Like a Dragon: Yakuza, a live-action series adaptation of the SEGA game franchise Yakuza Like a Dragon, has been announced.
It will be released on Amazon Prime Video later in the year.
The six-part crime-suspense-action series is directed by Take Masaharu (100 Yen Love) and Takimoto Kengo (Kamen Teacher) and stars Takeuchi Ryoma (Kamen Rider titles) as the lead character, Kiryu Kazuma, as per Variety.
The series’ story is set in two time periods, 1995 and 2005, and follows the life of childhood friends and the repercussions of the decisions of a fearsome 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.
Released in 2005 by SEGA, the Yakuza game series was positioned as an entertaining game for adults and found massive fanfare among its target audience. The series, Like a Dragon: Yakuza, depicts the lives of fierce yet passionate gangsters and people living in Kamurocho, a fictional district modelled after the Shinjuku ward’s Kabukicho, which acts as the backdrop of the game.
The series “showcases modern Japan and the dramatic stories of these intense characters, such as the legendary Kazuma Kiryu, that games in the past have not been able to explore,” Prime Video said.
“I have poured out my heart, soul, and the experience that I have garnered over 35 years into Like a Dragon: Yakuza,” said director Masaharu.