SDCC 2024: Like a Dragon: Yakuza Series Offers “Totally Different” Takes on Kiryu and Others

Audiences at San Diego Comic-Con on Friday July 26th were treated to the first teaser trailer for Prime Video’s Like a Dragon: Yakuza series which will be the streamer’s next video game adaptation release with a premiere set for October 24th, following their critically acclaimed and award nominated Fallout series that premiered earlier this year. As is the case with any adaptation, fans of the existing game series are curious how the games they love are going to translate into a live-action series, a topic that has come up in post-panel interviews conducted at Comic-Con. 

SEGA sat down with Director of Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio and Executive Producer of the Prime Video series Masayoshi Yokoyama, who spoke briefly about how faithfully the series adapts the beloved characters, as well as teasing new characters created just for the series that will be revealed in the weeks to come ahead of the series’ premiere this fall. “Amazon has cast Ryoma Takeuchi for Kazuma Kiryu and Kento Kaku for Akira Nishikiyama,” his statement regarding the series’ characters begins. “To tell you the truth, their portrayal of the characters are totally different from the original story. But that’s what’s great about it.”

“The Kazuma Kiryu we created twenty years ago was perfect, and there’s nothing more to add to his character. When you see how they fight in this drama, it’s obvious they were not recreating the characters from the game. This project brought forth a new Kazuma Kiryu. At the same time, his rival Akira Nishikiyama was newly created by Kento Kaku. Their acting is a must-see for sure.”

It’s not just the central character and his rival that Yokoyama mentioned in his response, as the producer also takes a moment to mention new characters created for the Prime Video series. “Moreover, there are characters that are original to this Amazon Prime version. There’s this one female character that I can’t talk about yet. But her presence and acting are just on a whole different level. I am certain you will find it sensational,” he teases before circling his response back to the lead characters. “I know you’re excited to see these two actors, that are there with you at SDCC, and you can look forward to hearing about other cast members to be announced later on.”