindess to become a good leader, he was still young and without a Family of his own - so he needed an enforcer to put the fear of the Tojo into anyone who might mess with them. After a shirtless rooftop fight, Majima begrudgingly gave his word to look after Kamurocho for him, and Kazuma left for Okinawa to take care of orphans. Because that's what former yakuza do.
2008, and ministers of the Democratic Party of Japan have been fighting over a particularly lucrative stretch of land in Okinawa - the Minster of Defense was pushing to expand a military airbase, whereas the Minster of Land wanted to build a resort to promote tourism. Neither are promising to Kazuma, as it would mean he would have to give up the land that Sunshine Orphanage was built on. At Kazuma's request, Daigo promised to promote neither of these plans - and is shot by a mysterious assailant.
The bickering between the top captains of the Tojo clan following the shooting was unbelievable - it was all a mad scramble for power now that the Chairman's seat was empty. Some argued for Kazuma to come back as an interim Chairman, while others demanded that payback to be their highest priority. Majima would have none of it.
During all of this Goh Hamazaki of the Tojo's Hamazaki Familiy had been working with the Land Minister in order to secure the deeds for the resort plan. Majima had been approached for the construction contract, and while the one-eyed patriarch was well aware that Daigo was against it, he agreed nonetheless in the hopes that the financial influx would make things easier for the young 6th Chairman. Unfortunately, this too was a set up by Hamazaki. His ultimate plan was to secretly construct a casino which he would sell to the Chinese Snake Flower Triad, and eventually take over Kamurocho by taking advantage of the power vacuum. He intentionally leaked a photograph of Majima meeting with the government official, casting suspicion on him as a traitor within the Clan and positioning him as the fall man should the police ever find the Land Minster in cooperation with the yakuza.
Kazuma went down to Kamurocho Hills to confront him, only to find that Majima's Family had grown considerably larger in his absence. He was greeted by a much more sober and well-dressed Majima and a massive sea of followers, and the latter invited him into Purgatory to talk. By talk, of course, he meant 'have a cage fight' - because Majima still had enough pride as a yakuza that he wasn't going to rat out his partner for nothing, even if he was set up. They talked for real afterwards, and Majima explained the breadth of Hamazaki's ambitions.
From there, he supported Kazuma as the Dragon sought the answers to all the mysteries threatening his Orphanage and the Tojo Clan. Majima's amazing truck driving skills would come in handy again when he crashed an ambush by the CIA, saving Kazuma by running them all over. He also offered to send his men to Okinawa to help Sunshine Orphanage, but Kazuma declined.
It all ended in shirtless rooftop fights and tragic deathcounts anyway, as usual.
Can you tell I've totally lost it trying to parse out Japanese crime drama?
So in 2009, before Yakuza 4 could happen,sparing me the grim task of keeping track of all those backstabbings, Majima got bored out of his skull again. Kazuma had gone back to his idyllic beachside orphanage, and Daigo was recovering and a conscious Chairman again. So obviously the thing to do is install his lieutenant to take care of things in Kamurocho and head somewhere a little more interesting. Somewhere exciting, with a lot of tension and a very short fuse.
With these murders popping up at FDC, that sounded like a fun start. It didn't seem like any of the rival gangs had sunk in their teeth yet either. What a marvellous opportunity to expand his territory and let loose for a while. Security guard sounded like as good a job as any - after all, he had some experience in keeping thugs in line. Maybe not in the way the job description would've liked, but really, that was its fault for not specifying.
Anything Else?:
- Weapons of choice: tanto dagger, baseball bat (with optional baseball for ranged attacks), and the pump action shotgun.
- HEAT aura: purple. Majima has a crazy fast sidestep that turns him into a blur when moving.
- Vehicle of choice: a pastel pink heavy truck decked out with leopard print interiors.
- Pansexual. Hits on girls a lot, but really he'd try anything with anyone in bed, at least once.
- Sleeping in the dorms is for suckers who get assassinated and/or pranked. The furnishing is identical to his actual office, but the only thing of note inside is an oldschool telephone that goes to his help hotline, and a hidden camera to see who comes knocking.
- Under the eyepatch? Well, he had his eyelids cut off along with his eye, so there's just this gross scar-and-membrane cavity combo.
- Is fond of cats because they remind him of his old blood brother, Saejima.
- Terrible, terrible karaoke singer. It runs in his Family.
- But, quite an entertaining dancer.
- Is actually quite pale, with dark shadows around his eye. Very lean, very flexible.
- Being the head of Majima constructions, he has a construction team at his beck and call.
- Which obviously means he's going to build a secret ring for underground cage fighting tournaments.
- It's cool he's rollin' in tons of illegal money.
- Since he wasn't a playable character until the 3rd person zombie shooter spinoff, I'm gonna say he can execute the same pool of HEAT moves that were distributed between all the 4 main characters in Yakuza 4. Basics like 'beating someone over the head with blunt trauma object', etc.
- Has a bit of a Kansai accent. Think of it like a hint of a Southern drawl. Rolls his Rs.
- Will have nameless guys in black suits and construction workers as NPCs. Daisuke Minami will be back in Kamurocho in case anyone feels like apping him thoughha ha yeah right as if anyone other than me would consider it
- His construction company is going to make a killing from fixing the school all the time.
- Speaking of killing, please, please feel free to suspect him as the murderer. I mean, he's a total knife nut and a criminal. Do it. He'll love it.
In-Character 3rd person writing post:
Kamurocho, the dazzling pleasure district of Shinjuku: all you had to do was pick your poison - money, power, drugs and girls - you would be provided for. Men flocked there in droves, seeking their fortunes or throwing their dreams upon the treacherous rocks - you could have it all or lose it all. But, as Goro Majima could attest, it was astonishing how quickly one could become used to excess.
Now, this place, Final Destination City? Didn't seem like much at first. But once he started looking, a wealth of oddities began to catch his eye. If other places could claim to have everything you've ever wanted, then this was the only spot that had everything you never needed, never ever imagined, but somehow managed to defy everything you knew of reality with its presence. It was baffling that none of the Tojo's rivals, or indeed any of the Tojo's other captains, had ever tried to stake a claim on this territory.
Then again, any city where the random pedestrians didn't pick fights at the drop of a hat didn't seem very tough. Even with a supposed fighting school close by, the general populace still acted skittish about something.
Something - or someone - to be scared of, huh? Well, Majima was suddenly very keen on learning more.
Sure, his appearance and manner of speech and... existence made it a bit tough to really chat up people for details, but a bit of elbow grease and a liberal application of bat was enough to get a gist of recent events. These folks really didn't have much of a crime rate if a few murders were enough to send them shaking in their boots.
Then again, maybe this could be the start of something very profitable. An appeal to FDC's dark side. Every city had one, after all. This one just needed a little nudge for all the shadows to come out.
And that meant it was the perfect time for the Majima Family to set up shop.
Name : Goro Majima
Game/Series: Yakuza (Ryu Ga Gotoku)
Teacher/Student/Other: Security guard
Canon Point: pre Yakuza 4, 2009
Age: 44
Dorm or Living Arrangement: Has a dorm as a decoy, actually sleeps in an apartment in the city.
Personality:
"You've got no idea how lonely I've been since ya got outta the game last year. Oh, but I knew! I knew my Kaz would be back someday!"
Back when Goro Majima was the first lieutenant of the Shimano Family, affiliate of the Tojo Clan, he earned himself a nickname amongst those in the Japanese underworld: the Mad Dog of Shimano. While Futoshi Shimano himself was known for being particularly ruthless, his right hand man managed to take it to a whole different level. Most people who know Majima would describe him as being batshit insane, and rightly so. He's eccentric, unpredictable, brutal, and there's nothing more he'd like to do than to wreck havoc across the streets of Kamurocho. After all, everything's just so boring when it's peaceful and shit. Majima craves excitement like a tubby child craves candy - a one-eyed, violent child who's been in organized crime most his life. Naturally, he's drawn towards chaos.
Majima has moods that can change on a dime, going from cackling glee to a dangerous and threatening in the same breath. It's hard to tell what will set him off, as even the most trivial of matters can peeve him. When he's happy, he's positively manic. Anything bizarre and fun that can tear through the monotony of day to day life is a welcome treat to him, the weirder the better. And for a big shot patriarch of his own Family, he's not above shameless flirting, trolling, and being an all-round trickster when he's not expected to lead.
But, strange as it sounds, Majima has been one of the Tojo Clan's most reliable allies. Mad though he may be, but he has the loyalty of a dog as well. He has an innate sense of fealty to the few friends he considers to be his brothers, and the Tojo, to whom he swore his oaths to long ago. It's not in Majima to break a promise, and he'll go to extreme lengths to uphold his word when necessary. If he decides to recognize you as a person of respect, then consider him - and his hundreds of men - at your disposal. And as contradictory as it may sound, Majima has a liking for honest people, for people with very straightforward personalities. They're easy to understand. It's a refreshing change from the world of thugs, liars and thieves that he knows. And if there's children in his line of fire, he won't hurt them either. There's an honour system he functions under that isn't normally found in thugs of his ilk.
Of course, being Majima's friend often comes with some strings... like having to take a stab wound sometimes. The guy loves fighting. He loves. Fighting. So much so that he doesn't even have to win in order to get his kicks. It's all about really being able to let loose with a worthy opponent, being able to experience someone so tough that he can get his ass handed to him. It's a rush, it's a high. It's a bit sadomasochistic, yes, but to him, the best battles are all about spectacle and domination. He'll take any excuse to seek that thrill, oftentimes neglecting other, probably more important matters. Majima respects defeat more than kindness. He won't bow his head to anyone weaker than him, and it only stands to reason that he can't let any weak shits take out his betters - even going as far to take a near fatal blow for his best friend, just so he can have the privilege of killing him himself one day.
He's a pack creature by nature, being in such a hierarchical organization. If there's no one strong enough to call himself the boss, then it'll be in his inclination to take over. Even if Majima's ambitions in rising up in the underworld has dulled since the good ol' days of having two eyes, he can't completely stifle the haunting question: how far could he get? And would it be worth it? After all, being in the yakuza for so long means that Majima's been at the shit end of a set up enough times that he's learned to keep his cards close to his chest. Internal politics, bureaucracy, mindless yes-men, manipulation - all that stuff he'd rather not bother with. And backstabbing? Please. Anyone who deserved to get stabbed ought to get stabbed straight to the face. He'd rather pack up and leave than get caught up in that bullshit, or get stuck under a boss who stifles him.
Make no mistake though, Majima's no fool. He's much smarter than he lets on - sure, he's no financial executive, but his one eye has been especially good at seeking out potential revenue. He'll take advantage of any opportunity to roll in more money and power for himself. On top of his very profitable construction contracts, he rules over Kamurocho's literal underground paradise, complete with brothels, gambling, fighting tournaments, and with access to the most advanced monitoring system in the city - all of this, sought out and claimed on his own. It pays to stay informed, and Majima likes to make sure he's in the know about all the players in his field. Everything from rumours on the street to reading the Wall Street Journal - ignorance is something sorely punished in his Family. It helps that Majima's got the devil's own luck when it comes to his instincts, too. It takes a lot of money and power to mobilize a hundred men, so he's always got an ear to the ground, preparing for the next big wind to sweep through Japan and the affects it'll have on the Tojo Clan.
Unfortunately for Majima, his own shrewdness and ambition ends up working against him. The larger and more powerful his Family grows, the more they depend on a steadfast patriarch to lead them - and that means he can't run wild anymore. He's already had to temper down from the days where he'd regularly beat his own men to near-death, but having to sit around acting respectable can bore him to tears. Prosperity means peaceful times, alas. Majima really shines during a crisis, or when he gets to act as an enforcer with no limitations.
In a sense, he suits Final Destination City quite well. Sure, it's not as seedy as he'd like (oh, he can fix that), but as long as there's no shortage of excitement, Majima should feel right at home.
Backstory:
"Soon as we stepped into this world, that was it. Duty bound. Never squeal. And the price for betrayal's death, even if it's your own brother."
Sometime in the 80s, Goro Majima and Taiga Saejima stepped into the world of the yakuza and joined the Tojo Clan - the most powerful organization in Kamurocho - to see how far they could get in this world. Saejima, indebted to the patriarch of the Sasai family, threw away his old dreams and joined them for the money to save his sister from kidney failure. Majima, on the other hand, served under Futoshi Shimano in the Dojima Family. Despite joining different Tojo affiliate groups, the two men were closer than brothers. Having come from nothing, they were determined to do whatever it took to carve their name into the world, with absolute dedication to their bosses, even if it meant death.
In 1985, a hit was planned. The two of them were to assassinate the chairman of the Ueno Seiwa Clan on the day he was released from prison, crippling the rival organization. The Dojima Family would use this opportunity to expand their territory, and left job to the Sasai Family. It was only fitting then, that Majima and Saejima would be chosen to carry out the act - one man from each family. They were to ambush the chairman and an estimated 10 Ueno Seiwa men at a ramen shop, and guns had been procured by the Dojima Family for the task. Considering the harsh gun control laws in Japan, this by itself was no easy feat - but they were provided 6 revolvers, with 6 bullets each. But 2 against 10 were still ugly odds, and Majima offered to take on the hit by himself. Even if everything pulled off without a hitch, it'd still be ten years in the slammer, minimum - and Saejima still had a sister that relied on him. But the other man would not be swayed.
April 21, 1985. Majima never showed up for the hit. And rather than 10 men, a total of 19 waited for Saejima instead. In a bloodbath that would become legendary among their ranks, he killed 18 men that day, leaving only one lieutenant who survived his wound. Saejima was sentenced to death row.
But in truth, the entire hit had been a set up from the beginning, one that had been planned by traitors in the Tojo, the Ueno Seiwa, and even the Tokyo Metropolitan police. That day, Majima had been called to meet Kazuo Shibata, of the Tojo affiliate Shibata Family. He'd voiced his concerns about the assassination, and urged Majima not to go in order to save the Dojima Clan from becoming involved. But it was already too late - Saejima was already on his way to the ramen shop, and there was no way in hell that he could leave his blood brother to just get killed. Shibata wasn't about to give him a choice in the matter, however, and soon revealed the entire meeting to be an ambush.
It took dozens of Shibata's men to take Majima down. He was captured and chained in order to keep from interfering with Shibata's plans - but his henchmen were only under orders to keep him alive. Unwilling to bow his head to his captors, Majima told them straight out that he'd rather lose an eye than grovel. So they complied, using his own knife against him, and carved his left eye from his head.
Majima lost his only family that day. Saejima's sister went missing, and soon a hit was placed on Saejima's boss, Sasai, who quickly went into hiding. In an attempt to protect the man that meant so much to his brother, Majima found him and brought him to the safety of Kamurocho's secret underground district, but there was little else he could do for him. Sasai was a shell of his former self.
Something changed in Majima after that event. He unhinged somewhere, let go of his restraint and transformed into a violent maniac. The head of the Dojima Family, Sohei Dojima moved on to become the 2nd Chairman of the Tojo Clan, and Shimano created his own Family, with Majima as his right hand man. It was around then that Majima started his own Family and met Kazuma Kiryu, the Dragon of the Dojima Family. They were... well, friends. Strange friends. As his junior, Kazuma was always very respectful towards Majima, and he was tough as nails. The mad dog became extremely fond of Kazzy, Kiryu-chaaan. And he was especially fond of fighting him.
1995, Kazuma was sentenced to 10 years in prison, covering up for the murder of Sohei Dojima at the hand of his childhood friend.
December 2005, and 10 billion yen has been stolen from the Tojo Clan. The 3rd Chairman, Masaru Sera, was killed shortly after the news was made known to the affiliate Families, and soon there was a mad scramble for the missing money, and for Kazuma, who had just been released from prison. Majima couldn't really care less about all of that yen, but he was glad for any excuse to cross swords with Kazzy again. He had his men kidnap Haruka, the 9 year old girl that had found her way into Kazuma's custody by chance and circumstance, as a way to lure out his old friend to the Yoshida Batting Centre for a fight.
But one of his men, concerned with seeing the Dragon of Dojima kick the stuffing out of his boss, decides to make the genius move of interfering in their fight and stabbing Kazuma while his back was turned. This proved to be a mistake, as Majima protected Kazuma from the deadly blow by stepping in and taking it himself. Even if he nearly died from the wound, that didn't stop him from hunting down his friend's location and then driving a truck through the wall of a soapland not too long afterwards to continue the fight. Obviously he got his ass kicked, but it was an awesome fight where Majima somehow managed to punch Kazuma through the floor.
Kazuma went on to confront his traitorous childhood friend and evil government guys on a rooftop and have a shirtless fight. Everyone Kazuma cared about, except Haruka, promptly died in some way or another, and the rooftop exploded. The 10 billion yen went flying everywhere. Kazuma becomes the 4th Chairman of the Tojo Clan, and immediately opts to give the title to Yukio Terada in order to go on the straight and narrow.
2006, and Majima is sick to death of Terada's reign as the 5th Chairman of the Tojo Clan. As far as he was concerned, Terada made them look weak, and surrounded himself with nothing but yes-men while designating old hats in the Tojo to meaningless positions. He takes his Family and leaves, establishing a construction company in his name instead. At that time, Kage the Florist - owner of Purgatory and legendary information dealer - had up and left the place to go back to working for the police, and Majima very quickly took his place as head of the underground paradise. He cleaned up the area and began construction on Kamurocho Hills, all the while profiting from the steamy secret world he ruled over.
December 2006, Terada is assassinated by a rival yakuza organization from the Kansai region, and the weakened Tojo Clan was scrambling to prevent war. Kazuma pleads to Majima to lend the power of his Family to the Tojo in this hour of need and - with a bit of tournament fighting persuasion - he agrees. During the 5th Chairman's funeral, the Omi Alliance from Osaka began their invasion of Kamurocho, taking advantage of Kazuma's absence in the city. While the Dragon of Dojima had his hands full deaing with the treacherous Dragon of Kansai, Ryuji Goda, and a traitor in the Tojo who had sold out, the Omi's Sengoku Family marched through the streets in droves, met only with Majima in opposition. The lone madman took them all on single-handedly, smearing them across the pavements of his city.
By the time Kazuma was actually able to return, Majima was bloodied but triumphant. He was taken to the Emoto clinic where he was treated, and was up and running in time to return to Kazuma's aid once it was revealed that the Korean mafia had planted bombs across the city. The surviving members of the Jingweon mafia massacre at the hands of the Tojo had teamed up with Ryuji for their ultimate moment of revenge against Kamurocho, a moment 25 years in the making. But thankfully, Majima had preserved the Florist's immense video surveillance system, therefore saving all their asses and allowing the information dealer to pinpoint their locations. After that, Majima Constructions spread out across the city to defuse them, with Majima himself trying his hand at the task. He somehow managed not to blow up the city, or himself, despite knowing zero things about electrical engineering or bomb disposal, relying on pure instinct and an eeny-meeny-miney-moe song to get through the ordeal. It was kind of amazing.
Later, it turned out that Terada was the hugest traitor of all, because he faked his own death and was also a Korean. Then he got backstabbed too. And there was another bomb, but Kazuma and Ryuji decided it was more important to have a shirtless fight instead of to not explode. Ryuji died. But then the bomb didn't explode anyway.
After the crisis with Osaka and Koreans, Kazuma was ready to leave the Tojo Clan, and Kamurocho, for good this time, really, he means it. Pleading for Majima's help one more time, he requested his old friend to rejoin the Tojo Clan officially and support the young Daigo Dojima as the 6th Chairman. While Sohei Dojima's son had the charisma and kindess to become a good leader, he was still young and without a Family of his own - so he needed an enforcer to put the fear of the Tojo into anyone who might mess with them. After a shirtless rooftop fight, Majima begrudgingly gave his word to look after Kamurocho for him, and Kazuma left for Okinawa to take care of orphans. Because that's what former yakuza do.
2008, and ministers of the Democratic Party of Japan have been fighting over a particularly lucrative stretch of land in Okinawa - the Minster of Defense was pushing to expand a military airbase, whereas the Minster of Land wanted to build a resort to promote tourism. Neither are promising to Kazuma, as it would mean he would have to give up the land that Sunshine Orphanage was built on. At Kazuma's request, Daigo promised to promote neither of these plans - and is shot by a mysterious assailant.
The bickering between the top captains of the Tojo clan following the shooting was unbelievable - it was all a mad scramble for power now that the Chairman's seat was empty. Some argued for Kazuma to come back as an interim Chairman, while others demanded that payback to be their highest priority. Majima would have none of it.
During all of this Goh Hamazaki of the Tojo's Hamazaki Familiy had been working with the Land Minister in order to secure the deeds for the resort plan. Majima had been approached for the construction contract, and while the one-eyed patriarch was well aware that Daigo was against it, he agreed nonetheless in the hopes that the financial influx would make things easier for the young 6th Chairman. Unfortunately, this too was a set up by Hamazaki. His ultimate plan was to secretly construct a casino which he would sell to the Chinese Snake Flower Triad, and eventually take over Kamurocho by taking advantage of the power vacuum. He intentionally leaked a photograph of Majima meeting with the government official, casting suspicion on him as a traitor within the Clan and positioning him as the fall man should the police ever find the Land Minster in cooperation with the yakuza.
Kazuma went down to Kamurocho Hills to confront him, only to find that Majima's Family had grown considerably larger in his absence. He was greeted by a much more sober and well-dressed Majima and a massive sea of followers, and the latter invited him into Purgatory to talk. By talk, of course, he meant 'have a cage fight' - because Majima still had enough pride as a yakuza that he wasn't going to rat out his partner for nothing, even if he was set up. They talked for real afterwards, and Majima explained the breadth of Hamazaki's ambitions.
From there, he supported Kazuma as the Dragon sought the answers to all the mysteries threatening his Orphanage and the Tojo Clan. Majima's amazing truck driving skills would come in handy again when he crashed an ambush by the CIA, saving Kazuma by running them all over. He also offered to send his men to Okinawa to help Sunshine Orphanage, but Kazuma declined.
It all ended in shirtless rooftop fights and tragic deathcounts anyway, as usual.
So in 2009, before Yakuza 4 could happen,
With these murders popping up at FDC, that sounded like a fun start. It didn't seem like any of the rival gangs had sunk in their teeth yet either. What a marvellous opportunity to expand his territory and let loose for a while. Security guard sounded like as good a job as any - after all, he had some experience in keeping thugs in line. Maybe not in the way the job description would've liked, but really, that was its fault for not specifying.
Anything Else?:
- Weapons of choice: tanto dagger, baseball bat (with optional baseball for ranged attacks), and the pump action shotgun.
- HEAT aura: purple. Majima has a crazy fast sidestep that turns him into a blur when moving.
- Vehicle of choice: a pastel pink heavy truck decked out with leopard print interiors.
- Pansexual. Hits on girls a lot, but really he'd try anything with anyone in bed, at least once.
- Sleeping in the dorms is for suckers who get assassinated and/or pranked. The furnishing is identical to his actual office, but the only thing of note inside is an oldschool telephone that goes to his help hotline, and a hidden camera to see who comes knocking.
- Under the eyepatch? Well, he had his eyelids cut off along with his eye, so there's just this gross scar-and-membrane cavity combo.
- Is fond of cats because they remind him of his old blood brother, Saejima.
- Terrible, terrible karaoke singer. It runs in his Family.
- But, quite an entertaining dancer.
- Is actually quite pale, with dark shadows around his eye. Very lean, very flexible.
- Being the head of Majima constructions, he has a construction team at his beck and call.
- Which obviously means he's going to build a secret ring for underground cage fighting tournaments.
- It's cool he's rollin' in tons of illegal money.
- Since he wasn't a playable character until the 3rd person zombie shooter spinoff, I'm gonna say he can execute the same pool of HEAT moves that were distributed between all the 4 main characters in Yakuza 4. Basics like 'beating someone over the head with blunt trauma object', etc.
- Has a bit of a Kansai accent. Think of it like a hint of a Southern drawl. Rolls his Rs.
- Will have nameless guys in black suits and construction workers as NPCs. Daisuke Minami will be back in Kamurocho in case anyone feels like apping him though
- His construction company is going to make a killing from fixing the school all the time.
- Speaking of killing, please, please feel free to suspect him as the murderer. I mean, he's a total knife nut and a criminal. Do it. He'll love it.
In-Character 3rd person writing post:
Kamurocho, the dazzling pleasure district of Shinjuku: all you had to do was pick your poison - money, power, drugs and girls - you would be provided for. Men flocked there in droves, seeking their fortunes or throwing their dreams upon the treacherous rocks - you could have it all or lose it all. But, as Goro Majima could attest, it was astonishing how quickly one could become used to excess.
Now, this place, Final Destination City? Didn't seem like much at first. But once he started looking, a wealth of oddities began to catch his eye. If other places could claim to have everything you've ever wanted, then this was the only spot that had everything you never needed, never ever imagined, but somehow managed to defy everything you knew of reality with its presence. It was baffling that none of the Tojo's rivals, or indeed any of the Tojo's other captains, had ever tried to stake a claim on this territory.
Then again, any city where the random pedestrians didn't pick fights at the drop of a hat didn't seem very tough. Even with a supposed fighting school close by, the general populace still acted skittish about something.
Something - or someone - to be scared of, huh? Well, Majima was suddenly very keen on learning more.
Sure, his appearance and manner of speech and... existence made it a bit tough to really chat up people for details, but a bit of elbow grease and a liberal application of bat was enough to get a gist of recent events. These folks really didn't have much of a crime rate if a few murders were enough to send them shaking in their boots.
Then again, maybe this could be the start of something very profitable. An appeal to FDC's dark side. Every city had one, after all. This one just needed a little nudge for all the shadows to come out.
And that meant it was the perfect time for the Majima Family to set up shop.