Kiryu actor Ryoma Takeuchi has addressed Like a Dragon: Yakuza's shock finale twist, one which flips the script on the Prime Video series and sets up a deeply personal second season for the hard-hitting hero.
Major spoilers for the Like a Dragon: Yakuza ending follow. You have been warned!
In the Like a Dragon: Yakuza season 1 ending, Kiryu hobbles away from his battle with Nishiki, but not before his one-time aniki tells him that the legendary Dragon of Dojima – whom Kiryu grew up idolizing – was the figure responsible for his parent’s death.
"The Dragon is by our side," Nishiki says before he dies. Kiryu doesn't have to wait long to find out what that means, as he later discovers the dragon tattoo peeking out of the ripped suit of his mentor Shintaro Kazama. The season then ends with a tense staredown between a grimacing Kiryu and a seemingly unawares Kazama.
"I think he himself wasn't able to sort of try to find for himself what was happening. He didn't understand what was happening," Takeuchi tells 12DOVE (via translation). "He was, instead of thinking, he was feeling or he was naturally reacting to it."
That sort of guttural, instinctive reaction, then, bodes well for a second season showdown between the pair – something Takeuchi agrees with, even if he’s none the wiser on any prospective greenlight from Amazon.
"If there were to be something that comes afterwards [then] it will be [with] Kazama and Kiryu," Takeuchi says. "It's something between them. And of course, I haven't been told anything about what's coming up next, but it all depends on how this one performs."
For more from our interviews with Ryoma Takeuchi check out the Kiryu actor talking about the Prime Video series’ time jump scenes and why he "really wants" to play the games.
All six episodes of Like a Dragon: Yakuza are now streaming worldwide on Prime Video. For more, check out our verdict of the first season in the Like a Dragon: Yakuza review, and our ranking of the best Yakuza games.
