Summary
On Jul 26, 2025, Amazon made the surprising announcement that it was partnering up with Sega and Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio to bring the acclaimedYakuzavideo game franchise to the silver screen, in the form of a live action TV show titledLike a Dragon: Yakuza. This upcoming adaptation is set to span six episodes that’ll be released in two parts, with the first batch launching on October 25 and the second airing on November 1. Additionally, Amazon revealed that thisYakuzaTV series, which is helmed by directors Masahiru Take and Kengo Takimoto, stars the famous Japanese actors Ryoma Takeuchi and Kento Kaku. While Takeuchi takes up the role of series protagonist Kazuma Kiryu, Kaku plays the part of his blood brother, Akira Nishikiyama.
Although the show was announced so close to launch, Amazon hadn’t provided much information aboutLike a Dragon: Yakuzaoutside of casting and release date details. There wasn’t even a screenshot of the show to go along with its unveiling at the time. Fortunately, though, Amazon dropped a brief teaser trailer for the Prime Video series at San Diego Comic Con just recently. The company also provided a blurb alongside it, which revealed that the show would be set in two time periods a decade apart, just like in the games. What little is shown in the 1-minute trailer forLike a Dragon: Yakuzalooks promising, but it’s hard to tell just how much of the franchise’s elements the show has maintained based off this short teaser alone. With that in mind, hopefully, this upcoming adaptation hasn’t abandoned the sillier, light-hearted moments from the games in favor of being fully serious.
Like a Dragon: Yakuza Should Embrace The Franchise’s Sillier Side
TheYakuzagames are hard-boiled crime dramas with a striking sense of humor. The series may have a lot of dark, gritty story beats, but it’s also chock-full of light-hearted and often downright weird elements. One moment, players might be smashing enemies' heads into trucks and watching sad, heartbreaking cutscenes, and in the next, they’ll be dancing at disco parties and helping Michael Jackson impersonators shoot music videos. RGG Studio has managed to deftly balance the serious with the strange in just about everyYakuzagame. Though these drastic shifts in tone might cause too much whiplash for some, they’re a defining trait ofthe long-running Sega franchiseand provide much of its charm.
Like a Dragon: Yakuza Lacking The Silliness of the Yakuza Franchise Could Make it Blend In
Although it’s too early to say for sure, from what’s been shared aboutLike a Dragon: Yakuzaso far, it seems like the TV show might not lean that heavily into the absurd side of the games. In a recent interview with TheGamer, Ryoma Takeuchi not only revealed thatthe substories from theYakuzagameswouldn’t be present inLike a Dragon: Yakuza, he also stated that the TV show would primarily focus on the “human emotions” and “emotional elements of the characters” from the franchise. In the same interview, series producer Eric Barmack chimed in on the matter as well, saying thatLike a Dragon: Yakuzawill emphasize realism and aim to find a balance between the quirky setting of Kamurocho and its eclectic cast of characters.
IftheYakuzaTV series focuses entirely on realismand downplays the wilder side of the franchise, as Barmack’s words seem to suggest, then the show will be making a major misstep. Without the weird moments and silly events of the games,Like a Dragon: Yakuzamay not feel like a trueYakuzaexperience and could risk becoming a run-of-the-mill crime drama. Amazon’s upcoming TV show needs to have some levity if it wants to be a faithful adaptation of the series. Sure, the series doesn’t need to have an episode dedicated to Kiryu playing pocket racing or something in that vein, but it does need some of that classicYakuzacharm.
Yakuza
Sega’s Yakuza franchise is a series of action-adventure and role-playing games that revolve around characters who are a part of or associated with dangerous criminal organizations.The various games in the series tend to be led by gripping, emotional narratives but are supplemented by hilarious side stories and enjoyable mini-games that give players a welcome break from the drama.
