Celebrating 20 years since the release of the first Yakuza title, Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio has started a series of X posts that aim to teach Japanese fans some of the franchise’s most iconic lines in English. However, as a big portion of the series’ story revolves around violent and illegal activities, the RGG Studio X account humorously warns against using the lines in real-life situations.
Post translation: Learn English from scenes in the Like A Dragon series! The first phrase is: “I swear to you that I didn’t kill that man.” Caution: Not recommended for use in real life.
Kicking off the series is none other than a detailed grammatical breakdown of Kazuma Kiryu’s “I swear to you that I didn’t kill that man” line from Yakuza 0. These words are spoken to Dojima Family patriarch Sohei Dojima, in Kiryu’s attempt to defend himself against the accusation of murdering a person in an empty lot in Kamurochō. Unfortunately, Kiryu’s violent past and desire to protect his adoptive father, Shintaro Kazama, lead the protagonist to leave the Dojima Family and get to the bottom of the murder himself.
The original Japanese phrase has become something of a meme amongst Japanese fansOn that note, although many fans like to believe that Kiryu has only ever killed anyone with kindness, this is due to a mistranslation of the developers’ past remarks (Kiryu has, in fact, been a part of a good number of deaths throughout the Like a Dragon series, albeit mostly in defense).
Though it is unlikely that Japanese speakers will find a practical application for the phrase, it can be a useful one to learn. Expect more iconic lines to be translated into English as the series continues.
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