Following the release of the first three interviews, SEGA shared another interview, this time with Ayumi Tanida, the voice actor of Rodriguez in Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii.
Ayumi Tanida is a notable Japanese actor who is best known for playing Tozawa in the Max series Tokyo Vice, along with Isao Shirabi in Netflix’s Alice in Borderland.
Tanida has also played a role in the Like a Dragon series. To be exact, he voiced Kanji Koshimizu in Yakuza 6 and Mikisaburo Suzuki in Like a Dragon Ishin.
This time, Tanida’s role is a bit different as his character Rodriguez is not a Yakuza captain. Instead, he’s a member of Palekana, the cult that was a big part of Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth’s story.
In the interview, Ayumi Tanida shared his feelings of being cast in Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii, and returning to the series. You can check out the complete interview on the official SEGA YouTube channel.
Rodriguez did not appear in Infinite Wealth, though Palekana should be familiar to players of Infinite Wealth. Given this, Rodriguez’s role in Majima’s new story should be quite interesting to see play out.
His backstory is described as:
A Burly Warrior Who Guards Nele Island, Palekana’s Holy Site, with His Massive Sword.
One of the Palekana elite disciples, also known as the Haku. Although many Haku have begun migrating from Nele Island due to the arrest of Bryce, Palekana’s previous Sage, he stays to deal with the nuclear waste cleanup.
Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii will be released on PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and PC on February 21, 2025.