Summary
How can you possibly capture the unique feeling ofYakuza / Like a Dragon? It was always going to be a tall order for the showrunners of Amazon’s Like a Dragon: Yakuza to succinctly capture the atmosphere of a game series that’s been built up over decades, with each entry permanently adding something to the series' DNA.
Unfortunately, according to reviewers, Like a Dragon: Yakuza fails to balance the drama of Japan’s criminal underworld with the campy and absurd moments of the video games. It’s the juxtaposition of seriousness and comedy that makes Yakuza so beloved, and, according to critics, the series has strayed too far from the latter.
IGNdescribes the show as “an overly long, meandering, dreary melodrama that would be ignored if not for the name attached,” in a 4/10 review. According to the site’s critic, story threads come and go without any resolution before ultimately getting discarded by the time the show ends. As a positive, Kamurochō is “delightfully” adapted from the games.
Paste Magazinecalled Like a Dragon: Yakuza a “criminally lacklustre adaptation” that had potential, but “is so eager to jump from scene to scene” that the viewer is unable to form any attachment to the large cast in its 5/10 review.
In a more positive 4/5 review,Eurogamersaid Like a Dragon: Yakuza captures “the anarchic spirit of the source material,” in its depiction of the juxtaposition between “bloody, no-holds-barred combat and ostentatious high culture.” In the opinion of this critic, the show is a “highly authentic Yakuza experience.”
an overly long, meandering, dreary melodrama that would be ignored if not for the name attached.
Slant Magazinesaid the show is a “competent but sandpapered video game adaptation” in a 2.5/4 review. They describe the show as “blunter, and less toothy, than the tamest beast in RGG Studio’s distinctive menagerie.”
A common theme among these reviews is that it’s an exceptionally difficult task to capture the spirit of Yakuza, and you’re better off playing the games to understand these characters and their relationships.Yakuza Kiwami, a 2016 remake of the original Yakuza game that the show is adapted from, is a fresher take on this specific narrative.
NeitherMetacriticnorRotten Tomatoeshave produced an average score yet, but these will no doubt arrive sooner rather than later.
Yakuza
Yakuza, also known as Like a Dragon, is a series of action-adventure games developed by Sega and Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio. Taking place largely in the fictional Tokyo district of Kamurochō, the games are often crime dramas featuring characters such as Kazuma Kiryu, Goro Majima, and Ichiban Kasuga, and are known for their host of fun minigames such as karaoke.
