Why Like A Dragon: Yakuza could be another great video game TV adaptation

After a series of refreshingly good adaptations of video games for television – namely HBO’s The last of us and Prime Video’s Stand out — the bar is set high for Sega and Amazon’s upcoming series based on the Like A Dragon (formerly Yakuza) games. The producers and stars of the October issue Like a Dragon: Yakuza are convinced that their show will meet these high standards, also because it is produced locally and, as a family story, will find worldwide resonance.

The producer of the video games is also on board. Masayoshi Yokoyama, producer of the Like A Dragon game series and head of the Ryu Ga Gotoku studio, gave his blessing to the TV show’s script and serves as executive producer of Like a Dragon: Yakuza. In an interview over Zoom, he told Polygon that he had “extensive conversations with the director and the cast” to discuss the show’s mythology and “the rules they had to follow.”

“I was close to rejecting the script or tearing it to pieces,” Yokoyama said through a translator, “but it turned out that what I read was really, really impressive. So from that point on, I was very cautious and let the film crew take full control of the production.”

Like a Dragon: Yakuzaa six-part live-action crime series, based on the events of the first game in the series – and not on the similarly named Yakuza: Like a Dragon

Yokoyama said that the linear narrative format of Like a Dragon: Yakuza will give viewers a perspective on the story that the games cannot offer, as they don’t see the narrative when playing from Kiryu’s perspective.

“If you put it in a [TV] Story, you can stay with Kiryu and then [Akira] Nishikiyama and then Yumi [Sawamura]”You can jump back and forth between POVs and tell things from a more comprehensive bird’s eye view, which was quite freeing. I think that’s one of the strengths of the adaptation that sets it apart from the game,” he said.

One area where the Prime Video series could surpass the games, according to Yokoyama, is the depiction of the fictional nightlife district of Kamurocho in Tokyo. “In all iterations [of Kamurocho] We put so much energy into the realization of this fictional city, [the adaptation is] They almost outdid us in that and really brought it to life. So we’re a little jealous of that and feel like we need to do a better job in the games again.”

Erik Barmack, executive producer of Like a Dragon: Yakuzaalways thought it was important that the series not only takes place in Japan, but is also produced in Japan.

“You’ve seen Hollywood bring Japanese intellectual property to the U.S., and not always successfully or authentically,” Barmack said. “In the U.S., you’ve seen great video game adaptations for the world, but there aren’t many examples of great Japanese video games done locally and authentically, which is really a tribute to the games. Authentically, you could really only do that in Japan, and the fact that Amazon has taken the chance to make something that’s a pretty big show in Japan for a global audience is really interesting and unique.”

Photo: Mica Toolis Photography

The man who was supposed to play the leading role in Like a Dragon: Yakuza

“What attracted me to the story, which I think has a global sensibility, is the orphans who have no family and are desperate for a human relationship,” Takeuchi said through a translator. “That’s the core essence of the whole thing and the element that makes it most relatable.”

Takeuchi’s co-star Kento Kaku, who plays Kiryu’s friend and later rival Akira Nishikiyama, said he was aware of the responsibility that comes with embodying these characters in live-action films and the expectations that come with it.

“I have a lot of experience with famous manga adaptations in Japan and know from personal experience how difficult it is to successfully adapt them into live action,” said Kaku. “So I actually wanted to turn down [the part]but when I read the script, I could really see the depth of the characters for the first time and [their] Background and understand the relationship between Kazuma and Nishiki.”

Takeuchi repeated this statement, but emphasized that he doesn’t just want to appeal to long-time Yakuza fans. He wants his Kiryu to embody masculine toughness. And He said they wanted to highlight the tender vulnerability of Sega’s popular protagonist and portray him in a live-action manner.

“I think this is not the right approach to Only “try to please the fans,” Takeuchi said. “It’s more about coming from within and being authentic. So it’s a big challenge and it’s pressure, but I think that’s the starting point we all have to start from.”

“It’s terrible,” he said, laughing.

Image: Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio/Sega

Takeuchi at least has Yokoyama’s approval for the way he portrays Kiryu on screen.

“It is very liberating to have the chance to work with a very talented cast and [Takeuchi] “Embodying the character in his own way is just so refreshing,” said Yokoyama. “It’s not an imitation or a copy of the game character. It’s more embodying his spirit and bringing him back to life as a new character. So there’s no comparison. It’s just something completely different – and it’s cool.”

And while Like a Dragon: Yakuzais a crime drama spanning a decade that tells the beginning of a sprawling story, but it can also be intimate and emotional, Barmack said.

“This is not a show that needs $20 million spaceships to explode to make it work,” he said. “You have to believe these three characters, [Kiryu, Akira, and Yumi] care about each other and are in conflict with each other. If you went back just 15 years, you would say there would have been no way to bring a Japanese-language show with the scope that this show has to a global audience that matches the millions of people who have played the games. So you needed a platform like Amazon and and and the game to travel the world in that way. It’s scary, but it’s also amazing that a show like this is possible.”

Like a Dragon: Yakuza Premieres on Prime Video worldwide on October 24th.