A Personological Study of Kiryu Kazuma in the Drama Series Like a Dragon: Yakuza (Based on Henry Murray’s Theory)

Abstract

This research focuses on the personology of the character Kiryu Kazuma in the drama seriesLike a Dragon: Yakuza using Henry Murray’s personology framework. Like a Dragon: Yakuza is adrama series adapted from SEGA’s famous video game Yakuza, which tells the story of a former yakuzanamed Kiryu Kazuma. The story centers on Kazuma’s struggle to build a new life after leaving thecriminal underworld while still becoming entangled in various conflicts related to his past and the peoplearound him. Kiryu Kazuma is portrayed as a character with strong principles, self-sacrificing tendencies,and one who often faces difficult decisions to protect those he cares about. Kazuma’s challenging lifejourney and his emotional complexity prompted the author to analyze the needs possessed by thischaracter. This study aims to identify the needs of Kiryu Kazuma in the drama series Like a Dragon:Yakuza. The method used in this research is descriptive qualitative. Descriptive qualitative is anapproach that primarily focuses on deeply describing phenomena based on non-numerical data. Theresults of the analysis indicate that Kiryu Kazuma’s needs include the needs for Abasement, Aggression,Exhibition, Nurturance, and Play.