SameTeem
Search titles only
By:
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Home
Forums
Forums
New posts
Search forums
What's new
What's new
Featured content
Media
Resources
Free TeamSpeak Channel
TeamSpeak
TeamSpeak
Vote
Rank System
Make a Channel
Free Channel Information
Servers
Sourcebans
New posts
SameTeem
Home
Forums
New posts
Search forums
What's new
Featured content
Media
Resources
Free TeamSpeak Channel
TeamSpeak
Vote
Rank System
Make a Channel
Free Channel Information
Servers
Sourcebans
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
New posts
Search forums
Menu
Log in
Register
Navigation
Install the app
Install
More options
Contact us
Close Menu
Download TeamSpeak Today
Proudly sponsored by TeamSpeak
Forums
News and Announcements
Gaming News
'We Tried to Think of Someone Who Makes You Go, 'This Guy's a Creep'': Yakuza/Like a Dragon Director Addresses Controversial Casting
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="Admin" data-source="post: 70078" data-attributes="member: 1"><p><img src="https://assets-prd.ignimgs.com/2026/02/06/yakuza-kiwami-3-dark-ties-japanese-voice-cast-trailer-0-11-screenshot-2-1770398372532.png" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="" /></p><p>The director of Yakuza 3 Kiwami + Dark Ties has broken his silence on Ryo Ga Gotoku Studio's controversial hiring of Teruyuki Kagawa to play Goh Hamazaki, saying they needed someone who would make audiences think, "This guy's a creep."</p><p></p><p>This comes from an interview with Horii conducted by Japanese outlet <a href="https://game.watch.impress.co.jp/docs/interview/2077376.html" target="_blank">GAME Watch</a>, and independently translated by IGN. In the interview, Horii is asked directly about the decision to recast certain characters in Kiwami from their original Japanese actors. His general response as to why he recast both Hamazaki and Rikiya Shimabukuro is that while it would "certainly be safer not to recast them and avoid online criticism," the studio "felt there was no use being afraid."</p><p></p><p></p><p>Horii goes on to say that they based their decision on who they most wanted to see perform. When asked directly about Kagawa playing Hamazaki, this is what Horii had to say:</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Kagawa's casting as Hamazaki has been met with anger from Yakuza fans due to the actor having been <a href="https://www.straitstimes.com/life/entertainment/actor-teruyuki-kagawa-accused-of-sexual-harassment-tied-the-knot-in-2022" target="_blank">accused by multiple women</a> of <a href="https://www.dailyshincho.jp/article/2022/12271701/?all=1&page=2#google_vignette" target="_blank">sexual assault</a>, with one woman coming forward with what seems to be photographic evidence of the incident. In 2022, Kagawa <a href="https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2022/08/26/national/teruyuki-kagawa-groping-apology/" target="_blank">admitted to and apologized</a> for one of the incidents, but another of his accusers has <a href="https://www.dailyshincho.jp/article/2022/12271701/?all=1&page=2" target="_blank">said she received no apology</a>.</p><p></p><p>Following the announcement of Kagawa's casting, Yakuza fans <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/yakuzagames/comments/1ns20eq/they_need_to_remove_kagawa_from_this_game/" target="_blank">reacted in anger on social media</a>, getting #REMOVEKAGAWA trending on multiple networks and creating a <a href="https://www.change.org/p/remove-teruyuki-kagawa-from-his-role-as-goh-hamazaki-in-yakuza-kiwami-3" target="_blank">Change.org petition</a> that at the time of this writing has nearly 10,000 signatures. Fans have <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/yakuzagames/comments/1o0j7l7/rgg_studio_suppressing_removekagawa_on_instagram/" target="_blank">accused RGG Studio</a> of suppressing the #REMOVEKAGAWA hashtag and deleting comments referencing the issue on its official Instagram page. And a number of them have pointed out that Sega has recast actors for offenses in the past - Pierre Taki was recast in Judgment back in 2019 after he was <a href="https://www.polygon.com/2019/4/16/18409777/yakuza-judgment-new-actor-pierre-taki/" target="_blank">arrested for cocaine possesssion</a>.</p><p></p><p>Up to this point, neither RGG Studio nor Sega has offered official comment on Kagawa's casting, nor the accusations - Horii's answer is the first statement that's been offered on the subject. However, Sega did <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/ign/youtube.com/watch?si=lJmH7GkM8lqeVkMR&v=37mtmF0FrPI&feature=youtu.be" target="_blank">publish a trailer on its official YouTube</a> after the wave of criticism, which introduced the Japanese voice cast and opened on a longer clip of Hamazaki. IGN reached out to Sega for additional comment ahead of this story, but did not hear back in time for publication.</p><p></p><p></p><p><em>Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. Got a story tip? Send it to <a href="mailto:rvalentine@ign.com">rvalentine@ign.com</a>.</em></p><p></p><p><a href="https://www.ign.com/articles/we-tried-to-think-of-someone-who-makes-you-go-this-guys-a-creep-yakuzalike-a-dragon-director-addresses-controversial-casting" target="_blank">Continue reading...</a></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Admin, post: 70078, member: 1"] [IMG]https://assets-prd.ignimgs.com/2026/02/06/yakuza-kiwami-3-dark-ties-japanese-voice-cast-trailer-0-11-screenshot-2-1770398372532.png[/IMG] The director of Yakuza 3 Kiwami + Dark Ties has broken his silence on Ryo Ga Gotoku Studio's controversial hiring of Teruyuki Kagawa to play Goh Hamazaki, saying they needed someone who would make audiences think, "This guy's a creep." This comes from an interview with Horii conducted by Japanese outlet [URL='https://game.watch.impress.co.jp/docs/interview/2077376.html']GAME Watch[/URL], and independently translated by IGN. In the interview, Horii is asked directly about the decision to recast certain characters in Kiwami from their original Japanese actors. His general response as to why he recast both Hamazaki and Rikiya Shimabukuro is that while it would "certainly be safer not to recast them and avoid online criticism," the studio "felt there was no use being afraid." Horii goes on to say that they based their decision on who they most wanted to see perform. When asked directly about Kagawa playing Hamazaki, this is what Horii had to say: Kagawa's casting as Hamazaki has been met with anger from Yakuza fans due to the actor having been [URL='https://www.straitstimes.com/life/entertainment/actor-teruyuki-kagawa-accused-of-sexual-harassment-tied-the-knot-in-2022']accused by multiple women[/URL] of [URL='https://www.dailyshincho.jp/article/2022/12271701/?all=1&page=2#google_vignette']sexual assault[/URL], with one woman coming forward with what seems to be photographic evidence of the incident. In 2022, Kagawa [URL='https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2022/08/26/national/teruyuki-kagawa-groping-apology/']admitted to and apologized[/URL] for one of the incidents, but another of his accusers has [URL='https://www.dailyshincho.jp/article/2022/12271701/?all=1&page=2']said she received no apology[/URL]. Following the announcement of Kagawa's casting, Yakuza fans [URL='https://www.reddit.com/r/yakuzagames/comments/1ns20eq/they_need_to_remove_kagawa_from_this_game/']reacted in anger on social media[/URL], getting #REMOVEKAGAWA trending on multiple networks and creating a [URL='https://www.change.org/p/remove-teruyuki-kagawa-from-his-role-as-goh-hamazaki-in-yakuza-kiwami-3']Change.org petition[/URL] that at the time of this writing has nearly 10,000 signatures. Fans have [URL='https://www.reddit.com/r/yakuzagames/comments/1o0j7l7/rgg_studio_suppressing_removekagawa_on_instagram/']accused RGG Studio[/URL] of suppressing the #REMOVEKAGAWA hashtag and deleting comments referencing the issue on its official Instagram page. And a number of them have pointed out that Sega has recast actors for offenses in the past - Pierre Taki was recast in Judgment back in 2019 after he was [URL='https://www.polygon.com/2019/4/16/18409777/yakuza-judgment-new-actor-pierre-taki/']arrested for cocaine possesssion[/URL]. Up to this point, neither RGG Studio nor Sega has offered official comment on Kagawa's casting, nor the accusations - Horii's answer is the first statement that's been offered on the subject. However, Sega did [URL='http://feeds.feedburner.com/ign/youtube.com/watch?si=lJmH7GkM8lqeVkMR&v=37mtmF0FrPI&feature=youtu.be']publish a trailer on its official YouTube[/URL] after the wave of criticism, which introduced the Japanese voice cast and opened on a longer clip of Hamazaki. IGN reached out to Sega for additional comment ahead of this story, but did not hear back in time for publication. [I]Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. Got a story tip? Send it to [email]rvalentine@ign.com[/email].[/I] [url="https://www.ign.com/articles/we-tried-to-think-of-someone-who-makes-you-go-this-guys-a-creep-yakuzalike-a-dragon-director-addresses-controversial-casting"]Continue reading...[/url] [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Forums
News and Announcements
Gaming News
'We Tried to Think of Someone Who Makes You Go, 'This Guy's a Creep'': Yakuza/Like a Dragon Director Addresses Controversial Casting
This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register.
By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our use of cookies.
Accept
Learn more…
Top
