The Amazon PrimeYaukuzaTV Series announcement was one of the most exciting things to come from the recent Like a Dragon panel at LA’s Anime Expo.
God Damn, RGG Really Nailed Its Representation Of Japan In Like A Dragon
During my recent trip to Japan, I was convinced an encounter with Kiryu would happen any minute.
Ahead of its release, we got to ask a couple of questions to the series' two lead actors, Ryoma Takeuchi (Kiryu) and Kento Kaku (Nishikiyama), alongside the show’s executive producer, Erik Barmack. And we got some really interesting answers.
The Reason For A Lack Of Substories
Q:Can the viewers of the Like a Dragon Yakuza series expect Kiryu to get up to any of his crazy antics that we see in the games? In the games, we see him helping a Michael Jackson impersonator and fighting guys in diapers. Can we expect any of that in the TV series?
Takeuchi:We don’t have that much in this iteration. I think we’re digging into the human emotions and emotional elements of the characters in this iteration. In a positive way, I think we’re departing from the game. But at the same time, at the end of the day, it actually comes together. So there’s a big resonance, a strong resonance in the game between the game and drama.
Barmack:That scene from Kiwami 2 is one of the reasons why we thought this would be an interesting series because it’s so quirky in all of those things. There are a lot of Easter eggs in the show that tie back to the game, and a lot of the characters that are important in the game are brought forward. As this series is kind of like an origin story, we wanted to ensure also that fans were emotionally connected to all these characters, so it’s a balance that has to be done between the world, which is kinda quirky, and the characters which need to feel real, to everybody who’s watching the series.
The Reality Of Playing Two Versions Of The Same Character
Q:How difficult did you find it to effectively play two versions of the same character, or even two different characters, the young, naive versions of Kiryu and Nishiki from 1995 and the more hardened streetwise versions from 2005?
Takeuchi:I’d rather say I had a really good time and a blast performing the two different types of characters over two different decades, different versions of the character. Especially, performing as the young Kiryu Kazuma in 1995, kind of the way it enabled me to create a contrast of the 2005 version of Kiryu Kazuma. And the relationships between, Nishiki and all the other characters kind of, sort of generated this passion, a passionate sort of character who’s so energetic because of his youth.
And that all came together to create this big transformation between 1995 and 2005 Kiryu Kazuma. It was so important for us to create that organic chemistry between the characters in their youth.
Kaku:For me, it was not difficult to nail down Nishiki’s character because when I read the script for the first time, I really felt so much synchrony with Nishiki. So, yeah, it was easy for me to connect with him, and I really could understand why he reacted this way, how he feels, and why he does what he does.
If I had to say, the only challenge was how to survive through burning summertime shooting. It’s crazy. It was over 100 degrees every day.
Takeuchi:The hair and makeup team was just amazing. They did a great job during that summertime. And they went in to create a contrast between the looks in 1995 versus 2005.
