Here is our Like a Dragon Gaiden The Man Who Erased His Name Story Recap. Know everything you need to know going into “The Man Who Erased His Name”.
Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name lands on November 8, 2023, and offers new and old fans of the Like A Dragon/Yakuza franchise a reintroduction to the previous protagonist Kazuma Kiryu.
The Man Who Erased His Name is also the prologue to the upcoming Like A Dragon 8: Infinite Wealth which released early next year. You don’t want to miss this side chapter of the legendary franchise going into its next numbered entry.
Whether you are new to the franchise thanks to Like A Dragon 7 or the Judgement titles or a long-time fan, we’ve decided to compile an abridged version of Kiryu’s story for anyone who needs a refresher. This will include spoilers for Yakuza 1 – Yakuza 6 and Like A Dragon: Yakuza.
Like a Dragon Gaiden The Man Who Erased His Name Story Recap
Kazuma Kiryu is known as the Dragon of Dojima, a feared legendary Yakuza under the banner of the Tojo Clan. In the ’90s his best friend and sworn brother Akira Nishikiyama kills the head of the Dojima family to protect his friend and Kiryu’s love interest Yumi Sawamura.
Kiryu takes the fall for the murder to protect the people he cares about and spends 10 years in prison. When he’s released in 2005 he finds out that his brother Nishikiyama has become a feared Yakuza boss in his own right and his love Yumi has vanished from the face of the earth.
In the search for answers, he encounters the 9-year-old Haruku who turns out to be Yumi’s daughter. After a series of twists and heartbreaking turns, both Nishikiyama and Yumi die and Kiryu vows to protect Haruka at all cost. Even if that means turning down the position as head of the Tojo Clan.
The events of the first game in 2005 left the Tojo Clan in a weakened state, the power vacuum prompted the Omi Alliance to make a move on Tojo Clan territory. Led by Ryuji Goda who has the singular goal of beating Kiryu to become a legend in his own right.
To pay for the chaos he caused by leaving the Tojo Clan behind, Kiryu asks Daigo Dojima the son of the man Nishikiyama murdered as the next head of the Clan. Both of them try to prevent an all-out war between the Tojo Clan and Omi Alliance which is fanned by outside interference from the Korean mafia.
During all of this, Haruka gets targeted and while Kiryu and Daigo manage to broker peace between the factions, Kiryu realizes that he won’t escape the past if he stays in Tokyo.
Kiryu and Haruka move south to Okinawa where he takes over the Sunflower Orphanage in which he grew up in. With the help of Haruka, he takes care of children who just like him were ousted by society. Things seem to go well enough until Kiryu gets dragged into a conflict with the local Yakuza which eventually causes him to head back to Tokyo.
In his attempt to leave all responsibility with Daigo Dojima and flee, his past always catches up with Kiryu. More and more people get involved in the maelstrom of Kiryu’s life and end up in the crossfire. Eventually, Kiryu leaves everything behind under a fake name in the hope of keeping his loved ones out of trouble.
Meanwhile, Haruka becomes a pop idol to raise money for the children of the orphanage, while the Tojo Clan is once again threatened by an all-out war with the Omi Alliance. Kiryu, with the help of his allies, is again called to action with everyone aiming for the head of the Dragon of Dojima.
Kiryu manages to restore the balance thanks to the help of his friends but all the fighting takes a great toll on him. Haruka quits her life as an idol and the two are reunited. This time things are going to be different, Kiryu decides to take responsibility for his actions and goes to jail for 3 years to finally put a rest to his Yakuza life.
In these three years, Haruka gets targeted by the media exposes her connection to Kiryu, and threatens the existence of the orphanage. She travels to Hiroshima to hide from the world and gets involved with the local Yakuza who take her in.
When Kiryu leaves prison he finds out Haruka is in a coma after a hit-and-run and has a child called Haruto. Kiryu now desperate for answers uncovers a government conspiracy and people once again try to target his family to get under his skin. And while he prevails he realizes that his loved ones will never be happy as long as he has a target on his back.
He uses his new leverage with government officials to fake his death, becoming the man who sold his name.
During the events of Like a Dragon: Yakuza (Which Like a Dragon Gaiden will likely cover as well) Kiryu pops up once again to help his old allies dissolve both the Tojo Clan and Omi Alliance to put an end to the Yakuza as a whole.
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