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This Article Contains Spoilers -
WARNING: This article contains major spoilers. If you do not wish to know vital information on plot / character elements in a story, you may not wish to read beyond this warning: We hold no responsibility for any negative effects these facts may have on your enjoyment of said media should you continue. That is all. |
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| “ | They all thought I was out of the game... But I'm holding all the cards now. | „ |
| ~ Kazuya Mishima in Tekken 4. |
| “ | I'll let you have this one, but just remember: It's the fate of our family to fight and betray each other. It's in our blood, You won't escape it. | „ |
| ~ Kazuya Mishima to Lars Alexandersson. |
| “ | I speak now to all of humanity. For too long have you humans relied on weapons and ordinance, transforming into a race of spineless weaklings. The rulers of this world are too frail and have forgotten what it means to fight. Why should we blindly abide by the rules and conventions invented by such cowards? Foolish humans! Open your eyes! I shall rewrite the rules of this irrational world. Only those who show the depths of their mettle have any place in the new world I shall rule! Toward that end, I announce the opening of The King of Iron Fist Tournament! Come to the tournament, if you count yourself among the strong! Seize glory in your own hands— achieve it with your fists! But be warned: those who fail to prove their might will be wiped from the earth, along with their country. Come, humanity! Unleash the dogs of war! | „ |
| ~ Kazuya's speech in Tekken 8. |
Kazuya Mishima, also known by his alter ego of Devil Kazuya, is one of the main antagonists of the Tekken franchise alongside his father and arch-nemesis, Heihachi Mishima. He is a power-hungry martial artist who takes over the Mishima Zaibatsu in a bid to get revenge on his father, Heihachi, for killing his mother, Kazumi, and abusing him throughout his childhood. He is also the arch-nemesis of his own son, Jin Kazama.
In Japanese, he was voiced by Jouji Nakata in all games up to Tekken Tag Tournament, Masanori Shinohara in all games afterward (alongside Tekken: Blood Vengeance), Kazuhiro Yamaji in Tekken: The Motion Picture, and Minami Takayama in Tekken: The Motion Picture as a child. In English, he was voiced by Jordan Byrne in Street Fighter X Tekken, Adam Dudley in Tekken: The Motion Picture, Jacob Franchek in Tekken: The Motion Picture as a child, and Kyle Hebert in Tekken: Blood Vengeance.
Personality[]
| “ | Jin: Did you kill my father? Heihachi: Yes. Jin: It is true... Heihachi: Kazuya was truly evil... his blood poisoned by the devil itself. I didn't understand at the time that something had changed inside Kazuya. Something... evil. Now, after all these years, I have the answer... The Devil Gene. Jin: The what? Heihachi: The Devil Gene is a type of genetic abnormality. It gave Kazuya strength and power that was almost supernatural. Jin: The Devil Gene... Heihachi: Kazuya had always been rotten. He always had the potential for great evil. But it was his pure hatred for me that awakened the Devil Gene inside of him. Jin: This is why my mother never told me anything about him. Heihachi: The Devil Gene enhanced Kazuya's fighting ability. It gave him great power, but it also consumed him. He was completely overtaken by the evil force. Jin: Where did it come from? Heihachi: The origin of the Devil Gene remains a mystery to me. I do not possess it, but that kind of true fighting power is what speaks to Ogre. Jin: I have it... How do you know...? Heihachi: I have been trying to unlock the mystery of Ogre for years. We believe that he only emerges when he can sense the most powerful of fighters. He must have sensed that... in you. Jin: Me...? Heihachi: What happened before Ogre arrived that night? Had you been fighting? Jin: Yes, against some bullies. Heihachi: Then it's quite possible he sought to confront your power... to absorb it. |
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| ~ Heihachi to Jin about Kazuya's evilness and the Devil Gene in Tekken: Bloodline. |
The men of the Mishima family.
With a few words, Kazuya is generally presented as a proud, yet bitter, vindictive, stubborn, smug, cynical, manipulative, and cold-blooded man. He always sees himself as the hero and the one who has every right to take everything he wants from others. In Tekken 6, Kazuya refers himself as "the world's chosen hero". According to many other characters, including both his father and son, Kazuya has delusions of grandeur.
In the original entry to the franchise, Kazuya was considered to be the primary protagonist, and for all intents and purposes, there was no reason to believe differently. According to differing sources (such as Tekken: The Motion Picture and a brief scene in Ling Xiaoyu's Tekken 5 ending), Kazuya was actually quite frail, reticent, vulnerable, and timid as a boy and was the victim of years of abuse at the hands of Heihachi and suffered various losses and provocations by his father: he lost the only persons who loved him, his mother Kazumi and his grandfather Jinpachi, both killed by Heihachi; despite his father's wealth, Kazuya was not allowed any joy nor spoiled or allowed to make friends; he was thrown down by a ravine for being too weak and an "insolent brat" who tried to kill Heihachi for his mother's death; then after he returned home from his fall he found Lee Chaolan because his father wanted them to fight for the heritage.
Indeed, Kazuya originally entered the first King of Iron Fist Tournament in order to face off against his father, who was played up to be a ruthless, corrupt, corporate, duplicitous, unscrupulous, calculating, and collaborative tyrant. Kazuya's clothing of choice, simple white pants and red gloves and footpads, even helped to draw parallels to another "mysterious loner" hero, Street Fighter's Ryu. So, most people (both within the game and in real life) simply wrote Kazuya off as the cliché fighting game hero.
There was only a few clues as to Kazuya's true intents and nature:
- His secret PS One palette swap, which turned out to be Devil.
- His biography within the manual, stating that his overall goal after killing Heihachi and getting his revenge is to 'pull a worldwide coup d'etat'. As players rarely bother to read the manuals for games, this is an oft-missed detail.
Tekken 2 saw Kazuya's true nature revealed in full. After killing his father (or so he thought), instead of bringing justice and honor to the Mishima Zaibatsu and righting the wrongs of his father, Kazuya repeated the fraudulent practices of his father and turned it into an even much more villainous, manipulative, ruthless, and evil organization. While Heihachi was merely unsympathetic (though he had some standards), Kazuya was absolutely without conscience or any moral compassion at all. He hired assassins to eliminate innocent people out of pure spite (such as the father of Eddy Gordo), he attempted to extort money from several businesses and many organizations, and he even went so far as to smuggle endangered animal species and conducted genetic experiments on them (e.g., Alex and Roger).
However, Kazuya still had some sense of goodness within his heart, which gained more and more strength after he first met Jun Kazama, resulting in Angel, who constantly battled his evil side, though this would turn out to be his downfall. Heihachi managed to take advantage of his son's confusion caused by this internal war and defeated him in the second King of Iron Fist Tournament. Kazuya was then thrown into a volcano and killed, while the Devil in his body escaped and eventually made contact with Kazuya's son, Jin who succeeded his father as the series' new protagonist.
Of course, G Corporation eventually located Kazuya's remains and at this point, they regenerated his body and made a deal with him to remain hidden within G Corporation's labs and be tested on. Kazuya had learned from his mistakes; the next time he faced Heihachi, he wanted to be in full control of his Devil powers. Of course, this plan did not go as Kazuya intended; Heihachi ruined it by invading G Corporation and stealing their research.
Since his original appearance, Kazuya's personality has gone through many transformations: From anti-hero to antagonist, from antagonist to villainous protagonist. Whatever was left of his good side appears to be totally suppressed by his Devil persona. Kazuya no longer fights against his darker side, and the two seem to have come to mutual terms, as Kazuya can call upon Devil whenever he likes now (such as in his Tekken 5 introduction).
However, in Tekken 7, Kazuya displays more sentimentality, as he once again reproaches Heihachi for murdering Kazumi. Oddly enough, despite Kazuya having always wanted Heihachi dead and having hatred for his father for years, he seemed somber and pitiful when he threw him off a volcano, implying that having now known his mother's true nature, Kazuya's hatred for his father had decreased considerably. He also no longer hunts for Jin to obtain his Devil Gene, seemingly not seeing any point in hurting his son anymore. However, at the end of 7 still goes for conquest and still causing the war to continue since he still desires powers and control over everything. However, it is implied that Kazuya's victory over Heihachi as well his discovery over Kazumi's plans to kill both him and his father put him to be in a state of depression as he started to think he had been betrayed either way.
In addition to details over his lessened hatred for his father, it was also implied he began to see that he was just as much of a victim of the Mishima feud as he was, yet was probably more saddened that since Heihachi's betrayal was the only reason to fight and that it led to him to achieving the power he craved because of it, it is implied that he lost his sense of purpose and that there is no one left he felt worthy to challenge him, leaving him unsatisfied with his victory.
During his final fight with Jin when Kazuya nearly knocked him down, he quoted his father's teachings by saying "A fight is about who's left standing. Nothing else!" in a somber and depressed tone, implying that years of seeking revenge against Heihachi and his lack of satisfaction of finally killing him have exhausted what little drive he had left. Despite Kazuya's respect for his son's determination, he stubbornly dismisses Jin's counter about where both their hatreds have led to and that a fight is about survival, not who is left standing, much to Kazuya's bitter denial.
In the Tekken 8 reveal trailer, he called Jin's words that they shouldn't exist to be pathetic and has no problem to trying to fight him. He remains as a cold-blooded world-conqueror and reveals that even without the Devil Gene, Kazuya still would try to conquer the world. However, other in-game materials also reveal that he is capable of respect and love, and the one whom he still loved and respected even as he falls into villainy is none other than Jun Kazama.
- If they meet in a player match, Kazuya expresses genuine shock that Jun is still alive, instead of dismissing her. If he wins a round with a Rage Art, against normal opponents, Kazuya will kick his opposition and taunt them. However, he is programmed to not do such a thing against Jun alone.
- His victory pose against her always defaults to transforming into Devil Kazuya instead of lifting her on the neck, telling him that he doesn't need redemption. This likely imply that even Kazuya knows that he is an evil man where redemption is not worth the redeemer's time, and tells Jun to 'leave his sight' instead of telling her to 'get lost'.
- In the ending of his Character Stories, when asked about his 'Leading Lady', Kazuya describes that he lives in a life of conflict and that's when he met Jun. Then he admits that he does not have time for the weak, but Jun is strong so his time with her is completely worth it. Additionally, in his luxurious office, he keeps a photo of Jun in a fancy frame.
It is implied that Jun's presence may hold Kazuya from further evil acts, but since Jun is nowhere in sight and the world announce her dead when Kazuya returns to life (in Tekken 4), there's nothing else holding him back from indulging his darker desires. The end of Tekken 8, however, sees Jun returning so she may once again resume her goal in saving him and reeling his dark side.
In the Tekken Tag Tournament continuity (mostly considered non-canon), however, Kazuya acts more callous against Jun (as the last title was made before Tekken 8). In the ending of Tekken Tag Tournament 2, where Jun is the final boss as Unknown, Kazuya proceeds to absorb her while laughing maniacally without any tinges of respect. This can imply that Kazuya sees Jun and Unknown as different entities: The Jun that he respects is someone mysterious and can drop his guard. Unknown, even as she used the guise of Jun, does not induce that feeling, so for him, she is an imposter unworthy of his respect.
The retail version of Tekken 8's story mode, however, while it depicts Kazuya at perhaps the most ruthless he has ever been with him threatening to destroy several countries, it also simultaneously gives him the most humanity that he has had since probably Tekken 2, and this is shown in his treatment of his son, Jin Kazama. During the intro battle in which Kazuya and Jin fought in New York in the first chapter, Kazuya is never directly confrontational towards Jin, instead calmly asking him what it is Jin wants from him after Jin ambushed him, both destroying his helicopter and killing his pilot. After activating his Devil powers, overpowering him and shooting his laser beam at him he never goes on to check whether Jin died, rather moving on to his speech for the world and eventually fleeing the scene. Neither did he further his assault after realizing he gained the upper hand and easily defeated Jin, while with someone else like Heihachi he most definitely would have continued once he realized he gained an advantage, and was not shocked when he discovered Jin was alive during the tournament, showing that he only intended to incapacitate him, despite Jin having already mentioned to him several times during the fight that his intentions were to kill him after having already ambushed him.
He also became disappointed and called Jin pathetic when he realized Jin was consumed by his Devil rather than Jin taking control of it, something Kazuya had personally done himself. Later when Jin left for Yakushima when the group supporting Jin stood in the coliseum, Kazuya did not once comment on where Jin had gone during his fight with the others. When he was talking to Nina after she gave her suggestions about luring out Jin, Yggdrasil and the UN he specifically said he was personally going to finish Jin himself and to only leave Jin to him, and later says he is going to put Jin out of his misery, as if this is a form of mercy for Jin as Kazuya feels Jin is confused about his goals and ambitions in life, and that killing Jin will help rid him of his problems. Along with the non-canonical bad ending, these are the only moments in the story mode where Kazuya shows intent in killing Jin.
After their fight in space and getting the Devil Gene purified, Kazuya and Jin returned to Earth and fought in their human forms. Instead of again lunging at Jin or seeming confrontational after they stood up, he calmly states that "Anyone who stands before me must die", and that it does not matter who they are as long as they are against Kazuya. The fight eventually led to again a moment where Kazuya gains the upper hand and had Jin against a wall while viciously beating him. He then started another speech about his goals about power before realizing Jin had stopped showing resistance. He showed a moment of hesitation and reluctance there towards Jin before he decided to strike again and knocked Jin down. He then started to walk away before Jin stood back up, and his next dialogue towards Jin about "You just don't know when to quit" confirms that Kazuya did not want Jin to die from the attack, rather preferring he would stay down and that was enough of a defeat for him, and that Kazuya would be able to leave without killing him. When Jin again showed resistance, Kazuya complimented him in his own way, about how "his refusal to quit is almost admirable".
It seems in all the opportunities Kazuya had to kill Jin during the story mode (apart from the Despair ending), he in the end could not bring himself to deal the final blow and finish him off, even in the New York fight where Jin constantly reminded Kazuya that Jin was going to kill him, and where Jin's intent was to kill Kazuya during the entire story mode apart from the last fight, something Kazuya would have not even known himself as he would not have been aware of Jin's personal development. It seems he instead rather viewed it as a battle of ideals and philosophies between them, in which Kazuya's ideals about "Might is right" was something he valued and was everything he fought for to convince Jin it was the right way to live, and his final notable dialogue "BREAK, DAMN YOU!" again affirmed that he did not want to kill Jin himself, rather break him down and convince him that his ideals were wrong and Kazuya's were right in the end.
Jin also appears to be the only one that Kazuya personally interacts with that he does not want to or try to kill, while he killed or attempted to kill several others with cold and focused intent. This includes the likes of Claudio, Reina, Zafina, Lars and even several innocent civilians in New York (he was in fact so shocked Lars survived one of his lasers that he suffered a PTSD attack of Heihachi, who previously had also survived one of his True Devil attacks, and who also shocked Kazuya to a similar extent). Due to this Kazuya seems to display some type of fondness for Jin, one that he would preferably not want to admit to himself, nor showcase in front of others. This subtle development and humanity in the story mode towards Jin gives room for an upcoming redemption arc in later entries in the franchise.
Kazuya's hobby is surprisingly not an evil one. In the first game, it is stated that his hobby is 'collecting sneakers'. The darker undertone of this is that this is one of his ways to spite Heihachi, whose hobby is 'collecting geta sandals'. At first, it is mostly accepted that this is probably one of the ploys by the developers to fool the players into thinking that Kazuya was just a standard, normal fighting game protagonist before it is revealed that he is a true villain in Tekken 2. However, in his Character Episode in Tekken 8, it is revealed that even after he has plunged into a life of villainy, Kazuya still takes his time to indulge in his non-evil hobby, amassing a large collection of sneakers stored in a massive room.
Biography[]
Kazuya as a child.
As a young boy, Kazuya grew up as a gentle boy, trained under the tutelage of Jinpachi Mishima. However, when Kazuya's mother Kazumi, and Jinpachi disappeared, occurring when Kazuya was five years old, Kazuya's father, Heihachi Mishima took over his training and began to train him harshly. When Kazuya proved to be too gentle for him, Heihachi spills to him that he was the one who murdered Kazumi in cold blood, triggering Kazuya's rage and hatred towards his father.
Unfortunately despite Kazuya's raging effort to avenge his mother, Heihachi knocked him out and tossed him off a cliff to test his strength and confirm if he indeed has Kazumi's bloodline. The revaluation of his mother's death and his father's betrayal took their toll on Kazuya's psyche and thanks to the Devil Gene he inherits from his mother's bloodline, Kazuya discarded his compassion and transformed into an evil man with demonic strength, Kazuya climbed back to the cliff he's tossed into and swore revenge on Heihachi, hating him for everything.
When he was thirteen, Heihachi adopted Lee Chaolan, but he did only for the purpose of giving Kazuya a rival. It caused hatred between the two, occasionally.
Tekken[]
Kazuya, hungry for revenge.
Kazuya eventually moved out of the Mishima household. To improve his strength, he participated in various martial arts tournaments around the world, reigning as a champion everywhere. There is only one man that ever came to a draw with him, the American judoka Paul Phoenix. However, Kazuya paid no mind to him.
Participating in the first King of Iron Fist Tournament, Kazuya eventually made it to the finals and with his new demonic strength, surprised Heihachi and defeated him. As payback for what he did in the past, Kazuya tossed Heihachi into the very same cliff that he was thrown into in the past.
Tekken 2[]
Kazuya as the head of the Mishima Zaibatsu.
Kazuya inherits the Mishima Zaibatsu from his missing father, despite the prize of the tournament was only money. With his victory, he became drunk with power, and possibly as spite towards Heihachi's underhanded methods on running the Zaibatsu, Kazuya not only ran the Zaibatsu in far worse methods, but he was also more open in his cruelty and possessed no morality, including drug-dealing, dojo-trashing and smuggling dangerous animals. Realizing that he is attracting attention, Kazuya opened the second King of Iron Fist Tournament to get rid of all oppositions.
One participant, however, caught his attention, a woman named Jun Kazama. Kazuya became intimate, lured by her mysterious power and spent a night with her, impregnating her.
In the finals, confronting him was the returning Heihachi Mishima. In the middle of the final, however, Kazuya was distracted with the struggle between both his inner Devil and the mysterious being called Angel, possibly brought forth by his relationship with Jun. Thanks to that, Kazuya was defeated and Heihachi tossed him into a volcano, the effect killing Kazuya in the process. With Kazuya disposed of, Heihachi regained control of the Mishima Zaibatsu.
Meanwhile, from the intimate encounter, Jun bore a son for Kazuya, Jin Kazama. He would become the protagonist of Tekken 3, where Kazuya was absent, save for a photograph cameo during Eddy Gordo's ending and Jin's mind during his prologue intro.
Tekken 4[]
Kazuya, back with a vengeance after 20 years.
A few days later, after Kazuya was thrown into the mouth of a volcano by Heihachi, dying in the process, a biotech firm known as G Corporation brought him back to life. Kazuya decided to master the Devil within him thus allowed himself to be experimented by the G Corporation, Kazuya believing that he could control the Devil Gene itself, he would become strong enough to defeat Heihachi and destroy the Mishima Zaibatsu. The efforts succeeded, and Kazuya came back more powerful than ever. Twenty years later, on Christmas Day, the Mishima Zaibatsu assaulted the lab he was in, killing all the scientists, the group having been sent there to retrieve Kazuya's remains as Heihachi wished to use it for his Devil-Human Integration Program, a project that if successful would see the creation of devil-human hybrids. The mission failed when Kazuya proceeded to trash the assault unit of the Zaibatsu and showed himself to Heihachi. In order to bait and get rid of Kazuya, Heihachi announced the fourth King of Iron Fist Tournament.
Kazuya participated and made it to the finals, against Heihachi. He lost, but Heihachi took him to a temple in Honmaru where he held Jin captive. Devil tossed Heihachi aside and revealed that his plan was to absorb Jin's Devil essence, his other half, and gather his full power back. However, he is unable to regain his power due to the Kazama's blood in Jin's veins.
Kazuya awakened Jin and fought him, but was defeated. Shortly after, Jin defeated Heihachi too, but ultimately spared both him and Kazuya on the spiritual urging of Jun.
In Kazuya's own non-canonical ending that occurs if he is played as the main character during Tekken 4, he is shown to fully absorb Jin's devil powers after defeating him in the final stage, allowing him to transform into his devil alter-ego before it goes black while text on the screen states "That day, the Mishima Zaibatsu compound and the area surrounding it vanished without a trace. The truth behind the incident never came to light", implying that after becoming Devil, Kazuya destroyed the temple and surrounding area with his powers, killing both Heihachi and Jin in the process before he presumably fled.
Tekken 5[]
After regaining consciousness, the Honmaru was under attack by a lot of Jack-4 robots. Kazuya temporarily teamed up with Heihachi for survival, but when the opportunity presented itself, Kazuya tossed Heihachi into a swarm of Jacks and escaped on his own, while the Jacks self-destructed, seemingly killing Heihachi, although Kazuya knew better that his old man wouldn't die with such thing (and it is true, eventually).
With Heihachi presumed dead, the Mishima Zaibatsu was in a vacuum of power. However, the fifth King of Iron Fist Tournament is announced regardless. Kazuya participated, thinking that the one behind the attack on Honmaru must be the announcer, and he planned to get revenge. In the middle of the tournament, however, Kazuya learned the truth, the attacker was instead from G Corporation. With that information, Kazuya lost interest of the tournament and dropped out.
Tekken 6[]
On dropping out of the tournament, Kazuya went to the G Corporation and slaughtered everyone in the division that betrayed him. In the same time, he took control of the Corporation.
Later, the newest Mishima Zaibatsu leader, Jin himself, was plunging the world into a state of war and has lost the support of the people. Kazuya used this to his advantage and announced opposition to the Zaibatsu, winning the support of the people, although he planned to use it for his own gains. When Jin announced the sixth King of Iron Fist Tournament, Kazuya happily participated to defeat Jin and reclaim what was supposed to be his.
In the Scenario Campaign mode, Kazuya pursued Jin who is trying to confront and destroy Azazel. However, when defeated by Lars Alexandersson near the chamber of Azazel, Kazuya eventually retreated and let Lars have this win, but warning him that as a member of the Mishima bloodline, they are destined to fight and betray each other forever where he cannot escape this fate.
Tekken 7[]
| “ | I'm going to get everything back! | „ |
| ~ Kazuya to Heihachi, seeking revenge in Tekken 7. |
Kazuya returned as one of the two main characters of Tekken 7. He was raised as the heir to the Mishima Zaibatsu, but rebelled against his father Heihachi. After awakening the power of the devil within him, he was finally able to control it.
Several decades ago, Kazuya confronted his father Heihachi for the murder of his mother. He desperately tried to fight his father, but Heihachi easily overpowered and defeated the boy. Kazuya was then tossed off a cliff.
In the present day, Kazuya watches from G Corporation tower as Heihachi announces his return and the announcement of the seventh King of Iron Fist Tournament, not surprised that his father is still alive. Learning that his father is searching for Jin, Kazuya tells his subordinates to hasten the preparations for his plans.
Later on, Kazuya sends his Jack-6 army to kill Heihachi, who happens to be targeted by Akuma at the Mishima Dojo. However, after learning that Akuma was sent by his mother to kill both Heihachi and Kazuya himself, he disbelieves it, then maniacally laughs and deems his mother's task to kill him and Heihachi as absurd. He also wants to know how powerful Akuma is.
He is soon confronted by Akuma on the later day. He orders his men not to engage Akuma (due to his powers far outclassing theirs), and instead show him to the top of the tower. When Akuma arrives, he asks Kazuya if this is where he plans to die. Kazuya responds that he simply chose Akuma's burial ground. Before the two fought, Kazuya asks how Akuma knew his mother. Akuma says that Kazumi once saved his life, but does not give any more details.
Overwhelmed by his opponent's amazing powers, Kazuya transforms into his devil form to increase his powers, not knowing that his devil form has been caught on camera by the Mishima Zaibatsu. Kazuya and Akuma are then attacked by Heihachi via a laser attack from a satellite that destroyed G Corporation tower. Although Kazuya survives the attack, public opinion is turned against G Corporation due to his devil form exposed to the world. Vowing to have the last laugh, Kazuya shoots a devil beam at Heihachi's satellite, causing it to plummet down to Earth and destroy an entire city. The world mistakenly believes that the Mishima Zaibatsu destroyed its own satellite, and public opinion is on G Corporation's side once again.
A few hours later, Kazuya finally confronts Heihachi inside a volcano. As they fight, Kazuya changes into his devil form and defeats Heihachi. But his father musters all of his remaining strength and defeats him, causing him to revert back to his human form. Even though the two of them have become severely weakened at this point, they continue to exchange blows when Heihachi headbutts Kazuya. Looking up at the father he has always hated for all of his life, Kazuya finally kills Heihachi with a fatal blow to the chest. He then takes his father's corpse and tosses him into a river of lava.
Shortly afterwards, Kazuya is once again confronted by Akuma, who has also survived the attack at G Corporation tower. Transforming into the devil once again, Kazuya fights Akuma in a heated battle. In the end, Kazuya fires a beam at Akuma's Gohadoken, and the collision destroyed the volcanic surroundings.
Although the final outcome of the battle is unknown, Kazuya's influence over the world is still present, as G Corporation is not ending the war and various nations face an incoming invasion. Due to this, while not being directly confirmed, Akuma is implied to have been killed in the final battle, as he is neither mentioned nor interferes with Kazuya's plans in the next game. Kazuya is also the only one seen right before the volcano explodes and the screen fades to black.
Tekken 8[]
| “ | I speak now to all of humanity. For too long have you humans relied on weapons and ordnance, transforming into a race of spineless weaklings. The rulers of this world are too frail and have forgotten what it means to fight. Why should we blindly abide by the rules and social conventions invented by such cowards? Foolish humans! Open your eyes! I shall rewrite the rules of this irrational world. Only those who show the depths of their mettle have any place in the new world I shall rule! Toward that end, I announce the opening of The King of Iron Fist Tournament! Come to the tournament, if you count yourself among the strong! Seize glory in your own hands, achieve it with your fists! But be warned: those who fail to prove their might shall be wiped from the earth, along with their country. Come, humanity! Unleash the dogs of war! | „ |
| ~ Kazuya's speech to the entire world and threatens to destroy humanity while announcing the eighth King of Iron Fist Tournament in Tekken 8. |
Kazuya returns as the main antagonist of Tekken 8. In the trailer after killing his father, Heihachi, he confronted his son, Jin. Kazuya calls his son's beliefs that they should not exist to be pathetic before they engaged into combat. He also announced the next King of Iron Fist Tournament.
In the main story proper (The Dark Awakens), after killing Heihachi, Kazuya only has one more thing to drive him forward: Finish his goal of world domination. For that, he intends to finish the war that Jin started in Tekken 6, with him as the victor and conqueror, of course. The world now trembles, seeing that their 'hero' whom they cheered as the savior against the Mishima Zaibatsu has shown his true colors as the Devil. The world's hope ironically now lies with the one they deemed as the villain: Jin Kazama and his newly formed rebel alliance with the help of Lars Alexandersson and the Violet Systems: The Yggdrasil.
In the beginning of the story, Jin mounts an attack to assassinate Kazuya, but that fails as Kazuya dominates the battle, ridiculing Jin's lack of resolve to do what it takes to win, and blasts him away with the Devil-powered laser. Soon, he announces his intention to reshape the world into a place where only the strong and those who proves their mettle can exist, and the complacent, weak ones will be destroyed. For that end, he announces the King of Iron Fist Tournament with a new high-stake rule: The winner will be compensated, but the loser will be executed and have their nation wiped from existence.
As the tournament goes underway, Raven, under the orders of the UN and Victor Chevalier, scouts an area where a country is burning. No doubt that this is under the orders of Kazuya, where the losers of the preliminary rounds would have their nation destroyed. However, in the finals in the Italy, Kazuya modifies the rule. While the winners will be greatly compensated, the losers will not be executed nor have their countries destroyed, but their country will instead receive huge sanctions that they will have to fight to make ends meet. As the final proceeds, the excitement of the audience starts generating ominous dark energies.
Suddenly, the Yggdrasil launches an attack to the coliseum. However, Kazuya already anticipates this because he is also aiming for a fighter of the previous tournament: Zafina. Zafina is currently hosting Azazel, and Kazuya attacks her in order to unleash Azazel. The demon originally wants Kazuya to submit to him as it is already in his designs that Devil Gene bearers are meant to be his servants. But Kazuya, as Devil, has other ideas: He wants to absorb Azazel and claim him as his own power. Thus, Kazuya fights and defeats Azazel, absorbing him and in process becomes True Devil Kazuya.
The Yggdrasil and allies of Jin Kazama mount an attack to stave him off, with one of them being a 'classmate' of Jin by the name Reina. Kazuya is momentarily shocked when he learns that Reina displays several moves used by Heihachi. However, it is not enough to defeat True Devil Kazuya's overwhelming power and she's eventually shoved aside. In the same time, Claudio Serafino uses this as a distraction to set up his ultimate attack to neutralize Kazuya. However, the attack only succeeds in barely wounding Kazuya. He shoots a massive laser to obliterate Claudio, but has to recuperate for his wounds afterwards (Claudio survives the blast, but this is only revealed at the end of the story).
After recuperating from his wounds, Kazuya is back to the frontline to obliterate the resistance force fighting against his G Corporation. He quickly decimates the battlefield by unleashing a massive laser. However, Reina suddenly stands in front of the beam, seemingly getting killed...
With that done, Kazuya heads over to Yakushima after realizing that Jin is there, intending to finish him once and for all. However, standing in his way is Lars Alexandersson. Lars' tenacity reminds Kazuya of Heihachi in his final battle and shocks him a bit, but he manages to push aside his own shock and defeat Lars. Jin interrupts the battle just in time before Lars is killed to show his new resolve and coming to terms with his own Devil Jin. Father and son continue to battle again, until eventually Kazuya decides to just use his overwhelming power to create a massive dark sphere that will destroy Yakushima on whole. Jin blocks it and in process, transforms into Angel Jin with his Kazama bloodline and resolve.
The two continue their battle, taking themselves into space and fight it out there. Jin eventually uses this clash to purify both him and Kazuya from their Devil Genes, turning them human and in process also killing Azazel for good. They crash to a familiar cliff: The same cliff where a Mishima family throw off their own family member. However, there is still the will to fight and come out victorious between the two. Even without the Devil Gene, the two fight once again.
Even without the Devil Gene, Kazuya still stands strong, as he reveals that the Devil Gene is just a mean to an end, even without it, he will still set his sight to world domination. Throughout the fight, however, Jin begins to accept his past and not being bound by it, rejecting the harsh philosophies that dominates Kazuya, living to survive with his loved ones, and even re-integrates the Mishima style that he rejected in the past, combining it with the Kazama style from his mother with his traditional karate. As the fight goes on, Kazuya starts to lose a bit of his cool as Jin continues to trade blows with him.
It is possible for Kazuya to actually come out on top if the player, controlling Jin, does a certain something. If that happens, Kazuya stoically throws Jin off the cliff, the same way he threw off his father. Returning to his headquarters, Kazuya realizes that he truly lost his Devil Gene. However, he stubbornly resolves that even without the Devil Gene, he will finish his conquest, as he believes that only those with power can live in this world. The game ends as G Corporation under Kazuya finishes conquering the world, to the despair of innocent citizens living.
Canonically, however, Jin proves to be more tenacious than Kazuya, with Kazuya losing the battle. Unlike Kazuya, however, Jin breaks the cycle of hatred by not throwing Kazuya off the cliff nor killing him. He only stands triumphantly on the cliff, admiring the beauty of nature, and leaves to rejoin his friends.
Kazuya Mishima is utterly defeated, his twisted beliefs crushed, his plans for world domination thwarted, and he is left unconscious and alive to know that he is no longer the strongest one. However, there is one ray of hope left for him: A white dove flies to him and someone approaches him: Jun Kazama, who turns out to be alive and hiding from the world after her battle against Ogre. Even at his lowest, it also turns out that Kazuya still loves and respects Jun greatly. It is very probable that even an evil man like Kazuya can undergo redemption.
However, the Mishima conflict turns out to be not to be at its end: Kazuya's attack on Reina turns out to be anticipated by her to be the 'near-death experience' needed to awaken the Devil Gene. And with Kazuya's attack, Reina is able to turn into Devil, now intending to use her power to fulfill the legacy of Heihachi.Noweve Story dlc reveals heihachi is still alive with his plans of awakening reina's devil blood suceeding as well seeking revenge and gaining a new techinque showing hte mishima feud is far from over.
Other Media[]
Namco X Capcom[]
Kazuya makes an appearance as a boss in Namco X Capcom.
Project X Zone[]
Kazuya makes an appearance in Project X Zone 2 as a playable character with his partner being his son Jin Kazama.
Super Smash Bros.[]
Kazuya Mishima made his Super Smash Bros. debut as a playable DLC character in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, being revealed for Nintendo's direct for E3 2021 on June 15th, 2021, joining Pac-Man as one of two current playable characters for Bandai Namco. He is the fifth newcomer from Fighters Pass Vol. 2 and the 23rd overall Ultimate newcomer, classified as Fighter #81. He received a full rundown in a presentation on June 28th of that same year, and then released the following day. He has two special costumes (one for his suit, with his Gi being his default) that alternate for every other alternate costume, and he swaps to Devil Kazuya for some attacks and his Final Smash.
In his trailer, Kazuya Mishima is first seen tossing the comatose body of Gannondorf into a volcano during the night, before crossing his arms and smirking. Intercut with gameplay, Kazuya is also seen throwing Captain Falcon, Pit, Min Min, and Marth into the inferno, the last of which causes him to flare up with the Devil Gene after. Finally, during the day, Kazuya attempts to drop Kirby into the blaze, although he is able to fly away as Kazuya looks down in confusion of Kirby's location.
As a playable character, Kazuya has a similar playstyle to Ryu, Ken, and Terry, in which he will always be pointing towards the opponent in a 1v1 match. He is notable for his immense moveset, having eight tilt attacks instead of the conventional three in addition to command inputs and crouch attacks, which are unique to Kazuya. Command-inputted moves include Tekken's iconic Crouch Dash in addition to Wind God Fist (and its frame-perfect variation Electric Wind God Fist) and Dragon Uppercut. He will transform into his devil form for some of his moves such as his smash attacks, specials, and Final Smash "Final Blaster". Although slow in terms of frame data, he has many options to combo his opponents, and his extreme kill power can allow him to KO at absurdly early percentages with zero-to-death potential.
Kazuya will enter Rage once he reaches 100% damage or has 25% HP left in stamina mode, increasing his damage output while also enabling the usage of Rage Drive, a more powerful version of his down special. Rage will end once Kazuya takes enough damage or misses several Rage Drives, and will only enter Rage once per stock. Another of Kazuya's abilities is Tough Body which, similar to Bowser's Tough Guy, protects him from flinching from attacks that deal fourteen units or less of knockback. A handful of Kazuya's moves have super armor, which will prevent him from flinching at all until he finishes the attack.
For his Final Smash, Kazuya will transform into his devil form and unleash the Final Blaster, in which he will blast multiple beams at opponents. The move fails if nobody is struck by the initial beam. His Classic Mode campaign is called "Fighting Fists with Fists", where he will face against other fighters who fight with their fists (Ryu, Captain Falcon, Little Mac, Donkey Kong, King K. Rool, Lucario, and a horde battle of Mii Brawlers), ending with a fight against another Kazuya who when KO'd is replaced with Metal Kazuya.
Relationships[]
Family[]
- Jinpachi Mishima - Grandfather
- Heihachi Mishima - Father and first archenemy
- Kazumi Mishima - Mother
- Jin Kazama - Son and Second Archenemy
- Jun Kazama - Former Lover
- Lee Chaolan - Adoptive Brother
- Lars Alexandersson - Half-Brother
- Devil - Kazuya's Devil Form
- Reina - Half-sister
Quotes[]
| “ | So it's you. | „ |
| ~ Kazuya before fighting a Mishima or Jin. |
| “ | So you've come. | „ |
| ~ Kazuya before fighting his opponent. |
| “ | Get lost! | „ |
| ~ Kazuya after defeating his opponent. |
| “ | Die! | „ |
| ~ Kazuya's cold-hearted line when defeating his opponent. |
| “ | Pathetic. | „ |
| ~ Kazuya after defeating his opponent. |
| “ | Everything you have, I will now take from you. Everything you thought you were... I have proven... you, are NOT. | „ |
| ~ Kazuya to Heihachi before throwing him to a cliff in Tekken: Bloodline. |
| “ | Give in to the anger! Hate me! Curse me! (sadistically laughing) | „ |
| ~ Kazuya's tormenting toward Jin Kazama in his dream. |
| “ | I thought I'd thrown you into the depths of Hell. | „ |
| ~ Kazuya to Heihachi in Tekken: Blood Vengeance. |
| “ | Let me put you down like the dog you are. | „ |
| ~ Kazuya in Street Fighter X Tekken. |
| “ | You killed my mother! | „ |
| ~ Kazuya being furious at Heihachi after his father killed Kazumi in Tekken 7. |
| “ | Akuma: Then you have chosen your place to die, Kazuya Mishima. Kazuya: Hah! No, I've simply chosen your burial ground. Before I kill you, tell me how you know my mother. What are you? A relic of the Hachijo? Akuma: Kazumi once saved my life. That is all you need to know. Now it is time to repay my debt. Kazuya: Fine. Let's see what you're made of. Such strength... |
„ |
| ~ Kazuya encountering Akuma at the G Corp Helipad in Tekken 7. |
| “ | Kazuya: You bastard... It's time to finish this. Akuma: So this is your true form. A fight to the death? I shall enjoy this. |
„ |
| ~ Kazuya to Akuma during their battle in Tekken 7. |
| “ | You bastard! YOU HAVE THE GALL TO ATTACK ME?! | „ |
| ~ Kazuya in Tekken 7. |
| “ | Heihachi, you will never defeat me. | „ |
| ~ Kazuya to Heihachi after destroying the satellite in Tekken 7. |
| “ | Kazuya: Quite the location you've picked to die. Heihachi: I thought it was apt. Let's settle this. Kazuya: It's time for you to meet your end. |
„ |
| ~ Kazuya in his final battle with Heihachi in Tekken 7. |
| “ | This will be your burial ground! It's over! Now die! | „ |
| ~ Kazuya to Heihachi in Tekken 7. |
| “ | A fight is about who's left standing. Nothing else. | „ |
| ~ Kazuya after defeating Heihachi for the final time, mirroring his quote in Tekken 7. |
| “ | Kazuya: I didn't think you'd stay dead long. Akuma: I will not rest until your demise. Kazuya: You are the one who will die! |
„ |
| ~ Kazuya before fighting Akuma for the last time in Tekken 7. |
| “ | Akuma: I only seek the blood of battle. Come at me like your life depends on it! Kazuya: I'll send you straight to hell! |
„ |
| ~ Kazuya to Akuma in Tekken 7. |
| “ | Kazuya: So, he was alive all along. The monster who fanned the flames of war across the world. What do you want with me? Jin: Mishima... Kazuya! Your existence brings turmoil to the world! |
„ |
| ~ Kazuya confronting Jin after defeating Heihachi in Tekken 8. |
| “ | Kazuya: You would deny even yourself? You're a fool, Jin Kazama. Jin: Silence! |
„ |
| ~ Kazuya to Jin Kazama in Tekken 8. |
| “ | Kazuya: How ludicrous. Come now, bring out your devil. Jin: I'll kill you and put an end to all of this! |
„ |
| ~ Kazuya to Jin, trying to convince him to embrace the Devil Gene and the darkness in Tekken 8. |
| “ | That's all you can muster from the blood I gave you? As long as I live, the body count will only continue to grow. | „ |
| ~ Kazuya to Jin in Tekken 8. |
| “ | So the power's consumed you. Pathetic! Your resolve, your tenacity! All of it, for naught! | „ |
| ~ Kazuya ridiculing Jin's resolve for not even being able to conquer his own Devil in Tekken 8. |
| “ | Nothing left but to clean up the trash. There you are. Jin Kazama. I shall put you out of your misery. | „ |
| ~ Kazuya, fed up with Jin trying to prevent his plans in Tekken 8. |
| “ | Kazuya: What do you hope to accomplish, having rejected the nature of the devil's blood? Jin: What would you know?! The devil's power is no longer my curse! ...It's the power to protect what matters most! Kazuya: Pathetic. |
„ |
| ~ Kazuya questioning Jin's motives and goals if not for the quest of power in Tekken 8. |
| “ | Struggling is futile! | „ |
| ~ Kazuya in True Devil form to Jin in Tekken 8. |
| “ | Kazuya: Such power may have stood a chance against me before... But now, all you can do is fall! Bear witness to the end of everything! Jin: You mean to wipe this island off the map?! |
„ |
| ~ Kazuya in True Devil form preparing to destroy Yakushima in Tekken 8. |
| “ | That form... It can't be... You dare...! This is... the power of purification?! | „ |
| ~ Kazuya, flabbergasted to see Jin transforming into an angel in Tekken 8. |
| “ | In the end, you can't achieve anything. | „ |
| ~ Kazuya in True Devil form to Angel Jin in Tekken 8. |
| “ | Kazuya: Deprivation, domination, forced capitulation! This is what it means to have power! Jin: I'll protect what's precious to me, and pave the way to our future! That's what this power is for! |
„ |
| ~ Kazuya explaining his perception of power to Jin in Tekken 8. |
| “ | Kazuya: But you had abandoned the Mishima-style... Jin: I no longer hesitate to use the Mishima-style! |
„ |
| ~ Kazuya, surprised to see why Jin is able to use the Mishima-style Fighting Karate which Heihachi taught him during the final battle in Tekken 8. |
| “ | Anyone who tries to dictate how I live will suffer for their transgressions! | „ |
| ~ Kazuya before nearly knocking out Jin in Tekken 8. |
| “ | Your refusal to quit is almost admirable. Even so, this match has already been decided! | „ |
| ~ Kazuya admitting why Jin's refusal to give up is almost admirable during the final battle in Tekken 8. |
| “ | BREAK, DAMN YOU! | „ |
| ~ Kazuya Mishima's villainous breakdown in Tekken 8. |
| “ | Even without my devil form, I'll fight to the end. In this world, power controls everything. | „ |
| ~ Kazuya in the bad ending of Tekken 8. |
Theme[]
 |
Sound Files |
|---|---|
| File | Description |
| Devil Kazuya (Arcade). | |
| Emotionless Passion (Arranged). |
Trivia[]
- Kazuya's appearance, mannerisms, and name were derived from Japanese author Yukio Mishima.
- The popularity of Kazuya's Electric Wind God Fist within the Tekken community spawned the "I'm Not Gonna Sugarcoat It" meme, which has since been adopted and parodied by other fighting game communities.
- Blurting out the phrase "Kazuya Mishima wins", or just "Kazuya Mishima", has become a running gag within the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate community. It is often spoken in the style of Tekken 7's announcer, who replaces the standard announcer when Kazuya wins a free-for-all match. This is largely in part to Kazuya's unparalleled strengths as a fighter in the game, and has also been used to bridge language barriers between Japanese and North American players.
- Harada described Kazuya that if Heihachi is the embodiment of Human's evil as the darker side of humans as in evil in it's purest form.
- Kazuya hosted the second and eighth tournaments making the second most recurring host after his father Heihachi.
External Links[]
- Kazuya Mishima on the Tekken Wiki.
[]
 Villains
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Mishima Family Mishima Zaibatsu G Corporation Others Flim Villains Guest Fighters | ||
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