Like A Dragon: Yakuza TV series on Amazon Prime later this year

Amazon will release a new live-action TV series based on Sega’s Yakuza games later this year.

Like a Dragon: Yakuza will be exclusive to Prime Video and released globally on 25th October.

Japanese actor and model Ryoma Takeuchi (who cameoed in Detective Pikachu, among other roles) will take on the lead role of Kazuma Kiryu, while Masaharu Take (The Naked Director) will direct.

The series will span two time periods – 1995 and 2005 – and will follow “the life, childhood friends, and repercussions of the decisions of Kazuma Kiryu, a fearsome and peerless Yakuza warrior with a strong sense of justice, duty, and humanity.”

This hints it’ll be, perhaps, based on the first game in the series, which takes place in 2005 following events 10 years before.

“I am truly honored to be given the opportunity to play the role of Kazuma Kiryu, a beloved character and the game series,” said Takeuchi. “I strongly felt that I was willing to put my life on the line. Audience will enjoy the show’s human drama and conflict that unfolds around Kazuma Kiryu. Furthermore, please take a look at Kiryu’s intense fighting scenes with the Dragon tattoo on his back.”

Take said he has “poured out” [his] heart, soul, and the experience that [he has] garnered over 35 years into Like a Dragon: Yakuza”, noting 2024 is fittingly the year of the dragon.

“Since the day I first put pen to paper on the original Yakuza’s script, I’ve never once thought about revisiting any of my work on the series,” said Masayoshi Yokoyama, head of Ryugagotoku studio and executive producer on the TV series. “It’s because I understand all too well the challenges and hardships that come with remaking a finished title. However, if I were ever sent to the past through some kind of cosmic joke, this is the experience I’d want to create.”

He added: “While the games let you experience their world through the subjective lens, this adaptation will be the ultimately objective way to enjoy the show. I have no doubt that fans of the series will be drawn to how it brings the games to life and adds new surprises.”

The TV series is yet another indication of the success of the series, which has sold 21.3m units in total. The most recent game, this year’s Infinite Wealth, sold 1m units in its first week and was the series’ biggest Steam launch ever.

Ironically enough, Sega “flat out rejected” the first proposal for the game, presuming it wouldn’t attract mass audiences.

Yet the TV series is likely to do just that, especially following the success of Amazon’s Fallout series. Fallout was watched by 65 million people in its first 16 days of release and has already been renewed for a second season.