The Dragon of Kansai
Stupidity, when we first hear about Goda Ryuji it is from Dojima Daigo. We find that the Omi Clan member had the young Tojo clan man thrown into prison for packing heat. Ryuji had some grand scheme that kept Daigo out of the picture for five years, presumably. We know, however, that Daigo doesn't think very highly of him. We learn that Daigo was set up. When Kazuma and Daigo part ways, we meet Ryuji for the first time in Cabaret surrounded by women. When one of his men upsets him, he handles it in a very brute manner and his temper seems to shine in full rage until Kazuma steps in. Ryuji inquires about Kazuma and feigns stupidity for most of their meeting. Going so far as to say he's glad that Kiryu is not Kiryu Kazuma, because it'd just be too crazy; Ryuji breathes a sigh of relief and then tries to buy Kazuma some drinks. Before he leaves, he tells Kazuma that he recognized the smell of blood immediately. Ryuji even goes so far as to warn Kazuma about the fireworks in Kamurocho, proving that he knows more about what's going on than he likes to say. It seems more than stupidity, Ryuji has a very good grasp of what is going on, but doesn't mind playing the fool to get information or move around. We see Ryuji shortly after when he takes over Omi Clan - he enters the meeting asking what's going on and then proceeds to try and stop the peace treaty. He's successful, defeats Daigo, but then loses to Kazuma. He wears a smug grin when Kiryu is arrested as though he knew the cops would be coming for him.
Courage, it takes a special kind of man to show up at the funeral of a rival, toss money at their feet and ridicule them. Ryuji is that kind of man. Although, I'd argue he's doing it to rile up a weakened clan, I think, in part he genuinely wanted to see what was going on. It was a first glimpse at how weak the Tojo Clan really could be. He went right up to them in their dark moment and they refused him. I think that if they had fought him or even accepted his help, he'd have just sent the order for his men to attack. There wouldn't be any fun in it for him.
Honor, although a jerk, Ryuji gives the Tojo Clan a Three Day Grace period in which he and his men will not attack. This lets them finish up the funeral ceremony for the Fifth Chairman and get their affairs sorted. He allows them time to heal so that they will be at their strongest to face him. When Sengoku kidnaps Haruka during this time, Ryuji responds by going directly to Sengoku. Irritated, he kills the other Omi man and returns Haruka to a beat up Kazuma. Ryuji mentions that he thinks it's underhanded to kidnap children and that the use of leverage is foolish because there's no real strength in it. Beyond that, he could have finished Kazuma right then and there but Tojo Clan still had some time left on their grace period. Ryuji merely returns Haruka and leaves. He's a man of his word and it was then that I decided I liked Ryuji but still denied it.
Pride, later after Kazuma's had to deal with everything else, we find that Ryuji's been watching and waiting patiently. He challenges Kazuma to a match from the highest point in the city to see who the stronger dragon really is. They battle on Kamuro Hills, with Kazuma the victor. Although not as strong as Kazuma physically, his pride really dictated to the end that he keep fighting. Even when he knew he couldn't win.
Heart, when Sayama says that she's his sister and that the two men can't fight because she's the only family he has, Ryuji seems surprised. At first taken aback he quickly grows to the idea of having a lovely young sister. But he shows a sadness as though he knows he will not live long enough to be the overprotective big brother. After being defeated by Kazuma, he insists he can see why his little sister would fall for such a strong guy. But more than that, even if its for the last few moments of his life, Ryuji accepted Sayama one-hundred percent. He also seems genuinely surprised when Goda Jin tells him that he begged his mother to let him keep him, as though the old man had done nothing but lie and give him trouble. Finally he seems to have shed some of the burden that made him such a cold and calculating man, offering he never cared for what the others were doing.
Dragon, after being shot and defeated we assume he's dead. We find out that Terada faked his death and that there's one more man pulling strings behind the whole Omi-Tojo scrap. Wounded (physically and emotionally) Kazuma gawks. When Terada gets shot and asks Kazuma to trust him only silence greets him. Kazuma faces being killed, Ryuji stands up and takes care of the traitor. It seems like he unloads a full clip into the man before putting a final bullet into his head. Afterwards, he and Kazuma fight again, a single punch to decide the winner. Again, Ryuji loses, but, he is a dragon among men. He passes in his sister's arms.
Affection, now, why do I love Ryuji so much? He's strong and kind, though he tends to show his kindness very rarely. But there are two instances in which he does. One, he helps Haruka, although he seems awkward about how to do it. He slings her over his shoulder, sets her down, and then leaves. I thought that was just as kind as he could possibly be, but, he just about melts into an overprotective big brother when Sayama is involved. He genuinely liked the idea of having a sister although, I think that stemmed a lot from the idea that he had family. He'd spent a long time thinking that his father had run his mother off or something, but seemed to believe him when he was told the truth. I like that Ryuji is a man of his word. He insists that Tojo clan should be left alone for three days and gets frustrated when others move beyond his orders. Back to saving Haruka, he could have killed the injured Kazuma and been done with it. But, he's too proud and wanted the Dragon of Dojima at his strongest - perhaps an acceptance from when Kazuma beat him the first time and said it didn't count due to the previous battle Ryuji had been in with Daigo. Beyond that, I do enjoy how absolutely stubborn he is. If he and Kazuma had honestly looked for a way off the tower before the bomb went off, I think that his injuries (which were no less than Kazuma's) they could have gotten him to the clinic. But, like the idiot he is, he decides that he and Kazuma should fight again - at least choose how they're gonna die. Which is all well and fine but the winner still gets blown up. Or would have had the bomb been at all active. But I'm just thinking that's another reason Ryuji's a stupid dragon. Both he and Kazuma are strong and very calculated. One would assume that they could have come up with something to save them. I think losing was quite a loss to his pride that he simply wanted to rest.
The short version is that Ryuji is strong, proud, stubborn, honest, and secretly kind. When it comes down to it, if he'd had different options he'd have turned out a lot more like Kazuma. If he'd taken less time brooding and more time looking, he probably could have found his sister and learned the truth about his mother. Instead, he always just waited and festered, let it get to him. It's understandable as a child that he'd think his mother just left and that probably didn't inspire him to find out why. So he blamed the only person he could, his father. I think, that for Ryuji it was always about not being good enough. And somehow, beating Kazuma would have justified things for him. Or at least, he thought it would. And that's something we can all relate too.