Video game adaptations for television seem to be all the rage now, and after the success of the Fallout series, Amazon Prime Video has now revealed their next adaptation—Like a Dragon: Yakuza—based on the Like a Dragon series which was formerly known as Yakuza.
Check out the announcement:
Make the choice to take the next step. Like a Dragon: Yakuza comes to Prime Video October 24. pic.twitter.com/FasWRDpBez
— Prime Video (@PrimeVideo) June 4, 2024
What’s probably the most shocking thing is that we didn’t get any kind of updates on the series, and this is our first main look at it, just months before it’s set to release.
According to IGN, the show is only going to run for six episodes and is directed by Masaharu Take, who is best known for his series The Naked Director. The series will also star Ryoma Takeuchi in the main role as Kazuma Kiryu.
It’s said that the story will be taking place in two time periods, one set in 1995 and the other set in 2005—the same year that the first Yakuza was released. The setting is said to be taking place in the Kamurocho entertainment district and will follow Kiryu and three of his childhood friends as they grow up to be part of the criminal underworld.
While Japanese gangster dramas are dime-a-dozen, I am wondering if the show is going to be replacing the more wacky elements of the games—which has kind of become the signature to the newer games. I am just hoping we get at least one callback to this banger:
Like a Dragon: Yakuza will release in two batches, the first on Oct. 25, and the rest on Nov. 1.
