“Smoking (2018)” is a noir drama series that takes place in the underbelly of Tokyo. The main concept of this series is a group of four guys who are hitmen hired to assassinate targets that the people hiring them believe has escaped justice. These are not your run-of-the-mill assassins; they strike brutal poignancy, using grotesque and abnormal means to dispense justice of their own design.
We are introduced to the group’s leader, Hiroshi, aka “The Artist.” Hiroshi is careful and calculating, frequently concocting the intricate schemes for their jobs. His backstory is that of a man marked by personal tragedy, which shapes his sense of justice.
And the second member is Satoshi, a retired boxer whose strength and fighting skills make him the group’s muscle. In Satoshi's past, he's fallen from grace in the boxing world and turned to a life of crime.
The other member is Shinta, aka "The Surgeon." Here, Shinta is a disgraced physician stripped of his license because of malpractice. His medical expertise is critical to the squad’s operations, and many of the targets it pursues require “special treatment.”
Finally, there is Ken, the youngest of the four. Ken’s yakuza past gives him an advantage in moving in the criminal underworld. His nimbleness and street smarts are invaluable.
During its run, the group has to take on different jobs and each episode is sort of a new target with the prep of doing the hit. The story explores the moral grayness of what they do, and often characterizes their victims as people who have done terrible things but escaped legal punishment.
Character Details:
Hiroshi "The Artist":
- Role: Leader of the hitmen group.
- Background: Hiroshi is a very detail-oriented, and his tragic backstory is also wrapped into his personality. He lost his family to violent crime, which motivates his quest for justice.
- Skills: Strategic planning, artistic methods of execution.
- Personality: Calm, calculated, and deeply scarred by his past.
Satoshi:
- Role: Muscle of the group.
- Background: Professional boxer who pursued a life of crime after being barred from boxing for engaging in illegal activities
- Skills: Hand-to-hand combat, intimidation.
- Personality: Rough, loyal, and haunted by his lost career.
Shinta "The Surgeon":
- Role: Medic and torturer.
- Background:
- A fallen physician whose medical license was revoked for gross malpractice, Shinta applies his medical knowledge to their heists.
- Skills: Medical knowledge, torture techniques.
- Personality: Detached, methodical, and cold.
Ken:
- Role: Street-smart yakuza member.
- Background: The youngest member with a history in the yakuza, providing him with valuable underworld connections.
- Skills: Agility, espionage, negotiation within the criminal underworld.
- Personality: Quick-witted, resourceful, and eager to prove himself.
The show has a dark and intense tone that delves into themes of justice, revenge, and the murky areas between what is right and what is wrong. The specifics of each character’s past gradually unfold, enriching and complicating their motivations and behaviors. Alongside following their missions, this series also explores their lives outside of work, their hardships and the toll their violent job takes on them.
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