Kazuya Mishima

Kazuya Mishima (Japanese: 三島 一八, Hepburn: Mishima Kazuya) is a character in Bandai Namco's Tekken fighting game series, who first featured as the protagonist in the original 1994 game and later became one of the main villains of the series since becoming the penultimate antagonist of Tekken 2. He later returns as the main co-protagonist of Tekken 7, before assuming his role as the main antagonist again in Tekken 8. The son of worldwide conglomerate Mishima Zaibatsu CEO Heihachi Mishima, Kazuya seeks revenge against his father for throwing him off a cliff years earlier. Kazuya becomes corrupted in later games, seeking to obtain more power and later eventually comes into conflict with his son Jin Kazama. Kazuya Mishima possesses the Devil Gene, a demonic mutation, which he inherited from his late mother, Kazumi Mishima, which can transform him into a demonic version of himself known as Devil Kazuya (デビル一八, Debiru Kazuya). Devil Kazuya has often appeared as a separate character in previous installments (excluding Tekken (1994)) prior to becoming part of Kazuya's moveset in Tekken Tag Tournament 2 and later games. Kazuya Mishima is also present in related series media and other games.

The character was based on writer Yukio Mishima, with whom he shares a last name. A number of staff members have considered him one of the franchise's strongest characters, which has led to debates about reducing the damage of some of his moves or removing them altogether. Kazuya Mishima's devil form was created to bring unrealistic fighters into the series, but the incarnation has made few appearances. Several voice actors have portrayed Kazuya Mishima in video games and films related to Tekken. In addition to appearances in spin-offs in the Tekken series, Kazuya also appears as a playable character in Namco × Capcom, Project X Zone 2, Street Fighter X Tekken, The King of Fighters All Star and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

Kazuya Mishima has been positively received by critics. A number of websites have listed him as one of the best Tekken characters and one of the best characters in fighting games. Journalists have praised Kazuya Mishima's moves and dark characterization, which rivals that of his father. In contrast, critical reception of Kazuya Mishima's portrayal in films has been mixed, with critics finding him generic.