Japanese reality TV shows: more addictive than sugar

Japanese reality TV shows: more addictive than sugar

Sunday, September 22, 2019 / No Comments

In the last few years, Netflix has introduced us to Japanese reality TV. And we gobble. it. up. I grew up watching reality TV like The Real World and Jersey Shore (don't judge me). I still love these shows to be honest, I love drama. Unlike these shows, Japanese reality TV shows aren't all 'out there' in the drama department. The fights are way more subtle, the yelling and physicality is much less. So when it does occurs, it leaves audiences shocked. As desensitised as I have gotten to fights and yelling and hurling insults to one and another watching Western reality TV shows, I did not really expect this Japanese slow-paced-quiet-life to be this addictive. The quiet, soft, between the lines kind of conflict that was happening on my screen had me GLUED onto the screen. Let me walk you through some of the shows I have been binging and waiting for new seasons to come out, like a dog waiting for its owner to return home after a long, long day.

Terrace House

First of all, who doesn't know about Terrace House nowadays? The Japanese reality TV show similar to other Reality TV like Big Brother, The Real World, or Jersey Shore, an unscripted show where 6 strangers live together whom are carefully cherrypicked models or mixed so there are never ugly people in the house. Three women and three men where the women and men sleep separately in two different rooms and live in houses I could only dream of living in. So we basically just follow their lives, and they may or may not fall in love with each other.

Oh maaan, I wish I was young and pretty so I could join this show.

I started watching Terrace house from Terrace House: Boys & Girls in the City, because this is the one that Netflix started showing. This stuff was like, what's going on. Is there even anything happening on my screen? And then quickly escalated to OH MY GOD did you see what -insert super subtle movement of someone- did? And how -insert very subtle and normal toned comment of the other person- reacted?? I CAN'T BELIEVE IT. Most people would go like, whut. There's nothing going on, they're just talking. But to some people who know the Japanese culture a bit better, some of these 'normal conversations' are full-blown conflicts. And when they DO have actual conflicts that are more obvious, shit has hit the fan and splattered on everyone in the room already. Enjoy that mental image.

If looks could kill.

Tears will flow: from people leaving the house kind of sadness to getting dumped.

I am such a fan-girl I even went to Karuizawa last April and took a picture in front of the house. 


Fangirling SO hard, I NEEDED to go to Sasa (Tsubasa's dad's soba place) and try the soba there! I even saw him work there.

 The interior was very (old-style) Japanese.

The soba was actually quite nice!

They just made me hungry man.. Every date you have, every bite you eat, I'll be watching you. Am I sounding creepy yet?

Currently I have just finished Part 1 of Terrace House: Tokyo 2019-2020. I wonder if the Olympics are going to be a big part of this next year! Will there be anyone that will compete in the Olympics joining the house? Won't they be too busy training? All these questions!

Ainori (Love Wagon)

Less well-known, Ainori (Love Wagon) is a dating show taking four guys and three girls on a trip in a van throughout the world. During this time they get to know each other and if they like someone they can get a 'ticket' from the Love Wagon driver to go home together. Then they confess to the person they like and ask if they want to go back to Japan together (and continue their relationship). The next day the person that was confessed to gives her/his answer and either continue on Ainori or go home together. This show started in 1999 and was already popular in Japan, it was even picked up in Vietnam with their own version! Some of the couples even got married and have kids now. Netflix took it internationally and we are glad they did!

The newer season started in South-East Asia and during season two we got all the way to Central Asia. This newer version of Ainori includes some colourful characters to say the least..

Depparin is a young lady from Fukuoka (shout out to Fukuoka where I studied!) with a very ... colourful character. She is not your standard nod and smile type of girl. She will state her opinion and fight you for it. This woman stole my heart in season 1. Whenever she gets angry, her Hakata dialect comes out in full force. I enjoyed this the most honestly, she made the drama but some of it was fair. You can feel how she challenges the stifling side of Japanese culture by calling the others out when they stick to the rules a bit too strictly. This straight forward woman who dropped out of school challenges the restrictive Japanese standards in this show.  

SPOILER      


In season 2, it felt a bit like they were milking her enormous popularity.

Oh oh, Shyboy.. How I love you so. You are not shy at all, singing in front of a radio audience like that with your own songs. Doing what you like. You are the most adorable, sweetest virgin boy out there. And boy, DID they focus on him never having even kissed a girl before. I think they just chose him to be a funny character on the show. Who would have thought the audience would be rooting the hardest for this underdog, this man that follows his heart and stays true to his ideals even though so many people might have mocked him up until now.

Never scared of showing your emotions. You precious, precious man.

How they show which character is interested in whom. Depparin's arrows were always all over the place, this girl liked a guy within 10 seconds! And then changed her mind in the next 10 secs.

Some of the characters are very memorable on this show. Some are not memorable, but as time passes we get to know them better and they touch our hearts as well. I definitely had to wipe away a tear here and there, tears of sadness as well as pure joy.

 These two made me bawl my eyes out.

Oh man, the most tense confession in season 1 imho.

I love this show, and a new season is out now! Can't wait to binge Ainori: African Journey soon! I first need to wait for the whole season to come out. Patience, where art thou.. 

The Bachelor Japan

Pretty well known over the world, The Bachelor is about a group of women competing for one guy (usually rich or something). I never watched this show before, and I started with season 3 of the Japanese version. This bachelor is a 31 year old dentist who likes fancy cars and golf (talk about stereotypical rich men..). All these golddiggers women compete to be the one he proposes to in the end. This guy is serious, he has a specially made ring ready and everything, boi's not playing around.

I feel like the show is making fun of itself with this one though. It's really milking this rivalry between women and bitchiness thing.

These are the main Japanese reality shows I am addicted to now, any others I should watch? Leave your recommendations in the comments! Please do tho, I don't have a life. I need this as life-support, for real.

Studio commentators: ode to Yama-chan

What I really like about these Japanese reality shows is that they have commentators. Usually a panel of commentators consisting of singers, comedians, actors and etc (aka famous people) sit and discuss what's going on in each show. Usually they start with what happened last time, and then halfway through discuss what had happened up until then, and in the end somewhere another reaction moment. I love how we can have a breather to digest what has happened and to discuss what could happen. It's kind of anthropological research in a way.

 These are the core commentators except for the guy 2nd from the right. There is one young actor like him which changed up until now, but the last few seasons the actor stayed the same.

 Sometimes they even have guests.

The commentators from Ainori, which except for Becky has changed a lot as well. I didn't start African Journey, it hasn't come to SG yet but we watch it with VPN anyway so amirite?

The Bachelor Japan commentators: I like the lady on the right. She was a former AKB48 from what I heard (correct me if I'm wrong) but unlike the 'pristine' image of that group, this lady is haaarsh and we love it of course.

My favourite commentator of all, is Yama-chan from Terrace House. Ryota Yamasato is a comedian who gives the sharpest and funniest comebacks. I love how he has no filter, at all. He thrives off the chaos and drama. Like me! Every time I watch an episode with my friends, I make a comment about something that happens. And then during the commenting he says the EXACT SAME THING. Too bad he's already married, totes soulmate material heh. 

All in all, I love that we get a glimpse into these Japanese people's lives. It's a tad bit very voyeuristic, but hey, I don't have a life. And it is so, so entertaining. Well then, let's open up another bag of chips and the next episode is in 5... 4... 3... 2...1...

~Written by Devi~

Re-watching your past fav anime: Yay or Nay?

Re-watching your past fav anime: Yay or Nay?

Sunday, September 8, 2019 / No Comments

Lately I have been reminiscing about my favourite animes from when I was a teenager. This started when CC Sakura was finally getting a follow-up season a few years back. I watched it when I was in elementary school and thought to myself, I loved it back then, let's see if I still like it. I rewatched everything and I still loved it! I felt so nostalgic the whole time, I felt 12 again! Not much has changed though in 2 decades, I am still a child.

Neon Genesis Evangelion is an anime I thought was brilliant. I watched it when I was around 14 years old. It came out on Netflix this year and I thought, YES ok let's rewatch this. I am a person that doesn't like rewatching stuff that much, unless it is ab-so-lutely brilliant (I have rewatched Akira and Kung Fury for like a gazillion times). Well, Neon Genesis was mind-blowing when I was 14, it would probably still deliver almost 2 decades later, right? After starting the first couple of episodes, I was frankly quite bored. Even though the music gave me chills again like it did back then (that opening will forever be a classic). And the fight-scene music is also impressive still.

The fights were still good, and I still liked the animation. Reaching the end the story got a little bit more exciting, but then the whole psychology shit I was really confused by back then, didn't really deliver. I just saw a bunch of confused young teens. Also, there were some changes, such as the ending theme. Where is my 'fly me to the moon'?? And some of the translations just made me lose my focus as I was bothered too much about how it was translated. Maybe this version kind of made me feel like the old feeling was 'lost' to me?

After the series there were, of course, the movies. I was so. incredibly. bored. I don't know what happened to me! Why did I think it was so brilliant the first time? Was it my own psychological state that was close to these teenagers being the same age and all? If that's the case, it would mean I probably had more tolerance against such behaviour. Was it the difference in 'feeling' such as ending theme and translation issues that I had? Was I getting distracted by insignificant things that turned out to be very significant to my memory of it? It didn't feel as nostalgic and 'authentic' to me anymore, somehow. 

I got this uneasy feeling. What if I 'grew out' of other anime as well? I wanted to remember them fondly and not have it shattered the way it did with NGE. There was one anime that was on my list that I didn't remember quite well but was curious about revisiting: Scrapped Princess. 

I thought this anime had everything and a really good story: magic, mecha, technology, dystopia, friendship, amazing characters and just a good plot to work with. The plot was simple: Pacifica is a girl that is the 'scrapped princess': it has been foretold that on her 16th birthday she would 'end the world'. So the government, church, royalties, knights, common people, 'wizards' and whatever you can imagine are after her. She doesn't have powers but she has a big brother that's an amazing fighter, and a sister that is good at magic (and is also my favourite character).  Although annoyed by Pacifica's behavior, I really enjoyed rewatching it! I even remember being annoyed with her voice/behavior when I watched it the first time. It's interesting to revisit these same exact emotions and feelings I had watching it the first time. I guess in my core, I do like the same things. I guess I don't like it when it changes, even in the slightest like music or translation.

Watching these 'revamp' shows kind of made me feel differently about things. I never watched the Hellsing one. Now, after more than a decade, I am in the middle of watching it. It's not as good as the first time. I don't like the animation style but I still like Alucard. Hunter x Hunter is still good, story wise. However, I liked the older version's animation style better. Watching all of these just made me realise: I really like the old, 'darker' style of animation of the 90's. It really gives these shows a better feeling and delivers on the darkness. I also feel like the literal blood, sweat, and tears of still drawing a lot really translates to a more authentic feel (instead of a lot of CGI/3D). This is the reason I never watched the newer version of Berserk: I loved the old one so much, I don't want to spoil my memory. In the case of Full Metal Alchemist vs FMA Brotherhood, because I already knew the sad parts, it didn't deliver the same as it did watching it for the first time (you know which scene, don't make me say it..). 

 Old versus new: we got a better story with the newer version

Finally seeing what happened what I already read about in the manga (I am not much of a manga reader, so that's a BIG deal for me)

One special shout-out to live-actions: Just staph. Y'all know who you are.

In conclusion, don't fiddle too much with the originals! Yeah, yeah I know, I sound like an old hag now. And a salty one to add. Although, I am very curious about how other people feel about this.  How did you feel about rewatching your favourite anime from your youth or a new adaptation of an anime you already liked? Is there any particular version that you especially liked? Or any Live Action that you really loved? Leave a comment and let me know!

#saltyoldhagout



~Written by Devi~

K-On! – Memories will always stay

K-On! – Memories will always stay

Saturday, August 24, 2019 / No Comments

I am sure that most of you readers and those in the anime community are aware of the tragic incident that affected KyoAni a few weeks ago. KyoAni had produced a plethora of anime that brought joy and touched the lives of many around the world.

This article is not a review but rather a personal and heartfelt tribute to my favourite anime from KyoAni, K-On!. There will be three sections, a list of my favourite songs from K-On!, a letter to the main characters and finally a letter of support to KyoAni. I will not be touching on the plot of K-On! in this article but if I could describe it in a sentence it would be: Cute girls playing music and doing cute things. Do let me know who is your favourite character in K-On! and which songs you like too!

If you wish to read more about K-On!, you might want to read fellow writer J.Fluffysheep’s articles here: 1, 2, 3, 4 (Credit to J.Fluffysheep). 

Favourite Songs from K-On!

1. Tenshi ni Fureta yo

This is my favourite song from K-On!. The song was featured in episode 24 of the second season. It was played by Yui, Mio, Ritsu and Mugi specially for Azusa after their graduation ceremony. I remember clearly how much I cried during that episode and listening to this song hits me in the feels every time. Seeing Azusa cry and telling her senpais to please not graduate was too much for my heart. Like everyone else, I did not want Yui and the rest to graduate but as they say, all good things must come to an end. The good news is that Yui, Mio, Ritsu and Mugi all made it to the same college. Let us hope that Azusa will be able to enter the same college as them in the future so that we can have more Ho-kago (After School) Tea Time moments.

2. U&I

U&I is the first song written by Yui, who managed to get inspiration for the lyrics when her younger sister Ui fell sick. Although Ui is the younger sister, she is always taking care of her older sister and is much more mature in comparison to Yui. Yui told the girls in the Light Music Club that she wanted to convey the feeling of realising the importance of a truly valuable thing only after she lost it and thus wrote this song. U&I was performed at the third high school festival. It is the last school festival for the third years in the Light Music Club before their graduation. I like the beat of U&I the most out of all of the songs in K-On!. 

3. Fude Pen Boru Pen

Duet version, Mio with Yui

Second school festival version (Mio)

Fude Pen Boru Pen was sung by Mio for the second high school festival performance although Yui is the lead vocalist. It is the Light Music Club’s second song and Ho-kago Tea Time’s first original ever since Azusa joined the club. Unfortunately, Yui left her guitar, Giita, at home and rushed back to retrieve it, hence did not participate in this song. There are different versions of this song such as the duet version with Mio and Yui as well as the second school festival version, the Mio solo version. I love this song so much especially the duet version because I think Yui and Mio’s voices perfectly complement each other. Fude Pen Boru Pen is a very cheerful and energetic song, one of Ho-kago Tea Time’s best in my opinion.

4. Fuwa Fuwa Time

Yui version

First school festival version (Mio with hoarse voice Yui)

Fuwa Fuwa Time is the song written by Mio Akiyama for the first high school festival performance and also the Light Music Club’s first ever original. It was sung by Mio during the first school festival because Yui had lost her voice a few days before the performance while practicing with Sawa-Chan Sensei. Yui sang this song at the second school festival when she barely made it back after retrieving Giita. Fuwa Fuwa Time is a really catchy song and easily one of my favourites. There are also different versions of this song such as Yui as the lead vocalist, Mio as the lead vocalist or a duet with both of them. I like the Yui version and the first school festival version where Mio is the lead vocalist together with Yui’s hoarse voice. Yui’s hoarse voice is so cute, I love it to bits. 

Letter to Main Characters

To Hirasawa Yui:

Yui with Giita

Yui: Make-up kiss!

Yui: Ui’s homemade soba noodle is delicious

I love strawberries

Dear Yui,

You are such a silly goofball but that is why I love you so. You never fail to bring a smile to my face with your funny actions and expressions. I adore your honest and straightforward personality; you are true to yourself and say whatever is on your mind without fear of repercussions. The look of joy when you first bought Giita made me feel warm and fuzzy inside. I also smiled when you told Azusa you chose Giita because you thought it was cute. I find it amazing that you were able to learn the guitar so quickly, I hope you realise how innately talented you are. I could not help but burst out laughing when you said you treat your guitar well by sleeping with it and dressing it up. I love how you are always beaming with confidence and never afraid to try new things. I like how you always take challenges in your stride and lighten the mood in the Light Music Club, you are such an angel. Despite your forgetfulness and low attention span, I love the fact that you are always doing your best for the Light Music Club and Ho-kago Tea Time. My favourite cake is the same as yours, strawberry shortcake is the greatest. Yui, you will always be my best girl, you are so precious. 

To Mio Akiyama:

Angry Mio: Starting tomorrow, we need to start practicing seriously!

I am not nervous at all

I am not scared

Dear Mio,

Did anyone mention to you that you become really cute when you are scared, shy or angry? I know it took you a lot of courage to step on stage during the first high school festival to replace Yui as the lead vocalist, bravo Mio! I also find it really funny that you sealed away the performance video because of the incident at the end. I like how you and Azusa keep the girls in check when they just want to laze around. You are the much-needed disciplinarian who ensures that they get sufficient practice. You are so popular that you even have your own fan club in school. I could not contain my laughter when you passed out upon learning that you were given the lead role as Romeo in your class’s play. I love your tsundere attitude towards Ritsu as well, you two were made for each other.

To Ritsu Tainaka:

The two comedians in the club

Dear Ritsu,

Thank you so much for keeping the Light Music Club alive. The Light Music Club would have been defuncted and there would be no Ho-kago Tea Time without you. Please remember to fill in the forms for the school festivals though, you are the president after all. I think that you are really suited for playing the drums as you are always so energetic. I like how you make the club fun by telling funny jokes and acting silly. I love your jealous behaviour when Mio got closer to Nodoka, it was really cute. I like that you are adventurous such as recommending Ho-kago Tea Time to try for a live house gig when you heard from a friend. Mio says some embarrassing words at times and I love the way you get shy after listening. You and Yui make a good combination as the club’s comedic duo. 

To Tsumugi Kotobuki:

Mugi with Ritsu at the dagashi shop

Mugi working her part-time job

Dear Mugi,

You are such a sweet girl, always trying your best to make everyone happy. You are always cheerful and your positive energy is constantly radiating. I am sure the girls are very grateful for what you have done for them. You lent your expensive tea-set to the Light Music Club, always make tea and snacks for the girls, helped Yui get Giita at a cheaper price and even let the girls use your villas for the training camps. I also want to try your tea and cakes, they always look so delicious. Come to think of it, you are the reason Sawa-Chan sensei gave the girls the band name Ho-kago Tea Time. You are always humble and helpful despite being a wealthy ojou-sama. I love that you just want to be an ordinary girl like your peers, eating yakisoba, dagashi and playing at the arcade. I like how you took up a part-time job at a fast food restaurant, it shows that you are mature which is usually uncharacteristic of ojou-samas.

To Azusa Nakano:

Yui: I’ve decided that your nickname is Azu-nyan

Azusa loves anything sweet, from cakes to taiyaki

K..K..Kawaii

Dear Azu-nyan,

You are one of the most mature member in the club despite being the youngest and newest, I am so proud of you. I love how fierce you can get towards the other girls when you want to start practice while they just want tea and snacks. Did I mention that Yui petting you on the head is the cutest thing ever? I know you love Mugi’s sweets a lot and I hope she will occasionally bring you some after she graduates. I agree with Sawa-Chan sensei that cat ears really suit you with your hairstyle. I laughed when Yui gave you the nickname Azu-nyan after seeing you in cat ears. I was worried that you will be lonely once Yui and the rest graduate but it looks like you have found new members for the Light Music Club. You are even the leader of your new group Wakaba Girls, very impressive. Goodluck President Azu-nyan, I am sure you will take the club to greater heights! 

Letter of Support to KyoAni:

Dear KyoAni,

Your works have touched the lives of many and helped some get through dark times. Similarly, everyone around the world including the Milkcananime team will be praying for and supporting you during this dark period. I am positive that your esteemed animation studio will bounce back stronger than ever and continue to produce anime that will always be embedded in our memories like your past works. K-On! will forever be one of my favourite anime, the memories will always stay.

Written by Kou

Get new posts by email: