As the Dragon of Dojima gears up for his arrival on the small screen, Amazon Prime Video has shared an extended look at its forthcoming live-action TV adaption of Sega’s Like a Dragon / Yakuza series. The explosive trailer for Like a Dragon: Yakuza sets up expectations of an action-packed affair, showcasing bare-knuckled brawling, shooting and knife attacks, more gang violence, and in one specific scenario, a detonation.
There are also strong hints of emotional drama, with references to protagonist Kazuma Kiryu’s (Ryoma Takuechi, Kamen Rider Drive) past and an introduction to a mysterious masked figure known as the Demon of Shinjuku. It looks to be all serious business, especially with an ending line that reads, “Channel the demon that lurks. Devour and dominate,” which sounds Yakuza / Like a Dragon enough. Here are the real questions, though — will there be scenes dedicated to the franchise’s zany mini-games and side quests? Will Goro Majima (Munetaka Aoki, Rurouni Kenshin) pop up from the sewers and fight Kiryu across Kamurocho?
Joining Takuechi in the main cast is Kento Kaku (Ranma ½ live-action special, Spy X Family Code: White), who plays Akira Nishikiyama, or Nishiki, in the show. Masaharu Take (100 Yen Love, The Naked Director) serves as director, with the following additional cast members revealed in the Japanese version of the trailer:
- Yūmi Kawai as Yumi Sawamura
- Hinano Nakayama as Miho Nishikiyama
- Toshiaki Karasawa as Shintaro Kazama
- Kōichi Satō as Masaru Sera
- Subaru Shibutani as Detective Date
- Saki Takaoka as Reina
- Ryūdō Uzaki as Jin Goda
- Shōhei Uno as Koji Shindo
- Masaya Katō as Dojima
- Tomoya Maeno as The Florist of Sai
Partially based on the first game in Sega’s beloved series, initally titled Yakuza outside of Japan, Like a Dragon: Yakuza follows Kiryu and three friends across two different time periods, 1995 and 2005. It will debut with six episodes on Prime Video in two batches on 24 October and 31 October (25 October and 1 November in Singapore), coinciding with the release of Yakuza Kiwami on the Nintendo Switch.
“In 1995, eager to escape their restrictive lives, Kiryu and his friends, Nishiki, Yumi, and Miho plan a heist at a local arcade,” reads the streamer’s description for the show. “However, the arcade is under the control of the Dojima Family, a powerful yakuza organisation that rules Kamurocho… Meanwhile, in 2005, Kiryu is set to be released from prison. He learns from Detective Date that his friends are in danger and decides to return to Kamurocho to protect them. However, their friendship has deteriorated, as tensions between the Tojo Clan and the Omi Alliance are at a boiling point.”
The series follows on the heels of a 2007 live-action film adaptation by Takashi Miike, which was also based loosely on the plot of the first Yakuza entry. Moving forward, fans can look forward to Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii, a continuation of the main story that features Majima as a swashbuckler in, well, Hawaii. The game is due to hit PS5, PS4, PC, Xbox Series X|S, and Xbox One on 28 February 2025.
Si Jia is a casual geek at heart – or as casual as someone with Sephiroth’s theme on her Spotify playlist can get. A fan of movies, games, and Japanese culture, Si Jia’s greatest weakness is the Steam Summer Sale. Or any Steam sale, really.
