FIF#156-Tokyo Vice

Near the turn of the century, Jake Adelstein travels to Japan to become a Crime Reporter.  He becomes the first foreign hire of the most prestigious Crime Newspaper in Japan, the Meicho Shimbun.  Having to work twice as hard to prove he belongs here, Jake finds himself investigating the activities of two rival Yakuza factions on the brink of war.  This soon leads him to cross paths with Hiroto Katagiri, a veteran police detective, some say is the most incorruptible man on the force.  Together, the pair head right into the heart of Japans dark underworld, a place where honor clashes with betrayal, love leads to lust and death follows you everywhere you go.

 
As you may have noticed, I’m not exactly covering an Anime today on First Impression Friday.  However, I do think Tokyo Vice merits a shoutout.  It’s been on my radar for a while as the previews look like a darker, edgier…well it reminded me of Lost in Translation except it’s a criminal procedural and not about two lost Americans finding themselves again during Japans nighttime hours.  I may not speak Japanese in spite of all the Anime I’ve watched but I’ve always loved looking at the culture and watching any kind of program that can have me looking at the streets of Tokyo.  And while the first episode might be half an advert for a living in Japan experience in the late 90’s, it still offers a vibe that’s both intriguing and very cool.
 
After opening with a flashforward two years in the future, Episode One introduces us to and almost exclusively focuses on Jake.  In fact, most of the premiere is just Jake living his life in Japan bit by bit.  We see he’s studying hard for the Qualifying Exam for the Meicho Shimbun Newspaper.  He’s also teaching English to Japanese students (though I can assume this is a part time gig for money) and living it up at nightclubs.  Jake’s story is a mostly chill tourist ride through Tokyo until he arrives at the Meicho, where the real drama kicks in.  Ansel Elgort’s got another potential Leading Man win under his belt as I totally feel for Jake being the guy everyone will be hard on for being of a different nationality at a prestigious newspaper. It sucks getting your dream job, proving you’ve put in the work and yet youre not even gonna be treated anywhere close to an equal.  And yet, while Jake shows a little bit of hotheadedness in his determination, he’s a chill and funny guy, easily likeable. 
 
With most of Episode One focusing on Jake, we don’t get to spend a lot of time with Ken Watanabe’s Detective Katagiri but man do I want to.  In the few moments he’s onscreen, you know Katagiri is wise, experienced, analytical and totally a freaking bad ass.  Also, it’s Ken freaking Watanabe, the mans a living breathing Japanese acting legend and scoring him for this show is a major plus.  I really like the opening flashfoward with Katagiri and Jake.  While it shares a similar name, Tokyo Vice isn’t itself connected to 80s TV Legend Miami Vice…though one of its OG showrunners, Michael Mann, is an Executive Producer and Director of the First Episode.  And yet, there’s that dangerous foreboding vibe that Mann does so well with his feature films like Heat and Collateral, that slow build up of tension where you know something big is about to go down…and I hope we see what that is eventually.  Im also wondering what kind of 90s pop songs will appear since I cant help but feel the Miami Vice inspiration a little bit
 
Overall, this is a show that’s worth keeping an eye on.  The first episode of Tokyo Vice offers enough mystery and Tokyo visual brilliance and the promise of some great moments between Ansel Elgort’s Jake and Ken Watanabe’s Katagiri once their stories intersect.  And while the first episode is very chill for the most part, there are some intense moments not for the feint of heart.  I’m sure there are plenty more moments like those to come in this hopefully amazing first season.  So yeah, it’s not Anime but it feels like it kind of could be under the right direction.  Either way, I’m here for Tokyo Vice and I think if youre an Anime fan or a fan of Japanese culture or cinema, this might be for you too.