Japanese dating show Love Wagon has surprising parallels with Yakuza and Persona

If there’s one thing that brings stability to my life, it’s the escapism of reality TV. Below Deck: Mediterranean had me covered last winter (alongside its Sailing Yacht spin-off), as I watched super yacht crew toil to meet the demands of the wealthy and unhinged. Then Love Island stepped up to fill a large portion of my summer with curated chaos. One guy confessed “I licked her tit or whatever,” in a shock revelation to his betrothed.

What’s on the reality TV menu for winter? Ainori Love Wagon: Asian Journey, baby. It’s on Netflix and I’m convinced it shares great parallels with some of my favorite RPGs of all time.