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For nearly 20 years, Sega has thrilled fans with its Yakuza/Like a Dragon series. The video games follow hard-hitting mobster with a heart of gold Kazuma Kiryu as he delves deep into the Japanese criminal underworld. Now the long-running video game franchise is being adapted into a thrilling live-action television series, titled Like a Dragon: Yakuza, set to premiere on Prime Video this October. The adaptation stars Ryoma Takeuchi as Kazuma Kiryu and Kento Kaku as Akira “Nishiki” Nishikiyama, Kiryu’s childhood best friend and sworn brother. At SDCC 2024, we sat down with both actors for an exclusive interview ahead of the series’ debut.
Both Takeuchi and Kaku refer to the Like a Dragon games as ubiquitous around the world and a presence in their lives since their childhood, with Takeuchi recalling seeing the original game at his uncle’s home nearly 20 years ago while Kaku’s brother played the games. Once both actors were locked into their roles on the show, they did a “revisit on the property entirely” to refamiliarize themselves with their characters as Like a Dragon’s primary setting in the fictional Japanese city of Kamurocho. However, as the actors read the scripts, they realized that the television adaptation goes much deeper with their characters’ complicated dynamic than the games had.
“When I read the script for the first time, I could see the depth in Nishiki’s background and our relationship. I realized that we were able to deepen this complicated relationship more than the game,” Kaku observes, noting he quickly found a bond with his character. “I found some synchronicity with him. I could understand why he reacted this way, how he feels, and what he does. I really understand him.”
One of the biggest changes that Like a Dragon brings to the video game source material is a chance to see Kiryu and Nishiki before they’re both irrevocably drawn into the world of the yakuza. The series features extensive sequences set in 1995, showing the two men’s lives changed forever as they become involved with a local yakuza syndicate—before Kiryu is sent to prison where he emerges as a hardened brawler and Nishiki rises through the ranks of Kamurocho’s criminal element. For both Takeuchi and Kaku, capturing a more innocent time in both their characters’ history was especially important to their performances.
“The whole key to this iteration is the early days in 1995,” Takeuchi explains, hinting at the found family and brotherhood between Kiryu and Nishiki that serves as the emotional core of the TV series. “That starting point gave a great story arc for the characters, especially for Kazuma, who is in jail for 10 years. There is a big change to the outside world while he’s in there, especially for life in Kamurocho.”
Though the cast was careful not to allow themselves to be completely defined by the video game depictions of their characters, they wanted to strike a balance between the source material and their own performances. This is especially clear in Like a Dragon’s many action sequences, particularly the brutal fights that Kiryu constantly finds himself in, whether he’s participating in underground fight clubs or facing off against rival mobsters around Kamurocho. Takeuchi and the crew planned and choreographed Kiryu’s fighting styles meticulously in the show to demonstrate how the no-nonsense figure evolves over the course of the series.
“Living the character is more important than mimicking it, not copying, but making sure you have the character within is the most important thing about the performance,” Takeuchi says. “At the same time, in terms of the physical movements of the character, we did make an intricate plan in terms of fighting styles for Kiryu. We have one fighting style in 1995, but we made a total shift in how Kiryu moves and fights in 2005.”
With all the hard work put into bringing Like a Dragon to life, the cast and crew found the experience a challenging, but rewarding one that they feel honors the Sega video game series while forging a creative path not completely beholden to it. And in addition to playing these characters, the cast enjoyed the opportunity to get to live and breathe in the world of the games themselves.
“We had a hell of a time living and performing in the world of Like a Dragon,” Takeuchi says. “It was very rigid and hard in terms of the schedule and everything, but it was just so fun to be living in that world. I think that’s one of the testaments of how great the franchise is.”
Like a Dragon: Yakuza premieres October 25 on Prime Video.
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