A live-action Yakuza gets a surprise release 18 months after Amazon's divisive series, and fans know which one they prefer

Yakuza Powered by Nihon Toitsu Episode 1 - YouTube

A new live-action Yakuza series has suddenly been released – and fans immediately prefer it over 2024's divisive Amazon adaptation.

Previously, the version – without English subtitles – had been trapped on Japan's Prime Video but is now available on IGN's YouTube channel.

In the series, Kiryu (Yasufumi Motomiya) butts heads with the likes of Majima (Yoshiyuki Yamaguchi) and one-time BFF Nishikiyama (Kazuhiro Nakaya, reprising his game role) upon his release from prison. When returning to Kamurocho, he soon finds himself embroiled in a criminal conspiracy that will soon cut longstanding relationships and forge iron-clad bonds elsewhere.

While the series is, admittedly, low budget, it keeps Yakuza's traditional tongue-in-cheek humor intact. That even extends to one scene featuring several jokes at the expense of the long-running series' text box dialog scenes.

The first episode (more are forthcoming this week) has immediately gone down well, with commenters declaring it "10x better than the Amazon version." In fact, there is a swell of positive energy surrounding this adaptation that is in stark contrast to Amazon's effort.

For reference, Amazon's live-action adaptation – a series that played fast and loose with the source material, even if it did follow much of the first Yakuza's major story beats – was met with a lukewarm response by the audience, including those who felt it strayed too far from what made Yakuza so iconic.

Having said that, I certainly wasn't down on it as most were. In my Like a Dragon: Yakuza review, I praised its decision to forge ahead with its own fresh take, writing, "It's not the game Kiryu – and why should it be? Yakuza: Like a Dragon, if nothing else, is always confident in being its own thing."

Still, if you want an authentic Yakuza experience, this miniseries has got your back.

New episodes of Yakuza Powered by Nihon Toitsu are released on March 18 and March 19.

For more, check out the upcoming video game movies in the works, and our ranking of the best Yakuza games.

I'm the Senior Entertainment Writer here at GamesRadar+, focusing on news, features, and interviews with some of the biggest names in film and TV. On-site, you'll find me marveling at Marvel and providing analysis and room temperature takes on the newest films, Star Wars and, of course, anime. Outside of GR, I love getting lost in a good 100-hour JRPG, Warzone, and kicking back on the (virtual) field with Football Manager. My work has also been featured in OPM, FourFourTwo, and Game Revolution.

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