Jin Kazama
is a fictional
character in the
Tekken fighting game series, where he is the primary protagonist.
Early Childhood
Jin Kazama is the son of
Jun Kazama and
Kazuya Mishima. During the
King of Iron Fist Tournament 2, Jun and Kazuya crossed paths, were intimate, and Jun found herself pregnant with Jin immediately afterwards. Upon Kazuya's death at the hands of Heihachi, the
Devil that possessed Kazuya escaped and attempted to enter Jin while he was still in the womb. Jun defeated it and disappeared into a remote mountain location where she raised Jin and trained him in her Kazama-Style
Self-Defense fighting arts.
Many years passed. One day, Jun sensed the approaching of a great evil (
Ogre) and told Jin that if anything happened to her, he should seek his grandfather,
Heihachi Mishima. Jun's words proved to be prophetic, and some time after Jin's 15th birthday, she was attacked by Ogre. Later, Jin awoke amongst rubble and searched for his mother and could not find her anywhere. The young man swore revenge.
Tekken 3
Jin was then taken in by his grandfather,
Heihachi Mishima, who began to train him in Mishima-Based
Karate. Heihachi realized that Ogre, whom Heihachi needed in order to create "the ultimate lifeform", would sense Jin's strength and come for him. He decided to use his own grandson as bait for Ogre. At the same time, he noticed that Jin possessed the same "dangerous power" that his father did (the "
Devil Gene"). Heihachi decided that it would be best to eliminate Jin once he'd served his purpose. During the
King of Iron Fist Tournament 3, Jin defeated
True Ogre (the creature's second form) and avenged his mother. However, he was immediately gunned down by his grandfather Heihachi and several members of the
Tekken Force. Before he could "die", however, Jin's devil power began to manifest and it resulted in him striking down Heihachi and flying off into the distance.
Tekken 4
After Heihachi's betrayal, Jin fell into a pit of self hatred and loathing, despising everything related to the Mishimas. He hated his grandfather and father, his bloodline, his fighting style and even the "Devil Gene" which he inherited from his father. Locating a secluded dojo in
Brisbane, Australia, Jin unlearnt the Mishima style he had used up to that point and mastered "traditional" Karate thanks to the help of the Dojo master. He remained in Brisbane for the next two years, learning and mastering his new fighting style while also plotting his revenge against his evil and corrupt family.
Eventually, the rumors of a
fourth King of Iron Fist Tournament began to surface. Jin set his sights on this new tournament, looking at it as an opportunity. Jin planned to kill both his father Kazuya and his grandfather Heihachi during the tournament. Should he win, he was to then kill himself, thus putting an end to his evil bloodline and the curse that comes with it. However, Jin did not realize that the tournament itself was a trap set by his grandfather, who was looking for
him as well.
Before Jin could make it to the fight with Kazuya in the seventh round, he was surrounded by the Tekken Force. He leveled dozens of them, but was in the end hit with tranquilizer darts and knocked unconscious. He was then taken to Heihachi's private building at Hon-Maru and chained up. Later, Heihachi brought Kazuya to
Hon-Maru. At this point, the Devil within Kazuya took control, summarily disposing of Heihachi and attempting to awaken the Devil within Jin; Jin refused to manifest the Devil within and instead attacked his father. Kazuya was unable to hold Jin back. When Heihachi regained consciousness, he attempted to stop Jin from leaving, but he, too, was defeated by his grandson. As Jin was set to kill Heihachi, he saw an image of his mother appear before his eyes. Tossing Heihachi aside, he told him (in Japanese), "You can thank my mother, Jun Kazama, for your life". He then turned, spread his wings, and flew straight through the Hon-Maru ceiling into the night sky.
Tekken 5
Only seconds after Jin left, the
G Corporation (the rival company to Heihachi's
Mishima Zaibatsu) sent an army of
Jack robots to kill Heihachi and Kazuya. The two cooperated briefly, but Kazuya betrayed Heihachi and left him to die. The Jacks self-detonated, destroying the Hon-Maru and apparently killing Heihachi. What no one knew, however, was that Hon-Maru was the location where Heihachi had sealed his father,
Jinpachi Mishima, several decades earlier. Jinpachi was released when Hon-Maru was destroyed, releasing his evil throughout the world.
Almost immediately after Jinpachi's release, Jin's own Devil Gene went berserk. Jin soon found himself awakening inside of an utterly destroyed forest, realizing that he was the cause of the destruction.
From here, the story shifts to
Devil Within.
Devil Within
The optional minigame
Devil Within, released in the console version of
Tekken 5, chronicles Jin's actions during the two months between the King of Iron Fist Tournament 4 and the
King of Iron Fist Tournament 5.
After the KoIFT4, Jin searched for a way to rid himself of the Devil Gene, until he heard rumors that his mother was still alive. However, traveling to a secret laboratory, he learnt that it was not his mother held within, but a more powerful Ogre. Finding it harder and harder to control his Devil Gene, Jin summoned all of his willpower to keep it under control and managed to defeat Ogre without its power. However, with Ogre defeated, Jin was attacked by hundreds of Jack robots and was only moments from losing control before he was bathed in a white light. The light protected his mind from the Devil and put him at peace, allowing him to fly away safely.
Epilogue
As Jin has two versions of himself within
Tekken 5 (Jin Kazama and Devil Jin, respectively), the character was given two endings in Story Mode. In "normal" Jin's ending, he is seen walking through a dark,
gothic building while thousands of tuxedo-clad men (presumably underlings) all stand at attention and salute him. He then proceeds to walk to a large throne and sits, crossing his legs, apparently having taken over the Zaibatsu. In Devil Jin's ending, he lifts up the fallen Jinpachi and then siphons power from him. When the siphoning is complete, he drops Jinpachi to the ground and undergoes a massive transformation and erupts with power as he lets off an inhuman howl.
These endings are potentially devastating to the series'
status quo. In both of his previous canonical appearances (Tekken 3 and Tekken 4), Jin's endings were made the central focus of the canon. However, his endings always left his direct fate unknown, since Jin would simply leave without resolving lingering issues with his father, grandfather and the Zaibatsu. Both of Jin's endings in Tekken 5, however, progress those issues as well as the sub-plot about his Devil possession. The results completely alter the Tekken storyline's key protagonist as we know it.
Devil Jin's exact role in the story is unknown, as both he
and Jin appear to be present at the King of Iron Fist Tournament 5. In addition, the story for Devil Jin states that Jin was "completely taken over" by the Devil Gene two months after Jinpachi's release. In Devil Jin's story mode, Jin says, "I am in control of the Devil", giving the impression that he has become hopelessly corrupted.
In a trailer shown at E3 2006 for the upcoming PS3 game Tekken 6, Jin is shown fighting Lili as a full human. However when Hwoarang comes to interrupt the fight, Jin is seen transforming into Devil Jin. What this means for the series is as-of-yet unknown.
The most prominent relationship involving Jin is his friendship/potential romance with
Ling Xiaoyu, a Chinese girl raised by the Mishima Zaibatsu and attending the same high school as Jin,
Mishima Polytechnical School. In
Tekken Tag Tournament, Ling Xiaoyu's secret ending indicates that she has somewhat of a crush on Jin, and this is complemented in her
Tekken 4 intro (in which she hopes to be "reunited" with Jin) and in her
Tekken 4 ending.
Tekken 5, however, seems to have taken a step backward in this regard, as Xiaoyu's part in the overall plot is minimal.
Hwoarang considers Jin to be his greatest rival. The young
Korean teen used to be a member of an illegal street-hustling team that fixed fights until Jin embarrassed Hwoarang by fighting him to a draw. Since that day, Hwoarang has relentlessly pursued Jin for a rematch, only to somehow fall short of realizing his goal each time (in this sense, he is a parallel of
Paul Phoenix).
Asuka Kazama is Jin's cousin, though neither of them seem to be aware of their relation. Their only meeting, thus far, involved an embarrassing moment in which Jin awakens after Asuka has reverted his
Devil Jin transformation. Jin tripped over her as he attempted to stand and fell face-forward into her chest, earning him a punch to the face from an angry Asuka.
Tekken 3 (Canon):Jin defeats True Ogre and it explodes. As Jin takes a moment to relish his victory, the Tekken Force guns him down on Heihachi's orders. As Jin stubbornly clings to life, Heihachi shoots him in the head personally to finish him off. Heihachi walks away, satisfied to be rid of Jin, but watches in shock as his soldiers go flying all around him. Heihachi slowly turns around to see Jin, now transformed into Devil Jin. Devil Jin charges into Heihachi, grabs him by the head, and slams him through a stone wall, bursting outside of the temple. As Heihachi prepares to get up, Devil Jin sprouts wings and dives into Heihachi again before taking off again and flying into the distance. Heihachi sits up and watches him go.
Tekken Tag Tournament (Non-Canon):Having defeated his father, Jin prepares to finish him off, but everything flashes white for an instant and Jin stops in his tracks. Jin drops Kazuya to the floor and then falls to his knees, looking in horror as his hands course with lightning and shake uncontrollably.
Tekken 4 (Canon):After defeating both Kazuya and Heihachi, Jin, sprouting wings but not quite transformed into Devil Jin, defeats Heihachi and prepares to finish him (almost an echo of his TTT ending). As he's about to deliver the final blow, he looks to the side and sees a vision (hallucination?) of his mother. He tosses Heihachi to the side, tells him to thank Jun Kazama for being spared, and then turns away and bursts right through the Hon-Maru ceiling.
Tekken 5 (???):Jin walks into a building billed as the "Mishima Zaibatsu Throne Room", surrounded by thousands of suited underlings, who salute him. Jin then sits down upon the throne, crossing his legs and resting his chin on his fist. A moment later, Jin looks anxiously at the camera and prepares to act . . .
Jin's actions and surroundings fit the mold of a quintessential "
tragic hero". His tragic flaws: The devil that slowly consumes his mind and body and his naïvete; both of which caused him trauma and pain. As with many tragic heroes, all of the major traumatic events that occur within the hero's life are wholly beyond his control. First and foremost, his grandfather and father are two ruthless individuals. Second, 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. Finally, the return of his great-grandfather caused him to begin losing his internal struggle with the Devil within. Each of these occur to a hapless and unassuming Jin, who is simply doing what he can to set things right at every turn.
People close to Jin, including
Ling Xiaoyu and
Hwoarang, are always going to extremes to gain his attention, and yet he rarely seems to notice. It is known, however, that he will help them if they need it, as Ling Xiaoyu's
Tekken 4 profile and Hwoarang's non-canonical
Tekken 4 ending have shown.
Additionally, Jin's disinterest in close relations has a unique motivation: as a result of his family's
Devil Gene, Jin knows that people close to him will likely sufferif he ever completely loses control. In addition, Jin may not show any interest in women because he plans to wipe out his lineage entirely. In short, during
T4, Jin planned to kill 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 with the deed after defeating his two predecessors, so it's unknown if he has given up on this plan completely.
However, at the 2006 Electronic Entertainment Expo (
E3) Jin is seen transforming into Devil Jin, leaving the outcome of the fight between Jin and his internal devil unanswered.
*
Jin - Tekken 4 - Moves List (
U.S.)
*
Jin - Tekken 3 - Moves List (
U.S.)
*Jin Kazama has been voiced by
Isshin Chiba since his début.
*Jin is also featured in
Namco X Capcom where he joins forces with
Ryu from
Street Fighter and
Taki from
Soul Calibur.
*Jin is the only character who had a non-native accent when speaking English in
Tekken 4. (Other Asian characters such as Lee, Lei, and Law have native accents because they are from Hong Kong, China, and California respectively, while still others speak Japanese despite being non-Japanese, such as Xiaoyu, who has spent considerable time in Japan. Hwoarang is the only character with perfect English whose story doesn't account for his ability.)
*Jin is the only character to speak more than one language within a single game (in Tekken 4).
*Namco lists his fighting style as "Traditional Karate"; this is a bit of a misnomer as there is no such thing as one "traditional style". His Tekken 4 katas are from
Shotokan and most of his moves from Tekken 4 on are heavily based on
Kyokushin. But in Tekken 3 demo movie, he's doing Tekki Shodan kata.
*In the Embu to
Tekken 4, the kata that Jin practices is Heian Yondan (Oyama style) and Yantsu.
*The Japanese
kanji for Jin's name means charity, a Confucian and by default Samurai virtue. This kanji is also shared withed his great-grandfather,
Jinpachi Mishima.
*In Tekken 3,Tekken Advance, and Tekken Tag Tournament Jin had brown hair during the gameplay, but on the cut scenes of Tekken 3 and on the intros of Tekken Tag Tournament, he had black hair.
*
Devil Gene*
Devil Jin
