For me, the show is at its most interesting at its most granular; the details matter as much as the big picture. I enjoyed Adelstein and Samantha talking about manga. (She recommends Dragon Head and 20th Century Boys, recommendations I happily second.) I enjoyed, if that’s the right word for it, Tin Tin’s disclosure that people in Japan tend to commit suicide by fire in public so that their families won’t face legal repercussions from their landlords for damaging their apartments. I enjoyed the demure way Sato averted his gaze when Samantha tried on the dress he picked out for her, even if he immediately reneges on the gift.
I enjoyed that our first glimpse of maniac tough guy Tozawa involves a prostate exam. I enjoyed seeing Jake’s editor Emi work on murder cases in between getting berated by her Korean husband. I enjoyed the off-hand disclosure by Jake that the medical condition plaguing his kid sister was a suicide attempt. I enjoyed seeing Sato and his superior, Kume, steal a bunch of dresses right off the racks just because they could. (It reminded me of that Sopranos subplot where Tony and Christopher steal a bunch of booze off a biker gang just for shits and giggles.)
And it stands to reason that details like these stick out. If Adelstein’s mission statement means anything, it certainly means that the details matter at least as much as the big picture; without details, there wouldn’t be a big picture to begin with. Here’s hoping the show continues going down this direction when the next pair of episodes drop next week.
I reviewed the third episode of Tokyo Vice for Decider.
Tags: decider, reviews, tokyo vice, TV, TV reviews