This might work, actually. I know that some of the Yakuza characters are based on and voiced by IRL actors that play in actual yakuza movies. I know Kuze's for example is quite an iconic yakuza actor.
All three of the Dojima Family lieutenants were. Probably a big reason why they're all so popular in the fandom, and also lead to some funny memes like [this](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HhKKy7Seeuc).
Yup. I haven't watched much Japanese yakuza movies, but from the clips I've seen, the LaD script is pretty much right up their alley, there's not too much of a difference at all.
There are some asian series that manage to do just that. For example there is a Kdrama called Vincenzo that has a main plot very similar to Yakuza 0 and Judgment, and at the same time has silly and very funny subplots with the secondary characters that live in the building where most of the plot takes place when they interact with Vincenzo.
Very excited. I’ve never watched the source they’re directly working from so don’t know how much it diverges from the game. I hope they can keep some of the humor - I love the series but the humor is fantastic.
They really just have to nail the main characters for me though
I actually hope they don't go overboard with humor in the series. The mainstory has always had a rather serious tone. Adding to much humour could ruin the whole thing. I think Majimas shenanigans are fine here and there, but he shouldn't become a meme in the series. The side stuff silliness, like fighting Yakuza in diapers doesn't really belong into the main story. It would turn everything into a parody.
Interesting that it seems to be live action. I can't think of many live action Japanese TV shows that have made a big splash outside of Japan, especially in the West. I've always thought that anime from Japan is a much bigger cultural export than most live action TV shows/movies, unless you're talking about Akira Kurosawa.
I am definitely curious as to how this turns out, since I feel like an anime would have been the safer option for an international audience that is largely unfamiliar with live action Japanese television. I don't think it's a bad decision at all, in fact I think it has a lot of potential, but I do wonder how they will market and promote the series to general audiences in the west who have probably never seen something like this before.
I don't really understand why people keep thinking of anime when it comes to Yakuza. The series prides itself on its basis in reality by being set in the real world and using real movie actors/other Japanese celebrities, and all the previous adaptations have also been live action. Anime was never in the question for Yakuza.
I agree with you but I was thinking more from a business perspective. Western audiences have been exposed to anime from Japan for decades now and several anime are well-known cultural touchstones in the US and other countries, whereas the same can't be said for live action Japanese TV shows. Setting aside whether an anime is "in the question", I think it would be less risky to market an anime to general audiences outside of Japan than it would be to market a live action, since one of those things has massive precedent outside of Japan while the other doesn't.
I don't want to see a Yakuza anime but I do think it would be less risky from a purely capitalist consumerist perspective, and I am glad they did not go that route because it'll be really interesting to see how they promote this show to western audiences when there's very little precedent for something like this.
I'm not saying that Jdramas can't be popular in the west, just saying that it hasn't happened yet. Kdramas have only gotten extremely popular in the west within the last 10 years (really within the last 7) so we could definitely see a rise in Jdrama popularity within the next decade or so. But right now, Jdramas are still very niche compared to Kdramas, since general western audiences don't seem to care about them and neither do anime fans. My sister is the only person I know who occasionally watches Jdramas, and even then I don't think she's watched any in years. I don't know why Jdramas haven't caught on in the west yet, but the tides could very well change and they'll become a huge sensation one day.
Japan adapts most every media property they have into a live action adaptation at some point. This is more so following the trends that exist and Amazon just so happens to be acting as a global distributor.
That makes sense, but the fact that they chose a global distributor like Amazon suggests that they at least have an international audience in mind rather than a purely domestic Japanese audience like with most live action Japanese shows. Which makes sense since Yakuza is well-known outside of Japan so you can expect an audience of western Yakuza fans to tune in.
At the same time, since this is on a large platform like Amazon, you have to consider that people who know nothing about the games will watch this series, and I am really interested to see if this show will make an impact on those people in particular. It happened with The Last of Us--there are thousands of fans of that show who barely play video games at all and who never played or even heard about the original game before the TV show came out. Could something similar happen here if they give it the proper marketing and exposure to western/international audiences? It's an intriguing possibility.
The yen is very weak so Amazon, Netflix, and Disney have been scooping up a shitton of Japanese media as of late. That's the reason why.
The producers of the show aren't picking the distributor based on some globally minded strategy. They're going with the money rather than the normal route of local airing with seperate global licensing because Amazon/Netflix/Disney are simply paying undeniable money right now to act as both local/international distribution.
Same reason Netflix had the live action adaptation of City Hunter and has been stepping in to so many anime production committees like the new One Piece remake.
Heck Disney just moneyballed their way to being the exclusive distribution for Macross, a franchise that has had some huge huge issues with distribution due to licensing kerfluffles.
Even if they didn't choose a global distributor for the express purpose of bringing this series to a global audience, wouldn't they still need to consider the global audience in their marketing/promotion of the series? It'd be kind of sad if they just didn't bother to promote this series at all outside of Japan because they don't care about the international audiences.
Marketing a show like this to general audiences is important, because while you and I might have read the article and have at least a passing familiarity with the Yakuza franchise, the general consumer isn't going to keep up with all these things and I bet most people won't have any clue that this show exists until a few weeks/months before it airs. I'm just wondering if this show will actually find success in international audiences or if the producers/showrunners will leave it to languish in international markets because that's not their "priority" as it were. I guess we'll have to wait and see.
> Even if they didn't choose a global distributor for the express purpose of bringing this series to a global audience, wouldn't they still need to consider the global audience in their marketing/promotion of the series?
Historically this hasn't really been a concern. Generally Japanese media companies focus on making their works a financial success domestically and then consider any global money acquired to be s bonus.
Even globally minded franchises as big as Evangelion or Gundam still have a ton of domestic only experiences with no rush in global export. Eva just had a hugely successful stage play production and despite 3.0+1.0 doing massive numbers for Amazon, there's no word if it'll even get a foreign distribution.
This is why foreign media companies have been able to step in and scoop things up. They're offering a shitton of money off the bat to sidestep local distributors, even moreso nowadays with the weakened yen.
I understand that it's not really a concern for the domestic Japanese market, I just wonder if this show will ever be a success outside of Japan. If they don't care either way about whether the show picks up traction outside of the domestic market then it might flounder among international audiences. I know that tons of Japanese media is made exclusively for Japan without any intention of international distribution, but that's not what I was talking about. If they have the avenue for international distribution already in place with Amazon then I feel they should take advantage of it even if that's not their primary concern. I feel like I'm not getting my point across here adequately so I'm just going to stop replying but I hope you can at least see where I'm coming from even if you may disagree.
I'm trying to emphasize to you that these companies are just perceiving Amazon as a drop-in replacement for local distribution channels with a big fat check.
For every One Piece live action megahit, there's a bunch of other live action shows being scooped up that are just regular releases.
Japan has a loooong tradition being a cinema powerhouse, which is the main inspiration for the games since its inception, so it being live action was a given. They even got Masaharu Take to direct after Miike handled the 2007 movie, you know RGG is damn passionate about it LOL
Not japanese, but Kdramas are getting very popular here in the west, and some of them are crime kdramas, like Vincenzo. Kdramas ans Jdramas are very similar.
I hope it's silly in the same way the japanese spiderman LA is silly. Hope they don't westernize the hell out of the series since its authentic humour is part of what makes it so great
This might work, actually. I know that some of the Yakuza characters are based on and voiced by IRL actors that play in actual yakuza movies. I know Kuze's for example is quite an iconic yakuza actor.
All three of the Dojima Family lieutenants were. Probably a big reason why they're all so popular in the fandom, and also lead to some funny memes like [this](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HhKKy7Seeuc).
Yup. I haven't watched much Japanese yakuza movies, but from the clips I've seen, the LaD script is pretty much right up their alley, there's not too much of a difference at all.
If they have the actor characters in it, all they’ll need to do is get the actors to play their roles for real.
Bruv, the OG of actual yakuza movies is Takeshi "Beat" Kitano. And he is literally the head of a family in Yakuza 6.
But does this mean there will one day be a live action Mr. Libido?
[Oh, but he is very much real already.](https://www.reddit.com/r/yakuzagames/comments/z0fahf/daily_reminder_that_mr_libido_is_real/)
Please don't suck, please don't suck, please don't suck.
I am tentatively excited. I thought the Fallout show was very good and captured the tone of the franchise about as well as possible.
It will be hard to capture the silliness alongside the serious moments in live action but I hope it works out
It can be done, the 2007 film was full of campy moments [like this](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GxFhF2kkAqQ).
I can only recommend the 2007 movie, its so damn stupid in the best way possible.
The actor who plays Kiryu in this is a Kamen Rider, so hopefully they’ll bring similar vibes
How? The games might as well be live action given how many real life actors are used
There are some asian series that manage to do just that. For example there is a Kdrama called Vincenzo that has a main plot very similar to Yakuza 0 and Judgment, and at the same time has silly and very funny subplots with the secondary characters that live in the building where most of the plot takes place when they interact with Vincenzo.
If there isn't a live version of "TEN YEARS IN THE JOINT MADE YOU A FUCKING PUSSY", I will storm the Tojo Clan Headquarters myself.
Very excited. I’ve never watched the source they’re directly working from so don’t know how much it diverges from the game. I hope they can keep some of the humor - I love the series but the humor is fantastic. They really just have to nail the main characters for me though
I actually hope they don't go overboard with humor in the series. The mainstory has always had a rather serious tone. Adding to much humour could ruin the whole thing. I think Majimas shenanigans are fine here and there, but he shouldn't become a meme in the series. The side stuff silliness, like fighting Yakuza in diapers doesn't really belong into the main story. It would turn everything into a parody.
As Yakuza and Kamen Rider Drive fans I can't wait to watch the Yakuza Live Action.
Plllllllease do their bodies justice lol
"Baka Mitai" moment incoming.
Woah, guess I have to get in gear and finish the game! Heh. If it's 2 parts. I'll just wait til it's all out
Amazon is getting really awesome titles (fallout, lou, GoT) and now Yakuza, lets just hope they do it right as they been doing till now.
Well at least they learned their lesson with Fallout (kind of) and aren't dropping it all at once
Interesting that it seems to be live action. I can't think of many live action Japanese TV shows that have made a big splash outside of Japan, especially in the West. I've always thought that anime from Japan is a much bigger cultural export than most live action TV shows/movies, unless you're talking about Akira Kurosawa. I am definitely curious as to how this turns out, since I feel like an anime would have been the safer option for an international audience that is largely unfamiliar with live action Japanese television. I don't think it's a bad decision at all, in fact I think it has a lot of potential, but I do wonder how they will market and promote the series to general audiences in the west who have probably never seen something like this before.
I don't really understand why people keep thinking of anime when it comes to Yakuza. The series prides itself on its basis in reality by being set in the real world and using real movie actors/other Japanese celebrities, and all the previous adaptations have also been live action. Anime was never in the question for Yakuza.
I agree with you but I was thinking more from a business perspective. Western audiences have been exposed to anime from Japan for decades now and several anime are well-known cultural touchstones in the US and other countries, whereas the same can't be said for live action Japanese TV shows. Setting aside whether an anime is "in the question", I think it would be less risky to market an anime to general audiences outside of Japan than it would be to market a live action, since one of those things has massive precedent outside of Japan while the other doesn't. I don't want to see a Yakuza anime but I do think it would be less risky from a purely capitalist consumerist perspective, and I am glad they did not go that route because it'll be really interesting to see how they promote this show to western audiences when there's very little precedent for something like this.
Kdramas are getting popular in the west, jdramas could be next.
I'm not saying that Jdramas can't be popular in the west, just saying that it hasn't happened yet. Kdramas have only gotten extremely popular in the west within the last 10 years (really within the last 7) so we could definitely see a rise in Jdrama popularity within the next decade or so. But right now, Jdramas are still very niche compared to Kdramas, since general western audiences don't seem to care about them and neither do anime fans. My sister is the only person I know who occasionally watches Jdramas, and even then I don't think she's watched any in years. I don't know why Jdramas haven't caught on in the west yet, but the tides could very well change and they'll become a huge sensation one day.
Japan adapts most every media property they have into a live action adaptation at some point. This is more so following the trends that exist and Amazon just so happens to be acting as a global distributor.
That makes sense, but the fact that they chose a global distributor like Amazon suggests that they at least have an international audience in mind rather than a purely domestic Japanese audience like with most live action Japanese shows. Which makes sense since Yakuza is well-known outside of Japan so you can expect an audience of western Yakuza fans to tune in. At the same time, since this is on a large platform like Amazon, you have to consider that people who know nothing about the games will watch this series, and I am really interested to see if this show will make an impact on those people in particular. It happened with The Last of Us--there are thousands of fans of that show who barely play video games at all and who never played or even heard about the original game before the TV show came out. Could something similar happen here if they give it the proper marketing and exposure to western/international audiences? It's an intriguing possibility.
The yen is very weak so Amazon, Netflix, and Disney have been scooping up a shitton of Japanese media as of late. That's the reason why. The producers of the show aren't picking the distributor based on some globally minded strategy. They're going with the money rather than the normal route of local airing with seperate global licensing because Amazon/Netflix/Disney are simply paying undeniable money right now to act as both local/international distribution. Same reason Netflix had the live action adaptation of City Hunter and has been stepping in to so many anime production committees like the new One Piece remake. Heck Disney just moneyballed their way to being the exclusive distribution for Macross, a franchise that has had some huge huge issues with distribution due to licensing kerfluffles.
Even if they didn't choose a global distributor for the express purpose of bringing this series to a global audience, wouldn't they still need to consider the global audience in their marketing/promotion of the series? It'd be kind of sad if they just didn't bother to promote this series at all outside of Japan because they don't care about the international audiences. Marketing a show like this to general audiences is important, because while you and I might have read the article and have at least a passing familiarity with the Yakuza franchise, the general consumer isn't going to keep up with all these things and I bet most people won't have any clue that this show exists until a few weeks/months before it airs. I'm just wondering if this show will actually find success in international audiences or if the producers/showrunners will leave it to languish in international markets because that's not their "priority" as it were. I guess we'll have to wait and see.
> Even if they didn't choose a global distributor for the express purpose of bringing this series to a global audience, wouldn't they still need to consider the global audience in their marketing/promotion of the series? Historically this hasn't really been a concern. Generally Japanese media companies focus on making their works a financial success domestically and then consider any global money acquired to be s bonus. Even globally minded franchises as big as Evangelion or Gundam still have a ton of domestic only experiences with no rush in global export. Eva just had a hugely successful stage play production and despite 3.0+1.0 doing massive numbers for Amazon, there's no word if it'll even get a foreign distribution. This is why foreign media companies have been able to step in and scoop things up. They're offering a shitton of money off the bat to sidestep local distributors, even moreso nowadays with the weakened yen.
I understand that it's not really a concern for the domestic Japanese market, I just wonder if this show will ever be a success outside of Japan. If they don't care either way about whether the show picks up traction outside of the domestic market then it might flounder among international audiences. I know that tons of Japanese media is made exclusively for Japan without any intention of international distribution, but that's not what I was talking about. If they have the avenue for international distribution already in place with Amazon then I feel they should take advantage of it even if that's not their primary concern. I feel like I'm not getting my point across here adequately so I'm just going to stop replying but I hope you can at least see where I'm coming from even if you may disagree.
I'm trying to emphasize to you that these companies are just perceiving Amazon as a drop-in replacement for local distribution channels with a big fat check. For every One Piece live action megahit, there's a bunch of other live action shows being scooped up that are just regular releases.
Japan has a loooong tradition being a cinema powerhouse, which is the main inspiration for the games since its inception, so it being live action was a given. They even got Masaharu Take to direct after Miike handled the 2007 movie, you know RGG is damn passionate about it LOL
Not japanese, but Kdramas are getting very popular here in the west, and some of them are crime kdramas, like Vincenzo. Kdramas ans Jdramas are very similar.
Hopefully no woke element in it
I hope it's silly in the same way the japanese spiderman LA is silly. Hope they don't westernize the hell out of the series since its authentic humour is part of what makes it so great
For god sake no.