MOVIE NEWS – Amazon has taken on a bold challenge: it will make a live-action adaptation of the SEGA IP formerly known as Yakuza!

Like a Dragon: Yakuza Series will be directed by Masaharu Take (The Naked Director) and will debut on Prime Video on October 25. The series will partially follow the story of the first installment of the franchise, which starred Kiryu Kazuma and took place between 1995 and 2005. Takeuchi is a very prolific actor with a soccer background, and this is the first time he has been cast as the lead in an international drama series. He told Japan’s IGN how he feels.

“I was surprised to be offered this role. I knew about the game series and had played the first game at my uncle’s house. It’s a real challenge to play a character from an existing work, and I thought very carefully about whether I was suited to portray Kiryu and whether it was right for me. I knew from the beginning that I would have to give it my all or I’d never be able to pull it off. Instead of me becoming Kiryu, I had to create Kiryu from scratch – that’s when he and I began to bond and become one.

I think we are all subconsciously searching for what is missing in our lives, and we all want to be loved. With this in mind, I thought about what Kiryu might be looking for in Kamurocho as he strives to become the Dragon of Dojima. He wants a family, he wants love, and he doesn’t even realize how much it drives him. He is a hero who lives his life with honesty, but he fights when he has to fight, and he sometimes makes mistakes. I have great respect for the feelings of the fans, but when I play a character, I have to express them in my own way, so I can’t pay attention to other people’s preconceptions. I researched the games for myself to identify Kiryu’s qualities and embody them in my own way. Of course, I hope the fans will be happy with my portrayal – but I can say with confidence that I’ve done my best to play Kiryu. There’s no point in trying to outdo the original game; rather, I wanted to pay respect to the games while creating something new as an artist,” Takeuchi said.

What did he think of the location and the director? “If we’d had more time between shooting the 1990s and 2005, I would have gone further to have a different physique in each era, but I worked hard in the time we had. For scenes where I would be showing skin, I adjusted my training to fit that scene. I was aware of the passion and excitement that only young people have. It’s the kind of energy you only get when you’re on the verge of your twenties. I wanted to bring out warmer emotions when Kiryu is young, and then subtract them for the 2005 part to give contrast. When the story begins in 1995, Kiryu’s fighting style is still rough and not very effective because he has not formally studied martial arts and is just using his instincts. I wanted to show him growing as a fighter, as he gradually becomes able to defeat his opponents. So his fighting style is very different in each of the two eras. I don’t think anyone else could have done a show like this. Take was able to capture the flavor of Kamurocho, a city with a vibrant population. He was very careful to cast background actors as the residents of Kamurocho through tons of auditions, so we could just step into the world he had brought to life. It was a luxury.”

He also commented on the differences in the portrayal of the two eras and how much of a Japanese flavor the series will have: “Kamurocho in 1995 is a vibrant, warm, sparkling place full of energy. The set was so detailed, from every passerby to every corner of its streets, that I felt like I had traveled back in time. It didn’t feel like a set at all. Yes, there is some CG enhancement, but I think it was the people that really brought it to life. You can’t fake that. On the other hand, after Kiryu leaves prison and returns to Kamurocho in 2005, there have been various changes in the laws, and the atmosphere is colder than when he left in 1995. While the Kamurocho of 1995 has warm colors like orange, the Kamurocho of 2005 has cooler grays and blues. It reflects Kiryu’s loneliness, feeling out of step with the people around him.

The show contains elements that may be uniquely Japanese, and Kiryu is a very Japanese character. The show also has a specific flavor that may be different from other successful game adaptations, so I’m curious to see how it will be received. The show is set in the underworld of Kamurocho and tells stories about the yakuza, but it is also vibrant. It’s dark, but it’s also bright. Its story is driven by hope, and while it has strong depictions of violence, it also asks questions about the meaning of family, parenthood, love, and so on. These are universal themes that everyone can relate to. I think that’s the appeal of the original games: it’s impossible to stray too far from the original story. SEGA told me that the show was faithful to the games and that my performance was faithful to Kiryu!”

We hope it will be excellent! Anyway, the actor’s face is a bit boyish!

Source: IGN