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Opening Shot: Shots of Africa — wild animals, dancing indigenous people, etc. “The sun rising over the vast, amber land signals the coming of a new day,” says the narrator.

The Gist: Here’s the gist of Ainori Love Wagon: Seven contestants (notice the odd number) travel in the pink van and start to get to know one another. When someone has feelings for someone else, they cannot discuss this with anyone but the crew during confessionals. They’re given a ticket back to Japan, and then they admit their feelings to the other person. If they kiss, they both go back to Japan as a couple. If the other person says no, the rejected person goes home alone.

In this third Netflix season, the seven contestants take a 3-week journey through several African nations, starting in the very cosmopolitan city of Nairobi, Kenya. The idea is that, while trying to find love, the contestants will interact with the culture in the cities and out in the villages, experience local food and customs, etc.

The male contestants: Dreamy U-Zi; O-Ji, who will date people of all ages; Haribo, who tells a story of a girlfriend dumping him while he was in the hospital after an accident; and Shu-mai, who’s 22 and never had a girlfriend (oh, and he’s a touch overweight, which we’ll be reminded of by constant shots of him eating and graphics of his 95kg weight). The females: Su-Su, who has a cute accent; Husky, who loves drinking and has watched Ainoi since elementary school; and Kou, who wants to find an amazing relationship.

Watching it all are four presenters in front of a studio audience: Soccer star Karina Maruyama, singer Becky and actors Ryo Kato and Kouhei Takeda.

Our Take: Unlike the more subtle and sedate Terrace House, Ainori Love Wagon goes for the loud and silly at almost every opportunity. From having the contestants run from the van every time they pick a new person up, to all of them saying the women are “cute”, to the flying kenji graphics that likely mean something if you’re familiar with Japanese, there often isn’t time to stop and breathe and, you know, actually explore where the heck the show is located.

We get it; this formula has been a success in Japan for over 20 years. The producers have been all over the planet, so they more than anyone else know how to make sure the contestants engage with their surroundings rather than just talk to each other in a pink van. But the first episode really could have taken place anywhere, since we go from restaurant to van to another restaurant to the van to another restaurant.

There is a stop at Nairobi National Park, where lions and giraffes and other wild animals wander around with the odd backdrop of the city’s skyline, and the contestants get to pop their heads out of the van’s pop-up roof (a first, apparently) to take pictures. And they marvel at how the city has taken to using biodegradable bags after banning plastic, but other than that, the episode could have taken place in Kyoto and proceeded exactly the same.

Then there’s the idea that the show isn’t exactly on the contestants’ side. Poor Shu-Mai (everyone goes by nicknames on this show; he’s got this name because he’s as “juicy” as a shumai dumpling) is harped on about his weight and made fun of because he’s “absolutely mostly virgin” who has gone to a pink salon a couple of times (i.e. he’s gotten a couple of paid-for handjobs). Meanwhile, dreamy U-Zi gets serious respect from the show’s married director for never having had to tell a girl how he felt before she tells him; he will apparently be so miserable without his smartphone (did we mention the contestants have to give up their phones?) that he’ll want to go home. We don’t know a ton more about anyone else just yet.

It’s a lot to take in for someone who’s not used to the show’s format. And we hope that as the group travels they’ll interact more with the local people and not treat them as some sort of sideshow or tourist attraction. But we’re pretty sure this show will be a heck of a lot more interesting than the stodgy Terrace House.

Sex and Skin: Other than the talk of pink salons, and some misconstrued randy talk from the presenters, everything is pretty much above the waist.

Parting Shot: Scenes of the season, including scenes of “Chaotic Africa”: Solders, a man with a “mysterious face”, someone who’s sick, and more. Maybe they will be using the locals as a sideshow.

Sleeper Star: The sleeper star would be the person who could translate all of those flying graphics for me. Seriously.

Most Pilot-y Line: Takeda already thinks that U-Zi is a younger version of him. Oy, the ego.

Our Call: STREAM IT if you’re a fan of Ainori or Japanese dating shows. SKIP IT if you’re expecting a respectful presentation of Kenya and other African nations.

Should you stream or skip the Japanese dating show #AinoriLoveWagon on @netflix? #SIOSI

Joel Keller (@joelkeller) writes about food, entertainment, parenting and tech, but he doesn’t kid himself: he’s a TV junkie. His writing has appeared in the New York Times, Slate, Salon, VanityFair.com , Playboy.com , Fast Company.com , RollingStone.com , Billboard and elsewhere.

Stream Ainori Love Wagon: African Journey On Netflix

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