Yakuza Mystery: Kamulop’s Real Identity

In Yakuza 6 RGG Studios introduced Oni Michio, a cute mascot character for the small town of Onomichi. This character was an instant success and as such RGG began to put him in every game from Kiwami 2 to Like a Dragon. However, an instant issue began to arise with including Ono Michio in every game: finding reasons for this small town mascot to constantly appear in the larger sections of Tokyo was getting harder and harder.

So why not just make another? It couldn’t be that hard to make lightning strike twice, right? Let’s just make a new mascot character for the city of Kamurocho that we can put in every game! A bit odd that they made this decision for the game that is only partially in Kamurocho but hey, what can you do?

And as such near the beginning of Yakuza: Like a Dragon we are introduced to Kamurocho’s newest mascot, Kamulop! Kamulop hasn’t caught on in popularity nearly as much as Ono Michio because they don’t have any super hilarious substories but RGG is trying their best to make this character work.

But what if I told you there’s more to this stuffed mascot than meets the eye? Most avid fans of Like a Dragon know there’s a secret shop in the top right corner of the city where you can buy weapons and even fan service summons from Kamulop in exchange for Tojo clan crests, but why? Why is this mascot selling us these illegal items? The reason Kamulop gives is that they used to be “An informant for the Tojo clan” and they want to keep these crests out of the wrong hands.

And that’s the end of that. Kamulop has no big role throughout the rest of the game and the mystery of who they are remains in the air. What if I told you that there are hints about Kamulop’s true identity sprinkled throughout the game though? In fact, ever since the game’s release I felt confident in saying I knew their identity. For all these years I thought that;

Kamulop is Daigo Dojima

Yes, I think this silly mascot character is actually the Tojo’s Clan’s very own fourth chairman in hiding. Let’s go through both Kamulop’s role in the game and Daigo’s role in the game and see if we can connect the two in any way.

The very first time we see Kamulop in the game is after Ichiban’s reporter friend takes a photo of him in a fight and starts shouting loudly about having photos of a real battle between “The Omi Alliance and a Tojo Loyalist!” Before he can do anything with these photos though he conveniently bumps into Kamulop and the camera shatters.

I believe this action was completely intentional on Kamulop’s part. Even if I’m completely wrong about Kamulop’s identity we know for a fact they have ties to both the Tojo and Omi because of the shop they run later in the game. It only makes sense that they would destroy a camera that shows a recently released member of the Tojo clan committing assault in broad daylight.

After this moment there is no sign of Kamulop in the whole game other than the aforementioned shop until chapter 12, and even then Kamulop doesn’t physically appear. When Ichiban and the gang go to Sotenbori, Ichiban receives a phone call from Nick Ogata. On the phone Nick is practically fangirling over having gotten his photo taken with Kamulop for the first time! Oh that Nick, what a goofball you are.

Chapter 12 is also when Daigo Dojima makes his first appearance in the game. He had been in hiding all this time but emerged to fulfill his and Arakawa’s master plan. How did the leader of the Tojo clan get to Sotenbori without the Omi noticing him? Well according to the game he had the help of Nick…Ogata.

Oh my god.

Yes, this is the lynchpin of my Daigo is Kamulop theory. It’s honestly very simple. We know Nick was helping Daigo get to Sotenbori at the time of his phone call and we know Nick was taking a photo with Kamulop at the same time. This also explains why Kamulop claims to be hunted by the Omi Alliance when you discover their shop and why they are so interested in keeping Tojo Clan crests out of the wrong hands.

The only real hole in this theory is that Kamulop claims to be a Tojo clan informant and not well, literally the leader of the Tojo Clan. My way of brushing this aside is to just consider it a lie, a disguise is worthless if you’re telling people who you are under it after all.

And this is where I planned to transition into a conclusion and talk about how while there’s not a ton of evidence the simplest answer is the best, but we need to address the elephant in the room: Ryu Ga Gotoku Online’s Kamulop.

Kamulop is just some girl?

In RGGO there is a special Kamulop character you can obtain. Yes, Kamulop appeared here long before they debuted in Like a Dragon. In this game’s continuity Kamulop is the daughter of an Omi Alliance patriarch (We never learn who exactly) and while she wants to become head of the family one day she dislikes the Omi’s invasion of Kamurocho and decides to fight against them.

In order to keep her identity a secret she dawns the costume of Kamurocho’s mascot and roams the streets at night to beat up any Yakuza she sees with an iron pipe and a strong sense of justice.

All of this brings an obvious issue to our Daigo theory. This girl ain’t Daigo! The entire concept of theorizing about Kamulop’s identity is pointless if they already have an identity. That is, if this identity is canon.

RGGO has always skewed the line when it comes to Yakuza canon. While the main plot and anything involving Ichiban are often considered non canon by default because it directly contradicts Like a Dragon, other small character elements of the game fall under dubious canon. Or at least that’s what I tell myself so that I can sleep believing Ryuji is a huge Shinada fan.

Because of RGGO’s dubious canon that brings into question whether or not Kamulop’s identity here is canon. While it may seem ridiculous that we can declare everything about an established character as non-canon it wouldn’t be the only example of this in RGGO as Jo Sawashiro is a completely different character in RGGO and Like a Dragon.

I don’t want to make a definitive declaration on whether or not this Kamulop is canon as I have no proof either way and Like a Dragon’s Kamulop doesn’t appear enough to contradict her existence. The closest thing to evidence against her is that the female Kamulop has no reason to collect Tojo crests but that can be swept under the rug as her wanting to screw over the Omi in her own way.

It’s also worth noting that in Lost Judgment’s DLC there is a substory where you can date a girl wearing a Kamulop outfit, however I think this is completely unrelated. While I think that the Kamulop you see throughout Like a Dragon is always the same person I don’t think they’re the same person in every game. This is a mascot costume, after all. It can have many owners.

So to close things off dear reader, I shall poll you all on the comments of this article, on Twitter, and on whatever reddit post brought you here. Tell me what you think. Do you support the “Daigo is Kamulop” theory? Or do you think the Omi girl from RGGO is canon? Either way I shall be looking forward to what you have to say.