Very loosely inspired but in the mood of the book.
I'm writing this review having watched 7 of the 8 episodes and having already read the book that this drama is based on.I will start my review by mentioning some things about the book that is a fantastic read and I recommend to read it. Jake Adelstein is the only American journalist ever hired at one of the most prestigious Japanese newspapers as a crime reporter, something that is of course an achievement by itself. Through his work as a reporter he had to deal with the whole spectrum of Japanese underworld, the Japanese mafia ( Yakuza- that it is worst as it seems than the Italian one! ) and of course with the police and all the people, the press and all other institutions, involved in this world.
In his book he mentions the most notorious of the cases that he covered as a journalist, and of course he gives a first hand account about how intertwined are the Police and the Press with the Japanese underworld.
And that is exactly what this drama is all about. It is not that much about the characters that are just some examples of the persons that Adelstein encountered in the 12 years that he worked as a journalist in Japan, but mostly a very good and accurate depiction of the attitudes, the dealings and the doings of all these people that live and operate in this particular world.
The story plot and the characters are original - inspired by the book or picked up from the book, but not so well developed in the book- but the mood is there intact. Where the book is full of information and facts as a reporter would have written them the drama is full of character development and a solid plot. So 10/10 from me for the fantastic and original in a manner of speaking writing of this script.
The production is great with the touch of Michael Mann ( the guy who produced the legendary Miami Vice and directed Collateral ). Don't ask me who is Michael Mann. Go a check out the films and dramas he has produced and directed.
I'm also impressed by the cast and all the actors participating in this drama as half of them had to learn how to speak Japanese and the rest of them to learn how deliver fluently their lines in English! They all deserve credits for their work, as we all know how difficult it is for westerners to learn Japanese and for Japanese to speak English.
So - in order to conclude without any spoilers- this is a fantastic drama with a very solid plot, great character development that you will not find in the book, and very good - and difficult due to the bilingual nature of this drama - acting.
If you haven't read the book yet do read it.
If you haven't watched this drama yet do watch it as it will put you in the mood of the book but with an original and different some how story plot.
10/10 from me for the writing and they way that the source material was used, the character development and the very good production and direction.
P.S After watching the final episode I have to say that the second season will be welcomed.
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"Everything is transactional"
Tokyo Vice was based loosely on the first foreign reporter to work at a prestigious Japanese newspaper. Driven by ambition and a fierce intelligence, Jake Adelstein was determined to be a success. Problems arose quickly as neither his bosses nor the police officers he relied on for information had any use for a Gaijin.This drama carries the mood of a noir between the lighting and acting. The police accept that the Yakuza aren’t going anywhere and it’s their job to work with them to keep the peace. Deadly problems begin when a gang from out of town seeks to take over another gang’s territory. Jake is slapped down and betrayed repeatedly by the police, his bosses, and the Yakuza often derogatorily called a Gaijin and other racist names. He digs in and finds leads to a series of suspicious suicides. Along the way, he attempts to make a police source out of the handsome and shady Miyamoto. But it is with the righteous and wise Katagiri that he begins to learn more about the criminal world underlying most of the businesses. Jake’s boss, Maruyama Emi, initially resents having to work with him, but slowly learns to respect his desire to uncover what is hidden beneath the police reports. Patronized by the men she works with on and off the paper, Jake treats her with respect and she finds an ally for looking for the truth. Before long, Jake has made friendly acquaintances with two other rookie reporters, a low-ranking Yakuza named Sato, and an ex-pat American with an ambition rivaling his who works as a bar hostess.
The stories in Tokyo Vice were often slow burn but never slow. The people and plots were intricately woven together and took time for the characters to discover who was pulling the strings and why. As one character said, “Everything is transactional.” People used each other for information, power plays, money, sex, and protection. Fair warning, there was no shortage of tattooed and bare bottoms. Speaking of tattoos, there was some spectacular fake ink work on display.
Tokyo Vice benefited from strong performances. Watanabe Ken can always be counted on to deliver a strong performance and he came through here as Katagiri who bravely faced down the Yakuza and also knew when to lay back and set his traps. Katagiri had a gentle side as a devoted father and husband. His home and relationship with Jake reminded me of Shimura's Detective Sato in Stray Dog. Baby Driver's Ansel Elgort, brought a twitchy energy to Jake as the character sought to make contacts and learn the truth of how Tokyo and the newspaper operated. Favors required payment, for some a lie was as good as the truth, and for others, “a path opens to the one who is honest”. Kasamatsu Sho as Sato, gave a nuanced performance as the young Yakuza who came to understand the bloody payments that would be required and also joyfully sang along with the Back Street Boys while driving in the car with Jake. A son, an enforcer, and a lover, a myriad of emotions could cross his face in a matter of seconds.
Answers were hard to come by and season 1 ended with upping the ante for everyone and leaving others in peril. I’m looking forward to where this drama takes me in season 2 if they can sustain the tension and character growth begun in the first season.
10 February 2024
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This review may contain spoilers
Tokyo Overrated Vice!
Reading some reviews on IMDB makes me wonder am I watching the same show...LoLI think this series is way too overrated. I had to wait until ep4 to really get into it. The first 3 episodes were boring as hell, with no significant plot development. It felt like they were mostly fillers of random disjointed things being put together. The real story only started at ep4. It was the turning point for me. We have the "I want it that way" joke as well as Kawakami Nanami fanservice in this episode....haha otherwise I could have probably dropped this.
Apart from that, the major letdown of this series in my opinion is its protagonist. The premise of the show is a white guy who got a job at Japanese newspaper. The main story should be about him, but this character wasn't getting major involvement in the series. Most of the events happened without him around. Throughout the series he was shown as someone who's barely working, wasting money on Kabakura, impatient and clumsy, but acted like some big shot and quite rude considering he's living in Japanese culture. Ironically and luckily , the side characters and the side plots were the one that saved the series for me.
They were also some unrealistic, illogical, and contradicting things in this series as well. One of these is the fact that the real Jake Adelstein only do "the exposure" after some time he worked in Japan. In the series however, the protagonist got involved with Yakuza from day 1 he joined the company. It wasn't clear what motivated him to do that though ..,which makes thing illogical and laughable. After some time in the series, for some strange reason his superior (Kikuchi RInko) had to listen to his whatever selfish request....There are many others but I don't want to write a thesis.
On the positive side however, we can see some real talent from Japanese actors like Kasamatsu Sho, Ito Ayumi (Tozawa's mistress) and Yamada Jundai (fixer who's eyeing on Samantha). Most people only focusing on Watanabe Ken, Kikuchi Rinko and Ito Hideaki, so they tend to overlooked at the actors I mentioned above. It's also worth mentioning that Yamada Jundai's English was the best among all Japanese actors in this series. I wish he will get more international job offer in the future.
The production value of this series was as good as what you could get from an American production. The music was okay but nothing great to talk about.
In summary, I don't say this series is bad...it's watchable (although not bingeable for me). But definitely it wasn't that groundbreaking as what some people on IMDB might have claimed it was.
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Decent but unfocused
While this show certainly has good parts, the problem is that it's not clear what the core story is. There's various plotlines with journalists, cops, club hostesses and gangsters but none of them are focused on in great detail. Instead the show jumps from one plotline to another, with some big moments coming out of nowhere while others are dropped without any closure. The ending is too abrupt and doesn't even start to resolve any of the plotlines, which felt underwhelming.The storyline and characters are interesting, but the show is undermined by a lack of focus. The parts about the Yakuza culture and the police were very good, but the parts about Jake's lovelife were not.
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A Great Introduction To Japanese TV and Insight into Tokyo Of Old
Watched this in early 2022 and it kickstarted my renewed obsession with Japanese culture and language, which had been dormant for decades since high school. The pace is energetic, the settings are suitably 90s realistic (we remember those gritty times), the characters and actors deliver realistic cruelty, disillusionment or discontentment and the story is dynamic. It is after all, based on several angles of reality. You'll binge the series in a day and arrive at the end breathless, declaring: "Hang on! I need MORE!" Season 2 review in the coming weeks. "Follow" to get notifications of latest reviews ... Thanks for reading! FumiyawagiWas this review helpful to you?
