Ainori and Melodrama

Ainori

What is Ainori? 

Ainori is a Japanese reality TV show about 7 people on a bus traveling across Asia looking for love. There are four men and four women from various walks of life, and their goal is to find a match. When they feel like they have found someone they have feelings for, they have to confess their feelings. If their feelings are returned, the pair leave the show together, and if they are not, the person who confessed must leave alone. 

In Season 2 of the new Netflix reboot of this show, we see a lot of drama erupt as these seven participants look for love. In episode 6 of the show, the men are Tom, Myanmar, Dr. Morimori and Hidekun. The women are Depparin, Yuchan, and Moa. Yuchan is shy, and depends on the loudmouthed and confident Depparin for help. The main conflict of the episode arises when Depparin gets fed up with Yuchan's constant requests for advice and, while drunk, starts yelling at Yuchan.

Depparin bullies Yuchan, and then begins to yell at the men for not taking sides and being quiet. The men try and get her to calm down, and the crew tell everyone to return to their rooms, but Depparin refuses to let it go. Eventually, they all decide to leave, but Depparin tells everyone to come to her room afterwards. The men go and comfort Yuchan, and she decides that she needs some time alone. The men go to Depparin's room and tell her that Yuchan wanted to be by herself, and Depparin is furious. She goes out and decides to chase after Yuchan. She finds her and begins to berate her again, becoming physically violent. When Tom and the director try to restrain her, she physically assaults them all, until she is taken down to the ground in a fit of fury and tears. At the end of the conflict, she is physically carried away.

How does this relate to melodrama?

Clearly, this episodes contained a lot of drama. But how can an unscripted reality series fit under the umbrella of melodrama? Although the events of the series are presumably genuine, the way it is edited and the narrative constructed by the producers and director is very much intentional. Even the events themselves unfold because of the producers' actions. Depparin was a character who caused lots of trouble in the first season, so she was brought back largely because the producers knew that she would cause a commotion again, making the show dramatic. They also put the participants in a situation where they would be drinking alcohol together because they knew conflict might occur.

In this sense, the idea of forced drama is very strong in this show. A lot of the conflicts arise because of forced circumstances. Much like in melodrama, the characters play very specific roles. Depparin is placed in the role of an aggressor, and this is highlighted by the narration and the commentators of the show. Yuchan is portrayed as a damsel in distress. Many characters have certain aspects of their personality heightened to make them appear a certain way. For example, Tom is often referred to as a crybaby because he often breaks down emotionally, and this becomes his defining trait in the show. These participants, who are three-dimensional humans, are placed into archetypes because that makes the show easily digestible and interesting.

The show also chooses to show certain things over others, and to show these things in a certain way that fits their narrative. Although the events may have really happened, the way that they built up to Depparin and Yuchan's conflict makes it fit into the typical story structure of a build up to an emotional outburst. In addition, many melodramatic themes, such as love and romance, are highlighted. These elements are what make any story interesting, and reality shows are no different.