by Mike Hilty, Contributing Writer
The sophomore slump is alive and well in the TV landscape. The second season of a TV show can often struggle to recapture the magic of the first due to story mishandling, lack of character development, or behind the scenes drama. In the streaming age, it’s even harder for a show to get to Season Three because studios and streaming companies are so quick on the cancellation trigger that a it doesn’t even get a fair chance. Because of this series are getting better at avoiding a sophomore Slump, and Tokyo Vice is a prime example of this.
Tokyo Vice follows Jake Adelstein (Ansel Elgort), the only foreign journalist at one of Tokyo’s most prestigious newspapers. With the help of Detective Katagiri (Ken Watanabe) and his fellow newspaper staff, Jake gets tangled up in a bunch of scandals centered around rival Yakuza gangs. Led by a businessman, Tozawa (Ayumi Tanida), the criminal underworld of Tokyo finds itself at a crossroads of exceeding power and wealth.
I enjoyed Season One of Tokyo Vice, but it also had a disadvantage of setting the stage for the series. The main things that Season Two improves on are the backstory, and having less focus on how Jake is an outsider. He still gets reminded that he’s an American, but it’s a more playful way, as opposed to Season One’s contentious attitude. In Season Two, it’s already established that Jake is a talented journalist, so the focus can shift more towards his work. We see a lot more relationship building and investigating, which helps tell the story more compellingly. As for the backstory, we get more context about how Sato’s (Shô Kasamatsu) upbringing and family, and how he initially came to be associated with his gang. In addition, Jake gets actual time with his family, including his sister (Sarah Sawyer), dad (Danny Burstein), and mom (Jessica Hecht). Burstein in particular stands out, as he and Jake have a heart-to-heart that kicks Jake’s investigation into hyperdrive.
The newspaper staff also gets more depth. Eimi (Rinko Kikuchi) is not just the push editor and Jake’s boss. This season, she’s in a relationship and spends time with her brother who has mental health challenges. Her relationship with her brother helps the audience realize why she cares so much about her coworkers and the newspaper. They parallel one another, but her relationship with both the newspaper and her brother are in perilous positions at the end of the season. Tin Tin (Kosuke Tanaka) gets a hobby and develops a bit of a backbone — he starts standing up for himself and his work. He represents the objective nature the press should have when reporting stories, as Jake tends to get very close to his sources.
Last season, I thought Elgort was a bit overmatched compared to other performers. However, this season, Elgort does a fantastic job and feels more on par with the rest of the cast. Maybe it was an intentional choice in Season One to make Jake feel a lot more like an outsider, because in Season Two, Jake feels more at peace with himself and his decision to be in Tokyo. He’s also more comfortable with his surroundings and develops some friendships. The best way to describe it is that Elgort looks more comfortable in the role.
Season Two’s mystery starts a little slow, with Jake focusing on motorcycle gangs. He’s attempting to lay low after the events of Season One, where he ruffled the wrong feathers when investigating a death among his friends. The story of the season kicks into gear during the third episode, when it shifts back to the Yakuza around Tokyo. I was worried that this would feel like a retread of Season One, but the story gets so much more complicated with added layer of intrigue. In the words of Stefon from SNL, this season had everything from a story perspective. Not everything always fits together perfectly, but with the addition of politics, leadership, and the FBI, the narrative expands for the better.
Season Two flourishes the most at the halfway point when multiple storylines come to a head and start unifying. Katagiri’s police investigation starts to sync up with Jake’s story, and Sato and Samantha (Rachel Keller) become directly involved. I was on the edge of my seat for the final four episodes, hoping that everyone would be okay and successful. The second half also explores the role of the press when it comes to crime. Politics at any organization is a thing, but at a newspaper, journalists need to consider things like protecting their sources, and editors worry about the optics of publishing a piece and the dangers that come when the truth causes people to get violent. Tokyo Vice does an amazing job of showing us the perils of foreign journalism, especially where freedom of the press isn’t guaranteed in their Constitution.
I feel pretty confident that this show will get a third season, so the only thing I’m concerned about now is where the story goes from here. The main storyline that has driven the first two seasons is over. Will the showrunners keep going to that familiar well because it works, or will they come up with a new story to chase?
The second season of Tokyo Vice improves on everything from Season One. The performances are great, the story is improved, and the show has something to say. More characters get to shine without sacrificing time with Jake and Katagiri, and all the characters get more backstory and characterization. Tokyo Vice has vaulted itself up into my top five shows of the year.
Rating: High Side of Liked It
Tokyo Vice is currently streaming on Max
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