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Highlights

  • Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth features a diverse cast of memorable antagonists, with morally complex characters adding depth to the franchise.
  • While some villains stand out in the series, there are also those who fail to leave a lasting impression in the Like a Dragon games.
  • The upcoming game will likely continue the tradition of twist masterminds, as the primary antagonist may not always be who they seem.

The Like a Dragon series is full of unique characters with interesting arcs, and its antagonists are some of the most morally complex characters in the franchise. While it's not clear who will stand as the primary antagonist against Kiryu and Kasuga in Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, whoever the villain is will have a hard time stacking up with most of these memorable menaces. However, for as many complicated villains as the series holds, there are also those Like a Dragon antagonists who fail to stand out for one reason or another.

Although there are typically multiple antagonists, as well as twist masterminds, in most entries of the Like a Dragon series, only the most prevalent of each title will be considered for this list. Often, a Like a Dragon game will feature one villain as the primary antagonist driving the conflict, only for the true mastermind to reveal themselves at the eleventh hour. While these twists can sometimes work for a particular game's plot, other times they can draw focus away from the better character who should be considered the game's main antagonist.

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S-Tier

Akira Nishikiyama

Nishikiyama is one of the best antagonists in the series because of his close personal connection to Kiryu as his sworn brother. After murdering Patriarch Dojima, Nishikiyama becomes the main antagonist of the original Yakuza and its remake, Yakuza Kiwami. During the time Kiryu spends in jail for taking the fall for his sworn brother, Nishikiyama seeks to rise out of Kiryu's shadow, becoming the patriarch of his own powerful family and facing Kiryu in a final showdown at the top of Millennium Tower to settle their feud once and for all.

Ryuji Goda

The main antagonist of Yakuza 2 and Yakuza Kiwami 2, Ryuji Goda, is one of the most powerful characters in the series. He rivals Kiryu's strength as the leader of the Go-Ryu Clan within the Omi Alliance, becoming known as the Dragon of Kansai. In Yakuza 2, Goda conspires with the Jingweon Mafia to take down the Tojo Clan and demonstrate his superiority to the Dragon of Dojima, Kiryu.

Ryo Aoki

Formerly known as Masato Arakawa, Aoki is the governor of Tokyo in Yakuza: Like A Dragon and is the ring leader in the plot to control Japan's criminal underworld with the new Tokyo Omi Alliance. He parallels protagonist Ichiban Kasuga in many ways, especially regarding earning the love and trust of both characters' father figure, Masumi Arakawa. Kasuga and Aoki's relationship gets even more complicated after the revelation that Arakawa is Kasuga's true father and Jo Sawashiro is the real father of Aoki.

A-Tier

Yoshitaka Mine

Mine is one of the Like A Dragon series' more unhinged villains, collected and level-headed on the outside but scheming and ruthless underneath. He is the leader of the Hakuho Clan and serves as the main antagonist of Yakuza 3 as he seeks to take over the Tojo Clan after Daigo Dojima is hospitalized.

Tsukasa Sagawa

Throughout Yakuza 0, Sagawa is a thorn in the side of Goro Majima, forcing him to work as the general manager of Cabaret Grand and constantly moving the goalposts of the amount of money he needs to earn to rejoin the Tojo Clan. He even forces Majima to carry out a hit on Makoto Makimura and brutally tortures him when Majima refuses to kill the young woman.

Takumi Someya

Much like Mine, Someya is a ruthless villain in Yakuza 6, though he has a soft side that adds to his complexity. He is the head of the Someya Family and the right-hand man of the acting Tojo Clan Chairman Sugai, who manipulates Someya into attempting to kill Kiryu by holding his ex-wife Kiyomi hostage.

Kosei Shishido

While he may not be outed as a villain until the final act, one of Like a Dragon Gaiden's most compelling characters is Kosei Shishido. His desire to prevent the Omi Alliance from dissolving stems from his tragic background of rising to power from the streets, which is shown through how relentlessly he tries to kill Kiryu and Watase in the game's climax.

B-Tier

Keiji Shibusawa

Shibusawa is another of the Dojima Family's three lieutenants, but plays a much larger role in Yakuza 0 than his counterparts. Shibusawa ends up being the most conniving of the three lieutenants in their plot to acquire the empty lot and clashes with Kiryu over the ideals of Shintaro Kazama in the game's final battle.

Tsuneo Iwami

Iwami is the heir to the Iwami Shipbuilding empire and the final boss of Yakuza 6. He works alongside the Tojo Clan to protect the Secret of Onomichi at the behest of the Daidoji Faction and kidnaps Haruka and Haruto to lure Kiryu into confrontation in the game's finale.

Tsubasa Kurosawa

The complex scheme at the heart of Yakuza 5's plot is orchestrated by Kurosawa, the seventh chairman of the Omi Alliance. He seeks to murder the influential members of the Tojo and Omi, including Kiryu, Taiga Saejima, Masaru Watase, and Naoki Katsuya, in order to consolidate the power of the Omi and manipulate the organization's young, rising stars.

Homare Nishitani III

Nishitani is the other main antagonist of Like A Dragon Gaiden who serves as the patriarch of the Kijin Clan and owner of the Castle. Like Shishido, Nishitani's ambitions lead him to oppose the dissolution of the Omi Alliance, and he works with Shishido to fake his death, though he is less iron-willed than his counterpart.

C-Tier

Hiroaki Arai

The structure of Yakuza 4 undermines the goals of its main antagonists and their story tends to fall flat. One of the four final bosses in the game is Hiroaki Arai, who is an undercover police officer sent to infiltrate the Tojo Clan, but his motivations are not well-developed, and he appears to only care about money and power.

Seishiro Munakata

Munakata is a corrupt Tokyo police officer who comes up with a plot to gain control of the organized crime world in Yakuza 4. He manipulates figures like Arai and Daigo Dojima into following his plan before ultimately shooting himself rather than facing arrest after his defeat in the game's climax, making him an ultimately pathetic villain.