‘Like a Dragon: Yakuza’: Everything You Need to Know About Prime Video’s Game Adaptation
Like a Dragon: Yakuza is set to be Prime Video’s next big live-action video game adaptation. The Japanese crime thriller is inspired by Sega’s insanely popular video game franchise, which itself was inspired by the yakuza film genre of the ’80s and ’90s. The film will be available to stream in over 240 countries and territories.
Like Fallout and The Last of Us before it, Like a Dragon: Yakuza continues this new era of successful video game IPs to the small screen. But it’s not the first time the title has spawned an adaptation.
Iconic Japanese genre director Takashi Miike (Audition, Ichi the Killer) directed Like a Dragon, an action movie inspired by the first game in the series, which hit theaters in 2007. The six-episode Prime Video TV series comes from directors Masaharu Take and Kengo Takimoto, with scripts by Sean Crouch, Yugo Nakamura and Toshihiro Nagoshi.
The stars of Like a Dragon: Yakuza sat down with CNET at San Diego Comic-Con 2024 to discuss the new show and explain how Prime Video’s series will differ from Sega’s while maintaining the spirit of the beloved games. Read on to get all the details about Prime Video’s upcoming action film.
Read more: Prime Video’s New Look: What’s New for Your Streaming Experience
Like A Dragon: Yakuza release date and time on Prime Video
Like a Dragon: Yakuza will drop a total of six episodes on Prime Video. The first batch of three will premiere on Thursday October 24th with the second group of three headbutting their way to the streamer Thursday, October 31.
In Japan, each series premieres a day later, that is, Friday, October 25And Friday November 1st.
What is Like a Dragon: Yakuza about?
Prime Video Official Synopsis reads: “The series centers on the lives of fierce but passionate gangsters and people living in a massive nightlife district, Kamurochō, a fictional area modeled after the violent Kabukichō in the Shinjuku district, which serves as the backdrop for the gameplay.”
The show will focus on the conflict between Yakuza warrior Kazuma Kiryu and his childhood friend-turned-enemy, Akira Nishikiyama — also known as Nishiki. “That’s probably what brought out the essence of making a new version,” said Kento Kaku, who plays Nishiki in the series. “We were able to go deeper into the emotional aspects, probably more than in the game.”
Who stars in Like a Dragon: Yakuza?
Ryoma Takeuchi (Kamen Rider Drive) plays Kazuma Kiryu. House of Ninjas star Kentu Kako plays crime boss Akira Nishikiyama.
Kaku was drawn to Nishiki because of the character’s emotional depth and evolution over the series. “He has just about every emotion a human can have.” Nishiki goes from “very emotional and instinctive” to “very cold and dry, but with a quiet anger,” he said.
Takeuchi acknowledged Kazuma’s compassion as the personality trait that most appealed to him. “Kiryu is very hard on the outside, but very soft on the inside,” he said. “That kind of thoughtfulness and the emotional element of longing for human connection is the part that resonates with me the most.”
As embedded as the Yakuza warrior is in the criminal underworld, Takeuchi’s Kazuma is guided by a solid set of morals. He wants to help people — not hurt them.
“I think he’s a guy who wants to stand up for people,” Takeuchi said. “Trying to be a hero is one of his goals in life. I wouldn’t have done the project if that core essence wasn’t in this building. And I think this drama embodies that.”
Like a Dragon: Yakuza takes place in two time periods
The show will be set in two time periods: 1995 and 2005. A lot can change in a decade, and to properly reflect that, Takeuchi said director Masaharu Take established a specific color palette for both years.
“I think even the characters are depicted in warmer and hotter colors in 1995, compared to how they are in 2005, which is colder and bluer,” Takeuchi said. I think the contrast is really important. Take-san has always said that you just don’t want to look cool or stylish in the scenes from 1995, because that’s going to happen in 2005.”
How is Like a Dragon: Yakuza different from the video games?
Rather than pulling details from the many entries in Sega’s video game franchise, the Prime Video series charts a unique narrative path. Kaku explained that Take directed the actors to find their characters organically through creative exploration.
“The main focus was on digging deep into the core relationship [between Kiryu and Nishiki] and use their ultimate goals as a feeling, and that’s probably what brought out the essence of creating a new version,” Kaku said. “We were able to go deeper into their emotional aspects, probably more than the emotional depth of the games.”
“It starts with respect and knowing the property inside and out and then at some point letting go when you actually start shooting,” Takeuchi added. “Because you have to embody your own character in your own way. Once you embody the character — the spiritual elements of the characters — you just start to resemble the source material. That’s maybe the most surprising element of the show.”
