Actors from the Like a Dragon video game series will appear in Prime Video’s upcoming Like a Dragon: Yakuza TV show.
While speaking to 12DOVE at San Diego Comic-Con, Kento Kaku – who plays Kiryu’s best friend Nishiki – says (via translation) that there will be a "close connection" to RGG Studio’s long-running series.
"We have some Easter eggs in the show where we have the voice actors performing in the drama," Kaku reveals.
It’s not yet clear who exactly will appear, though we suspect the likes of Kiryu voice actor Takaya Kuroda and Majima voice actor Hidenari Ugaki will be high on fans’ wishlists to pass through Amazon’s depiction of Kamurocho. We’ll even take a what-the-cluck cameo from everyone’s favorite manager chicken, Nugget.
Expanding on how the Prime Video series will pay homage to the games, Kiryu actor Ryoma Takeuchi points to the multi-faceted personalities of the characters as something that will be mirrored on the small screen when it debuts this October.
"I think the most important part [is] focusing on the character arc. There’s immense growth over the course of the series. Knowing and embodying the flaws as much as the strengths of each character is quite important," Takeuchi says. "Having to learn the internal struggles the character has was the biggest element we wanted to pour in as the essence that represents the game itself."
Like a Dragon: Yakuza will explore the dual timelines of 1995 and 2005 as childhood friends – Kiryu and Nishikiyama – deal with the fallout from an event which reverberates across the criminal underworld in the fictional district of Kamurocho.
The first three episodes will premiere on October 24, with new episodes following a week later.
For more, check out our picks for the best shows on Prime Video and best Yakuza games.
