Welcome to the first installment of Multiversity’s Summer Binge of Terrace House: Tokyo 2019-2020 part three! We begin with episode 25 where despite some big changes, a few very sweet moments lessen the sting of several departures.
An important note before we get started: As some of you may or may not know, cast member Hana Kimura died by suicide this past May due to apparent cyberbullying brought on by increased attention from starring on Terrace House. Despite its seeming wholesomeness, Terrace House is still a reality show like any other. Viewers can forget that what they’re watching is real people living their real lives, scripted or not.
The episodes we’re recapping were filmed before Hana’s death and as such will include some discussion of her role in the show’s storylines. We will do our best to be sensitive to this fact, but please know that her inclusion in recaps might make them difficult to read for some. If that’s you, take care; we’ll catch you next binge.
If you or someone you know are struggling with suicidal thoughts, please reach out to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255), or contact the Crisis Text Line by texting TALK to 741741.
On to the recap.
1. Broccoli carbonara gets a nice character arc
One of the enduring themes of this season has been just how young and naive Ruka is, a fact that was even more keenly felt with the introduction of Ryo and Peppe, two men who are so clearly driven to achieve their goals. Ruka is generally what you’d expect from a 20 year old with a part-time job, but that hasn’t made watching him any less frustrating. His cooking skills notwithstanding, his insistence that his career goal was to be Spider-Man basically because he’s a Marvel fanboy was… a lot to unpack. It was sad seeing girl after girl being taken by his good looks only to realize that their prince charming was a boy in men’s clothing. He’s clearly been babied all his life, and it must be tough to try and overcome that in the public eye while surrounded by the sort of overachievers that Terrace House attracts. Still… liking Marvel comics and movies does not make you Spider-Man and it was baffling that he his brain couldn’t make that leap.
That said, Ruka ends up having one of the nicest goodbyes we’ve had in a while at Terrace House. Remember early on when he became the first person in history to screw up a pasta dish? Well, no more! Ruka is now cooking pasta from scratch. Booyah! In a nice nod to his early season carbonara pasta disaster, Ruka whips up a delicious mea culpa that he dubs “carbroccoli pasta.” He then gives his roommates a full speech in English to tell them he’s leaving. The panel finds it embarrassing, to which I ask what on earth are the standards in Japan?? If I had strung together half as complex sentences in any of my beginner language courses, I think my teachers would have cried. Sure, his accent is pretty thick, but he’s come so far from the lazy kid who first joined Terrace House.
Side note: Peppe is so encouraging during Ruka’s broken English speech that it makes me want to cry. Why is he such a good person? I’m gonna miss him so much when he leaves.
2. If you’re gonna let me down, let me down gently
Ryo is truly a masterclass in respecting other people’s opinions. Are most Japanese athletes like this? It’s wild. This is a generalization, obviously, but you’d probably be hard pressed to find a professional American athlete with this level of emotional maturity at his age (he’s 26!!), let alone someone who would tactfully turn down the two hot women basically throwing themselves at him. He literally uses doublespeak to simultaneously let Hana know he isn’t interested while also encouraging her to focus on herself and the romance will follow. It’s… incredible?
Ryo lets his teammates know that he’s hoping to marry the next person he dates, so it makes sense that he wouldn’t just want to give into the girls’ attention for the fun of it. Hopefully him and his puppy dog eyes wake up one morning and realize he’s found love, just as he tells Hana he’s always dreamed of doing.
Continued below3. Best frenemies
Speaking of the girls, Emika and Hana have made amends… maybe. They have a very nice chat at a restaurant where apologies are made and Emika finally reveals that she also has a thing for Ryo. Hana seems relieved at the opportunity to discuss with someone else how great Ryo is and jumps right in. It’s hard to tell if Emika is as relieved, or if she still views Hana as a threat. In a subsequent scene at Ryo’s basketball game, it’s Hana who continually tries to engage Emika in gushing over how hot he is. Is this an indicator that Emika isn’t as cool with Hana liking Ryo as she pretends to be, or is it just that she’s more shy expressing her feelings in front of others? It’s too early to tell.
There might also be some subtle cultural things going on here that our American brains aren’t registering. The panel and cast on Terrace House are always overanalyzing when it comes to romance. For example, there’s a whole debate over what it means when Ryo places his hand on Emika’s knee. The panel is split on whether this indicates that the two have had sex, or if Ryo has simply just adapted some more Western sensibilities when it comes to touching other people platonically. We’re inclined to believe the latter, though if last season’s Aoi/Yui debacle on Terrace House: Opening New Doors has taught us anything, it’s that a lot can happen off camera. Still, we’re skeptical.
4. Peppe lives the dream
Let’s be real: most of us watching this show probably were (or are) big into anime and manga. Most people don’t browse around Netflix and think, “Hey, you know what I’d like to do today? Read AND watch TV at the same time!” We’ve all had the dream of our foreigner life in Tokyo, the hijinks and “Megatokyo”-ness of it all. That’s one of the things that has made Peppe’s story so great — we get to live vicariously through him!
Alas, dreams are hard work. He gets turned down by Haruka basically for being a workaholic, a trait that undoubtedly will give him much success as a manga-ka, but isn’t currently serving him well in love. Ultimately, the pace and volume of work lead him to the decision that he needs to leave Terrace House, which is a huge bummer. Adding him to the cast pretty much saved this season from its early slough. He brought a light and energy that was severely lacking, and his encouragement of Ruka has been nothing short of amazing. Still, the whole point of his coming to Japan was to get his manga published, so that ultimately needs to be where his priorities lie.
5. Introducing everyone’s new favorite cast member
Peppe’s send off is just as sweet as Ruka’s in that we get a nice conclusion to his character arc. Arguably the best moment of this episode (this season?) is when he ventures into a corner store and sees his name in print. You can tell he’s so overcome with emotions seeing his comic published, but doesn’t quite know how to process it. “It’s right next to Jump!” he tells the shopkeeper. He tries to buy all five or six copies, but then realizes he didn’t bring enough money and has to put some back and it’s adorable.
This scene includes a great exchange with the woman working behind the counter who the panel dubs their new favorite cast member due to her wholesomeness. First, when Pepe asks to buy all the copies, she makes sure he’s aware that the content is the same in each. Ready to buy and unable to contain his excitement, he tells her as he’s checking out that that’s his comic, right there. Immediately the shopkeeper is everyone’s grandma, congratulating him and promising to tell everyone she knows about it. She says she’ll be his biggest fan! It’s perfect and exactly what Peppe needs in that moment — someone to celebrate with. He deserved that interaction and more.
