REVIEW: ‘Badly In Love’ Season 2 Delightfully Expands And Entertains

“Wassup!” Audiences will quickly learn what that greeting means in Badly In Love Season 2. This season expands and becomes more entertaining to watch in many ways, bringing a more animated cast together. Despite this being a reality dating show, it’d be just as interesting as an anime. But that’s what makes real-life stories so special: the backstories each of these yankii/delinquents shares are almost too crazy to be true. Badly in Love Season 2 proves how complex human emotions can be, and how the unlikeliest bunch can adapt and grow in this environment.

Here’s a short recap of Badly In Love’s premise: eleven men and women with troubled pasts and messy romantic histories share a dorm at a makeshift school. Against this school backdrop, they’re granted 14 days to find love in whatever form that means to each of them—all while following some basic rules. Simply, the rules don’t condone violence or harm to other contestants, and other restrictions that the production staff deem illegal or not allowed. At the end of the two weeks, each person will confess who they want to continue dating outside of the show.

It’s no surprise, given the current episode list, but the biggest change from Season 1 is that this season has two parts—each part containing a new class every 10 episodes. This is a bold move that could’ve happened much later, like in Season 5 of the show. Regardless, this move is justified based on the events of Part 1. Part 1 has its dramatic moments in entertaining, wholesome ways, but Part 2 of Badly in Love Season 2 truly ratchets up the stakes and adds more chaos.

Of course, audiences who watched Badly In Love Season 1 will notice the shift to the seaside island of Okinawa for Season 2. Badly In Love Season 2 even goes as far as to call its school the “Marine Academy,” whereas the first season was set in a secluded urban-style school the show called the “Badly In Love Academy.” In terms of changing the scenery in this second season, it’s a more pleasant sight to view the area surrounding the main setting. It’s a breath of fresh air, reminiscent of Terrace House’s move from an urban setting to Hawaii. 

Badly In Love Season 2 showcases Okinawa’s natural environment and really aims to boost tourism.

While the random, secluded school setting from the first season was nice to see the cast take care of a small daycare as part of their volunteer work, Badly In Love Season 2 expands that volunteer work across Okinawa. Moreover, much of the volunteer work in Season 2 is more educational than in Season 1.

Both the audience and the show contestants learn facts about Okinawa traditions or sayings, such as the lady named Ms. Higa, who teaches the Part 1 cast about the term joto—an Okinawa way of saying thank you and something people say when “the stars align.” She also becomes a great mentor for Sharan Kato, aka Sharan. In general, the mentors like Ms. Higa or Mr. Hentona act like pseudo-parents to these yankiis searching for love—a key element missing in Season 1.

This second season is almost like a travel guide to Okinawa, which isn’t a bad thing for a reality show like this, as it can draw in more international tourism. In a way, the setting is like an unintended main character for this season. The first season relied much more on set decoration to establish the reality-dating-show vibes, using neon lights, wall art, and other decor that’s fairly common in other popular dating shows. However, Badly In Love Season 2 goes further by showcasing Okinawa’s natural environment and really aims to boost tourism beyond the show. It definitely makes me want to swim in those Kool-Aid blue waters!

One of the best parts of Badly In Love Season 2 is how Ak-69 is subbed out for Japanese rapper Awich, who grew up in Naha, Okinawa, and lived a hard life herself. Awich joins the series showrunner MEGUMI and returning host and comedian Nagano. Ak-69 had some insightful input in Season 1 too, but knowing Awich, this show provides a deeper, unseen look into Awich’s personal life and struggles.

The random guest-host switch in Badly in Love Season 2 adds refreshing commentary.

For some brief context, Awich moved to Atlanta, Georgia, in the United States, to study abroad and was married to a local man. Tragically, her husband was shot and killed as a result of street and gang violence he was involved in. Afterward, Awich took her daughter and moved back to Okinawa. 

Awich offers Okinawa enlightenment, but also intuitive insights into every contestant’s feelings—whether they are conveyed to one another or in the individual confessionals. She especially connects with the contestants who were either previously married or had parental issues.

Hazuki, aka Ha-chan, harbors resentment towards her stepmother, which is one of the prime examples Awich gave when she talked about having trouble being a stepmom herself. Ha-chan even goes so far as to call her stepmom to thank her during Badly In Love Season 2, a common occurrence among the contestants in both Parts 1 and 2.

Takahiro Moriuchi, aka Taka from the Japanese rock band One Ok Rock, hosts Badly In Love Season 2 Part 2, back alongside MEGUMI and Nagano. Strangely, they switch guest hosts randomly in the middle of Part 2, but it adds some refreshing commentary that’s more funny than Awich’s high-level analysis. While Taka admits he was not a yankii or a delinquent in any way similar to the contestants, he explains that he was a bit of a rebellious teenager.

Yes, the drama and fights are entertaining, but seeing other humans vulnerable on TV is more compelling.

 One of his best backstories is how he connects with Minima Ito, aka Mimi, and how her life turns around after finally getting a teacher at school who tries to understand and help her. Taka explains how getting lucky in finding a good mentor can really change a person’s life, especially for people who struggle to fit in and are misunderstood. 

A few Badly In Love Season 2 cast members end up healing some parental problem or two, and these are some of the best moments to watch. Not a lot of North American reality shows do that, where the contestants come out of the experience reflecting on past issues and healing from them. Or at least, these Western shows haven’t been edited that way.

Yes, the drama and fights are entertaining, but seeing other humans vulnerable on TV is more compelling than any overly dramatic fight or ultra flirtatious fling. It might be a bit cathartic, but it’s amazing how much audiences can relate to other humans and reflect on their own problems from shows like this.

One of the most fascinating aspects of these cast members in Parts 1 and 2 is how quickly they get over physical or verbal disputes. One moment there could be two people scrapping, and the next they talk it out and dap each other up as if nothing happened. It’s a prime example of resolving issues in the most mature way for those watching and learning from these ex-delinquents. 

The bonds among the cast of Badly In Love Season 2 appear tighter than those of the first season.

Marina Takaoka, aka Maririn, is one of the most talked about and controversially hated cast members of Badly In Love Season 2. At least that’s what’s being discussed domestically on the internet in Japan. From an international perspective, I see what views the men and women have on the show—as well as what the internet is saying about how Maririn-centric the season becomes.

However, Maririn is like a huge main character of the show because it’s awesome to see someone who has lived through trauma slowly overcome adversity and experience a lot of her firsts. She says throughout Badly In Love Season 2 that this is her first time having a home-cooked meal. That’s so sad and sweet from the audience’s perspective, because most people around the world take these moments for granted when they’re kids at home. 

It’s even more endearing to see how much Ruru Tanaka aka Ruru and Asuka Oguri aka Assun stand up for Maririn in any conflict. Albeit, Ruru and Assun go slightly too far when defending Maririn from the guys, but their hearts are in the right place. The women in Part 2 do something similar when they notice the men not taking initiative after the first couple of days, specifically targeting Takumi Maruta aka Maru, at one point.

In Season 1, the balance of power appeared equal among men and women. But for Badly in Love Season 2, both classes contain strong, opinionated women, and the show is better for it. This isn’t to say that the men on the show should have less power than the women, but these yankii women are built differently and fierce.

Even with the hard exteriors, though, their backstories, expressions, and words are very powerful. One of the strongest segments of Badly In Love Season 2 is the ethics classes, where selected contestants have to share details of their past to work through these traumas. It’s unbelievable to think that telling these stories out loud to like-minded individuals helps some people heal on this show, creating a bunch of tear-jerking moments. 

Overall, the friendship bonds among the cast members in Badly In Love Season 2 appear tighter than those of the entire first-season cast. Perhaps the Season 2 members have the context of the show, so it’s easier for everyone to grasp where everyone is at. Either way, the romantic and friendly bonds feel more raw and emotional this season. At the final graduation ceremony, it’s great that they let the women confess who they like, too —something the women in Season 1 weren’t allowed to do—which seemed absurd. This rule change feels more inclusive and fair for both genders. 

One last observation is how the show managed the contestants’ alcohol intake. Limiting alcohol consumption is a major win, especially when one woman almost dies from alcohol poisoning in Part 1. Badly In Love Season 1 got rowdy at times in the night and led to some unnecessary disagreements. In Season 2, the contestants have to work hard to gain access to alcohol. After the near-tragedy in Part 1, it’s clear that the production has the cast members use unmarked, clear bottles for the rest of the show to prevent a similar incident. Really smart move from the production. 

At the end of the day, Badly In Love Season 2 builds and fixes some of the boring parts of Season 1. Sometimes, it feels like the producers throw a bunch of twists for extra drama, but it’s mostly justified. The joke MEGUMI keeps making about the show being a reality dating show, not an ethics show, rings so true this season. The Season 1 class didn’t seem to come out as enlightened by their experience as the Season 2 class did. For those who crave a more insightful and introspective reality dating show to binge, this is the one that offers a lot on almost every emotional level. 

Badly in Love Season 2 is now streaming exclusively on Netflix.

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