Based on journalist Jake Adelstein’s memoir of the same name, Tokyo Vice fictionalizes his first year or so in Japan, from jobless ex-pat to fledgling crime reporter and then eventually, to fully immersed Yakuza columnist. Or at least, that’s what it first appears to be about. In actuality, Tokyo Vice is an all-encompassing snapshot of 1999 Tokyo, with journalism only slightly edging out organized crime, hostess clubs, and police detectives as its focus. In other words, it’s a deep-dive into the gritty side of Japan, the side kept secret, until now. That’s a pretty compelling hook for a television series, and after finishing its eight-episode first season, I can confirm that the show lives up to its premise.

I’ve read a number of comments that argue that Jake Adelstein, played by Ansel Elgort, is the least interesting element of Tokyo Vice, and how that’s a problem given that he’s the primary protagonist. I understand that in a TV series dramatizing the dark side of Japan, people may not be eagerly awaiting scenes with the white guy. But to me, Jake represented so much more than just the white dude abroad. For one, in some ways I was Jake, as when he learned something new about Tokyo’s underbelly, I did too. That being said, Elgort’s performance is nuanced enough that his Jake is able to act as a vessel for the audience and always feel like an actual, distinct person. That’s easier said than done, so I commend Elgort and the writers for striking a proper balance in that regard.

Furthermore, Jake has some of the most interesting relationships in the show, ones that simply wouldn’t be as engaging if he were absent from them. While his ongoing partnership with veteran detective Hiroto Katagiri (Ken Watanabe) is the most conventionally entertaining, I found his collaboration with his supervisor, Emi Maruyama (Rinko Kikuchi), to be the most rewarding. Jake, being the first white guy at his newspaper, is repeatedly referred to as gaijin, the Japanese term for “foreigner” that’s more often than not said in a derogatory manner. You’d think that would make him the low man, but in this era of corporate Japan circa 1999, that puts Jake roughly on par with most, if not all, Japanese women. This means that Emi, despite being Jake’s direct superior as his supervisor, is often shown the same disdain and prejudice that he is. Watching these two characters, united in their nonacceptance, bond over the course of the season was one of the greatest pleasures I got out of Tokyo Vice.

Of course, the main thing a lot of people will want from this series is Yakuza and police stuff, and there’s plenty of that, with and without Jake. As I already said, Jake’s relationship with Katagiri, a veteran gang-unit detective, is quite entertaining. As difficult as it is for Jake to write up fully-detailed crime columns in risk-averse Tokyo, it’s even more difficult for Katagiri to crack down on said crime. Therefore, the two share a common goal, and it’s highly satisfying watching both of them cut through the red tape in order strike back at criminals. It’s important to note, though, that Ken Watanabe isn’t the co-lead the trailers make him out to be. He’s crucial to the story, yes, but he doesn’t fully come into focus until the second half of the season.

The true co-lead of the series is actress Rachel Keller, who plays Samantha Porter, another American ex-pat who plies her trade as a hostess at the Onyx Club, a business that kicks back to the Yakuza.* Samantha is a mysterious character who doesn’t take any crap, and I thoroughly enjoyed watching her protect the other women working at the club, while also getting to know her better as the season progressed. Rachel Keller deserves a lot of praise for her portrayal of a determined woman in a profession that affords women little to no respect. Her role could’ve easily been to simply serve as a window into hostess clubs and the Yakuza’s involvement in them, but like Elgort’s Jake, Keller’s Samantha is a three-dimensional character that offers so much more.

Through the Onyx Club and Samantha, Jake gets to know Sato (Show Kasamatsu), a low-level Yakuza soldier in the Chihara-Kai crime family who is, without a doubt, my favorite character on the show. Why? Well, not only is Sato a central part of the extremely interesting Yakuza storyline, but he’s also the most relatable character in Tokyo Vice. He’s shown to be compassionate and sensible in a world that is often the opposite. The Yakuza lifestyle doesn’t fit him, but given his lowly upbringing, it’s his best chance to earn money and respect. Sato also prefers Backstreet Boys to NSYNC, so yeah, he’s just awesome. Because of all this, he’s immediately likeable and more crucially, relatable. This is important for a few reasons, the main one being that the Yakuza are otherwise depicted as being quite awful, and without Sato, their side of the story would be a lot harder to watch and care about.

I was actually surprised, pleasantly, by how cruel and felonious the Yakuza are shown to be on this show. Too many times in other movies and series, they’re portrayed as old-school gangsters with mostly honorable traits, as if they’re somehow modern-day samurai or something. Tokyo Vice’s Yakuza are certainly closer to the reality: they’re just thugs who exploit and hurt people for money, or even worse, for pride and tradition. Depicting them this way is a smart move, as it reminds viewers in the west that the Japanese are far less different from them than they may think. This being said, like all the characters in this show, the Yakuza are shown to be more than one-dimensional crooks. Some are simple brutes, but others, like Chiharai-Kai’s leader Hitoshi Ishida (Shun Sugata), are more thoughtful and prudent. Like everyday people, they run the gamut of personalities.**

So yes, Tokyo Vice is really good and realistic, but it’s not without its flaws. I’d say its biggest one is also one of its biggest strengths, and that’s its stellar pilot episode directed by legendary director Michael Mann. If you’ve seen Mann’s 1999 masterpiece The Insider, then you already know why he’s perfect for this show. His camera movement, framing, and pacing is second-to-none, meaning that even during what should be a mundane scene, like Jake taking a test, your eyes are glued to the screen and your heart is racing. Thanks to Mann, the first episode of Tokyo Vice is nearly perfect, but the downside of that is that every episode after kind of pales in comparison, style-wise. Episodes two through eight are still of a high quality, but I couldn’t help but notice the sudden drop in filmmaking prowess. Mann is simply a maestro.***

Other than that, the only other flaw worth noting is that some episodes noticeably struggle with pacing issues. For instance, some of the stuff involving Jake and his family back in Missouri felt superfluous to the show’s needs, slowing it down at times. I also didn’t really see the need to spend as much time as we do with Polina (Ella Rumpf), another hostess and Samantha’s best friend, and her vapid boyfriend Akira (Tomohisa Yamashita). Later on it becomes clearer what they’re roles in the story are, but until then, their scenes mostly feel like unnecessary diversions away from the good stuff.

Summing up, I whole-heartedly recommend Tokyo Vice to anyone who’s looking for a new series that’s a cut above in regard to realism and storytelling. It doesn’t hurt that it’s also a highly intriguing and insightful look at 1999 Japan, its culture, and its customs. The performances are uniformly first-rate, with Elgort, Keller, Kikuchi, Watanabe, and Kasamatsu all being top-notch. Despite Tokyo Vice being based on a non-fictional book, the writers gave themselves more than enough flexibility by stretching the truth just enough without compromising it. Had they not, this series could’ve easily lacked stakes. After watching this riveting season, I truly cannot wait for season two. I don’t know how many episodes they can mine from the source material, but I do know that eight is simply not enough.

If I had to score it, I’d give season one of Tokyo Vice a 9/10.

Notes:

* Tokyo Vice caught me off-guard in terms of how much runtime it dedicated to the Onyx Club and its hostesses, but I can’t say that I minded it. While hostess bars/clubs remain perplexing and off-putting to me, observing their inner workings was actually quite interesting. It’s a part of Japanese culture that I knew little about, and while I still don’t quite understand their appeal, I do understand now why many women are/were drawn to the occupation.

** To those expecting a lot of Yakuza action, I implore you to be patient with this show. While the Yakuza do play a massive role in the narrative, they don’t start affecting things in a big way until later in the season. As for violence, Tokyo Vice is limited in that regard, but it’s not devoid of it. There are a handful of really bloody sequences, but an action show this is not. Don’t let the trailers fool you.

*** I really appreciated how the show’s other directors don’t try to mimic Mann’s style. Sure, it would have been nice if, throughout its season, Tokyo Vice maintained the panache he brought, but that’s likely too much to ask. A drop in direction quality isn’t the biggest deal anyway, as the show’s terrific story, dialogue, and character-work more than make up for it.