"Like a Dragon" game director: The live-action drama is very exciting and the first episode has an unexpected turn

Yakuza studio director Masayoshi Yokoyama said at San Diego Comic-Con that after watching the first episode of Amazon's Yakuza live-action series, he screamed with excitement and then had to smoke a cigarette to relax.

In a video released by Sega during San Diego Comic-Con, Yokoyama explained his reaction to watching the series for the first time.

"There was a huge surprise at the end of the first episode, and I couldn't help but scream when I saw the ending," Yokoyama said. "I jumped out of my office chair in excitement, stunned by the plot twist. After watching it, I lit a cigarette in the smoking room, and my hands were shaking. I was deeply shocked and thought it was amazing."

Yokoyama also said that the series is full of fan service: "The essence of the original work is everywhere. Fans of the game who like the original story will understand. The spirit is there. They will see surprises almost every 30 seconds. If you are not familiar with the game, it's a whole new world. If you are familiar, you will be grinning the whole time."

However, Yokoyama also pointed out that the images of Kazuma Kiryu (Ryouma Takeuchi) and Akira Nishikiyama (Kento Kaku) in the drama are different from their characters in the game.

"To be honest, their take on the characters is completely different from the original story, but that's the beauty of it. The Kazuma Kiryu we created 20 years ago was perfect, and there's nothing to add to his character. When you see the way they fight in the show, it's obvious they didn't recreate the characters from the game.

This project brings out a whole new Kazuma Kiryu. Meanwhile, his opponent, Akira Nishikiyama, was also created from the ground up by Kento Kaku. Their acting is definitely not to be missed.”

The live-action series will consist of six episodes, with the first three to be released on October 25 and the last three to be released on November 1. The show is produced in Japan and will be available in the original Japanese version with subtitles, or dubbed.