Terrace House: Boys & Girls in the City (2015)

Click here for a video version of this review: https://youtu.be/x18pEW5bNKc Maybe the lockdown is finally getting to me, but I've found a second extremely binge-watchable Japanese TV show in a matter of weeks. First there was _Ainori: Love Wagon_ and now there is _Terrace House_. When _Terrace House_ first arrived on Netflix, I didn't pay much attention to it as, based on the poster, it seemed like it was a scripted Japanese drama. I have watched a lot of Japanese TV drama and they are mostly rubbish so I never gave it a second glance. After watching _Ainori: Love Wagon_ Netflix again recommended _Terrace House_ and this was when it dawned on me that this too, is a reality TV show. There are a few seasons of _Terrace House_ in the catalogue, so we started with the oldest one available which is _Terrace House: Boys and Girls in the City_. The set up is that six random strangers are given a house to live in and two cars to use, and we watch all the human interaction, drama, blossoming love, and day to day life of these six people. It might sound a bit like _Big Brother_, but it is far from it. The people still have their days jobs, friends, and hobbies, and are free to quit the house any time they like. The _Boys and Girls in the City_ season was so popular that it was extended twice and stretched out to 46 episodes. How much did we enjoy this show? Well we watched all 46 episodes in less than a week and the final 13 of them back to back in one epic whiskey fuelled binge that finished around 2.00am one morning. Mrs B and I are both fascinated by human behaviour and things like body language and so this was right up our alley. In addition to this it is a really fascinating insight into Japanese culture that you would never get from watching a travel show. It is also a good way to improve your Japanese as there is natural casual language being spoken in a variety of everyday situations, so for me as an ongoing student of the language I was able to pick up a number of new words and phrases. And then to top it all off, the studio hosts who watch and commentate are absolutely hilarious, they had us in stitches so many times. Their chemistry and the way they riff off each other is excellent, and for us, it just added a whole 'nother layer of fun to it all. This will for sure not be for everyone, but for those who like genuine fly on the wall, unscripted, slice of life type shows with side-splitting hosts, you really should give this one a go.