Mind you, most game players had no idea of the sordid history between the father and son. They only saw two characters that looked different than the leads in other fighting games. The ending for Kazuya was one of the most unnerving cinemas that gamers had seen at the time. In it Kazuya gently lifted Heihachi and carried him away. Players did not know right away that the two were related but assumed that it was a father and son. It was touching the way Kazuya carried the elderly man until he got to the edge of a cliff and then dropped him. The camera panned in to the face of Kazuya and caught a smile. It turned out to be the same cliff that his father had dropped him off of years earlier.
When the game first came out audiences had no idea how depraved the Mishima family was. Most fighting games of the era played the story very straight. Good guys fought the bad guys and the winner won a trophy. The endings reflected these simple scenarios. Tekken forever changed the formula. Players enjoyed the fighting style and design of Kazuya but had no idea that he had developed such a mean streak. It turned out that his physical and mental scars were mostly due to the abuse suffered at the hands of his father. Gamers had no idea that he was a bad guy until he end of the game. Even then the psychology of the character was understandable. The sequels expanded on the canon of the universe and the history between the father and son came to the forefront. Only in time did players realize how unique the world of Tekken really was.
It turned out that the protagonist and antagonist that spawned a franchise were actually rooted in the work of Osamu Tezuka. In an issue of Black Jack titled "Amidst Fire and Ashes" the doctor was introduced to a cruel tycoon. The issue opened with a volcano, Mt. Roar, that was erupting near a research center. There was a man in a suit looking down into the volcano before he turned and walked away. A park ranger spotted a charred body in the crater and lowered himself down to rescue the man. The body was badly burned but the person was still alive.
The body was taken to a visitor's center. A man sprung forward and announced himself as the father of Ryohei, the burn victim. He seemed distressed that his son was dying. Black Jack offered his services but for some ungodly high rates. He knew full well that the man was the CEO of Nippachi Trading and could easily afford the ¥20 million bill to save his son. The man reluctantly agreed but only after Black Jack produced a note from the son, saying that something may happen to him and he wanted the brilliant surgeon there when his father visited. Ryohei had a suspicion that his father may do something drastic and his hunch was right. Despite the lack of witnesses the CEO certainly felt the pressure to save his son. He agreed to Black Jack's demands and let him operate.
Mt. Roar continued erupting and the visitors were evacuated. Unfortunately Ryohei was in no condition to travel and only Black Jack and the CEO were left behind. The CEO actually tried to leave with the crowd until he was called out by the doctor. Even after Black Jack had saved his life the father was eager to kill the son. He tried wheeling out the body towards the volcano when he was stopped by Black Jack. The doctor punched out the suit and said he would never allow harm to come to the man he just saved.
It didn't take too much prodding from Black Jack to get a confession. It turned out that Ryohei did not want to inherit the company. It had dealings that he found unsavory. His first action would have been to dissolve the corporation. His father could not let that happen to the company he built himself. He wanted his son to be strong, in the business world people had to be cutthroat as he was. Eventually the CEO came to terms with what he had done and was willing to stay with his son and make sure that he recovered. The name Ryohei actually could be translated to "good boy," making the betrayal sting harder to readers. The two actually died on the mountain when it exploded. When rescuers found the bodies they said their hands were clasped tight together.
It didn't take too much prodding from Black Jack to get a confession. It turned out that Ryohei did not want to inherit the company. It had dealings that he found unsavory. His first action would have been to dissolve the corporation. His father could not let that happen to the company he built himself. He wanted his son to be strong, in the business world people had to be cutthroat as he was. Eventually the CEO came to terms with what he had done and was willing to stay with his son and make sure that he recovered. The name Ryohei actually could be translated to "good boy," making the betrayal sting harder to readers. The two actually died on the mountain when it exploded. When rescuers found the bodies they said their hands were clasped tight together.
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