Tokyo Vice (2022)

10/10 Wow, way better than expected

10/10 Wow, way better than expected
When I saw Michael Mann's name associated with this, ! pictured a "Miami Vice" set in Tokyo. It's also based on a true story, so I didn't have high hopes, as most true-story adaptations tend to be flat. And there's is that tired old theme of a westerner in the Far East, and the history of mediocre U.S.-Japan-cast collaborative films and TV shows. I was wrong!
Jake Adelstein is an exceptional person, as an American who immersed himself in the language, culture and current events and managed to become a reporter at the top Japanese newspaper. The show could have treated him as yet another symbol of western "exceptionalism", a white man who is "smarter" and more clever than the natives, a crusader who brings the superior western perspective to the rigid Japanese way of doing things. This could have easily been overdone, but instead, he is humbled, and at the cusp of failure, if not for the chance encounter and help from a veteran cop. It is mildly reminiscent of Endeavour.
The screenplay does well to depict the intricacies of Japanese culture, the social contracts and constraints among their media, law enforcement, and organized crime.
Rather than being portrayed as being inept, negligent, or corrupt, you are given enough to appreciate how Japanese society functions and maintains balance and peace.
As with much of the story so far, the scenes, screenplay and direction are not wasted on unnecessary distractions or digressions. There are many characters and several parallel plots, but the show manages keep the story moving with excellent pacing. A pragmatic blend of English and Japanese dialog keeps the show's "authentic" feel, without making things incomprehensibly difficult to follow. Excellent show!

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Very loosely inspired but in the mood of the book.

I'm writing this review having watched 7 of the 8 episodes and having already read the book that this drama is based on.

I will start my review by mentioning some things about the book that is a fantastic read and I recommend to read it. Jake Adelstein is the only American journalist ever hired at one of the most prestigious Japanese newspapers as a crime reporter, something that is of course an achievement by itself. Through his work as a reporter he had to deal with the whole spectrum of Japanese underworld, the Japanese mafia ( Yakuza- that it is worst as it seems than the Italian one! ) and of course with the police and all the people, the press and all other institutions, involved in this world.

In his book he mentions the most notorious of the cases that he covered as a journalist, and of course he gives a first hand account about how intertwined are the Police and the Press with the Japanese underworld.

And that is exactly what this drama is all about. It is not that much about the characters that are just some examples of the persons that Adelstein encountered in the 12 years that he worked as a journalist in Japan, but mostly a very good and accurate depiction of the attitudes, the dealings and the doings of all these people that live and operate in this particular world.

The story plot and the characters are original - inspired by the book or picked up from the book, but not so well developed in the book- but the mood is there intact. Where the book is full of information and facts as a reporter would have written them the drama is full of character development and a solid plot. So 10/10 from me for the fantastic and original in a manner of speaking writing of this script.

The production is great with the touch of Michael Mann ( the guy who produced the legendary Miami Vice and directed Collateral ). Don't ask me who is Michael Mann. Go a check out the films and dramas he has produced and directed.

I'm also impressed by the cast and all the actors participating in this drama as half of them had to learn how to speak Japanese and the rest of them to learn how deliver fluently their lines in English! They all deserve credits for their work, as we all know how difficult it is for westerners to learn Japanese and for Japanese to speak English.

So - in order to conclude without any spoilers- this is a fantastic drama with a very solid plot, great character development that you will not find in the book, and very good - and difficult due to the bilingual nature of this drama - acting.

If you haven't read the book yet do read it.
If you haven't watched this drama yet do watch it as it will put you in the mood of the book but with an original and different some how story plot.

10/10 from me for the writing and they way that the source material was used, the character development and the very good production and direction.

P.S After watching the final episode I have to say that the second season will be welcomed.

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