Ainori: Asian Journey

Happened upon this show...binge watching now. A cast of would be possible love interests and their interactions while they travel the countryside and cities of several Asian countries. The main characters/participants are interesting and fun to watch. They go through their own personal transformations while engaging in possible love interests. One of the surprising and refreshing things about this show is that you get to experience different settings that are not so well known and the cultures of the different locations. They also make the setting of a 'poor man's' vacation so it's not opulent and dresses the cast down to the very essence of engaging with one another (no cell phones, etc...). The studio cast is fine and the production is also fine. Recommend watching...

The first season was great, I had some minor issues here and then but I really loved the show. Second season though... I don't know whose brilliant idea was to reintroduce Depparin on the show. She is incredibly problematic and you can tell how much distress she inflicts on the other participants. Watching her "voice out her opinions" really gives me anxiety and I wonder why someone doesn't just kick her out. The show would be pleasant to watch if it was actually about people finding love, not about Depparin steamrolling over everybody's feelings.

But I love it so far I love that it's real and the people aren't all models and they seemed genuinely want to find love and also you know there's a little bit of drama especially with wat least one or 2 of the cast members coming back for season 2 esp a certain firecracker... we all know that is lol. Love seeing the diff countries too... Love the judge's their sense of humour as well and also that the language barrier doesn't seem to be a problem like I don't speak Japanese but I find watching it and subtitles work just as well I understand everything that's been said would definitely recommend anyone to watch it's a good laugh as well I wish they had anori in New Zealand.

Among Japanese or other Asian reality shows, Ainori Love Wagon is probably one of the better ones. The reasons? One is that unlike many Japanese shows, it is not mean-spirited. You actually feel happy and sad for the participants, who are not acting up for the camera but rather come off as genuinely trying to find themselves.

Despite this, I enjoyed season one much more than season two. A lot of this has to do with personalities, and for me the passengers in season one are much more interesting and relatable. There are some very memorable personalities, both men and women, that I reminded me of people whom I know in my own life. And that, ultimately, is the strength of the series. The reactions when picking up new passengers are particularly fun.

And unfortunately that strength is also its weakness. For some reason season two was a bit boring for me, despite that we started off with some of the same participants from season one. Some of the confessions and rejections simply did not make sense to me. I don't know if the producers forced some of these dramas or not, but they just did not feel as genuine as in season one. There was also one person who I thought should not have been brought back.

This person is a drama-queen and a bully, and it was evident back in season one. I'm sure the producers brought her back in order to have more drama, and it was the wrong decision. She was poisonous and brought down the fun for everyone else, and ultimately for the audience as well. Hence I cannot rate this series higher than a six.

First season was 9/10 - maybe the best dating show I've ever seen. Genuine interactions, with a lot of great cast members. And the major romances that ended up being the focus were super enjoyable to watch.

The second season was 1/10, basically unwatchable - completely ruined by focusing the entire show around an abusive, violent bully. Really tragic decline. And the show paints her out to be the heroine, letting her get away with all of her terrible behavior, over and over again. She should have been removed from the show after she assaulted one member - but nope, then she assaulted another cast member, then another cast member, then several crew members - and all the while the show is bending over backwards to each and every one of her whims. Absolutely insane stuff.