The recent reveal of Roger Jr. and Bob as upcoming Season 3 DLC fighters for Tekken 8 at the EVO livestream in Las Vegas has drawn attention for an apparent callback to a decade-old meme. The announcement trailer for Roger Jr., a kangaroo character, features a scene that mirrors a widely circulated video of an Australian man punching a kangaroo. However, this reference carries a deeper, more complex history within the Tekken franchise.
In 2017, former Tekken director and executive producer Katsuhiro Harada stated that the same viral video had been the reason for Roger Jr.'s absence from Tekken 7. He cited concerns from "animal activists" who might complain about a character being punched, even if they did not play the game. This decision meant that both Roger Jr. and his father, Roger, were absent from Tekken 7, marking nearly 20 years since Roger Jr. last appeared as a playable character in the series.
The Tekken 8 trailer substitutes the original video's elements, replacing the man and his dog with Tekken character Leroy and his American Bully, Sugar. While the visual reference itself is noticeable, the underlying context for its inclusion has been a point of discussion.
Katsuhiro Harada has since clarified his previous statements regarding Roger Jr.'s exclusion from Tekken 7. In a post on X, Harada suggested that his comments may have been misinterpreted or lost in translation. He explained that while he had brought up the viral kangaroo video during an interview with Australian media, he never stated that the game had received an official protest or that he was forced to remove the character due to external pressure. Harada indicated that the idea of Roger Jr. being cut due to an organization's protest might have stemmed from the tone of his comments being "twisted a bit during translation into English."