Tokyo Vice

An American reporter takes a job at a major Tokyo newspaper in the late 1990s and starts learning how to cover the city's criminal world. Enthusiasm gets Jake Adelstein only so far; the useful information belongs to people with reasons to be cautious.

Ansel Elgort plays Jake, Ken Watanabe is detective Hiroto Katagiri, and Rinko Kikuchi plays editor Emi. Shō Kasamatsu and Rachel Keller give Sato and Samantha lives that extend well beyond the reporter's investigation.

Created by J. T. Rogers and inspired by Adelstein's memoir, Tokyo Vice is fictionalised, including its Meicho Shimbun newspaper. Michael Mann directed the opening episode and served as an executive producer.

I strongly recommend it for patient crime storytelling, the performances and the sense of a working city. Watch with subtitles to keep the Japanese dialogue intact. The series ended after two seasons; there was no produced third season. Read my full Tokyo Vice review.