Shogun Stole All Hype from Max’s Sleeper Hit About Yakuza with 92% Tomatometer

While viewers around the world were going crazy about Shogun, the second season of Tokyo Vice, released at the same time, went almost unnoticed. In fact, these two series are similar – Tokyo Vice also shows the bizarre Japanese morals and customs through the eyes of a white stranger who arrived in a distant country at the wrong time.

Tokyo Vice Was Undeservedly Ignored by Viewers

Unfortunately, Tokyo Vice is no stranger to unfair treatment and audience ignorance: two years ago, the crime procedural went under the radar in the same way and deservedly received the status of "the best show that no one watches.” Meanwhile, Tokyo Vice’s second season received an impressive 92% rating from both critics and viewers on Rotten Tomatoes.

What is Tokyo Vice About?

The first season of the show told about a young American, Jake, who was able to become the only foreign reporter on the staff of the famous Tokyo newspaper, The Yomiuri Shimbun. He is assigned to the crime department, but instead of simply rewriting police press releases, he wants to tell people the truth about organized crime, and his superiors do not like that.

Jake befriends Detective Hiroto Katagiri, who helps the reporter investigate various Yakuza-related crimes. But because of his activities, the journalist quickly makes many enemies throughout the city.

Unlike the first season, the second season begins not with the story of a hopeful expat, but with a close-up of the beaten and tired face of Jake, who has already experienced all the joys of life in Japan and feels like he belongs in a foreign country.

The first season ended on a cliffhanger, so the new season jumps right into the action to get things moving. The secondary characters have even become equal in importance to the main character and have been given full-fledged backstories.

Tokyo Vice Will Probably Be Canceled, But It Got Its Perfect Finale

As sad as it is, Tokyo Vice will most likely be canceled after the second season – much more successful HBO Max projects did not get a third season (Our Flag Means Death, we still miss you), let alone a series that almost no one watches.

And the decision can hardly be called problematic, because the creators gave the viewers a perfect ending that logically completes the story arcs and at the same time puts an ellipsis that forces fans to guess about the future fate of the characters.

What we have left are warm memories and an important mission – to cherish and recommend the show, which under its criminal cover is an astonishingly beautiful love letter to one of the most amazing cities on the planet.

Where to Stream Tokyo Vice?

Both seasons of Tokyo Vice are available on Max.