Like a Dragon’s Mitsuo mistakenly left out from family picture once again 

The RGG Studio X account has unintentionally reminded players of a missing character in an in-game Like a Dragon photo. What was meant to be a heartwarming post about the series’ Morning Glory Orphanage has instead drawn players to the heartbreaking absence of orphan Mitsuo. 

The photo used is likely from the remastered PC version of Yakuza 4 or 5, in which Mitsuo is notably absent. Because the game had to be updated for PC, it is likely that whoever worked on upscaling the photo accidentally left Mitsuo out. There have been issues of Mitsuo appearing in the picture during cutscenes but disappearing during gameplay. When viewed from a different angle, you can see that Mitsuo’s shadow remains visible in the picture. In addition, the error was fixed in the most recent Like a Dragon Gaiden – with Mitsuo accounted for in the picture. This makes it even more likely that his initial disappearance was an accident.

Unaware of the technical issues the photo has gone through, some were quick to assume that the poor boy’s disappearance was fueled by racial bias, as Mitsuo is of African-American and Japanese descent. Other replies were more light-hearted, saying that Mitsuo might be the one taking the photo. 

Mitsuo plays a small part in the overall story of Like a Dragon/Yakuza. In Yakuza 3, players can engage in a short side mission where Kazuma Kiryu and Rikiya Shimabukuro help Mitsuo invite fellow orphan Riona to watch a movie with him. Mitsuo gets a small role in Yakuza 5, where Kiryu gives him Christmas money to buy new clothes. Mitsuo and the other Morning Glory Orphanage kids eventually grow up, with Mitsuo becoming a baseball player at school and working odd jobs after graduating. 

So no, Mitsuo didn’t suddenly disappear from the franchise, nor is the Ryu Ga Gotoku X account racist. It is much more likely that they simply failed to use the correct photo. That said, here’s hoping that Mitsuo doesn’t get cut from the Amazon live-action adaptation of Like a Dragon.