Video game adaptations have seemingly grown more competent and successful over the past few years. With the Sonic the Hedgehog films dominating pop culture and pulling in star talent like Keanu Reeves and the Super Mario Bros. Movie dominating the box office in 2023 and becoming the highest-grossing video game movie of all time, there’s a clear path forward to make these adaptations succeed.
Moreover, the film landscape isn’t the only place where these adaptations have succeeded. Television and long-form storytelling have proven to be just as engaging as a medium to bring video games to life. Look no further than HBO’s The Last of Us, its hotly anticipated second season, and the first season of Prime Video’s Fallout, released earlier this year to rave reviews. Now, the Prime Video streaming service is looking to continue its success with Like a Dragon: Yakuza.
Based on Sega’s Yakuza video games that have spanned 11 titles and several console generations, this Prime Video original series isn’t the first adaptation of the iconic gaming franchise. There have been other web series and even a feature film adaptation of the original game by acclaimed Japanese Director Takashi Miike. Despite taking place in a single fictional district of Japan, the Yakuza games are filled to the brim with lore, impressive gameplay, and mini-games that can leave players entertained for hundreds of hours, similar to other open-world titles that have maps twice as large as Yakuza’s.
That said, the Yakuza series inherently lends itself to being adapted on TV. The lived-in fictional Kamurochō entertainment district portrayed in the games has plenty of thoroughly developed characters and dramatic plot points, making it easy to imagine a compelling Japanese drama that’s part hard-hitting action and part soap opera. If you’re looking for something along those lines, Amazon’s Like a Dragon: Yakuza hits all the right notes. However, if you expect a 1:1 adaptation of the games, prepare to be disappointed. The show takes a more scenic route in adapting the story of the first Yakuza game and its remake 2016 remake, Yakuza Kiwami, resulting in a mixed bag of a season that’s thankfully more good than bad.
Like a Dragon: Yakuza tells the story of Kazuma Kiryu (Ryoma Takeuchi), known as the “Dragon of Dojima,” named after the fearsome Dojima Family/Yakuza group that Kiryu is drawn into. Kiryu’s attempted robbery of the Dojima family leads to him and his adopted family, Akira Nishikiyama (Kento Kaku) and Yumi Sawamura (Yumi Kawai), deciding to join the crime syndicate to settle their debt. What follows is a decade-spanning tale that constantly shifts from 1995 to 2005 as Kiryu uncovers a conspiracy that could tear apart not just two Yakuza groups in a bloody war but also the district of Kamurochō that he calls home.
In terms of video game adaptations, Like a Dragon: Yakuza is more along the lines of Fallout rather than The Last of Us. Where the HBO zombie show carefully adhered to the story of the game and its plot beats, Like a Dragon: Yakuza explores a different path that eventually leads to the status quo of the game and all of its significant character moments. However, this isn’t a total detriment to the series. Instead, it allows both old and new fans of the IP to rediscover these characters and choose which new mysteries and character arcs to invest in. But, of course, those deeply familiar with the lore of Yakuza will see some twists coming earlier than others.
Perhaps the most essential aspect this Prime Video show needed to get right is Kamurochō. The location is practically a character in and of itself in the games and is based on various real nightlife districts in Japan. Thankfully, most of the story is driven by the development of the district, which is the catalyst for the main plot and ensuing bloodshed. Sadly, Like a Dragon: Yakuza‘s production design often has spotty CGI, and Kamurochō is usually just represented by one outside center court. In turn, while mostly capturing the aesthetics of Kamurochō, the locale seems much smaller in this Prime Video adaptation. Additionally, the cast of characters fit the mold of Yakuza but sometimes come across as underdeveloped.
Thankfully, Ryoma Takeuchi’s lead performance as Kiryu in Like a Dragon: Yakuza is not a problem. Takeuchi and the rest of the cast also face the challenge of playing two vastly different versions of their characters: the naive, young, and hungry versions of themselves in 1995 and the jaded, more stoic versions in 2005. Part of Kiryu’s charm in the games is how he essentially plays a straight man to most of the absurdity that can happen in the world of Yakuza. The TV version Takeuchi plays mostly does the same, albeit there are nowhere near as many comedic beats in this live-action Amazon series.
Furthermore, Yakuza fans worried about the actor’s physicality can breathe a collective sigh of relief. Ryoma Takeuchi brings Kiryu’s strength and stature despite his lean build and elevates all the action sequences with his physical performance. Given that Kiyru is at the center of most, if not all, the action, bringing this specific aspect of the games to life was essential. Obviously, the fights can’t be as exaggerated or over-the-top in live-action, but they can at least pack a punch. Thanks to steady camera work and crisp sound design, every hit, kick, and swing of a blade feels real. Like a Dragon: Yakuza’s fights are, without a doubt, the best part of the series.
Alongside Ryoma Takeuchi, Kento Kaku delivers an impressive performance as Akira Nishikiyama. In the dueling narratives, Nishikiyama is the most separated regarding his younger and older self. Audiences will have a hard time early on distinguishing that it is, in fact, the same actor portraying the same character simply because of how differently he carries himself in the 2005 storyline. Playing the adopted brother and best friend of Kiryu, Nishikyama feels multi-dimensional and like the polar opposite of this brother. My only complaint would be that there’s hardly anything for him to do in the 2005-set plot, making his screen presence vastly underused despite playing a pivotal role in the thematic underline of Like a Dragon: Yakuza.
Unfortunately, Yumi Sawamura has little to do besides tagging along with either Nishikyama or Kiryu in the 2005 plotline. Her 1995 story with the youngest adopted sister, Miho (Hinano Nakayama), should have been the emotional crux of the Prime Video series, and yet everything afterward merely blends her into the background. In her parts of the narrative, the show can lean more into the soap opera tropes, such as tracking a long-lost sister, and can sometimes be a welcome change of tone and pace in some episodes while simultaneously feeling like a detriment in others.
Overall, the biggest disappointment fans may encounter in Like a Dragon: Yakuza is the lack of humor. The cultural impact and success that the Yakuza games have had over the years is largely due to how it’s able to have immense and sometimes surreal amounts of levity and absurdity in addition to its self-serious tale of crime families and fist fights. Like a Dragon: Yakuza gets half of it right, delivering a semi-decent crime story that hits all the major narrative beats of the first game and primarily sets the table up for a possible continuation.
There are so many moving pieces in this 6-part streaming series. Honestly, so many small details in the production design, supporting cast, and even music replicate the sensation of the overwhelming options a player is given in the Yakuza games.
Regrettably, that’s one thing that doesn’t translate well into the medium of television; with so much going on, most of this Amazon show feels half-baked. Still, Prime Video’s Like a Dragon: Yakuza is an admirable effort that is far from the worst video game adaptation. The series boldly carves a unique path rather than replicating the source material. It’s well worth a watch for fans of the series or anyone looking for a decent drama with visceral fight scenes and some corny Yakuza action.
Like A Dragon: Yakuza premieres on October 24 on Prime Video!
Created by Sean Crouch & Yugo Nakamura.
Based on the video game Yakuza by Toshihiro Nagoshi.
Directed By: Masaharu Take and Kengo Takimoto.
Executive Producers: Masayoshi Yokoyama, Erik Barmack, Roberto Grande, & Joshua Long.
Main Cast: Ryoma Takeuchi, Kento Kaku, Yumi Kawai, Shôken Kunimoto, Masaya Katô, Kôichi Satô, Subaru Shibutani, Tomoya Maeno, Shôken Kunimoto
Production Companies: Amazon MGM Studios, The Fool, Wild Sheep Content, & 1212 Entertainment.
Episode Count: 6 (Season One).
