Mitsuru Kuroiwa (黒岩 満, Kuroiwa Mitsuru) is the main antagonist of Judgment. He is a detective under the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department's Organized Crime Division.
Profile[]
Appearance[]
Kuroiwa is tall and has a slim build. He has medium-length shiny hair in a slicked-back side-part hairstyle. His eyebrows are of a triangular shape, permanently furrowed (as seen with most Yakuza/Judgment characters) and working as a contrast to his otherwise rounded face. He also has sharp and rather pointy ears. Kuroiwa's face is modeled after his voice actor, Shosuke Tanihara.
Attire[]
Kuroiwa wears a standard, charcoal black, three-piece suit over a white dress shirt; a midnight/dark teal blue, striped necktie; and a pair of black leather shoes. He sometimes opts for thick, leather-like white gloves when investigating crime scenes.
As The Mole, he wears a black, high-neck hooded raincoat, which covers his mouth and hides his figure, along with casting a deep shadow over his eyes (making him essentially unrecognizable), as well as shiny leather gloves, and a pair of laced combat boots.
Personality[]
— Kuroiwa to Yagami, Judgment (Japanese audio, English subtitles)When you die, you can join the others... with your eyes gouged out!
Professionally, Kuroiwa is described by Kazuya Ayabe as the "hero" of Kamurocho's police department for being an overall "by-the-book" police officer with high arrest numbers, a tenet that enables him to be slotted for early promotion. Kuroiwa prefers a more hands-on approach that contributes to the extremely high arrest rate for criminals in Kamurocho.
His intelligence and said "by-the-book" approach border on being annoying, especially to Takayuki Yagami, whom oftentimes refuses to abide by this professional style of conversing and teases him or is generally sassy towards him in most of their interactions — he is constantly displaying his nosy nature, unafraid of targeting a seemingly put-together and well-respected detective like Kuroiwa. Kuroiwa seems to take little to no offense on the outside, often simply responding back with a similar insult, not letting his anger show despite being deeply bothered by Yagami's tendencies to pry and threaten his image of being a dirty cop.
He seems to have a lot of knowledge about Kamurocho and all of its sides, both the more law-abiding surface and crime-filled depths due to having ties to not only the force but also the Yakuza, essentially posing as a capable middleman between the two powers.
Kuroiwa is seen to be generally tolerating of most characters (as he is used to all kinds of personalities working with or against him) before they become too bothersome and he snaps; usually, Kuroiwa attempts to return to his usual rigid demeanor soon after to stay in complete control of the situation. Because of this tendency to snap under enough pressure, Kuroiwa can be seen as reckless and impulsive, holding grudges and being fueled by revenge being his specialties. No matter how perfect Kuroiwa tries to be seen as, he still sometimes is a puppet to his suppressed emotions.
As The Mole, Kuroiwa displays deadly efficiency with every job he is tasked with, both within the police and otherwise. Beneath his "by-the-book" demeanor, however, lies a psychopath driven entirely by bloodthirst and desire for profit. Kuroiwa is cold and ruthless, willing to kill anyone who stands in his way. One significant example of Kuroiwa's competence in killing is the murder of Toru Hashiki; in order to silence him, Kuroiwa pummeled and bludgeoned Hashiki with his blackjack, causing Hashiki to remain in a coma before dying weeks later. The delayed nature of the death obfuscated it being a premeditated murder as well as Hashiki's connection to the conspiracy.
Kuroiwa cunningly uses the privileges and public respect afforded by his position in the police to cover for his criminal activities. Despite his own crimes, he hypocritically chastises other people he believes are breaking the law, such as Yagami and Ayabe. In many ways, Kuroiwa's personality is Yagami's opposite: While Yagami is a person in a sketchy, little-respected profession who is deeply concerned with the pursuit of justice, Kuroiwa is somebody in a socially respectable position who shamelessly abuses it, without regard for justice, to satisfy his own ends.
Kuroiwa believes he is making the world better in his own twisted way — he is a killer, but he's also arrested many like him and is, technically, making Kamurocho a little better even if it's with the use of shady practices and not with his main goal being cleansing Kamurocho from all evil; that only being a side-effect of his chase after a successful career. He uses the moral by-products of his doings to excuse his eventual rampage, insisting he's doing things for the greater good, especially when it comes to AD-9, which he uses the topic of the drug as it having a foreseeable outcome to excuse him of all of his wrongdoings.
He is also known to seem to take pleasure in inflicting pain in his victims, sometimes sadistically choosing to injure them with his blunt weapon, Blackjack, to prolong their suffering instead of going for a more instant death and smirking looking at the damage he's caused.
Background[]
A prodigy in the force, Kuroiwa quickly rose in the ranks under his unnamed mentor, a police informant for the Tojo Clan. However, a snitch within the police reported him to the authorities, prompting Kuroiwa's mentor to commit suicide to avoid prison. In retaliation, Kuroiwa murdered the snitch and made it look like a suicide. Kuroiwa would go on to continue his mentor's informant work, trading police info to the Tojo Clan in exchange for leads on cases, which he would use to advance his career within the Tokyo Police, a representation of his corrupt image.
Around 1998, Kuroiwa met Kyohei Hamura, a member of the Matsugane Family, who became a major client of Kuroiwa. Kuroiwa pulled off various crimes for hire, such as disposing of dead bodies. Eventually, Kuroiwa decided he was ready to start taking hits for money. Kuroiwa approached Hamura with the idea of hits, to which Hamura accepted for a chunk of the change.
Their first client would be lead researcher of the ADDC, Yoji Shono, who came to them through a middleman named Ishimatsu. Shono wanted vice director of the ADDC, Toru Hashiki assassinated discreetly, as he was close to coming to the truth of AD-9. Kuroiwa managed to pull off the hit so well, that the killing ended up framed as an accident rather than a premeditated murder. A few months later, Ishimatsu had another job ready for Kuroiwa. The job would end up being kidnapping Kyorei Clan members, and handing them over to Shono and Vice Minister of Health, Kaoru Ichinose. Kuroiwa would end up kidnapping three Kyorei Clan members for Shono over a few months throughout 2018, all of which would be killed in the same manner.
Involvement[]
Judgment: 2018-2019[]
After a third member of the Kyorei Clan is found murdered in a Kamurocho alley with his eyes gouged out, Kuroiwa is tasked with investigating this murder. He and his partner Sakuraba quickly obtain testimony pointing them to Kyohei Hamura, and Kuroiwa personally arrests Hamura. However, when the case goes to trial, Hamura is acquitted due to the defense presented by the Genda Law Office with investigative support from the Yagami Detective Agency. The loss of the criminal case humiliates Kuroiwa and puts a stain on his otherwise flawless record.
Days later, when Kuroiwa and Sakuraba head to Bar Tender in search of their colleague Kazuya Ayabe, they happen upon a meeting between Ayabe and the two men responsible for Hamura walking free: Takayuki Yagami and Masaharu Kaito. Kuroiwa rhetorically questions their reason for meeting with Ayabe, but Yagami and Kaito ignore him and begin to depart. Kuroiwa attempts to provoke Yagami by bringing up Emi Terasawa's case before the two leave the bar.
Kuroiwa is informed of a screw up by Hamura: telling his lawyer Masamichi Shintani to contact Yoji Shono in the case Hamura is convicted. Kuroiwa is then tasked with silencing Shintani. To carry out the hit, Kuroiwa keeps an eye on Ayabe after Yagami and Kaito leave the bar, waiting for him to do the same. Once he does, he follows him and knocks him out from behind once he's in a secluded area. Kuroiwa keeps the unconscious Ayabe sedated, takes his gun, tracks down Shintani, shoots him dead with Ayabe's gun, then puts it back in Ayabe's holster and dumps him at the Kamurocho Children's Park all within about an hour. He then gouges out the dead Shintani's eyes, shimmies the lock on the Yagami Detective Agency's door and hides the body inside the office closet.
When Yagami finds the body and calls the police to report it, Kuroiwa arrives to "investigate." He accuses Yagami of killing Shintani, with the reasoning being that the two weren't getting along as of recent. As the office needs to be cordoned off for the investigation, Kuroiwa mockingly tells Yagami that he'll have to find somewhere else to sleep for the next couple of nights.
The next day, Kuroiwa is informed about Yagami's presence in the ADDC. He heads to the ADDC alongside other officers, in an attempt to take Yagami in for questioning. However, as Kuroiwa doesn't have an arrest warrant, Yagami refuses, prompting an angered Kuroiwa to leave.
To ensure Ayabe doesn't skip town before his arrest, Kuroiwa and Sakuraba make him tag along with them the entire following day. That night, Kuroiwa, Sakuraba, and Ayabe go to Yagami's office so that Kuroiwa can try to speak with him once more. This time, due to Ayabe's presence, Yagami agrees to briefly speak with Kuroiwa. The PI and the police officers enter Yagami's office, where Kuroiwa questions him about some files which had gone missing from the prosecutor's office, however Yagami feigns ignorance. After multiple threats fail to coax information out of Yagami, Kuroiwa decides to leave but before departing, he instructs Yagami to show up to the prosecutor's office the following morning to give an official statement; threatening that, if he doesn't show up voluntarily, Kuroiwa will gladly take him there in cuffs.
Yagami complies with Kuroiwa's orders and goes to speak with prosecutors Keigo Izumida and Kunihiko Morita about Shintani's case. Simultaneously, Kuroiwa arrests Ayabe for Shintani's murder. The following day, Kuroiwa learns that Ayabe has hired the Genda Law Firm and the Yagami Detective Agency to prepare his defense. Kuroiwa confronts Yagami outside Bar Tender and threatens him into abandoning the investigation, but Yagami is undeterred.
A few days later, Kuroiwa learns Hamura was captured by Yagami and his cohorts and taken to the Kyorei Clan's base at a cabaret in Kamurocho. Suspecting Hamura will reveal what he knows, Kuroiwa dons his Mole disguise and goes to attack the cabaret to silence Hamura. When he arrives, he finds the place has already been set on fire and raided by Hamura's henchmen, who are trying to rescue their boss. Kuroiwa finds Hamura being escorted out of the building by Yagami and Matsugane, and he immediately opens fire on him, only for Matsugane to take the bullets for Hamura. The building's collapse creates a barrier between Kuroiwa and Hamura, prompting Kuroiwa to flee, but not before killing multiple Matsugane Family men attacking him on his way out.
After law enforcement responds to the fire, Kuroiwa returns to the scene in his detective attire. He takes Yagami to the police station for questioning about the fire. Yagami, who had just learned of Kuroiwa's true identity, accuses Kuroiwa multiple times, to which Kuroiwa responds to by nonchalantly making routine investigation questions about the fire. Eventually Yagami's accusations do get on Kuroiwa's nerves and he snaps at the PI, boasting that his protection from government ministers invested in AD-9's success makes him untouchable and that it's only a matter of time until he gets the opportunity to silence him, Hamura and every one else involved in their investigation. Kuroiwa then leaves after a colleague tells him he has a phone call waiting for him. That same night, Kuroiwa kidnaps Kyorei Captain Satoshi Shioya and delivers him to Shono for experimentation.
Later on, Minister Ichinose learns that Yagami and his cohorts have taken ADDC Director Ryusuke Kido prisoner at Charles. Kuroiwa heads to Charles and brutally beats Kaito and Toru Higashi unconscious with a blackjack to rescue Kido.
A few days later, Kuroiwa goes to Ayabe's underground casino as it's being raided by Chief Prosecutor Morita, who has now joined the AD-9 conspiracy. When he gets there, he finds Yagami trying to convince the prosecutor to switch sides. Morita questions Kuroiwa's presence, but the corrupt detective instructs him to simply "look the other way" since he is "good at it." After Morita steps aside, Kuroiwa attacks Yagami with his blackjack, leading to a prolonged fight that culminates with an angered Kuroiwa pulling out a gun and preparing to shoot Yagami. However, Morita steps in and confiscates Kuroiwa's gun, leading to the end of the quarrel.
One month later, the date of Ayabe's trial arrives. Kuroiwa is present in Kamurocho alongside Sakuraba during this time. While the two are walking in Theater Square, three armed homeless men attempt to attack Kuroiwa. Kuroiwa shoots all three men before they can attack him and finds out they were hitmen sent by Minister Ichinose. Kuroiwa then heads to the ADDC to murder Shono as revenge for the betrayal, taking Sakuraba and a team of officers to protect him while he locates the doctor.
Yagami, Kaito, Higashi and Fumiya Sugiura learn of this incident and rush to the ADDC to prevent Shono's murder, since his death would prevent a re-trial of Terasawa's murder. While the team fight Kuroiwa's back-up, the corrupt detective dons his Mole disguise and locates Shono. Yagami and Sugiura arrive soon after, prompting Kuroiwa to hold Shono at gunpoint to prevent them from attacking. However, officers who pursued Yagami and Sugiura show up as well, leading to a shootout in which Kuroiwa kills both officers and wounds Sugiura. Yagami tells Kuroiwa to give up, as the truth is being exposed in court, but Kuroiwa insists that if Shono finishes AD-9, they'll not only avoid prison but also be hailed as heroes. Kuroiwa attacks Yagami, with the proclaimed intent on beating him and then letting Shono use him as his next test subject, leading to a prolonged fight which ends with Kuroiwa's defeat.
After the battle is finished, Kaito and Higashi arrive, accompanied by police officers. This provides enough of a distraction to allow a spiteful Kuroiwa to lunge at Shono with a hidden blade, only to get knocked down with a couch thrown by Kaito. He attempts to attack Shono again, and is then promptly shot ten times by the nearby officers. A fatally wounded Kuroiwa mocks Shono, saying that his experiments were all for nothing, prompting Shono to pull out a syringe with AD-9 in it. Shono injects himself with AD-9 to prove its safety, but the dose proves imperfect and Shono begins to experience the drug's fatal side effects. As Shono dies, his eyes turn a pale shade of blue. Kuroiwa laughs at this, finally understanding why Shono gouged out their victims' eyes. Immediately afterwards, Kuroiwa succumbs to his bullet wounds and dies.
Fighting Style[]
Kuroiwa has two boss fights in Judgment. He is an extremely lethal combatant, whose hand-to-hand fighting skills are on par with that of Yagami. He often employs the use of weapons, such as a blackjack and a Smith & Wesson 3913 pistol — the latter being used in the majority of his executions.
Much like Yagami, Kuroiwa's fighting style borrows techniques from various martial arts — in particular, powerful and acrobatic kicks found in Kung Fu and Taekwondo. He takes a stance very similar to that of Yagami, with his left arm extended and his right arm covering his midsection.
His combos are three in number, which are listed as follows:
- a Rush Combo comprising a lunging left slap, a right palm body strike, a right downward spinning heel kick, and a right downward tornado kick;
- a second combo consisting of a right compass crescent and left axe kick, and
- a third combo comprising a charged spinning right knifehand and a right downward spinning heel kick that can stun Yagami (2nd fight — both phases).
His other attacks consist of:
- a jumping left cartwheel kick,
- a charged right side kick as an object launch attack,
- a flying right Thai roundhouse kick as a wall jump attack,
- a high right hopping roundhouse kick as a guard reversal,
- quickstep attacks (2nd fight — both phases), including:
- frontstepping and throwing a jumping left side kick-spinning right back kick,
- a low right/left sliding roundhouse kick, doubling as counterattacks; and
- backstepping and throwing a jumping right spinning heel kick;
- a command grab where he performs a rapid high left roundhouse kick-heel kick,
- Kazuma Kiryu's Parry from Yakuza 6 and Yakuza Kiwami 2,
- a low left downward roundhouse kick as a downed attack, and
- a jumping right Thai roundhouse kick as a downed reversal.
His downed reversal does not trigger immediately upon him hitting the ground. Instead, he will lie there for several seconds before executing it, unless Yagami hits him with an attack.
He has two separate taunts:
- one where he looks down and shakes his head while holding it in his right hand, and
- another where he inserts an auto-injector into his chest to regenerate some of his health, before tossing it away and flexing (2nd fight — 2nd phase only).
Upon entering Heat Mode, Kuroiwa starts using multiple extra moves, including:
- stepping back and flailing around maniacally, before dashing forward and grabbing Yagami's left wrist and neck, followed by a rapid high left roundhouse kick-heel kick (2nd fight — both phases);
- his quickstep attacks (1st fight), and
- a charged dashing command grab where he executes a one-armed shoulder throw, and multiple right-handed chest compressions (2nd fight — both phases), followed by him administering an auto-injector shot and flexing to regenerate his health (2nd fight — 2nd phase only).
Kuroiwa also has a partially used stance where his right hand hangs by his waist. After entering Heat Mode, he briefly relaxes into it after some of his attacks and dodge animations, before quickly switching to his default stance. It also appears in the two mid-fight cutscenes in said fight. For his Deadly Attack, he performs two downward tornado kicks and a spinning left heel kick before leaning back to catch his breath.
After his health has been fully depleted in his second boss fight, Kuroiwa will give himself a shot with an auto-injector, replenishing his entire health bar and commencing phase two.
His Heat Mode aura is medium purple — a combination of the blue and red auras of Yagami's Crane and Tiger styles respectively. Some of his attack trails have violet highlights.
Trivia[]
- Kuroiwa's boss track, Penumbra, has four different versions, though the only major difference between them is the intro. Only the second version can be found on the official soundtrack.
Gallery[]
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