Summary
- The Yakuza TV show on Amazon Prime may be missing the quirky substories the game is known for.
- The live-action adaptation focuses on human emotions and character depth, rather than wild activities.
- The executive producer explains the decision to exclude substories to maintain a balance between quirky and serious elements.
The Yakuza TV show coming to Amazon Prime Video this year may not have all the storytelling elements the series is known for. Yakuza is known for its serious crime drama story coupled with outrageous sidequests known as substories sprinkled in for comedic relief. Some of these quests involve fighting men in diapers, ridiculous scams, or racing toy cars in a sensational fashion.
Amazon recently released its first trailer for their live-action adaptation of Yakuza. The teaser included shots of the fictional Tokyo district, Kamurocho, and various key characters from the series. Ryoma Takeuchi plays Kiryu, the main protagonist of the majority of the Yakuza/Like a Dragon games. Amazon’s teaser trailer showed off his famous dragon tattoo being applied to his back in between snippets of scenes.
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In a recent interview with TheGamer, Ryoma Takeuchi was asked if we would see Kiryu partake in some of the wild activities included in substories from the Yakuza games. “We don’t have that much in this iteration,” replied Takeuchi, "I think we're digging into the human emotions and the emotional elements of the characters in this iteration.”
Executive Producer Erik Barmack Explains Why Substories Will Not Be Included In The Show
Erik Barmack, the executive producer behind Amazon Prime’s adaptation, further elaborated on the question, "It's a balance that has to be found between the world that is so quirky and these characters, which need to feel real to everybody who is watching the series.” The Yakuza series has plenty of quirkiness, such as the baby substory from Yakuza Kiwami 2, which may feel out of place when compared to the serious nature of the main story. Although not a part of the show, Barmack noted the importance of these substories to the franchise, telling TheGamer, “That scene from Kiwami 2 is one of the reasons we thought this would be an interesting series, because it's so quirky in all of these things."
Yakuza, also known as Like a Dragon, is a beloved franchise to many. Getting into the Yakuza games can seem like quite the task to begin with, with over eight titles in the main series alone. The Amazon Prime TV series Like a Dragon: Yakuza, a live-action adaptation of the games, releases on October 24.
Sega's Yakuza franchise is a series of action-adventure and role-playing games that revolve around characters who are a part of or associated with dangerous criminal organizations.
The various games in the series tend to be led by gripping, emotional narratives but are supplemented by hilarious side stories and enjoyable mini-games that give players a welcome break from the drama.