Oh! It is comfortingly LIGHT & FUN to watch.
Not the best but definitely not a bad one!It is a good show with an uncomplicated storyline. I was not having high expectations for this series, to be honest, but I am glad it could prove its worth to me and hopefully other viewers too. The Korean LGBTQ+ film industry is growing and improving its series. I would recommend giving “Oh! Boarding House” a try.
PRODUCTION
Nothing extra outstanding nor something they failed in. The story feels less rushed than usual, but the storytelling/ screenwriting was nothing overly stunning. An irritating but still amusing scene for me is the one with the towel, on the other hand, the last episode surprised me the most. :D
PLOT
I especially enjoyed the soft pacing and the comedy of this series; you need to be a fan of dull humour though. I´d even say this is a parody of other gay romance series, obvious in pointing out many clichés. Both characters seem to not be written as extraordinary people, but rather normal citizens like you and me. Maybe a bit more confused. I like that they introduced an important topic in the end: taking care of unresolved matters before jumping into a romantic relationship.
ACTOR
Shin Yong Seok and Im Sung Kyun both did an acceptable job, and I am glad that they were chosen as the main leads. I especially liked their facial reactions which demonstrated the awkwardness between their characters or their confusion while acting, I don´t know. The Supporting Cast showed a funny and partly admirable performance. I can't think of anything that I would have found disturbing or unfitting. (Edit: Maybe that the acting stayed rather the same towards the end.)
OVERALL
As I said in the beginning, because of the light storyline and the effect on its viewers, this series is recommended to anyone who likes to take a break from suspense and too emotional dramas and who doesn´t have 24/7 high standards.
“Oh! Boarding house” offers some pretty cute scenes that are worth to be watched.
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Not worth the time.
For me this is the least good Korean BL so far.The pacing is really off - it proceeds slowly, normally a good thing, but very little happens. The plot and characters start with some promise, athough the annoying side characters (tenants at the boarding house) are bit too annoying, especially the one who eats everything. The one who wants it quiet ends up with more screentime than the main romantic interest.
I didn't feel a lot of chemistry between the leads. You get some automatically when you have attractive actors with hot bodies, but they looked uncomfortable in physical scenes, with their bodies tense and standing very far apart. There's even a hand-holding scene at the end where they look like they're about to arm wrestle rather than showing any tenderness.
Especially in the last half, way more time is spend on a straight couple that you don't care about because the guy is unlikeable with no positive traits, and following around and telling us the life story about the rival for Seolwon's affections - what was the point of wasting so much time on this? It's nearly irrelevant to the story except for a 10-second really awkwardly written and acted miunsderstanding. In a series that's less than two hours long, you can't waste that much time on side characters - there was none left for development of the main couple. They liked each other, didn't communicate, which caused problems, then still didn't communicate anyway other than with a very bad chaste kiss. What did they like about each other? It's never covered, and since they barely talked to each other or spent time together, it must have been purely physical. There's nothing to invest in.
The first couple of epsides have some good comedic moments, but this is soon largely abandoned to stuff in as many BL cliches in as possible - in fact it's so bad that one of the other reviewers thought it was parodying the BL genre. I was joking to myself that one main character was a PE teacher and nobody had been hit in the head with a ball yet, seconds before it happened. Somehow a grown man is knocked out for hours by a volleyball, which makes you wonder if he's in the right profession - it's really silly. Also, it hit him in the side of the head yet his nose was bleeding, so they should have rushed him to the hospital because that would only happen if he'd suffered serious internal damage.
The acting is OK - nothing special, and the roles were simple and required no real talent except to look good, which the leads certainly did. The technical aspects of this are passable, but the soft-focus filter is set so high that the whole series is blurry.
I enjoyed the first couple of episodes, and the only reason I slogged through the rest is that it's nearly the only BL on on Tuesday & Wednesday.
Story: 2 - there barely is a story, and it's purpose appears to be to keep the main couple from spending any time together as far as possible.
Acting/Cast: 6.5 - they weren't bad, didn't stand out, and had such unchallenging roles that they barely had to do any acting.
Music: Fine. Nothing stsands out.
Rewathc value - 2. Cheolsoo takes a shower and that's worth rewatching.
Overall: 5. The suggested value was 4, but that's too low - I wouldn't recommend this, but it you really have nothing better to do, it won't kill you. It didn't help that this was running at the same time as the vastly superior series Semantic Error.
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Oh! That Was a Thing...
Overall: This is based on the manhwa so I started to read it and they changed the main characters for the worse in the live action adaption. Watched on Viki.Content Warnings: attempted violence, non con touch (sleeping)
What I Liked
- an interesting premise
- I laughed a few times
- the burglar (except for who he chose to go after first, come on!), I actually wish the burglar had been a housemate the whole time
- good production value*
Room For Improvement
- odd things, why was the main character kneeling when calling his mom because his video wasn't turned on? But then at the end of the call the video was on; who goes to their room instead of the kitchen to bake and who goes into someone else's room and eats their cake? who lets a super drunk best friend go home by themselves?
- the main character is creepy/desperate and ignoring boundaries at the beginning, it's odd
- the other main character was a big jerk to a woman in episode 4, I don't like either main character, I don't understand his sudden shift either
- the kissing was not good
- pointless love triangle (this was in the source material)
- wasn't into the m/f couple (this was in the source material)
- the actions of the characters doesn't feel realistic
- there is no intro
- *some shaky camerawork
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So bad it is good... Cringe and Cuteness as far as the eye can see...
This is short, easy to watch, easy to smile and definitely made me laugh once or twice per episode... And taught me that even cake can be funny...The leads are cute as buttons... and have very interesting flirting techniques... The Second lead made me wonder if he was supposed to be a parody or if he was meant to be an authentic second lead... whatever their intention I loved him and he was probably the source of most of my laughter...
Other things I found funny was the very purple flat mate, scenes at the gym... completely illogical shower scenes... And a lot more...
I also liked the wisdom within the youth, teaching me new things...
I cringed, I laughed, I binged it too fast and I want more!
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A strong cast trapped inside a low-budgeted banal story equals mediocrity.
Oh! Boarding House is carried by its cast. Episode one made this apparent, something previously stated in the comments section after the first viewing. However, as the series progressed even the acting faltered at times. Still, it was a simple easy experience. As humdrum unoriginal the plot is, it doesn't serve up any disappointments, "from left-field" moments or plot twists, nor does it manufacture fake moments or head-scratching plot forced reconciliations simply to make a happy ending. Everything here is very safe plotting using point A to B to C movement and development, which works, but also bores.Our two leads, handsome and kind boarding house runner Seol Won played by an up-to-task Shin Yong Seok, and physically dominant sports coach Kim Cheol Soo played by the sexy and effective Im Sung Kyun look like a natural paring. Seeing these two men fall for each other is NOT a stretch of the imagination because they carry equal footing in appeal and attractiveness. The chemistry between them never explodes however, it exists and it putters sparks here and there, but it isn't exactly swoon worthy nor weak-at-the-knees inducing. Like most of everything here, it is just simply functional and fine with a kissing scene that gives at lest some realistic oomph before it finishes.
Many have commented on how the emotions of Cheol Soo seem to come out of nowhere when they start to develop. But, the story tries to let you know ahead of time what is actually happening. Using a gym workout sequence with a girl hitting on him, and focusing on his reaction to it, without plain stating it out-loud infers that Cheol Soo is simply gay and has been interested in men from the get go. This is further reaffirmed later in conversations when he states its normal for him but understands that Seol Won may need time, as Seol Won seems to not understand his attraction and thus it is also inferred it is his first time liking a male.
The rest of the cast is mainly comic relief. We do get a straight possible couple pairing using one of the tenants, but it is severely underdeveloped. Also Seol Won's best friend Cha Bong Deok, played geek sheik by Shin Ki Hwan, has an unrequited love that forms a love triangle that wasn't. just because love triangles are always required. But otherwise, there is not really any use for the side pieces, except to have other bodies on film and fill the house.
Be prepared for rough edges here, from lighting, overall finish and look, to sets and settings. The budget here was very very small, and yes it shows, sometimes blaringly. There are some poor directing choices along the way too, but also some pretty good ones as well. Again, showing that everything here is simply an average undertaking. You do get the feeling that this story and production might have fared better if they would have just made it a very intimate story between just the two main characters in a house with no other settings or characters. That is the story of a male owning his apartment and renting out a room and the attraction and story that develops from there. It would have saved money on cast and multiple settings while still being able to tell the exact same main story. Thus, possibly raising the overall quality on display. But, they didn't choose this (It was adapted from a Webtoon and so they tried to keep some of what was there, though still changed a lot I am told) and so the production is what it is. BUT THEY STILL MANAGED FULL 20 minute + episodes.which, again, makes it feel more like an actual television show and NOT just another chopped up movie. Good work here and take the props.
In the end it is a simply okay, fine, not-bad, mediocre, gets-the-job done, affair. For many that is good enough. For eye candy this is very strong, the leads are at the top of the BL Korean heap on looks and carry the most "main stream" appeal, and both will likely be coming to hetero Korean love stories soon. But, what this is not, is anything close to great, a must watch, or even I just have to finish it type story. It is what it is, and it is fine.
6.0 = C, 3-Stars. Average in every way. 50/50 shot of liking it due to viewer taste.
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This review may contain spoilers
Everyone and everything was just awkward..
Well it was light and fluffy. I'll give it that...However, the main leads have this weird kind of tension... and a negative one... which is a def NO in BL couples.
Their skinship is very awkward, and weird.
And that girl jn the hetero cp... I find it weird that she felt sad in the last episode... Did she expect the guy to smile and keep talking to her after she deliberately poked at his wounds by mentioning the senior he used to like, and accusing him of only talking to her because they looked alike... whwn in fact she was the one who kept pestering him... Doesn't make sense to me...
If someone I've been slowly opening up to suddenly sl1s
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Good enough for a low-budget show
This is good enough for a short drama despite the several loopholes and fast-phasing presented in the show. The main leads are both cute and handsome. They are more good looking during their actual acts in the drama compared to its poster. Seol Won and Cheol Soo are the only reason why I give the show a higher rating.The thing I am most annoyed at is how the two tenants are insensitive to others and irresponsible to the household chores. Ye Min -the writer, and Jae Woo -the high schooler, were derived to be supposedly funny characters to uplift the story but ended up being dramatically annoying instead. One is anomalously strict for quietness in spite of knowing that he isn’t the boss of the house and should be a little bit tolerable to his housemates. While the other one’s gluttony for food is ridiculous, he has no manners at all, eating every single food he sees. They made the pilot episode bad. Then, Bong Deok additionally became their new boardmates yet he along with the other two mentioned names still left all the living duties such as cleaning, cooking, laundry, and other related tasks to the owner’s son. Yes, Seol Won has the responsibility to make the house clean and organized but he is not a maid or something to be treated by the people residing in their house like that. For such a day of him being drunk, the tenants blame Seol Wan alone for turning the house into a mess.
Some of the scenes have the absence of background music that makes the specific moment a plain one. Nice timing in an audio element is important, it brings support to the effectiveness of delivering a scene. Nevertheless, the OST is great.
On the good side, I love the neat-looking house and the cleanliness in cinematography. Cheol Soo fits the role of a P.E. teacher because of his nice build of muscles in his whole body; the biceps, hands, neck, jawline, etc. Regarding his manly appeal, he can also be fluffy and smoochy. His wink during the last episode was extremely adorable and made him more charming.
The finale was okay. Bong Deok being the second lead has a concrete friend-relationship to Seol Wan as a root cause of his romantic feelings but loses the chance to give his character a more distinct closure. The same with the hetero pair, a side couple who somehow failed to add spice to the story. The one thing I am satisfied with is that for the first time, Jae Woo, the youngest of them, had something good to contribute to the show. The sudden love advice lit the fire of Cheol Soo’s candle of affection to pursue his emotions towards Seol Wan directly -by driving a straightforward love confirmation.
Grateful for the kiss but still wishes for more passionate touching of lips. Good way to end the show through a party attended by all the cast. The sweet ending of the couple sitting on a sofa and holding their hands behind the furniture for it to hide from the rest of the housemates is a good way to end the show.
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Incomplete Ending
Ending felt incomplete. It felt as if not jut the base stories but the side stories were incomplete as well, almost every side story you an pick was incomplete.There was no proper chemistry development between the leads, it always went in multiple direction.
Because the story wasn't presented properly, something which could have been great lost its potential.
Acting was good of not just the leads but of side actors as well.
I have seen multiple mini series, only 30-40% of which cover the story properly, this being a mini series as well, its just too short to cover even a single story nicely.
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Oh! That was fun!
Oh! Boarding House is what happens when a bunch of adorable characters decide to stay together at the same boarding house. The first episode is a riot. This series has one of the best opening episodes I've seen-- not to mention, the hilarious reason behind it. But that is where the entertainment quotient ends and the love story begins. Is it cliché? Yes, but it feels new. Is it predictable? Yes, but it makes us watch till the end. It has every kind of common flavour that is seen in bls and regular dramas alike, complete with a love triangle, a straight side couple and visibly distinguishable seme-uke vibes. But the characters and actors are cute and it is just two hours long so OBH is an easy breezy watch.However, the pacing is off. It noticeably slows down in the second half and though there are no filler moments or dialogues, it still lags. The story itself is not without its faults. Seol Won is broke and jobless and apart from managing the lodgings (which I admit looks like a full time job in itself), doesn't make any efforts to look for work even though he has some outstanding amount to be paid. The main love track is a slow burn and spends a lot of time in the "not friends-not housemates- not just a tenant- not yet lovers" zone. The actors emote well and effectively convey their emotions but are lacking in terms of a good chemistry. These two points make their overall arc a bit boring towards the end. Furthermore, this series functions as an advertisement of sorts to Nobleman Ryu's Wedding and Behind Cut.
To give credit where it's due, the romance is natural and suitably age appropriate. So while we have two twenty five plus men getting shy over an intimate scene on TV, they don't shy away from affection in real life. It shows a certain level of maturity that other shows don't have. There is also decent character development, except Seol Won's, which is ironic. My heart went out to the sweet, jealous and still level-headed Bong Deok. There is proper communication between Hee Su and Ye Min (even though Hee Su takes the initiative and does most of it) and both know when to give in and when to hold on. More instances of mellowed story telling (which warrant the 8 in the story rating). Music barely stands out; cinematography is okay. OBH has a long way to go to be perfect, but is rewatchable whenever someone wants something simple and light.
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Too Cute
I was hesitant to watch this since while I was waiting for it to finish before I watched, I heard nothing about it but this turned out better than I expected. YES IT'S SHORT but don't dismiss! I'd recommend to a newbie BL in a heartbeat cause even though the eps are short they were consistent with the important details and didn't bring in unnecessary characters or drama. You can easily focus on the main couple with a little 'side couple' stress lol. Visuals all around and I think the entire cast had good chemistry. If you're looking for lust you're in the wrong place but if you're looking for a quick n cute BL fix look no further. The kiss had me bugging!!!Enjoy...
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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.Was this review helpful to you?
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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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