Let’s be real for a second. Casting a live-action adaptation of a legendary video game franchise is basically a suicide mission. When Amazon announced the cast of Like a Dragon: Yakuza, the collective intake of breath from the gaming community was audible across the internet. You have these iconic characters—Kiryu, Majima, Nishiki—who have lived in our consoles for nearly two decades. They aren't just pixels; they’re institutions.
Ryoma Takeuchi had a massive mountain to climb. Honestly, taking on the role of Kazuma Kiryu is like trying to play Superman, but if Superman also had to look cool while singing karaoke and beating a man senseless with a bicycle. It’s a lot. The show, directed by Masaharu Take, didn't want to just copy-paste the games. They went for something "gritty." They went for something "prestige." But did the actors actually pull it off?
Meet the New Dragon: Ryoma Takeuchi as Kazuma Kiryu
Takeuchi is a big deal in Japan. You might know him from Kamen Rider Drive or The Ship of Theseus. He’s got the leading-man jawline and the physical presence, but his version of Kiryu in this 2024 adaptation is... different. In the games, Kiryu is a stoic wall of muscle who radiates a weirdly wholesome "dad energy" despite being a criminal. Takeuchi plays him with more visible vulnerability. He’s younger. He’s raw.
He actually spent months training to get the physique right, which shows. The fight choreography in the series is brutal, and Takeuchi handles the physicality with a certain grace that makes the "Dragon of Dojima" moniker feel earned. However, the show’s script makes Kiryu a bit more impulsive than the legend we know. It’s a bold choice. Some fans loved the humanization; others felt he lacked that unshakeable mountain-like quality that Takaya Kuroda’s voice acting provided for twenty years.
The series splits its timeline between 1995 and 2005. This gives the cast of Like a Dragon: Yakuza a weirdly difficult job. They have to play starry-eyed youths and then, suddenly, broken adults who have seen too much. Takeuchi manages this transition by leaning into the exhaustion of the 2005 timeline. You can see it in his eyes. He looks tired. That's a good thing—it fits the narrative.
Kento Kaku and the Tragedy of Akira Nishikiyama
If Kiryu is the heart, Nishiki is the soul that gets stepped on. Kento Kaku plays Nishiki, and frankly, he might be the standout. In the original 2005 game, Nishiki’s descent into villainy felt a bit rushed because of technical limitations. The show gives Kaku room to breathe. He’s charismatic, but you can see the chips in his armor from the very first episode.
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Kaku is a versatile actor. He’s done comedy, he’s done high drama. Here, he has to play the "brother" who stays behind while Kiryu goes to prison. The way he portrays the slow-burn resentment of being "second best" is genuinely uncomfortable to watch. It’s a performance rooted in insecurity. When he finally snaps, it doesn't feel like a cartoon villain moment; it feels like a tragedy.
The Mad Dog Dilemma: Munetaka Aoki as Goro Majima
This was the one. The big one. The internet almost melted down when Munetaka Aoki was revealed as Goro Majima. Majima is the chaotic neutral mascot of the entire franchise. He’s unpredictable. He’s insane. He’s also secretly the most competent person in any room.
Aoki had the hardest job of the entire cast of Like a Dragon: Yakuza. How do you play a guy who is essentially a live-action looney tune? Aoki opted for a more grounded "street thug" vibe. He still has the eyepatch. He still has the swagger. But he isn't jumping out of trash cans or doing the "Kiryu-chan!" screech every five minutes.
For some, this was a betrayal. For others, it was a necessary adjustment for a TV show that wanted to be taken seriously as a crime drama. Aoki brings a menacing physicality to the role. He feels dangerous. In the games, Majima is often funny. In the show, Aoki’s Majima is someone you would genuinely be terrified to meet in a dark alleyway in Kamurocho.
The Supporting Players and the Women of Kamurocho
We have to talk about Yumi. Yuumi Kawai plays Yumi Sawamura, and her role is significantly expanded compared to her "damsel in distress" roots in the early games. The show positions her as a proactive character. She isn't just a plot point for Kiryu and Nishiki to fight over; she has her own agency. Kawai plays her with a quiet strength that grounds the more outlandish yakuza politics.
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Then there’s Miwa Nakasato, played by Maika Hamasaki. She’s a new addition to the core dynamic, representing the collateral damage of the yakuza lifestyle. Her inclusion was a bit controversial among purists who wanted a 1:1 adaptation, but Hamasaki’s performance adds a layer of emotional stakes that the 1995 timeline desperately needed.
The veterans in the cast also deserve a shoutout.
- Toshiaki Karasawa as Shintaro Kazama: He brings a gravitas that is essential. Kazama is the surrogate father to the orphans, and Karasawa plays him with a mixture of warmth and cold, calculating pragmatism.
- Masaya Kato as Sohei Dojima: He is appropriately slimy. You’re supposed to hate him, and Kato makes it very easy.
Why the Casting Choices Mattered for the Series Tone
Basically, the showrunners wanted a crime saga, not a "video game movie." This meant the cast of Like a Dragon: Yakuza had to prioritize emotional realism over "cosplay accuracy."
Take the character of Date-san, played by Subaru Shibutani. In the games, he’s the classic hard-boiled detective. In the show, he’s still that, but there’s a grit to his performance that feels more Tokyo Vice than Sega. This shift in tone is why the casting was so divisive. If you went in expecting the zany, substory-filled world of the games, the actors probably felt too "serious" for you. But if you viewed it as a reimagining of the 1995/2005 yakuza power struggle, the ensemble makes a lot of sense.
The production didn't just hire "pretty faces." They hired actors with theatre backgrounds and history in Japanese "V-Cinema" (straight-to-video crime films). This gives the series a texture that feels authentic to the genre, even if it deviates from the source material’s specific brand of weirdness.
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The Controversy of "No Fighting" and Actor Prep
There was a lot of talk during the press tour about Ryoma Takeuchi being told not to play the games. The director, Masaharu Take, wanted the actors to create these characters from the script, not by mimicking the animations.
While that sounds like a smart "prestige TV" move, it backfired slightly with the hardcore fanbase. People wanted to see the specific fighting styles. They wanted to see the specific mannerisms. However, from a purely acting standpoint, it allowed the cast of Like a Dragon: Yakuza to inhabit the roles without being parodies. Takeuchi’s Kiryu feels like a real person who makes mistakes, rather than an invincible superhero who can take down 100 men without breaking a sweat.
Where to Go Next with the Series
If you’ve watched the show and you’re wondering where the rest of the characters are—where’s Haruka? where’s Daigo?—keep in mind that this first season was a very condensed look at the Yakuza 1 / Kiwami storyline.
To truly appreciate what the actors did, you should compare their performances to the original Japanese voice cast.
- Watch the 2007 Takashi Miike film Like a Dragon to see a totally different, more surreal take on the same characters.
- Play Yakuza Kiwami to see the original "Nishiki Fall" arc that Kento Kaku channeled so well.
- Look up Ryoma Takeuchi’s previous work in The Ship of Theseus to see his range beyond just punching people.
The cast of Like a Dragon: Yakuza took a massive risk. They didn't give fans exactly what they wanted, but they gave them a legitimate, high-budget crime drama that stands on its own. Whether you're a "Kyodai" from the PlayStation 2 era or a newcomer who just likes gritty Japanese dramas, these performances are worth a look. Just don't expect anyone to hit a guy with a traffic cone—this Kamurocho is a lot less funny and a lot more lethal.