Terrace House: Boys & Girls in the City

Terrace house encapsulates what it means to be a reality TV show. I'm so sick of eliminations, challenges, prize money, and roses. The show documents 6 strangers living together and the engagement together nothing more nothing more, nothing less. Members still go to work, go grocery shopping, and have phones. At first, I was expecting something like big brother but japanese reality is another form of reality together. To enjoy this show, you need to have an open mind and your preconceptions about reality from western TV shows need to be abolished. Beautiful Camera work.

I'll be honest, my friend had to introduce this show to me despite my own interest in all things Japan and Netflix. I'm also not a big fan of reality tv, this show is completely different. It seems a lot more genuine and there is little to no interference from the production.

It's a very simple premise, 6 strangers live in the same house but otherwise carry out their normal life (going to work or school as usual). They can join and leave whenever they like, they don't have to have a specific motive to be there. Some want relationships other want friendships but it gives free rein to the housemates. They do have an outside cast of what I assume are celebrity personalities and/or comedians who weigh in on the events and give a quick rundown of previous episodes. It is a different style of humour so it could be hit or miss for some people but it is pretty enjoyable either way.

I hope that Netflix stick with this show, I feel that subbed series and films often get the short end of the stick in Europe.

A friend recommended this show. I watched an episode to get a feel then turned it off immediately.

After 10 minutes, I decided I shouldn't have given up on it so quick just because it started slow.

I'm glad I did because the show progress pretty fast as the days, then episodes shown, go on at the Terrace House.

Observing people's behavior is so fascinating to me. That's largely the reason why I watched this too. And also because I love the Asian culture.

Some other reviews seem a bit bizarre, e.g. '... most interesting is the fact that most enter the home with a certain objective in bettering themselves in one way or another'.

It's not so interesting when you realize that many of these people that are cast for Terrace House enter the house have with the simple objective of furthering (or starting) a modeling/entertainment career vs. this 'relationship' atmosphere that the series plays up & the commentators talk about.

I certainly wouldn't call this 'true reality'. That being said, yes, some things do happen, and, yes, some people are there for reasons other than fame. It's these people that are worth watching.

I found out about this show while flying on ANA airlines and watched the movie they had made (Terrace House: Closing Door). The movie was very good, kind of like a long episode of a season, and I was instantly hooked. I was pretty stoked when I found out Netflix would be airing it. I watched 1 episode of "Boys and Girls in the City" and was instantly hooked. This is a reality Japanese show that puts 3 young adult guys and girls in a house together. The goal is to develop friendships and to eventually find love, if possible. Sometimes romance happens, other times it does not. The ages range from 18-30. The housemates are free to leave ("graduate") the show as they please. Every time someone leaves, they replace him/her with a new member, always keeping the same guy to girl ratio. Most of the members are in the acting/modeling industry, so many are good looking, are charming, and/or know how to provide entertainment. They all carry regular jobs (or are searching for one), so they live their normal lives but always come back to live at the house, where most of the conversation/events happen. Sometimes the camera will follow the outside, for when the members go to work (to give us a glimpse of their real world), go on dates, etc. The producers say that there is no script and nothing is rigged. I don't believe this 100% to be true, due to the certain situations that arise that seem a bit forced or suspicious, but it's fun to watch the show and think everything is unscripted. The commentators, famous actors/actresses/personalities in the entertainment industry, provide very entertaining, sometimes hilarious commentary about the members and what transpires everyday. Some of my friends skip through the commentary, but I really enjoy it. I particularly like the chemistry between Yu, Yamasato, and Torii. The subtitles are close to perfection and are able to catch and describe the context of each situation. If you get hooked on the show as much as me and my friends, you'll start rooting for certain people and rooting against others. It's also easy to get attached to them. I believe every member is on some kind of social media (Instagram, Facebook, etc.) so it is easy to see into their lives from a different angle, even after they graduate. Netflix has partnered with Fuji TV and have provided an excellent and entertaining show that gives us a fisheye view into the lives of Japanese young adults, how they interact, and an unobscured view into Japanese culture. What makes this show special for me is the pure, genuine relationships that develop between the members, and to get an interesting perspective into the minds of Japanese young adults.