Boarding House Number 5 (2022)

It's short. It's sweet. That's it.

No forced complications, nobody falls and lands on anybody else's mouth, no villainous female out to get the male lead at any cost - just a simple story of two people meeting, getting to know each other and liking one another. The cast does a good job with the material, the wiring and directing works just fine and it all works. All in all it's just a pleasant way to pass the time. Will I rewatch? Probably not. Did I regret investing time in this series? Definitely not. It's like spending a good time with a few new friends for a short time and then all going your separate ways. I had an okay time. That's all.

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This is Easily Forgetable

I won't spend too much time talking about this one since I feel like it was more just on while I was doing other things, and not 100% watching with a clear focus. Oh Boarding House started off very rocky. I was so tempted to just drop this one and move on, but the literal saving grace was the beauty of the actors. Eventually, I got into it a bit more, but not enough where I think this will be memorable in the next few months (hell, the next few days), let alone, a year from now. With so many K-BLs being produced and now getting the hype that it so well deserved, there's no more room for filler K-BLs, which is the best way I can explain what this series was.

Let's Dive In.

Oh! Boarding House is a K-BL about a son who has to become the new landlord of his mother's boarding house for college students after she goes on a long-term vacation. There's nothing more to the story than that, They're just a bunch of tenants that get into some trouble and all have their own stories to tell. As I stated before, the first episode was super rocky. I usually don't enjoy the first episodes, but this one was just bad. If the actor's looks don't do it for you, then there's no point in watching. like, at all. It was a neat concept and something not done before but for the most part, it was super cliche and extremely predictable. I didn't read the manhwa, so I have no clue how true to the origin they stayed, but in my opinion, with some of the plots shown, they could've done without adapting this into live-action.

What I didn't like to end with some positives: Again, I've read some Manhwa that just need to stay manhwas for the reason being they can be highly problematic and have some very toxic characters, but it's fine for the reason being that it is a fictional story. This too, but it's unenjoyable to watch when you see these characters doing just the craziest things ever that would catch their asses in jail or with restraining orders in real life. Seol Won's actions in the beginning were just creepy and over-intruding. But the series never goes over how wrong what he was doing was, or for the fact that Cheol Soo still falls for him, even with his disturbing actions. There's also just no character development whatsoever. Everyone is still their pitiful selves from the beginning to the end. With no character development, what are we left with? Sure, their run time wasn't long at all, but I've seen shorter ones do better. The plot itself isn't very entertaining, and again, the actors are the saving grace for literally everything in this BL.

Most of the main characters aren't very likable. Seol Won does too much at the beginning and just some real left-field things. Cheol Soo isn't the best, but his looks make up for that, Seol Won's cousin is aggravating, the other tenant that wants everyone to be quiet and yells with every opportunity he gets is worrisome. The only seemingly likable character were the dude who had feelings for Seol Won and Hee Soo.

The secondary couple could've been fun if they weren't left on a cliffhanger. The main pairing don't do very much. Their chemistry is pleating, and, as I continuously repeat, their looks make up for their lack of connection, Their kisses were at least on-point.

There's a part where the grape juice guy is sitting on the toilet and you can see the reflection of the crew on the toilet paper holder. I hate seeing mistakes like this. It's not me saying it's unprofessional, but it does hurt to see something that could've been taken out to save them from such a silly mistake in post-production. Me being nit-picky, but whatever.

What I liked: I love the dude that couldn't eat spicy food (I have already forgotten most of their names). Of course, he was treated like garbage, and just eventually gets over it, but he was cute, and genuinely had the biggest crush on Seol Won. he even made cakes, while not very appealing, he at least tried. I'll miss him for sure.

There's not much I can say I just loved about this series, but it was a cute little watch, it lasted me a few hours and I got to see handsome men, so I'm not too salty.

Ratings:

Story: 5 - 3 stars for just being able to watch these beautiful men prance around and sometimes be shirtless. Other than that, there was nothing fun about the plot, where I was getting confused half the time. I'll give one star to the secondary couple that I appreciated until I didn't and another star cause I just feel bad for giving it a 4.

Acting: 8.5 - Decent. I think they did the best they could with a weak script. They all definitely have potential. I wouldn't mind seeing them again at all.

Music: 3 - Didn't pay attention to it at all. Oops.

Rewatch Value: 1 - I'd give it less than zero if I could.

We are getting a mass production of K-BLs where there isn't any space for these ones that leave no honorable impressions. It's not even good enough for me to remember all the characters' names. I don't recommend this unless you want to watch some pretty men, which is the only satisfaction I received.

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Light Story and Perfect Main Leads

I lovely love both of them. I cant pick one?.
They're good looking and give us bright-warm aura right? Unfortunately, moment development is too sudden. Too short! I can say that the Bus station scene is the killing moment. When they're drunk and touched lip. Omg. I apreciate the main lead is NOT a sus-tsundere (act like coolest and being selfish) its great!! Its warm couple. Their style is Fit and simple.

Bong dok.. that was a pitty. So sorry..
Yeah again. Its too simple and short. We can imagine many possibilities to happen in the boarding house. More funny and not a stuck momonet like Hae Soo and his sunbaek (novelist couple) they're potential too, tbh

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What a waste

This series have a good potential tho. They had like pretty eye-catching actors for the main couple. But too much cringe scripts, and unnecessary scenes. They tried to make it like a comedic kind of series but it felt soo forced to the point that it was like watching a silly parody.

Good things
- Nice settings. Like really nice streets shots, well decorated house
- Good looking actors

Bad things
- What a weird storyline. Like it did not have any flow. Like how long do your mom wanna go on vacay ? Months ?
- Annoying side characters. Like most of them. Immature. How did some grown ass adult make a mess for the whole house and blaming the housekeeper for not cleaning it ? If it just some dishes and trashes are still acceptable. Not like littering in the common house area, messing around to the point that chairs flipped around.
- Both couple were soo awkward. Non consent touching. Too much yelling.
- No sense of privacy like at all. Why would you go to each rooms like it was your family's ? It is even considered rude to barge in your siblings/parents room without permission.
- Unnecessary and nonsense scenes like too much. Making cake in your room not in the big ass well-equipped kitchen downstairs. Shampooing your hair while still wearing a towel.

What a waste.....

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FUNNY

This BL made me wanna watch it for the 2nd time !
It wasn't that perfect but it was simple, and entertaining, as how the leads are good looking, the love progress is too fast but is still okay,
I liked how they acted, it was so cute, like everytime they see each other or talk to each other, the shy expressions they had on their face it was so cute and funny.
The 2nd lead the guy who hates noise and the girl, their story and acting is cute also, they did a good job as balancing to the drama
The 2nd male lead the rival, he did an amazing acting !
All in all it is just cute funny, no time wasted, no too much expectation, just enough l, just right, well off course it is too short still but it was satistlfying for me .

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cohabitation, crush, love triangle

(Korea, Feb-March 2022 Viki)

At first I wasn’t wowed by this show but then I realized this is just a very Thai style BL being executed with Korea’s signature pristine style and shorter length, so I was experiencing a disconnect. At the beginning, it also felt like Korea was attempting to grace us with the dubious pleasure of a BL sitcom (fortunately, no laugh track) and that just doesn’t work for me. Even the premise screamed sitcom: Spoiled rich kid in financial straights has to manage a boarding house full of quirky characters including: bratty cousin, wacko writer, and the new hot jock (love interest). There’s also an adorable bestie with a crush (of course, my favorite). It’s not as slapstick as I was expecting but more a comedy of errors, for me, in the wrong way - I suffer from terrible 2nd hand embarrassment.

And then, suddenly, half way through, it drastically improved. I’m not a fan of uke as pursuer, so for me this happened when the seme started to soften - bonus DIMPLES! Plus an actual date and research! In fact, the second half did everything right.

The 2nd lead’s confession was actually to his love rival (about what a sweetie their mutual crush is, which made the seme then like his uke even more) - an interesting twist on the love triangle. Then when our hottie finally confesses to his boy, it was killer: great communication and expressed desire and interest. Very mature for the characters, and for KBL, and I liked it a lot. Their first kiss is a bit dead fishy but it turns out that was for a reason. So that when their feelings finally become mutual at the end, then it’s a mutual kiss as well. It was VERY well done, because we can compare the two kisses, and so their physical synergy becomes a representation of the acceptance of their own feelings. The final ep was a bit sad since Korea really enjoys slapping us with 2nd lead syndrome but I enjoyed that the narrative was decent in its treatment of all three characters. (I was reminded of True Beauty, in a good way.) I will probably do a rewatch, now that I have faith in the ending.

All in all, this show ended up being A LOT better than I expected. It was uneven in its attempt to reconcile early sitcom style with a serious love triangle and genuine romance but the quality of the performances and the kind and honest treatment of the characters make it definitely worth watching.

RECOMMENDED

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Bom, porém nada de mais

E temos aqui mais um minidrama finalizado. Vou dizer que eu não esperava muito, tanto por ser curto, quanto por não ter uma plot tão incrível. E realmente, foi bom, porém não foi incrível.

Ok, a história é sobre o filho de uma administradora de uma pensão, que fica no lugar da mãe e passa a administrar o lugar, e consequentemente, a conviver com os moradores de lá. História vai, história vem, sentimentos românticos começam a surgir por um inquilino em especial. Assim, é uma plot bem simples, nada de mais, mas é aquela coisa gostosinha de assistir para passar o tempo. Eu achei um desenvolvimento meio fraco, mesmo sabendo que é um minidrama (então vai ser meio rápido mesmo), tivemos outros como kisseble lips e semantic error que conseguiram entregar um desenvolvimento bom. Particularmente, eu achei o final muito corrido, acabou que o casal secundário (que estava tendo bastante foco), nem teve um final digno. Mas no geral foi bom, é rápido de assistir e você ainda vai dar algumas risadas.

Sobre a atuação eu achei ok. O que me deixou realmente surpresa (de um modo bom), foi a atuação do Hee Joong, não conhecia ele mas me impressionei com a forma que ele se expressava. Mesmo sendo só um secundário, ele foi incrível. Com toda certeza vou acompanhar futuros trabalhos dele. E a ost é muito boa, já entrou na minha playlist. Eu não reassistiria, acho que é um drama pra assistir um vez e pronto, tá ótimo. Mas recomendaria caso alguém queira assistir algo rápido e legal.

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Overall a cute, simple show

I really appreciate the simplicity of this drama. Not a show I would watch at less than 1.5x speed, but it’s one of the more entertaining shows I’ve seen in a while. The show advertises itself as a lighthearted, entertaining one that doesn’t take itself too seriously and I think it does that well. Because of its lack of any deeper meanings or themes, I wouldn’t give it a 10, but since so many recent movies and shows are too ambitious in creating complicated plots and tackling bigger messages, this drama was very refreshing for me.

At first, I thought the first episode started off too dramatically, but soon enough I liked how the absurdity of the beginning scenes and the silliness of the side characters set up the light-hearted tone for the rest of the drama. They were comedic enough for me to add some suspension of disbelief.

The interactions between the two main leads were awkward, which would usually make me drop a show. But the way they meet makes the awkwardness understandable, and it works to make the main character likeable. His persistent attempts to give back to Cheol Soo is awkward but at the same time the amount of effort he puts into it makes his character endearing. Which I think is great because lots of romances seem to tunnel vision too much on trying to have lots of ‘romantic chemistry’ scenes that they forget to make the characters likeable first.

There is some lack of actual conflict throughout the drama but also a lack of unnecessary angst caused by self-imposed conflicts that make little sense, which is pretty refreshing too.

Overall, this is a cute, simple show that does what it sets out to do, and I can appreciate that. Then again, maybe everything seems better when watched at 2x speed lol.

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Not that good

So I started off with the drama, got 2 episodes in and switched over to the movie, as I found this drama/movie really down and not very enjoyable at all.

For me, the pacing was really off, it stared off really slow and then sort of dragged out after that, and it went into been really crazy with the bugler and then being saved to then falling in love and wanting to do everything for the guy, who at first stands him up for the movies, to all of a sudden wanting to be with him.

There was no build up of love or anything, and the chemistry was just off not only with the ML but with all of them.

They could have put thought into this and have it spaced out nicely.

Overall: If you going to watch rather opt for the movie to get it over and done with!!

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Honest Review about the movie Oh! Boarding house

The first scenario was both funny and strange. The whole movie was clearly rushed, and it missed subtleties, such as point details for a smooth transition, which may have brought more flavor to the scenes. It's just a good thing that the acting was good, and that's what keeps me watching. The main couple; Cheol Soo and Seol Won's story was incredibly cute and the chemistry between Im Sung Kyun and Shin Yong Seok was oozing that I felt butterflies in my stomach while watching their scenes together; and their acting appeared so natural that I became even more fascinated in their story.
But the character that I was specially moved by, was Bong Deok that was given life by actor Shin Ki Hwan. His sincerity towards Seol won was admirable and Shin Ki Hwan's acting was really touching. In conclusion, despite the film's numerous shortcomings, I nonetheless urge viewers to give it a shot. The actors performed a fantastic job portraying their characters, and I had a great time watching this movie. Im Sung Kyun and Shin Yong Seok have such great chemistry together that I'm especially hoping they pair up for a drama, with better plot and production.

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