Tokyo Vice 888-666-1846 888-666-1846 888-666-1846 888-666-1846 888-666-1846 888-666-1846 888-666-1846 888-666-1846 888-666-1846 888-666-1846 888-666-1846 888-666-1846 888-666-1846 888-666-1846 888-666-1846 888-666-1846 888-666-1846 888-666-1846 888-666-1846 888-666-1846 888-666-1846 888-666-1846 888-666-1846 888-666-1846 888-666-1846 888-666-1846 888-666-1846 888-666-1846 888-666-1846 888-666-1846 888-666-1846 888-666-1846 888-666-1846 888-666-1846 888-666-1846 888-666-1846 888-666-1846 888-666-1846 888-666-1846 888-666-1846 888-666-1846 888-666-1846 888-666-1846 888-666-1846 888-666-1846 888-666-1846 888-666-1846 888-666-1846 888-666-1846 888-666-1846 888-666-1846 888-666-1846 888-666-1846 888-666-1846 888-666-1846 888-666-1846 This crime drama was the first venture into the realm of TV by the show's creator, and it was a strong start.

The plot's shady yakuza turf war at the core of its conflict was provided by these various moving pieces. The perspectives used in Tokyo Vice to drive the story forward flesh out the anatomy of Japan's organized crime world similar to how the hit video game series was written.

The Tokyo ViceSPOILERS are discussed in this article.

Through the lens of moral paragons and the morally conflicted

Split image of Kiryu in Yakuza 0 and Sato in Tokyo Vice.

Tokyo Vice and Yakuza are action-adventures with different tones and atmospheres, so comparisons between them might come off as odd.

On the other hand, you have a story that is very serious and tells the story of Kiryu's battle for justice and the soul of the city of Kamurocho against his former bosses. Kiryu teaching a professional dominatrix to gain her confidence or playing karaoke rhythm games through his and Goro Majima's imaginations are some of the over-the-top campy side missions.

It isn't a knock on Yakuza, as that stark dichotomy has always been part of the series. The crime-noir of Tokyo Vice and how it uses Sato as a grounded point of view are some of the parallels that the dramatic half of Yakuza draws. Even though the former is depicted as a moral paragon, the latter is very much psychologically conflicted and morally ambiguous.

Shô Kasamatsu as Sato in his yakuza attire in Tokyo Vice.

Audiences are already given a clue that he still feels like a pretender trying to convince his superiors of his place within Hitoshi Ishida and his brother-in-arms. On screen, his shaky confidence is evident as he is berated hard for his mistakes. In some scenes, like when he fails to impress some kids at the local arcade, or when Ishida threatens to kill Kume if he doesn't kill him, his inner turmoil can be seen.

The Dragon of Dojima is presented as a shining example for the community when Kiryu is shown to us in his prime. He is an arbiter for a smaller scale take on truth, justice, and a better tomorrow, like the fictional city of Kamurocho. Kiryu can get pretty much anything he wants nearby, even if players are able to beat him over the head with bikes, trash cans, and couches.

Kiryu's origins in the first game show him a little more raw and unsure of himself. Kiryu was brought into the yakuza by a higher-up who promised him a better life if he pulled his weight in the organization.

His image of the yakuza starts to fall when he is thrown into the center of an underworld conspiracy and a series of power struggles. Even though he wishes he was more like Kiryu, Sato never seems to fully embrace the brutality of the yakuza, no matter how much he wishes he was.

A cutthroat life of power plays and gangster bureaucracy

Split image of yakuza bosses Tozawa and Ishida in their offices.

Both Yakuza and Tokyo Vice start by showing a romanticized version of what the yakuza represents. Vice's Ishida claims to govern with the code of honor of a classic yakuza. Once the characters progress through their story arcs, the depictions of the Underworld and Kiryu are different.

Through those deconstructions, both series flesh out the cutthroat bureaucracy and hierarchy of the yakuza. Kiryu sees the corruptive ties of the yakuza when he severs his ties, or at least as much as he can, with the lengthy main story introducing the various moving pieces that make up these organizations.

Tokyo Vice shows a much more tightly-scaled story in comparison, as it should be as a crime-noir series, but it is the character that helps audiences the most in venturing deeper behind the shadowy veil the yakuza creates for itself. The threat posed by Tozawa and the thin veneer of perceived romanticism that Ishida hold up for themselves is challenged.

Detective Hitoro Katagiri warned Jake about something early on in Tokyo Vice that led to the mess that Sato and Kiryu find themselves in. You can never truly get out of organized crime if you start as a favor, professional courtesy, or recruitment.

Tokyo Vice episodes are available to watch on the internet.

Editors' Recommendations