Terrace House Tokyo 2019-2020 P1: E5 "Reiwa!!"

Konbanwa!

It’s time for another night in with my friends. What this episode lacked in drama, it made up for in character development. Let’s dive into Terrace House Tokyo 2019-2020 Part 1: Episode 5 "Reiwa!!" The episode starts with some insider information from the panelists. Torichan shares that in an interview Haruka said she has a bad habit of being intrigued by what other people have, aka she wants what she can’t have. This could spell danger for any relationship that develops in the house. Back with the housemates, they are all celebrating Reiwa. My knowledge about Japan is hugely lacking, so I looked up what Reiwa is. According to the internet, it's the day Emperor Akihito's elder son, Naruhito, ascended the throne as the 126th Emperor of Japan, which was May 1, 2019. Reiwa represents beauty, peace and harmony. It’s cool that they name each era of empire. I shudder to think what America would call ours right now. Let’s not think about it.

The housemates continue to celebrate, but there’s still time for awkward glances as both Risako and Haruka make plans with Ruka in front of each other. It was slightly uncomfortable, but also entertaining. Especially how intensely Risako was looking at her nails pretending she didn’t care about the conversation she was hearing.

The next day Ruka drives Risako to parkour practice and we get our first look at her doing her thang. While impressive, I’m still not sure how she would do that professionally. I even went so far as to Google “professional parkour,” and did find the World Freerunning Parkour Federation, but it’s unclear how they are turning a profit. Anyway enough about Parkour. The main highlight from this scene was Ruka and Risako sharing a drink from the same bottle, at least according to Yamachan. We find out that he is obsessed with “indirect kisses." I actually burst out laughing at this scene. Especially when he was talking about Seina’s ice cream sharing in a previous season. The tongue imprint thing sent me over the edge.

We also get another look at Haruka racing, which I’m sure was exciting for people who care about that sort of thing. To me drag racing involves a lot more wigs and lot less straight people. The one take away from this scene was that Haruka is a totally different person around her racing bros. She was so animated and talkative. I was like, who is this girl? Kaori and Kenny also hung out by shopping for T-shirts and eating burgers. Nothing really exciting to report here either, besides establishing that the housemates are going to see Kenny perform the next day, which is the very next scene. Kenny’s band is pretty good and Kaori looks impressed in the audience. There was a lot of her teasing Kenny this episode, so I’m not sure if she’s into him or not. The panel talks again and comes to the conclusion that Ruka sees Risako as a friend, while he has a serious crush on Haruka. They make the hiiillarious joke that there will be a Parkour of Tears when shit hits the fan. ha ha ha In the last scene Haruka sets up a date with Shohei to golf, and with Ruka to check out the auto shop she hangs out at. Lots of one-on-one hangs happening but very little action so far. Highlights:

• Ruka dyeing his hair black, but saying he didn’t have time for a full cut. Please release the forehead. These swoops are not doing you any favors.

• The panel mercilessly picking on Yamachan and calling him an old virgin.

• Kaori constantly eating hamburgers. I’m officially starting burger watch.

• Kaori’s ruthless impression of Kenny that he probably overheard.

That’s it for this week. Are you shipping anyone yet? What was your favorite savage comment?