Majima defeats Kiryu to top official Like A Dragon fan poll
Sega and Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio have officially announced the results of the massive “Like a Dragon Character Popularity Contest” during a recent 20th Anniversary Countdown Party livestream.
With a staggering 490,278 votes cast worldwide, the “Mad Dog of Shimano,” Goro Majima, secured first place with 49,296 votes.
This victory cements Majima’s enduring popularity, as he beat out the series’ long-time protagonist Kazuma Kiryu by a significant margin of over 22,000 votes.
Majima’s win comes during a banner year for the character, following his starring role as the sole protagonist in the spin-off title Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii, which debuted earlier this year in February 2025.
The election featured approximately 1,500 eligible characters from across the franchise’s history.
In a major announcement for fans, it was revealed that the characters who ranked in the Top 10 will appear in a newly planned Like a Dragon stage production.
The final results saw some shifting since the interim report on November 13, with characters like Eric Tomizawa and Toru Higashi surging in popularity to secure their spots in the top ten.
Here are the detailed results provided from the top of the ranking:
- Goro Majima – 49,296 votes
- Kazuma Kiryu – 27,015 votes
- Taiga Saejima – 22,976 votes
- Akira Nishikiyama – 21,437 votes
- Eric Tomizawa – 20,205 votes
- Fumiya Sugiura – 19,230 votes
- Toru Higashi – 18,581 votes
- Yoshitaka Mine – 17,748 votes
- Daigo Dojima – 17,383 votes
- Ichiban Kasuga – 15,012 votes
- Tianyou Zhao – 14,880 votes
- Shun Akiyama – 14,765 votes
- Kosei Shishido – 11,368 votes
- Ryuji Goda – 11,200 votes
- Yutaka Yamai – 8,772 votes
- Tsukasa Sagawa – 7,472 votes
- Osamu Kashiwagi – 7,388 votes
- Kihei Hanawa – 7,360 votes
- Tatsuo Shinada – 7,328 votes
The livestream also noted that the Vtuber Kson, who plays the character Kei, ranked in 27th place.
This poll result follows other recent announcements for the series, including the release of a special collaboration sake inspired by the personality of Ichiban Kasuga.
The new “Ryu ga Gotoku Famous Sake: Junmai Daiginjo Ichiban Kasuga” sake is brewed by Kamotsuru Sake Brewing
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