First Look Photos at TOKYO VICE Season 2 Feature Ansel Elgort and Reveals New Characters

Thanks to Entertainment Weekly, we have our first look at Tokyo Vice Season 2, which stars which sees the return of Ansel Elgort as Jake Adelstein. The first season of this series was great, and I completely forgot that a second season was coming. The new photos include characters both old and new.

The series is based on Jake Adelstein’s book of the same name, and the story is set in 1999. It follows a fictionalized version of Adelstein, “an American-born journalist now working at the Japanese capital’s top newspaper at a time when the criminal Yakuza exerted a powerful influence over society.”

In the first season of the series, Adelstein made connections with Detective Hiroto Katagiri (Ken Watanabe), “who believes in maintaining a delicate balance between the different Yakuza factions, and Samantha Porter (Rachel Keller), another American expatriate who works as a club hostess.” The season ended with Adelstein finding video evidence of powerful Japanese men raping Samantha’s fellow hostess and he brought it to Katagiri. 

Season 2 opens will see Adelstein continue to dive deeper into the criminal economies of Tokyo. When talking about the next season, creator J.T. Rogers said: “One of the engines of the series is seeing what happens when you're young, ambitious, and incredibly talented, and you go for what you want, and you start to get it. What does that mean? Heavy lies the crown, the saying goes. All of these characters are grabbing the brass ring, but then because of the world that the show is set in, the danger and the violence get heightened exponentially. What they're learning is, ‘When my back is against the wall, what's the least bad decision I can make?’”

Some of the new characters that Season 2 will introduce us to is Shoko Nagata (Miki Maya) and Naoki Hayama (Yosuke Kubozuka). “Nagata is a detective from Japan’s National Police Agency who comes to town wanting to take a much more aggressive stance on the Yakuza than Katagiri’s philosophy of balance, while Hayama is a more dangerous flavor of criminal.”

Sarah Aubrey, head of original content at HBO Max, previously said: “We could not be more excited to bring the passionate fans of the show another season to continue this intriguing and suspenseful crime story set in one of the most vibrant and beautiful cities in the world.”

Series creator J.T. Rogers added: “Writing and then making the first season of ‘Tokyo Vice’ with this remarkable group of artists was a matchless experience. So I’m over the moon that we get to keep going. I can’t wait to get back to work in Tokyo with our brilliant cast and crew. Stay tuned: there are twists and turns in the tale to come!”

Tokyo Vice Season 2 is set to premiere on Max in February 2024.