User Reviews

The first episode is directed by Michael Mann. The show is called Tokyo Vice. In Britain it is shown on the BBC.

This could be a trip back to the 1980s with pastel coloured clothes, designer stubble, fast cars and rock music.

Instead Tokyo Vice is a moody slow burn piece but it has the crime noir fingerprints of Mann all over it.

Set in 1999, Jake Adelstein (Ansel Elgort) passes the entrance test to get a job as a crime reporter at Japan's largest newspaper, Meicho Shimbun. He is the first non Japanese journalist employed by them.

Jake finds that the Japanese report crime on the media differently. He strives to understand how the police operate by getting to know Detective Miyamoto.

Soon Jake is interested in a murder of a man who was in debt and his death is linked with the Yakuza.

Although based on a true story, doubts has been raised as to the veracity of Jake Adelstein's story.

The first episode has lots of Japanese dialogue. This was the same in the BBC crime series Giri/Haji which was partially set in Japan.

What sets the series apart is the high calibre cast that Mann has got together. His visual style and that Elgort learned Japanese for the role.

You sense that things will get murky and dark for Jake very quickly in later episodes.

Nice to see Michael Mann doing his thing, his imprint is definitely all over this. The first episode is intriguing and really well done, I'm just wondering if the series will continue the tone set in this episode. The Gaijin and culture difference aspect of the plot is fresh, not something brought to most American series. However, I'm worried about some "white savior" issues that could come up. Pleasantly surprised so far, looking forward to seeing where this goes.

Also, Another review brought up the editing...go watch some M. Mann films...

The setting, Michael Mann's direction and the performances are good so far. The story is a little basic and is nothing you haven't seen before. Ambitious foreigner wants the inside details of what is happening in Japan's underbelly, but constantly hits different roadblocks along the way. A few scenes killed the pacing and Ansel Elgort is not the best for the lead role, but I am intrigued to see what happens next.

It's a little slow in the beginning but there's a lot of world building to be done. The characters aren't one dimensional and the last scene is truly awesome. The director has certainly done his research on the yakuza and depicts the gang in a new light that's very in depth and accurate. It's overall a great show and episode to start!

Starting the second viewing of this gem due to the fresh second season (a shame the network is not publiciting anywhere like other awful shows).

The Pilot by Michael Mann, as he did in "Luck", is absolutely a masterpiece. Is a masterclass of how you introduce characters and storytelling in a new show. The edition, camera work, photography, light and dark game and colours, music, story development, the acting, the interesting set of the events... all is absolutely perfect.

And as a lot of art in its maximum expression, is being unnoticed by the general public.

This should be in the manuals of how to make a good Pilot for a show and then being one of a kind series.

The rest of it? Pure joy.

Japanese News publication Meicho Shimbun takes a chance on American journalist Jake Adelstein, who becomes their first ever foreign employee, his first job is The Police Beat, his mission, to report the news exactly as it's given to him.

It had me in mind of Giri/Haji, another wonderful drama set in Japan that deserved a much longer run than it got, on the evidence of this first episode, Tokyo Vice is going to be another great series.

An excellent start, this was such a strong debut episode, despite it being set in the late 90's it has a very modern flavour.

The very title gives you all the information you need, Tokyo set, a little seedy, definitely sexy, it was interesting to see an exploration of Japan's attitudes to foreign workers at the time.

Some pretty shocking scenes, including the moment the man with the matches, that was quite shocking.

8/10.

A difficult watch, but after the first half it got easier. I get the Japanese language is scene setting, but reading subtitles is laborious and does not capture dialogue delivery or emotion. Much of this is unnecessary, as the director utilised some good technique to establish Japan and Adelstein's place in it. This included several overhead shots, particularly the crosswalks with ant-human pedestrians; the suit worn in the exam subtly contrasting with the serried ranks of Japanese clones, also echoed in the street scene with a large distinctive coat. Further the various social faux pas and the cocky non-conformist approach to getting a story amplified this.

Meeting Samantha ( Rachel Keller) was a breath of fresh air, although the symbolism continues with the choice of dress and the song "Sweet Child of Mine" in Japanese except for this refrain. The conversation between her and Jake (Ansel Ergort) felt superb, but was exaggerated by deep dialogue denial by this point.

A turgid first half, but it paid-off by the end.

Disclaimer: I dare to say I know a thing or two about the so called Japanese "culture", especially when dealing with gaijins (outsiders), hence was curios to see this pilot, but without expecting too much. Usually a western production makes obvious mistakes especially when it comes to production design and dialogues.

So: it's a solid pilot, Michael Mann obviously knows how to keep the action moving in the frame and give audience a sense of dread, anticipation, claustrophobia. It's kind of unnecessary and exaggerated sometimes, eg the scene during the exam: we know our guy is gonna make it, no need to stress his anguish, just show us the uniformity of the Japanese folks, contrasted with the westerner attire and let's move on. The last scene with the yakuza family doesnt serve any purpose other than mere spectacle.

Yes, I do like the way the represent Tokyo in the 1990's: small spaces, heaps of people, the club scene, order and cleanliness. The soft neon vibes + desaturated palette is hard to pull together, no one cannot say it doesnt work.

The fact the blonde dude learnt Japanese for his role is indeed impressive, but it gets unrealistically painful and cringy when he acts like the classic extroverted westerner at his workplace. He wouldnt have done that, he would be perfectly aware he would have been kicked out or relegated to stare at the wall in a flash.

Dialogues are... passable.

Now: I found out the series is inspired from real events... and... it's one of those cases where real life stuff needs to be reworked to make it more interesting for the audience. Thing is: our protagonist doesnt have a decent "why". He goes and learn Japanese, move to japan, take the exam to start working like a madman as a reporter...why? As he says talking to the western singer: I feel it's a good thing to do, that's it.

Well, not enough my friend, not enough for me to care about your journey. I get it, it's dangerous out there with the yakuza families but... why should I care? What does he have to lose ? What's his real goal? Too shallow.

I'm wondering if there will be some supernatural things involved, the last scene with the "ghost"(?) of a deceased dude.

I'm not a fan of Ansel Elgort. I think he gets cast based on the eye-candy factor. Although I have to give him credit for learning Japanese. He was awful in West Side Story. I am a fan of Ken Watanabe.

But this series is different and authentic. I am surprised at the portrayal of the Japanese as very aggressive, rude, racist-and loud!

Michael Mann's directorial style is all over this and that's a good thing. I'll stick around and see what develops.

I hope it's a budget thing and gets better in the next episodes, because there are some serious issues about sound and editing on this one. The most blatant example I can put is when a cut occurs in a certain scene and it cuts off the sentence that was being said, but it's everywhere: volume all over the place varying in the same conversation for no reason, not adapting to where the camera is located, weird cuts making mundane scenes awkard... I really hope it gets better.