From Love Island to The Bachelor, reality dating shows are a source of entertainment that support us through heartbreak or serve as a backdrop during a girls’ night. Streaming platforms like Netflix keep coming up with bizarre new twists on the same basic concept of televising attractive people falling in love because it’s just so damn entertaining. Japanese dating shows have gotten a lot of hype ever since Terrace House became a global phenomenon, and they’re usually more family-friendly and don’t hypersexualize their contestants as much as their western counterparts.
Here’s a list of some of Netflix’s finest dating show offerings for your next binge fest.
Terrace House
This one goes without saying. You can’t call yourself a fan of Japanese reality TV without having watched at least one season of Terrace House, of which there are many to choose from. The show’s premise is delightfully mundane. It follows the lives of three men and three women who live together in a gorgeous house. Though not strictly a dating show, there is certainly plenty of romance. Also, despite the fact that the program is generally fairly calm and undramatic due to it not having a competitive angle, the concept works. Things did eventually get heated in the final season and, tragically, Hana Kimura took her own life, leading to the show being canceled.
REA(L)OVE
Real Love (stylized as REA(L)OVE) is a rather raunchy dating show with a pretty intense twist: all 18 contestants have a deep, dark secret that gets revealed at the most inopportune moments, like right in the middle of a romantic date. The secrets range from heavy debt to sex work, and the MCs can be quite mean to the contestants. The show doesn’t flinch away from taboo subjects, and it makes for a dramatic watch with a surprisingly uplifting moral takeaway.
Boyfriend. (L to R) Shun, Kazuto Kasahara, Usak, Ryota, Kim Taehon, Dai Nakai, Alan, Gensei in Boyfriend. Cr. Courtesy of Netflix © 2024
The Boyfriend
Being an openly gay dating show in a country that’s not considered very progressive about LGBTQ+ rights, The Boyfriend caused a stir as soon as it was released. From fan-favorite couple Dai and Shun’s many arguments, to go-go dancer Usak’s infamous boiled chicken smoothie, The Boyfriend is full of buzz-worthy moments and sheds a positive light on queerness in Japan.
Ainori
Ainori is a dating show that originally aired on Fuji TV in 1999. It was revived in recent years and brought to Netflix. The title, which translates to “love ride,” is quite literal; a group of young men and women hop aboard a bright pink van that takes them around foreign countries. Contestants can confess their love to a fellow participant, and if that person responds with a kiss, the two receive flight tickets back to Japan where they can continue their relationship. However, if that person isn’t keen, the jilted participant must return home alone.
Love is Blind: Japan
Love is Blind is a dating show that asks whether people can fall in love without ever seeing each other. Contestants date each other in walled “pods,” get engaged, live together and walk down the aisle, all in the span of four weeks. An internationally popular show, it has been produced in 11 territories around the world, and Japan got its own version in 2022. Though not as popular as some of its counterparts, Love is Blind: Japan is sincere and wholesome, with beautiful set designs that lean into Japanese aesthetics.
Love Village
In a world of dating shows chock-full of gorgeous people in their 20s, Love Village (Japanese title: “Ai no Sato”) provides a refreshing change. The show has a cast of 16 singles aged 35 years and up, living together in the mountains to find “the last love of their lives.” It is an age-positive and wholesome take on reality TV that casts a light on the realities of dating later in life.
Is She the Wolf?
Another exciting new take on dating shows, Is she the Wolf? features 10 singles, but one of the contestants is a “wolf.” The “wolf” is a saboteur prohibited from falling in love. It’s a binge-worthy show with shocking twists. The program exemplifies how dating and love can be risky, but worth it for the right person.
