Yamada (山田, やまだ ), full name Taiki Yamada (山田大樹, やまだ たいき ), is a recurring antagonist first featured in Downtown Nekketsu Story. He is a third year student at Meian High School and was previously the Student Council President at Reihō Academy after forcibly taking the position from Takashi Onizuka. Yamada would attend the same middle school as his childhood friends Kunio and Kazumi Hasebe, though he would begin to resent Kunio after continually feeling inferior to him. He is described as being hard to decipher, capable, powerful, and a cheapskate.
Yamada possesses a mysterious power that he would come to realize after hanging around Makoto Yamagami for a prolonged period of time. After his defeat to Kunio, he would transfer to his current school and would often be seen with Mamoru Tōdō as an accomplice.
Appearances[]
Downtown Nekketsu Story[]
Yamada debuts in Downtown Nekketsu Story as the main antagonist. Having feelings for Hasebe and knowing that she still has feelings for Kunio, Yamada orchestrates the takeover of Reihō Academy and the other high schools with Ryūichi and Ryūji Hattori acting as the face of the scheme in an attempt to prove himself better than Kunio. He decides to also antagonize Riki and kidnaps his girlfriend Mami Shimada believing out of jealously that he has a cute girlfriend. Upon being confronted by Kunio on the rooftop of Reihō Academy, Yamada reveals his true intentions and resentment towards Kunio's high reputation and states that he aims to become the star of the franchise in a fourth wall breaking fashion.
Upon being defeated, Yamada appears confused about his powers failing him and vows to beat him another time. With his scheme coming to an end, the other schools are freed from Reihō's control with the students quickly forgetting about him.
In the North American and European localization River City Ransom and Street Gangs, Yamada was renamed to Slick.
Downtown Nekketsu March Super-Awesome Field Day![]
Following his defeat in Downtown Nekketsu Story, Yamada would transfer to Meian High School. Yamada makes an appearance in the game's instruction manual and during the ending.
Downtown Special Kunio-kun's Historical Period Drama![]
Yamada plays the role of Jūkichi.
Jūkichi is first encountered later in the game and will ask Kunimasa if he can join him. If accepted, he can be selected as a partner at Bunzō's though will cause Tsurumatsu to leave. If Jūkichi leaves the group, he will assist Asajirō in the final fight.
Surprise! Nekketsu New Records! The Distant Gold Medal[]
Yamada continues to act as a flunkey to Tōdō and is first seen outside of the tournament's construction site with him. Yamada points out the fact that Tōdō managed to trick his father Kōnosuke into funding the tournament and asks what the construction site is supposed to be. Tōdō tells him that it's soon to be his own colosseum equipped for a range of sports that he plans to use as a way to humiliate Kunio. Impressed, Yamada believes that Kunio has quite the challenge ahead of him. Now feeling hungry, Yamada asks Tōdō to buy him some ramen, though he feels insulted by the question and then asks for the ramen shop stating that he'll buy the entire store. As Tōdō leaves the construction site, Yamada begins to cry.
During the ending of the game, Yamada is seen with Tōdō again as the tournament's colosseum is being demolished. Yamada thinks that it's a shame that the entire colosseum is being torn down, though Tōdō reassures that it's nothing compared to his father's wealth. The two stand in silence before Tōdō leaves to take the Oklahomans to the airport. Later at the airport, Yamada finds the bouquet Tōdō gifted to Raphael in the trash thinking that it's his lucky day, though this infuriates Tōdō and reignites his hatred towards Kunio. Fed up, Tōdō demands Yamada to beat up Kunio, though he instead decides to run away in a panic.
In the localization Crash 'n the Boys: Street Challenge, Yamada was renamed to Skip.
Kunio-kun no Dodgeball da yo Zen'in Shūgō[]
Downtown Nekketsu Baseball Monogatari: Yakyū de Shōbu da! Kunio-kun[]
Yamada appears as the captain of Meian High School's team. During the ending of the game, Kunio spots Yamada running by, though he states that he's running for a reason and threatens to fight Kunio the next time they meet. Shortly after leaving, the owner of a restaurant Yamada ate at is seen chasing after him as he ate three bowls of ramen but only paid for one.
Downtown Nekketsu Monogatari EX[]
Yamada appears in the same role as he did in the original versions of the game. New to this version, if any of Reihō's Four Kings are fighting alongside the player, Yamada will instantly defeat them. If the player chooses to fight with a teammate that's not apart of the Four Kings, Yamada will instead complain about not being able to have a one-on-one fight and will summon Ryūichi, Ryūji and Onizuka as reinforcements. Both of these are able to be avoided if he is interrupted during his speech.
His special attack, Yamada Says, allows him to telekinetically pick up any weapons off the ground and throw them at his opponents.
Nekketsu Kōkō Online: Yamada no Fukushū[]
River City: Knights of Justice[]
River City Super Sports Challenge ~All Stars Special~[]
This remake of Super-Awesome Field Day re-imagines the events of that game. The story takes place after River City: Rival Showdown.
Yamada has now transferred to Meian High School following his prior defeat to Kunio and is first seen during the game's secret match where he approaches Tōdō to ask him if he was just beaten by Kunio. Tōdō recognizes Yamada and is initially shocked to see him, though the two begin to discuss their plans after Yamada asks to be apart of his scheme. Michael Tobioka comes to Japan in cooperation with Tōdō and challenges Nekketsu High School's team and others to a match against his own team of robots. Kunio and his team beat the other participants of Tobioka's challenge, in which Yamada, Tōdō, and Tobioka are seen together accepting their defeat and making plans on using what they've learned to best Kunio next time. Yamada plans on preparing a way to damage their opponents mentally. Hasebe interrupts and reveals that she was listening in on their conversation, to which Tobioka openly shares their plans as he wasn't aware who Hasebe actually was. Hasebe proceeds to use her Tetsuzankō move against the three which sends them flying offscreen.
Yamada appears as a character unlocked from winning a game with a team only consisting of Kunio and Riki in free battle. Yamada is able to use Yamada no Jutsu.
Downtown Nekketsu Jidaigeki[]
River City: Rival Showdown[]
River City: Rival Showdown is a remake of Downtown Nekketsu Story. The game takes place before River City Super Sports Challenge ~All Stars Special~.
Three months prior to the main story, Yamada is first seen talking to Makoto on Kotobuki Road about making a new start and closing a chapter, though Makoto ignores Yamada's comment and asks for his help in beating someone up. Yamada then makes it clear to Makoto that he is turning against him and that he has no interest in harassing random people on the street. Yamada offers to take Makoto under his wing to avoid an unpleasant fight, though Makoto gets enraged and refuses which then leads to them fighting. Yamada defeats Makoto in battle and reveals that the only reason why he stuck around was to obtain Makoto's power, then proceeding to brainwash Makoto and leaving him in a corrupted state.
Yamada proceeds to instigate a fight between each of Reihō Academy's Four Kings, winning against each and attempting to have them knuckle under using his brainwashing ability, though each of them remain unphased and only proceed to work under Yamada because he's beaten them in combat. Masao Kobayashi is the only one of the Four Kings that deliberately tell Yamada he'll be the one deciding who he wants to work for. Yamada then sets his sights on taking over as the Student Council President of Reihō and accomplishes this by brainwashing Onizuka. Yamada forces Onizuka to resign from his position and demands an election to be held for next semester's Student Council President, which he specifically asks to do whatever it takes to get him elected. Though Onizuka is to formally resign, he will still be doing all of the associated work for Yamada behind the scenes. With Reihō Academy now under his control, Yamada sets off to find a pair of tough and reliable lieutenants to help carry out his scheme. Yamada comes across Ryūichi and Ryūji and demands a fight with them to prove his strength. After their defeat, Yamada reveals his plan to them on taking over the other schools in Japan. Yamada asks for twins' assistance, to which they willingly agree to serve under him as they lost fair and square.
In the main story, Yamada is first seen on the third day after Kunio defeats Tsuyoshi Gōda in a fight on Reihō's campus. Having watched from afar, Yamada informs Ryūichi and Ryūji that they will be attacking Nekketsu High School the following day and orders them to recapture Mami at Starpark Café. On the fourth day, Yamada watches Kunio and Riki enter Reihō's campus from the rooftop as they make their way into the school. After Kunio and Riki defeat the Dragon Twins, Kunio makes his way to the rooftop where Yamada is waiting for him. Yamada gives Kunio a monologue of his accomplishments and how he's surpassed anything that Kunio has ever done. Kunio disregards his speech and only comments about how he'll beat Yamada to a pulp. Yamada laughs his threats off and gets ready to put an end to Kunio and show him what he's learned since they last saw each other. With Yamada now defeated, he talks about how he's always hated the idea of losing to him and how his plan for reigning supreme over the schools nationwide was almost a success. Yamada vows to come back stronger the next time he crosses paths with Kunio, though ends up surprising him and his allies with an attack outside of the school. Yamada then shows his true ambitions and jealousy towards Kunio and wishes that he's able to get all the affection for himself. Kunio defeats Yamada once more, to where Yamada accepts his defeat and starts to recollect on his memories of Kunio and why he grew to hate him so much. Yamada reveals in detail to Kunio how he met Makoto, what he found so appealing in him, and how he executed his plan within Reihō Academy. With his plans being thwarted, he withdraws from the school and is forgotten about by everyone.
In Riki's story, Yamada instead executes his plan by disguising himself as a fortune teller and attempts to sway Riki into defeating Kunio for him. Yamada successfully tricks Riki into running errands by claiming that if he finds all of what he requests, he will be able to find Mami. He first asks Riki to find him the second button of other student uniforms and plans to use them to perform his special technique. After Riki delivers the buttons, Yamada is satisfied that his plan of conning Riki is going to work. On the second day, Yamada confronts Riki again and suggests he attempts to make another offering to God after Riki admits to him that he's struggling to find Mami again. After he accepts, Yamada asks him to grab a yakisoba roll, the entirety of the "Glass Wooden Sword" series, a fluffy cushion, and a coffee milk. Upon collecting the required items, Yamada tells Riki that he's taken too long and claims that God has given an extra order to obtain the belt of the strongest guy. Yamada gives a detailed description of the qualities for who he's looking for in hopes that Riki would realize he's referring to Kunio. On the fourth day, Yamada is shocked to see Riki on the top floor of Reihō Academy after he's beaten Ryūichi and Ryūji in a fight. When asking why Riki is there, he states that he was heading to the roof to lift the belt from the highest point he could think of. Yamada then believes that Riki has defeated Kunio, though is enraged after he realizes Riki deems himself as the strongest person. Yamada decides to summon Makoto and assists him during his fight against Riki. Upon being defeated, Yamada is in disbelief that his scheme was foiled by someone so oblivious and sarcastically asks Riki to tell God to turn back time.
In the game's unlockable "River City: Yamada's Side", the player controls Yamada in a prequel to the main story. This gamemode does not allow the player to freely explore Yumemicho and will instead require them to face off against each boss fight in a linear fashion without dying once. If Yamada is knocked out during any of the fights, the player will have to restart from the beginning. This gamemode can be unlocked by completing the main story's true ending.
River City Melee: Battle Royal Special[]
River City Girls[]
In this continuity, Yamada is a former student at Reihō High School and is described as being creepy and pathetic. He is voiced by Griffin Puatu.
Prior to the events of the main story, Yamada and his family would move to River City when he was ten years old. He hated his parents for making him leave behind his friends, though would soon meet Kunio as he introduced himself to Yamada as they were unpacking. Yamada describes Kunio as being nice and mentions that they'd quickly become best friends that would do everything together. Skipping ahead sometime, Yamada mentions Hasebe transferring to their school and how he fell in love at first sight. After school, Yamada would excitedly run to the park after school to tell Kunio all about his crush, though would discover that he also took a liking to Hasebe and was already at the park with her. That night Yamada decided he would get revenge on everyone and would turn to the dark arts in order to become stronger.
In the main story, Yamada is first indirectly mentioned by Misuzu as she informs Misako and Kyōko that she last saw Kunio and Riki talking to him in Crosstown, though she wasn't sure who it was. Upon handing Susumu Godai a burger, he suggests that Yamada was the one the boys were talking to and informs the girls that he's likely at the mall. With no luck on finding him inside the mall, the girls ask Hiroshi if he knows where else he may be, to which Hiroshi points them towards the construction site. Upon confronting Yamada, he briefly greets the girls before he's asked if he knows the whereabouts of Kunio and Riki, to which he disregards the boys as being losers which angers Kyōko. With Kyōko having to be calmed down, Yamada explains that he hasn't talked to the boys in years and begins to explain his falling out with Kunio. Eventually getting interrupted during his story, Misako and Kyōko would question how well Yamada even knew Hasebe, to which it's revealed that he's never talked to her before. Impatient, the girls demand answers on Kunio and Riki's whereabouts, but Yamada instead gives a monologue about his hatred towards all the girls treating him poorly before starting a fight.
Upon being defeated, Yamada reveals that he has no clue on where Kunio and Riki currently are and suggests that they may be in Uptown, as he sometimes sees them hanging around the area after school.
River City Melee Mach!![]
River City Saga: Three Kingdoms[]
Yamada plays the role of Cao Cao, the monarch who laid the foundation of Wei.
In the story mode, Cao Cao is first seen in the second chapter at the Imperial Court where he attempts to kill Dong Zhou (Sabu), though is stopped by Lu Bu (Misuzu) and flees the scene. Now on the run for his failed assassination attempt, Cao Cao stops by his uncle Lu Boshe (Makoto)'s place, though starts to get paranoid in thinking he'll report his whereabouts to Dong Zhou, so he then kills Lu Boshe and anyone else in the house before departing. Shortly after, Cao Cao starts forming alliances across the country to take down Dong Zhou. Guan Yu (Kunio) leaves a good impression on Cao Cao after defeating Hua Xiong (Abobo) alone.
During the third chapter, the Emperor who is currently under the protection of Cao Cao sends out a letter to Liu Bei (Gōda) requesting his assistance in taking out Yuan Shu (Yūji) and to meet in Chen. When Lu Bu takes over the castle in Xiapi, Liu Bei requests the assistance of Cao Cao in taking her out, to which he will then agree to help Cao Cao in taking out Yuan Shu or any other task that's asked of him. Cao Cao comes up with the strategy for Guan Yu and Liu Bei to flood the castle, which will eliminate Lu Bu's advantage with the Red Hare (Shinji). After Lu Bu's defeat, Cao Cao requests Liu Bei to stop by the city of Xu for private matters he wishes to discuss.
Later in the fourth chapter, Liu Bei stops by Xu and is praised by Cao Cao, citing him as the one other person who could help him restore peace across the country. Liu Bei leaves as he goes to see Gongsun Zan (Heilman), which he is indebted to. Cao Cao picks up a letter from the Imperial Court accidently dropped by Liu Bei requesting help against Cao Cao. Feeling deceived, Cao Cao views this as a declaration of war. He proceeds to send out a large army to the castle in Xuzhou to prevent anything from happening and ends up capturing Guan Yu and Mi Zhu (Saori). Cao Cao negotiates terms with Guan Yu to temporarily have him work as a subordinate, where Guan Yu states he will leave once he finds Liu Bei and Zhang Fei (Godai), and demands that Mi Zhu remains unharmed. Cao Cao sends Guan Yu to fight Yan Liang (Kamijō) with Zhang Liao (Hasebe) accompanying him to ensure that he does not attempt to run away. Before Guan Yu heads out, Cao Cao gifts him the Red Hare in an attempt to persuade him into permanently working in his army. Knowing that Guan Yu was going to depart, Cao Cao avoids meeting with him until Zhang Liao hands off a sign of passage from Cao Cao after Guan Yu has bruteforced his way through many checkpoints. In the Hot-Blooded route of this chapter, Guan Yu will get to join Cao Cao in fighting against Yuan Shao (Tōdō)'s army at the end.
In the final chapter, Cao Cao decides to flee with some of his generals when finding out he was at a disadvantage after seeing the enemy's plan succeed flawlessly. Guan Yu catches up to Cao Cao, and the two proceed to fight each other. Defeated, Cao Cao starts to feel at peace, to where Guan Yu can't bring himself to deal the final blow, so he allows Zhang Liao to leave with Cao Cao.
In the China Heroes gamemode, Yamada is able to be unlocked by completing the Hot-Blooded difficulty in the story mode. Yamada is able to use Mach Punch, Mach Kick, Yamada Says, a special sword slash for his grab, and Yamada Says: Wei for his super special.
River City Girls Zero[]
Yamada makes a cameo appearance in the game's newly added opening animation.
River City Girls 2[]
Yamada briefly appears in a sidequest from Kaori at Ocean Heights. In his attempt to flirt with girls at the beach, he uses his magic powers to send volleyballs and kick up sand at Kaori. Misako, Kyōko, and the rest of the group get him to stop, to which he agrees and is crushed by Misuzu shortly after.
River City Saga: Three Kingdoms Next[]
Yamada retains his role as Cao Cao.
Other video games[]
CODE SHIFTER[]
Yamada appears as an assist character.
Speed Rush Runners[]
Other media appearances[]
Ore wa Otoko Da! Kunio-kun[]
Yamada is a recurring character in the manga. He debuts in chapter three and attempts to defeat Kunio in a variety of ways to no avail.
Nekketsu Kōha Kunio-kun (4koma Manga Kingdom)[]
Kunio-kun! Nekketsu Battle![]
Ā, Nekketsu Kantai Gayuku![]
Nekketsu Kōha Kunio-kun Gaiden River City Girls[]
Yamada was to be played by Takeshi Terayama, though the play would be cancelled due to one of the cast members testing positive for COVID.[1]
Trivia[]
- Yamada appears to have psychokinetic powers, as evidenced by his Art of Yamada / Slick Trick technique, which picks up a bunch of fallen items/people and flings them at his opponents.
- Yamada has a crush on Hasebe and one of the reasons he feels Kunio overshadowed him when they were friends is that Hasebe prefers Kunio over him.
- In Downtown Nekketsu Story, if Yamada is fought on Hard, his health will go higher than 128 and in turn will cause him to be defeated faster due to a bug.
- In River City Saga: Three Kingdoms, Yamada will break character during his fight in the China Heroes gamemode's normal route.