We have a good pace of video game adaptations. Characters like Joel and Ellie, Super Mario or even the ghouls from ‘Fallout’ have confidently paraded across the small and big screen in recent years, breaking (mostly) the curse of adaptations that has affected this medium for decades.
There is probably no better time then to dare with something like ‘Like a Dragon: Yakuza‘. The series, which has just arrived on Prime Video, is a reinterpretation of one of the most stimulating and Martian video game sagas on the current sceneand one that is quite indescribable unless experienced firsthand.
The story follows Kazuma Kiryuthe “leader” of a group of orphans who, after a robbery that goes wrong, fall into debt with the Yakuza, a fact that will change their lives forever. The crime drama is told in several timelines that tell the story of the group, with special emphasis on Kiryu, an unpredictable antihero who will risk everything for his new lifestyle.
Following quite loosely the events of the original 2005 video game, the particular premise has been executed in a rather unique viewing which will likely appeal to fans of Japanese cinema. Outside of the video game, the influences are very clear in episodes that feel like mixing a mafia story with a live-action anime.
Will it convince fans of the video game? That seems more complicated. Judging only by the pilot the distances with the original material seem greatand we miss that he bets more on his quirky tone. With three episodes available, there is the second half that will arrive on November 1.
In Espinof | Season 3 of ‘Invincible’ will come with a change highly requested by fans. We already have a release date and a first trailer for the excellent Prime Video superhero series
In Espinof | Movies based on video games, are they really all bad? A journey through 19 adaptations, disasters and successes, catastrophic errors and revalued cult cinema for fans
