At this particular academy, romance has come with bruised knuckles, schoolyard grudges, and the stubborn hope that even the most feared delinquent can ace a crash course in connection. Japan has continued to reshape reality-dating into something stranger and more specific, and Badly in Love is the latest experiment that has treated troublemaking as a love language. This time, the mission seems simple yet chaotic enough. Let everyone, from straight-A students to the legendary troublemakers, try falling badly in love on camera.​

For a show that put together a scenario where ex-delinquents cannot help but plunge back into their old ways, the  roll call sounds like detention slips that might double as dating resumes

While the show is marked to debut with emcees MEGUMI, AK-69, and Nagano, Badly in Love has gathered eleven so-called yankii, or rebellious delinquents, for the task, according to Netflix. Each participant arrives with battle scars, big dreams, and reputations that would terrify any guidance counselor but absolutely delight reality television fans. The men of the show include names like Shunya Tsukahara, Takumi Sato, Sho Tsuda, Nisei Sakurai, Isamu Nishizawa, and Tensei Nanahoshi.

Across the group, there are wholly tattooed femmes fatales. As per Netflix, ranging from show-dancing to running full-fledged salons, Otoha, Yuria, Hikaru, Kirei and AMO swap fists for feelings while the cameras stay locked in.​

Set deep in the mountains, the crash course in love concept of Badly in Love places its eleven singles under one rough-edged roof, asking them to balance simmering rivalries with awkward crushes and unexpected moments of softness. Over two weeks, they train, clash, and confess in classrooms, dorms, and courtyards as they try to graduate from emotional suspension into something like real romance. The show leans into loud fights and loud hair, but it keeps circling back to whether people with messy pasts can still deserve a sincere happily ever after.

A Roundtable Brings ‘Love Is Blind’ Couples From Miles Apart – US, Japan, and Brazil – Together to Talk About Dating, Pods, and Love

If most dating shows feel like job interviews in resort wear, this one plays like a transfer student drama that forgot to stay scripted.

Netflix’s first full look at Badly in Love released on November 25, 2025 races through shouting matches, teary apologies, and chaotic group scenes that feel one step away from a brawl or a confession at any moment. Badly in Love has been set to premiere globally on Netflix on December 9, bringing this sharp and rowdy twist on Japanese reality dating to viewers everywhere.​

If love is a battlefield, this show happily supplies the fireworks, the bruises, and the extra credit exam. Beyond the headline-worthy premise, Badly in Love has promised weekly episodes that lean into character growth as much as conflict, inviting viewers to root for former delinquents as they unlearn survival mode in front of strangers and millions of streamers. This time, Japan seems ready to prove that being badly behaved and badly in love might be exactly what reality romance needs next.​

Do Dating Reality Shows Like ‘The Ultimatum’ Really Benefit Couples or Is It All About Netflix?

What do you think of the twist of delinquency to love with Badly in Love? Let us know in the comments below!