AmazonPrime’sLike a Dragon: Yakuzaadaptation just dropped its first three episodes, and the reception has been… well,mixed, to say the least. While it’s had a couple of positive reviews, detractors have highlighted that it’s entirely lacking the comedy of the games it’s based on. I watched them while I had breakfast and started my work day, and as a fan of the series, I wasn’t too pleased with what I saw.
I think we all knew thatthe adaptation wasn’t going to be like the games. The first trailer was entirely humourless, and the people behind the show said thatthe portrayal of its characters would be “totally different”from what fans of the games would expect. The fact that these changes were widely and loudly telegraphed to preempt fans who wanted something else doesn’t change the reality of these changes being pretty bad.
When we think of Like a Dragon, what do we think about? Its zany, over the top characters, the tonal mix of grittiness with absurd comedy, its Japanese setting which informs everything about it, and lots of fistfights. The adaptation got half of these things right. It’s melodramatic and violent, and it’s definitely about yakuza. But its characters feel all wrong.
We were told long ago not to expect to see the characters we know and love translated faithfully to the small screen, but I’m complaining anyway, because what is Like a Dragon without those characters? It’s just another yakuza show. Without the game’s title attached, it would be an entirely generic streaming release, and the far superior Giri/Haji already exists, so what’s the point?
While we can still see glimpses of Kiryu in his television version of himself – he definitely has the gangster with a heart of gold vibe down –like many fans, I groaned the moment he said, “I want to be the Dragon of Dojima.” His whole thing is that he doesn’t want that! Nishikiyama, as well, feels like an entirely different character. Majima, heartbreakingly, is mostly a somewhat erratic guy with a knife, not at all the unhinged and deeply complex character that made so many fans fall in love with him in the first place. All this seriousness has sucked the life out of the characters, and there’s barely any moments of levity to balance it all.
Also, there aresomany guns. Why is Majima shooting at people when he’s already got his signature knife? What are we doing here?
Like a Dragon’s characters are already iconic, and while an adaptation could have reinterpreted them in interesting and compelling ways while simultaneously offering more grounded depictions, that’s not what this adaptation did. Instead, it gave us facsimiles of those characters, dropped in a couple recognisable traits and catchphrases, and called it a day.
Perhaps it’s wrong to call this show an adaptation, and we should be acknowledging it only as a show that’s vaguely based on the plot of the games. The inspiration it draws from a vast, deep wealth of lore already available to it is so limited that its characters feel familiar only in name and, occasionally, outfit. And without its characters, Like a Dragon isn’t all that special at all.
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.
