We talked about the upcoming Like a Dragon: Yakuza series from Amazon, a live-action adaptation of Sega's popular sandbox series. If you've played or seen footage from any of the games, you'll know they have a tendency to flip between being a serious, emotional crime drama or the goofiest shit you've ever seen on a dime. How will Amazon's series portray the constantly clashing tones the games are known for. Well, it won't.

Series producer Masayoshi Yokoyama already mentioned the series will differ from the games and fans should expect differences in a behind-the-scenes video, but the cast and crew expanded on that a little as San Diego Comic Con. Ryoma Takeuchi, the series' Kiryu, said: "It's an opportunity for me to reinvent and add to the character Kazuma Kiryu. I've ensured that I can add my take as well", and continued "We don't want to cosplay, mimic or imitate the character. Embodying the flaws of the character and taking it all in is the most important thing."

The show's executive producer Erick Barmack elaborated, saying: "If you were to write a synopsis of the Yakuza world, it'd be longer than a Tolstoy novel. "For us, in the first season, having an origin story with Nishiki, Kiryu, and Yumi was super important. Covering the world and what's happening with the Tojo clan, the Omi alliance, and these broader elements of criminality that come into the game are key." He summarized his thoughts by saying ""When you start to figure out how to boil down this world to six episodes, it becomes challenging because there's so much source material to pull from."

For the most part, the serious crime drama stuff is mostly in the main plots of the games, while the silly stuff is usually confined to optional side missions and activities. By that logic it makes sense the series will highlight the gritty core narrative. As much as I and other Yakuza fans would like to see an episode where Kiryu says fuck it to unearthing the conspiracy within the Tojo Clan and spends the entire runtime singing at the Karaokekan, racing pocket cars with children then finishing with a pole dance, most audiences and producers think differently.

Maybe if the show continues on for another season after the 6 scheduled episodes we can see some of the weirder side of Kamurocho, but for now expect things to be a little different from the games. Or, if you really wanna see the silly stuff in live-action form, there's always the 2007 Takeshi Miike movie.

Are you guys looking forward to Like a Dragon: Yakuza when it drops on October 24? Do you think they should make it closer to the games? Leave your thoughts in the comments!