Akira Nishikiyama

Nishikiyama has a tattoo on his back of a koi, a type of Asian carp which symbolizes strength and bravery and alludes to his namesake.[1] The carp is closely connected to the dragon, based on the Chinese mythological tale of carps leaping over the Dragon Gate. According to the legend, carp that swim up the Yellow River in China and leap over a legendary waterfall known as the "Dragon’s Gate" are transformed into dragons. This piece is done in the nukibori style, which means it does not have a background like Kiryu's dragon tattoo.[1] The design shows an ascending koi, which thematically underscores the character and his relationship to Kiryu in the Yakuza storyline.[1] Red and black are considered two of Japanese tattooing's traditional colors, which is intended to make Nishiki's tattoo especially striking. In the past prior to the widespread use of safer synthetic inks, the color red was considered to be especially macho in Japanese tattooing because of the harmful pigments it may have contained.[1]

Nishiki's English voice actor, Michael Rosenbaum, was offered the role by a producer who had worked with Rosenbaum for the video game Gladius, and he was shown a completed version of the game for his consideration prior to joining the project.[2] During an interview, he described Yakuza as "a little movie" and the kind of game that appeals to him, which motivates him to put in the effort for a good performance. He noted that recording sessions would last up to four or five hours long with a lot of dialogue to go through, hence it is not possible to do them together with other cast members in the studio due to the length of time required.[2]

For the remake of the first Yakuza game, Sega aimed to show the reasonings behind Nishikiyama's corruption due to how he changes from Kiryu's sworn brother to a calculating and cruel mafioso. The character's Japanese voice actor, Kazuhiro Nakaya, noted that after reading the script for Kiwami, it was so rough on him that he felt like not reading any scripts for a while.[3]

For Kiwami, a major theme presented by the developers of the Yakuza franchise was whether Nishiki was fated to betray Kiryu or whether he is simply a victim of circumstance.[6] Sam Greszes from Polygon opined that the conflict between positive and toxic masculinity is at the core of the Yakuza franchise, and it is exemplified in the deterioration of Kiryu's relationship with Nishiki; he believes that Nishiki's circumstances are a clear representation of the horrific manner in which toxic masculinity can warp an individual's personality. Greszes was of the view that Nishiki's inferiority complex, borne from being unfavorably compared with Kiryu by his adopted father and other members of the Tojo Clan, combined with a series of personal tragedies culminating in his sister's tragic death, led him to become cold and unfeeling instead of grappling with his own intense pain and sadness. Greszes suggested that this causes men such as Nishiki - consumed by ambition, abuse, or deep emotional repression - to violently and randomly lash out at other men, to emotionally and physically abuse women, and to betray trusted friends.[7]

Andrew Tarantola from Engadget suggested that the majority of Kiryu's growth as a character in the series comes through his attempts to shield individuals he considers to be family from harm, such as Nishiki, and noted that he has many "families" with a complex degree of overlap and contradictory requirements between them.[8] For example, Nishiki and Yumi were two-thirds of Kiryu's earliest family at Sunflower orphanage but also exist as part of the Serena Bar community, where Yumi worked with Reina, and where Nishiki and Kiryu were regular customers. Concurrently, Nishikiyama and Kazama make up the nexus of the Tojima Clan, while Reina's unrequited love for Nishikiyama led her to betray Kiryu and other loyalists of the Tojo Clan, demonstrating the constant tension and competition between these factions and relationships.[8] Series producer Masayoshi Yokoyama suggested that Kiryu never made any strong advances towards Yumi, his love interest in the original Yakuza because of Nishiki, but did not elaborate on whether Kiryu abstained out of respect or deterrence.[9]

Jay Castello from Eurogamer suggested that the series as a whole, particularly Yakuza Kiwami, is underpinned by the key theme of fatherhood. They suggested that both 0 and Kiwami demonstrate how both Nishiki and Kiryu were failed by their father figure, Shintaro Kazama, and that this failure is the true tragedy of the story arc. They noted that this theme comes from a specifically Japanese perspective, and is tied to the culture and structure of real-life yakuza crime families. Castello emphasized that Nishiki's loneliness and isolation, as he is often struggling to cope with his personal issues and does not have a support network of many other characters unlike Kiryu, is further compounded by what they identified as Kazama's favoritism for Kiryu and being a consistently absent parental figure to Nishiki. Castello observed that Kiwami also deals deeply with themes of accountability, noting that Kiryu came to realize that his decision to take the fall for Nishiki prevented both of them from dealing with the full extent of their responsibilities. Castello pointed out that Nishiki's final act as an apologetic gesture is to save Kiryu and his adoptive daughter Haruka Sawamura and destroy the money he had once been fighting for, albeit in the only way he knew how to: being over the top and driven purely by emotion.[10]

Akira Nishikiyama has received a positive reception, and remains a popular character with the series' fanbase. In a 2018 popularity poll, Nishiki was voted as the 7th best Yakuza character.[12]

Some reviewers agree that the release of Yakuza 0 in 2015 added a new depth to the Yakuza series, particularly to its first entry and to the character of Nishiki.[13][14] Castello noted that 0 was released before Kiwami further fleshed out Nishiki's backstory with additional cutscene flashbacks, and it showed several facets to Nishiki's character which ultimately contribute to his downfall.[10] Richard Dobson from TheXboxHub commented that Nishiki's stark difference in personality from 0 to its sequel never needed explaining on account of 0 not existing as a prequel prior to the original game's release.[15] Heather Alexandra from Kotaku observed that 0 takes extra time to keep Nishiki and Kiryu involved with each other; this is expressed by scenes where the pair remain close to each other, punctuated by slower movements and close proximity which conveys familiarity and comfort. She noted that these small interactions and Nishiki's ability to actually aid Kiryu in combat in 0 helps form a bond that did not exist in the original game.[14]

There is a consensus that the additional cutscenes in Kiwami which focus on Nishiki help add further depth to the character and build upon his role in 0, which made Nishiki transitioning from a meek wise-guy to a bloodthirsty yakuza boss believable.[14][13][15][11] Janine Hawkins from Polygon opined that the Nishiki-centered cutscenes are undoubtedly "the soul of the game".[16] She praised the character's voice acting and facial animations, noting that she found the overall virtual performance so powerful that she could not be distracted by any underlying flaws and that the "pathos of Nishiki’s side of the story could almost carry this game on its own because of that power".[16] She found that it effectively "weaponizes all that fascinating, near-hypnotic emotiveness", in spite of the fact that much of Nishiki's story arc "verges on cheap".[16]

Alexandra proclaimed Nishiki to be one of gaming's best antagonists, through strong writing and gameplay contrasts between Yakuza 0 and Yakuza Kiwami.[14] She noted that while the writing for Kiwami does a lot to show Nishiki's changing personality, he hardly comes face to face with Kiryu for the majority of its events; but when paired with 0, the series makes direct changes to its gameplay that stress the gap between Nishiki and Kiryu. Alexandra formed a view that the developers is able to give the sworn brothers' tragic final meeting a true sense of gravitas through a juxtaposed narrative and shifts in gameplay, and that players gets a sense that Kiryu has lost a dear friend, which in Alexandra's view is far more memorable than any evil overlord.[14]

Alexandra also praised the boss fight with Nishiki in Kiwami, calling it "a brutal display of tragic violence, a catharsis of pent-up emotion that finally explodes in a flurry of kicks and punches".[14] In the same way characters in musicals sing to express their abundance of feelings, Alexandra compared it to Kiryu and Nishiki having a boss fight, and "that final release of emotions somehow clears the air".[14] Peter Glagowski from Destructoid was less impressed with the boss battles in Kiwami, noting that the remake of the original game almost plays like a "best of" version of the entire series.[17] He is disappointed that certain boss fights utilize enemy patterns from Yakuza 2 and Yakuza 3, and completely disregards Kiryu's different combat styles, "apart from some tacked-on heat actions that require you to change". He criticized the bosses' tendency to regenerate health while the player had to change styles to perform a special finisher.[17]

Josh Wise from Videogamer.com suggested that the developers ought to choose Nishiki as the lead character of a potential sequel to Yakuza 0 as he is a compelling character in his own right, and that it should take place during the interluding ten years when Kiryu is imprisoned.[18]