Ryoma Takeuchi, the actor behind Amazon’s live-action Yakuza: Like a Dragon series, is well aware of the weight of the character he’s playing.
Last month, Sega announced that the Yakuza series (now renamed Yakuza) would be getting a live-action TV adaptation on Amazon. This wouldn’t be the first time the series has gone the live-action route, although it would be the first in this era of “are video game adaptations good these days?” As expected, the series will follow series mainstay Kazuma Kiryu, and this particular outing will feature Ryoma Takeuchi in the role. Takeuchi recently spoke with IGN Japan about joining the series, where he discussed what it’s like to be portraying a character from an existing series, and the challenges that come with it.
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“I was surprised to get this role,” Takeuchi explained. “I knew the game series and had played the first game at my uncle’s house. Playing a character from an existing title was a real challenge and I considered very carefully whether I would be suitable to play Kiryu and whether it would be a good fit from a previous Starting out, I knew I had to give everything I had or I would never succeed. For Takeuchi, a lot came down to making his own version of Kiryu, which he said he had to create “from scratch.” Role. Of course, with a character as beloved as Kiryu, fans have some expectations to consider.
“I respect the fans’ feelings very much,” Takeuchi continued. “But when I play a character, I have to express them in my own way, so I can’t focus on other people’s stereotypes. I studied the game myself, found Kiryu’s qualities and embodied them in my own way. Of course, I Hopefully fans will be happy with my performance – but I can confidently say that I did my best playing Kiryu and I just wanted to show respect for the original game with something new.
Takeuchi has been working as an actor for about ten years and is best known for playing the title role in Kamen Rider Drive. He’s also no stranger to video game adaptations, as he also voiced Justice Smith’s character Tim Goodman in the Japanese dub of Detective Pikachu (he also made a cameo in Pokemon Trainer early in the film division).
Yakuza: Like a Dragon will be available on Prime Video later this year (October 24).
