What’s more exciting than a story involving crime reporting and the inner-workings of yakuza groups? You tell us! Tokyo Vice is a drama series based on the book by the same name. The author, Jake Adelstein, was the first American journalist for Yomiuri Shimbun. From Adelstein’s perspective, the series gives us a glimpse into organized crime in Japan and different groups, like the media and police, had a large influence on it. The cast boasts a strong list of actors including Ken Watanabe, Ansel Elgort, and others.
Because the show has both Japanese and foreign characters, the script is roughly half in Japanese and half in English. Most characters also speak both languages, where formal speech coaching helped to make the intonation of the characters come off as natural. This series is a good fit for intermediate learners as it includes both native Japanese and English throughout. This show can of course be viewed by any level of learner because there are subtitles. Whether or not you have the subtitles turned on though, you won’t want to miss this one!