A potential Yakuza based noir that devolves into a relationship-centric mess
Let me preface this by saying that I don’t hate HBO’s original series Tokyo Vice. In fact, I find it quite entertaining and I like the overall theme and look of it. J.T. Rogers has created an amazing visual that shows the dirty underworld that exists under Tokyo’s neon lights. But (there’s always a but), this show had so much potential to be more than what was made. All the pieces were there…an American who becomes the first “Gaijin” journalist for a major Japanese paper, Yakuza-centric story with crimes including blackmail & murder, and a crooked cop drama with an underlying plot of life-insurance fraud over pressured suicides.
Ansel Elgort plays Jake Adelstein, an American and the first foreigner journalist to be hired at Japan’s largest newspaper. Thrown on the police beat, we see him struggle to find his place as well as finding a story. He ultimately ends up in the middle of a Yakuza territorial spat between the Chihara-Kai and the Tozawa Clan. But, in-between all this, we see him form relationships with multiple individuals, the most notable being Samantha Porter (played by Rachel Keller) an American working in a hostess club, Jin Miyamoto (Hideaki Ito) a Vice Squad cop who teeters on the line of good and corrupt, Akiro Sato (Sho Kasamatsu) a young Yakuza member quickly rising in the ranks of the Chihara-kai, and Hiroto Katagiri (Ken Watanabe) an incorruptible senior detective. HBO went the extra mile to create such a stacked cast who all perform admirably throughout the series.
At the start of the show Jake’s police beat takes him to what appears to be a Yakuza based stabbing and during that same time period he finds himself at the scene of the suicide by a man who pours gasoline on himself and lights himself on fire. This latter incident turns into an interesting premise where people are hounded over their debt and pressured into suicide. The show follows this somewhat and we are shown Yakuza culture and the crimes that occur within Tokyo, helping to keep interest in the overarching narrative being displayed. However, at some point the storytelling veers away from following the crimes committed by the Yakuza and more towards the relationship triangle that Is Jake, Samantha, and Sato. Though we get more background as it concerns Samantha, and what brought her to Tokyo, the hard-nosed journalism and noir vibes become a part of the background as focus is turned to her falling in and out of love with Sato and teasing a possible romantic relationship with Jake, while seemingly manipulating both to get what she needs or wants (to the point where she even convinces Jake to smoke crystal meth to get information out of a strung-out writer for a Yakuza fan mag). The characters Miyamoto and Katagiri ultimately become the more interesting members of the story, but unfortunately have way less screen time than the three lovebirds.
I personally love the look and feel of this show, but the pivot to what relationship status our main characters have ultimately takes me out of it. The Yakuza culture is beautifully shown, specifically their tattoos, their structure, and how they operate within Tokyo; guaranteed to keep me watching through future seasons. But, for the success of this show, I hope they look towards being more noir and less of “The Bachelorette”; 6.5/10 – Brad aka YoungYoda
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