Gaming Age goes to…Like A Dragon/Yakuza: Essence of Fandom Event at Anime Expo 2024

When Like A Dragon/Yakuza: Essence of Fandom was announced in May, the first thought which entered my mind was “Great…another cool LaD/Yakuza thing I can’t go to.”. But it seems all it took was a little nerve, some serious fiscal irresponsibility and I found myself returning to the LA Convention Center after a decade long absence (Last time I was here, E3 was still a thing and it was NOT a public event.). It was a good thing I had an advantage compared to your usual Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio fan, as when tickets for the event were released to the public it immediately sold out! So while this was part of the convention, it wasn’t in a panel room so outside of the numerous social media posts, this recently released No Clip Crew video, I’m hoping to add to the pile to commemorate and document this magical night for RGG studio fans (Editor’s Note: It seems SEGA was quite diligent in recordkeeping, having recorded and released both the Q&A and the Ichiban Invitational on their YouTube channel. They can be found here and here respectively.)

Hosted in Lounge21, a carved out space near the West Hall. Upon entry attendees were given a RGG Studio drawstring bag containing a commemorative ticket (which doubled as a raffle ticket), 2 mini prints one featuring Kiryu and Ichiban standing back to back and the Like A Dragon 8 party walking together…seemingly into battle, and an 8-bit Ichiban in Hawaiian garb keychain (as seen in LaD8’s loading screens). Before we were let into the main hall, fans could take photos with guests/cosplayers such as Vampybitme, CrystAAHHL and All Elite Wrestling’s Hikaru Shida. Shy attendees could also take photographs with the numerous character standees strewn across the floor including some which genuinely surprised me with their inclusion such as Rikiya, Tanimura and Kaoru Sayama (who is seemingly a dead ringer for Vampybitme).

Classic SEGA machines such as Out Run, Super Hang-On and Afterburner were on free playmode (I lowkey wished they brought a crane machine…but still a damn good selection). The mini-game that was seen as most obtuse by the majority of the fanbase, Mahjong had several tables with players trying their hand at the end of the night, the legendary FAQ writer and Mahjong enthusiast CyricZ even played a couple of hands no double hustling those who were unaware of who he was! There was also a wall where fans were urged to leave messages selecting their favorite game in the franchise and some lucky attendees even got interviewed by an video crew to express their fandom in video form!

However once the main hall swung open, a majority of the attendees left the waiting area to be greeted with a familiar sight…a replica of the Kamurocho Gate! The Hall also had character standees, a light up dance floor ripped straight from the 80’s and something seldom seen in the west…a Pocket Circuit Racing setup! 3 racers would select a car, let it loose on the track with the first car to complete 3 laps would be declared the winner, netting the champion a promotional Goro Majima Eyepatch (I totally lost…and forgot to get my rubber match!).

The star of the show would definitely be split between the gate and the dance floor. Plenty of cosplayers took photos doing a variety of photos and setting up all sorts of wacky situations! Once someone was brave enough to start busting a move, the dance floor eventually was flooded. Dance offs, recreations of the Kiryu’s dance moves from the 80s and even a recital of the Majima Construction song can be seen and heard.

As the clock struck 10, the main event would occur. Vampybitme took to the stage and introduced the Guests of Honor, series producer Hiroyuki Sakamoto and voice of Ichiban Kasuga as well as Akira Nishikiyama, Kazuhiro Nakaya. Nakaya strolled onto stage welding a novelty Dodgers bat as he was at the now infamous Dodgers game in which Vtuber Gawr Gura sang “Take me out the Ball Game”. The veteran voice actor declared that this is his first time visiting the US and the beaming smile on his face showed that he was having a good time! Sakamoto also commented that while last year they had a bigger room but tonight feels like a night party!

Vampy asked some questions and one of them was regarding the fan reception to the latest title. Nakaya said that he was very happy about the response and feels Ichiban is loved. He also stated that he felt the pressure of being the main character of the franchise. When asked about the incredible output of 3 titles in a calendar year, Sakamoto declared the RGG staff has strong teamwork and their motivation was how they could surprise their fans. The producer also revealed the a new title is production and character auditions are occurring. He hopes that the fans will look forward to it and he mentions that they look forward to the Amazon Prime Video show which is set for an October debut.

Nakaya revealed that his portrayal of Nishiki helped form his Ichiban performance, particularly the “mountain scene” from Yakuza 0. He also hopes to see more of the characters be it in Yakuza 0-2 or Like A Dragon 9…in which Sakamoto could be seen comedically shaking his head and waving “no”. The next inquiry was asking both men what their favorite scene was. Nakaya gave 2 answers, for a comedic scene it was Ichi running around naked and for a serious scene, it’s the moment when he bids Ei-Chan “Bon Voyage”. Sakamoto also selects this penultimate scene of the game stating it is full of humanity and everytime he watches it, he is always moved.

When asked who would be in their RPG party, Nayaka jokingly selected only characters he’s voiced (Ichiban, Y0 Nishiki, Y1 Nishiki and LaD Ishin’s Okada Izo). Sakamoto also provided a comedic answer of Masumi Arakawa and Masayoshi Yokoyama (The real life head of RGG Studio). In a more somber moment, when asked about if he utilized events from his own life to portray Ichiban, Nakaya stated Kasuga’s core principle is to never disrespect the person in front of you and his late father also embodied those beliefs.

The prepared Q&A yielded many additional interesting tidbits from the duo, from how if he couldn’t voice Kasuga or Ichiban, Nakaya wishes he could’ve voiced Ryo Aoki/Masato Arakawa. The utterly ridiculous gameplay idea where Nakaya suggests that when splashed with water Ichiban would transform into Nishiki (Sakamoto immediately shot that idea down). Nakaya’s favorite karaoke songs from the franchise (Summertime Groove, Honolulu City Lights, and If I Could Love the One I Love).

Speaking of Karaoke, the Ichiban Karaoke Contest Invitational was the next part of the night’s festivities. I’m going to be honest, when this was announced I was expecting the competitors would be plucked from the attendees, but the way it was actually handled meant the auditory assault on my ears would be minimized. The first contestant would be Rocco Botte (pronounced “Boat-e” apparently) of the comedy troupe Mega64 and the song he would croon would be the perennial favorite Baka Mitai. Dressed as Kasuga Ichiban, Rocco’s performance was pretty good and he even added dramatics, pulling out a mysterious image akin to the photo Kiryu looks at during the karaoke video. (The photo was actually a picture of a dog with the words “Happy Birthday”).

Next up was a streamer who built her reputation doing long play videos and her run with Yakuza 0 certainly endeared her to the fandom, CrystAAHHL! Doing double duty as she was taking photos with attendees in the waiting area, she certainly stuck to her character selecting Goro Majima’s Yakuza 0 masterpiece, 24 Hour Cinderella. While she didn’t quite transform into a surreal skating popstar during her performance (although if she pulled that off she probably should’ve won the competition by default), her performance had the most audience participation. So much so that the judges noted that the audience’s singing overpowered her performance!

The 3rd and final contestant was none other than Hikaru Shida, AEW Superstar as well as streamer. In fact she revealed that she had only recently discovered the series, but within 5 months she had already played 7 titles in the franchise. Also dressed as Kasuga Ichiban, she opted for a song that really juxtaposes the franchise’s tough guy image, Haruka Sawamura’s So Much More!. Having an inherent advantage of being a native Japanese speaker, Shida’s performance was further amplified when she did Haruka’s choreographed dance routine nearly beat for beat! Joshi fans know Shida has moves and now RGG fans know she’s a threat on the dance floor. At the judging phase Nakaya deducted points jokingly on account she didn’t pick a song Ichiban sang, but Sakamoto played the straight man and praised both the vocals and the dance performance.

When the dust settled, the judges declared Hikaru Shida the winner, earning her a crystal trophy emblazoned with Kara Kappa, one of the mode’s mascots. Once Shida gave her victory speech, Vampy surprised the crowd by saying Nayaka himself would sing a song as well. The first would be a song tied to both Nishiki and Ichiban, Judgement -Shinpan-. After the performance, Nakaya exited the stage stating that he was winded from the performance only to quickly return dressed in a red Hawaiian shirt to sing a second song,  the ballad The Future I Dreamed of.

After the performances, 4 prize packs were raffled off with items such as a Signed copy of Yakuza, an Ichiban Digsta figure, and even a Bun Chan Plush! However the giveaways didn’t stop as Nakaya raffled off a LaD T-shirt he wore during a promotional appearance and even the Hawaiian shirt he wore during his karaoke performance (which my ticket was 3 digits away from the eventual winner…)! This was the end of the programming for the evening and a DJ would play a set until the event ended at 2am. I, being old, took that as my chance to exit. However as I began making my exit, a glint on one of the standees caught my eye. It seems Nakaya signed the Akira Nishikiyama standee and having my curiosity piqued, I checked the Kasuga Ichiban standee, that too was signed as well! Hopefully those went to a good home and not to a dumpster.

Like A Dragon/Yakuza: Essence of Fandom was a surreal experience. Going through the crowd I saw plenty of people embracing each other, having found friendship through their love of this franchise. Characters no matter how minor were shown love as saw characters such as “Nouveau Riche” and Mr. Shakedown lovely portrayed in cosplay. One would hope RGG Studio will continue to hold these grand events at Anime Expo (even if it will be hell on my finances), I certainly will do what I can to attend. So the first year was Kiryu focused, this second event was Nishiki/Ichiban focused…if this trend holds true can we see a 3rd event next year featuring the beret donning voice actor of Goro Majima, Hidenari Ugaki? I guess we’ll find out in a year!