Creators:
J.T. RogersCast:
Ansel Elgort, Ken Watanabe, Rachel Keller, Ella Rumpf, Rinko Kikuchi, Hideaki Itō, Shô Kasamatsu, Tomohisa Yamashita, Shun Sugata, Masato Hagiwara, 谷田歩, 豊原功補 (more)Seasons(2) / Episodes(18)
Plots(1)
Loosely inspired by Jake Adelstein’s non-fiction first-hand account, the crime drama series Tokyo Vice follows the young American journalist’s rapid descent into Tokyo’s neon-soaked underbelly in the late ‘90s. Hired as prestigious newspaper Meicho Shimbun’s first American crime reporter, Adelstein soon finds himself covering seemingly unrelated cases – but quickly grows suspicious that more nefarious forces are at play. After embedding himself into the Tokyo Metro PD, alongside Detective Hiroto Katagiri, Adelstein is thrust into a seedy, fast-paced world of corruption, crime, and deception, where nothing and no one are what they seem. (HBO Max)
(more)Reviews of this series by the user Kaka (9)
Tokyo Vice (2022)
1 percent cliché, 99 percent authenticity. It's not the most polished, catchy series and probably won't be commercially successful, Tokyo Vice is too hard to read, unpredictable and procedural for that. It must be admitted, however, that the reality of Tokyo's neon and especially its underworld are portrayed brilliantly. It is not surprising that Michael Mann's signature is seen very often. It's a shame about the open-ended finale, because given the overall concept, I worry whether the money-hungry creators/producers will find the first season profitable enough to take on the second one. This is not a routine series for the masses, but a proper depressing ride through the dirty streets of a big city. I mean, not like a sunny, glossy Miami, but still enough "Vice" to keep an experienced viewer interested.
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The Test (2022) (S01E01)
An old-school detective series that seems to honour the classic narrative of the straight crime story, but is shot with the modern technology that we love so much about Mann, and he has been experimenting with it successfully for about 15 years. That is, a welcome amount of authentic handheld camerawork and a concrete/neon big city atmosphere. Last but not least, we can probably look forward to the bad guys, as is also customary in the master's work.
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Kishi Kaisei (2022) (S01E02)
Detailed and elaborate work with character development and motivation at the expense of story dynamics, which, considering the styling of Tokyo Vice, is not surprising. The major cliffhangers and big story twists will probably come a little later. Great big city atmosphere and exemplary Japanese production design.
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Read the Air (2022) (S01E03)
The third episode keeps the pace of the second, which, being the middle of the entire series, it’s almost too slow and cautious. It could use more dynamics, because the characters work well and the criminal underbelly is OK too. Moreover, the realities of Tokyo and its customs are depicted with care and respect for Eastern traditions.
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I Want It That Way (2022) (S01E04)
The fourth episode looks as if Michael Mann was behind the camera again. The cool detail with the clock in the restaurant, the ambiguity of the character of one of the Yakuza members and a strong female personality in the middle of the "male underworld". The pace quickens, with the fate of the main characters often hanging by a thread.
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Everybody Pays (2022) (S01E05)
Probably the best and most intensive episode so far. It mainly dramatises the situation around the main female protagonist and brings the inevitable clash between the two Yakuza clans. Some of the movements on the chessboard are utterly unpredictable, thumbs up for that.
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The Information Business (2022) (S01E06)
The directorial quality, structure and direction of the whole series goes down a bit, but on the other hand there is quite a lot going on and intense card shuffling. The finale will be interesting.
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Sometimes They Disappear (2022) (S01E07)
The seventh episode lacks a bit of pace and the right cinematic dynamics, but it depicts authentic Tokyo like few other things and, as is usual in this miniseries, it is absolutely unpredictable, without any clichés or crutches. Praise for that, no matter how watchable and audience-appealing it is.
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Yoshino (2022) (S01E08)
All in all, a very unexpected finale. Some characters are resolved, others are not, but almost everything in the overall is left open and that's a bit of a surprise given the beginning. Whether there’ll be another season, it’s not at all clear. Impressive as a standalone, we have a good script, some surprising scenes, but unsatisfying as the final piece to the mosaic.
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