Based on Sega’s hit action RPG franchise, Like A Dragon: Yakuza is a live-action crime thriller series coming to Prime Video in October.
The Like A Dragon franchise of action RPGs, which has been going under various names since 2005, is getting a new TV adaptation courtesy of Prime Video. The six-part series will stream from October and will star Takeuchi Ryoma.
Called Like A Dragon: Yakuza, the crime series will, like the videogames, be about organised crime in Japan, and will follow protagonist Kiryu Kazuma as he navigates his way around the mean streets of Kabukicho, Tokyo.
According to Variety, Like A Dragon: Yakuza, is directed by Take Masaharu and Takimoto Kengo, and its events will be split between two eras – 1995 and 2005 – and “follows the life, childhood friends and repercussions of […] a fearsome and peerless Yakuza warrior with a strong sense of justice, duty and humanity.”
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Beginning with Yakuza in 2005, the franchise has been a huge success for Sega, spawning multiple sequels and spin-offs – including the most recent entry, this year’s Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth. There have also been adaptations into books, radio dramas and even TV and film in Japan; Like A Dragon: The Movie, directed by the prolific Takashi Miike, came out in 2007.
The latest film based on the Like A Dragon/Yakuza franchise comes mere months after Sega announced its plans to adapt more of its properties into films and TV shows. The success of the Sonic The Hedgehog film franchise was the flashpoint, and in April, it was announced that an animated series based on the classic arcade beat-’em-up Golden Axe is in the works.
Like A Dragon: Yakuza will appear on Prime Video this autumn in two halves; the first three episodes will stream from the 25th October while the second batch will appear on the 1st November.
