#a naive and impressionable one despite being stubborn in other ways. but that doesn’t absolve him from all wrongs. and those wrongs don’t

[designernishiki]

interesting to think about how majima was first introduced as a character beating the shit out of someone for not-so-righteous reasons and thus from then on he was/is widely interpreted as morally grey and difficult to trust, but when yakuza 0 starts with an opening scene of kiryu beating someone to near-death for similarly not-so-righteous reasons, it’s just sorta glossed over and forgotten because he’s just so sweet and innocent and can do no wrong. like damn it’s okay to admit the guy has his issues, some just as bad and unresolved as majima’s, that makes him 1000% more interesting than a guy who’s every action is morally justifiable

#also. do people forget that he was 100% about to fucking murder shibusawa if not for nishiki physically stopping him #like believe me I blame kazama for conditioning him/enabling him to be like this and at that point kiryu was basically still a kid- #a naive and impressionable one despite being stubborn in other ways. but that doesn’t absolve him from all wrongs. and those wrongs don’t #make him completely morally bankrupt or evil or anything either he’s just. a guy who has issues and has made mistakes and who wants to be #the best he can be regardless. #tbh arguably he’s a little more morally grey than majima in some ways like. #on a more personal level? like when it comes to his relationships with others/how he treats those who care about him sometimes #and whatnot. if you hc him as autistic (which I do) some of that makes a bit more sense but either way I feel like he’s overall less conside #considerate of other people’s feelings in favor of his own wants and whatnot than majima is generally #if majima trusts a person he gives his fucking All for them without need for transaction most of the time. he’s very selfless (to a bit of #a suicidal degree at times) and just. yeah. he also obviously has his issues but. he’s a bit more reliable than kiryu when it comes to #being there for people as much as he feasibly can and whatnot #anyway #I could get into some stuff re: infantilizing characters who can be interpreted as autistic coded but #because hes not canonically autistic or anything I’m not gonna make too a big deal out of that #kiryu #yakuza #rambling