Yakuza: Like a Dragon introduced the world to lovable lout Ichiban Kasuga, a petty criminal with a heart of gold. But did you know that part of the inspiration for Ichi's portrayal comes from the manga mega-hit One Piece, and specifically, the characterisation of protagonist Monkey D. Luffy himself?
It's true, and this tasty little tidbit comes from a Crunchy Roll interview with Like a Dragon producer and Ryu Ga Gotoku studio head Masayoshi Yokoyama, who states, "I’ve never really talked about this before, so I’m not sure if I should just go for it now, but for [Like a Dragon] I was really, really inspired by One Piece. To me, Ichiban is basically Luffy. And around him, there’s Zoro and Nami and basically the rest of the party. One Piece’s party composition was on my mind so much during writing that it was a massive influence."
There are certainly similarities between the two, with both capable of switching from lovable goofball to stone-cold badass at the drop of a straw hat. Yokoyama continues, noting that "This is definitely not official, but in my own heart, [Like a Dragon] was basically my ideal version of what would be Yakuza: One Piece. That’s how I got the inspiration to make it."
The interview itself is a fantastic read and well worth checking out in its entirety, especially if you are as excited by the prospect of the excellent-looking Like a Dragon: Ishin! as we are. Can you see the Like a Dragon/One Piece connection? Are you excited to see the continued adventures of Ichiban and company in Like a Dragon 8? Let us know in the comments section below.
[source crunchyroll.com, via ign.com]
Comments 20
Dang, I never really thought of it like that before. I can see it now, definitely looking forward to the sequel as well.
Really comes across through its sense of comradery, Ichiban and his nakamas.
That's what I love about Yakuza/Like a Dragon... next to its insane silliness it's just filled with sincere heart and positive messaging.
Haha that’s pretty great, does make sense when you look at it from that light. Luffy is a pretty special character, not a bad idea to spin off him.
So does this mean Ichibans story will never end? 😂
Saeko = Nami is definitely something I felt while playing the game, but it's surprising to hear that the whole crew was inspired by One Piece's own. Awesome connection, really.
Ichiban needs more crew members plus a thousand sunny . Be interesting to see what happens especially with like a dragon 8 bringing back kiryu br interesting if kiryu gets his own party or joins up with ichiban. Probably better if kiryu gets his own party , especially if majima is invited
I never watched One Piece since it's such a daunting show to get into but after reading this I feel like I have to at least try it!
@Korgon From experience I’ve never met someone who’s watched the anime that doesn’t like it. Try watching it up until the end of the Arlong ark and decide whether or not it’s for you. FYI One Piece is highly bingeable and will be responsible for disrupting your sleep schedule if you decide to dive in, have fun😁
@GorosBat Here I am. It’s an incoherent mess and Luffy is an awful self contradicting character. I wasn’t a big fan of the look of the new Yakuza, but now I really have a reason to avoid it. I can’t imagine why you would use ONE PIECE as inspiration. (And there’s my angry ONE PIECE rant lol.)
This makes so much sense to me. One is my favorite manga character of all time and the other is my favorite modern new video game protagonist.
@Jaz007 Woah, we found the rainbow diamond unicorn, you should enter the lottery because you're the rarest species of anime fan, that's awesome dude, if I were you and I were asked what anime I don't like I'd literally bring this up every single time, wear it like a badge of pride my dude 🤣
Great inspiration. I never really thought of Luffy or the Straw Hats whenever I look at Ichiban and co. in Yakuza:LaD, but now I can kinda see it through the sense of firendship Ichiban has with his gang. It makes sense considering how huge OP is in Japan.
@Korgon One Piece is amazing, but as @gorosbat warned it can suck you in and become very addicting.
I'm a rare beast though, love OP but I haven't watched it in MANY years...recently started to re-watch it from the beginning but stopped when Funimation announced they were merging with Crunchyroll.
Amazing.
Cant wait for more. Super excited for One Piece Odyssey also.
@GorosBat I don’t think it’s an uncommon opinion. There’s many people who see ONE PIECE as deeply flawed (without redeeming factors to counterbalance) and not good storytelling.
I’m also expressing that this genuinely worried me about Yakuza as much as I’m responding to you, they just happened to get lumped together.
@Jaz007 I’m just joking with you mate, you can still love something regardless of its flaws, nothing is perfect, it’s just staggering that the anime is over 1000 episodes now and it’s kinda refreshing to have a popular anime that doesn’t take itself too seriously. One of the major flaws of the show is that it takes forever for anything significant to happen until we get an entire law dump in a single episode, but I kinda treat the show as a soap opera.
I don’t know how people can stomach the glacial pacing or wonky off model animation of the anime. The manga however is a masterclass.
Wow, I can definitely see it now. Now let’s get a crossover between the two.
I’ve started reading One Piece recently, I’ll definitely hear this in mind when I finally get to this game
@KidBoruto I've only watched like 3 episodes in the past year because I originally caught up in the 800s but grew to realise I don't like waiting week after week for each episode, so now I wait for time to pass and then I binge like 40 episodes in a week. I'm somewhere about halfway through the Wano Kingdom ark!
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