Takayuki Yagami (Judgment)
Team Yakuza has always had a knack for writing tragic characters in search of redemption, and Takayuki Yagami is no exception.
The protagonist of the new series Judgment, Yagami is a former lawyer turned private detective, taking the law into his own hands to see that justice is done. Doing so allows him to atone for his past mistakes, but over the course of the game, he discovers that he may well have been dealt a bad hand by someone other than fate.
Granted, this may not sound all that unique on paper; on the contrary, it makes him sound like a run-of-the-mill dramatic action game protagonist.
Much like Kazuma Kiryu or Goro Majima though, Yagami is written with the kind of care and effort that elevates him above the tropes he occupies. His drive to see justice done, and his care for the friends who have stuck by him in his darkest hours, make him endearing in a way few action game characters could ever hope to be.
It makes him a character to watch out for in the years to come, and one which stands to become just as legendary as his Yakuza predecessors.
