In a new interview with GamesRadar+, actors Ryoma Takeuchi and Kento Kaku from the upcoming Like a Dragon: Yakuza live-action series discussed the show following the reveal of its first teaser trailer. Surprisingly, it was revealed that neither the duo nor the team behind the Amazon series have ever played a single Yakuza game.
“We decided we would make sure we would do our own version, relive the characters, take their spiritual elements, and embody them on our own,” said Kaku. “There was a clear line we wanted to draw but everything on the bottom was respect.”
“I know these games – everybody in the world knows these games. But I haven’t played them,” Takeuchi added. “I’d like to try them but they had to stop me because they wanted to – for the character in the script – explore from scratch. That’s why I decided not to play.”
During San Diego Comic-Con, Masayoshi Yokoyama, the director of Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio, gave his thoughts on the first episode of the upcoming show.
“There’s a major surprise at the end of episode one,” he said. “When I saw the ending, I couldn’t help but scream. I jumped on my feet in my office, excited by the drama’s twist. My hands were trembling, as I took a smoke in our smoking room right after that. I was that affected. I thought it was amazing.”
The Yakuza game series began in 2005 with Yakuza for the PlayStation 2. The most recent game in the franchise, Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, was released in January 2024 for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.
Like a Dragon: Yakuza will air on Amazon Prime Video, with the first three episodes airing on October 25 and the final three on November 1.
