Since it first began on the PlayStation 2 in 2005, the violent action-adventure series Yakuza (Ryu ga Gotoku in Japan) has sold 6.5 million copies around the world. With a new edition of the series in the works, Sega is holding auditions for men who would like to appear in it.

Thinking this would be a great way to promote our humble website, we assembled a team of our manliest men to try out. It’s undoubtedly going to be tough, but to help increase our chances we sent each reporter to audition for a different character.

■  Recruitment

There are two types of roles available in the upcoming Yakuza game: The “Host Photo” and the “Resident.” Those selected for the Host Photo will appear on a billboard for a host club (a bar that offers male companionship) that will be installed in the downtown portion of the game. Those who are chosen for the Residents will play the role of Katsuage-kun, Kanemochi-kun, or Setsurin-kun in the game.

■  4-Player Action!

RocketNews24 assigned a man to apply for each of the possible appearances. First, as the sexiest of the bunch Hatori GO applied to appear in the host club photo.

Mr. Sato (in his Dragon Quest Slime costume) hopes to assume the role of Resident, Katsuage-kun.

P.K. Sunjun (in Funasshi costume) will try out for the part of Kanemochi-kun.

Fancy Wasai (also in Funasshi costume) is gunning for the coveted Setsurin-kun character.

Since the application deadline was 27 July we made sure to get ours in at the very last minute. After all, being fashionably late is a surefire way to make an impact. According to Sega, those who pass the preliminary selection for the Resident roles will be notified by email on 1 August.

On the other hand, Hatori GO will have to wait until mid-August to know for sure if he moves onto the next level and one step closer to appearing in the next Yakuza game. In the meantime all of these brave men will be staring at their email inbox hitting the F5 key every 30 seconds. Wish them luck!

They’re going to need it.

Reference: Sega (Japanese)
Original article by Mr. Sato
Models: Hatori Go, P.K. Sunjun, Fancy Wasai
Photos: RocketNews24
[ Read in Japanese ]