Rikiya Shimabukuro

Rikiya Shimabukuro
島袋 力也 (Shimabukuro Rikiya)
Also Known As
Nicknames	The Fighting Viper Riki-chan Ricky Mask
Biographical
Age	20-21
Date of Birth	July 10, 1987
Place of Birth	Okinawa
Nationality	Japanese
Physical
Hair Color	Black
Eye Color	Brown
Height	177 cm (5′ 10″)
Weight	76 kg (168 lbs)
Blood Type	AB
Associations
Relationships	Shigeru Nakahara (patriarch) Mikio Aragaki (subordinate, friend) Kazuma Kiryu (aniki?, friend) Natsumi Uesato (childhood friend, romantic interest)
Occupation	Captain of the Ryudo Family
Affiliation	Ryudo Family
Other
Fighting Style	Street fighting + Okinawan Kenpo Professional wrestling
Appears In	Yakuza 3/Yakuza Kiwami 3 Ryu Ga Gotoku Online
Counterpart	Ryudo Rikiya (Ryu Ga Gotoku Ishin!/Like a Dragon: Ishin!)
Actors
Japanese	Tatsuya FujiwaraWP (Yakuza 3) Show Kasamatsu (Yakuza Kiwami 3)
Modeled After	Show Kasamatsu (Yakuza Kiwami 3)

Rikiya Shimabukuro (島袋 力也, Shimabukuro Rikiya) is a supporting character featured in Yakuza 3/Yakuza Kiwami 3. He is the captain of the Ryudo Family. The viper tattoo on his back earned him the nickname "The Fighting Viper" (ステゴロのハブ, Sutegoro no Habu).

Profile

Appearance

Rikiya's original appearance is of a man of average height and powerful build. His hair is short, black, and styled into a punch perm^WP.

In Yakuza Kiwami 3 he is modeled after his voice actor, Show Kasamatsu and has his hair slicked back.

Tattoo

Rikiya's tattoo after the eye is filled in by Utabori.

Rikiya's tattoo depicts a viper - specifically the Okinawan habu^WP, a pit viper native to the Ryukyu Islands - the eye of which remains unfinished until Kiryu brings him to have it completed by Utabori.

Attire

Rikiya wears a white and orange floral shirt along with a pair of black dress pants. When traveling to Kamurocho, he wears a charcoal gray pinstriped blazer. He also wears a silver watch, black dress shoes, gold chain, and yellow boa print snakeskin belt in both variations of his usual outfit.

While dressed as his wrestling persona, Ricky Mask, he wears blue and yellow spandex with bird wings on the eyes of the mask. He has リッキー (Rikkī, Ricky) across his behind, and the first character of his given name, 力 (riki, lit. power), on his forehead.

Personality

I've got a viper on my back. The soul of Okinawa. No matter what comes my way, I'll strike at it, fangs out.

— Rikiya to Utabori, Yakuza 3 Remastered

Rikiya is idealistic and naïve, oftentimes rushing headlong into danger and ending up hurt, relying on Kiryu to save him. This is likely due to his laid-back lifestyle in Ryukyu, where it appears he and Mikio Aragaki rarely came into contact with real danger. Despite this, he still manages to be a formidable fighter, and an invaluable ally during his time with Kiryu.

He is extremely proud of his Okinawan heritage, and seems to treat those who hail from Japan's mainland with disdain. Although initially hostile towards Kiryu, he gradually comes to respect him, referring to him as his aniki^?. He looks up to Kiryu and holds him in high regard, though he has no qualms with opposing him if the two disagree.

His pride in the things that he believes in makes him extremely loyal to those he follows, and he is shown to be well-liked and respected by the community.

Involvement

Yakuza 3: 2008-2009

SPOILER WARNING: Plot details for Yakuza 3 follow. (Skip)

Rikiya first appears when he and Mikio deliver an eviction notice to Morning Glory Orphanage. Kazuma Kiryu runs into the two in town, and Rikiya proclaims his distaste for "arrogant mainlanders", instigating a fight with Kiryu. After Rikiya's loss, he brings Kiryu to the Ryudo Family office, where Kiryu meets with with his boss, Nakahara. He quickly warms up to Kiryu and the children at Morning Glory, taking to affectionately calling Kiryu "aniki^?".

A year later, Rikiya rushes to the orphanage to deliver the news to Kiryu that Nakahara has been shot and is in surgery. Kiryu accompanies him to the hospital, where they discover that Saki has sketched the man responsible. With a lead on the shooter thanks to Kashiwagi's phone call, Rikiya begs Kiryu to allow him to accompany him to Kamurocho.

Kiryu tells Rikiya that they'll depart the next night, though he had planned to leave several hours earlier. Despite the setback and Kiryu's insistence on Rikiya staying back in Okinawa, he ends up following along shortly after Kiryu himself departs.

The two meet up and follow their lead to a love hotel where Tsuyoshi Kanda is staying for the night. Masquerading as a couple to get past the receptionist, they burst into Kanda's room and chase him down.

Kiryu takes Rikiya on a tour of Kamurocho, ending up back at New Serena where Kiryu leaves Rikiya while he goes to confront Goro Majima.

While Kiryu is down in Purgatory with Majima, Rikiya is kidnapped by Lau Ka Long's men in an attempt to get revenge on Kiryu, but he is saved at the last minute by Joji Kazama. The experience appears to traumatize Rikiya, and he does not object to Kiryu's request for him to return to Okinawa. Kiryu walks him to a taxi and says his goodbyes.

He and Mikio resist Yoshitaka Mine, Tetsuo Tamashiro and his men when the orphanage is attacked, but ultimately fail to fight them off, leading to its destruction. He argues with Kiryu, who tells him to stay behind as he goes to confront Mine and rescue the injured Nakahara, who has been taken captive. Rikiya refuses to sit idle as his patriarch is in danger and the source of their despair is so close by, but Kiryu tells him not to be so reckless, that there's no use throwing his life away for nothing. Rikiya reluctantly agrees to stay with the children at the orphanage.

Saki, determined to help rescue her foster father, sneaks away to follow Kiryu, and Rikiya trails close behind. He arrives at the bull ring and announces that he has called the police and they'll be there to arrest Tamashiro and his lackeys. Enraged, Tamashiro fires his gun and sets off the bulls in the pit with Nakahara.

After Tamashiro is seemingly defeated, Saki and Nakahara are reunited, causing Kiryu to turn his back to Tamashiro. Seizing the opportunity, he picks up his discarded gun and shoots at Kiryu, but the bullet is intercepted by Rikiya, who is shot through the chest. He tells Kiryu not to let Mine get away with everything he's done, and speaks his final words to a hysterical Kiryu.

Fighting Style

Rikiya has two boss fights in Yakuza 3, and accompanies Kiryu as an AI partner in Kamurocho and during the long battle at the Red Brick Hotel. Kiryu can also bring him along while exploring in Premium Adventure mode. He is a skilled fighter, possessing great speed and aptitude in different forms of combat.

Street Fighting

Rikiya's primary fighting style, which he uses in his first encounter and as an AI companion, utilizes a variety of basic but swift techniques, some of which are found in Okinawan Kenpo. His moveset consists of the following:

• a combo composed of a left jab, a kneeling right cross, and a left uppercut;
• another combo comprising a right hook, a left hook, and a jumping right knee strike;
• a right uppercut,
• a right hammerfist, which can stun Kiryu;
• a high right push kick,
• a flying right knee strike,
• grab attacks, including:
  • the generic Yakuza 3 enemies' front grab attack, and
  • Yuya's front grab Heat Action from Yakuza;
• quickstep attacks, including:
  • a right lunge punch after forward-stepping, and
  • an overhand right after backstepping, which can stun Kiryu; and
• a taunt where he steps forward and nods his head up (unused).

Rikiya's moveset is reused by White Edge Shiraki in Yakuza Kiwami, Yuya in Yakuza Kiwami 2, and Tashiro in both Judgment and Lost Judgment, as well as various miniboss enemies in the Dragon Engine titles.

Ricky Mask

Rikiya uses a professional wrestling style in his second fight, going by the pseudonym 'Ricky Mask'. His moveset uses multiple animations belonging to El Blaze from Virtua Fighter 5; namely, his attack strings.

His combos are listed below:

• one consisting of a left backfist and a right straight palm strike, followed by:
  • a low right spinning hook kick, or
  • a jumping left spinning outward crescent kick;
• a right Thai roundhouse kick-hopping left side kick combo, and
• another consisting of a spinning right backfist, a left foot sweep kick, and a spinning left haymaker.

The remainder of his moveset includes the following:

• a jumping left roundhouse kick,
• a flying crossbody command grab as a running attack (used), followed by a Tornado DDT (unused);
• grab attacks (unused), including:
  • a snap suplex as a front grab attack, and
  • a bodybag throw as a rear grab attack;
• a forward somersault leg drop command grab, followed by a Frankensteiner;
• a spinning Moonsault as a downed attack, and
• a generic enemy beckon taunt.

His attack trails are bright pink.

Rikiya's wrestling moveset is reused by Gentle Nakamura in Yakuza 5, Kizuka in Yakuza 0, Yuya and Daniel Feldman in Yakuza Kiwami, and Cyclops Oba and Poison Mitsuo in Yakuza Kiwami 2. A neutered version is used for generic wrestling enemies and minibosses in future games.

Trivia

• The family name Shimabukuro is common in Okinawa, and is strongly associated with the Yamato people^WP.
• The Viper tattoo on Rikiya's back appears eyeless when wrestling against him in Morning Glory, even if he had Master Utabori finish it beforehand.

Gallery

Yakuza 3

Rikiya's Full-Body Render from Yakuza 3 Remastered

Coliseum Render

Mikio and Rikiya's first appearance

Rikiya and Mikio eating popsicles

Rikiya's unfinished viper tattoo

Rikiya saving a woman from Nishikiyama Family goons

Rikiya and Kiryu pretending to be a couple in order to find Kanda in a love hotel

Rikiya and Kiryu at New Serena

Ryu Ga Gotoku Online

SSR Rikiya Shimabukuro

SSR Rikiya Shimabukuro (2009)

SSR Rikiya Shimabukuro (Decisive Battle)

KSR Rikiya Shimabukuro (Kiwami)

KSR Rikiya Shimabukuro (Decisive Battle)

UR Rikiya Shimabukuro (Summon)