Tokyo Vice is a crime thriller series that explores the gray areas in Japan’s law and order, impacted by the dangerous power play of the yakuza and the constant dance of might, right, and righteousness.
Created by award-winning playwright J.T. Rogers, the HBO Max original crime series is based on Tokyo Vice: An American Reporter on the Police Beat in Japan, the memoirs of American journalist, Jake Adelstein. The writer also serves as an executive producer, along with Destin Daniel Cretton, Ansel Elgort, Brad Caleb Kane, John Lesher, Michael Mann, Alan Poul, J.T. Rogers, Emily Gerson Saines, Kayo Washio, and Ken Watanabe.
The all-new crime thriller series follows American journalist Jake Adelstein (Ansel Elgort), who relocates to Tokyo in the 90s, with the ambition to join the country’s leading newspaper as the first foreigner to become a crime reporter at the publication. As a rookie, he comes across crimes and questionable incidents and faces constant roadblocks in his path to uncover the truth, until he meets Hiroto Katagiri (Ken Watanabe), a seasoned vice detective. Together, Katagiri and Adelstein start to explore the murky world of the yakuza, as the veteran cop teaches the young reporter how to tread the life-threatening path he has chosen.
From what we know so far, Tokyo Vice seems like a refreshing take on crime thrillers, exploring Japan’s underworld and law enforcement from a young foreigner’s perspective. So, here are all the details of Tokyo Vice, including plot details, cast and characters, release date, and more.
Watch the Tokyo Vice Trailer
HBO Max released the first official trailer of Tokyo Vice on March 14, 2022, and needless to say, the trailer is a great example of what the show would be like and what you can expect from this crime drama.
The video captures the dark and decadent underworld of Tokyo in the late 90s, hidden under the flashing neon lights and colorful cityscape. We also get to see the protagonists and how their characters navigate this world. It’s clear that the young American journalist is the subject of constant discrimination from his boss and colleagues. The law enforcement of the city seems to be dominated by the yakuza and journalism is cloaked in cowardice. From the promo, it becomes clear that this is a story of crime and violence, but there’s not much aggressive action, making it more narrative-driven, which is also confirmed by the dialogues from the leading characters. All in all, the trailer proves that Tokyo Vice is going to be a hard-hitting and powerful drama that will make you question a lot of things you thought you knew.
When Is Tokyo Vice’s Release Date?
Tokyo Vice premieres on Thursday, April 7, 2022, on HBO Max with the first three episodes releasing on the same day.
How Many Episodes Are There in Tokyo Vice?
Tokyo Vice has eight episodes in its first season. The first three episodes released on the day of the premiere, that is on April 7, 2022, which will be followed by two episodes released together weekly, and the final episode, which will be released on its own on April 28, 2022.
Michael Mann (Heat) directs the pilot episode, while Episodes 4 and 5 are directed by Hikari (37 Seconds), and Episodes 2 and 3 are directed by Josef Kubota Wladyka (Narcos). Destin Daniel Cretton is also credited as a director. Here are the episode details:
Episode 1: "The Test" - April 7, 2022
Episode 2: "Kishi Kaisei" - April 7, 2022
Episode 3: "Read the Air" - April 7, 2022
Episode 4: "I Want It That Way" - April 14, 2022
Episode 5: "Everybody Pays" - April 14, 2022
Episode 6: "The Information Business" - April 21, 2022
Episode 7: "Sometimes They Disappear" - April 21, 2022
Episode 8: "Yoshino" - April 28, 2022
Who Is in the Cast of Tokyo Vice?
Tokyo Vice features Ansel Elgort (Baby Driver) and Ken Watanabe (Inception) in leading roles. Among other cast members, there’s Rachel Keller (Fargo), Ella Rumpf (Raw), Rinko Kikuchi (Babel), Hideaki Itō, Show Kasamatsu, Tomohisa Yamashita, Shun Sugata, Masato Hagiwara, Ayumi Tanida, and Kosuke Toyohara.
Who Are the Confirmed Characters in Tokyo Vice?
The ensemble cast of Tokyo Vice plays a bunch of very interesting and intriguing roles. Here’s a roundup of all the major characters of the crime drama thriller –
Jake Adelstein – Played by Ansel Elgort, Jake Adelstein is a fictionalized version of the real-life American journalist whose memoirs inspired the series. Adelstein moves from Missouri to Tokyo to become a reporter in the nation’s largest and most reputed newspaper and would be the first-ever foreign-born journalist to be working for a Japanese publication. But soon he learns that nothing is as it seems. The more he sees and learns about the locals, the crimes, and the city’s underworld, the more complicated things become for him.
Hiroto Katagiri – Ken Watanabe plays Katagiri, a detective in the organized crime division. While he is a part of the corrupt system, Katagiri seems to hold onto his integrity as an officer of the law and is dedicated to doing the right thing. He takes Adelstein under his wings and teaches him ways to handle the risky path between seeking truth and stirring up the yakuza.
Sato – A young and ambitious yakuza recruit who is trying to find his own path within the organization, Sato is played by Show Kasamatsu. A strange kind of friendship seems to be brewing between Adelstein and him, despite them being from completely contrasting backgrounds and life choices.
Emi – Played by Rinko Kikuchi, Eimi is Adelstein's immediate boss and supervisor, and she seems to be quite strict with him. Her character is based on different people Adelstein has worked with in real life.
Samantha – Played by Rachel Keller, Samantha is an American ex-pat who makes her living in Tokyo as a hostess in a swanky bar in the entertainment district of the city and caters to high-end clients including members of the yakuza.
Apart from the above major characters, there’s Ella Rumpf as Polina, Tomohisa Yamashita as Akira, as well as Hideaki Itō, Shun Sugata, Masato Hagiwara, Ayumi Tanida, and Kosuke Toyohara, in various roles.
When Was Tokyo Vice Filmed?
The principal photography for Tokyo Vice started in March 2020. But soon, due to the Covid-19 pandemic and its required restrictions, production was on pause until later in the year. Finally, the production wrapped up in June 2021. The show was mostly filmed on location in Tokyo.
When Is Tokyo Vice Set?
The story of Tokyo Vice is inspired by journalist Jake Adelstein’s experiences as a reporter in Tokyo from the mid-90s to the mid-2000s. The series is also based around the same period but focuses more on the latter part of the 90s.
What Is Tokyo Vice’s Story?
The official synopsis of Tokyo Vice reads:
“Loosely inspired by American journalist Jake Adelstein's non-fiction first-hand account of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police beat, the crime drama series, filmed on location in Tokyo, captures Adelstein's (played by Ansel Elgort) daily descent into the neon-soaked underbelly of Tokyo in the late '90s, where nothing and no one is truly what or who they seem.”
If there’s a crime, there must be a resolution. Or so we are trained to believe. Of what we usually know of crime thrillers, we always expect the hero of the story to dig deeper and solve the crime, no matter what it takes. But that’s not always possible, not in Japan. The young and ambitious Jake Adelstein wants to see the city for what it really is, beyond the electrifying energy and shiny things. He wants to look into its dangerous corners and report crimes the way they should be reported. But what he thinks is the right thing seems wrong in Tokyo and Jake wants to see through it all. Tokyo Vice is essentially a crime thriller but is also about a young man’s desire to make a difference and discover himself in unknown territory.