Gokusen to My Home Hero: 7 Japanese dramas based on Yakuza
Be it gritty thrillers or hilarious over-the-top comedies, shows like Gokusen, Tokyo Vice and many more dive into the underworld, exploring complex themes revolving around love, loyalty and survival.
Japanese dramas based on yakuza
Japanese dramas, although they have various tropes, be it romance, horror or suspense. But what if it is the genre with the yakuza underworld combined with passionate romance? Here are a few of the shows that feature ordinary women who get swept into deep, dangerous and loving relationships with prominent yakuza bosses.
My Home Hero
My Home Hero, a thriller show adapted from the popular manga My Home Hero. It follows the story of a mild-mannered salaryman who kills a yakuza member and has to protect his daughter. The live-action drama had aired in 2023. It serves as a direct prequel to the live-action sequel film that was released in Japanese theatres in March 2024, My Home Hero.
Yakuza Lover (Koi to Dangan or Love and Bullets)
Another popular live-action thriller show which is a must-watch. Adapted from Nozomi Mino's hit manga, it follows the story of Yuri, a college student, who falls into a deep, dangerous romance with Toshiomi Oya, a charismatic yakuza syndicate bozz, who saves her from a club altercation.
Girl/Haji
The thriller show follows the story of a Tokyo detective named Kenzo Mori, scouring the London underworld to find his allegedly deceased brother, Yuto. Yuto was accused of brutally murdering the nephew of a yakuza member, which could lead to the onset of a gang war. However, Kenzo's investigation leads him to the dangerous, corrupt underworld of London's criminal circuit.
Yakuza: Black Panther (Kurohyou: Ryu ga Gotoku Shinsho)
The Japanese TV drama adapted from the 2010 PlayStation Portable (PSP) action game of the same name follows the dark, violent underworld journey of a rebellious young fighter in Tokyo's fictional Kamurocho district. So far, the makers have released two seasons, one in 2010 and the second in 2012.
Gokusen
The thriller show tells the story of Kumiko Yamaguchi, the granddaughter of a yakuza bozz and teacher at an all-male private high school. How she deals with them forms the main crux of the story. So far the show has three seasons. Originally, Gokusen was a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Kozueko Morimoto. It was serialised in Shueisha's josei manga magazine You from 2000 to 2007, with its chapters collected in 15 wideband volumes.
Like a Dragon: Yakuza
The live-action drama is an adaptation of Sega's iconic video game series. The story jumps the timelines between 1995 and 2005 as childhood friends are drawn into the dangerous underworld of Kamurocho. It is a Japanese-language American crime action television series produced by Amazon MGM Studios, Wild Sheep Content, and 1212 Entertainment.
The Way of the Househusband (Gokushufudou)
Originally aired in 2020, the show tells the story of a egendary ex-yakuza known as the "Immortal Dragon" who trades a life of crime for domesticity. It is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Kousuke Oono. Published in the online manga magazine Kurage Bunch since 2018.
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