The Yakuza live-action series is coming to Prime Video

Streaming giant Prime Video is releasing ‘Like a Dragon’, a live-action series adaptation of the SEGA game franchise ‘Yakuza Like a Dragon’.

The six-part crime-suspense-action series is directed by Take Masaharu (“100 Yen Love”) and Takimoto Kengo (“Kamen Teacher”) and stars Takeuchi Ryoma (multiple “Kamen Rider” titles) as the lead character, Kiryu Kazuma .

The film will be uploaded to Prime Video in two batches of three episodes on October 25 and November 1, with subtitled and dubbed versions in 30 languages.

Set in two time periods, 1995 and 2005, the series’ story follows the life, childhood friends and consequences of the decisions of a fearsome and peerless Yakuza warrior with a strong sense of justice, duty and humanity. The screenplay and story are by Sean Crouch and Nakamura Yugo, with a Japanese screenplay by Yoshida Yasuhiro and Yamada Kana.

The ‘Yakuza’ game series, released by SEGA in 2005, was positioned as an entertaining game for adults and received a lot of buzz among its target audience. The series “Like a Dragon: Yakuza” depicts the lives of fierce but passionate gangsters and people living in a vast entertainment district, Kamurochō, a fictional neighborhood modeled after Kabukichō in the violent Shinjuku district, which serves as the backdrop for the gameplay.

The series “shows modern Japan and the dramatic stories of these intense characters, like the legendary Kazuma Kiryu, that games in the past have not been able to explore,” according to Prime Video.

The production is by The Fool. Executive producers are Erik Barmack, Roberto Grande and Joshua Long.

“I poured my heart, soul and the experience I have gained over the past 35 years into ‘Like a Dragon: Yakuza,’” said director Take

“The unfettered appeal for Japanese content from Japan and other parts of the world has grown exponentially. While Prime Video Japan continues to offer a variety of content across different genres, adapting an internationally popular game franchise with such deep resonance and layered characters offers a unique charm and makes for an extremely compelling watch,” said James Farrell, Head of International Originals. Amazon MGM Studios.

“Since the day I first penned the original ‘Yakuza’ script, I’ve never thought about revisiting my work on the series. That’s because I understand all too well the challenges and hardships that come with recreating a completed title. However, if I were ever sent into the past by some cosmic joke, this is the experience I would want to create. If I had to go through the wringer anyway, I would want to create the most compelling versions of Kamurochō and Kazuma Kiryu that I possibly can – and this show has it all,” said Yokoyama Masayoshi, head of Ryugagotoku Studio and executive producer. “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 the way it brings the games to life and adds new surprises. I’m sure newcomers will simply be invested in the raw realism of the show.