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Love Village season 2 premiered on Tuesday, November 5, 2024, with its first eight episodes. It featured a diverse lineup of single men and women, aged 35 to 60, who participated in the social experiment to embark on a journey of love. Each cast member came from a different background and had a story to tell. While some were divorcees, others were yet to marry.
They arrived at the traditional house in Okinawa, vying to change their life and find a romantic spark irrespective of age. With a constrained budget, the residents had to lead an economical lifestyle, doing chores and cooking food with ingredients from the backyard garden. They connected and developed feelings while mingling with each other daily.
However, Gitarin was one such resident who had his eyes set on one person from the show's start. After seeing the female singles for the first time, Gitarin realized he fancied 40-year-old stage actor, Chii. While speaking to the cameras, he confessed:
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"My choice is the actor. The musical actor. The one wearing blue, please. She's my only choice...It's love at first sight."
The Love Village star's romance went south when Chii revealed she wanted to settle in the high-rise apartments of Toyosu. It made him question if he could financially fulfill her demands from life. However, his friends encouraged him to pursue her.
Love Village episode 1: Chii develops a fascination for Akipon, Gitarin's friend
In episode 1 of Love Village, Gitarin introduced himself, detailed his life story, and explained why he participated in the reality show. The music teacher from Hokkaido stated he spent his whole life saving because he believed a man should be reliable.
Gitarin narrated how he started a band with his brother and friends in middle school, hoping to become a professional. As he grew up he won many contests and eventually moved to Tokyo. However, his band did not get much recognition and failed to draw a live audience. It was then that he met his girlfriend and promised to marry her. However, he had to break up with her because he had no money or a promising future.
"Thinking I couldn't make her happy, I brought up the idea of breaking up," he said.
The Love Village star eventually quit the band and returned to Hokkaido where he opened a music school to teach young musical enthusiasts. With its help, he wanted to save as much as possible for his future wife. Gitarin revealed that one of his students suggested he participate in Love Village to find a wife.
In his remote audition clip, Gitarin confessed he was ready to find his "soulmate and get married." The resident even brought his bankbook to the show to give to his future wife.
While interacting with Chii in the first episode, Gitarin asked if he had a "chance," to which Chii replied, "I mean, we've only been here for a few days." She asked if he had someone specific in mind and Gitarin answered in the affirmative. The Love Village star declared he might be the first to ring the bell and leave with his partner.
Although Gitarin did not disclose the identity of the person he fancied, he informed Chii that he was ready to adjust to his partner's needs to make her happy. He said he was financially stable to start a life with her. However, when Chii revealed she preferred living in the high-rise apartments of Toyosu, which cost 128 million yen, Gitarin's hopes were crushed.
"I realized it was impossible to confess my love with my bankbook," he said.
The following day, Gitarin's friend, Akipon gathered the men to discuss Gitarin's situation. He motivated the cast member to pursue his love interest, barring him from leaving the experiment and giving up hope. The male cast members encouraged him to impress the woman with an original song and to confess his feelings later.
Later that night, Chii cut her finger and Gitarin helped her bandage it, impressing the former. Their interaction rekindled Gitarin's hope. However, towards the end of the episode, the narrator, Kamiya Hiroshi revealed Chii had started developing feelings for Akipon.
Episodes 1-8 of Love Village are available to stream on Netflix.
