Christie Monteiro

Heihachi Mishima (三島 平八) is one of the main characters in the Tekken fighting game series. He is one of only four characters (the others being Paul Phoenix, Nina Williams and Yoshimitsu) to have appeared in every game in the series and he makes two appearances within the series as the final boss. He is also the only Tekken character aside from Yoshimitsu to be featured in the Soul series (as a guest character in the PlayStation 2 version of Soulcalibur II.).

Conception and creation
Tekken series director Katsuhiro Harada has stated that Heihachi is his favorite character in the overall series and the character he most frequently selects when playing. He further described Heihachi as a "very human character", stating that while focus had been placed on his appearance he found the character's philosophy more interesting, and that in the series he was a "perfect portrayal of the evil that lurks in mens' hearts", an evil "far more hideous than any made-up monster or demon." Heihachi's fighting style is not based on any existing style, and was instead created by the series' development team.

In video games
Heihachi is the son of Jinpachi Mishima, the father of Kazuya Mishima and Lars Alexandersson, the adopted father of Lee Chaolan, and the grandfather of Jin Kazama. He fights with Mishima Style Fighting Karate and is the founder and the Commander of the Tekken Force Unit. He has hosted half of the King of the Iron Fist Tournaments with the second, fifth and sixth King of Iron Fist Tournaments being hosted by Kazuya, Jinpachi, and Jin respectively.

Tekken plot history
In an attempt to eliminate his son's "weakness", Heihachi tossed Kazuya, his then 5-year old son, down a deep ravine, claiming that if he were truly his son, he would be able to survive the fall and climb back up. To further motivate Kazuya, Heihachi adopted Chinese orphan Lee and raised him as a rival to his true son. After Kazuya had traveled abroad and became an undefeated champion, the 52-year-old Heihachi announced the King of Iron Fist Tournament in order to test him. Kazuya won the tournament, tossed Heihachi off the same cliff and assumed control of the Zaibatsu. Heihachi survived the event, and returned 2 years later in the second tournament to defeat his son, and tossed Kazuya's body into a volcano to kill him. Later (now 73), he created a military force called the Tekken Force. Fifteen years after the end of the second tournament, in Central Mexico ruins they discovered Ogre, a creature with bloodlust for strong fighters. Seeking to create the ultimate lifeform from the creature, Heihachi took in his grandson Jin Kazama, trained him, and four years later announced the third Iron Fist tournament as bait. Ogre arrived and was defeated by Jin, only for Heihachi to in turn betray and attempt to kill him. Jin survived, transformed into devil, attacked Heihachi and flew away.

Afterwards, Heihachi attempted to combine his own DNA with that of Ogre, but discovered that he would need the Devil Gene as a catalyst, held by both his son and Jin. Unable to find Jin, Heihachi learned Kazuya had been resurrected by G Corporation, a rival company. To lure both to him, he held the fourth King of Iron Fist Tournament with his very company's ownership as the grand prize. After the Tekken Force captured Jin upon arrival, Heihachi defeats Kazuya. However, the two would be later defeated by Jin who escapes after sparing Heihachi's life.

Immediately after Jin's departure, an army of Jack-4s built and sent by G Corporation invaded Hon-Maru. Heihachi is seemingly killed in the attack, but survives in order to recover control of his company in Tekken 5. He continues his role in Tekken 6 where Jin's has taken Mishima Zaibatsu's control.

Though unrelated to the story of the series, during the second trailer for Tekken Tag Tournament 2, Heihachi appears to have regressed back his Tekken 2 appearance. Katsuhiro Harada commented on Heihachi's new voice actor for the game as former voice actor Daisuke Gōri passed away in 2010.

Other appearances
Heihachi makes a very brief appearance on the Tekken spin-off game, Death by Degrees. He appears on a monitor talking with Enrique Ortega, explaining that he has assigned the Tekken Force to help him. When Nina Williams arrives, he recognizes her as the great assassin, and signs off leaving Enrique to fight her. The player can choose on the last stage on Nina mode, whether they want to fight against Heihachi or Anna Williams (in case Anna mode has been completed). Heihachi is one of the bonus characters available to play as or against in Anna Kournikova's Smash Court Tennis for the PlayStation, alongside fellow Namco characters, including Richard Miller (from Time Crisis), Pac-Man, Reiko Nagase and fellow Tekkenites Eddy Gordo, and Yoshimitsu in his Tekken 3 incarnation. He also makes an appearance as a playable character in the PS2 version of Soulcalibur II. This is currently the only game in which he speaks English. Heihachi will also appear in the crossover game Street Fighter X Tekken.

Heihachi also makes a guest appearance in the RPG Tales of the Abyss as one of Anise's custom dolls. Heihachi also appears in Pac-Man Fever, alongside Tiger Jackson, Astaroth from Soul Calibur, Reiko from Ridge Racer, and Pac-Man and Ms. Pac-Man. Heihachi appears in Smash Court Tennis Pro Tournament 2 as an unlockable character. Heihachi also appears in Namco × Capcom as a playable character.

Heihachi appears in both the anime Tekken: The Motion Picture, voiced by John Paul Shepard, and the 2010 film Tekken, Heihachi is portrayed by Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa. In the former, he is the main villain, while in the latter, he is initially a villain but becomes a much more sympathetic character than in the games, as he is willing to give his life to save Jin from the Tekken Corp soldiers. Heihachi appears in the 2011 CGI Film Tekken: Blood Vengeance which is set between the events of Tekken 5 and Tekken 6. During the film, Heihachi once again confronts Jin, but is defeated.

In other media
Tohru Fujisawa featured Heihachi as a cameo in his manga Great Teacher Onizuka, modeled after his younger appearance in Tekken. In it, he engages in an arm wrestling competition with protagonist Onizuka, shouting out controller inputs while the crowd shouts for him to "Do a combo!" Though Heihachi strains him for a moment, Onizuka defeats him, calling him "triangle head" as an insult. Heihachi cameos again in a later issue briefly, overseeing students as they clean graffiti from the school's walls.

Promotion and reception
In 2006, Namco released a Heihachi figurine as part of a Tekken 5 set based upon his promotional artwork for the game. While not posable, the PVC figure came with equipable clothing items modeled after those in the game. A "statue" of Heihachi modeled after his Tekken 5 attire also appears in the Namco-themed lounge available for Japanese PlayStation Home users.

In 1996, Gamest magazine named Heihachi the fifteenth best character of the preceding year, and in December 1997 he placed fortieth on their list of the fifty best video game characters. Gaming Target listed him as the best Tekken character, citing his strength despite his age. IGN called him "...one grandpa you don't want to come across in the retirement home", citing his ruthlessness in their profile of him. GamePro in their preview of Soul Calibur II ' s console ports called Heihachi's appearance in the series a landmark both as the second Tekken character to appear in the titles and as the first unarmed fighter in the series. GameDaily named his hairstyle one of the weirdest in gaming, stating "Heihachi Mishima is a tough old bird, and he's got the wings to show for it." GameSpot named him one of the top ten villains in video games at number three, describing him as one of the most interesting villains in fighting games and adding comments on his little changed design across the series. In PS2Planet's "Top 5 PSOne Villains", Heihachi was third with comments on him being the most realistic villain because of the themes the character touches. Edge described him as "a legendary fighting game villain", and cited the impact of his supposed death in Tekken 5.

Both Kotaku and Game Informer have labelled him as one of the worst parents in video game history because of how he treats his relatives Kazuya and Jin. Computer and Video Games also listed him as one of the angriest gaming characters as a result of his actions towards Kazuya made to eliminate his weakness. His younger appearance in Tekken Tag Tournament 2 resulted in surprising reactions by critics who mainly pointed his hair. In a GamesRadar article by Michael Grimm, a fight between Heihachi and M. Bison was written as one of the ones players wanted to see in Street Fighter X Tekken because of their two similarities such as being their franchises' villains and other characteristics.