You know, why is Saejima so popular in the Japan fanbase, but not here? (For context, he remain the 3rd most popular character in RGG Japan fan polls each year)
Ngl despite the prison sequence, I liked Saejima's part the most out of all of Yakuza 4. Combat is fun once you're let loose, and he had the strongest story out of all the characters in that game.
Because 75% of the people here have not played past Kiwami 2 and if they’ve seen clips of other games they’ve probably just seen Akiyama because he’s more memeable/handsome
I mean that might be partly true, but i've played from Yakuza 0 to Yakuza 7 and Saejima is just not that interesting compared to many other characters. I don't dislike him, but Akiyama has a much more interesting personality and story. His gameplay in some parts is also horrible even though i think his fighting style is pretty fun.
From what I’ve heard, people don’t really love the fact that both of Saejima’s gameplay sections include incredibly slow prison segments & transition into him having to sneak around town because the police are looking for him. It’s not a great design choice. Which sucks, because Saejima rules.
I think it's because people don't look at Saejima himself and just judge his sections. I love Saejima but you can't deny his sections are kind of weird, in Yakuza 4 you're stuck going through sewers or rooftops a lot and in Yakuza 5 his section is like three different stories in one. People should stop judging him on his sections though, he's a great character.
I think I'm the only one who didn't mind his combat. The constant grabbing from enemies was annoying, but I really felt like a damn tank when playing Saejima.
I'm thought saejima is popular in the west too? Because many people played y0 so they are aware of saejima at least and since saejima is majima's kyoudai, most of them are inclined to like saejima if they like majima. At least that's what I thought
A lot of people drop the series after 0 or k2. But also, I think people like more ‘outgoing’, quipping characters like Akiyama. Unfortunately, people tend to overlook the more serious and quiet protagonists. In terms of gameplay, I like his moves. it’s a little slow in 4, but in 5 he’s such a powerhouse.
There seems to be a lot of love based on who their voice actor is in Japan, where they genuinely are household names. Certain VAs tend to play the same archetypal character, and so the love translates across to even minor roles in that mould that they play.
I get what you're saying but dawg Toshiro? He's one of the most important side characters and beloved captains in Bleach and you think nobody would remember who he is? He stands out easily as a character as well since he's the child prodigy of the 13 captains, which is also another reason why he was/is so popular.
Having played all the games, save for Dead Souls, I can conclude that Saejima is one of the best characters in the series, he's like my fourth favorite character overall.
I’m thinking maybe because Yakuza only became popular in the west recently (no thanks to the Japanese only dubbed games and lack of historical localization) so only the most recent games linger in the minds of western players. For most of us, Yakuza 4 and 5 were just stepping stones we either breezed through to get to the new games, haven’t played yet, or full on skipped.
i feel like he’s just a bit boring compared to a lot of the other characters, who are all a bit more dramatic and memorable. saejima has been pretty mellow since after y4.
This makes me think back to when I'm searching for YouTubers to watch play through the Yakuza series because I'm genuinely interested in their reactions, and am always disappointed by the huge amount who either played just 0 and 7 or started with 7. Because of that, when searching for a bingetuber, I always search for playthroughs of the series' dark horses. In Yakuza's case, thatd be 3, 4, and/or 5. If they played those I can be pretty certain they're aiming for the whole series.
he's brilliant, gameplay-wise. all the complaints that he's 'slow' just overlook his strengths, like his massive health pool, the triple finishers, and being able to lift heavy shit without a second thought
If I'm not wrong (and I'm assuming this based in fandoms with majority of japanese fans that I'm part of) the japanese audience is fan of silent guys, and Saejima together with Kiryu is your typical quiet tough guy, he's also gentle giant and a family man (most of asian audiences really value family), the fact he sacrifice himself makes him a loyal man that is other thing that asians likes in a character
Would love to see a westerner spend 25 years in prison without a seeing even a picture of a woman and then try to interact normally when they accidentally fall on top of one.
I’d say it’s cause the most popular games in the west are the more recent ones being everything from 0 to LAD and Saejima isn’t heavily featured in any of those games
Saejima is a great character that was kinda shafted story wise imo. His first section in Y4 hit me really hard, that majima fight was top tier. But afterwards it's cheapened by a few reveals and the overall story getting more overcomplicated. And in Y5, it's especially bad and contrived. And unfortunately he and his kyodai get written out of the story for 6.
Can't say for sure. Having finished 4 and recently his part in 5, I don't find him an interesting character. Saejima's combat in 4 was very rough and there was that one scene, but other than that everything else was serviceable. His combat is much better in 5, but imho everything else is a big step down in quality.
I don't know, I played all the games, he is extremely boring. This man ain't no legendary Yakuza, he didn't fight nearly as many as majima or kiryu. Majima is the only one that should be allowed to stand beside kiryu.
Majima didn't either tho. Majima "only" has Yakuza 0 and that small chapter he got in Kiwami 2. While Saejima has accomplished bigger feats. After Y0 Majima is pretty much just a cool anti hero character, that works both as comic relief and as some sort of rival for Kiryu, but his role is usually not that big in the stories post Y0.
Saejima is arguably the quintessential Japanese man, uber respectful even when serving his prison sentence, very quiet unless he has something worth saying and extremely loyal to his friends and family
Separate the character from the gameplay and look at him objectively, Saejima is a good character but RGG stuck him with shit gameplay, if you listen to a character analysis of Saejima w/o having played 4 or 5 you might come away from it thinking "wow this Saejima guy sounds awesome I'm going to play 4 and 5 now!" And you'll walk away going "Holy shit that gameplay was awful Saejima sucks"
easily had the best 4 chapter run in y5 also was just the most fun to play as in that game for me in terms of combat. in 4 he was okay i guess but 5 really brought him up for me
I’d say it’s a mixture of his personality and back story, and how it resonates with the local japes culture and associated subcultures associated with RGG and games in general. He is stoic and has very strong sense of honor that might help him relate more to young Japanese men. The other characters also have similar personality traits, but I’d say that saejima embodies the strong silent type archetype the most.
And compared to characters like Kiryu and Majima, Saejima actually engages in traditional Japanese culture the most so that resonates with a lot of people. No, the Ishin and Kenzan spinoffs don't count.
Japan is very different from the west. Japan loves JoJo part 5, part 5 for western fans is just alright; Steel Ball Run is not popular in Japan but being called a masterpiece in the west
I'll always love those moments in Y5 where they let you choose whether you're taking on the next big story section as Kiryu or Saejima, and I made the Balls Out choice every time.
Many fans (especially in western) never play pass Kiwami 2. they tried Y3 can't stand the blocking enemies then rage quit then jump straight to 6. i know because i had friend like this (two in fact) they literally jump from kiwami 2 to 6 because he didin't like Y3 and only watch Y3 to 5 via youtube which of course didn't do Saejima's character justice because usuallly the walkthrough video on youtube skip the substory and the side content
I’m on Japan’s side. I always loved Saejima for being so fearless and really standing out amongst the great characters in Yakuza 4, and given that as of Yakuza 7, he’s still kicking ass, it makes him even better.
Man, I do love this big bear of a man. I still think they dropped the ball with him though; I thought it was so interesting for them to have a new protagonist that had murdered a bunch of men in cold blood, and had to live with that. His scene in the coliseum in 4 still gives me goosebumps. But they just had to ruin all that depth imo with that silly twist. Ofc, his development still matters but it felt silly and obvious what they wanted to do with that twist. Also doesn't help that his gameplay sections can often be the dullest in 4 and 5 lol
After playing the series I actually wondered why Majima ended up being the more popular one. Aside from 0, he barely appears meanwhile Saejima has sections of two games dedicated to him, is involved in their finales, and goes toe to toe with Kiryu.
Making his part in Y5 into Yakuza Big Buck Hunter was a genius move, although I'm let down about the truth of his 19 man hit that sent him to the Big House.
I love Saejima, he is my second favourite yakuza character after Majima, I would love to see a spinoff with both Saejima and Majima as the main protagonists
I love playing as Saejima and tank rolling everyone else. I understand it is very different from other characters, but I didn't find too difficult to adapt.
im with japan here, love me some saejima
also the way he says kyodai is just the best, no one sounds as epic as him when they say this word
Ngl despite the prison sequence, I liked Saejima's part the most out of all of Yakuza 4. Combat is fun once you're let loose, and he had the strongest story out of all the characters in that game.
Perhaps the fan base in the west don’t go balls out like the Japanese fan base.
peak comment
I love me some balls
My balls are always out
Because 75% of the people here have not played past Kiwami 2 and if they’ve seen clips of other games they’ve probably just seen Akiyama because he’s more memeable/handsome
Yeah this is the one I'm going for.
I mean that might be partly true, but i've played from Yakuza 0 to Yakuza 7 and Saejima is just not that interesting compared to many other characters. I don't dislike him, but Akiyama has a much more interesting personality and story. His gameplay in some parts is also horrible even though i think his fighting style is pretty fun.
Nah Saejima's better looking
thats just false
From what I’ve heard, people don’t really love the fact that both of Saejima’s gameplay sections include incredibly slow prison segments & transition into him having to sneak around town because the police are looking for him. It’s not a great design choice. Which sucks, because Saejima rules.
And don't forget that one scence. You know the one. Still love the man though.
I actually liked being on the run.
Yeah I wish 5 did Saejima better than repeating prison at least his combat is leagues better than 4.
Yakuza 4 saejima is pain. Yakuza 5 saejima on the other hand, is probably my favorite storyline in 5.
seriously? the cops in kamurocho suck ass but i loved the prison segment, fuck that sniper tho
Having not played 4 in quite some time, I decided to play the remaster this year.
They do popularity polls every year? Where can i see them?
https://www.reddit.com/r/yakuzagames/comments/vxpckv/how_come_haruka_isnt_even_in_the_top_10/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android_app&utm_name=androidcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button
His fighting style in 4 definitely has a learning curve. I tried playing him as I would with Kiryu and it didn't work.
I think it's because people don't look at Saejima himself and just judge his sections. I love Saejima but you can't deny his sections are kind of weird, in Yakuza 4 you're stuck going through sewers or rooftops a lot and in Yakuza 5 his section is like three different stories in one. People should stop judging him on his sections though, he's a great character.
Yeah, i really like his character, and his interaction with his 2 apprentice.
He's quickly risen to be one of my favorites, even though I hated his combat in Y4.
His combat is much better in Y5
I think I'm the only one who didn't mind his combat. The constant grabbing from enemies was annoying, but I really felt like a damn tank when playing Saejima.
I'm thought saejima is popular in the west too? Because many people played y0 so they are aware of saejima at least and since saejima is majima's kyoudai, most of them are inclined to like saejima if they like majima. At least that's what I thought
Yeah, he is not that popular here. Whenever you see Saejima content, it is either the Balls out meme, or fanart that i posted on here.
A lot of people drop the series after 0 or k2. But also, I think people like more ‘outgoing’, quipping characters like Akiyama. Unfortunately, people tend to overlook the more serious and quiet protagonists. In terms of gameplay, I like his moves. it’s a little slow in 4, but in 5 he’s such a powerhouse.
[удалено]
There seems to be a lot of love based on who their voice actor is in Japan, where they genuinely are household names. Certain VAs tend to play the same archetypal character, and so the love translates across to even minor roles in that mould that they play.
I get what you're saying but dawg Toshiro? He's one of the most important side characters and beloved captains in Bleach and you think nobody would remember who he is? He stands out easily as a character as well since he's the child prodigy of the 13 captains, which is also another reason why he was/is so popular.
Saejima is loved in Japan cos he's like a big kawaii teddy bear w a badass philosophy.
Yeah, he was a big question mark for me, since for the other characters, the opinions tend to be universal (Majima, Akiyama and Kiryu are well love)
The Japanese like getting their balls out
I bet it's because prison segment in all his early chapter in Yakuza 4 and 5
wdym this sub gargles Saejimas and Mines balls more than any characters
Mine? Yes. Saejima? Only when Balls Out memes are involved.
Having played all the games, save for Dead Souls, I can conclude that Saejima is one of the best characters in the series, he's like my fourth favorite character overall.
Random fact: Saejima was in China to attend Yakuza business during the event of Dead Souls.
In my opinion
I agree, Saejima's gameplay is EXTREMELY limited. Charging attacks is literally his bread and butter.
Nah his gameplay goated in 5.
I’m thinking maybe because Yakuza only became popular in the west recently (no thanks to the Japanese only dubbed games and lack of historical localization) so only the most recent games linger in the minds of western players. For most of us, Yakuza 4 and 5 were just stepping stones we either breezed through to get to the new games, haven’t played yet, or full on skipped.
Hes in my top 3 characters ):
Probably coz rest of the world mostly start and only play y0 or y7 And mostly skip y3 or y4
Western fans are just afraid to truly go balls out that's all there is to it
For me he is a bit bland compared to the other protags. Once it’s revealed that it’s rubber bullets his entire story kinda started feeling worthless.
i feel like he’s just a bit boring compared to a lot of the other characters, who are all a bit more dramatic and memorable. saejima has been pretty mellow since after y4.
He had the same prison plot for the two games
This makes me think back to when I'm searching for YouTubers to watch play through the Yakuza series because I'm genuinely interested in their reactions, and am always disappointed by the huge amount who either played just 0 and 7 or started with 7. Because of that, when searching for a bingetuber, I always search for playthroughs of the series' dark horses. In Yakuza's case, thatd be 3, 4, and/or 5. If they played those I can be pretty certain they're aiming for the whole series.
Yeah, only 3 is actually consider a dark horse in the series, and even that game have more mixed reception tbh.
Seajima reminds me of one of my childhood friends so I always liked him
he's brilliant, gameplay-wise. all the complaints that he's 'slow' just overlook his strengths, like his massive health pool, the triple finishers, and being able to lift heavy shit without a second thought
His kiwami earthquake essence is also super awesome and it's fun to see it being referenced in his poundmates summon.
If I'm not wrong (and I'm assuming this based in fandoms with majority of japanese fans that I'm part of) the japanese audience is fan of silent guys, and Saejima together with Kiryu is your typical quiet tough guy, he's also gentle giant and a family man (most of asian audiences really value family), the fact he sacrifice himself makes him a loyal man that is other thing that asians likes in a character
Prob cuz the west has a bunch of posers/fake fans who only played 0 and like a dragon
I'm with the Japanese fan base, absolutely love giga chad Taiga "Balls Out" Saejima.
Because of the Haruka incident
Of course.
Would love to see a westerner spend 25 years in prison without a seeing even a picture of a woman and then try to interact normally when they accidentally fall on top of one.
I’d say it’s cause the most popular games in the west are the more recent ones being everything from 0 to LAD and Saejima isn’t heavily featured in any of those games
Because Y4-5 didn’t get the Kiwami treatment, and there aren’t as many people who played those games.
Saejima is a great character that was kinda shafted story wise imo. His first section in Y4 hit me really hard, that majima fight was top tier. But afterwards it's cheapened by a few reveals and the overall story getting more overcomplicated. And in Y5, it's especially bad and contrived. And unfortunately he and his kyodai get written out of the story for 6.
Can't say for sure. Having finished 4 and recently his part in 5, I don't find him an interesting character. Saejima's combat in 4 was very rough and there was that one scene, but other than that everything else was serviceable. His combat is much better in 5, but imho everything else is a big step down in quality.
He's my fav after Kiryu.
Just finished chapter 2 in Yakuza 5. Can confidently say he isnt in my top 3 favorite characters, no offense
Saejima is the fucking best
Japan loves big strong guys
Based
His gameplay wasn't all that good and his chapters were miserable constantly avoiding the cops that's just my opinion
Because Saejima balls out. Nothing further needs to be said.
That scene in Yakuza 4 kinda destroyed the character for me. But he quickly became one of my fav later.
Unfortunately, for most people, it ended at the first sentence.
Because he almost went balls out on haruka😭
Saejima is my favourite character, loved him in 4, HATE his part in 5, he's just a big bro to Majima
1: Personally, I think the opposite. The Y5 Saejima part was better and he wasn’t too great in 4.
Twitter cancelled bc of that one cutscene
Because people are just so put off by one little 25 second scene
I mean the 25 second scene was pretty bad
I don't know, I played all the games, he is extremely boring. This man ain't no legendary Yakuza, he didn't fight nearly as many as majima or kiryu. Majima is the only one that should be allowed to stand beside kiryu.
saejima canonically has fought literal gods in yakuza 5.
Majima didn't either tho. Majima "only" has Yakuza 0 and that small chapter he got in Kiwami 2. While Saejima has accomplished bigger feats. After Y0 Majima is pretty much just a cool anti hero character, that works both as comic relief and as some sort of rival for Kiryu, but his role is usually not that big in the stories post Y0.
Majima sucks!
because who dont like Saejima probably has never went full balls out
Because of the Rubber Bullets, disliking his fight style or finding him stale or boring.
Hot take maybe but I just find him boring
Saejima is arguably the quintessential Japanese man, uber respectful even when serving his prison sentence, very quiet unless he has something worth saying and extremely loyal to his friends and family
His solo sections in 4 and 5 are the worst parts of each game. So I’m more confused as to why the Japanese like him that much.
Separate the character from the gameplay and look at him objectively, Saejima is a good character but RGG stuck him with shit gameplay, if you listen to a character analysis of Saejima w/o having played 4 or 5 you might come away from it thinking "wow this Saejima guy sounds awesome I'm going to play 4 and 5 now!" And you'll walk away going "Holy shit that gameplay was awful Saejima sucks"
I honestly don't get the love for him. He's clunky to play and his overshadowed by his more charismatic counterpart anyways
He's boring. He has no meaningful arcs. Basically he is Mr. Sideplot.
easily had the best 4 chapter run in y5 also was just the most fun to play as in that game for me in terms of combat. in 4 he was okay i guess but 5 really brought him up for me
Saejima's section of 4 is great, and his section in 5 is one of the best in the series.
He's got that dawg in him
That is was bautista
Saejima best boy.
Saejima is the fuckin' boss.
He's popular with me dw
because he always go balls out!!
The way he talks lends a lot to his loveableness in Japan
I’d love some games with more Saejima combat but sadly that never gonna happen again
I’d say it’s a mixture of his personality and back story, and how it resonates with the local japes culture and associated subcultures associated with RGG and games in general. He is stoic and has very strong sense of honor that might help him relate more to young Japanese men. The other characters also have similar personality traits, but I’d say that saejima embodies the strong silent type archetype the most.
And compared to characters like Kiryu and Majima, Saejima actually engages in traditional Japanese culture the most so that resonates with a lot of people. No, the Ishin and Kenzan spinoffs don't count.
Japan is very different from the west. Japan loves JoJo part 5, part 5 for western fans is just alright; Steel Ball Run is not popular in Japan but being called a masterpiece in the west
I'll always love those moments in Y5 where they let you choose whether you're taking on the next big story section as Kiryu or Saejima, and I made the Balls Out choice every time.
Many fans (especially in western) never play pass Kiwami 2. they tried Y3 can't stand the blocking enemies then rage quit then jump straight to 6. i know because i had friend like this (two in fact) they literally jump from kiwami 2 to 6 because he didin't like Y3 and only watch Y3 to 5 via youtube which of course didn't do Saejima's character justice because usuallly the walkthrough video on youtube skip the substory and the side content
Part of my motivation to get through all the games is to see how Saejima came to be (I started with 7 but I've known the plot of 0 vaguely)
I’m on Japan’s side. I always loved Saejima for being so fearless and really standing out amongst the great characters in Yakuza 4, and given that as of Yakuza 7, he’s still kicking ass, it makes him even better.
Man, I do love this big bear of a man. I still think they dropped the ball with him though; I thought it was so interesting for them to have a new protagonist that had murdered a bunch of men in cold blood, and had to live with that. His scene in the coliseum in 4 still gives me goosebumps. But they just had to ruin all that depth imo with that silly twist. Ofc, his development still matters but it felt silly and obvious what they wanted to do with that twist. Also doesn't help that his gameplay sections can often be the dullest in 4 and 5 lol
After playing the series I actually wondered why Majima ended up being the more popular one. Aside from 0, he barely appears meanwhile Saejima has sections of two games dedicated to him, is involved in their finales, and goes toe to toe with Kiryu.
That’s Dave Batista
He's not popular here? I always thought Kiryu, Majima and Saejima were the top 3 for most people.
We need to fix this, by making him popular, somehow
Saejima's story is better in 4 but he's more charmin' and funnier in 5
Japanese guys that big don’t really exist
those wrestlers disagree.
They didn’t go balls out
No one play 3-6 lmao
I mean why not, he is a total badass and a tank. I love playing as him
Saejima is so coo
Personally speaking, Saejima’s story is very poignant and very good tragic storytelling, and you feel like an unstoppable monster playing as him.
The cut scene with haruka
My guess is most in the US haven't played Yakuza 4 and 5. The majority have played the Kiwamis, 6 and LaD
Some people are holding grudges over his Y4 incident where he was debating whether to go balls out with Haruka.
Saejima is easily in my top 5
Making his part in Y5 into Yakuza Big Buck Hunter was a genius move, although I'm let down about the truth of his 19 man hit that sent him to the Big House.
WHO SAID HES NOT POPULAR HERE?!
a lot of the western fans only played 0, the kiwamis & 7 - i imagine that's a big part of it
I love Saejima, he is my second favourite yakuza character after Majima, I would love to see a spinoff with both Saejima and Majima as the main protagonists
He's Japan's very own Dave Bautista
I love playing as Saejima and tank rolling everyone else. I understand it is very different from other characters, but I didn't find too difficult to adapt.
Saejima is awesome
I am awfully disappointed with Saejima.