Series Review: Tokyo Vice

-


Back in 2022, I kept getting Youtube ads for a TV show on HBO called Tokyo Vice. It was the only place I saw ads for this show, and I didn't see anyone talking about it on my Twitter timeline. Normally, a show with Ansel Elgort, card carrying member of the Very Punchable Face Club™ wouldn't sway me, but something about it did. 

Now here we are in 2024, and the finale of season 2 just aired last night. It's safe to say that Tokyo Vice has become one of my favorite new shows of recent memory. If you love journalism stories, this might be for you too.

A quick run down of who's who and what actors are involved.- Jake (Elgort) is an American journalist living in Tokyo. He becomes the first foreign reporter at The Meicho. He's our lead. Then there's Detective Katagiri (Ken Wantanabe) who Jake begins to work with on a story. Other main players include Samantha (Rachel Keller) another American living in Tokyo working at a club. Her Yakuza love interest Sato, (Shô Kasamatsu) Jake's boss at the Meicho Emi (Rinko Kikuchi) and his two friends/fellow reporters Tin Tin (Kosuke Tanaka) and Trendy (Takaki Uda) The big bad for both seasons is a rival Yakuza leader Tozawa (Ayumi Tanida)

Season 2 picks up literally right where season 1 leaves off. I definitely needed to watch a recap to bring me back to speed since there were 2 years between seasons, but you fall back in very quickly. The stakes this season are higher and you almost, ALMOST get to see Jake and Samantha make good decisions for the people around them.

I think that's what I find so fascinating about this show. Jake and Samantha are meant to be the American audiences' avatars, but they are easily the two most annoying characters in the show. They're always asking for favors, putting their friends in danger, and in more than once case, tanking other people's relationships. Yet, I'm still interested in their stories. I think this show could easily exist with just its Japanese cast as well. All of the named characters above are played by great actors and have an interesting presence.

I'm not sure sure if there will be a season 3 of Tokyo Vice. I hope there is, but if they decide to end it here, the season 2 finale was very satisfying. I hope we see this show catch on a bit more with Emmy voters. Watching it in tandem with FX's Shogun this year has been interesting. 

Comments

  1. thevoid99April 5, 2024 at 5:03 PM

    My only interest in this is that it has a few episodes directed by Michael Mann but since I don't have MAX right now. I can't watch it and yes, Ansel Elgort has a punchable face. There's a list of pretty-boy actors that I have right now that I'd like to beat the shit out of because they suck.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brittani BurnhamApril 8, 2024 at 8:39 AM

      Elgort is actually pretty good in this! I might have to start giving him a pass soon lol

      Delete

Post a Comment

Thanks for stopping by, let's talk movies!
(comments are moderated to reduce spam)

Popular posts from this blog

Random Ramblings: The Radio Flyer Conundrum

-
Image
Recently, I was talking to someone about who I thought were the best child actors when I was also a child.  Two that really stood out to me were Elijah Wood and Joseph Mazello, and one film those two were in together was called Radio Flyer.  Then I was reminded about the uniqueness of this film. Instead of reviewing the film, I wanted to have an open discussion about the ending. It deals with a tough issue; child abuse. What I’ve noticed is the way that the film ends is interpreted many different ways, and the filmmakers never came forward to say what was right and wrong. I’m interested in hearing everyone’s opinions on it. How did you interpret the ending? Obviously spoiler alerts will follow.. For those of you who haven’t seen the film, the basic premise is this: Two young boys, Mikey (Wood) and Bobby (Mazello) move in with their single mother and her boyfriend, who refers to himself as ‘The King’. It doesn’t take long for The King to start physically abusing ...
Read more

Indie Gems: Behind The Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon

-
Image
Passionate about your profession? I had never heard of this film until it ended up on one of Jason's favorite horror movie lists around Halloween. It immediately sounded interesting to me, so of course I threw it in my Netflix queue. (and if I'm just now watching it after adding it around Halloween, you know how ridiculous my queue is) Taylor (Angela Goethals) is a journalist who, along with a film crew decides to follow around a serial killer named Leslie Vernon. (Nathan Baesel) He plans on doing the typical slasher thing - getting a bunch of drunk teens in an abandoned house and knocking them off one by one. He gets advice from a retired serial killer, Eugene (Scott Wilson) and is threatened by a man who's on to him, Doc Holloran (Robert Englund) Taylor and crew are there capturing it all. Leslie Vernon is fucking hilarious to start with, and clearly very passionate about what he does. He tells Taylor all of his secrets and can barely contain his excitemen...
Read more

My Favorite Movie Youtube Channels

-
Image
Starting around 2018, I started watching Youtube for more than just movie trailers or music videos whenever a new one dropped. Now I'm in full blown subscription mode and don't bat an eyelash at watching a Youtube video that's over an hour long. I watch Youtube for a few different categories of content, but one of them that I love most is movie/TV essays and commentary, and that's what I'm going to talk about today. Below is a list of my favorite movie related Youtube channels. Let me know if you're familiar with them too, or if you have any you'd like to recommend to me.  Double Toasted - I'm honestly surprised this channel isn't bigger. I first came across Korey and Martin when they reviewed War for the Planet of the Apes a few months before it hit theaters and I thought they were hysterical. While their full length videos stream on Twitch, they often upload their movie reviews and commentary on youtube and they're always hilarious. They've...
Read more