REVIEW: ‘Badly In Love’ Episodes 1-4

The holiday season is always a perfect time for romance, where kisses can happen under a mistletoe or a burning passion can ignite between two people who get snowed-in for the night. Netflix’s Badly In Love hosts a Japanese reality dating show involving delinquents, where sparks can fly between love rivals… or ice water. This is what happens when eleven former delinquents are put under one roof for fourteen chaotic days, condensed into ten episodes of content.

Produced by MEGUMI, Badly in Love is a passion project from the self-professed former delinquent who believes that in the age of overthinking and guarded emotions, what audiences truly want are people who are unapologetically themselves. The result is a heartfelt, no-nonsense dating experiment that captures both the chaos and vulnerability of love.

Set deep in the mountains at the Badly in Love Academy, the show follows a group of “yankii/yankee,” or delinquents, as they navigate fights, friendships, and first loves. Over two weeks together, they reveal their true selves through clashes and connections, putting everything on the line in fights and in love. On the final day, at an emotional graduation ceremony, each must confess their feelings to the one they’ve fallen for.

The contestants and emcees pull together to make a great cast.

Each participant arrives at the academy with their own history, toughness, and hopes for a different future. Contestants include Yanboh, a rapper, university graduate, and ex-yakuza who expresses his feelings bluntly, and Tsu-chan, a former biker-gang leader who claims “looks are everything.”

On the women’s side, there are contestants like Amo, a show dancer who claims to have received love declarations from over 50 guys, and Tekarin, an underground fighter who loves kids and was expelled from school for defending herself against a senior. 

However, anyone who has seen other Japanese reality shows knows that emcees make or break an entertaining reality dating show. Badly In Love is hosted by MEGUMI, the series producer and actor known for her interest in raw emotional storytelling; AK-69, a rapper whose intensity and directness resonate with the show’s themes; and Nagano, a comedian who openly jokes that he’s “bad at dating shows,” yet offers a refreshing outsider lens. 

Badly In Love leans hard into stereotypes about delinquents.

Badly In Love Episodes 1-4 contain enough drama to reel in anyone looking for their next reality dating show. The initial nine cast members arrive one by one, each with an epic, anime-like introduction. The camera focuses on their tattoos and gang/streetwear. It’s like watching real-world versions of characters from Tokyo Revengers, Wind Breaker, The Warriors, or The Outsiders.

The set production does an amazing job reflecting living quarters that capture the stereotypes of delinquents. However, it’s a little too on-the-nose at times. In the men’s living quarters, neon lights illuminate an intimidating lineup: men with tattoos, short hair, and sunglasses stand beside others in white shirts who embody a more modern kind of delinquency.

The women’s space, by contrast, bursts with zebra prints and hot pink accents, echoing the bold aesthetic of Japan’s millennial fashion era. Behind the bravado, though, are stories of loss, longing, and the desire to be truly seen.

The producers get involved, but things still don’t feel forced in Badly In Love Episodes 1-4.

Badly In Love Episodes 1-4 show how quickly situations can escalate and how love triangles can evolve. In the first episode alone, Milkboy, Yanboh, and Baby form a love triangle. The tensions around this initial love triangle don’t feel forced, and show who’s more assertive than others.

It’s even common decency moments that the cast fights about, such as Nisei being upset at Milkboy for leaving the group with Baby. These tense confrontations play out slightly overly dramatic, but fascinating to witness. One of the funniest unanimous opinions from the cast and emcees is that Tackle looks a little creepy. Then, the first small challenge explains why he gets the most X’s from the women.

For the first two episodes, the saddest, yet most entertaining, person to watch is Yanboh. As one of the oldest, mature members, he continues to take L’s—losing Baby’s affection and losing the hand sumo wrestling challenge against Milkboy in Episode 2. Yanboh’s crashout in Episode 1 is also a Top 10 TV crashout moment. 

The no-violence rule is the most important at Badly in Love Academy.

Badly In Love Episodes 1-4 play up the friction for each episode by ending on major cliffhangers. Since this reality dating show contains individuals who have criminal pasts and tendencies, the show staff is strict about no violence and not engaging in illegal activity on the show.

Essentially, the no-violence rule equates to the no-sexual contact rule in Too Hot to Handle. And the show definitely means it with this rule. It’s endearing, at least, that the cast members get to explain what they did wrong and say their goodbyes to the group before leaving.

Badly In Love doesn’t save the twists and turns of the show structure for later in the season, where “transfer students” can join Badly In Love Academy in the middle of the show. At the end of Episode 2, the women take a small trip to a host club in Kabukicho to meet the new member joining the house: Ten-ten. A similar scenario occurs in Episode 4, where the producers take a side in a fight, orchestrating but not forcing it.

There’s plenty of flirtation so far in Badly In Love Episodes 1-4.

On the other spicy-entertainment side, Badly In Love Episode 4 ends with some interwoven flirtations around the Academy. Tsu-chan and Tackle figuratively fight for Kiichan’s attention, even though Kiichan explains to Tackle that she doesn’t see him that way. The emcees joke that Tackle didn’t fully understand Kiichan’s rejection, and somehow fuelled him to try harder to win her over. It’s a peculiar scenario, but very funny to watch. 

For the most part, Milkboy and Baby appear solid together by the end of Episode 4, while Oto-san and Nisei see if there are sparks between them in their small sauna/jacuzzi date. Episode 4 ends before Oto-san and Nisei dive into any juicy conversations, but the short 5-second preview shows her bringing up kids—and includes a slow-motion shot of Nisei shocked by that topic.   

Badly In Love Episodes 1-4 show some of the most genuine, down-on-their-luck people in a reality dating show, expressing their emotions to the fullest. Those looking for something more fast-paced than Love Village will revel in this series.

This may be the closest a reality dating show can come to watching hardened ex-criminals live in a co-ed space and try to find love. With that premise alone, this is the perfect dating show to follow.

Badly In Love Episodes 1-4 are currently streaming on Netflix, with Episodes 5-7 premiering on December 16th.