We sent six of our most dashing writers to a photo studio for some glamour shots at an appearance in the new Yakuza 6 video game.

Much of the popular video game series Yakuza (Ryu ga Gotoku in Japan) takes place in the Kamurocho region of Tokyo, which is a fictionalized version of Kabukicho: an area known for its love hotels, nightclubs, and host/hostess clubs where attractive men and women are hired to give customers special care and attention.

Unsurprisingly, then, it’s common to see billboards and posters of men and women in soft-focused, airbrushed photographs dressed in elegant suits and dresses all around the area. It’s that kind of atmosphere that the producers of Yakuza 6 want to create and they’re holding an open casting call for anyone who wants to appear in the game’s virtual posters.

This actually isn’t the first time Sega, the game’s maker, has done this. Back in 2014, there was a contest to appear in Yakuza 5 either as a non-playable character or on a host club billboard. Eager to be a part of video game history, our writers Mr. Sato, Hatori Go, P.K. Sanjun, and Yuichiro Wasai applied.

Sadly, none of them made the cut. In hindsight, we aimed too high by mostly auditioning for NPCs rather than the host club posters. This time would be different, however.

Not only were the same crew of writers going to apply again, but this time we added Yoshio, and Seiji Nakazawa for a total of six applicants. Not only that but we employed the services of Urecco Studio Men’s in Kabukicho which specializes in host club promotional photos!

Mr. Sato and Hatori had already gotten some host club shots done up there a while ago so they were set.

So it was just a matter of getting everyone else some host-style pictures, and this contest would be in the bag…or so we thought.

The photo shoot got off to a bad start with everyone sauntering in too late to get any hair or make-up done. And though they were told to wear their finest clothes, Wasai strolled in looking like he was going to a reluctant lunch with his dad.

Everyone knew from the application guidelines that photos would be from the waist up, so Wasai showed how taxing wearing a sport coat was by complementing it with some dirty imitation Crocs.

P.K. was told to borrow the same white jacket used by Hatori in the photo above. However, given the wider frame of P.K. the jacket was only able to partially button up. He wasn’t complaining though.

Seiji, meanwhile, stumbled across a sword among the props in the studio and insisted on holding it in his photo because it was “badass.” Even though he couldn’t come up with a single reason why a host would be brandishing a weapon, he told us to “relax” and assured us that it would be “cool.”

Finally Yoshio, made a statement the whole time by showing just how few f***s someone could possibly give and didn’t even muster the necessary enthusiasm to sit up straight for his photos.

Mr. Sato, having already had his host photos taken, simply watched and shook his head. Our chances of getting into Yakuza 6 were looking even worse than last time.

Then…a Kabukicho miracle occurred!

The photographers at Urecco Studio Men’s where truly magicians of the art and transformed them all into respectable looking escorts. Wasai went from looking like someone who woke up late for church to a mysterious man with a sensually dark past.

P.K. Sanjun’s ill-fitting suit looked as if it were about to completely burst with raw sex-appeal.

Seiji…well, he still looked kind of stupid holding a sword, but they did the best they could with the subject.

They even managed to transform Yoshio’s demeanor of complete indifference into an intriguing tsundere type with charm bubbling under the surface for just that right woman.

And so, our six photos were selected and submitted to the fine people at Yakuza 6!

Twenty men in total will be chosen so we’re feeling good that at least one writer will make the grade. If you’d like to apply, just submit a waist-up photo to the special Yakuza 6 audition website below before 23 May. We’d tell you more, but quite frankly we don’t need the competition.

Winners will be announced in early June so stay tuned to see who, if anyone, will get into Yakuza 6!

Source: Yakuza 6 Host Billboard Model Audition (Japanese)
Professional Photos by Urecco Studio Men’s
Original article by Mr. Sato
Unprofessional photos by RocketNews24
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