For its sophomore season, Max original crime/drama series Tokyo Vice swings for the fences. Picking up directly after its multiple dangling threads from last season’s finale, the seedy underbelly of 90s Tokyo greets us for a return. Many new additions—including a couple strong characters, and a major shift in the status quo—keep things feeling fresh. The show maintains a tonal consistency reflective of its autobiographical inspirations. In other words, fans will find plenty to love here, and intriguing threads to follow. Leading man Ansel Elgort (Baby Driver, The Fault in Our Stars) stays on board as executive producer, along with the actual Jake Adelstein, and even auteur director Michael Mann (Heat, The Last of the Mohicans). Exciting and richly-drawn, season two of Tokyo Vice has a sheen of prestige and decadent cinematography to make for a movie-quality binge.
If the almost two years in between seasons has caused the finer details of where we last left our characters to blur, Tokyo Vice gets what was necessary out of the way rather quickly. Adelstein (Elgort) brings an incriminating video featuring the Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs and a murdered prostitute to Detective Katagiri (Ken Watanabe, Batman Begins, 2014’s Godzilla). Sato (Sho Kasamatsu), last spotted bleeding out on the ground after being stabbed by a crackhead, remains in critical condition in a local hospital. His brother, Kaito, meanwhile, desperately tries to find Sato, knowing little about his current situation. Samantha (Rachel Keller, Legion, A Man Called Otto) begins her tenure as owner of her exclusive Club Polina, even as the Yakuza lurk over her every move.
Bringing down the vice minister and, subsequently, the dangerous criminal gang leader Tozawa, will prove especially difficult. As the season progresses across the five episodes screened for critics, Katagiri and Adelstein are forced into a game of cat and mouse as they keep losing the upper hand. As played by Elgort, the central Meicho reporter smooth-talks his way to the bottom line. One of the best storylines of this season finds Adelstein infiltrating the company of a group that steals motorcycles to sell them for parts. Their world presents an intriguing way in, and a juicy topic to pull for a headline. Adelstein’s romantic entanglements also become more complicated by the minute, including a forbidden dalliance with Misaki (Ayumi Ito), a woman tied to the gang activity.
Adelstein’s inner circle at work get considerably more texture here, too. Nerdy Tin Tin’s newly-revealed passions for cooking are a joy. At one point, he suggests that Rent’s “Season of Love” is an “American folk song,” which hilariously represents his familiarity with American pop culture at large. Head bitch in charge Eimi (Rinko Kikuchi), tasked with working together on a writing a story with Adelstein at the head of the season, and Trendy (Takaki Uda), Adelstein’s other close coworker, don’t get as much new material as Tin Tin (Kosuke Tanaka), but they still have plenty to do. Shoko Nagata (Miki Maya) is a new detective coming to lay down the law on the Yakuza in an agressive way. One girl working at Club Polina, Claudine, presents difficult situations for Samantha. That such a seemingly tertiary new face receives a generous swath of screentime speaks to the effectiveness of Claudine’s friendship with Samantha.
Katagiri’s portion of the storyline gets interesting development by way of secretly making moves. Watanabe’s intense performance was always an obvious highlight, and he gets even more to do this time around. As a result of some questionable happenings in the first episode, Katagiri becomes banished to the so-called “Organized Crime Consultation Department.” His concerned wife begs Katagiri to retire, mainly for the good of their family. By changing up Adelstein’s easy access to this figure of power, Katagiri becomes that much more fascinating. The murky nature of Katagiri’s morality and unwavering commitment to bringing these bastards down once and for all is thoroughly engaging, especially as his situation skews increasingly dangerous.
Out of this batch of episodes, the only person as compelling to watch as Adelstein would be Sato. He seems to be a changed man after his attack, possibly for the better. His hardened exterior has softened ever-so-slightly. The scenes featuring Kasamatsu opposite Elgort are among the best written, and most fun to watch. They have an easy onscreen chemistry, making Sato’s increased involvement in the plot at large easier to digest. The addition of Sato’s brother initially does not seem to be of consequence. Kaito, however, plays a large role in Sato’s newfound vibe. Creatives thankfully also did not forget about Sato’s obsession with The Backstreet Boys.
Tokyo Vice, as far as I’m concerned, was one of 2022’s best new shows. I anxiously awaiting news about it as we went into two crippling industry strikes, and one could only hope its comeback would be swift and welcomed. It feels well worth the wait. If anything, the slow-burn nature pays off even better now with a fuller understanding of these complex characters. Two queer Asian men are added to the mix organically, and the sex scenes continue to be tastefully done. If Ansel Elgort’s return to the silver screen takes a bit longer because of this detour in Tokyo, rest assured the young actor puts in some of his best work ever. That the show films on location in Tokyo continues to be one of its strongest assets. Still channeling the immaculate setup from Michael Mann in its pilot episode, Tokyo Vice delivers a bolder, stronger second season oozing style and frenetic action brutality.
Start taking notes for the big story—season two of Tokyo Vice begins Friday, February 8th, exclusively to Max.
Don’t really agree with you on Elgort’s performance: It’s okay, but doesn’t compare to the other primaries. And Emi is not really a super-bitch as you say: She comes off as a softy.