The latest game in the series, Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, changed quite a bit about my view of this series. I really enjoyed Ichiban's adventures in Hawaii and although I'm far from the editorial veteran of this game series, I've dipped my toe in the water quite a bit with a number of games under my belt. Therefore, there was quite a lot of interest in checking out Prime Video's latest foray into making series based on games and given how brilliantly they managed Fallout, there was still the hope of something captivating and well-made with Yakuza.
Expectedly, we are immediately greeted by a close-up of a tattoo. One of the show's main characters is in a cramped cell and we quickly learn that the show is set both in 1995 and 10 years in the future. After an incident, four orphaned characters are caught up in the underworld and the merry-go-round of intrigue, violence and intricate connections between the characters we follow can begin. Much of the focus is on Kazuma Kiryu, but the three friends from childhood also get small stories. However, it is precisely in these stories that one of two major disappointments lie: there is little thrill or excitement at all. The story proceeds at a strange pace where not only the jumps between the 10 years mess things up quite a bit, but also that scenes feel drawn out and in some cases quite out of place. Sure, there are characters with a lot of focus, like the heads of the different clans and then the four orphaned friends, but it's also a jumble of names and people you lose track of completely. Similarly, the unravelled threads are treated with a strange focus and contribute to a pace that often feels too slow.
The other disappointment besides this is that as an adaptation of a game series, it mostly feels like they plastered on the name in an attempt to get people interested. Sure, I can understand that the strangest of elements from the games may not be so easy to do something with, but the question is whether they shouldn't have done it anyway. Like going all-in on weird characters and events and just making a circus of it all. It might have been completely ridiculous and pure madness, but it would probably have been more interesting at least. Not even the kicking and punching or action delivers any thrill, at least not in these first three episodes. Many scenes also feel rather rushed, almost farcical in a way.
There is a thin sense of some hard-boiled drama to be entertained by here, sometimes. And over the course of three 40-minute episodes, I won't say I was completely bored. The groundwork is laid for future battles, and a little complexity is woven in to hint that things might get a little louder later on. However, it does not save a slow story that of course should have thundered on and dared to take risks. No doubt the plot will thicken and the clashes will become more important as the episodes roll on, and in this regard, one of the best elements about the TV series, in my opinion, is that things are allowed to take time. But that doesn't mean that what proceeds something more explosive has to be boring.
A bunch of solid acting performances, streets drenched in neon lights, and an occasionally nice setting are some small positives that still betray a production with a large budget and plenty of disappointment elsewhere. Maybe you can appreciate that it is also quite down to earth at times, but if you are going to put the Like a Dragon stamp on it all, it would be better if at least some dialogue or moments felt like it came close to what we see frequently in the popular and source material games.