The lead actor of Amazon’s live-action series Like a Dragon: Yakuza knows there’s “no point in trying to outdo the original game,” so they portray Kazuma Kiryu in their “own way”

Ryoma Takeuchi, the actor behind Amazon’s live-action series “Like a Dragon: Yakuza,” is well aware of the gravity of the role he is taking on.

Last month, Sega announced that the Yakuza series, now renamed Like a Dragon, would be adapted into a live-action TV show on Amazon. It’s not the first time the series has been adapted into a live-action series, but it will be the first in this era of whether video game adaptations are still any good these days. The show will, unsurprisingly, revolve around series lead Kazuma Kiryu, with Ryoma Takeuchi taking on the role in this particular outing. Takeuchi recently spoke to IGN Japan about joining the series, where he discussed his feelings about portraying a character from an existing series and the challenges that came with it.

“I was surprised to be offered this role,” explained Takeuchi. “I knew the game series and had played the first game at my uncle’s house. It’s a real challenge to play a character from an existing work, and I thought very carefully about whether I was suitable for the role of Kiryu and whether it was right for me. From the beginning, I knew I had to give it my all, otherwise I would never make it.” For Takeuchi, it was all about creating his own version of Kiryu, saying he had to create the character “from scratch.” Of course, with a character as popular as Kiryu, you also have to take some fan expectations into account.

“I have a lot of respect for fans’ feelings,” Takeuchi continued. “But when I play a character, I have to express it in my own way, so I can’t pay attention to other people’s prejudices. I researched the games for myself to identify Kiryu’s qualities and embody them in my own way. Of course, I hope fans are happy with my portrayal – but I can say with confidence that I did my best to play Kiryu. There’s no point in trying to outdo the original game; rather, I wanted to pay respect to the games while creating something new as an artist.”

Takeuchi has been acting for about a decade now, and is best known for his lead role in Kamen Rider Drive. He’s no stranger to video game adaptations either, having also voiced Justice Smith’s character Tim Goodman in the Japanese dub of Detective Pikachu (where he also made a cameo appearance as a Pokemon trainer at the beginning of the film).

“Like a Dragon: Yakuza” is scheduled to premiere on Prime Video later this year on October 24.