Are you one of those Yakuza fans that spent hours in the games singing karaoke because you loved the songs and Kiryū’s smooth voice? Are you left with the feeling of wanting more? Then maybe you’ll be happy to hear that his voice actor Takaya Kuroda actually has a band called 黒田崇矢 & Goodfellas (Kuroda Takaya & Goodfellas)… and that band is on the rise to becoming something great! I got the opportunity to attend their ‘Black Christmas’ event, and it’s an experience I just had to share with everyone.

Takaya Kuroda to the left, Kiryū Kazuma to the right

A Quick Introduction

To many Western fans, singing karaoke with Kiryū has become a staple of the Yakuza games (also known in Japan as Ryū ga Gotoku) and something that made gamers fall in love with the character. Along with great music, Kiryū’s bass voice is unique and iconic, making him memorable even if you don’t understand Japanese. This is all thanks to a very experienced voice actor who took the chance to continue his music career in order to one day be able to perform in front of, not only Japanese fans but supporters from all over the world.

The Frontman

The picture was taken during soundcheck

To fans in the West, Takaya Kuroda is best known for the unmistakable voice of Kiryū. But here in Japan, however, he has managed to branch out into more than one category. He‘s been acting in movies & tv-shows, he created his own podcasts (including being a part of one about Yakuza) and wrote a very successful blog. All in all, he’s voiced over 100 characters… and he’s still pushing the limits to try new things every year. One of those things and something that is very personal to him is his band. In the interview that IGDB did with him (that you will be able to see soon) he stated that he didn’t really think he’d become a singer, nor did he ever take any singing lessons. It just happened one day when he and another member got together and decided that it would be interesting to go down the path of music. It’s also a very unusual thing to debut as an artist when you’re 50 years old, so he wanted to challenge himself and see what would happen.

Kuroda is a big fan of Robert De Niro and has always loved the movie Godfather. That’s what inspired his sense of style and attire. He also wanted to continue on that theme when deciding the band name. Goodfellas to him is his own group of people, his own equals and together they create rock music for adults.

He is a man who has been in show business for over 35 years. With a strong mentality and a positive worldview, he has overcome many difficulties in his life, using that experience to write emotional and powerful lyrics.

The Goodfellas

Seitalow, Yosuke, Okitomo, Azusa and Takaya K.

Okitomo Ito (Guitar)

Okitomo Ito (from Nagoya) has been a guitarist since he was 18 years old, playing in bands like『 D‘soul creation（ex.SARUBB）』and 『snack powder boys』. He earned an award for his skills as a guitarist and is known to be a very positive person. He mixes band events with his own solo shows, enjoying playing with various artists. When Okitomo isn’t doing band activities, he works as a session guitarist, loving music beyond anything else.

Yosuke Takahashi (Guitar)

Yosuke Takahashi has been an artist for many years, participating in bands from both major and indie labels. His guitar sound can be heard in over 100 songs and he also has experience from famous tv-and music shows. Even though he is talented with rock music, Yosuke has a great reputation for being skilled in acoustic performances.

Azusa Kikuchi (Bass)

While in university, Azusa fell in love with film music and music production, deciding to take a leap of faith into that world. He’s been writing music for various CM’s and video games, known for giving different genres a try. In 2015, Azusa created the background music for the anime show ‘Etotama’. Nowadays he puts all his effort into creating things that he loves and cares about.

SEITALOW Kurita (drums)

Seitalow started his music career by playing the piano when he was just a child. Majoring in classical music and Jazz trumpet, he also started to play the drums in various band sessions. As a university student, he took part in music creation for things like CM’s, musicals and bridal music. With classical music as his strongest suit, he decided to try other genres such as rock and R&B, having a broad repertoire to lean on. That is something that he is greatly appreciated for.

The band combines various skills and passions to create their own unique sound.

The Experience

Most of you have probably been to a concert before so I’m not gonna go into crazy details about it. Instead, here’s my top 10 best moments from the event that really made me go “aw, that’s awesome!”.