Review: IMC’s YAKUZA: SONG OF VENGEANCE is Heartrending and Bloodcurdling

On Saturday, July 19, 2025, Indonesian Musical Company returned to the stage of Gedung Kesenian Jakarta with Yakuza: Song of Vengeance. This original musical is set in modern-day Japan, a thematic departure from their previous two musicals which took place in colonial-era Indonesia.

Yakuza is produced by Bryan Edward and directed by V. Vladimir Ivan Pratama. The script is written by Daniel Anargya, Asterlina Jova Diantoro, and Bryan Edward, with music by Charis Joshua Untung and score by Harley Huray (who also served as the music director). The choreography is credited to Belinda G. Sihombing.

The show ran for two show times on July 19 and the team Broadwayworld Indonesia had the opportunity to attend the evening show.

Yakuza tells the story of Hideyoshi Makoto (Khenny Gracia), the oldest daughter of the Hideyoshi clan of yakuza. While renowned in the underworld as a skillful and cold-blooded swordsman, she hides a more tender side; she’s in a relationship with a civilian – the romantic florist and songwriter Tanaka Hide (Charis Joshua Untung).

The plot gets going with the passing of the Hideyoshi clan’s patriarch, Takeshi (F.X. James). In his will, he leaves the clan’s sprawling headquarters and its leadership to Makoto’s hot-tempered, hammer-wielding younger brother Kenji (Patrick Young). Meanwhile, Makoto is left with only a simple necklace.

As she tries to grapple with Kenji’s new leadership, Makoto discovers that she’s pregnant with Hide’s child. Overcome with emotions, Hide proposes to Makoto. He promises that he’ll help Makoto leave the yakuza and build a new life together as a family. Although she has rejected his previous proposals, she finally relents and says yes.

At the same time, it comes to light that the Hideyoshi clan is in deep financial troubles. Yamato (Nikolas Stevie), a high-ranking officer from the clan, confides to Kenji that the necklace bequeathed to Makoto holds the code to open the late patriarch’s safe.

To celebrate their engagement, Makoto and Hide go to their favorite bar, getting heartful congratulations from the bar’s proprietress Fumiko (Ioanne Nathanie Nugroho) and fellow regular Dr. Hendrik (Nathaniel Thierry). 

But their merriment is cut short; Kenji and his men come to the bar to take Makoto’s necklace. She fights them back and while manages to stave off the henchmen, Kenji overtakes her; he stabs her in the stomach with her own sword, and brutally smashes Hide’s head in. But before he can finish the job, the police arrive at the scene. Hide is gone, but Makoto is saved by the police – namely, the captain Daichi (Vincentius Felix Hananto) and his bumbling assistant Tsumiki (Anjani Estherleen).

With the help of Fumiko, Dr. Hendrik, and the police, Makoto is hidden away to recover from her wounds. While recuperating, she befriends Ao (Caroline Sandra K.), a gentle deaf girl who eventually manages to cheer Makoto up after the traumatic event.

Eventually, Kenji and his gang manage to find Makoto’s hideout. On their way to confront Makoto, they bump into Ao. Kenji notices that Ao is holding Makoto’s necklace – she previously overheard that the necklace is the key to a safe and she hoped to help her brother by getting the money.

Seeing this connection to Makoto, Kenji kidnaps her. Kenji tells Makoto to go to the Hideyoshi clan’s headquarters if she wants Ao back.

Makoto does so, together with Ao’s brother – the infamous assassin Akira (Daniel Anargya), who Makoto had fought before. The two of them enter into a massive brawl sequence against the lackeys that spills into the seat aisles, before facing off against Kenji himself.

Although Akira puts up a good fight, Kenji manages to defeat him. Now only two people are left standing. Kenji casts off his jacket, revealing a menacing, yet awe-inspiring back tattoo. Makoto, in turn, also takes off her jacket, leaving her with a body wrap and revealing her own tattoo. The climactic fight sees them trading blows – Makoto with her trusty sword, and Kenji with his massive hammer (and later, his knuckles).

Eventually, Makoto manages to strike down Kenji. But as she turns her back on him, he silently gets back up, taking her discarded sword and raising it high – before getting shot multiple times by the arriving police force.

In the epilogue, Makoto sends a letter to Fumiko and Dr. Hendrik, telling them not to worry about her and that she’s starting over, as Tanaka Makoto – taking on Hide’s last name. She sees Hide – perhaps a phantom, perhaps a memory – and embraces him.

As apparent from the show’s synopsis, Yakuza: Song of Vengeance is an ambitious undertaking. It is perfectly in line with IMC’s previous offerings (Zeventien and Legacy) and share some common threads, particularly a succession conflict and a tragic romance.

Yet it also proudly draws inspiration from the Japanese Action RPG video game franchise Yakuza, such as with the plot involving the antagonist faction looking for a precious item out of greed. But the most striking homage is the scene when Makoto and Kenji cast off their jackets, revealing their tattoos – it evokes similar climactic moments from throughout the franchise.

This combination, unsurprisingly, works well. And so does the direction by Vladimir Ivan. The show knows how to build up tension and caps it off with thrilling action sequences (with Johan Nugroho and Dresden Yedija Wiradjaya as martial art coaches), making each fight hard-hitting – literally and emotionally.

However, the more comedic moments can sometimes feel a bit jarring and create a whiplash due to how exaggerated they are compared to the more gritty tone of the rest of the show. And the scenes taking place in the bar are often surprisingly empty despite the musical number set there being filled with ensemble. To be fair, these are small details that might go unnoticed for most of the audience.

Such a complicated story needs sufficient clarity, and thankfully it’s always easy to follow Makoto’s emotional journey. However, due to its considerable length, some details might be lost to the audience. The unstable audio quality also amplifies the problem, making some dialogues hard to catch.

The music is competent and pleasant as always, now with both traditional Japanese and J-pop influences that work seamlessly with the setting. The scoring is also an important part of the show, not only helping fill the scene transitions but also setting up the mood of different scenes. The music overall sounds lush and clear with only minor balancing issues during dialogue or singing – except for the villain’s first song, in which the mic was inexplicably dead.

That being said, my biggest narrative hangup is neither with the script nor the songs; but rather the conceptualizing of it as a musical in the first place. Other than Hide’s very sweet and personal songs meant for Makoto, there’s little in this show that wouldn’t work just as well as a straight play. As a big fan of musicals, I’m surprised to find myself more intrigued by the book scenes. Although that is not to say that the musical scenes are disruptive at all; they just don’t feel as necessary this time.

The performances were solid all-around, as one can expect from Indonesian Musical Company. Khenny Gracia as Makoto had a difficult job portraying the different sides of the yakuza heiress, but she pulled it off with confidence, dignity, and vulnerability. Having a female lead in an action-heavy title is still a rarity in Indonesia, but it’s a bet that paid off handsomely, making each triumph even more satisfying.

Her singing voice is noticeably higher than her more gruff speaking voice, creating a significant and unexpected contrast. Her singing is also not quite as strong or polished as her acting performance, although still enjoyable.

There’s also still room for improvement in the depiction of her relationship with Hide. In the beginning, she comes across as very cold and uninterested in Hide’s overt advances. This  initial courtship was a bit too one-sided that it was difficult to be invested. Thankfully, once their romance blossoms, their contrasting personality and background become endearing instead.

Hide himself is the first major on-stage role for IMC’s co-founder and composer Charis Joshua Untung in an IMC production. An unabashedly good and gentle guy, he’s meek, earnest, and loving, everything Makoto can’t find in the unforgiving world of the yakuza. Although a tad corny, Charis’s unflinching acting manages to make the role largely endearing, making his eventual death all the more heartbreaking.

And completing the trifecta of main roles is Patrick Young as Kenji. Although the role felt slightly underwritten and one-note, Patrick’s great physicality and expressions succeeded in making him both menacing and enthralling to watch.

The supporting performances are likewise strong. And although it’s impossible to explore all the characters in sufficient depth considering the runtime, what’s there is enough to make each character stand out. Particular stand outs include Vincentius Felix Hananto’s measured and mature Daichi and Caroline Sandra’s immensely charming portrayal of Ao.

On the artistic side, the scenic design shines when it combines long, hanging pieces of fabric and colorful lighting, making for a dramatic yet elegant backdrop to the scenes. The usage of harsh red lighting during climactic fights also heightened the tension. And the wardrobe and make-up design is superb, creating immediately iconic looks for the main and supporting characters – special shout out to the back tattoos, an integral part to the yakuza mythos that surely took hours to design and execute.

Yakuza: Song of Vengeance is a worthy addition to Indonesian Musical Company’s repertoire, imbuing their trademark story beats, strong acting, and action sequences with a loving tribute to yakuza – and Yakuza – stories. Although the music might play second fiddle to the book, the show is still a thrilling watch that’s full of both style and substance.

Broadwayworld Indonesia is a media partner for Yakuza: Song of Vengeance.