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Director Junichi Ishikawa presents “Honeko Akabane’s Bodyguards”, a high-energy mashup of comedy and action, perfect for the Fantasia International Film Festival. The film is adapted from the manga series written and illustrated by Masamitsu Nigatsu, which was serialized in Kodansha’s shonen manga magazine Weekly Shonen Magazine from September 2022 to November 2024.

Honeko Akabane’s Bodyguards is screening at Fantasia International Film Festival

Spotlight on Honeko Akabane (Natsuki Deguchi). She is a pretty and sweet high school student who loves dancing and dreams of becoming a good lawyer. Any occasion is a good one for her to showcase her extensive knowledge of the law and her natural sense of justice. Everyone loves Honeko—especially her affectionate classmates, with whom she spends her days studying, laughing, and training for an inter-school dance competition. Their team is considered one of the favourites to win.

Honeko is also blessed with the serenity that comes from pure ignorance.

There have been so many engrossing dark TV series that took viewers on mind-bending journeys and truly played with their heads. While modern television has embraced much darker and more sinister stories in recent decades, it takes a truly great show to bury underneath the surface of a series narrative and deliver philosophically rich stories that strike a chord for their deep, probing themes that leave a mark on viewers consciousness well after the credits have rolled. A thought-provoking series that can play with viewers' expectations often marks the difference between a simply good show and a truly great one.

Many of the best TV shows of all time were dark in nature and did not underestimate viewers' intelligence with deeply complex and intricate narratives. Highly influential series like Twin Peaks laid the groundwork for television to embrace more challenging and experimental stories. At the same time, creators worldwide, such...

Some of the most effective and engaging TV shows in recent years were also so gore-filled that audiences often had to look away in pure terror and disgust. From thrilling sci-fi dystopias to intense psychological horrors, just because a series was packed with gore, murder, and violence did not stop it from being truly great. In many cases, the excessively gruesome nature of these shows added to their appeal as they pushed the limits of what could be depicted and accepted in mainstream television.

Plenty of the most gruesomely violent TV shows were filled with gory sequences and sinister characters who committed heinous acts. From intense games that saw characters' lives on the line to sinister antiheroes who killed for the sheer thrill of it, in recent years, television has caught up with horror movies to make series that were equal to or even exceeded the most gore-filled cinematic spectacles.

When the news broke earlier this month that Japan-set crime drama “Tokyo Vice” had been canceled, it came as a blow to fans, but not exactly a surprise. For two seasons on Max, the show — adapted by showrunner J.T. Rogers from journalist Jake Adelstein’s memoir of the same name — stood out as an increasingly rare gem in a contracting, decidedly post-peak TV landscape. Starring Ansel Elgort as a fictionalized version of Adelstein, a journalist who embeds with the yakuza as a reporter at the country’s largest daily paper, “Tokyo Vice” delivered an immersive, detailed portrait of the global capital at the turn of the millennium.

Better yet, “Tokyo Vice” improved over time. Season 2 broadened the story’s focus from Jake to a larger ensemble, while also bringing his long-simmering conflict with ascendant boss Tozawa (Ayumi Tanida) to a head. The finale offered a satisfying conclusion, ending on Jake...

“Tokyo Vice” creator and executive producer J.T. Rogers had a two-season story mapped out from the beginning, so much so that he had to make sure that the first season of the Max drama seeded the details and Easter eggs that wouldn’t pay off or become important until the second season.

“The pressure for me at least was having an idea going on for a few years now and really champing at the bit to get to the places we wanted,” Rogers tells Gold Derby (watch the exclusive video interview above). “Hikari, our wonderful director on Episode 4 in Season 1, said, ‘I don’t think we have time to get that shot of the watch.’ I said, ‘You need it because 11 hours from now on television, there’s going to be a reference to it.’ So there are so many things we set up narratively, and to have the luxury...

It's now official: Tokyo Vice has been canceled. The series will not be moving forward at Max, confirmed to be axed after a total of two seasons.

The show's fate was confirmed by producers at the Produced By conference in L.A. on Saturday, per The Hollywood Reporter. First premiering on Max (then HBO Max) in April 2022 with an 8-episode freshman season, the series returned with its 10-episode second season in February 2024. Season 2 concluded in April, and its finale will now serve as the last episode of the series. Some fans had been hoping to see a third season, but it was revealed that Season 2 was meant to conclude the story, and that's also why there were an additional two episodes.

Related Bill Skarsgard Set to Return as Pennywise for It Prequel Series on Max

Bill Skarsgrd is now set to play the role of Pennywise once again for a...

Although the second season does not have the element of surprise, as first seasons usually do, it is easy to say that the creators of “Tokyo Vice Season 2” did an excellent job this time also, by focusing even more to the series' best aspect, its characters.

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Jake's miraculous rise in the echelons of Meicho newspaper continues, with his relationship with both his superior, Maruyama, and his colleagues, Tin Tin and Trendy, being on its highest level. Maruyama listens to him and trusts him, as do the other two actually, frequently following his advice even. Even Baku, his racist, nationalistic boss seems to have warmed up to him, at least professionally, occasionally approving even his most daring suggestions. At the same time, the reappearance of Tozawa throws a shadow over everyone, including Jake, who has started a relationship with his former mistress,...

Season 2 of Tokyo Vice blurs ethical lines for justice, with the "good guys" forced to dirty their hands. Tozawa's dishonorable actions lead to his downfall, restoring balance and honor among the yakuza clans. Jake finally gets his story published, while Katagiri retires, hinting at future collaborations despite different paths.

Following last season’s intense cliffhanger, the conclusion of Tokyo Vice’s latest season felt much more resolute but satisfying, nonetheless. While there remains plenty of stories to tell in future seasons, Season 2 was undoubtedly a proper bookend to the narrative introduced in Season 1. Inspired by the memoir of the same name by American journalist Jake Adelstein, the series follows Jake (Ansel Elgort) as he investigates the dangerous underworld of the Japanese yakuza. The first foreign-born journalist to work for the Meicho, a major Japanese newspaper in Tokyo, Jake strives to report on what’s really happening in the city.

Jake makes risky choices for justice in Tokyo Vice, sacrificing friendships and betraying sources in the dangerous world of yakuza investigations. Katagiri's retirement is short-lived as viewers eagerly await his return to combat new threats in Tokyo's shifting underworld landscape. Samantha's resilience shines as she rises above defeat, paving her own way as a successful nightclub owner with the potential for a romance subplot.

Warning: Spoilers for Tokyo Vice.

Tokyo Vice follows Jake (Ansel Elgort), an American living in Tokyo who becomes the first foreign-born journalist to land a job at a major Japanese newspaper, the Meicho. There, he encounters a tough boss, Eimi (Rinko Kikuchi), and a corporate culture shock he eventually settles into rather quickly, given his passion for reporting on what’s really happening in the city. Based on a true story detailed in a memoir by Jake Adelstein, the series chronicles his experiences as he...

[This story contains spoilers from the season two finale of Tokyo Vice.]

Many heroes brought down ruthless yakuza crime lord Shinzo Tozawa (Ayumi Tanida) in the season two finale of Tokyo Vice.

But for many faithful fans of the Japan-set and American-produced crime drama on Max, watching Akiro Sato (played by Show Kasamatsu), the young resilient yakuza member of the Chihara-Kai clan, deliver proof of Tozawa’s treachery to the oyabuns of various clans was a greatly satisfying ending to the 10 episodes that have been soaked with violence, honor, dishonor, loyalty and betrayal.

And of all the yakuza portrayed in the series about the Japanese organized crime world, Sato was the one member who sought quiet and peace, in his own way.

Tokyo Vice fandom pages indicate that Kasamatsu’s portrayal of Sato leaps off of the screen, similar to the series’ main star Ansel Elgort, who plays real-life American journalist Jake Adelstein, who moved to Japan in the ‘90s...

Patricia Highsmith’s thrilling novel “The Talented Mr. Ripley” has been adapted for the screen multiple times since its publication in 1955, most notably in the 1999 film of the same name starring Matt Damon and Jude Law. But now the story of a con man taking over the life of the wealthy playboy he’s been sent to bring home is being given the limited series treatment, and it’s must-see TV.

Initially developed for Showtime by Oscar winner Steven Zaillian, the eight-episode “Ripley” has moved to Netflix, where the highly bingeable but tense series is able to be devoured all at once, just as it should be. Andrew Scott’s portrayal of the titular character is less charming than it is full-on sociopath, but it really works, while Johnny Flynn steps into the shoes of rich boy Dickie Greenleaf. One might quibble about the ages of the actors versus the...

Are you a fan of the gripping crime series Tokyo Vice? If so, you are probably wondering if there will be a third installment following the shocking finale of the second season. Well, you’re in luck because the creator of the Max series has, at last, opened up on the matter.

Note: Spoilers for Tokyo Vice’s Season 2 finale can be found below.

As followers of this crime drama series may recall, Shinzo Tozawa (Ayumi Tanida) aspired to be the sole supreme oyabun (leader) of the Japanese crime syndicate. However, he met his violent end at the hands of himself in the Tokyo Vice season two finale, capping off his dreams.

A still from Tokyo Vice

Following the terrifying cliffhanger finale of season 2, many viewers were left wondering if the story would continue. The good news is that a third season is officially in the works, as confirmed by the creator.

[This story contains major spoilers from the finale of season two of Tokyo Vice, “Endgame.”]

Shinzo Tozawa (Ayumi Tanida) had dreams of becoming the one supreme oyabun (leader) of the yakuza crime syndicate in Japan.

In the season two finale of Tokyo Vice (now streaming on Max), those dreams ended with his violent demise — by his own hands.

Initially, it appeared in the series — which is filled with twists and turns of the bloody yakuza subculture in Japan, as it’s covered by American journalist Jake Adelstein, played by Ansel Elgort, who co-stars alongside Ken Watanabe — that Tozawa played a winning hand by murdering rival clan leaders, and threatening to kill police officers and reporters (and their families) who appeared to hurt his climb to absolute power in Tokyo and beyond.

But in all the yakuza leader’s ruthlessness, Tozawa made one major misstep. He showed blatant disrespect and dishonor toward his wife, Kazuko Tozawa (Makiko Watanabe), who fell in love with...

[Editor’s Note: The following review contains spoilers for “Tokyo Vice” Season 2, Episode 10, “Endgame.”]

In “Tokyo Vice,” honor is a double-edged katana. On one end sits Ozaki (Bokuzō Masana), the Meicho Shimbun newspaper executive who confesses to Emi (Rinko Kikuchi) that he was the one who destroyed the Yoshino videotape — although “confesses” is too generous a word. Ozaki solves her season-long mystery without batting an eye, before mansplaining his action as if Emi is an idiot. He had to destroy the tape. If the Meicho ran a story about a government official’s involvement in the murder of a hostess, then the paper would be frozen out of government business for years. “And how would that serve our readers?” he asks. So now that Emi has brought him further evidence against prime-minister-in-waiting Jotaro Shigematsu (Hajime Inoue), proving his ties to Yakuza leader Shinzo Tozama (Ayumi Tanida), the dignified thing to do is turn over her documents to the proper parties,...

Warning: Major Spoilers ahead for the Tokyo Vice season 2 finale.

Tozawa's downfall in Tokyo Vice season 2 finale was orchestrated by his wise wife Kazuko, leading to his ultimate demise. Sato emerges as the new yakuza leader after a shocking death during season 2, showcasing honor and resilience in the crime world. Jake's relentless pursuit of the truth leads to betrayals and losses of friendship in Tokyo Vice season 2 despite pushing the narrative forward.

The Tokyo Vice season 2 finale answered many lingering questions that went as far back as the season 1 finale. The acclaimed crime series has chronicled the rise of American journalist Jake Adelstein (Ansel Elgort) at the prominent Tokyo newspaper Meicho Shimbun and his investigation into the underbelly of the yakuza culture of organized crime. Along the way, Jake befriended fellow American Samantha (Rachel Keller) who developed from a glorified waitress and "ex-Mormon missionary turned yakuza gun moll" into a formidable club owner.

Spoiler Alert: This interview contains spoilers for the Season 2 finale of “Tokyo Vice,” now streaming on Max.

Season 2 of “Tokyo Vice,” the neo-noir crime drama set in Tokyo, Japan, and loosely based on a memoir written by journalist Jake Adelstein, has come to a close in an explosive finale that both sent off the series’ main, two-season running antagonist — and laid the foundation for what could potentially come from the Max thriller if a third season were to be greenlit.

The show stars Ansel Elgort and Ken Watanabe, and tells the story of a Japanese-fluent American writer (Elgort) who works his way into covering crime for one of Tokyo’s most prominent newspapers. In the process, he forges an unlikely bond with a dogged local police detective, Hiroto Katagiri (Watanabe), with the duo sharing information and working together to untangle sordid yakuza activities.

Before diving into the specifics of the finale,...

This article contains spoilers for Tokyo Vice season 2.

The second season of the acclaimed Max original series Tokyo Vice featured a bloody power struggle between different yakuza clans for control of Tokyo’s criminal underworld in the late ‘90s. At the center was Shinzo Tozawa (Ayumi Tanida), the head of the Tozawa clan who viciously murders any rivals that won’t concede to his rise to power, while pulling the strings of the Japanese government and major news media outlets. Scrambling to dethrone Tozawa are investigative journalist Jake Adelstein (Ansel Elgort), veteran police detective Hiroto Katagiri (Ken Watanabe), and rival yakuza boss Akiro Sato (Show Kasamatsu).

In an exclusive interview with Den of Geek, Tokyo Vice creator, showrunner, and executive producer J.T. Rogers and director and executive producer Alan Poul unpack the twists and turns of season 2, explain how they set up the season’s grand finale, and reveal their...

[This story contains spoilers from season two, episode eight of Tokyo Vice, “The Noble Path.”]

In many ways, the eighth episode in the second season of Max’s Tokyo Vice could be an extension of the prior episode. And it sets the audience up for the final two installments that promise to be a violent conclusion on power, corruption, loyalty, truth and betrayal within the underside of Japanese culture, the organized crime syndicate known as the yakuza.

But toward the end of this latest hour, viewers may feel some déjà vu from the series premiere, as the events circle around to where the series began. Jake Adelstein (played by Ansel Elgort), the aggressive American journalist who writes for Tokyo’s largest daily newspaper, and Japanese Organized Crime Division Detective Hiroto Katagiri (Ken Watanabe) have their lives threatened by Yabuki (Kazuya Tanabe), the enforcer of Shinzo Tozawa (Ayumi Tanida), who has risen to be the most powerful and deadliest of all the yakuza crime lords.

Hollywood’s biggest night is upon us at last. The 96th Academy Awards air Sunday at 7/6c on ABC, which is good news for “Oppenheimer” leading man Cillian Murphy, who on Monday will be able to return home to Ireland and not leave its shores for six months. The ceremony will again be hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, and many former winners, including Jessica Lange, Matthew McConaughey and Rita Moreno, will be on hand to help hand out this year’s awards. The evening will also include what is probably going to go down as one of the weirdest musical numbers to be featured on the Oscar stage, as someone was able to talk three-time nominee Ryan Gosling into performing the memorable hit song “I’m Just Ken” from Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie.” So although there haven’t been too many surprises this awards season, meaning Sunday’s telecast might be...

Warning: Spoilers ahead for Tokyo Vice season 2, episode 6.

The red eye tattoo assassin was revealed to be a member of the Hinushima-Kai in Tokyo Vice season 2, episode 6. Shinjiro, who spared Katagiri's life in episode 3, seeks help after being implicated in Ishida's murder. Tozawa or Hayama may have orchestrated the hit on Ishida, leading to a tense showdown in Tokyo Vice season 2.

Tokyo Vice season 2, episode 6 "I Choose You" ends with a gripping moment in Hiroto Katagiri's house. Earlier in Tokyo Vice season 2, episode 3, Katagiri (Ken Watanabe) and Tokyo Police Superintendent Skoko Nagata (Miki Maya) began an aggressive initiative to shut down all yakuza activity by performing police raids on each well-known faction across the city. The Chihara-Kai had negotiated a deal with the Hishiuma-Kai clan to work together against the impending threat of the outsider Tozawa clan when Katagiri and Nagata busted them all, including Chiahra-Kai member Koayahsi (Eugene Nomura).

Unsurprisingly,...

Warning: Spoilers ahead for Tokyo Vice season 2.

The diverse cast and culturally authentic setting of Tokyo Vice season 2 make it a gripping crime story. The intense plot picks up with the return of yakuza leader Tozawa, setting the stage for a showdown. The series has received positive reviews, hinting at the potential for a strong case for Tokyo Vice season 3.

The wide variety of Japanese terms used in Tokyo Vice season 2 helps create an immersive and authentic landscape for the gripping crime story. Tokyo Vice season 2 picked up exactly where season 1's cliffhanger ending left off in the aftermath of several pivotal character deaths. Having passed the midpoint in the highly-acclaimed HBO series, Tokyo Vice season 2 has picked up greatly in intensity following the return of the ambitious and intimidating yakuza leader Tozawa (Ayumi Tanida) in Tokyo Vice season 2, episode 3. With another shocking character death occurring at the end of...

Warning: Spoilers ahead for Tokyo Vice season 2, episode 5.

Tozawa's sudden return in Tokyo Vice season 2 reveals his medical treatment for liver disease. The "Illness of the Trade" affects many yakuza due to excessive alcohol consumption in Japan. Tozawa's risky decision to get a liver transplant may have lethal consequences in Tokyo Vice season 2.

One of the biggest mysteries at the beginning of Tokyo Vice season 2 is the sudden disappearance of the show's main antagonist, Tozawa. Tozawa (Ayumi Tanida) is last seen at the end of Tokyo Vice season 1 on a private jet heading to an unspecified location. Throughout the majority of Tokyo Vice season 2's first three episodes, the leader of the Tozawa clan does not appear onscreen until the very last moments of Tokyo Vice season 2, episode 3, titled "Old Law, New Tricks". It appears that Tozawa and Ishida will plan to work together against the increased threat of the Tokyo Police,...

Warning: Major Spoilers ahead for Tokyo Vice season 2, episode 5!

One character's shocking assassination in Tokyo Vice S2E5 raises questions about betrayals within Chihara-Kai and Tozawa clan. Hayama's potential rise to power as oyabun after Ishida's death sets the stage for a possible gang war in the second half of Tokyo Vice season 2. The mysterious circumstances surrounding Ishida's murder implicate possible traitors like Hayama and a mole within the Chihara-Kai or Club Polina.

The shocking character death in Tokyo Vice season 2, episode 5 raises questions about who betrayed the Chihara-Kai and Oyabun Ishida. Once one of the most captivating and formidable characters in the series, Ishida now appears to be dead after a surprise attack from two armed assassins. Ishida (Shun Sugata) had been meeting with Samantha (Racehl Keller) and the architect/Club Polina regular Masa (Takayuki Suzuki) to discuss future real estate opportunities when the attackers entered the club.

Warning: Major Spoilers ahead for Tokyo Vice season 2, episode 5.

Jake uncovers Tozawa's involvement in Nakahara's murder, while Eimi's discovers Tozawa's shady dealings with Baku. Samantha confesses her ties to the Chihara-Kai to Masa, while Misaki reluctantly returns to Tozawa and Sato stockpiles guns in secret. Tozawa rebrands the clan as a business, but Ishida's meeting ends in tragedy as assassins kill him and Masa in a shocking twist.

Tokyo Vice season 2, episode 5 "Illness of the Trade" picked up after the cliffhanger ending of episode 4. At the halfway point of the celebrated new season of the acclaimed HBO series, Tokyo Vice has five episodes left to see how Jake (Ansel Elgort) and Katagiri (Ken Watanabe) can possibly have the ruthless gang leader Tozawaw (Ayumi Tanida) face justice. New developments over the first half of Tokyo Vice season 2 have placed both Jake and Katagiri back into the world of the Chihara-Kai,...

Discover the amusing interpretation of the "I Want It That Way" song on Tokyo Vice season 1, episode 4. Uncover the real meaning behind the confusing lyrics of "I Want It That Way" by the Backstreet Boys. Explore the cultural differences highlighted in Tokyo Vice, showcasing language barriers and societal archetypes.

Tokyo Vice season 1, episode 4 has amusingly shed some light on the "I Want It That Way" meaning. Tokyo Vice stars Ansel Elgort as Jake Adelstein, an American reporter in Japan in the late '90s. Adelstein works for the largest newspaper in the world and gets pulled into the underworld of the Yakuza during his investigations. Loosely based on the memoir Tokyo Vice: An American Reporter on the Police Beat in Japan by the real Adelstein, the show co-stars Ken Watanabe, Rachel Keller, Rinko Kikuchi, Shô Kasamatsu, Ella Rumpf, Shun Sugata, and Ayumi Tanida.

Tokyo Vice dives into the cultural differences...

A huge question mark in Tokyo Vice Season 2 focuses on Shinzo Tozawa's mystery illness, and some fans may have decoded the truth behind his condition. 

Tozawa, played by Ayumi Tanida, serves as the leader of the rival clan opposing Chihara Kai's gang. 

In Season 1, Tozawa was seen struggling due to a mysterious illness that has yet to be unveiled, and the fact that his condition worsened led to his departure in the finale. 

Read full article on The Direct.

It has been almost two years since “Tokyo Vice,” a late 1990s-set crime drama following an American journalist investigating the dark and dangerous world of the yakuza, made its debut. That might not sound like a long time, but in some ways the series, which is loosely based on the memoir of Jake Adelstein, is a relic. It is one of the few remaining shows from the halcyon days of HBO Max (2020-2023). The fact it has yet to be chopped like so many other series is good news for fans of the show. Even better news is that the second season has finally arrived, with the first two episodes, “Don’t Ever F**king Miss” and “Be My Number One,” now streaming on Max.

The drama picks up in the immediate aftermath of the eventful Season 1 finale, which saw Jake (Ansel Elgort) badly beaten and Katagiri (Ken Watanabe), an...

Spoiler Alert: This interview contains spoilers from the Season 2 premiere of HBO’s “Tokyo Vice,” now streaming on Max.

“Jake is being a very bad boy…”

That’s how Ken Watanabe, who plays detective Hiroto Katagiri, described Jake Adelstein’s (Ansel Elgort) actions at the end of “Tokyo Vice’s” Season 2 premiere. The second season picks off right where Season 1 ended in April 2022 and plugs viewers back into the neon-lit streets of Tokyo’s underbelly.

Loosely based on the memoir written by journalist Jake Adelstein, “Tokyo Vice: An American Reporter on the Police Beat in Japan,” the show follows Adelstein as he works with detective Katagiri to expose the atrocities committed by the yakuza and dismantle organized crime in the city.

The jaw-dropping Season 2 premiere, which debuted on Max with two episodes, saw Jake, the Japan-based journalist, for lack of a better phrase, “sealing the deal” with Shinzo Tozawa’s (Ayumi Tanida) girlfriend,...

It’s been nearly two years since the premiere of “Tokyo Vice,” in which director Michael Mann introduced us to yet another lonely male obsessive. As the sole Caucasian employee of Tokyo’s largest newspaper, Jake Adelstein (Ansel Elgort) — a real-life journalist and executive producer of the show, which is loosely based on his memoir of the same name — stood out like a sore thumb. He also acted as a Virgil guiding American viewers through the Japanese underworld at the turn of the millennium. Jake investigates organized crime via an informal partnership with Hiroto Katagiri (Ken Watanabe), a policeman who doesn’t fight the yakuza so much as help preserve the equilibrium among their competing factions. Samantha (Rachel Keller), a Mormon missionary turned apostate, served a similar purpose to Jake, but as a guide to hostess bars, a source of paid yet strictly nonsexual company unfamiliar to Westerners.

In Season...

The Max potboiler Tokyo Vice is finally back February 8 for a second season of warring gangs, comely lounge hostesses, and Ansel Elgort speaking perfect Japanese. Here, executive producer Alan Poul addresses the delay between seasons, what big story Jake Adelstein plans to work on next, and whether Tozawa’s facial spider veins will get any worse this year.

Deadline: The series last aired in 2022. Why has it taken so long for season 2 to begin?

Alan Poul: it was due to a lot of things. Remember, the first season was shot in the middle of Covid. Just when the show was airing, Warner Brothers Discovery was going through a reshuffling. Nobody wants to make a lot of decisions while everybody’s still figuring out how the chips are going to fall. So all the pickups were put on hold until the new landscape was more clear. So we aired in...

Survival horror game series have seen a surge in popularity thanks to shows like Netflix's Alice in Borderland and Squid Game. Pitting their characters against nearly impossible odds in games of life and death, the greatest reward is a newly established appreciation for life itself -- especially as the games become more difficult. For Arisu and the other players in Alice in Borderland, the introduction of the 12 face cards signaled the upcoming end of the games, but the likelihood of survival narrowed with each new trial.

Even before the face cards premiered during the second exhibition, Alice in Borderland's games were emotional, harsh and deadly, especially Spades games. Requiring very little strategy, Spades games relied almost entirely on the players' physical strength, testing their abilities to fight, climb and run. Survival of the fittest is often the rule of the game, and aware players who know the rules...

Exclusive: Aoi Takeya will make his television debut in the HBO Max series Tokyo Vice‘s second season.

He will portray the character of Jason Oki, a Japanese-American member of the US Foreign Service who gets pulled into Jake Adelstein (Ansel Elgort) and his colleagues’ hunt to uncover the secrets of yakuza crime lord Shinzo Tozawa (Ayumi Tanida).

Tokyo Vice is loosely inspired by American journalist Jake Adelstein’s nonfiction firsthand account of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police beat. The crime drama, filmed on location in Tokyo, captures Adelstein’s 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.

Ken Watanabe plays Hiroto Katagiri, a detective in the organized crime division of the Tokyo Police Department who is also a father figure to Jake throughout the series as he helps guide him along the thin and...

As the credits roll on the final episode of HBO Max’s Tokyo Vice, we know that Jake (Ansel Elgort) and Katagiri’s (Ken Watanabe) quest to take down ruthless Yakuza leader Shinzo Tozawa (Ayumi Tanida) is far from over. Whether HBO actually green lights a second season of this excellent, neon-tinged crime drama is another question, especially now that Warner Bros. Discovery is in charge and cleaning house when it comes to original TV programming across the media company, but it would be a shame if the story ended here. There are just too many cliffhangers to resolve.

While it’s clear that Jake and Katagiri will continue to build their case against Tozawa, thanks to a flash-forward in the opening scene of the first episode that shows the duo meeting with his men about a “story” that the Yakuza leader wants buried, we don’t know the fate...

HBO Max has released the trailer for “Tokyo Vice,” offering a first look at the upcoming crime series. Loosely adapted from American journalist Jake Adelstein’s coverage of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police’s operations, the series stars Ansel Elgort as Adelstein as he documents the criminal underbelly and culture of police corruption of 1990s Tokyo. Ken Watanabe also stars, alongside Rachel Keller, Ella Rumpf, Rinko Kikuchi, Hideaki Ito, Show Kasamatsu, Tomohisa Yamashita, Shun Sugata, Masato Hagiwara, Ayumi Tanida and Kosuke Toyohara.

The series was greenlit with Elgort attached as the lead in 2019. Emmy winner and acclaimed filmmaker Michael Mann later joined the production, signing on to direct the pilot episode and serve as executive producer for the series. J.T. Rogers serves as series writer, creator and executive producer

“Tokyo Vice” comes from Endeavor Content and Japanese pay-tv broadcaster Wowow. Other executive producers include Adelstein, Elgort, Watanabe, Cretton, Alan Poul, Emily Gerson Saines,...

Tokyo Vice, after pausing production in 2020 due to the Covid pandemic, finally will land at HBO Max this spring. The series starring Ken Watanabe and Ansel Elgort hails from creator and writer J.T. Rogers. The series pilot was directed by Michael Mann.

The second official series order from HBO Max in 2019, Tokyo Vice is loosely inspired by American journalist Jake Adelstein’s nonfiction firsthand account of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police beat. The crime drama, filmed on location in Tokyo, captures Adelstein’s (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. The series will premiere with three episodes on Thursday, April 7, followed by two episodes airing every Thursday until the season finale on April 28.

Watanabe will play Hiroto Katagiri, a detective in the organized crime division of the Tokyo Police Department who is also...

Cast is being finalized on Tokyo Vice, the crime drama loosely based on Jake Adelstein’s 2009 memoir about a crime reporter on the Tokyo Metropolitan Police beat.

Series regulars added include Hideaki Ito (Tokkai), Show Kasamatsu (Flowers and Rain) and Tomohisa Yamashita (The Man from Toronto). Further additions include Shun Sugata (Tomorrow’s Dinner Table), Masato Hagiwara (Tokkai), Ayumi Tanida (The Return), and Kosuke Toyohara (Yakuza and The Family).

They join the previously announced Ansel Elgort, Ken Watanabe, Rachel Keller, Ella Rumpf and Rinko Kikuchi. Michael Mann directed the Tokyo Vice pilot and serves as an executive producer along with J.T. Rogers, Alan Poul, Jake Adelstein, Ansel Elgort, Emily Gerson Saines, Destin Daniel Cretton, Ken Watanabe, Kayo Washio, and John Lesher. J.T. Rogers created and wrote the series.

Endeavor Content and Japanese pay-tv broadcaster Wowow are producing for HBO Max. The show is expected to debut in early 2022.