I’m back! I don’t have the time to write on my blog nowadays, but seeing that I wanted to talk about what I recently saw, I had to get my thoughts out in the open. This is something that absolutely requires discussion, as well.
So, I recently came across this franchise after a referral from a friend on Facebook. I had no idea what to expect as I try to avoid reality shows like avoiding fire ants. I went through a weird beginning by starting with the latest Opening New Doors and then the first series in the franchise, Boys x Girls Next Door, but had to stop watching both due to complicated reasons. Opening New Doors has only just begun and released on Netflix every two weeks while Netflix itself doesn’t provide the English subtitles with the latest, but whole seasons or parts. Boys x Girls Next Door on the other hand isn’t available on Netflix outside of Japan at all and for some unknown reasons, fan translations have appeared years later. How does such a popular show that got bought by Netflix not have its first season available in other territories and translations appear three seasons later? Nevertheless, I tried to make through all the references to the first season with Opening New Doors and while it is the most entertaining of them all, Boys x Girls Next Door did provide the backdrop of the many encounters to come for following seasons.
Now, while I do want to provide my thoughts on Boys x Girls Next Door first, it is simply not completely translated yet. To make matters worse, Netflix have banned to the use of proxy and VPNs and after trying many popular and fairly obscure VPNs, I could not find a way to stream content – even if I wanted to see it raw. Accessing is possible, but watching or downloading is another matter. So that left me with being forced to watch the second season, Terrace House: Boys & Girls in the City. Now, unlike other reviews that are available on the web, I will only go through each character and what I thought about them with other people they liked or didn’t like as well as in terms of the whole show.
In order of appearance (with nicknames):
Makocchan: Makoto was presumed to have the strongest personality as he was instantly liked by all three of the introductory girls. I suspect because he was the youngest of the males and played baseball in university, each girl liked that he was physically active in a sport that is pretty hard to get good in at a high level. Later we find out, his devotion and desire of urgency to better himself after his failure to make the team was greatly suffering and thus, almost all of the girls lost trust in him before he could even get the chance to properly date any of the girls and to express his love, if he truly had any. He liked Minori the most, but she herself lost trust while the other guys made a move on the girls. This of course led him to leave because there was no reason for him to stay if he couldn’t achieve the goal of the show. I thought he was the most identifiable person at the beginning, but I think fame and the lifestyle of the show took over him and he just didn’t feel like devoting his ‘off-screen’ time to his sport.
Minori: A university student and a part-time model by trade who I guess was instantly liked by male viewers because she was cute and the youngest of the bunch. She liked Makoto the most as I mentioned above and wanted to get to know him better, but Uchi made a move on her following Makoto’s departure. She, too, had similar traits as Makocchan in not devoting enough time or effort towards her modelling career after she quit a part-time job (where she apparently made more money than modelling). I didn’t find her to be the most likeable person among the females, but thought she was a good match for Uchi once they hooked up. She was the least attractive to me, as well (but that’s probably because of her immaturity at times than anything else).
Yuki/Tap: Yuki or Tap, a professional tap dancer, was definitely the most mature male among the group, but had a negative temperament in trying to boost or help the careers or life of Terrace House members. He had good advice for all of them, but his way of showing and articulating the message wasn’t great and this led him to be disliked among the girls, even if one of them found the message to be truthful. I really thought his pairing with Yuriko would happen because she seemed to openly speak about herself with him, but Yuriko’s sudden notice of leave left him high and dry. While I couldn’t relate to him, I liked him the best out of the introductory males. He showed that he had his affairs in order, but just not his love affair.
Mizuki/Barista: Mizuki is one person who I felt sorry for very much before she left. While she liked Uchi, she knew that wouldn’t work because of Minori liking him and Uchi reciprocating those feelings back to Minori. At this Makoto was already gone because of her (Mizuki) lack of trust in him. Tap was never much interested in Mizuki and only after Arman came into the picture, things changed for her. I really wanted Mizuki and Arman to hook up, but Arisa who came following the departure of Yuriko stole Arman away. Mizuki left pretty soon after. Considering Mizuki wasn’t in a high profile career or a student, a relationship with someone was absolutely needed based on the number of episodes of the first season I had seen at this point (61). I also felt she was very much representing the people or salaryman/OL.
Uchi: Amongst all of the males personalities, Uchi was my 2nd least favourite. The MEAT incident solidified my animosity for him. His pairing with Minori definitely was for the best and considering it was the first in this season, it worked out quite well even though they seemed incompatible at times. Uchi’s personality was quite strange as he was never able to get over the incident that led him to just breakdown in tears. At this point, I realized, he was truly the most emotional. Uchi was also identifiable because of his life as a hair stylist. That said, I wouldn’t mind a head massage from him myself.
Yuriko: Yuriko was definitely the cutest and smartest, but she didn’t show much desire to have a relationship with anyone even though she ‘dated’ Tap a couple of times. I personally felt like she was a deceiving person who couldn’t decide what she really wanted and was too engrossed with her career, which I don’t blame her for (studying to become a Doctor is no joke). The news of her former boyfriend not wanting to get back with her after announcing she was going to leave Terrace House because she for sure thought he would get back with her came as a huge surprise. I think it caught her off-guard as well that she decided to leave Terrace House anyway, even though she didn’t need to. I really wanted to see what her life with Tap would have become at Terrace House, but sadly I can only fantasize about this.
Arman:Arman or Ah-man as they like to say. He was the Tetsuya Sugaya of the Boys & Girls in the City season. Ever since he came he didn’t show much desire for anything. Though, to be fair, he didn’t arrive at the best time because there were little to choose from. Minori was already in a relationship, Yuriko had drama and Mizuki was the only one left. All the other guys kind of forced him to get along with Mizuki. His life outside of a relationship was pretty bleak too. He didn’t show much desire for working, working out or asking any of the girls on friendly outings for dinner or sightseeing considering he was pretty new to the country. For someone that is a half-Japanese, he spoke quite fast – probably caught many off-guard. When he finally did show desire to ask Mizuki to see her character, Arisa who was fresh off the boat caught her eyes on fresh meat. I liked Arman a lot. In many ways he was the opposite of Tetsuya Sugaya. He truly knew how to get his feelings across, although in an unorthodox manner. A very western approach that didn’t give much confidence in the girls he liked to reciprocate the feelings back to him. He was also the first POC to appear on the show. Everybody up until that point had been Japanese or half-Japanese with a western or Asian background. As a POC myself, I was relating to him a lot, but I sometimes wanted him to do more – like learn something new to please a girl.
Arisa: The workaholic who initially showed strong desire for Arman at the expense of Mizuki. If Terrace House was a dramatic show, Arisa would be the star. She took him in circles not reciprocating his like for her and didn’t answer until much later that she didn’t like him in a relationship point of view. Something tells me she was a gold-digger as well. Her value in men might have been a figure in the realm of Han-san. Someone like her that had a good educational background with a stable job or potential to a great job and able to satisfy her needs. She obviously liked Arman for his personality, charms and body, but nothing more. I think Arman lazing around and not focusing on work or anything in particular didn’t help his cause with Arisa. But then again, at the very first encounter I knew Arisa was cunning like Yuriko. Arisa holding Arman’s hands was weird during their trail date. Even friends don’t do that unless they are really close, like childhood friends. I was confused by that and still am to this day. Nevertheless, Arisa like Mizuki is a beautiful career woman.
Hikaru: From the very outset, Hikaru wasn’t a person I liked because of his young age and playboy-type nature. I was pretty bemused when he said he was a model AND construction worker. You never see those things together anywhere. Why was he a construction worker when he has the chops to being great as a model? Was it to justify or say he is able to fit in with the hardest type of workers in Japan? I thought he was very much narcissistic. He also didn’t show much desire to get into a relationship even though he said most of his relationships in the part were with older women (he could have got together with Nacchan as she came at the same time). I’m curious to know why this was the case. Did each of those women date this young boy to please their inner desires? I think he was very much their boy-toy, as they say. He probably accepted that too. Misaki was the only girl that showed any interest in him later on. And I don’t know what she saw in him, but Hikaru played her to the point of rejecting her with some pretty hurtful comments. Had it not been for Uchi’s MEAT incident, Hikaru would have been my 2nd least liked person in the show. What I liked about him the most is that he never got on the toes of the other male members and their interests. He created a great relationship with Arman that both are good friends to this day.
Nacchan: Well, well, well… Now I’ve come to the Oni. Nacchan never seemed to get along with two of the three girls she met in her time there. First it was Minori and then it was Misaki. She couldn’t understand the relationship between Minori and Uchi and the unorthodox dynamic they had and then with Misaki when she (Misaki) just came back from Hikaru’s rejection and getting angry about being drunk. Nacchan clearly didn’t consider the feelings of Minori and Misaki, respectively, in those situations. She frequently got into arguments and was quite selfish by only thinking about herself. The commentators thought she had a case of split personality (named Fuyumi), too – like there was a darker side to her. She, too, like Hikaru was a model, but judging by her shoots, a sports (golf) model. Obviously, she was my least liked person in the whole show, but I did find her attractive at times. Her Kansai accent was probably because of it. I think she’s a very likeable character in general, but not among girls unknown people she doesn’t know very well in complicated or ‘trying to get into’ relationships.
Misaki: Misaki Tamori. The most genuine female character in the show. She didn’t fall into any particular social or stereotypical bracket such as being a girly-type (i.e. Minori) or smart (i.e. Mizuki) or a workaholic (i.e. Arisa). Misaki had a very innocent charm and humourous at times with her silly antics. On her arrival, she mentioned that she was an entertainer, but didn’t say anything more about that. I was a bit perplexed why. We later see that she was part of an idol group of some kind. Her confession to Hikaru didn’t end well, nor her relationship with Nacchan. Though, like Arman, she stayed for the remaining weeks and did redeem herself with Yuuki who appreciated her for herself. To be honest, I fell in love with Misaki on first sight. Of course, I liked other female characters on the show like Mizuki, but Misaki seemed the most genuine and there was an auro to her that seemed to show she was revealing her true self – like she wasn’t hiding anything like Rikopin and Hayato did.
Han-san: At his time of arrival, Han-san was the oldest and certainly the most mature in the entire series. He showed an adult perspective towards relationships, helping to resolve critical situations and willingness to assist in anything that anybody needed. That said, considering he was already in a relationship prior to his arrival, it was certain he wouldn’t pursue one at Terrace House, albeit Nacchan almost has a fishing date with him. Career-wise, he and I share similarities and I completely understand his goals on that front. Han-san was a supportive member that was needed in the show and one of my favourites. Recently, I found out that Han-san along with Hikaru and Arman hang with each other (following the show’s end). It’s good to have a companion like Han-san among their midst.
Rikopin: An aspiring young high school student that wants to break into the modelling or rather gravure modelling industry. I always felt she was a misfit character as she was one of the youngest and even though Hikaru was present when she arrived, Hikaru didn’t show any desire for someone the same age as him (following his rejection of Misaki). Rikopin didn’t show any desire for anyone either and it almost seemed to be that she went on the show just to advertise herself for her career. Her mother was even present multiple times which more or less solidified that notion. Whether or not it was genuine, she cried after her bikini shoots, perhaps because it was completely new to her and because it was embarrassing. I was completely taken by surprise to learn that she was with Hayato in a ‘friends with benefits’ type of role. She clearly didn’t feel much for Hayato considering the age difference, but somehow still wanted to experience life. I feel like Hayato would have been better off with Rikopin’s mother.
Momo-chan: Speaking of misfit, Momo-chan had one of the shortest stay in the entire show. A ballerina by trade who not only didn’t stay long, but didn’t show any desire to date anyone. Of course, considering she didn’t attend high school and had been into ballet her entire life, that is the only thing she is good at and should focus on. I also felt the only type of person that could be good for her or rather that she desires is someone that could take the lead, has a great personality and able to be independent. At the time of her arrival, the only options she had were Han-san, Hayato and Arman. Two of which were quite older than her and one of them already having an existing relationship. Hayato wasn’t available either because he liked Rikopin early on. Arman, on the other hand, didn’t show any desire for Momo-chan. I’m not sure what the producers thought introducing her in the show.
Hayato-kun: Hayato, a chef apprentice that arrived following the departure of Hikaru. As the oldest, Hayato quickly became a mysterious personnel amongst the Terrace House members. He felt drawn to Rikopin as soon as he arrived and went on multiple dates with her. What we as viewers didn’t know was behind the scenes while cameras were not running, Rikopin and Hayato had an illicit relationship while trying to show viewers while the cameras were on that they were friends, but not a couple largely due to the age difference. As Rikopin was entering the gravure modelling industry, she didn’t want to tarnish it with a scandal. Likewise, Hayato thought he would get away with his ‘friends with benefits’ relationship. Both Yuuki and Arman spilled the beans on this matter. In the end, he still felt the desire to be with Rikopin, but she didn’t feel like that at the end.
Yuuki: A half-Japanese and American hip hop dancer who became the only and most suitable counterpart for Misaki. There is a bit of a slow build-up concering Yuuki’s desire for a driver’s license and wanting to drive Misaki for a date, but once that is resolved and Yuuki does get his driver’s license, things most pretty smoothly. The best part of Yuuki’s charm was to reciprocate his likeness for Misaki at Yokohama, the place where she was rejected by Hikaru. It added a lot for his character because there isn’t much available about him. He too, like Misaki, is not available anywhere on social media, nowadays.
Martha: The saviour of Arman during this Terrace House series. Not much was revealed about Martha beside beings half-Japanese and Filipino as well as a model. Arman instantly liked her and Martha reciprocated those feelings once she understood like Arman really did like her. They quickly became a couple and the rest was history as they are still a couple to this day, apparently. I was relieved Arman finally found someone that wanted to be with him just as much as he wanted to be with that person, despite his shortcomings or faults. Of course, it wasn’t drama free as Martha did like Hayato initially, but Hayato quickly turned her down. What I loved during this series was the closeness of Arman and Martha brought together from an skateboarding accident – Martha genuinely showed sorriness and desire to care. Nonetheless, thanks to Martha, Arman successfully showed his differentiating factor versus Tetsuya.
Footnotes: I recently read Mizuki was asked to be on the show while the rest of the introductory members had to audition. I don’t know how I feel about this, honestly. The show claims to be script-free, but these moments somewhat make me question the motives of the creators. Obviously, a high degree of people that are auditioning are people who are trying to break into the entertainment industry – whether that be modelling or acting. I also wonder how many non-pretty people audition for the show, because every single person from all the episodes of the first two seasons I have seen to this point seem to be perfect behind a camera with or without makeup. Their choice of fashion or clothes gives that away too (though in the big picture, I think this part is very much scripted). We have yet to see a fat or plus-size women or man in the show – and while I do know these type of people are not very common among the broader demographic of the Japanese population, I would nevertheless like to see one (I am aware Aloha State had one – but that is another discussion to be had once I’m done with it).
I also read that Misaki‘s home was once raided by television crew to get a glimpse of her messy lifestyle after she mentioned she didn’t like cleaning. Video evidence of her apartment showed her apartment being like a very big messy storage house. I don’t know if that was the cause of Hikaru not liking per in the end, but that sort of thing shouldn’t really be the judge of someone’s personality or attitude towards others. Personally, I feel like Misaki and I share similarities on this ground. This fact (of her being messy) made me like her even more. That said, I am strangely confused why a character like Misaki appeared on the show in the first place. I was somewhat taken by surprise when I read she is part of a musical group named Ebisu Muscats who are primarily made up of former or present gravure idols and AV idols. I understand Japan is very much accepting of gravure idols in entertainment, but Adult Video idols? Now I know Misaki is not one (as far as I am aware at this point in time – she isn’t a gravure idol either – so she could very much later be in the AV business), but I feel bringing people related to the porn industry diminishes the authenticity and innocent nature of the show, especially after it was bought by Netflix who desired to bring the show globally and that sort of thing doesn’t fly very well in certain countries like the US and Canada.
alchemist11 