The fact that the majority of Tekken fans have been convinced to view Heihachi in a more sympathetic light than Kazuya is what makes Heihachi such a truly diabolical villain.

Kazuya has always been soul definition of the Tekken brand, it was never about his son to begin with. It was always about him being misunderstood: facing hardships that left him feel loss and filled with hatred, bullied, always getting targeted by his father and other members of his family and other people from around the world for things he didn't consciously didn't do because he was being manipulated by Devil in majority of the events of Tekken 2. He is evil internally because that's the only thing he can understand.

To me, kazuya is the face of tekken. No offense to jin or anyone who is a fan of his.

Tekken series was just an ordinary fighting game for me, but after watching this video, it became a completely different game.

Bruce is still kazuya's best friend even after all this crazy stuff which I find wild.

I really love the idea of Kazuya being a tragic/fallen antihero rather than an irredeemable villain and monster. There's definitely no defending his actions, but I'd honestly argue that Kazuya didn't truly start acting villainous until Tekken 4. His 'evil' actions in Tekken 2 were due to him being influenced by Devil and by this point, Kazuya had no control over him. Kazuya was never a 'good guy' so to speak, but he wasn't downright evil either and had a human side to him Kazuya also has people that he genuinely cares for such as his mother and grandfather and he was also genuinely close to Jun during the events of Tekken 2 and possibly still loves and cares for in 8 considering his intro with Jun (Jun is still set on saving Kazuya in Tekken 8 as well it would seem). He's also pretty amiable with Bruce and Anna as well. Honestly, I really hope Kazuya ends up getting a redemption arc of sorts. Both he and Jin have been through some shit and I honestly don't want either of them to die. Of course, part of why I want a redemption arc for Kazuya is because he's one of my favorite Tekken characters

Kazuya was product of a thousand years old rivalry who happened to get strangled in the middle of it. His whole life truly was revolving conflict and combat. No wonder he turned out to be the way he is.

A lot of people probably don’t know this. But there is a tekken anime movie that supposedly takes pace during the first tekken game. And in that story It follows Kazuya’s path for vengeance and how he also first met Jun. it’s a great watch and it honestly opened up how Kazuya could possibly be. And it’s a good introduction to how Jun and him met

Kazuya was broken from childhood. Imagine having a loving mother and grandfather (who he canonically did indeed love). Imagine thinking your dad is kinda swell too. Then Imagine said dad kills your mother right in front of you at 5 years old. Imagine your grandpa disappears, only to later find that your dad betrayed and killed him too. Then Imagine that dad abusing you and throwing you off a cliff because of something you don't know about. Then only to have that thing be the Devil. At 5 years old. So f it, you survived, now you bide your time for years. You can't beat him yet, physically, that takes time. You can't escape, your dad controls the world's most profitable company with the best military. So you wait till you can get the 1v1. You train for years under your abuser. First KoIF tournament, it's a dream come true. You win. Absolute heaven. You throw your dad off a cliff. It's only karma, right? But dad's strong, he doesn't die. Fair play to him. Comes back, beats you. All the while this Devil inside is manipulating, tormenting, and controlling you in varying degrees. You lose. Everything. So dear old dad throws you not off a cliff, into a VOLCANO. You asphyxiate, you burn, you scream, and then, you actually die. There's no telling what Kazuya went through in death. But he's dead. And then 20 whole years pass, it's a changed time. You have a son now? Oh that's new. You realize you feel lessor than before but can't figure out why. Ohhhh, maybe it's because now you only have half your Devil gene (kinda sorta)? How'd that happen, where'd it go? Now your grown son is being manipulated by your dad against you. And you realize your son has the Devil gene too. Kazuya is probably the most tragic character in fighting games

Kazuya is the poster boy for tekken. They tried to roll with jin being solo in tekken 3, but realized the series needs Kazuya. He is that compelling as a character and was never ever removed from the series again. Jin is only popular because of Kazuya. Jin would have gone the way of Paul, lee, or lars (chars who are important in a sense to the story or to heiachi but ultimately contributed very little as the series progressed) if Kazuya was never reintroduced. The hei double cross of Jin couldn’t have lasted longer than tekken 3 and would have been stupid to keep going when jin is beefing with hworang who is not important to the narrative of the story. Jin is only cool because he stands against Kazuya. Kazuya is boss and always has been.

Jin or Kazuya beating up Heihachi will always be hilarious because it's karma. I just wish Jin and Kazuya had a moment of father and son talking without trying to kill the other or being hostile.

I love Kazuya a lot but he's definitely NOT an anti-hero, at least not now. His life was horrible and the tragedy helped to shape him from an innocent abuse victim into the demon he is now, but he ended up deciding to stay a demon for the remainder of the plot. It was his choice to embrace the Devil Gene and cause death and destruction after coming back to life. It's even worse now that he knows even his mother had no problem killing him if he went too far. He was doomed from the start.

I'm not much of a fan or kept up with the storyline but Kazuya always seemed like the main character to me for Tekken

Tekken and naruto are mirrors to how society really want to blame the abused rather than the abuser unless they are considered "the chosen one"

Tbh if my dad killed my grandfather and mother and then proceeded to try to kill me numerous times along with adopting a new child and then treating a panda and bear along with giving a son who was revealed to be my son just cause of something that was out of my control, I'd be a fucking monster too

He is the anakin skywalker of the game.

Ahhaahaaa, what an iconic smile ! :D Also, a very captivating story. I personally love anti-heros because often their cruelty somehow justifies itself and left us thinking about what is wrong/right or good/evil. Thank you for bringing this story to us.

You gotta admit though Jin is undoubtedly the face of the franchise and the most iconic character Kazuya is the OG and the entire story is literally his story.

One of the best fighting game protangnist all time. With your great presentation this video will be checkpoint of the entire series before Tekken 8.

Kazuya is not an anti hero, he's an anti villain. Just because he's got a sympathetic backstory, most villains do, doesn't mean he's suddenly not an evil bastard.

The more tragic part for Kazuya is that despite all the tragedies shaping up to be this ruthless bastard, and how Jun still believed there's good in him to be saved, a feeling that lasted until Tekken 8... Well, Harada wants to keep the narrative against him all the time, portraying and referring him as pure, irredeemable evil who only exists to do more cackling evil things. Hell, in Tekken 7, we were never even given the chance to control Kazuya at all, it's either Heihachi or Akuma! It's like Harada wants to insist something like "Kazuya is the villain, everyone else is more heroic than a devil like him!" For most people... it worked. Everyone never saw the tragedy of Kazuya, all they see is a power-hungry cackling devil, a supreme villain, not an anti-hero, that threatens the world, the worst kind of evil in the world without redeeming points, that even Heihachi has more sympathetic side. And every kind of 'non-canon' paths that shed or could have shed a better side of him is also peppered with how much he screwed it up for the sake of the hunger of power (the murder of Jinpachi after reminiscing of their sweet time, absorbing Jun/Unknown in Tag 2... although I have a theory that Tag 2 Jun couldn't even give off the mysterious aura that shocked him when they met in 8, so he might be thinking that Tag 2 Jun/Unknown is just a lowly impostor not worthy of respect. And you know what Kazuya does to people he doesn't respect.) Still, most of your storytelling is on point and a great way to describe Kazuya in the most neutral way possible, not overly focusing on his bad side, but not trying to make him too much of an innocent victim. As a Kazuya fan, I like it.

To me Kazuya will always be the main character of Tekken followed by Jin n Heihachi

Thank you for this. I'm so tired of people just writing him off as evil from the very start and evil until the end.

I always felt that both Heiachi and Kayzua were both tragic characters, especially when one looks at their backstories. The truest example of a toxic family cycle, with all the tragedy they suffered, is it any shock they became the tragic villains they are now? Irredeemable only in outward actions, no one bothers to look deeper to understand those actions. Which is what makes your video so PERFECT!

Man understood his destiny as chaotic evil and wholeheartedly accepted it to the point that he took control of his inner Devil. He accepted his true nature that most people is afraid to. That is the most accomplishing thing one can do. A complete villain that doesn't need sympathizing or redeeming. Need to learn more about determination from this man.

Kazuya is a villain, Tekken 1 is the only game where he isn't explicitly the evilest guy ever even more than his dad he's a really interesting villain since he's the protagonist of several of the games though

This is definitely my favorite Tekken character of all time. Hell, he is my favorite fighting fictional character of all time, right after Vegeta.

Pussy is so good that kazuya decided stop being evil lol thx for the video tho great recap for a series that continuous almost 20 years after its first release. Such a great franchise, such a great character

Its wild how art reflects life. In my story it was my mother who tried to kill me, and it was my father who had me born in hell and then left, and when I got somewhere safe where I had the chance to be adopted, he didnt even want me to have that, he took me back to my mother and left. My Grandmother saved him.

I hope kazyua is going to bring his family back and become a good person after all because if he don't,it will be the worst ending for a person who just a victim

You know, it does my head in that Kazuya, whose life was ruined by age 5, is portrayed as irredeemably evil while his dad, who murdered or attempted to murder his entire family and started this whole mess, is portrayed as a misunderstood warrior who just made a few mistakes. Or that Jin is some misunderstood noble hurting hero even though he started WWIII. All three of them are pieces of shit morally, but i feel like Heihachi and Jin's sins against the other characters and world dwarves Kazuya's. If only by virtue of Heihachi killing his own dad unwarranted, adopting a kid just to mess with his son, chucking his 5 year old off a cliff (and no Harada, there's no justifying this) and shooting Jin in the head after the third tournament and Jin causing world wide death and misery because muh cursed bloodline.

The Vegeta of Tekken.

I hope he survives the events of Tekken 8 and become more of an anti-hero and not pure evil, kinda like how he's portrait in Project X Zone 2: He's obviously evil but fights alongside his son and father against a common enemy.

As a new tekken player I've been taking a liking to the character as of lately but after seeing this video this just made me love Kazuya's character even more. This video was put together quite well and kept me engaged for the whole 23 mins which is rather rare. Thank you

Dude no wonder Kazuya is so grumpy, bro was thrown to a volcano for all his life. Never knew this side of the game this detailed thx for the video looking forward to your next one on this series

I’m always surprised when these crazy motivated characters end up being a family man at some point in their lives lol. Like Vergil as well

I just wanna see the poor boy get a happy ending.

Great video ! I'd rather portray Kaz as a villain with a tragic past than an anti-hero, depicting him as a very dark grey character which is perfect for him. I'm a Jin main but Kaz is still a fascinating character with this one of a kind vibe. Waiting for your upcoming videos on the franchise !

Technically Kazuya didn’t meet Jun until Tekken 2. Besides all that great storytelling. I personally consider Kazuya a villain based on his character development after Tekken 4

Tekken 2 kazuya ending wasn’t physical. It took place in kazuyas mind. Hei taking the bullet represented kazuya having some element of remorse for his father, but it quickly dissipates by using him as a shield or blame for his own weakness in the thought, thus blocking the influence of the devil by not taking the blast. Uppercutting the devil meant he won inner battle between himself and devil for that moment. But since hei’s tekken 2 ending is the canonical ending, it could be inferred that kazuyas ending was happening during his final fight (at the time) with hei, which caused him to lose and be thrown into a volcano. Having an internal battle while having a physical battle caused him to lose his life. Thus when he was revived in tekken 4, the devil and himself made a pact similar to Naruto and kurama. Thus there was never an internal battle again.

This us amazing! I really hope you do more character summaries, I love the way you edit/tell the stories :)

As someone who didn't play much tekken, yet is really hyped for Tekken 8, thank you for making this video! It's great seeing character background and story.

My favorite character in all of gaming has been done justice! Great video man.

Tekken tag while it not considered Canon, there are some stuff that kinda hints what will happen between the fight Kazuya and Jin. Jin's ending shows the same fate of him sparing his father Kazuya due to the fact Jun wouldn't let him kill his blood relatives because they are just oblivious and not entirely lost(Tekken 4). He did faced trauma in Tekken Tag 1 Ending A tho. As for Jinpaichi he was possess by an unknown evil entity, but the key figures at the Tekken team did hinted the Mishimas are not exactly humans in which the Hachijos also confirmed aswell.

Really hoping you ended up doing forever characters like King and Yoshimitsu. GREAT idea you have here. Well done!

Agree, tekken 5 opening still one of the best till this day!

You know nothing about Kazuya. He was always evil. His main reason for beating Heihachi was not just revenge but he wanted to become an even more ruthless evil ruler than he was. It was in his original profile at the time of Tekken 1 arcade.

Kazuya is a lesser evil version of Darth Vader, or Kratos from the original GOW games, who ultimately has motives/goals we can understand/empathize with, but goes by in obtaining his ultimate goals that doesn’t justify the means/damage he causes, which isn’t much as throughout Tekken we don’t see him do anything horrendously evil that paints him to be the pure evil person that is beaten over our heads by everyone else in the franchise. When we see him do some questionable things that would be considered to be evil, or cruel, in the canon, they’re after the devil gene in him takes over, and even then he shows a lot more restraint such as letting Jin attack first when he calls upon him to rise from being unconscious in Tekken 4 so they can fight and he can take his power back from his son. He’s also very much a victim of circumstance who responds accordingly if anyone was in his situation, very much like Kratos.

You sir, deserve a Like for Tekken 2 Kazuya Theme, one of my favorite video game.

That Tekken 5 opening NEVER gets old

Lol I think jin is more of an anti-hero, kazuya is just a pure villain

Great breakdown!

Awesome video 👏

I think Kazuya killed Jinpachi because if he succumbed to good times, he may have gotten softer and it'd interfere with his revenge. He's made himself cold enough that not a single bond, even genuine good ones, would change him, but who knows, now that Heihachi is gone, wonder what Jin and Jun will try.

Kazuya is legendary

❤Tekken series is my favourite,thanks for video.

Great review

When it comes to dysfunctional family... Dante and Vergil's rivalry is nothing compared to the beef between Kazuya, Jin, and Heihachi 😂😂😂😂

He’s definitively a villain now

Amazing video ❤

Oh, wow, this video was one day before my birthday. Must have been a gift I didn't open until now, heh heh. Very nice video about Kazuya, condensing the character's surprisingly deep and dark nature into the runtime of a TV show without losing any of the important details (as well as including a few non-cannon goodies). Kazuya may not be my favorite character (I belong to the Manji Clan), but I've recently grown to strongly appreciate the character and what he and his family bring to Tekken. I can see how it's annoying for some fans that the Mishimas get all the major storybeats while their favorites potentially get side-shenanigans but, even with Yoshi and King as my favorites, I can't lie that Kazuya and his family have earned the right to preside over the series and Tekken probably wouldn't be interesting without them. Excellent choice of character for your first anti-hero spotlight.

Jin is still bad, he isnt a hero. He killed thousands of people. But he isnt as evil as Kazuya

really good video

Points for the full tekken 5 intro.. That hype was 🔥

wish they had "smoll" Jin in Tekken 8 in a flashback when he was with Jun, and a bit of in-story sparring to unlocked key memory elements, like Kazama style to protect and love and live for yourself and survive etc, instead of Jun telling him.

great video brotha

Tekken is maybe the only game where I have a different main every game, in 5 its Hworang, in 4 its Kazuya and in 6 its Lei, I don't know why I change my main so often in tekken. In other fighting games I'd focus on one character throughout the series and I'm usually a main character Typical, such as Liu Kang for every Mortal Kombat, or Ryu for every Street Fighter. I find it so interesting that those who can be seen as the main character of tekken are usually someone more villainous or neutral. out of all fighting games I think Tekken Lore might just be my favorite I love the balance of drama, comedy, sadness, and fun this series has. I love Mortal Kombat but that story gets too inconsistent, and adds To many retcons. Tekken is easy to follow and I feel it respects all its lore (mostly)

As a Miguel main, I dont see Kaz as evil.. all I know is that Jin killed random people for no discernable reason and he might as well be the real villain

Damn that Tekken 5 intro 😮😮😮

Kazuya has always been my favorite character

Tekken 1: I'm gonna beat up my dad for throwing me off a cliff as a toddler. Tekken 6: WW3

I always believe there was good in Kazuya , the fact that Jun still thinks that has to mean something.

Harada ruined a lot of characters smh. Kazuya was an Antihero and now there's no human or reasonable good in him since 5

Only jinpachi was pure all the Mishimas were corrupted

I don't care what people say bad,evil or anti hero the dude is straight out badass.Just look at the theme of Kazuya Emotionless Pation just explain the depth of character and it perfectly suits him and elso he's not good or bad he's just Kazuya. Jin can never replace Kazuya.

It was interesting on how he's changed over the years it makes me wonder how he'll turned out in Tekken 8.

He is far from an anti-hero. He is a villain and he has rejected his humanity so much. He is far from redeeming. Harada was trying so hard to make Kazuya irredeemable since Tekken 4.

My understanding of Kazuya's character trying to make of how dismissive the lore treats him, portraying him as just le pure evil man, is that when t2 happened, he actually died, and in the events of t4 he no longer has a soul, just pure devil taking over ("i know Kazuya says that he overcame and took all the devil's power for himself, but i attribute it to just coping or outright lying) hence he's evil because there's really no more kazuya mishima, the person, anymore. Whatever the truth is, the series has been inconsistent enough to headcanon whatever you feel like.

Jin is also established as the canonical biological son of Kazuya Mishima and Jun Kazama waaay earlier than Tekken 5... Try immediately in Tekken 3... (FUN FACT: Mishima's male-pattern baldness is forbidden by devil gene

I feel like kazuya will change in tekken 8 from june's influnece. Then kazuya, Jin & June will team up against a new threat.

@9:53 Always thought Kazuya pushed his father away, but it's actually Heihachi whi recoils from Kazuya's touch. Perhaps just a tiny bit of humanity left in him? Then the red eye returns more visibly in the next cut. A clever, subtle hint of internal turmoil.

Extremely interesting

I wouldn't say Kazuya is an anti-hero. He's more of a fallen hero ever since he was revived.

Solo por aclarar: según la base de datos de MGS4 (la que salió en PS3), en MGS2 es Liquid de verdad; por ese motivo se escucha la voz de Liquid. Tras el incidente del Big Shell se hizo quitar el brazo y, en ese momento, se hizo la hipnoterapia para poder mantener la idea de que Liquid está dentro de él. No cambia prácticamente nada de lo que dices en el vídeo, solo que la hipnoterapia es posterior a MGS2 y que el que está en su cabeza ES Liquid. Por lo demás, grandísimo vídeo como siempre ❤️.

Not really a hero, he's an evil fecker, but that's what makes him so cool. But then again, with parents like these, what else can you expect?

Love his Tekken2 song in the back

Truly tragic, I feel it so ! Kazuya accepted Devil fully, unlike his struggling son. But you know what ? He didn't do anything way too malicious compared to every main antagonist in each game, his main answer is shutting them down. - Heihachi, since Tekken 1 til Tekken 8, I don't think I need to mention here ! - Jin, neither Kazuya nor Heihachi started a world war, I know Jin has his noble intention but that is way too extreme. I felt sad for Miguel in when I watched his video. - JINPACHI, he took his grandpa life after a past flashback ... This is the only time I truly feel Kazuya is evil Do you think and feel like I do ?

Kazuya isn’t even an anti-hero. If you look at where he is now in Tekken 8, he’s just a straight up villain now.

Not an anti-hero. A villain.

Isn't this a little too much effort for such a small channel? I think you deserve more, my guy

Why tragic? he chose this path of destruction.

I always liked the lore of tekken even as a kid .

He's a hero just a tragic and fallen one

Do More Characters Story’s And Explain Everything💯👌🏾

Jun was never Kazuya's wife! Harada confirmed it so himself too

If you haven't already, think you could cover Ryu Hayabusa's story? It would be a lot of work considering you'd have effectively 3 different series to go over with the classic NES Ninja Gaiden trilogy, the modern Ninja Gaiden games, and Dead or Alive (they are all canon in the same universe), but I think you could do it! ^^

Nice

This game has ran some interesting story lines as it created many alternative outcomes and we the players don’t know which way the game went until the next game comes out.

Anti-hero is such a wild word to use for fucking Kazuya of all people. Like after a certain point, you're just a villain, even if you still oppose another villain.

“Anti hero” that’s what we are calling it now