REVIEW: ‘Badly In Love’ Season 2 Is A Fast-Paced Level Up

Badly In Love Season 2 returns with an all-new cast of yankiis (delinquents) and a whole new set of drama and romance. The general vibes of this second go-around are “wassup!” For every time ‘wassup’ is said this season, take a drink. All this is to say, expect a faster-paced group of yankiis this season—filled with deep, traumatic stories and conversations of regrets and redemption. This group is truly down bad for love…or maybe it’s just a fatal and fleeting attraction.  

Series producer MEGUMI returns as one of the three hosts, alongside comedian Nagano—who came in as the voice and feelings of the audience in Season 1, as this is his first hosting gig for a reality romance show. One of my favorite Japanese hip hop artists, Awich, joins the hosting table for Badly In Love Season 2. She’s a major artist hailing from Okinawa (where the new season takes place), but is known all around the world. Awich replaces rapper Ak-69, who provided stories from his yankii past and experiences. 

One of the coolest parts from these first few episodes is how much Awich delves into her own life being a yankii herself, and the tough life she’s lived as well. At age 19, she moved from Japan to Atlanta, Georgia, where she met her American husband and gave birth to a daughter. The craziest story Awich shares in Badly In Love Season 2 is how attackers shot at her in their Atlanta house, and she had to grab her baby daughter out of the crib to protect her. To add further context, Awich’s husband was murdered after his release from prison, leading Awich and her daughter to return to Japan. 

Badly in Love Season 2 features the return of Nagano and some new faces to host.

A nice change this season is the scenery, going for a more beachside backdrop. Badly In Love Season 2 escapes the city life and takes place in tropical Okinawa, upgrading from Badly In Love Academy to Badly In Love Marine Academy. As per usual, 11 men and women from across Japan join the Academy carrying complicated pasts and ghosts, all on a journey to heal and possibly find love. Ultimately, this experimental reality dating show provides a unique, vulnerable look into some of the most troubled Japanese ex-Yakuza members and delinquents alike. 

The men featured in Badly In Love Season 2 include Taisei aka Tai-chan, who is 22 years old and born in Hiroshima; Leo Yamamoto, who is 25 years old and hailing from Kyoto; Ari, who is 29 years old and resides in Kanagawa; Mizuki Noguchi aka Bo, who is 27 years old and lives in Kurume City, Fukuoka; Masaya Oda aka Ma-kun, who is 28 years old and doesn’t reveal where he’s from; and then there’s Kazuma Shioda aka Kazu-kun, who is 29 years old and lives in the Toyama Prefecture. 

As for the women, they consist of Asuka Oguri aka Assun, who is 30 years old and settled in Nagoya City; Hikaru, who is 23 years old and from Kawasaki, Kanagawa; Marina Takaoka aka Maririn, who is 25 years old and resides in Osaka; Ruru, who is 26 years old and lives in Shizuoka; and lastly, Hazuki aka Ha-chan, who is 27 years old and represents those from Miyagi Prefecture. 

In the first round of episodes, there are no clear couples yet.

So far, there are no established or strongly prospective couples, with half the cast fighting another member for a potential partner and some not getting a chance at reciprocal attraction. Ruru and Hikaru are the most sought after women, based on the men’s love letters and intentions. On the men’s side, the women fight for Tai-chan, Ma-kun, and Kazu-kun’s attention throughout the first episodes of Badly In Love Season 2.

The spice and drama between these delinquents ignite immediately when two men enter the main classroom for the first time, attempting to assert dominance. In fact, it happens twice at the introductions! Security steps in, as the fights this season are scrappier than ever. In terms of pacing and how fast the group connects, it’s all happening so fast. Maybe because this is the second season, but the initial connections and attractions are established fairly quickly from Episode 1. The whole show feels like it’s going at 2x speed compared to Season 1.

If there’s one thing Badly in Love Season 2 improves on, it’s its activity challenges and mandatory volunteer work. The activities were either fun or informative in the sense that they push the contestants to reveal more about their lore. For example, one of the challenges makes the contestants skip a rope as a group thirty times in order to earn the privilege of having alcohol with their dinner. Another activity allows one of the yankiis to reveal major secrets—and this season is filled with many insightful ones. 

This season is already starting off with big reveals, with Maririn’s backstory being one of the highlights.

For the volunteer work, the contestants help a lady clean and run to collect the fruit from the hundreds of trees. Later on, the group also helps a man named Mr. Hentona. The yankiis who didn’t get to go on a date stayed back to pull out weeds growing on Mr. Hentona’s banana trees. This is great character-building, especially as Hentona drops some major love advice in a cave on the way back to the Shire. 

One of the biggest backstories revolves around Maririn and her long history of abusive boyfriends. Tragically, she says she thought that when her ex-boyfriends used to hit her, she thought it was love. Putting it simply, Maririn is a victim of prolonged domestic violence, and she hopes to discover what true love is on Badly In Love Season 2. The crazy part is Bo’s dark secret about hitting one of his exes in past, after finding out that she cheated on him. This becomes a hot-button topic throughout this first batch of Badly In Love Season 2 episodes. 

Even with these crazy circumstances and people coming from different walks of life, this group of contestants look and feels well-bonded. When the guys do anything that could trigger Maririn’s trauma, the women unite and confront the guys involved head-on. In the first season, it felt like the women weren’t as protective of one another. Based on vibes and observations, the women can be perceived as coddling Maririn in finding love on the show because they’re constantly monitoring her mental state.

Badly in Love Season 2 is set in Okinawa, and it is fricking gorgeous.

Even the hosts bring up that the women treat the men a bit too harshly for some of the men’s actions, to a certain extent. However, it’s very educational and proper to see the women on this show bond to protect one of their own, all while educating the men about their wrongful actions. Badly In Love Season 2 clearly shows the power of the female bond, and how much they’re in charge of the villa and school. The women know what they want, and will not tolerate any wrongdoings or nonsense. 

Dark backstories and mental illness aren’t the only themes covered in Badly In Love Season 2, but race too. Ari is half Pakistani and half Japanese, and Maririn is part Japanese, part Iranian, and part French. This is a breath of fresh air where the show adds some diverse contestants, something lacking from the first season. Adding in this diversity element showed another layer to some of the discrimination that even trickles down to the criminal underground.

Production-wise, Badly In Love Season 2 clearly got a money bump, from the stunning statues and glamorous drone shots of Okinawa to bigger and better-looking school grounds. The CGI in the intro also looks cleaner, with the graphics and music choice matching the island feel. Speaking of the island’s feeling, this season slips in some deepcut Okinawan-exclusive lore. For example, Awich already knew what the lady, Ms. Higa, from the volunteer work meant by the term joto (translates to mean thank you or simply something said when “the stars alight“. 

The production has gotten a major upgrade this season, and it shows.

The overall interior design and lighting in Badly In Love Season 2 is stunning, with every room filled with some kind of neon light or sign. There are various wallpapers and vibrant decor that make the cast pop against the simple colors of the seating furniture. Even the famous sauna area of the schoolyard villa from Season 1 returns, but it’s a lot more spacious here. Just like the first season, the production design team executed an 11 out of 10 production design performance with this second season. 

Badly In Love Season 2 is shaping up to be an even more exciting season than the first season. Clearly, they learned what works and what doesn’t before the second go-around. This group of contestants primarily consist of people between 20 and 30 years old, allowing them all to vibe without the major age gap. Everything in the Badly In Love Marine Academy is already more entertaining than the first season.

If I had to recommend this show to someone who loves reality dating shows but has never seen a Japanese one, Badly In Love Season 2 would be my choice for them to skip ahead and get invested. 

Badly in Love Season 2 Episodes 1-4 are now streaming exclusively on Netflix.

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