Like A Dragon: Yakuza Review

Though I’ve never experienced any of the games in full, I have long been fascinated by the Like A Dragon series, or Yakuza as its known in the West. Apart from being arguably Sega’s biggest franchise not starring any anthropomorphic hedgehogs, the games have long held a reputation for deftly balancing more serious and dark crime drama with an often wacky, over-the-top world, as well as solid, action-focused gameplay.

Those two disparate tones naturally made me curious as to how the franchise would be adapted to television and I figured no matter what, the end result would be fascinating to watch. Said end result, Like A Dragon: Yakuza, isn’t necessarily as compelling as I hoped; but it’s an enjoyable enough series that longtime fans will probably get a kick out of.

What is Like A Dragon: Yakuza about?

Our story is primarily adapted from the original game, as well as its 2016 remake Yakuza: Kiwami, and plays out over two distinct timelines that intercut with one another. In 1995, a young Kazuma Kiryu aims to prove himself and make life better for his family by rising through the ranks and becoming the Dragon of Dojima. While in 2005, Kiryu has achieved that goal but must now pay the price for the decisions that led him there while an all-out gang war wages through the Kamurocho district.

How is Like A Dragon: Yakuza?

Like A Dragon: Yakuza focuses primarily on the crime drama aspect of the games and in that respect, it’s a solid adaptation. The stakes feel real, the mafia politics feel fleshed out and authentic, and everyone in it is giving it their all. Plus, the hand-to-hand fight sequences get pretty intense and there’s real weight and impact with each punch.

In general, the show looks great as well. In addition to the stellar action scenes, the set design and cinematography add that extra level of depth to the world of Kamurocho itself, and the costuming is top-notch. Indeed, if all you really needed from a Yakuza adaptation is Kazuma Kiryu to show up in that iconic business suit and beat up some guys, then Like A Dragon: Yakuza does the job.

But like I said earlier, the crime drama stuff is only half the fun of the Like A Dragon games. The other half is the cavalcade of side quests with charming one-off characters or goofing off at the arcade with claw machines and full ports of Sega arcade games that absolutely do not need to be there, but are appreciated nonetheless.

But since Like A Dragon: Yakuza is only six episodes, it doesn’t have time for any subplots about Kiryu helping a little kid ask out their crush or getting really good at Space Harrier just because he felt like it. And at least for me, reducing Yakuza to just a crime drama makes it lose some of its charm.

Additionally, the story is often weirdly difficult to follow despite the crime drama narrative being fairly basic. The two timelines don’t feel particularly distinct, they switch between those timelines frequently and suddenly, and it feels like there may be just one too many characters.

Each of the two timelines has their own set of supporting characters, though some are shared between the two. And these characters all have their own subplots playing out across these two timelines and they sometimes connect to one another and sometimes don’t. It’s a bit too easy to lose track of who’s who, who’s doing what, and why any of it is particularly important.

Is Like A Dragon: Yakuza worth watching?

I went into Like A Dragon: Yakuza wanting to love it, but it unfortunately didn’t click with me the way I wanted it to. It’s not a bad show by any means. The action’s great, it’s well-shot, and the actors are all doing a fine job; but the confusing timelines, the overabundance of subplots, and the decision to abandon all of the games’ wacky sense of humor made this fall flat for me. It’s a perfectly serviceable crime drama, but it could’ve been so much more.

Like A Dragon: Yakuza is now streaming on Prime Video. All six episodes reviewed.

Like A Dragon: Yakuza Review – A Solid Yet Disappointing Adaptation

Like A Dragon: Yakuza’s strong action scenes and overall look might be enough for some fans, but the lack of the games’ tongue-in-cheek humor and a strangely hard-to-follow story will likely and sadly turn off just as many.