Monday, September 24, 2018

Terrace House, A Deeper Dive: All the Rabbit Holes I've Been Down

I not sure why this show more than any other in my lifetime has led me to explore so many lines of inquiry around the show. Part of the reason must be the metanarratives woven into the show through its structure: the panel discussing the show on the show and the people on the show watching the show in the show. After all, I first learned of Terrace House through a video discussing the implications of these structures:
In any case, the show invites questions as you watch it:
  • Why is dating so hard in Japan?
  • Who are these panelists?
  • Why does a dating show cast people who can't date?
  • Are there any other shows like this one?
As I dove into these questions I was led to learn more about Japan in general, and I was exposed to some great media being produced in Japan and, later, Korea.

In this post I will attempt to link to and briefly discuss all the rabbit holes I've gone down in pursuit of these questions and others that have arisen along the way.

The Shows Themselves

I started by watching the series available internationally on Netflix:
Watching the show led me to seek groups of people talking about the show, where I learned that there was an earlier series which is not available on Netflix:
And that was followed by a movie:
  • Closing Door - for which there's nothing to link to yet since it has not been subtitled yet. However, there are plans to do so within the next few months.
Talking About the Show

Once I was watching the show, I wanted to talk about it and hear people talking about it:

  • r/terracehouse - The largest and most active online English-speaking community talking about the show is on reddit.
  • NSAA facebook group - The listeners of the No Script At All podcast have formed a lovely little community to talk about the podcast and the show. Joining the group requires that you answer a question: the answer is "Terrace House".
  • #terracehouse - The twitter hashtag is more noise than light, but it gives you some idea what's on the minds of watchers as a whole. Occasionally, it can lead you to new articles and podcasts related to the show.
    • Lovelog - A Japanese fan blog catches a lot of news about the cast and panelists with several articles each day. Google translate will usually give you a pretty good idea of what each article is about.
  • #テラスハウス - Even beyond the issues of google translate, the Japanese twitter hashtag is pretty useless, riddled as it is with bots leftover from 2014 tweeting links to the same small set of articles from that time and Miwako stans retweeting bikini shots. Even after muting those you'll be left with a more toxic community than we see here in the English-speaking world.
I also started listening to podcasts. Currently running are:
  • No Script At All - Currently covering OND, Brendon and Andrea covered every episode of AS and have tabled their run on B&GITC. The episodes are released weekly with occasional gaps.
  • Terrace Neighbors: A Terrace House Podcast - Both the hosts went to college in Japan and so this podcast focuses more on giving more insights related to the culture and life in Tokyo. They are covering B&GITC and reserve the right to cover more than one episode per podcast though they've recently have been one to one. Episodes come out every other week.
  • Tourist House - The two hosts have taken the wise approach of covering three episodes of B&GITC on each episode of the podcast, and have just finished. They plan a single episode on AS, and will then start on OND.
  • Under One Roof, A Terrace House Party - Three siblings discuss OND (one of whom never speaks). This podcast has been coming out a bit more sporadically than the others here.
  • A Show About Nothing - A married couple, Ifa and Tama, from Jakarta are covering B&ITC.
One other podcast has succeeded in covering an entire season:
  • Terrace House Talks - Covered all of AS. Also had an interview with Yusuke/Eden Kai from the show.
Several podcasts stopped before they finished an entire season;
The People on the Show

 Learning about the cast and, particularly, the panel led me to explore J-dramas for the first time, and so I will link to many of them below, but the two that any Terrace House fan should watch are:

  • Transit Girls - This Christmas love story between two girls was filmed by the Terrace House team between Closing Door and B&GITC. It was the first J-drama on broadcast TV to center on a lesbian relationship, and it is great despite a lot of non-consensual cheek pinching. It features Ito Kentaro as the next door neighbor and three additional TH cameos.
  • Mondai No Aru Restaurant - This comedy about institutional sexual harassment features YOU in the ensemble and introduced me to the writing of Sakamoto Yuji which is probably the most rewarding rabbit hole TH has led me down.
An obvious question once you get into the show is who are the panelists? I have written about all of them on this blog, and watched many J-dramas that have featured them. 
  • YOU - Leads to two rabbit holes: her music and her acting. 
    • As for her music, she was the lead singer for a synth-pop band in the late 80s called Fairchild. My favorite track of theirs is
      • Jelly Eyes - Yes, young YOU wearing a peacock feather headdress: what more could one want? 
    • She started acting while she was a pop idol, but really broke through with a dramatic role in the 2004 film:
      • Nobody Knows - An utterly dire film based on a true story. I hated this film, but it's well made and did not prevent me from checking out her in
      • Mondai No Aru Restaurant - Which led me to seek out more works by its writer, Sakamoto Yuji. YOU does not appear in any other of these series, but they are all excellent, and a rabbit hole well worth going down:
        • Mother - His most lauded work featuring an unbelievably great performance by a six-year old Ashida Mana.
          • Call Me Mother - This is the K-drama version of the same story which came out this year, nine years after the original. It's good but not great like the original, but was, nevertheless, hugely successful.
          • Our House - Ashida Mana also starred in this light family drama at the whopping age of 12. Her performance is bit variable - directors can let her overact - but when she's on, she's still amazing. She's taking a bit of break right now for, you know, middle school. What did you do today?
        • Soredomo, Ikite Yuku 
        • The Best Divorce - Another high recommendation. The follow up special has Miwako in a small role. Tokui quotes it in an episode of BxGND.
          • Matrimonial Chaos - This the K-drama of the same story which will be broadcast this fall.
        • Woman
        • Someday, When I Recall This Love, I Will Surely Cry
        • Quartet - Set in Karuizawa and has a cameo by Uchi in the first episode.
        • anone
  • Torichan - Is more of a model than an actress; nevertheless; she's done some film and TV roles over the years as well as released one single.
    • Tag - Available on Netflix. This was probably the first thing I watched by a member of the panel since it was on Netflix and came up in my recommendations after watching TH. It's a fairly surreal horror film with OTT, cartoonish violence, but it's also strikingly beautiful at times. It's also a fairly feminist allegory despite the MANY upskirt shots. Torichan plays the protagonist in the first and last segments as her character is transformed in an unexplained, ambiguous way.
    • Yamada and the Seven Witches - Torichan plays a member of the Scooby gang in this light high school paranormal comedy.
    • Ai No Cocokawa - Her single.
  • Tokui - Along with Yamachan and Babachan is a manzai comedian which means like the other two he has a comedic partner who is not on the show. His duo's name is Tutorial. His success in manzai led to a huge career on variety shows, and, infamously, hosting a series of comedy specials called Keeping the Chuck of Tokui Yoshimi Down on an adult satellite network. However, he's also had some supporting roles on J-dramas.
    • The NSFW things he's know for are sketches from the comedy specials that have not been subtitled:
      • Pero Pero House - Is a direct parody of Terrace House mocking the unbelievable amount of time it takes for the couples to get it on. In the first episodes one of the girls is happily giving BJs to each of the guys in turn within minutes.
      • Handjob Karaoke - This comes up on YouTube as an example of crazy Japanese game shows. No, it's just an extended segment on one of Tokui's specials.
    • More fun for us English speakers are his appearances on J-Dramas that have been subtitled:
      • Cecile's Plot - Tokui plays a gay hairdresser at a fashion magazine. The lead is Maki Yoko who just shines in this role, and led me to seek out other things she's done, and so when I spotted that YOU was also in Mondai No Aru Restaurant, I was in. The story of this J-drama is set in the world of fashion modeling, but it's really about women's friendships.
      • It's Not That I Can't Marry, But I Don't Want To -  Tokui plays the guy who got away in high school in this light romcom with really terrible dating advice for career women. Kentaro plays Tokui's character in flashbacks to high school.
  • Kentaro - Has the currently most active acting career of anyone associated with the show including a couple of roles you can find on international Netflix.
    • Good Morning Call - Available on Netflix. Kentaro has a fairly hefty recurring role in the first season (only). 
    • Kantarou: The Sweet Tooth Salary Man - Also available on Netflix. Kentaro plays the antagonist in a single episode.
    • Are You Ready? Hey You Girl! - Kentaro plays one of the three wingmen of the protagonist in this high school comedy and is the center of the final episode.
  • Babachan - Has had a few character parts in a few shows.
  • Shono - Is getting some roles right now as well, but few of his are large or subtitled at this point.
    • Nigeru wa Haji da ga Yaku ni Tatsu - He does have a recurring role here, but maybe five lines total in the entire series, and so don't watch it for him. It is, nevertheless, a delightful series about a marriage of convenience and a good exploration of gender norms and expectations in Japan. I watched this series because it was supposedly the basis for Because This Is My First Life, a great K-drama that I'll link to below when discussing Shohei..
  • Yamachan - Is widely known and hosts many shows and events. He even refereed a couple of the 48-group Janken tournaments which ties him into a rabbit hole discussed below. Unfortunately, very little of what he does gets subtitled.
  • Hiroomi Tosaka - The first person in the Boy Prince slot is arguably the biggest name ever on the show. He is a member of Sandaime J Soul Brothers, a boy band that was the largest selling live musical act in Japan in 2017.
One of the housemates led me done the deepest rabbit hole of all, but the rest are pretty short: most of the cast are so young that they have not had as much time to produce things or be a part of many projects.
  • Rie Kitahara - One of the first six housemates raised the question of why a dating reality show would cast someone who cannot date. Rikopin faced the same issue on B&GITC. As an active member of AKB48 at the time, she was a huge get for the show. She did pretty well in the 48-groups reaching #10 out of 370 participants in her final single election in the group, but she was never an ace singer and only centered one song while she was part of the organization. She "graduated" (retired from the groups) this spring and is pursuing a career in acting. Rie led me to learn more about the "Love Ban" in general and AKB48 specifically.
    • Choose me - She had centered this music video for a "coupling song" (something like a B-side in the US except there's usually more than one) two years before she appeared on Terrace House.
    • Watashi no Tame ni - Her graduation song.
    • Tokyo Idols - This documentary is available on Netflix, and takes a dim view of the idol scene in Japan. It pulls up short of accusing the scene of being, essentially, pedophilia, but it's a fair implication from the documentary particularly when it examines the younger idol shows.
    • Heavy Rotation - AKB48's most infamous song primarily because of the associated MV which features 21 AKB48 members including Rie all under the age of 18, in lingerie. The director of the video was a woman, if that helps. (Hint: it doesn't help.)
    • Amachan - I wondered if there was a good J-drama about the Japanese idol scene and MyDramalist led me to this asadora. Asadoras consist if 15 minute episodes broadcast 6 days a week on NHK, and you might well wonder after the first 18 episodes what the heck this show has to do with idols since it seems to be entirely about women who free dive for sea urchins, but be patient: it definitely gets there including a character who is based on Aki-P, the man who created AKB48 and its related groups.
      • Hoyokko - Amachan was so good, it led me to try another asadora, and this one was highly recommended. It's set in the 1960s Tokyo, and includes both leads from Transit Girls, one of whom has a substantial role as the protagonist's best friend. I've tried some other asadoras, but none caught me like these two.
    • 48Talk I don't particularly like the 48-groups' music - I'm not really into any kind of pop music. However, I do listen to this podcast because the whole marketing system is so fascinating. The four host of this podcast do a good job of covering what is happening in the 48-groups without being too squicky about the girls in the groups.
    • Alt Idols - However, the alternative idol scene is producing some music that is really interesting to me. And there are artists in this scene that are entirely deconstructing what is wrong with the rest of the idol scene.
      • Babymetal - Is the most well-known alternative idol group, and, indeed, I was listening to them well before I ever knew Terrace House existed. I particularly liked their second album, Metal Resistance.
      • Pikarin - She claims to come from a Buddhist hell called Makai, and who's to doubt her? She habitually walks on the backs of her fans who will not let their Queen's feet touch the ground as she wishes - she crossed the famous crosswalk in Shibuya by doing so,
      • Fruitpochette - A speedmetal swing tune? Yes, please.
      • BiSH - I don't generally like the rest of their oeuvre, but this was the song of the summer for me.
      • amiinA - alT idoL needS morE banjO! you'rE welcomE.
      • ········· - How can you not love ·········? You can't say their name in any language. It's painfully hard to search for them online though apparently iTunes just made it possible to find them on that service. Their genre is shoegaze, and it's really good.
        • CD - Yes, the name of this CD is CD. Of course, it is. Do give it a listen, but do feel free to stop after 22:00 since it's entirely a noise composition thereafter.
      • Alt Idol Podcast - Follows the whole scene producing an episode whenever the feel there's been enough news.
    • Produce 48 - A competition reality show that pitted girls from K-pop music agencies against girls from the 48-groups to select a group of 12 to debut in both countries. It was an interesting survival show, but pretty much a failure in terms of the final group selected. Since only South Koreans were allowed to vote only 3 of 12 final girls were Japanese.
  • Momochan - She joined an idoly rock band called Band Ja Naimon! ("We are not a band!") a year or so after the show.
  • Seina - She appeared along with Hana in a single scene of episode 4 of
    • Hibana: Spark - Available on international Netflix. It's a frustrating show. It's beautifully directed and acted, and tells the story of a struggling manzai act which is very helpful in understanding Babachan, Tokui, Yamachan and Ippei. But it's also fairly bleak, and the final half-hour is QUITE weird.
    • Still - She and Daiki acted in this MV.
  • Makun - He apparently DJs as well as surfs:
  • Hana - In addition to some acting, she also gets a solo break in the following song:
  • Oji - I have not watched Kamen Rider (a recent action children's show like Power Rangers), but he has had the biggest acting success of all former housemates having an extended run as Karoto Dan in all but five episodes of Kamen Rider Ex-Aid.
  • Yo-san - He was engaged to jyA-Me at the time he passed.
  • Renati - The second professional musician on the show, and kicked off the music colony phase of BxGND. She's signed to Sony, and so you can only view one of her videos an YouTube outside of Japan:
  • Maimai - Yes, the show had two singer/songwriters with a folksy vibe at the same time. Maimai promotes under the name chay, and since she's with Warner Brothers, far more of her material is available on YouTube:
  • Mizuki - Our favorite Lattest barista acted in a music video:
  • Misaki - Is still a member of the Eibisu Muscats.
    • Sexy Beach Honeymoon - The group had a surprising amount of chart success with one of their songs reaching #19 around the time she was on the show.
    • Midnight Diner: Tokyo Stories - Available on interational Netflix. She appears in a single 10-second shot as the younger version of the protagonist of one episode of this anthology series.
  • Eden Kai - He's in the thick of building his career:
    • Sound of Love - A really good collaboration from this summer.
    • Let's Go Home - An old school torch song off his third album, Home Sweet Home.
  • Lauren - Appeared in a short film:
  • Wez - In case you ever need to find it:
  • Mayu - She does a lot of advertising and is an extra in a scene of 
    • The Could-Have-Gone-All-The-Way Committee - Available on international Netflix. She appears in episode 5.
  • Shohei - After his terrible kisses, someone on reddit recommended the following K-drama as an example of more recent trends in Asian drama that are resisting "the guy must be aggressive and the girl must resist" kissing trope:
I have run a couple of polls on reddit to determine people's favorite musician from the cast, and these posts contain a bit more about the musicians from the show.
  • Poll #1 - Since this pole was run shortly after AS, it's no surprise Eden Kai led the vote.
  • Poll #2 - After Shohei ended his run, I updated the pole to include him. Surprisingly, Rinati leapt to the top.
And I built a short YouTube playlist with the music of the TH cast and panel.

A good resource for finding J-dramas which include the cast is MyDramaList. You can find a list of what I've watched and am currently watching there as well.

The Music On The Show

 The first thing to know about the music on Terrace House is that the music used on the show is entirely different on the Japanese and the international versions of the show. The music used in the Japanese version contains a lot of popular western music which would be prohibitively expensive to license internationally. A different Taylor Swift song has served as the opening theme song in three  of the seasons (with the same song serving for both B&GITC and AS), and in fact she promoted the show in its initial run as a way to break into the Japanese market. The music for the international version comes from an industrial licensing company called 5Alarm Music (you need to register to see what they have, but it's free to do so and I've only received a single nice e-mail after doing so); nevertheless, the main credit songs for B&GITC and AS were both by the same group - two guys known as Lights Follow.

Some music obsessives have tracked down every track used in every episode of the show for some of the seasons:
Someone was interested finding more of the music used in the international versions of the show similar to that of Lights Follow and so I built a Pandora Station to do so.

Related Shows

 There are a couple of shows that are similar to TH:

  • Ainori, The Love Wagon - Ainori started long before TH, and, in fact, TH may well have been shaped to be in contrast to Ainori. The focus is much more on match-making in the context of cheap travel. It too has been rebooted by Netflix and the first of these new seasons has a really good story line involving a guy named Shy Boy
  • Hyori's Bed & Breakfast - It's available on Netflix, but watch it at at streaming site because the music is MUCH better, and, in fact, you will miss some music related scenes in the Netflix version. Even less happens on this show than TH, but you will love Hyori, Sang Soon and the employees as they run a B&B for a couple of weeks in each season. The joke is, of course, that Hyori and the employees are incredibly popular K-Pop stars.
    • Dream High - The first season led me to seek out more of the employee, IU, and this K-drama features her in a good secandary role. Worth watching if only to hear her acoustic version of "Video Killed The Radio Star".
    • Ask Me About K-Pop - The show also led me to want to learn more about K-Pop and this ongoing podcast is an excellent introduction to the topic.
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1 comment:

DramaNice said...

nice post

7:16 AM

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