TERRACE HOUSE TOKYO 2019-2020 PART ONE: A Pleasant Japanese Journey With A Few Surprises

Terrace House is a popular Japanese reality show, where six strangers (always three girls and three boys) are provided with a luxurious house and two high-end cars. They still go about their lives and pursue their careers, but they must reside in the Terrace House. Along with the house members, the show provides breaks throughout each episode where a panel of commentators discuss the happenings and the relationships within the show in a humorous way.

The show plays on Netflix both on a weekly basis in Japan and then in 12 episode blocks every few months in the U.S. The current season is called Terrace House Tokyo 2019-2020 – cashing in on the upcoming Olympics, no doubt. As of right now, Part One is available on American Netflix and Part Two has become available on December 24th. Let’s look back on Part One and all of it’s “tanoshii-eikō”, or pleasant glory.

The show itself is the definition of a “slow burn,” and a good chunk of the first few episodes is always spent introducing viewers to the new members as they politely introduce themselves to each other in their new surroundings. For this season, we start off with:

• Kaori, 28, an illustrator
• Haruka, 24, an actress and model
• Risako, 21, a fitness trainer and parkour enthusiast
• Shohei, 25, a model in Taiwan and an occasional actor in Japan
• Kenji, or “Kenny”, 31, a musician and vocalist for the band SPiCYSOL
• Ruka, 20, a part-time fashion retail worker

Terrace House wouldn’t be Terrace House with its prestigious panel and this season we have the return of our studio commentary titans:

• Azusa “Baba-chan” Babazono
• Yoshimi Tokui
• You
• Reina “Tori-chan” Triendl
• Shono “Sho-chan” Hayama
• Ryota “Yama-chan” Yamasato

They are a group of actors and comedians who each give their own unique perspective and hilarious, sometimes raunchy, observations, particularly Yama-chan and his sweetly venomous way of taking any seemingly innocent situation and turning it rotten for laughs. Their contribution to the show is deeply important and a nice change from produced confessionals with talking heads that occur on other reality shows.

The panel isn’t the only departure from the reality TV most people are used to; it is still set in Japan and culturally, Japanese people like to keep personal things personal. I’ve lived in rural Japan for two-and-a-half years now and I cannot tell you how many times I’ve learned about my Japanese friends’ pregnancies, births, engagements, wedding ceremonies, and job changes way, way after the fact.

It’s just how things are, so when Shohei responds to Kenny with, “so you’re prepared to showcase the process to get there,” and laughter follows, you should know that there’s a lot in this show that we won’t see, be it by the editor’s design or the house members’.

Everyone’s Journey

Haruka

The person we come to know the most is undoubtedly Haruka. She’s a professional actress and she knows how to work the camera – every little reaction and emotion she has is evident all over her face and the editors must love her. The camera spends the most time with her and we learn that she loves to drag race with her 2007 Chevy Corvette, she likes to play golf; she generally only hangs out with older men, and she has a tendency to “covet” the things she can’t have, i.e., other people’s crushes. Because of this last bit, she is usually the one at the center of the drama.

When she first arrived, Haruka said that her motivation for coming to Terrace House was to study the people around her for future acting roles, but throughout Part One she has found that she was in fact pushing people away. All of her crushes and potential partners have led to dead-ends, and she’s realized that she’s actually a very self-centered person.

Looking forward: Will Haruka grow and become more sociable in Part Two?

Risako

Cute, petite, and ready to do a backflip off of a wall, Risako is another one of the big personalities in the house. Like Haruka, she is very straightforward and honest, but this gets her in trouble sometimes…with Haruka. In what the panelists call “the most intense fight” in Terrace House history, the two argue over Risako blurting out Haruka’s feelings for Kenny, right in front of Kenny. Their fight had been a long time coming due to their general misunderstanding of each other and, from day one, the two have been interested in the same men.

First, they both had their eyes on Ruka until Risako realized that Ruka and her were better as best friends, and then as soon as Risako began to show interest in Kenny, Haruka quickly followed suit. This came to a climax with their fight in Week Nine (on the episode aptly named “Girlfight”) as well as when Kenny ultimately turned Haruka down. Things were going well for Risako, but she became impatient with Kenny’s lack of commitment to anything substantial. By the time he finally tells her his true feelings in Week Twelve (“Always Chillin’”), she’s unsure of how to respond.

Looking forward: The very last shot of Part One is Risako contemplating her own feelings for the elusive Kenny – does Risako reciprocate his feelings?

Kenny

Due to being caught in the middle of Risako and Haruka’s rivalry, Kenny also gets a lot of screen time. Now, whether or not he deserves it is another matter. To put it frankly, Kenny isn’t well-liked throughout Part One, especially with the panel. On the first day, the housemates speculate over how fake and closed-off he seems. He then eventually graduates to “boring” by some of the girls, and is then dubbed “shallow” and “aloof” by the panelists.

It takes a very long time for Kenny to give a real opinion on anything, and when he finally does, we find out he lacks basic empathy for the others in the house (something he has in common with Haruka). This is most apparent in the wake of Risako and Haruka’s fight when Risako leaves the house to party her frustrations away in the city.

Kenny doesn’t even bat an eye when Ruka becomes worried and says that it’s too dangerous for her to be out by herself. Despite Japan being a fairly safe country, it’s still shocking to see a 31-year-old man not even think to accompany his young female friend when she goes out alone into the night.

Despite his faults, Risako still likes him, and Kenny decides to create a romantic setting for the two of them up on the roof – complete with candles, a movie, and a hammock for them to share. But then he doesn’t make any kind of move, like literally nothing. Even by Terrace House standards, a show with very little making-out and only the mention of possible sex, this is just unacceptable prudish-ness.

After many weeks and a deep dive into the Terrace House online forums, Kenny finally gets the hint and realizes how fake and detached he comes across on the show. He tells Shohei that he likes Risako because “it’s not cool to be wishy-washy,” and he confesses his true feelings to her in the Playroom, hours after serenading her by pool. It’s a complete 180 degree turn from his behavior throughout the entirety of Part One and it’s all a little suspicious.

Looking forward: Can Kenny redeem himself in Part Two?

Ruka

We have Kenny who decides to better himself as soon as he reads the comments, and then we have Ruka. Sweet, bashful, dumb Ruka. Despite being extremely handsome and having all of the girls initially fawn over him, his tenure throughout Part One is eventually relegated to the”little brother” of the house, and there’s hesitation from the other girls to pursue anything further with him.

But you know what, who cares? Ruka is a deeply caring person, and he’s really the only one in the house who actively makes an effort to change himself for the better, like when he made that horrifying Broccoli Pasta with no flavor. He was trying to show everyone that he can take care of himself, despite dropping a raw egg in with the boiling pasta which would then disappear down the drain.

Being at Terrace House doesn’t mean that you need to find someone to fall in love with; it means that you create a goal for yourself and try to become a more evolved version of yourself. In this regard, Ruka is doing just fine.

However, he does want to find a girlfriend, and towards the end of Part One, Ruka finds himself wanting to get to know Kaori. He takes initiative and asks her to help him buy art “tools” so he can learn to draw. He means to say “materials” but gets so nervous that he ends up saying the wrong word – something everyone on the panel, save Tori-chan – makes fun of him for. It’s not exactly a date-date but he is doing what he can.

Looking forward: Will Ruka make enough strides in Part Two and find a girlfriend?

Kaori

Quiet and professional, Kaori puts all of her focus on her career, something that many Japanese 20-somethings can identify with. At 28, Kaori is the second-oldest and we learn that she put a corporate job behind her to become a freelance illustrator. For the majority of the early episodes, her presence in the house is almost always in the background due to only going on a handful of dates, and because Haruka takes full advantage of her affable nature. Kaori is always the one listening but doesn’t feel that she can really speak up unless she is trying to help someone with their career goals, as she is someone who takes her work very seriously.

It isn’t until Week 11 that we see real vulnerability in Kaori as she confesses to most of the housemates that she feels like a fraud, having not gone to art school. She even tells of reaching out to a former professor and being crushed by their opinion that her drawing abilities are weak. She later tells Kenny that she wants to eventually move past being an illustrator and become an artist with canvases; she then realizes that she has to change her mindset when it comes to her work if she wants to achieve this.

Looking forward: For the most part, her storyline is very subdued, but will things heat up for her as the show goes on? Is she still into Shohei?

Shohei

Overall, Shohei is probably the MVP of Part One of Terrace House Tokyo 2019-2020. He gets along with everyone, he gives great advice, he is very level-headed, and he starred in a softcore “pink film” which we lucky Terrace House viewers got to view in all of its bare-breasted glory – a detail that goes almost completely unnoticed by the rest of the house and the panelists.

Despite Shohei’s overall charm and appeal, he has certain work philosophies that clash with others in the house. His description for the show is “actor,” but he has numerous interests that keep him preoccupied. Along with acting, he was a model in Taiwan, he works on interiors, builds things, has helped a friend make a video, writes lyrics, and is even writing a novel. He says that he gets anxious when he has nothing to do and that he tries to give equal time to each of his crafts; he feels trapped when he thinks of working in one field for the rest of his life and doesn’t understand people who can focus on one career.

For the Second Week’s episode “The Tempura Incident,” Shohei hashes it out with Haruka (that girl is always in the drama) and even Kaori, over his perspective on work. It’s odd for an argument to happen so quickly in a Terrace House season but then again, Haruka wasn’t on the show in previous seasons. In the end, the debate comes down to difference of opinion over the phrase, “jack of all trades, master of none” and the enveloping significance in Japanese culture to find a career and become a hard-working success.

Shohei believes that people (he) can excel at multiple things, and doesn’t need to be nailed down to one profession, while the others do not. Kaori brings up society’s expectations which cements her and Haruka’s opinion. And it makes complete sense; in the Japanese school system, if you want to go to high school, you have to think far ahead to your future, decide which school will help you get there, and then you have to score well on your entrance exams in order to get into said school. Students as young as 13 have to really consider their future careers and their path towards it. Shohei simply rejects this way of living, and it causes a lot of discussions throughout Part One.

Along with everyone else’s issues over his life choices, Shohei just doesn’t really seem interested in dating. Sure he asks out Kaori on the very first day, and they go on a few dates, but nothing is really pursued beyond that. There are hints here and there over their interest in each other but nothing comes to fruition. The show is a slow burn, but perhaps the slowest, most agonizing burn is not knowing where these two stand.

Looking forward: Does Shohei have feelings for Kaori? Will he attempt to pursue anyone else in the house?

In Conclusion: Terrace House Tokyo Part One

During the long break between Parts One and Two, there are many questions about each and every member that simmers and bubbles; some of them will be answered in full and others will cool down. Looking forward to Part Two means that Terrace House will undoubtedly introduce new housemates, as original housemates tend to start leaving the show between Week Ten and Week Twenty, having often reached their personal, professional, or relationship goals.

So far, this season of Terrace House has had a mixed bag, and it really doesn’t seem like anyone is close to accomplishing their stated goals. Luckily, if the ghosts of Part Twos of Terrace House past have told us anything, it’s that things will go from a simmer to a medium-low boil, and who knows? This season has been full of surprises — perhaps the best ones are still to come.

What do you enjoy about Terrace House Tokyo 2019-2020 so far?

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Watch Terrace House: Tokyo 2019-2020