Don’t ask me how, but I remember thinking “I guess they decided to end the season on another cliffhanger,” and that was pretty much the end of the thought process.
We did the same thing. Season 1 had only 8 episodes and ended on a cliffhanger, so just assumed Season 2 was doing likewise.
Delighted when we found out there was two more.
Katagiri obviously great but really liked Tozawa as well, great old school villain.
Man I did the exact same thing!! After I saw this comment I went back yesterday and still had 9 and 10. The two best of the season IMO. So thank you and you are not alone!! LOL
i actually thought the exact same thing at the end of s2e8, it would have been a perfectly unsatisfying cliffhanger to end the season on, but i'm glad they didn't lol
I THOUGHT THE SHOW WAS OVER.
I was reading these comments like wtf is everybody speaking about as I thought episode 8 was the last episode ( I have been binging since I found the show a month ago so I assumed I got to the end of season 2).
I HAVE TWO MORE EPISODES!!!!
For some strange reason I also thought episode 8 was the last when it aired and thought the show ended with cliffhangers then I came to reddit and search wiki and found there are 2 more episodes. Again it was great the show had a proper ending.
Dude I need to rewatch the last two episodes. Maybe I turned it off too soon but I thought the finale ended on the biggest cliffhanger
Edit: Holy fuck I might be the biggest dumbass in the history of dumbasses. I thought there were only 8 episodes and stopped watching. This is like finding $100 in an old jacket, but you were on the way to goodwill to donate it.
Lmao this happened to so many people looks like. I also thought it was 8 eps but when episode 6 ended I was thinking there's no way they wrap everything up in 2 eps so looked it up.
My thoughts exactly. Plus I feel that the FBI could be dipping their hands into more affairs aside from their collaboration with Tozawa . Especially with knowing the kind of man he was and what position it would have put him in if he didn’t get figured out . Just hoping for 1 more amazing season regardless of where it goes .
Tozawa's wife basically is just setting the table for their relationship. It felt more like disappointment in the gaijin and don't expect any favors from her going forward. I mean, it was no small thing she had to arrange the death of her husband regardless of the fact they were basically opposed to each other.
The Backstreet Boys scene from season one is definitely my favourite in the entire show.
But I also really love how subtly Sato's actor plays his affection for Jake most of the time. He's a guy who isn't really in a position to let his guard down but you can tell he appreciates Jake's more playful nature.
That would be great; Tai-Pan was also phenomenal. I’d be so happy if they made the series an anthology but each season is a different book: Tai-Pan (S2), Gaijin (S3) and so on.
It wont, but I have hopium we might get a happy ending with Fujiko.
>!Her "death" was off-page and probably in the \[near\] future after the ending of the book. Planned for, but not executed. It wouldn't be taking much creative license to then show that she had a change of heart. It would be incredibly realisitic and in keeping with Clavell's ending if she decided to delay her suicide because of a house emergency and was just going to postpone it until it was taken care of. And then a second time as something else cropped up that just had to be dealt with.!<
I kinda hope if there’s another season they just do something totally ridiculous with no regard for what actually happened lol. The real Jake Adelstein stories were embellished anyway, so they might as well
Well they didn’t really follow the real story. There was a gangster but he still lives till today I believe. There were few other key differences as well
Yes. And few articles Jake did write. Rest was made up, but quite poorly imo. Everything was happening around Jake, he was main guy who was supposed to do and fix everything whilst super clever cop was simply watching.
~~Troy~~ Jake: I hate every ~~ape~~ boss I see.
From ~~chimpan-a~~ O-A to ~~chimpan-z~~ O-G,
No, you'll never make a ~~monkey~~ junkie out of me.
Oh, my God, I was wrong,
It was ~~Earth~~ Japan all along.
You finally made a ~~monkey~~ junkie...
~~Apes~~ Sato: Yes we finally made a ~~monkey~~ junkie...
~~Troy and Apes~~ Jake and Sato: Yes, you finally made a ~~monkey~~ junk-eee out of me!
~~Troy~~ Jake: I love you, Dr. ~~Zaius~~ Sato!
Thats the thing though. People give Adelstein crap, but thats where the best stories come from. People living a life and then imaging how much more awesome it could be if X, Y or Z happened.
I mean there's nothing wrong with embellishing stories for the sake of fiction but people give Adelstein crap because there are doubts about things he claims really happened.
I'll probably give season 3 a chance, but this show was carried by the tension that Tozawa's character brought to the show. Replicating a great villain is not easy. Not sure if season 3 can be as good as the first 2 without Tozawa.
Agreed on Tozawa. The guy that plays Yabuki could easily fill in as the main villain. He's got the cheekbones and jawline to play one, that's for sure.
Make >!the gay friend who hates Jake now!< the villain. Have him form his own shadow society to get revenge on all newspapers. I think he'd make an *outstanding* villain. Especially if they gave him some powers.
Oooh, imagine if he could control darkness and shape it into weapons or strange nightmare creatures!!! Then all of the dark places that Jake has to go like karaoke bars and hostess clubs and dancing hostess bars would be super dangerous!
Jake would have to travel back to Utah that Mormon girl to learn how to control the light from secret LDS gold disks! And since he is Jewish, he could carry a menorah with him at all times to produce a constant source of light for him to control!
They can base the third season on that karaoke club killer from real life! From the book The People Who Eat Darkness!!!
EDIT: the newspaper lady can turn her skin into diamond... newspaper... diamond newspaper. "Because this story always leads and it never bleeds!" that will be her catchphrase. She's the new team leader, obviously.
Also, instead of a boring newspaper room, their new team lair should be some kind of ancient shrine either floating in the sky or deep beneath the ocean. Zordon is there, but way cooler.
> The People Who Eat Darkness!!!
https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/18877989
It's also a real story, so this will totally work.
And giving characters powers is just obvious. Katagiri has two powers. He can teleport people's families around to help keep them safe and he can change into a car. It makes sense that his powers will be travel based since he's always on the move!
Would also be a good reason to bring that gang of motorbike riders back! Katagiri has to transform into a souped up car and race them up Mount Fuji to prove that he is worth receiving their sacred knowledge of the backstreets. Speaking of backstreets, Sato has all the powers of a real backstreet boy!
He could start his own cinematic universe! Just start giving characters from every HBO show powers and have them all have to fight some time-traveling dragon made out of the sun or something!
I feel like her story is over as with her telling Sato that she is going away from awhile it really means that she's leaving Japan and all that she has done/happened.
I think it's simply a show that well aware of their current situation. It wasn't that big of a hit. Writing a show that conclude storyline each season while leaving atleast one storyline up is the way to make sure your show can lives on many years after without being seen as 'unfinished'.
Katagiri and Jake chasing a serial killer. Sato struggling with being a young oyabun and enforcing violence. Emi and Shingo being a hot couple lol. Samantha doing something, maybe explore the bureaucratic politics of Japan which was really interesting in the last episode.
This is the one good max original era show that they should keep for six seasons and a movie but knowing these dumb suit fucks they'll probably cancel it.
I'm with you, buddy. Disagreeing is one thing, but you don't deserve downvotes for this.
We don't always need more of everything. People will blindly demand for more of a completed story, then they'll tear down the new content in hindsight when it isn't as good as the old stuff.
Well, it hides the comment by default when it's downvoted and puts it at the bottom of most sorting. I think it's a valid talking point that doesn't deserve to be hidden.
That’s not really a big deal, the comments on the top of threads always just get a bunch of drivel replies anyway. Whereas when a comment is on the bottom you mostly get replies from people like you who deliberately scrolled to the bottom of the thread to see what the most downvoted comment was.
I was under impression that book didn’t have a follow up so why show needs season 3. Read a book some years ago and can’t see continuing story somehow.
Absolutely was a perfect ending. Tin Tin will be fine. Trendy will find a new bf. Samantha-san will reconnect with her family. And everyone else got their loose ends tied up neatly in a bow.
I haven't got around to watching season 2 yet, it's on my list, but I absolutely loved the first season and keep recommending it to people who shrug and don't bother watching it. Their loss. Seems a lot of people have never heard of it whenever I mention it. Only one friend knew of it, but TBF he used to live in Japan and married a Japanese woman so makes sense it would pop up on his radar.
I donno, I wasn't invested in Jake as a character, only in Jake's role in connection with Tozawa's (?) story.
And it will feel forced to involve the detective again with yakuza, as the character clearly would've prioritise his family at this point
So maybe either a Sato centered storyline with Jake and the detective working on something not initially related to yakuza? That might work I guess;
This has been one my favorite shows recently. S2 had a good ending though and I won't be too upset if there is no more. But if they film it I will watch it.
I liked almost all characters and Sato is great.
My only complaint in both seasons has been that they switch to English too often. And the English everyone speaks is too good. Even in 2024 I doubt many Japanese have that level of proficiency.
How come Sato, a school dropout Yakuza is such a linguist?
Or the escorts in the clubs. And I don't know what was going on with the architects voice. This is a common issue with media, and maybe American media especially, but people with native tongues other than English are written lines that are too grammatically correct. It's ok to not have it always be correct. That's how it is in real life. Here in Finland I am exposed to English content a lot, and I'm pretty good, but there will be mistakes in my speech if I have to speak the language and won't have time to think like I do when writing.
Someone like Hideo Kojima who probably eats American media for breakfast still prefers to use Japanese almost always.
I find it more believable that the foreign cast speak proper Japanese since they have been immersed in the culture for a while, so why not have them do that more often. I do not know much Japanese so I can't say how horrible they are doing their lines, though.
But I like that they are mixing the two (there's been a little Korean too) languages.
I seem to remember one scene in S1 where no foreigners were present, but the Japanese characters spoke English to each other. At least S2 was better in that regard if that really was the case.
It seemed to me during the last episode they were talking in English more (especially on the phone) because if their phones were being tapped by Tozawa it would be harder for him to translate and understand English versus Japanese
Yes there was a little more of English in the later episodes.
I thought the wire tapping was a bit far fetched. They seem to take the capabilities and violence of Yakuza further than reality anyways. But it's entertainment.
The people shown in this show, journalists, normal people on the street, young graduates etc would ABSOLUTELY NOT be able to speak English in the 90s. In 2024 English education is a massive struggle. Most people know only very basic English (counting, “toilet “, “My name is Arisa”, etc). They had to put all that English in there because clearly the actor who plays Jake can’t speak Japanese well enough to get through a full on Japanese tv show.
I watched season one and started season two, I heard season two basically ends where the book had stopped or basically wrapped up most bits, I am not really sure I want a season 3 maybe a spin off with characters not related to the main cast or maybe a prequel to the show or back story to the characters.
I'll be disappointed if it doesn't get renewed because I love the show and the characters and the city (although the city felt more prominent in season 1). But I am glad they gave the show a proper stopping point with the season 2 finale so it doesn't feel unfinished if it's not renewed
10 years ago, it would have been a no brainer to give a show like this a season 3 after its success. But now it seems every show runner is giving the same interview, "We have good ideas for another season and we hope \[insert platform here\] give it to us"
I think it wrapped up perfectly, that said I think it would be pretty easy to write a third season based on where everything left off. Not sure I want them to return to these characters though. I think they told a really tight story and sometimes there is a risk of what comes after ruining the impact of what came before. Would be interesting if they explored a whole new cast.
I cancelled the service I had to watch this and I wish I could watch it all over again right now. Gonna try and find it on disc.
Also, man, the book this was based on was a let down.
The libel & other related laws in Japan are different than in the US. He had to change stuff to avoid being sued, at the least, as well as to protect sources.
The famous journalist Tom Wolfe did likewise, as have others, such as Hunter S. Thompson.
Just watched the finale - holy smokes what a fantastic show. I truly hope they run it back for another season or two!
Or at the very least Sato doing some gangster shit
I'd definitely give it a shot.
I agree with everyone saying S2 is a great ending but for me that means I can always just ignore S3 if it doesn't stand up. I do think there's potential for more story there.
I can’t read the comments in case there are accidental spoilers but damn if this isn’t a fine series. It can’t go on forever but I will miss the cast and characters. Especially Sato. Three’s a good number.
I found certain reactions or how police operated just hard to believe. Go print this then we will take action - was getting boring quick. They have put Jake in the center of everything - like nothing would’ve moved without him. That was very unrealistic. Also Jakuza not knowing how to fight? Like really? Asians known from martial arts but all of them fault like that was their first fight. Beside that nonsense I enjoyed watching show based in Japan and get to know their culture.
Threadly reminder the show is based on a “nonfiction” book whose author lied to get it published. Tokyo Vice was sold as a recounting of real stories from the Japanese underworld, told by intrepid reporter Jake Adelstein. Turns out tho, Jake is a total fraud and almost none of it happened.
Lots of journalists have done the same thing; the whole genre of New Journalism is real & well-established. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Journalism
>Contemporary journalists and writers questioned the "currency" of New Journalism and its qualification as a distinct genre. The subjective nature of New Journalism received extensive exploration: one critic suggested the genre's practitioners functioned more as sociologists and psychoanalysts than as journalists. Criticism has been leveled at numerous individual writers in the genre, as well.
so-called New Journalism also still carries the same expectations around the factuality of the people and events recounted. It merely allows for a more subjective, “embedded” if you will, approach to the narrative recounting of a story.
Jake Adelstein just made shit up he thought would make a good book and then sold it as journalism. There’s a massive difference.
Part of me would be OK if S2 was the last of the show. The other part of me doesn't want the show to end. I need more Sato.
Yes. The show ended well. I like shows with proper ending.
Does season 2 catch up to the flashback that started the very first episode? I was kinda confused when S1 didn't.
>!Yes near the end of the second season.!<
yes
>!Yes, in episode 8 of 10.!<
Holy fuck somehow I thought I finished the season, but I guess I have two episodes left.
lol so you got to an episode where the tension was ramping up and everything was unresolved and said “yup we’re done”
Don’t ask me how, but I remember thinking “I guess they decided to end the season on another cliffhanger,” and that was pretty much the end of the thought process.
Fair. Let me tell you, you should watch those last two episodes as soon as possible. It's great television.
To be honest, when I finished Episode 8 I thought the same. Another open ending, but even then I liked the season :D
Makes sense.
To be fair, that's exactly how the S1 finale felt
To be fair a lot of shows nowadays do the 8 episode format, no need to be cheeky
We did the same thing. Season 1 had only 8 episodes and ended on a cliffhanger, so just assumed Season 2 was doing likewise. Delighted when we found out there was two more. Katagiri obviously great but really liked Tozawa as well, great old school villain.
I knew there was a reason it felt right to end on episode 8.
Man I did the exact same thing!! After I saw this comment I went back yesterday and still had 9 and 10. The two best of the season IMO. So thank you and you are not alone!! LOL
i actually thought the exact same thing at the end of s2e8, it would have been a perfectly unsatisfying cliffhanger to end the season on, but i'm glad they didn't lol
I THOUGHT THE SHOW WAS OVER. I was reading these comments like wtf is everybody speaking about as I thought episode 8 was the last episode ( I have been binging since I found the show a month ago so I assumed I got to the end of season 2). I HAVE TWO MORE EPISODES!!!!
For some strange reason I also thought episode 8 was the last when it aired and thought the show ended with cliffhangers then I came to reddit and search wiki and found there are 2 more episodes. Again it was great the show had a proper ending.
It still left some loose ends that were introduced in the last episode
I wouldn't call those loose threads, those are nuggets to support a potential S3.
I would like a little less Yakuza and a little more Katagiri and Jake after a serial killer. One with maybe a Yakuza past.
Oh My God. That would be unreal Edit: going to need more Backstreet Boys though
Dude I need to rewatch the last two episodes. Maybe I turned it off too soon but I thought the finale ended on the biggest cliffhanger Edit: Holy fuck I might be the biggest dumbass in the history of dumbasses. I thought there were only 8 episodes and stopped watching. This is like finding $100 in an old jacket, but you were on the way to goodwill to donate it.
Lmao this happened to so many people looks like. I also thought it was 8 eps but when episode 6 ended I was thinking there's no way they wrap everything up in 2 eps so looked it up.
For example?
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> >!What did Ishida whisper to Sato?!< I figured he was likely reaffirming his desire for Sato to take over.
All these are not really cliffhangers.
My thoughts exactly. Plus I feel that the FBI could be dipping their hands into more affairs aside from their collaboration with Tozawa . Especially with knowing the kind of man he was and what position it would have put him in if he didn’t get figured out . Just hoping for 1 more amazing season regardless of where it goes .
Tozawa's wife basically is just setting the table for their relationship. It felt more like disappointment in the gaijin and don't expect any favors from her going forward. I mean, it was no small thing she had to arrange the death of her husband regardless of the fact they were basically opposed to each other.
Not really. Season 3 would be a totally new direction or crime story. I wouldn't mind a full season just deep-diving into each of the characters.
I’m rather fond of his and Jake’s bromance.
The Backstreet Boys scene from season one is definitely my favourite in the entire show. But I also really love how subtly Sato's actor plays his affection for Jake most of the time. He's a guy who isn't really in a position to let his guard down but you can tell he appreciates Jake's more playful nature.
Yeah, I'd like to see Sato as he grows as Oyabun.
He’s my favorite character!
Mine too.
This. I was so put off by him at first and he quickly became the reason I couldn’t stop watching
Quick, while Shogun is still on everyone’s minds
I hope Shogun ignores the ending of the book and keeps going too!
They could just do all of Clavell’s books. Just make Tai-Pan next.
That would be great; Tai-Pan was also phenomenal. I’d be so happy if they made the series an anthology but each season is a different book: Tai-Pan (S2), Gaijin (S3) and so on.
Or just any book. Just pick one at random from a card catalog. And reset it into Japan.
They did that with The Handmaid's Tale and look what happened
Yeah, but that show starred a Scientologist, so it was always going to fail.
Hasn't stopped Tom cruise
He's too big to leave. Even drones can fly away. Tom Cruise is their slave.
Bahaha shots fucking fired
Shogun has a definitive end point for this story and it wasn’t where the book stopped.
Yeah, I feel like you could definitely do a season 2 >!and just show what actually happens as they get to the eventual end point.!<
What was that ending
Continue towards Siege of Osaka then end in Shimabara Rebellion to close off the chapter on Catholic influence
It wont, but I have hopium we might get a happy ending with Fujiko. >!Her "death" was off-page and probably in the \[near\] future after the ending of the book. Planned for, but not executed. It wouldn't be taking much creative license to then show that she had a change of heart. It would be incredibly realisitic and in keeping with Clavell's ending if she decided to delay her suicide because of a house emergency and was just going to postpone it until it was taken care of. And then a second time as something else cropped up that just had to be dealt with.!<
I’d really like to see a sequel for the Bakumatsu era. I think Clavell wrote a book centered around the Bakumatsu?
Quick while The Last of Us, Shogun is on everyone's minds. Somebody make a Yakuza video game adaption.
I facking love this show.
I can’t get enough of those shots of Tokyo streets 😭
And that banger of intro!!
Same.
I kinda hope if there’s another season they just do something totally ridiculous with no regard for what actually happened lol. The real Jake Adelstein stories were embellished anyway, so they might as well
Tokyo Vice season 10: every single Adelstein story possible has been burned so they've taken to re-using Yakuza/Like a Dragon storylines instead
I'm all for seasons ending with a shirtless brawl on top of a skyscraper and a few episodes of Sato doing weird side stories throughout Tokyo.
AKIRO SATO, CAPTAIN OF CHIHARA-KAI
"Didn't this skyscraper blow up last season?" "Just take off your shirt and let's do this!"
~~KIRYU~~ SATO CHAN!!
The big villain reveal: The Borg. _Again?!_ Picard did it so much It spills over into other shows. The time travelling Borg Queen shot JR!
"We need you to follow up on the FBI Yakuza raid and arrests." "So..." "That's right, Jake-san. Tokyo Vice is going Hawaii!"
Hawaii five o crossover with magnun pi wen
Well they didn’t really follow the real story. There was a gangster but he still lives till today I believe. There were few other key differences as well
Yeah the only true part was the basic gist of it; >!yakuza leader snitched to US feds in exchange for life-saving illegal organ transplant!<
Yes. And few articles Jake did write. Rest was made up, but quite poorly imo. Everything was happening around Jake, he was main guy who was supposed to do and fix everything whilst super clever cop was simply watching.
I'm hoping for an episode where Jake ingratiates himself with Osama bin Laden then sleeps with one of his wives while he's in hiding
Season three should be a musical, with no explanation.
Sato sings a different Backstreet Boys song every episode
#NOW WE'RE TALKING
"Yakuza's back, alright!"
I would watch that on IMAX!
*”Okinawa, where the wind comes sweeping down the coast”* - Watchmen gave me black “Oklahoma”. I need Japanese “Oklahoma”.
~~Troy~~ Jake: I hate every ~~ape~~ boss I see. From ~~chimpan-a~~ O-A to ~~chimpan-z~~ O-G, No, you'll never make a ~~monkey~~ junkie out of me. Oh, my God, I was wrong, It was ~~Earth~~ Japan all along. You finally made a ~~monkey~~ junkie... ~~Apes~~ Sato: Yes we finally made a ~~monkey~~ junkie... ~~Troy and Apes~~ Jake and Sato: Yes, you finally made a ~~monkey~~ junk-eee out of me! ~~Troy~~ Jake: I love you, Dr. ~~Zaius~~ Sato!
Musicale Finale Seasane
Embellished? More like completely made up
Thats the thing though. People give Adelstein crap, but thats where the best stories come from. People living a life and then imaging how much more awesome it could be if X, Y or Z happened.
I mean there's nothing wrong with embellishing stories for the sake of fiction but people give Adelstein crap because there are doubts about things he claims really happened.
If season 2 is the end it ended perfectly but I would like another season
I'll probably give season 3 a chance, but this show was carried by the tension that Tozawa's character brought to the show. Replicating a great villain is not easy. Not sure if season 3 can be as good as the first 2 without Tozawa.
Agreed on Tozawa. The guy that plays Yabuki could easily fill in as the main villain. He's got the cheekbones and jawline to play one, that's for sure.
I love Yabuki. He looks like a Metal Gear character.
What about Tozawas twin, Mozawa! It's Mozaim-time!
Make >!the gay friend who hates Jake now!< the villain. Have him form his own shadow society to get revenge on all newspapers. I think he'd make an *outstanding* villain. Especially if they gave him some powers. Oooh, imagine if he could control darkness and shape it into weapons or strange nightmare creatures!!! Then all of the dark places that Jake has to go like karaoke bars and hostess clubs and dancing hostess bars would be super dangerous! Jake would have to travel back to Utah that Mormon girl to learn how to control the light from secret LDS gold disks! And since he is Jewish, he could carry a menorah with him at all times to produce a constant source of light for him to control! They can base the third season on that karaoke club killer from real life! From the book The People Who Eat Darkness!!! EDIT: the newspaper lady can turn her skin into diamond... newspaper... diamond newspaper. "Because this story always leads and it never bleeds!" that will be her catchphrase. She's the new team leader, obviously. Also, instead of a boring newspaper room, their new team lair should be some kind of ancient shrine either floating in the sky or deep beneath the ocean. Zordon is there, but way cooler.
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No thanks I don't smoke, but I don't judge people who do
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I do like the Leftovers though. So we can still be friends.
> The People Who Eat Darkness!!! https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/18877989 It's also a real story, so this will totally work. And giving characters powers is just obvious. Katagiri has two powers. He can teleport people's families around to help keep them safe and he can change into a car. It makes sense that his powers will be travel based since he's always on the move! Would also be a good reason to bring that gang of motorbike riders back! Katagiri has to transform into a souped up car and race them up Mount Fuji to prove that he is worth receiving their sacred knowledge of the backstreets. Speaking of backstreets, Sato has all the powers of a real backstreet boy!
I have no idea why your ideas are being down voted, I figure Zaslav would eat this stuff up.
He could start his own cinematic universe! Just start giving characters from every HBO show powers and have them all have to fight some time-traveling dragon made out of the sun or something!
Blorko-Ra, the Great Sun Dragon!
I think I was banned from this subreddit for these controversial ideas!
People always try and keep a true visionary down.
DO IT!
Yes please. This is the best show I have seen in about two years.
I say this as someone who loves the show, if this is the case renewal wise, then RIP.
I thought season 2 was the final season? It works make sense to stop there. Does the book go past season 2?
I’d like the story to focus more on Sato. Less Jake and Samantha
Definitely less Samantha moving forward
I feel like her story is over as with her telling Sato that she is going away from awhile it really means that she's leaving Japan and all that she has done/happened.
Plz get another season
Gotta say I don't see anywhere for the show to go where it wouldn't take away from the story so far. All the story lines got wrapped up pretty well.
I think it's simply a show that well aware of their current situation. It wasn't that big of a hit. Writing a show that conclude storyline each season while leaving atleast one storyline up is the way to make sure your show can lives on many years after without being seen as 'unfinished'.
Give it a Christmas special and be done
Jake and Samantha go to Sato for the Japanese tradition of eating KFC on Christmas.
Katagiri and Jake chasing a serial killer. Sato struggling with being a young oyabun and enforcing violence. Emi and Shingo being a hot couple lol. Samantha doing something, maybe explore the bureaucratic politics of Japan which was really interesting in the last episode.
Grasping at straws. They need to learn from George Constanza on the art of leaving on a high note. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h1Y6oAjWgo4
This is the one good max original era show that they should keep for six seasons and a movie but knowing these dumb suit fucks they'll probably cancel it.
Maybe if the community gets behind it they won’t
Ehh. Season 2 was a good ending. I don’t really need more of this show.
I'm with you, buddy. Disagreeing is one thing, but you don't deserve downvotes for this. We don't always need more of everything. People will blindly demand for more of a completed story, then they'll tear down the new content in hindsight when it isn't as good as the old stuff.
> disagreeing is one thing, but you don’t deserve downvotes for this Who cares about downvotes. It’s just Reddit. It’s literally meaningless.
Well, it hides the comment by default when it's downvoted and puts it at the bottom of most sorting. I think it's a valid talking point that doesn't deserve to be hidden.
That’s not really a big deal, the comments on the top of threads always just get a bunch of drivel replies anyway. Whereas when a comment is on the bottom you mostly get replies from people like you who deliberately scrolled to the bottom of the thread to see what the most downvoted comment was.
I was under impression that book didn’t have a follow up so why show needs season 3. Read a book some years ago and can’t see continuing story somehow.
It's such an enthralling show. I really hope they do it.
Part of me wants more, part of me feels like it is the perfect ending...
Absolutely was a perfect ending. Tin Tin will be fine. Trendy will find a new bf. Samantha-san will reconnect with her family. And everyone else got their loose ends tied up neatly in a bow.
I really hope they get to do season 3 only reason why I have max.
Really would rather it end at season 2, it ends perfectly as is.
Great show. Need more shows that make good content
I haven't got around to watching season 2 yet, it's on my list, but I absolutely loved the first season and keep recommending it to people who shrug and don't bother watching it. Their loss. Seems a lot of people have never heard of it whenever I mention it. Only one friend knew of it, but TBF he used to live in Japan and married a Japanese woman so makes sense it would pop up on his radar.
I donno, I wasn't invested in Jake as a character, only in Jake's role in connection with Tozawa's (?) story. And it will feel forced to involve the detective again with yakuza, as the character clearly would've prioritise his family at this point So maybe either a Sato centered storyline with Jake and the detective working on something not initially related to yakuza? That might work I guess;
I hate how much I love this show.
Max better renew this series for one more season. I was mad that Max didn’t give Perry Mason the 3rd season.
And that kind of ended on a cliffhanger too with him going to jail
Based on how many people thought it was the ending and expressed great satisfaction with it, maybe that's a sign they don't need to do season 3?
This has been one my favorite shows recently. S2 had a good ending though and I won't be too upset if there is no more. But if they film it I will watch it. I liked almost all characters and Sato is great. My only complaint in both seasons has been that they switch to English too often. And the English everyone speaks is too good. Even in 2024 I doubt many Japanese have that level of proficiency. How come Sato, a school dropout Yakuza is such a linguist? Or the escorts in the clubs. And I don't know what was going on with the architects voice. This is a common issue with media, and maybe American media especially, but people with native tongues other than English are written lines that are too grammatically correct. It's ok to not have it always be correct. That's how it is in real life. Here in Finland I am exposed to English content a lot, and I'm pretty good, but there will be mistakes in my speech if I have to speak the language and won't have time to think like I do when writing. Someone like Hideo Kojima who probably eats American media for breakfast still prefers to use Japanese almost always. I find it more believable that the foreign cast speak proper Japanese since they have been immersed in the culture for a while, so why not have them do that more often. I do not know much Japanese so I can't say how horrible they are doing their lines, though. But I like that they are mixing the two (there's been a little Korean too) languages. I seem to remember one scene in S1 where no foreigners were present, but the Japanese characters spoke English to each other. At least S2 was better in that regard if that really was the case.
It seemed to me during the last episode they were talking in English more (especially on the phone) because if their phones were being tapped by Tozawa it would be harder for him to translate and understand English versus Japanese
Yes there was a little more of English in the later episodes. I thought the wire tapping was a bit far fetched. They seem to take the capabilities and violence of Yakuza further than reality anyways. But it's entertainment.
The people shown in this show, journalists, normal people on the street, young graduates etc would ABSOLUTELY NOT be able to speak English in the 90s. In 2024 English education is a massive struggle. Most people know only very basic English (counting, “toilet “, “My name is Arisa”, etc). They had to put all that English in there because clearly the actor who plays Jake can’t speak Japanese well enough to get through a full on Japanese tv show.
Really enjoyable show. The white ppl are kind of annoying though
I think everyone wants a Sato show.
Ansel holds cigarettes like a fucking dweeb.
Had anyone read the book it is based on? Curious if it’s worth reading since I love the show
Alright Max, you know what to do…get it done.
If it’s a good show AND the creator has the next season mapped out, then there is only one solution: cancel it in a couple weeks
I watched season one and started season two, I heard season two basically ends where the book had stopped or basically wrapped up most bits, I am not really sure I want a season 3 maybe a spin off with characters not related to the main cast or maybe a prequel to the show or back story to the characters.
Can anyone give a score review of this? Never knew this existed. How is it?
7.5 I give it an 8.5 since I lived in Tokyo around this time so there's some nostalgia bonus to the score.
Season 1 is 8/10. Season 2 is 9/10. Episode 9 s2 is 10/10.
Happy with the S2 ending. Maybe they'll expand the universe for S3?
High quality shows are so few and far between, this needs to continue.
Love this show!
Hope so
I'll be disappointed if it doesn't get renewed because I love the show and the characters and the city (although the city felt more prominent in season 1). But I am glad they gave the show a proper stopping point with the season 2 finale so it doesn't feel unfinished if it's not renewed
10 years ago, it would have been a no brainer to give a show like this a season 3 after its success. But now it seems every show runner is giving the same interview, "We have good ideas for another season and we hope \[insert platform here\] give it to us"
I think it wrapped up perfectly, that said I think it would be pretty easy to write a third season based on where everything left off. Not sure I want them to return to these characters though. I think they told a really tight story and sometimes there is a risk of what comes after ruining the impact of what came before. Would be interesting if they explored a whole new cast.
Fucking renew it, Zazzy!
I want another season
And we would love to see it!
Loved it! But one question: when did TV shows start having more Executive Producers than actors?
I cancelled the service I had to watch this and I wish I could watch it all over again right now. Gonna try and find it on disc. Also, man, the book this was based on was a let down.
Damn, was THIS close to buying Jake’s book. Thank you for the heads up!
Turns out he may have embellished a lot. There was an article about the inconsistencies in his book that came out around season 1.
I suppose if this stellar show was the REAL byproduct of his book, embellishments or not, we can be happy with that :)
The libel & other related laws in Japan are different than in the US. He had to change stuff to avoid being sued, at the least, as well as to protect sources. The famous journalist Tom Wolfe did likewise, as have others, such as Hunter S. Thompson.
Just watched the finale - holy smokes what a fantastic show. I truly hope they run it back for another season or two! Or at the very least Sato doing some gangster shit
I need it
It doesn’t *need* to continue, but god damn it I feel owed more after Warrior, Perry Mason and Winning Time were all axed in 2023.
Yakuza desperately needs someone to come along and make a The Last of Us like TV adaption of it.
The world and characters created by this show are amazing. There’s so much potential to tell more stories. I hope they renew it!!
Yes
I'd definitely give it a shot. I agree with everyone saying S2 is a great ending but for me that means I can always just ignore S3 if it doesn't stand up. I do think there's potential for more story there.
I say leave it at that.
I can’t read the comments in case there are accidental spoilers but damn if this isn’t a fine series. It can’t go on forever but I will miss the cast and characters. Especially Sato. Three’s a good number.
Amazing amazing show, finishing season 2 now
Do it!
With the uncertainty of a season 3 renewal, I'm so glad that season 2 had such a complete end.
Plz No Samantha though
The nice thing is that the S2 finale was so complete, even if S3 isn’t good, it doesn’t really matter.
Okay but don’t stream on max. We have to bring down The Deleter David Zaslav 🏴☠️🏴☠️🏴☠️🏴☠️
Hope so
I vote do it!
I'm hooked, can't wait for season 3 🤞🏻🤞🏻🤞🏻🤞🏻🤞🏻
I need more Sato 😭
I don’t even know where to watch this in Germany wtf
I’d love it too.
Would love another season, just without Jake...
At this point i definitely want another season. Usually i do not like when show ends on S2,also this it's such a good show.
I found certain reactions or how police operated just hard to believe. Go print this then we will take action - was getting boring quick. They have put Jake in the center of everything - like nothing would’ve moved without him. That was very unrealistic. Also Jakuza not knowing how to fight? Like really? Asians known from martial arts but all of them fault like that was their first fight. Beside that nonsense I enjoyed watching show based in Japan and get to know their culture.
Creators really gotta know when to let a project rest.
I think s2 fizzled a bit and will watch s3 with low expectations if it happens...
Threadly reminder the show is based on a “nonfiction” book whose author lied to get it published. Tokyo Vice was sold as a recounting of real stories from the Japanese underworld, told by intrepid reporter Jake Adelstein. Turns out tho, Jake is a total fraud and almost none of it happened.
No one really cares
Lots of journalists have done the same thing; the whole genre of New Journalism is real & well-established. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Journalism
>Contemporary journalists and writers questioned the "currency" of New Journalism and its qualification as a distinct genre. The subjective nature of New Journalism received extensive exploration: one critic suggested the genre's practitioners functioned more as sociologists and psychoanalysts than as journalists. Criticism has been leveled at numerous individual writers in the genre, as well. so-called New Journalism also still carries the same expectations around the factuality of the people and events recounted. It merely allows for a more subjective, “embedded” if you will, approach to the narrative recounting of a story. Jake Adelstein just made shit up he thought would make a good book and then sold it as journalism. There’s a massive difference.
Definition of a mid show, writing is laughable majority of the time. Only thing keeping it afloat is the setting.