Ali cried on camera, convinced he was the only guy Hikaru actually cared about. After that episode aired, Threads blew up—but not with sympathy for Ali. Instead, the consensus was: "Guys really can't spot a player when they see one."
Hikaru, 23, from Kawasaki in Kanagawa Prefecture, currently works at a kyabakura (hostess club)—basically what Taiwan calls "jiudian gongguan." Her controversy on "Delinquent Squad's Search for Love 2" is simple enough: she showed warmth to multiple male contestants at the same time, making each one think he had a shot. Ali ended up hurt and in tears because of it. The ironic part? She reportedly went on the show hoping to find someone she could actually marry—not to play games. That contradiction is exactly what set off the online firestorm.
Guys Can't Tell, Girls See It Instantly
After the episode aired, Taiwanese netizen comments zeroed in on a clear gender split. "Watched two seasons and yeah, guys really can't spot a player," "players always end up the most popular"—comments like these kept popping up. Some compared Hikaru to fellow contestant Ayaka, and found that male and female viewers seemed to be judging "who's actually the problem" by two completely different standards. Even weirder: one woman admitted her own boyfriend was "Team Hikaru," which turned "who's really the player here" into a bigger debate than the show itself.
The counterexample here is Mari. Her whole approach was just calling guys "handsome" or "cute" now and then—pretty upfront as far as flirting goes—yet she's the one the male contestants criticized, leaving viewers confused about the inconsistent standards. One comment put it bluntly: "Hikaru's out here fishing and no guy thinks she's a player, but they keep dragging Mari." By the end, the argument wasn't really about Hikaru's behavior anymore—it was about whether guys on dating shows can read anything at all.
Hikaru also opened up on the show about her background: a father involved in drug dealing, a mother who was once a delinquent herself, and childhood memories of being asked to help transport needles. This backstory wasn't used to excuse her behavior, but it did fill in the picture of "why she might struggle with security in relationships." Whether that actually explains her flirting strategy on the show is something the program never addressed—and netizens are still arguing over it from every angle.
