Ryu ga Gotoku: Beyond the Game

The Fine Line Between Loyalty and Megalomania

Fans' opinions about the game deserve respect and recognition; after all, they have a long-standing relationship with this story, dating back to its very beginning. It’s natural for their evaluation to be more critical, as evidenced by the ratings throughout the mini-series on TVTIME. That said, as someone who has never played the game—though I was aware of its existence—I thoroughly enjoyed the experience of watching the adaptation. Amazon Prime Video deserves praise for its investment and the way it brought this narrative to life.

Overall, the script was quite cohesive, despite leaning a bit too heavily on flashbacks. However, these back-and-forth moments in time ultimately converged on a central point, which helped offset that minor flaw. As for the plot, I have to admit I had already suspected that Nishikiyama was the "Demon of Shinjuku." It wasn’t exactly a shocking twist, but the development of his plan, born from the tragedy of his sister’s death, was compelling. It’s a plan tinged with both schizophrenia and megalomania, but it offers plenty of layers for those willing to look deeper.

The mini-series ends with a clear hook for a potential second season. However, given the critical feedback from fans of the game, I wouldn’t be surprised if it doesn’t continue. Still, if it gets renewed, I’ll be first in line to watch.

It’s also worth highlighting the technical excellence of the production: the set design, costumes, and overall atmosphere were flawless, elevating the experience to a visually stunning level. Even with a few missteps in the script, these elements helped solidify the adaptation’s quality.

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"Dumbass"

Like a Dragon was based on a video game. I’m guessing the video game was written better than this drama. It had potential but couldn’t get out of its own clichéd way.

Four teens being brought up by Kazama at his orphanage decide to break ties with him and rob a gambling den. Turns out it’s run by the yakuza. Kazuma and Nishika are allowed to work for the yakuza to pay off their debt while Miho and Yumi are sent to the hostess bar to work their debt off. Kazuma ends up in prison for 10 years. Upon his release he discovers that his made family is caught up in a mess that could lead to an all out gang war.

This drama bounced back and forth between 1995 and 2005 in every episode. When a drama overly relies on this technique, it usually means there’s not enough story and the writers are trying to build some sort of suspense. People familiar with the game may be able to fill in the gaping narrative holes. The characters were poorly written which did not help the actors. The acting ranged from good to painfully bad. Majima Goro is currently listed as a main character, if you are watching for him, you’ll be disappointed as his appearances were fleeting.

I’d hoped the drama would strengthen as the characters headed for the big showdown. Instead, the story felt more convoluted and the performances more forced. I suppose I should mention what I liked about the drama. Takeuchi Ryoma was very pretty to look at and had obviously worked out for the role of the Dragon. This drama could also win a world’s record for longest princess carry. If you are familiar with the game you’ll probably get more out of this drama than I did.

30 April 2025

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There's A New Dragon In Town

I went into this blind. I had no clue about the plot and I'm not a fan of the games from which this was supposedly based on, so I can confidently say that I had no expectations or biases coming into this. I just got curious because they actually had a panel in San Diego Comic Con and it stars one of my favorite Japanese actors, Kaku Kento. Not to mention I have a sort of fascination for yakuza culture and history. The drama starts off promising enough but then it goes astray in the next three episodes. The constant going back and forth between timelines became taxing. I understand that it's a stylistic choice but still, they could've just done some flasback episodes and be done with it. Non-linear storytelling only works if there are some major revelations that need to be to reserved until the end and the twists and turns in the plot are actually shocking. But none of them were mindblowing at all. If anything, I found most of the so-called twists predictable. So I thought the non-linear narrative only did the drama a disservice. But having said that, the last two episodes are the saving grace of this lackluster series. It actually gets better before it ends!

The cast, for the most part, are exceptionally good. Kaku Kento seamlessly transitions from being one of the protagonists to the biggest baddie in the drama and you can't help but sympathize with him. Very few can pull off that kind of role and he did it with ease. Takeuchi Ryoma as Kiryu was a good choice, imho. I know some fans disliked this casting but I thought he successfully stepped into this role. You see a clear distinction between his young Kiryu, who aspired to become the legendary Dragon and the seasoned Kiryu who has seen and experienced the worst. The rest of the cast did their jobs. The only one I didn't like was Morita Misato as Aiko. I thought she overacted, like a lot! I can't say she's a bad actress, though. She did remarkably well in the Naked Director so I don't know what possessed her to act like a total lunatic in this. Yes, she plays a drug addict, but addicts don't generally act like they're always stoned. I thought her acting was unnatural and completely unrealistic.

The production value is a lot better than the local network TV dramas in Japan, something I wish they would adapt locally so their dramas won't look like cheaply produced reality TV shows. I did like the cinematography in this. The darker tones in the color grading give it a grittier and more sinister look, which suits the general vibe and themes of the drama. The musical score is also well done. The fight scenes are well-choreographed and executed. But I'm a little disappointed that it doesn't have as many action sequences as I had hoped.

As a whole, this is an entertaining drama that I didn't regret watching. The last two episodes alone convinced me that it needs a second season and I will definitely check it out when it's released.

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All they had to do was create a cohesive narrative with decent production...

I am a huge RGG fan and the yakuza series is near and dear to my heart. Now that being said, this series got a few things right, and a whole lot of things wrong. the actors did a pretty good job. nishiki's actor and majima's actor really brought their respective characters to life. in fact, majima was the highlight of the entire series. he was perfect.

the story - I knew it was going to be a departure from the games and was prepared for it. at first, I was hopeful. I watched through the first couple of episodes and thought that it was a pretty decent retelling of the original game, minus a couple of things that were absolutely diabolical. (making kiryu beg dojima to have the title the dragon of dojima, kiryu getting his a** kicked by majima, the kids at sunshine hating kazuma for no apparent reason) but other than that, I was on board. then we got to episode 3 and saejima randomly died after 2 minutes of screen time, majima got his eye gouged out to a cover of 'mad world', shimano had hair???, etc and and I didn't even want to watch the rest of it. kiryu stayed getting beat up. also, what was happening in 1995 was so much more interesting than the 2005 arc. the characters by the end either had no arc or too much of an arc that their behavior made no sense. and look, I understand that it's difficult to squeeze an entire 2 games into 6 episodes. but they removed SIGNIFICANT moments which were crucially important to the story. I do not know how you could watch this if you were not alreadt a yakuza fan and understand what was happening. there were also no consequences for these characters which is a big NO for yakuza. the whole point is to show the consequences of that world. sigh. overall I would say the story made very little sense to fans, and even less to outsiders.

the camera cuts were an absolute mess and quite jarring. it was so bad that I had to check prime a few times to see if it was glitching. production as a whole really failed in this series.

now let me tell you what I liked about it. I absolutely loved catching references to the game, and I was excited to keep watching to see the next one. (Mr. try-and-hit-me, date-meets-helicopter). majima as I said earlier was perfectly in character and is probably the main reason I don't regret watching this. he was hilarious and crazy. majima in any medium is always my favorite. I also liked how they combined the yakuza 0 plot with the og plot, that was really a good change.

all in all I would say if you are a fan of the series, watch it. if not, you probably want to skip this one. it's not that good. as the title of this review says, since I am such a massive RGG fan, they literally only had to do the bare minimum and I would have loved this. create a cohesive story which makes sense and proper character motivations. have decent production and be decent from a technical aspect. unfortunately, this show failed on all fronts.

but as I have said I am a huge fan of the series as a whole so I'll be generous with my rating. I appreciate that someone tried. but the live action play and prequel available on YouTube remain the best live action media of this series. (no I am not talking about the 2007 movie. that also sucked except majima ironically.) I would recommend those first.

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Gangster Town (The Mega Catridge)

Je l'ai attendu ce Yakuza, porté par mon chouchou des rôles d'action-romantique, Takeuchi Ryoma. Mais nul romantisme ici, Like a Dragon est une énième adaptation burinée du jeu vidéo de Sega paru en 2005 et revenant chaque année comme le père Noël dans la cheminée. J'y ai joué, à l'époque, mais je ne me rappelle plus grand-chose, à part mon martelage de bouton et mes conversations dans les bars à hôtesses. L'essentiel, quoi ! Vous aurez donc droit à une critique purement dramatique qui n'engage, comme d'habitude, que moi, car je tiens à mes doigts.

Le pognon est visible à l'écran. Dès les premières secondes, ils vous éclaboussent au visage, injecté par une de ces mafias du streaming qu'est Amazon, alléché par le succès de son concurrent et Parrain dans la matière, Netflix. Avec son homme de main, le One Piece, qu'il compte bien user jusqu'à épuisement de son auteur, comme s'il devait rembourser une dette à ces pirates de Yankees. Mais pour ceux qui savent, les Vrais, Sega est loin d'être un amateur en termes de collaboration avec l'occupant Ricain. La société lui doit tout. Et pourtant, dans ce Yakuza "made in America (en partie)", très peu de référence à l'oncle Sam et à sa manière de conter une histoire transparait. Malgré cela, on pourra regretter la frilosité des producteurs en déroulant l'histoire sur six courts épisodes. Malgré sa diffusion avec VF dès sa sortie, on a l'impression que les producteurs n'y croient pas vraiment, comme si le staff entièrement japonais les gênait. C'est sûr, qu'on ne parcourt pas le globe comme Luffy, du coup l'effet Benetton, n'est pas là. Mais Kabuchiko et Tokyo, en général, attirent toujours des hordes de Geeks autoproclamées devant leurs écrans. Alors pourquoi tant de frilosité dans la promo, comparé à ses satanés pirates

Il faut dire que Yakuza ne fait pas dans la dentèle. Sombre, violant, n'en déplaise à ceux qui regrettent le peu de scènes de combats. Pour moi, elles sont déjà trop nombreuses au détriment de personnages pas assez développés. Les caricatures de Yakuza, d'orphelin, de bad girl ou tout simplement de la misère de ses jeunes, gênent un peu, mais le jeu des acteurs rattrape tout. Même si les décors font parfois carton pâte (ou jeu vidéo) comme cette place à la fontaine ou cette tour, on est quand même dans la bonne prod, quasi cinématographique. Des scènes d'action comme celles du parking ou du braquage de la fourgonnette impressionnent (la classe américaine). Mais c'est clairement le duo Takeuchi Ryoma/Kawai Yuumi la raison principale pour laquelle il faut regarder Yakuza.

Et bon sang, quel gâchis d'argent. L'histoire n'est pas assez développée, on a donc du mal à accrocher à ses vengeances et ses rédemptions de pourriture qui ne le sont pas vraiment. Les flashbacks ne servent à rien, car évidement, on comprend assez vite chaque situation. Orphelin, chirurgie, pas d'argent, tous pourris. Pour un jeu vidéo, ça passe, mais là, il faut les développer ses personnages. Faire des side story, par épisode. Comment les sœurs ont grandi et affronté les difficultés, par exemple. Tout était possible, mais à consacrer trop de temps à la recherche de cette sœur et aux combats de coqs, tout est brouillon et haché. Dommage, la production voulait absolument nous offrir une série coup de poing, pour en finir en six rounds, trop influencé par les succès d'action Netflix dont les suites dépendent du nombre de vues et qu'importe la cohérence scénaristique. On ressent plutôt une griffure qui laissera une cicatrice de quelques jours après la diffusion, jusqu'à l'oublier complètement. Mais qui sait ? peut-être qu'un Drama Yakuza 2, 3, etc... viendra des fans. Il parait que les suites fonctionnent souvent sur ces fans base. Ça a marché pour le jeu vidéo. Ce n'est pas moi, c'est Sega qui le dit et Sega, c'est plus fort que toi.

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