San Diego Comic-Con just came and went and the global subculture convention had no shortage of exciting announcements. One particular piece of news hits close to home as it concerns the upcoming Like a Dragon: Yakuza live-action series.
A First Look at Kazuma Kiryu
The trailer has received more than 750,000 views on the official Prime Video YouTube channel in less than two days. It opens with shots from the Like a Dragon games, paying homage to their source material. Following that, an exclusive first look of the series was shown, including extreme close ups of irezumi tattooing, the Japanese traditional art form of hand-drawn tattoos.
As part of the trailer announcement, Prime Video also revealed Kento Kaku as the actor who will play Akira Nishikiyama. Also known as Nishiki within the fandom, he is the sworn brother and childhood best friend of the main protagonist, Kazuma Kiryu. Kento Kaku is no stranger to the world of live action, having performed in a number of anime inspired films and TV series such as Ranma ½ and the recent Spy x Family film, “Spy x Family Code: White.”
A Special Message
Aside from the trailer, a special message from Masoyoshi Yokoyhama, executive producer at Ryu Ga Gotoku Studios was also aired at San Diego Comic Con. In this exclusive piece, he shares his heartfelt concerns about the live action adaption as the series had already previously done a film adaptation. One of his worries is that a live action would simply be an “imitation” of the experience one would have from playing the game. However it seems his concerns were alleviated.
“The screenplay surprised me, that such a bold adaptation was possible,” he says.
When I was talking to Director Take, he was speaking to me as if he was the author of the original story.”
Hearing sentiments directly from the original creators go a long way in assuring the very passionate Like a Dragon community that the live-action series is in good hands. Whether you’re excited to see Kiryu in the flesh or the thought of it is making you groan, Like a Dragon: Yakuza will be making its debut on Prime Video from October 24th 2024.
