HBO’s Tokyo Vice series saw its cinematic language established by the great Michael Mann, who directed the opening episode. But the series maintained that muscular structure through the guidance of showrunner, writer, and creator J.T. Rogers, taking us into the Japanese criminal underworld to show its darkening impact on society. And now the show is back with season two, taking viewers further into the seedy underbelly experienced by author Jake Adelstein and captured in his memoir.
Ansel Elgort returns as Jake Adelstein, an American reporter in Tokyto to investigate the Japanese yakuza, with Ken Watanabe as altruistic police detective Hiroto Katagiri, who takes Adelstein under his wing.
Season one of Tokyo Vice ended with a major character, Show Kasamatsu’s Sato getting stabbed with his life hanging in the balance. The new trailer for season two confirms the character’s fate, but I’m not going to spoil anything here. You can watch for yourself.
All of the primary cast returns including Rinko Kikuchi, Rachel Keller, Ayumi Ito, and the always-awesome Rinko Kikuchi. They’re joined by new series regulars Yosuke Kubozuka and Miki Maya.
Here’s the season two synopsis: Loosely inspired by American journalist Jake Adelstein’s first-hand account of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police beat, season two of the series, filmed on location in Tokyo, takes us deeper into the city’s criminal underworld as Adelstein (Ansel Elgort) comes to realize that his life, and the lives of those close to him, are in terrible danger.
Tokyo Vice returns to Max on February 8th.