Read the Air
Read the Air is the third episode of the first season of Tokyo Vice. It was released on April 7th, along with the first episode, The Test and the second, Kishi Kaisei.
Synopsis[edit | edit source]
Jake's persistence pays off when he receives an exclusive from Detective Katagiri — but catches the less ideal eye of someone else in the process. Meanwhile, Samantha hits it off with a new customer, as Sato chooses between words and fists.
Plot Summary[edit | edit source]
At his house, Kume receives a once-over by a doctor, who takes vials of his blood and checks him out with an ultrasound and an exam. He questions if Kume has been abusing alcohol, cigarettes or red meat, but Kume doesn't reply. Later, Kume is seen in the bathroom applying foundation to his face to hide the bruise he attained the night before in the fight with Nakamura and Tozawa's men.
Adelstein, meanwhile, visits Hiroto's house and brings beers and ice cream for his children. Despite initially being turned away at the door by his wife who remarks that he is not home, Hiroto invites him to sit and drink with him. Hiroto asks what he wants, and Adelstein tells him that he needs some kind of story to save his job. He respected Hiroto's warning the previous night and didn't right about the encounter but now needs a story. Adelstein asks what happened at the bar, and Hiroto tells him that the Yakuza's roots run deep in Japan, therefore the Police are encouraged to maintain peace between the gangs of the Yakuza. Tozawa, however, have come in an attempt to claim the turf of Chihara-Kai, therefore tensions are rising within the Yakuza.
Sato and Kume visit the bar where the altercation occurred the previous night between the Tozawa and the Chihara-Kai. They talk with the business owner who is furious that the Tozawa were allowed to flaunt their business in the club. Kume questions why they were serving Tozawa men, and he replies that they do not ask which gang of the Yakuza customers belong to. Afterwards, the man sarcastically jokes about paying the Tozawa for protection instead of the Chiara-Kai. Sato has an outburst and slaps the man for his comment, much to Kume's dismay. Once out of the club, Kume questions Sato's behaviour, citing that the man would never pay the Tozawa as he knows Kume would kill him.
Meanwhile at the newspaper, Adelstein deals with a rude man who is angry that his paper did not get delivered that morning. He refuses to speak with Adelstein given he is foreign, however, and is rude to Eimi for being a woman, causing her to hang up the phone on him. Shortly after, Adelstein receives a call from Hiroto to come and observe as they confront Tozawa and his men. When Adelstein arrives, he and Hiroto, and numerous Police men, talk with Tozawa. Tozawa attempts to blackmail Hiroto, but finds Hiroto reluctant to play dirty. Hiroto tells him he will be arresting two people as a result of the shots fired the previous day. With this, two of Tozawa's men own up to giving the bullets to Nakamura.
Jake meets up with Tin-Tin and Hasegawa and shows them his story in the newspaper. They congratulate him, but Tin-Tin is jealous and tells them that Buke told him he is a bad writer and laughed at him. Hasegawa and Jake tell him that he is an excellent writer and to ignore him, but he still seems down about the remark. Meanwhile, Sato becomes concerned when he notices Jake in a video of Tozawa's men being arrested that airs on the news.
Tensions rise within the Chiara-Kai when Kume warns the members that they must respect their Oyuban or be punished. Later, they tease Sato, citing that he likes to have sex with girls in the bathroom. Sato explains that he was trying to sell Samanta a dress and wasn't having sex at all with her. Sato tries to remain calm, but takes a social que from Kume and invites the members of the Chiara-Kai watch as they fight. As they go to the rooftop, Sato extensively beats the man and is pulled away by Kume, who tells him that he is done. Sato receives looks of disappointment from those around him but notices Oyuban watching in the distance. Whilst Sato tries to apologise to Oyuban, he is told that he is no better than a wild beast for putting one of his own brothers in the hospital.
Jake arrives at Hiroto's house, bringing food for Hiroto and his family. Jake talks with Hiroto's wife about how long he will stay in Japan, but he remarks that Japan is his home now and he will not return to the United States. Jake tells Hiroto's children about how admirable their father is and how kind it was of him to allow him to be present during the arrests. Jake and Hiroto talk about the story published by the newspaper, but Jake admits that it was edited rather extensively by Emi, his superior. Following this, Jake presents the matchstick box to Hiroto, and the two talk about the loan shark business that got two men killed. Hiroto regretfully informs Jake that he cannot investigate further as it is Yakuza business and the Tokyo Police Department are forbidden from interfering in Yakuza business. Whilst Hiroto cannot help, he tells Jake that each company gets a registration number and if he digs into the number, he will find the company.
As Jake is leaving Hiroto's house, Hiroto's daughter gives him a file, citing that she removed it from her fathers desk whilst he was working. As a result of this, Jake gets access to the evidence, but Hiroto is not responsible for sharing evidence with a reporter and cannot be punished.
Later that night, Jake walks to the pub to meet with Hasegawa, but witnesses him and some guy in the alleyway being somewhat intimate. When Jake questions him about the guy, Hasegawa tells him that he was alone in the alleyway. Nonetheless, Hasegawa, Jake, and Tin-Tin go to play ball shortly after. They talk about who is behind the loan-shark company, but neither of them are able to think of who could be behind the companies. The game of baseball is interrupted by two Yakuza members who force Jake to get into their car and take a drive with them. When Jake gets into the car, it is revealed that the men work for the Chiara-Kai.
Cast and Characters[edit | edit source]
Main Cast[edit | edit source]
- Ansel Elgort as Jake Adelstein
- Ken Watanabe as Hiroto Katagiri
- Rachel Keller as Samantha
- Hideaki Ito as Jin Miyamoto
- Show Kasamatsu as Sato
- Ella Rumpf as Polina
- Rinko Kikuchi as Emi