| Jin Kazama | |
|---|---|
 | |
|
Series |
Tekken |
|
Debut |
Tekken 3 (1997) |
|
Console of origin |
Arcade |
|
Species |
Human |
|
Gender |
Male |
Jin Kazama (風間 仁 Kazama Jin) is one of the main characters of the Tekken series. He is featured on the packaging for the console version of each sequel following his introduction in Tekken 3, he has also been the main protagonist for virtually every installment since his debut in Tekken 3 and his role as an anti-hero in Tekken 6.
While Jin is the main protagonist of the series, his half-uncle Lars Alexandersson could be seen as the main protagonist in Tekken 6. Though it could be seen as co-protagonism as Jin's role in the game is the most integral and consequential in the game.
Description[]
Jin Kazama is of Japanese ethnicity. He has black hair that spikes at the back of his head, similar to that of his father, Kazuya Mishima. He also sports fringes, like his mother. Jin is also notably muscular with low body fat percentage, evidence of the many years of hard training. His resemblance to his father is so strong, that in early screen showings of Tekken 3 where his character was still unnamed, many fans speculated that he was a young version of Kazuya Mishima, specifically when he was in his early teen years (Tekken 3 and 4, due to their similarities). While Jin inherited his father's body structure, his face strongly resembles his mother's. One of Jin's most prominent aspects is the black mark on one of his arms, a mark that the Devil branded onto him.
Outfits[]
Jin has worn a great deal of outfits during the course of the Tekken series. The aforementioned outfits feature a flame motif, and, with the exception of a single outfit in Tekken 6, gloves or gauntlets. In Tekken 6, Jin discards his gloves from Tekken 5 that contain the Kazama family crest in lieu of ones that model his former Mishima style ones. This could be a subtle hint at his personality change. Jin also had alternative clothing, which was his CEO outfit. He also has another outfit in the Tekken 6: Bloodline Rebellion, which is black.
History[]
Jin Kazama is the son of Jun Kazama and Kazuya Mishima. Jun's intimate relationship with Kazuya grew and she became pregnant with Jin. The devil within Kazuya attempted to enter Jin while he was still in his mother's womb, but Jun managed to fight it off. Afterwards, Jun moved to a remote location in the mountains where she raised Jin and trained him in the Kazama family's self-defense fighting style.
Several years later, Jun sensed the approaching of a great evil (Ogre) and decided that it was about time she told Jin concerning his origins. She also told him that if anything were to happen to her, he should look for his grandfather, Heihachi Mishima. Jun's premonitions proved to be true, as she was attacked by Ogre four days later on Jin's 15th birthday. Hours after the chaos, Jin, who fell unconscious, then awoke amongst the rubble and began searching for his mother, with no success, enraged, Jin swore revenge. He was then taken in by Heihachi, who began to train him in Mishima-style Karate.
Tekken 3[]
At the age of 15, Jin discovered that he was Kazuya Mishima's son, and also that his mother, Jun Kazama, had died (the actual truth was that she had gone missing). Jin trained himself under the supervision of Heihachi every day with the intention of defeating Ogre, who supposedly killed his mother. Heihachi was not only his grandfather, but also proved to be a reliable teacher.
Four years later, having mastered the Kazama and Mishima Fighting Styles, Jin then started his path as a martial artist.
During the game, Jin fought and defeated numerous opponents in the tournament. He also fought against his rival, Hwoarang, although it ended in a draw. Despite this, Jin continued on through the tournament and finally arrived at the temple where Ogre was located. Just as he approached the entrance to the temple, Heihachi appeared and forced him to fight in order to lure out Ogre, but kept this from Jin. Instead, he told him that he wanted to test Jin's abilities and determine whether or not he was strong enough to fight Ogre.
Eventually, Jin defeated his grandfather, and Ogre then appeared before him. Angered by the sight of his mother's killer, Jin engaged Ogre in a fight, fueled by rage. During the fight, Ogre then absorbed Heihachi's power allowing him to become True Ogre and the fight continued.
Ending Description: Jin defeated True Ogre and had avenged his mother at last. Suddenly due to the extreme battle True Ogre violently exploded. Mere seconds after his victory, Jin is attacked by Heihachi's Tekken Force soldiers, and received multiple gunshot wounds. Slowly succumbing to death, Heihachi shot Jin in the head, therefore killing his own grandson. However, when Heihachi turned his back and walked away, he saw the bodies of his soldiers before him, and turned around to see Jin morphed into his devil form, Devil Jin. Jin then slammed Heihachi through a wall of the temple and violently hurled Heihachi down into the ground. Finally, Jin spread his wings and flew off. Heihachi, weakly, sat up and watched as his grandson, Devil Jin, disappeared into the night.
Tekken 4[]
Brisbane, Australia; a city crowded with buildings, new and old. Nestled amongst the towering buildings of this city was a small dojo. A young man trained there, his face covered by the hood of his jacket. This young man trained there quietly, the young man was Jin.
Day after day, Jin trained in the traditional art of karate. Ever since Heihachi's betrayal, Jin loathed everything about himself. His Mishima bloodline, his fighting style, the Devil Gene in his blood, everything. He unlearned the Mishima-ryu fighting style, thanks to the dojo master's training, and mastered traditional karate.
Jin's thoughts burned with the desire to destroy the evil Mishima bloodline, the bloodline of his grandfather, Heihachi Mishima, and his father, Kazuya.
One day, Jin heard rumors that The King of the Iron Fist Tournament 4 was announced.
A once in a lifetime opportunity to exterminate the Mishima clan... Without hesitation, Jin hardened his resolve to enter the tournament.
After fighting many opponents in the tournament, including Hwoarang near the end where they promised to fight in the next tournament, Jin finally had a match with Kazuya, his father. On his way to fight Kazuya, Jin encountered the Tekken Force soldiers. Jin managed to take down a number of them but was outnumbered and eventually defeated. He was then taken prisoner by the soldiers.
Heihachi's Tekken Force soldiers held Jin captive at Honmaru. When he arose Jin defeats his father Kazuya, (whom in Jin's dream is antagonizing him to "give in to the anger", which would trigger his Devil Gene) and knocked him unconscious. Heihachi then foils Jin's escape, and challenges him to a fight in an attempt to take Jin's own Devil Gene from him. The two fought immediately, and Jin proved that he was too much for Heihachi to handle. With Heihachi weakened, he then proceeded with his own mission (which was to destroy his evil bloodline by murdering his grandfather, his father, and then himself), but abruptly paused when he had a hallucination of his mother, Jun Kazama (this could also have been her soul reaching out to him). As a result, Jin dropped his grandfather and said, "Thank my mother, Jun Kazama," before once again flying off into the night.
Tekken 5[]
After the grueling battle between Kazuya and Heihachi Mishima at Honmaru, Jin took flight, leaving the island behind. However, he was overwhelmed by an evil presence and lost consciousness. Jin awoke to an unknown voice and saw a mountainy forest, which appeared to have been ravaged by a giant tornado.
However, Jin had no doubt that he was responsible for the destruction. Upon returning to Yakushima, Jin was plagued by recurring nightmares. Jin could feel the influence of the Devil Gene growing stronger.
"If this keeps eating away at me, I don't know how long I can hold on".
With nothing else left, Jin went out to end his bloodline.
Jin, once again, fought his rival Hwoarang, but the devil gene began to take over Jin again. During this time Hwoarang took the opportunity to strike and defeated Jin. Devil Jin awakened and defeated Hwoarang afterwards.
Back in his human form, Jin met and battled his great-grandfather, Jinpachi Mishima and in the end defeated him. Jinpachi exploded into nothing but dust, as Jin looked up into the sky (this is possibly where Devil Within takes place). In the end, Jin walks into the Mishima Zaibatsu throne room having claimed the Zaibatsu.
Tekken 6[]
Jin Kazama freed the cursed Jinpachi Mishima and took over the Mishima Zaibatsu. He utilized his elite military unit, the Tekken Force, to carry out covert missions in order to engulf the world in chaos. Once he had rendered most countries' military power useless, he took over space colonies, oil fields, and other energy producing resources. He declared the Mishima Zaibatsu’s independence and waged war against the rest of the world to destroy an even greater evil capable of destroying the world.
The Mishima Zaibatsu swept across the globe, taking over nation after nation. But as the war continued, new opposing forces slowly began to show their presence. Jin learned that Kazuya Mishima was controlling the first and most powerful opposition, the G Corporation. When the G Corporation placed a price on his head, Jin announced The King of Iron Fist Tournament 6, as if he had been waiting for the G Corporation to make its move.
However in the Scenario Campaign mode, it is revealed that the war and tournament was just to fill the world with enough negative energy to make the physical form of the evil entity known as Azazel, because Kazuya and Jin are known as the "Two Evil Stars".
Scenario Campaign Ending[]
Having been defeated by Lars, Jin tells him why he started the war and revealed to him that Jin has a half-controlled Devil Gene, which gives him no choice but to start a war with Kazuya, in order to lure Azazel out of sealing to save the world from Mishima's bloodline treachery, and the only thing that could destroy Azazel, is the person who has a devil's power. Lars tells Jin that he's already taken Azazel out, but he doesn't understand at all what Jin says as Azazel (in Golden Form) appears before them. Jin then utilized his Devil's power and sacrifices himself to kill The Gold Azazel for good, to free himself from the evil inside him and save the world. After Jin defeats Azazel, Raven finds Jin's body lying in the desert. He still bears the Devil tattoo on his arm, indicating that Azazel's demise has not freed Jin from the Devil Gene. It is unknown if he is just unconscious or dead.
Game Ending: Jin successfully defeats Azazel and Kazuya, and once out of the temple, is welcomed by one of his Tekken Force helicopters with Nina aboard, but suddenly, Nina gets thrown out of the aircraft. Then Heihachi appears from the helicopter. Jin realized that Heihachi had been commanding the helicopter the entire time, then Heihachi leaps out of his helicopter to commence a battle with Jin telling him that he will return the Zaibatsu back to him. Jin being victorious, escapes the collapsing temple on another one of his Tekken Force helicopters and heads back to Headquarters.
Personality[]
Jin's actions and surroundings fit the mold of a quintessential "tragic hero", excluding the lack of a tragic flaw as of Tekken 6. As with many tragedies, all of the major traumatic events that occur within the hero's life are beyond his control: First and foremost, there's the fact that his grandfather and father are two of the most evil and most ruthless individuals who've ever lived on the face of the earth. Secondly, his mother was cruelly and abruptly taken from him while he was still a teen. Third, he was betrayed by his grandfather, whom he trusted deeply. Fourth, the return of his great-grandfather, Jinpachi Mishima, has caused him to begin losing his internal struggle with the Devil within. Fifth, the appearance of Azazel prompts Jin to corrupt the Mishima Zaibatsu further just for the chance to face the beast and sacrifice himself to destroy it. Each of these occur to a helpless and unassuming Jin, who is simply doing what he can to set things right at every turn.
Jin's personality ranges from calm to angry at various moments, and his words and actions hint toward the bitterness within. It is known, however, that he will help them if they need it, as Xiaoyu's Tekken 4 profile and Hwoarang's Tekken 4 ending have shown.
Jin's disinterest in close relations probably results from the Devil Gene. As a result of his family's bloodline curse, Jin thinks that the people he loves will likely suffer, if he ever completely becomes brainwashed by the Devil Gene or become one with it like his father. In short, during Tekken 4, Jin planned to destroy his father and grandfather and then himself, dying without children to put an end to the Mishima curse once and for all. However, Jin could not go through it after defeating his two predecessors, so it's unknown if he has given up on this plan completely since he saw the image of his mother Jun.
After the Tekken 6 scenario campaign, Raven found Jin in a desert in a half buried body. His tattoo is still visible on his arm, meaning that he is not free from the Devil Gene. Jin is mostly calm, but can become enraged should the moment of evil arise. At various moments in the series, his words and actions hinted towards bitterness and resentment as well (especially to his grandfather and father, Heihachi Mishima and Kazuya Mishima respectively).
He also has one personality trait which is common with many Japanese action heroes: Once Jin's mind is focused in any particular direction, it is immensely difficult to get him to change or even notice the events and people around him. People close to him, including Hwoarang and Ling Xiaoyu, are always going to extremes to gain Jin's attention, and yet, he maintains an indifferent demeanor towards them. Despite that, Jin is a truly good person who avoids his friends for their own safety.
However, he has a reason of his actions. In the events of Tekken 6, Jin uses his new position as the CEO of the Mishima Zaibatsu to throw the world into chaos in hopes of a cure. Although his intentions are entirely benevolent, since he seeks to use this to awaken and then destroy a much greater threat, Azazel. Believing that defeating this monster could help get rid of his curse, Jin might have destroyed countless people's property, ruined many lives and won lots of enemies through his actions. This may mean that Jin (no matter how painful it is for him) is willing to go out of his morals if that is what it takes to save the world.