Like a Dragon series’ actors on bringing their characters to life | Kaser Focus

I don’t often get to speak on my love for Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio’s Like a Dragon series. Occasionally I get to speak about the newer games — such as Infinite Wealth — but I don’t get to indulge in my love for the classic titles, my nostalgia for a time when the series was called “Yakuza.” I got my chance recently when I interviewed the stars of the new Like a Dragon: Yakuza series coming to Prime later this year: Ryoma Takeuchi, who plays Kazuma Kiryu and Kento Kaku, who plays Akira “Nishiki” Nishikiyama. I also spoke with the show’s executive producer Eric Barmack.

Speaking about taking on the role of Kiryu, Takeuchi told me, “I think it’s really important to start from the ground-up and focus on the human emotion. How we feel things is the most important part to focus on — extracting that and expanding on it is the process to start anything, regardless if it’s based on an IP… What’s most important is not starting from the shell or the outside of things. Starting from the inside is the key, and the source material helps you out.”