Stream It Or Skip It: ‘Love Village’ on Netflix, Reality Romance From Japan With Its Hopefuls Thrown Together Under One Roof   (2024)

Take a little bit of the Love Island franchise and the typical attributes of reality romance as it relates to Japanese TV, and you’ve got Love Village (Netflix), a series where strangers move into a house in the country with the hope of leaving it arm in arm with their new true love. The twist? Age range and life experience. These are not the usual “sexy singles” of your standard reality show roster. However! “Their life at Love Village will spark romances more intense than the younger generation’s.” Your hosts, Japanese media personalities Atsushi Tamura and Becky, chuckle a little at that bold declaration from the producers of this Village. “Is that true? This is already so interesting…”

LOVE VILLAGE: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?

Opening Shot: Love Village opens with a quote from author and artist Tove Jansson that seems designed to express where its heart is at. “You always think your first love is the last, and your last love is the first.” Atsushi Tamura expresses surprise at this “grown-up” tone, and Becky agrees that the show’s contestants are much further along in their life journey than she.

The Gist: As is typical for the reality format in Japan, Love Village features its hosts’ reactions onstage, riffing on all of the action for a studio audience, as well as in a superimposed box on the screen. And as the contestants arrive at the nineteenth century Japanese house that will be their home for the duration of Love Village, Atsushi and Becky point out the obvious. “The grownups are here! There’s an older dude!” At 60, psychologist Johnny is indeed on the senior end of a group that also includes “Hollywood,” a 51-year-old actor, 46-year-old chef “Anchovy” (Japanese shows love their hamfisted contestant nicknames), and business owner Tabo, 35. Opposite the male contestants are Minane, 60, an author; Totchan, 45, a therapist; Yukiemon, 45, a barista; and Okayo, 39, who works in a convenience store. Some of the Love Village-rs have been married before (some more than once), and all stress in confessional cutaways that this show is their best chance to find a later-in-life partner.

With their phones confiscated by the producers, the contestants initially have some quiet time to get to know each other. But they’re also put to work on some light renovation, like replacing the Village house’s set of musty tatami mats and tacking up window netting to keep out bugs. Each housemate has a 30,000 yen food budget, can request personal items via computer, and have access to an onsite vegetable garden for additional meal prep. Anchovy, showing off his cutting and chopping skills in the kitchen on the contestants’ first night together, nevertheless refuses to admit he’s a chef by trade. He says he doesn’t want to be forced to cook all the time. But Atsushi and Becky point out that this will be difficult to sustain if he develops a crush.

If and when a Love Village-r finds their sweetheart, they must ring “the bell of love” to express it publicly, and await their crush’s response. If the match is mutual, the new couple will leave together. But a love denied means the bell-ringer leaves alone and is immediately replaced with a brand-new housemate.

What Shows Will It Remind You Of? Love Village is at least spiritually connected to Terrace House, the Japanese reality romance title that has seen numerous iterations as both a TV series and a movie (Terrace House: Closing Door). And through its hosts, Village is linked to their other appearances as presenters and personalities, whether it’s Atsushi Tamura with Rea(l)ove or Becky on the Asian Journey and African Journey seasons of the long-running “get in the pink van and find romance” reality series Ainori Love Wagon. But Village also lifts thematic elements of those existing shows, like a central domicile for the group and the ultimatum of declaring a love match and, depending on the return, either departing happily with your crush or getting booted from the show entirely.

Our Take: As a comedian whose abrasiveness and sarcasm are part of his schtick, it’s immediately apparent that Love Village wants to present host Atsushi Tamura in a softer light. At least in the early going, he’s not tossing personal jabs at the contestants from his insulated perch on the Village stage. And while Atsushi and Becky both agree that the show’s participants are older than the reality romance average, their remarks feel innocent enough as observations of where the show is coming from. Becky is also happy to call out her cohost, even grabbing his stated opinions on other reality shows and tossing them back in his face. It’s a breezy dynamic between the two, and enjoyable enough that their chatty presence in the superimposed box onscreen becomes a worthwhile part of the Love Village viewing experience.

Bringing in ringers midway through a reality show’s run is also a fun way to keep things interesting, and as Love Village rolls out its nearly 20 half-hour episodes – doesn’t that feel like a lot? – the addition of new housemates as replacements for those either matched or jilted will definitely stir things up. This show does seem more interested in the potential for real romance and valid life partner outcomes for its Village-rs, instead of just seeding its casting group with troublemakers and hookup artists. “Seems,” that is. There is still plenty of potential for heartbreak here, and very public drama – these people are living under one roof, it’s a roof that occasionally leaks, and any eureka moment regarding a new romance must arrive in the form of an out loud bell-ringing declaration. No matter how wholesome its packaging, Love Village is still laced with signature bits of the reliable romance reality format.

Sex and Skin: Nothing overt, but the contestants do share a few sex-related hot takes that stir up the Love Village studio audience and draw a little raised eyebrow commentary from its hosts.

Parting Shot: With a few tentative stabs at couple-making complete and a “village leader” nominated by blind draw, Love Village teases its emotional tenor and finds time to poke a little fun. “Astushi likes to play it cool,” the voiceover guy says, “but in subsequent tapings…” and the host is seen fighting back tears in reaction to some of the contestants’ exploits. “Have my tear glands gone weak on me?!”

Sleeper Star: Love Village seems content to let all of the other dating reality shows focus on skin, salaciousness, and screaming hookup drama, and in that sense its animated sequences with pen-and-ink renderings of the contestants’ lives at home are a tasteful touch for the reality genre.

Most Pilot-y Line: “They have fallen in and out of love in their lives,” goes the Love Village voiceover, “and will now live together and bare their unvarnished selves.” The contestants might also have to do some actual varnishing. This Love Village house has seen better days!

Our Call: STREAM IT, especially if you’re familiar with the distinct style and tone of Japanese reality shows. Love Village hosts Atsushi Tamura and Becky are a name-brand draw, and the show’s sensitivity to where its contestants are in their respective personal lives feels genuine. And yet, this is still reality TV. Let’s see how sweet Love Village stays once “the bell of love” starts getting rung.

Johnny Loftus is an independent writer and editor living at large in Chicagoland. His work has appeared in The Village Voice, All Music Guide, Pitchfork Media, and Nicki Swift. Follow him on Twitter:@glennganges