Haruka Sawamura

Although Kazuma Kiryu is the player character for Yakuza, writer Toshihiro Nagoshi refrained from calling him the protagonist, as the narrative was focused on the character Haruka Sawamura who has a character arc instead in the game. The same strategy was used for Yakuza 2 where the narrative focuses more on the new character Kaoru Sayama rather than Kiryu.[1] Nagoshi said that Kiryu and Haruka trying to live a "more 'human' life" throughout Yakuza 3.[2]

When Haruka was confirmed playable in Yakuza 5, Nagoshi refrained from revealing her gameplay, but still noted it would be too different the other members from the cast.[3] Sega claims that thanks to Haruka's characterization Sega was able to produce new types of gameplay in Yakuza 5.[4] When asked about the character in her debut as playable Nagoshi said "this is the first time we’ve included a female protagonist Haruka Sawamura. The game's overall theme is dreams, and the game follows the lives of those people who are pursuing their dreams."[5]

Yakuza 6 focuses on the family relationship between Kiryu and Haruka after years of being separated.[6] In retrospective Nagoshi stated that while Haruka aged in Yakuza 5 notably in comparison to her debut, she was still the same character. He added that while Haruka was originally "a presence that you constantly have to think about her at the centre of things", this type of focus was decreased in later games. As a result, with the appearance of Haruka's son, Haruto, in Yakuza 6, the write believes that Haruka was once again the center of attention to the audience even if she is not present. In regards to Haruka's presence, Nagoshi wanted the premise to focus on the new characters related to Haruka.[7]

Haruka's voice actress is Rie Kugimiya who found her character "refreshing" in the cast of the series.[8] Kugimiya's role was found challenging by the developers but in the end they found it appealing. Kugimiya regarded Haruka difficult due to Haruka's complicated background.[9]

Haruka as she appears in Yakuza Kiwami, the 2016 remake of the Yakuza franchise's originating work.

Introduced in Yakuza, Haruka is a young girl searching for her mother, Mizuki, who appears to be the sister of Yumi Sawamura. Haruka is also somehow connected to the Tojo clan money that went missing before Kiryu's release from prison, and circumstances result in Kiryu looking after her. Kiryu learns that Mizuki is Yumi, and that she and Haruka were hiding from her husband, Jingu, a politician who had tried to kill them both to prevent a scandal from affecting his career. Jingu also wants Haruka's pendant to gain access to the missing money. Jingu tries to kill Haruka, and Yumi is fatally injured protecting her. After Yumi's death, Kiryu decides to adopt Haruka and start a new life.

In Yakuza 2, she is 10 years old. Haruka has lived with Kiryu as her adoptive father since the events of the first game. In the beginning of the game she stays at Sunshine Orphanage while Kiryu investigates of Terada's murder. She is kidnapped by Sengoku's men in an attempt to lure Kiryu into a trap; in the end he manages to defeat Sengoku's men and rescue Haruka with the help of Ryuji, who is disgusted by Sengoku's willingness to hurt children to gain power.

In Yakuza 3, Haruka now lives in an Okinawan orphanage run by Kiryu with a group of other orphans while she attends school.

She does not pay a major role in Yakuza 4, although she and Kiryu assist the recently-escaped Saejima Taiga when he is injured. She later disagrees with Kiryu returning to Kamurocho again due to her fear of losing him.

In Yakuza 5, she is 16 years old, and becomes one of the five playable characters. In 2012, Haruka has left Okinawa for Osaka to pursue her dream of becoming an idol. Despite the stress of her new career, Haruka rises in popularity while working in Sotenbori but is shocked when her manager Park dies, seemingly of suicide. She meets up with Kiryu's friend, money lender Shun Akiyama, and the two search for the truth behind Park's death, discovering that she was actually murdered. During her idol debut in Tokyo, Haruka regrets her choices, especially after learning she was still being aided by Kiryu, who was trying to prevent yakuza interference with the concert. In the end, Haruka quits her dream and returns to her adoptive father.

In Yakuza 6: The Song of Life, Haruka abandons the orphanage after seeing how her friends are being affected by the media attention to her yakuza connections. Released from prison after three years, Kiryu returns to Kamurocho to search for Haruka. He discovers that she is in a coma after a hit and run incident, and that she has an infant son, Haruto. Kiryu travels to the town of Onomichi, where he learns that Haruka had been friendly with the Yomei Alliance's Hirose family, and had entered into a relationship with Yuta Usami. The revelation of Yuta being the heir of the Saio Triad results in her being attacked by Tatsukawa. Haruka recovers from her injuries and decides to start a family with Yuta and Haruto in Sunshine. However, she does so without Kiryu, who has faked his death to protect her and Haruto.

Critical reception to Haruka has been positive. Vandal claimed that Haruka's meeting with Kiryu was the one of the biggest points from the series due to how their relationship develops until Yakuza 6.[11] RPGamer criticized that in her debut Haruka is kidnapped multiple times in the story, making the game ridiculous.[12] Destructoid reported that the cutscenes involving Kiryu and Haruka were the most entertaining parts of the series.[13] PCInvasion regarded Haruka's relationship with Kiryu as the strongest part from Yakuza Kiwami as they develop a strong bond with Haruka's traits making Kiryu less stoic to the point of comparing them as a daughter and a father, respectively.[14] In a 2018 popularity poll, Haruka was voted as the 17th best Yakuza character.[15] GamesRadar listed her as one of gaming's best female characters, due to her care towards other members in the cast of the Yakuza series.[16]

Many commenters focused on her debut as playable character. USGamer appreciated playing as Haruka in Yakuza 5 due to the change of pace Sega provided after multiple types of fighters in the narrative and felt that her long distanced relationship with her adoptive father was the most appealing area of the game.[17] HobbyConsolas stated while idols might not be interesting to Western gamers, Haruka still offered more variety to the game.[18] GameSpot also liked the handling of her story due to how the character has matured ever since her debut although the reviews had mixed opinions about Haruka's career.[19] Egmnow praised how Haruka's character stands out across the series starting with how Kiryu finds her in a store alone and how she grows into a popular idol in Yakuza 5. As a result, the writer believes Haruka added "a feminine touch" in into a narrative focused on masculine fighters.[20] Polygon wrote an article about how Haruka is relevant in a narrative filled with toxic masculinity, she is still depending on others including Kiryu and Akiyama despite achieving her dreams of becoming an idol.[21] IGN liked how surprising was the option to play as Haruka due to how different she is from other characters.[22] Meanwhile, RPGFan considered Haruka's gameplay to be most outstanding in the game due to how the mechanics emulate Kiryu's fight as Haruka has to keep her own health meter during dance fights.[23]

There has been commentary about Haruka's role in Yakuza 6. Destructoid liked the handling of Kiryu, due to his more serious personality caused by Haruka's crisis.[24] GameRevolution shared similar comments, mainly on how Haruka also has been developing in previous games to stay close to her adoptive father and it was this time Kiryu's quest to protect her in Yakuza 6.[25] Kotaku claimed while Haruka's newfound happiness with Haruto serves a positive note to close Kiryu's arc, the fact that Kiryu survives and leaves reduced the tension the player has.[26]

• Wen, Alan (May 6, 2021). "How the role of women has evolved in the Yakuza series". Rock Paper Shotgun. Retrieved July 8, 2021.
• Thorn, Ed (January 18, 2021). "More games need Yakuza 5's weird pivot to J-Pop sim". Rock Paper Shotgun. Retrieved July 8, 2021.