EXO Next Door (2015)

-Rough Review-

To start off, I want to make one thing clear. Before watching 'EXO Next Door' I wasn't a fan. I did not listen to their songs or follow them on any kind of social media. I'm using the word 'wasn't' right now because thanks to this show I'm a fully integrated fan. These boys blew me away with their charm, wit and acting in 'EXO Next Door' in a way that i was not bodily prepared for. I now own half of their songs and have a merchandise mug on the way from freakin' KOREA! Now this all happened in the span of a week. Which, when I think about it makes me concerned for my mental wellbeing. But I won't talk about that, back to the review.

I watched this show out of curiosity and boredom and ended up enjoying it 'till the very end. The romance between Chanyeol and the lead actress didn't really interest me, I was more focused on the hilarity that was Sehun's friendship with her brother. What surprised me most about this was that the acting wasn't as horrid as I was expecting it to be considering their profession is singing/dancing.

Story is as predictable as can be. The question 'What would happen if my favorite band lived next door' was answered with a gift from heaven for a fangirl.

Though i must say. My favorite character by far was the lead actress' brother. His bromance with Sehun made my heart flutter and brought tears to my eyes from laughter whenever they interacted.

So, to be frank. I started this show being handed a romance. I left this show holding a bromance.

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--rough review--
The storyline of EXO Next Door is mediocre and nothing special to put it bluntly, you could probably find a similar story visualizing fan fiction. 99% of us watched it for the members (including myself) and the cast was what really made it so popular.
This drama has an exceptionally close concept with boys over flowers with the asshole main lead and the nice friend who we all know gets friend-zoned by the female lead.
I will say though i enjoyed the scenes between Sehun and Kwangsoo and found their relationship really funny and entertaining.
For the cast acting Ga young was good as the female lead and really portrayed her character well. I find Kyungsoo to be the most natural and least awkward among the group (and i'm not only saying that because he's my bias). Sehun on the other hand... I have no comments. Kwangsoo was really entertaining to watch and really was a unique and adorable character to watch I got happy every time I saw him, I'll give the directors props for Kwangsoo.
For the music in EXO Next Door the one that stood out was the slow song sung by Baekhyun which I liked a lot.
BOTTOM LINE, if you are an exo fan you will really enjoy this, but story wise... it's really just exo fan-service, which i'm sure a lot of people don't have a problem with. In watching this drama you will laugh a lot and get overly excited and fangirly over a lot of scenes. Treat this as a light hearted fun show don't expect really deep feeling.

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God, why? Just why is this a thing?

I know that you're not supposed to write reviews for shows if you haven't completed them but honestly, I just couldn't contain my bewilderment with this one. I really truly don't understand why anyone in their right mind would watch this. (Especially a non-EXO fan) If you know the answer to that, please enlighten me.

I mean, this is just plain bad. Period. You've got to get high and lose a few brain cells in order to find this shit hilarious. Don't get me wrong, I've got no problem seeing Sehun, Chanyeol, D.O and Bacon do their thing but when you add one hell of a TSTL (too stupid to live) heroine in their midst, it just turns everything sour.

I couldn't handle Ji Yeon Hee's immaturity for a single second and her brother's cute awkwardness wasn't nearly enough to balance it out. She's cringey on a whole other level and it's not adorable in the least. Also, the way she talks with her mum is just awful. I swear the brat needs to sit the fuck down and check her priorities. Funny how, she's always being a snarky ass bish to her family but she can't utter a lone syllable in front of boys. And she's 22. Enough said.

Furthermore, let's not forget how they got Chan to play the brooding, cold, bad boy type. Like, I just can't at this moment. Chan out of all them? Chan, really?
He's like an adorable little puppy at his worst, m8. Why, oh, why must you do this to me?

Obviously, I watched it for plain ol' fanservice and wasn't expecting a plot, good acting or a consistent storyline and fairly enough, it did indeed lack on all those fronts. But what I also didn't expect was the human embodiment of complete and total aggravation that was our female lead.

It is amazing how I even managed to stand 4 episodes of this nightmare. It truly is a fete when a show is so horrible it makes a 15 minute episode feel like an hour. I repeatedly checked how much of it was left and when I realized that I had endured so much suffering and only 5 minutes had passed, I think I decomposed a little inside.

The only good thing that came out of this was that the guys were able to make money off of it. As far as I'm concerned, I'm sorry but I'm just not strong enough to bear this kind of agony.

I am in dire need of an efficient eyewasher and a mental detox after this. I'd try to come back after I heal and watch four more episodes to support the group but surely, recovery from this requires total mental rest for atleast more than 365 days.

For all those people who watched and enjoyed this, I envy you. Really, kudos to you. I don't know how you did it. Fighting!

(At this point this isn't even a review, more like an existential crisis.)

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Ask a fangirl what their greatest wish outside of going to their idol's concerts and you'll probably get this answer, "I wish I knew him. I wish he lived near me." In reality, it would be rare (if not impossible) for this to happen, but in dramaland, logic can be put aside for 15 minutes, twice a week, and what is impossible becomes highly likely, probable, and enjoyable. EXO Next Door, then, delivered on this premise, and gave the viewer "the feels" of being that neighbor who gets to meet an idol.

Straight out of a fanfiction probably not so deeply recessed on the Internet, EXO Next Door's story bursts forth onto the screen in what is both cheesetastic and fantastic at the same time. Two simultaneous narratives intertwine: the girl next door to EXO cleans EXO's house and Chanyeol needs inspiration and seeks it in his grandfather's home. It's pretty simple, but things become more complicated. It's not an innovative story, but it's a cute one with a lot of sweetness, humor, and of course, one amazing bromance.

The story of EXO Next Door was brought to the screen by some solid acting. Actually, the performances of the EXO boys (in particular, Chanyeol, Kyungsoo, and Sehun) surprised me. Chanyeol's portrayal of a character that was less "Happy Virus" and more "Grumpy Gus" was quite interesting and kind of sexy. Do Kyungsoo impressed me once again. The way he says some lines made me melt and cry. Sehun was the biggest surprise. He was witty and funny (I often describe his character as a cross between Perry Park and Oh Ri On from Kill Me, Heal Me). Moon Ga Young's Yeon Hee was a bit shaky in the beginning, but warmed up nicely and had some great facial expressions. Because of the acting and comedic timing, EXO Next Door made an "okay" story shine a little brighter.

What can I say about the music? It's Baekhyun's first OST track, and Baekhyun's sweet, but strong voice gave a nice hand to the music.

Overall, EXO Next Door wasn't a masterpiece; it wasn't a game-changer; it wasn't devoid of tropes and cliches. However, it was the fulfillment of a dream sequence; it was a fanfiction come to life; it was an answer to a fangirl's questions, "What would it be like to live next door to my idol?" For that, and that alone, it was great.

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I didn't really know who EXO were before watching this drama. I'm not a huge fan of K-Pop and had heard the name EXO before, but not really anything else.

I just wanted to watch this since it is the perfect length to watch for study breaks and I had run out of other web drama options.

This is the best mini/web/whatever drama I have watched for a while. I laughed and I cried, which I didn't expect going into it.

Don't expect an in-depth drama, that's pretty impossible within the time frame of shows like this. What this is instead is sweet and frothy fun. It knows what it is (a lot of EXO fanservice) but I didn't feel like it went overboard with that.

I have seen some pretty atrocious idol acting in the past, but this was a surprise given that the performances were pretty solid. It was campy, yes, but that''s fine, anyone who likes s'mores will tell you camping is fun.

The directing was good and the music wasn't just overblown EXO on repeat. I would happily re-watch this.

Again, DO NOT watch this is you expecting something that has layers and depth. I will use Suhan's character (lovingly called, "Suhan") and his love of coffee for an analogy:

Some dramas are short blacks, it is all coffee, but you have to take time to see the nuances of flavour in every cup. Then there's cappuccinos. The coffee flavour is diluted with milk or cream with lots of froth, but it is still delicious, just a different type of delicious. A cappuccino is what this drama is. Maybe even just the froth of a cappuccino, but that doesn't mean it's not drinkable!

I am saying these things because friends of mine put down this drama without even trying it as just fanservice fodder.

Also, Kwang Su and Suhan's bromance was so cute. The EXO members bromance with each other was cute.

I thank this drama from the bottom of my heart for easing my overloaded and wrung-out brain with ten-minute episodes of frothy-cappuccino fun.

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This is a must see for all Exo-L or any kpop fans! This short drama is basically a live action fan fiction. I bet you anything there was some story that had a very similar plot, or at least Exo coming to live next to their romantic interest.

It is very hard for me to decide which I like better of the two Kpop web dramas that came out this year: Exo Next Door, and Dream Knight. Those two dramas have very different humor aspects to them, and I enjoyed them both very much. I personally believe that all kpop groups now need to produce their own movie or short drama. I think that would be a nice introduction for a lot of new fans.

This drama became so well liked and watched they are even making a movie version of this drama to go to the Cannes Film Festival! Wow, that is one thing I was not expecting when I started to watch this drama. But, enough of all that, on to my review of the quailty of this drama.

This drama for me was very much wrapped up in the emotions of us, the EXO-Ls and parts made us reminsice or even cry. I found that although normal kpop fans will enjoy this, Exo-Ls may have had a difficult time with some parts of the episodes. But, even with that in mind, the plot was cute, and sweet and so was the romance, even if D.O. became the second lead. Sehun, who most of us thought would be a very side character, turned out to have a very awesome role and that was more interesting then the romance or even plot itself.

I do not wish to spoil a whole lot because it is very short and you should watch it. The music was very good, and Baekhyun even sang a song on the ost. The acting was very well done and considering that this was really everyone, but, D.O. and Suho's first role, they did an awesome job.

But, one thing I would like to mention is a line said by D.O. that I think was a mistake. D.O. as everyone knows is the second lead and loses the girl to Chanyeol. So, during the last episode, d.o. is mourning over the fact that he did not get the girl, and he says next time, he will not become friends with a girl he likes (because that lead to him being friendzoned), but, the next line he says, causes fan girls to hit their head on the table in front of them or scream at the drama (like I did). He says,''It would take a miracle for the girl I like to like me back.'' This is a really bad line for D.O. to say. It is like the writer forgot he was a worldwide kpop star and has hundreds of fans, not to mention he sing very beautifully, and in this drama he is the sweetest guy ever.

Also, if you want to watch this for any Exo M members, keep in mind that they only show up in a few episodes and they get very few lines.

Please watch this drama!

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It seems unfair to judge this series by the usual standards since it is essentially fan service aimed at fans of the K-pop group EXO. In this it succeeds whole-heartedly. The guys in the group all prove themselves to be capable actors, and to stand in for EXO's millions of fans there's a naive and innocent FL, acting out the dreams of everyday girls by not only basking in the presence of such handsome and talented boys, but being actively pursued by one (or maybe two) of them romantically. I don't think you'll need any prior experience with EXO or their music to enjoy this, although there are a few cringy moments that will make you temporarily doubt your own sanity for sticking with it. It's worth enduring, though, since there are plenty of cute moments to make up for it.

The premise of the series is that group member Suho has been injured during dance practice and is in the hospital, and this has forced the group to delay their tour plans while waiting for him to recover. Since this is a Korean production the EXO boys who become the focus are the members of the group's now-inactive sub-unit, EXO-K ("K" for "Korean".) The boys end up taking refuge in a house that was once owned by the grandfather of Chanyeol, one of the EXO-K members. The realtor who has rented the house to them happens to live next door.

The house rental has included cleaning service, and to save money the realtor enlists her 23yo daughter Yeonhee to serve as the housekeeper. The resulting story is a frothy concoction of funny situations and misunderstandings, with the possibility of romance thrown in to keep the most ardent fans coming back for more. There is also a mystery of sorts involving a necklace that Chanyeol is desperate to find as well as a plot twist that casts new light on Chanyeol's relationship with Yeonhee.

Of the group members, Chanyeol and D.O. seem to be the primary MLs for the series despite Sehun and Baekhyun sharing top billing here on the MDL page. Chanyeol's characterization is cranky and rude -- the "bad boy" -- while D.O. is kind-hearted and surprisingly shy -- the "good boy". D.O. clearly takes a liking to Yeonhee and spends most of the series trying to get closer to her. Meanwhile, Chanyeol seems to dislike her from the start. (I can't say I blame him, since at their first meeting she sprays him in the face with a mouthful of water.)

There's a humorous friendship on the side between group member Sehun and Yeonhee's brother, Kwangsoo. It turns out that Kwangsoo makes a killer cup of coffee, and this keeps Sehun coming back for more. Over time they build a quirky bromance. This is played strictly for laughs but the two actors work very well together.

The one detractor factor to 'EXO Next Door' is the character Yeonhee. We're told that she is 23 years old but she comes off as someone much younger. Despite being very pretty and smart she knows next to nothing about dating (the questions she asks her best friend on the subject are unbelievably naive), and she over-reacts to everything with bug-eyed screams and squeals. I suspect the series took this approach because it needed a FL who could represent the younger female fans of EXO while being old enough that attention from the boys wouldn't come off as inappropriate. The downside of that is that someone with such an immature personality as Yeonhee seems extremely unlikely to attract the attention of not only one, but two of K-pop's biggest idols. It struck me as unintentionally funny that there would be scenes like one where the four guys in the house sit around and eagerly speculate over which one of them Yeonhee might like. (Cue the cringe.)

Still, everyone does their best to make it work, and once you accept that this is how things are going to be 'EXO Next Door' becomes an easy series to like. I have to say, though: I think the bromance between Sehun and Yeonhee shows better chemistry than either of the relationships between Yeonhee and D.O. or Yeonhee and Chanyeol.

What I appreciate about how the series wraps up is that we're not asked to believe that any of the boys ends up dating Yeonhee. Instead the emphasis is on lasting friendships.

I should mention that the music for the series is (of course) really good. Baekhyun contributes an OST song and there are music tracks from the group's catalog to underscore some of the scenes.

EXO is one of the superstar groups in K-pop. Like all of us I'm sure the boys have changed a bit since this series was made in 2015, but one of the best things about 'EXO Next Door' is that it lets you realize that they are all down-to-earth guys who are like you and me in many respects. It makes me wish more K-pop groups would launch such a project.

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First thought: OH MY GOD EXO, KAI, SEHUN (my bias no.1), CHANYEOL (bias no.2), DO, BAEKHYUN!!!!!! *instant urge to watch this drama with gods as main charakters*

Ah, yes...
After watching it twice (I had to, because the first time watching it I was yust squealing the whole time when there was an EXO-member... so the whole time.) I can tell you the story in ONE sentence:
THIS is what might happen, when a pretty good looking girl enters a boygroup and gets VERY near to the stars... Yep.
But the girl entering their private life was the craziest, dumbest and redest girl somebody could fantasize about. I mean... to describe her you could say "what is red beside Rudolphs red nose?" Right, her.
And who is propably the dumbest "fangirl" who doesn't care about stars beeing humans? Right, her.
And maybe every other exo-fan. What is very dumb.

The detail I liked the most about this drama, was, that it shows that even big stars are still human.
They have a past, they have relatives they love(d? maybe) and they can fall in love even if that means breaking every fangirls heart.
They are human! Don't be like super squealing and then fainting yust y seeing them. Please
I mean, it's their free private time, as the drama perfectly showed even if... watch this for yourself.

The acting was awful -from side of the girl, her brother and so on... the boys were pretty good by playing themself just in freetime. Exept one... Oh man.

But the storyline is just so boringly predictable! The dream of thousands of EXO-fangirls: Getting to know them by beeing their neighbor. And then maybe somebody of them falls in love with you and then you can date and and... asdfghjkl
Yeah, and of course there is this secret of your beloved member and you're gonna be the one knewing about it.

A fanfiction coming true, but sadly not a kaisoo or what so ever fanfiction, that would've been HILARIOUS. But sadly nope. But I'm so happy that this drama is so short. I mean 16 episodes, 14min each what would be.... all in one a bit over 3h long!

And I don't remember the music, so maybe it wasn't nerveswrecking? yeah maybe, I'm giving it than 7/10....

Poor acting girl, good looking (GODS) stars in their freetime, a secret and... a really great house!
jep, their house was gorgeous.
I'm gonna watch it again for my bias' sake. God damnit (and not because of the story, thats why it is only a bit over 5points)

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The Typical "Boys Over Flowers" story but with charisma!

{Might contain very very slight spoilers, I'm not sure really.}
Okay, I'm not a "fangirl" of EXO. But I pretty much like all their songs.
Talking about the drama, it was pretty short so I decided to binge it when I didn't feel like watching any of the 8 on my CW and about 15 on my on-hold, and about 190 on my PTW (this sucks!)
It's like an easy to binge, little rom-com series which you can watch on any busy day and when you need some sweetness and naughtiness of Baek Hyun.

I loved the scene when they gave her "something to watch", LOL.
Everything was perfect!
Except for the stupid, good-for-nothing female lead.
WHY??? Just why can't she think straight? I understand the blushing thing but you can't her idiotic things on it, can you?

Ok, I get it, a cold male lead with a sad past, or a not-so-sad past but a broken necklace which he was attached to and he fins it in the neck of his childhood crush? A cute second lead who has a crush on the female lead (I'm sorry I can't help but love him, I hope he gets someone better than the stupid female lead ;P). Okay, I get it, extra additional fun and nice friends to make the show enjoyable so it's 7/10 for the story.

The acting was good!

Music? Was there any music? Anyways, I rate it according to what I feel about EXO's actual music, so it's 9.5/10.
Rewatch value, no exactly but I don't want to ruin my rating, so ;)
Have a nice day!

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Why you should watch this? Because...
...you are an EXO fan (this goes from official EXO-L to I-just-like-them-fan)
...you like spring-like fluffy and happy dramas
...you like it when there is not too much drama and when it's fast-paced
...you like cheesy and giggly love stories combined with cringe-worthy (in a positive way) humor ;D
If you are positive of ONE OR MORE of these reasons, then I definitely recommend this drama.

What I like about EXO Next Door?
- it's kinda fluffy and has its own flavor (?) or own charme...
- It's EXO...so the "star-factor" is actually believeable XO
- The humor is really easy to understand and funny to watch
- Fast-paced!!!! (Well, the episodes are 15 minutes, what did we expect?)
- Some drama scenarios but it's kept in like a 10 minute time-frame
- It looks nice (and no, I don't mean "ooh look at the handsome...", I mean it has nice colors and a nice atmosphere
- (maybe surprisingly) there is (imo) good chemistry between the male lead and female lead
- funniest friendship ever!
- satisfying end
- good mix and alternation between drama-comedy-love story
- (almost) typical characters with cheesy lines and corny actions put together in an amazingly great way. Whoever wrote the script actually made it work out quite well.

What I dislike about EXO Next Door?
- sometimes too short (I would watch it even if it was 60 minutes per episode, seriously!)
- serious second lead syndrome!!! (says someone who loves first leads...but in the end I cheered for the 1st lead XP)
- Sometimes the humor may be too much or too over-the-top for some people
- for someone who seriously dislikes EXO, don't watch it. You can watch it even if you are no fan of them but not if you dislike them...
- some cringe-worthy acting (this time in a negative way)
- there was this one song the played again and again and again...and I can't hear it anymore...it's literally hurting to hear it after 16 episodes and all those weeks!!! (except for the repetition, the music was really good)

So, for the end note of my review: I soooo hope they make something like a season 2 one day, because I already miss watching it. EXO Next Door is definitely no must-watch drama and no rival to one of the 40 minute-episode dramas BUT I really think it has its own charme which makes it unique and I don't think there is any other drama like this out there...The main advice is the same as with (almost) every other drama: Watch the first 3 episodes, then decide...at least here that's only 45 minutes XD

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The best way to describe this drama is that its like a cute fanfiction. I'm not very familiar with EXO but I decided to watch this drama on a whim and ended up liking it. Its primary target audience is obviously EXO fans but I think its still enjoyable for those who aren't.

The story line is pretty simple. There's a supposed 'big reveal' but I figured it out within the first 5 minutes of the drama. However, it was still pretty cute as long as you don't mind cheesiness and cliches. What I enjoyed most was the casting of the main actress. A lot of dramas will cast someone that seems kind of distant from the audience. However, the main actress in this drama completely encompassed her fangirl role.They didn't doll her up but rather made her feel/seem like an actual fangirl, which I'm sure was very relatable to all the EXO fans watching. Another aspect I enjoyed while watching was the music. Like the drama, it was very sweet and I think the two suited one another.

Overall, this drama is a good pick if you're looking for a short, cute drama to watch. It is, at times, really cheesy and fan-girly but, as long as you don't mind those aspects, it's still a nice drama. I think I might even check out some EXO songs due to it! Happy drama watching!

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