The Direct got to sit down with the leading stars an executive producer of Amazon Prime Video's upcoming Like a Dragon: Yakuza TV series adaptation.
The first trailer, recently released by Amazon at San Diego Comic-Con, features glimpses of the fictional Tokyo district Kamurocho and introduces key characters, with Ryoma Takeuchi portraying Kazuma Kiryu, the series' main protagonist.
The teaser also highlights Kiryu's iconic dragon tattoo being applied, alongside brief scenes from the show.
Another big announcement was made: House of Ninjas' Kento Kaku will be portraying Akira "Nishiki" Nishikiyama.
During an exclusive interview with The Direct's David Thompson, Takeuchi, Kaku, and executive producer Erik Barmack dove into the most important elements to take from the game to the new TV series.
Takeuchi emphasized the importance of deeply understanding and respecting the source material, "taking it all away and going deep down on the emotional core of the drama was the most important step:"
"I think the method was to take everything in first, every element of it and consider it, and pay respect to all the elements that the underlying property has, but at the same time, taking it all away and going deep down on the emotional core of the drama was the most important step that we've took."
Kaku discussed the challenge of portraying complex relationships, particularly between Kazama and Nishiki.
He stressed the significance of depicting these dynamics with depth and nuance, reflecting "the very big complicated character relationship even more than the game as a motion picture or human drama:"
"When I read this before the first time, I really felt how big the track is. It's great. I really fell in love with every character. So we had to carefully portray the relationship between Kazama and Nishiki, the very big complicated character relationship even more than the game as a motion picture or human drama. So yeah, I'd say relationship."
Barmack underscored the series' dedication to preserving the local nature of the game's storytelling, stating that the "most important thing was that this was going to be a show that was in Japanese that honored the local nature of the game and the storytelling."
The producer also acknowledged the difficulty of incorporating "all the plot lines in" from the games but emphasized the focus on maintaining the emotional integrity of the characters and their stories:
"The first and most important thing was that this was going to be a show that was in Japanese that honored the local nature of the game and the storytelling. There's hundreds of plot lines so it's hard to put all the plot lines in, but we also wanted to be faithful to the characters in the game so that people who played the games, which there's millions around the world, felt like we were doing honest renditions of the emotions of the characters. But if we tried to put all, every single plot line from the games into the series, it would just be a jumble. So you have to clear through all this, stay honest to the fact that it's a local story with global appeal and that these characters are really meaningful and important to the people."
One key story-telling aspect of the upcoming Yakuza series is that there are two separate timelines (1995 and 2005) following the main group of characters at drastically different points in their lives.
Takeuchi discussed this key element of the series, adding that they "didn't shy away from thinking how fragile or flawed the characters are back in those days" and also explained how the process "was more about subtraction...trimming down the elements we built up in 1995:"
"Everything harkens back to how juvenile representation of youth it is in 1995. And we didn't shy away from thinking how fragile or flawed the characters are back in those days, which became that foundation of how different and how grown up they become in 2005. So it was more about subtraction, a process of subtraction, trimming down the elements we built up in 1995."
Barmack was clear about the vision for the two settings for the series, 1995 is all about "an emotional connection" between the main characters "as the emotional engine of the story," while 2005 shows "how power can corrupt:"
"The 1995 plot line, we needed to feel an emotional connection, especially between Kiryu and Nishiki and Yumi. You need to feel like with one twist, they could be best friends, or just a little decision can take them in a totally different direction. And part of what drives interest in the fandom of the games is there's big stories and there's emotional stories. And I think of the 1995 line as the emotional engine of the story. Then 2005 is showing how power can corrupt. And so, it's all about the Omi Alliance and the Tojo Clan, and all these, what happens when they rise to power. And we felt like we needed both to have a successful story."
As audiences will see in the series, Kaku's Nishiki undergoes probably the most drastic change between 1995 and 2005. The actor described the younger version more "emotional" while the older portrayal was "stripped down and hard to read expressions:"
"So I really enjoyed this difference. And also, I had to carefully portray how they changed so much. So for 1995, I am for more how this is emotional and instinctive portrayal. And for 2005, I am for stripped down and hard to read expressions. That's what I focus on the most."
He also emphasized getting to know his co-star Ryoma Takeuchi "off-set" was important as "in this show they're brothers, and [he] want[s] to be a brother in real life with him:"
"I just wanted to know about Ryoma [Takeuchi], not only on-set but also off-set, because in this show they're brothers, and I want to be a brother in real life with him. So we talked a lot and we talked how to elevate this show. And that's what we talked about, privacy life. And yeah, finally we are getting like brothers in life."
When asked about his training regiment to play Kazuma Kiryu, Takeuchi admitted he "never actually had a fighting experience" but ultimately "trained with [a professional fighter] for five days a week" and gained weight through strength training:
"I never actually had a fighting experience. But I knew that I was going to dive into this character, I actually had a particular professional fighter that I was wanting to contact. So I called him up and said, 'I want to get to know you and do the training with you in person.' So we went there and trained with the professional for five days a week. And it started from, not only did I do fighting choreography, I trained for that. I gained weight and did the weight lifting as well."
All together "it took about eight months" to get in shape for Yakuza, with the actor also explaining he didn't want to be "beefed up too much" as his character spends those ten years in jail.
"But at the same time, there's a ten-year gap of him being in jail. So I didn't want to have him beefed up too much to make it more realistically grounded in that sense, so I tried to get fit in that sense. So it took about eight months to actually get in shape to do the show."
With careful attention to character relationships and the impact of different timelines, the Yakuza TV series is set to offer a rich and engaging adaptation for viewers.
Fans of the Yakuza series can look forward to a show that not only respects the original material but also a cast that cares deeply about creating the best product.
Like a Dragon: Yakuza will premiere on October 25 with the remaining episodes set to be released on November 1.
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