Kamurocho Confidential

A Man's Worth? A smooth billy, apparently. After a ramshackle getaway, the Tachibana Trio hide out in Little Asia, where Kiryu meets Elder Chen of the Chinese Mafia and learns the sins of his father. After a night under the stars and an encounter with homeless hunters, Oda surprises Kiryu with a trip to Tojo Headquarters, where Tachibana makes a deal...in cash! Also this week: plot-relevant tattoos, made-up film terminology, improv games in first aid training, and we watch the Stranger than Heaven trailer. Sorry about the audio issues during the intro! Character Profile: Takashi Nihara / Shibata Hidekatsu Substories: #10 The Show Must Go On, #16 Help Wanted!...Again Real Estate Royale: A challenge from the Electronics King Socials: festy.bsky.social, nurvuss.bsky.social, youtube.com/@nurvuss Links: Homeless & Children (http://hc-net.org/about/history/) On the Shoulders of Giants Podcast - BONUS Stream Checkin - Vanguard Bandits and Iron Harvest ft. Nurvuss and Kryo (https://on-the-shoulders-of-giants.zencast.website/episodes/bonus-stream-checkin-vanguard-bandits-and-iron-harvest-ft-nurvuss-and-kryo)  

This week, we're Ensnared! Kiryu returns to Kamurocho in the midst of the Dojima Goons' biggest goon-fest yet. A freak case of arson sees our former yakuza-cum-real estate agent without a property to call his own. Reina takes mercy on Kiryu and hides him in Bar Serena, but it's not long before the gang comes calling. We square off with Kuze for one more throwdown before being rescued by a very bad getaway driver. Substories: #15 Help Wanted!; #19 Heir to the Family Shop of the Week: Kinryu Ramen Bluesky: @festy.bsky.social @nurvuss.bsky.social Youtube: @nurvuss

This week in Yakuza 0 Chapter 8 - Tug of War, Majima finds himself swept up into the chaotic whirlwind of Homare Nishitani, Kijin Family patriarch, murderer, and all-around pervert, who forced his way into Lee's murder plot uninvited. Sagawa makes himself known as things come to an explosive climax. Also this week: blood chubs, ham cucumbers, things happen on Festy's Tomodachi Island, and Bobby mixes up The Crucible with the English Patient. Character Profile: Homare Nishitani (the late Keiji Fujiwara) Substory: #56 A Taxing Issue Side Activities: Gandhara Shop of the Week: Kani Douraku  Socials: festy.bsky.social / nurvuss.bsky.social / youtube.com/@nurvuss Fate/Stay Night Streams with Festy and Sinan: twitch.tv/SKTheCrusader

We're back in Sōtenbori and we're full of Takoyaki. In Chapter 7 of Yakuza 0, Majima decides not to kill Makoto Makimura, instead opting to stash her in a dusty warehouse while he plays Cabaret Club Czar. After tangling with the Sotenbori Five, a group of unscrupulous rival club proprietors, we learn Makoto's tragic backstory and the source of her blindness. But it's not long before Majima finds himself drawn into a second murder plot. Also this week: Special Training with Yuki, what's inside Kyoko's Fantasy Zone, Festy makes assumptions about Dexter Morgan's ethics, and Bobby spectacularly messes up a pot of jambalaya. Please excuse the regular mic arm vibration noises, Borscht the Cat was really causing a ruckus this week. Substories: #78 The Doll Girl; #82 Kyoko at Sega Hi-Tech Land  Shop of the Week: Daikoku Drug Store Dream Machines: Cleaving Pole, Firecrackers, Slime Spray Acute Loss of Vision in a Young Woman (Ethiopian Journal of Health Science, S Mulugeta, K Tesfay, R Frank, C Gruber-Frank) https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4337078

This week, the full weight of the Tojo Clan is about to come down on Kiryu, who finds himself running through the streets, squaring off with Kuze in a disgusting sewer, and battling Awano in the discotheque of facts and logic.  Also this week: Festy sees Akira (1988) for the first time, we hate when GIRLS die, and Nishiki tells Kiryu about the rabbits. Happy 61st birthday to Kuroda Takaya! Substory of the Week: #6 Damned Yanki Side Activities: Japan Catfight Club Shop of the Week: Ebisu Pawn Bluesky: @festy.bsky.social @nurvuss.bsky.social Youtube: @nurvuss

We rejoin Kiryu in Kamurocho as he enlists the help of his kyodai to get suited up for his new job as a big boy real estate agent. But things take a dark turn when Awano catches a whiff of our boy's career change. Also this week: Squatters rights, peeing in sake bottles, apocryphal console gaming, becoming a rival real estate baron to your new employer, batting around, and Grey's Anatomy for Wii Substory of the Week: #31 The Innocent Hook Up Shop of the Week: Smile Hamburger Charity Stream: Saturday 28 March 2026 - Get the Heck Outta Dodge for Trans Continental Pipeline https://www.justgiving.com/page/nurvuss-trans-rights-26 Socials Bluesky: @festy.bsky.social @nurvuss.bsky.social Youtube: @nurvuss

This week, Festy and Bobby tackle Chapter 4 of Yakuza 0: Proof of Resolve. Majima finds himself in hot water as Sagawa tasks him with assassinating violent pimp and sex trafficker Makoto Makimura under a strict time limit, less he become the gang's next target. But once Majima locates Makimura, he finds a reality far different to the scenario he was sold. Also this week: Selling your soul in the Yakuza Hole; Tel-Tel Boys Club, and walking erections. Character Profiles: Naomi Kusumi (Futoshi Shimano); Makoto Makimura (Miyuki Sawashiro); Wen Hai Lee (the late Kazunari Tanaka, RIP) Substory of the Week: #54 Disciple of the New Order Shop of the Week: Kushikatsu Daruma Charity Stream: Saturday 28 March 2026 - Get the Heck Outta Dodge for Trans Continental Pipeline https://www.justgiving.com/page/nurvuss-trans-rights-26 Socials Bluesky: @festy.bsky.social @nurvuss.bsky.social Youtube: @nurvuss

Hello my honey, hello my baby, hello Majima! This week, Festy and Bobby take a trip to Sotenbori to meet Yakuza 0's deuteragonist, Cabaret Grand impresario and fan favourite Goro Majima, the Lord of the Night, and spend a whole dang hour talking about his introductory cutscene. We also talk hostess and host clubs and the perfect Takoyaki experience. Have you had fugu? Let us know! References:  Unseen Japan: Japan Politicians Are Eyeing a Crackdown on Host Clubs (Jay Allen, Nov 2023) https://unseen-japan.com/host-club-regulations/

This week on Kamurocho Confidential, Bobby and Festy take a deep look at Yakuza 0 Chapter 2: The Real Estate Broker in the Shadows. With Kiryu at a low point in the pouring rain, we meet the titular broker himself, Tachibana. We discuss  Flower Arrangement, Pocket Tissues, Mister Shakedown, Not Going to the Batting Cages, Opening our hearts to Miss Tatsu, Soapland, Bowling form fetishists, meet Jun Oda, buying expensive champagne for bums, and watching rich guy parlour tricks.   Vice, Hanako Montgomery: How Japan’s Secretive ‘Soapland’ Brothels Operate https://www.vice.com/en/article/how-japans-secretive-soapland-brothels-operate/

Sorry we're late this week! In the second half of Chapter 1, we check in with Nishiki and meet Captain Kashiwagi and witness his bizarre ramen choices, discuss cold noodles, lament the death of print media, and punch Kuze in his big face before leaving a life of crime for not-so-greener pastures.

In this week's Kamurocho Confidential, Bobby and Festy begin their Yakuza 0 replay, where we meet Old Baby Kiryu Kazuma, take tips on how to do something for our health, and invest financially in our muscles with the help of a mysterious hobo. We also discuss our own experiences in Kabukicho and our favourite karaoke songs. A little bit of noise on the track for this recording as my audio interface is elderly in cat years. Apologies.

Bobby and Festy introduce Like a Dragon/Yakuza on the eve of its 20th anniversary, providing an overview of the series, a glimpse into RGG Studios' personnel, and what makes Sega's gritty & goofy interactive crime drama just so enticing. (note: the casting of Kagawa Teruyuki in Yakuza Kiwami 3 was not announced at the time of recording. To be discussed in a future episode.)