Jin Kazama is a character in the videogame series Tekken.

Jin's History

WARNING!! This page contains SPOILERS for the entire Tekken series!

Early Childhood

Jin Kazama is the son of Jun Kazama and Kazuya Mishima . During the King of Iron Fist Tournament 2 (which is the setting of the game Tekken 2), Jun and Kazuya crossed paths. At some point, the two were intimate. There is some speculation throughout the internet as to whether or not Jun was raped by Kazuya or if the act was consentual. Regardless, Jun found herself pregnant with Jin immediately afterward. Wishing to raise her son alone, Jun disappeared into a remote mountain location where she raised Jin and trained him in her Kazama-style self-defense fighting style. After many years, Jun sensed the approaching of a great evil (Ogre) and told Jin that if anything happened to her, that he should seek his grandfather, Heihachi Mishima. Jun's words proved to prophetic, and some time after Jin's 15th birthday, she was attacked by Ogre. Some time later, Jin awoke amongst rubble and searched for his mother and could not find her anywhere. The young man swore revenge.

Tekken 3 Story

Jin was then taken in by his grandfather, Heihachi Mishima, who then 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. And so, 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 manifestation) and avenged his mother. However, he was immediately gunned down by his grandfather Heihachi and several armed goons. 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 Story

After Heihachi's betrayal, Jin spiraled into a pit of self-hatred and loathing. He hated everything about himself. His Mishima bloodline, his fighting style, and even the "Devil gene" which he had inherited from his father. Finding a secluded dojo in Brisbane, Australia, Jin unlearned the Mishima style that he'd used up to that point and mastered traditional karate thanks to the help of the dojo master. Jin then set his sights on entering the King of Iron Fist Tournament 4 in order to destroy the Mishima family once and for all.

Before Jin could make it all the way to the final bout, he was surrounded by Heihachi's "Tekken Force " army 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. After subliminal taunting from his father, Jin's devil power again began to emerge, allowing him to break free of his bonds. Jin and Kazuya then fought, with Jin emerging as the victor. Jin then proceeded to fight his grandfather, Heihachi, and once again was victorious. Just as Jin was set to kill Heihachi once and for all, he saw an image of his mother appear before his eyes. Tossing Heihachi aside, he told him, "Thank my mother, Kazama Jun" before spreading his devil wings and flying straight through the Hon Maru ceiling to the night sky.

Tekken 5 Story

Shortly after Jin left, the G Corporation (the rival company to Heihachi's Mishima Zaibatsu) sent an army of Jack robots to kill Heihachi. The Jacks self-detonated, destroying the Hon Maru and seemingly 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. According to dialogue within Tekken 5, during his time sealed in Hon Maru, Jinpachi had been fully taken over by his own Devil Gene and was released when Hon Maru was destroyed, releasing his evil throughout the world.

No one felt the effects of this more than Jin. 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, it seems that the Devil Gene may have been too powerful for Jin to control, even with his Kazama blood, as Devil Jin is an unlockable character within the game and his profile states that "two months later, Jin has been completely taken over by the Devil Gene". There is more to Jin's story following the events between the opening of Tekken 5 and the beginning of the King of Iron Fist Tournament 5. However, it is not quite sure if this is considered canon or not.

The Devil Gene

The Devil Gene is a mysterious curse that befalls anyone born of the Mishima bloodline. Before Tekken 5, it was believed that the curse began with Kazuya, who sold his soul to the Devil in order to exact revenge on his father Heihachi, who had thrown him into a ravine when he was a child. However, due to the introduction of Jinpachi Mishima in Tekken 5, and some of the dialogue found within the game's story mode, it's clear that the Devil Gene predates this. Speculation states that Jinpachi may be the originator of the curse, but there won't be any way to know for certain until answers are given in subsequent games or by Namco themselves.

One thing to note about the Devil Gene is that Heihachi lacks it. It's not known why this is, except for the theory that Heihachi simply doesn't want it. However, this does not answer why it affects Jin Kazama, who also rejects it. However, Heihachi does have a use for the Devil Gene. With samples taken from Ogre's tissue, he has learned that combining the Devil Gene with Ogre's DNA will allow him to finally create the ultimate lifeform he seeks. The connections between the Devil and Ogre are as of yet unknown.

Another speculation made about the Devil Gene is that the individual Devils are independent of each other, and yet part of the same whole. In Tekken 4, Kazuya's Devil refers to the one within Jin as his "other half" that he wishes to absorb into himself again. However, if it's true that the Devil Gene is divided upon genetic inheritence, then Kazuya's itself is only 1/2 of the original devil while Jin's is only 1/4th. And if each devil is split further by its hosts' successors, then Jinpachi only holds half of the full Devil entity while Kazuya holds 1/4 and Jin holds another 1/4. If Heihachi possesses a Devil Gene, but merely supresses it, then Jin and Kazuya's numbers are further multiplied by 1/2.

This would explain why each Devil looks quite different than those before it. Jinpachi's Devil is purplish with horrible skin disfiguration and a gigantic mouth in its abdomen. Kazuya's Devil retains the purple color and adds horns, leathery wings, a tail and a third-eye, but lacks the more severe skin disfiguration and the gigantic mouth. Furthermore, Jin's Devil lacks the purple color, tail, and the third-eye, but retains the wings (albeit in black, feathery form) and horns while adding black tattoos across his body. In addition, in Devil Jin's ending, he absorbs Jinpachi's Devil and gains the purple color and third-eye along with a few other unique features.

Other Info

One bit of fan speculation involves Jin's friendship/potential romance with Ling Xiaoyu, a Chinese girl raised by the Mishima Zaibatsu and attending the same high school as Jin. In Tekken Tag Tournament, Ling Xiaoyu's ending indicates that she has somewhat of a crush on Jin, and this is complimented 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, however, as Ling's part in the overall plot is minimal. It is also worth note that, aside from a big brother-like concern for Ling's safety, Jin has not really returned her feelings at all. He is either not interested or too concerned with his desire for personal revenge.

There is some speculation (primarily amongst fans of yaoi) that Jin and his Korean rival, Hwoarang, may have a homoerotic relationship as Hwoarang seems quite focused on their rivalry. There is little, if any evidence, to support this.

More speculation surrounds Jin's relationship with his newly-introduced cousin, Asuka Kazama. Neither seems to be aware of their relation, but in Asuka's ending, Jin clumsily falls onto her breasts and seems to be quite comfortable there before finally regaining his wits. A momentary look of red-faced embarrassment on Asuka's face before her mood shifts to pure anger also raises eyebrows, as this is a common setup for many couples in anime and manga. However, the meeting results in nothing more than Asuka yelling "You pervert!' while punching Jin into the side of rock wall and stomping off angrily, leaving Jin wondering what happened.