Sparkling Watermelon (2023)

viva la vida

ah damn, i've watched this kdrama more than once, ah yeeahh... i've just finished watching this kdrama for the second time, u know this kdrama makes me nostalgic and idk how its feel btw... actually i don't really like kdramas with a "time traveler" theme but for this i can talking about it, i've been wanting to watch it again for a long time, i like all the acting actors here, there are Ryeoun, Choi Hyunwook, Seo Rina, and another one i forgot, this one her also played in the kdrama "Summerstrike" unfortunately i forgot her name, i just remembered her name is Shin Eunsoo, that's her name, what else do u have to explain here, i like their struggle in this story, it impressed me

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Found Family ?? Actual Family

I had so much fun watching Twinkling Watermelon! Time travel kdramas have been my obsession lately, and TW did not disappoint!

First, the cast was incredible! All four leads acted their hearts out. They embodied their characters so well. CHW stood out the most for me personally, he really did shine! I cried with Ryeoun and SES every time they cried. The emotions the main cast and the supporting cast portrayed was so beautiful.

Second, the vibes overall made this such an enjoyable watch. The cinematographer did a wonderful job! The music was fun, the OST as well!

Finally, the storyline was great! There were a few plotholes, and I agree that the ending felt rushed. This easily could have been stretched to 17 or 18 episodes.

Overall, a really fun show!

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"빛나게 해주고 싶어요. 일단은 무대 위에서. 그 다음은 인생에서."

Reenact Back To The Future, fall in love with the young version of your aunt, teach your nonchalant 18 y.o. dad guitar, try to prevent a major tragedy, play matchmaker for your future parents, take over the Jinsung empire, and accidentally become an international idol - be like Ha Eun Gyeol! The drama explores so many relatable themes, and it deserves way more than roughly 3% rating on Korean TV. Ryeo Woon and Choi Hyeon Wook have amazing chemistry, both humorous and dramatic, and their acting is outstanding till the end.

"이곳에 와서 알게 됐다. 내 아빠 엄마에게도 아픈 청춘이 있었다는 것을."

?Do you want to escape your problems somewhere far away where nobody would be able to find you..? For example, in the year 1995! You'd get to befriend your yet-young parents and hopefully find out why do they act so confusingly as adults. However, time traveling still won't provide you with a safe playground to explore the world because growing up has never been easy for anyone. And if it wasn't, why do adults forget about their own teenage experience while building a relationship with their teenage kid?

"나는 아주아주 반짝이게 빛나야 한다는 말이지. 할 수 있는 건 다 해볼 거다. 사랑이든 벤드든 내가 반짝일 수 있는 거라면 모두 다."

There aren't many thoughtful shows and movies that explore teenagers and their parents together as equal human beings. Twinkling Watermelon achieves this by literally putting them all side by side through time travel. Not only do the highschoolers start to understand their parents better, but the adults in the future change too. The way the drama was written, I was confident from the very beginning that all the characters and their lives are in the hands of a skilled screenwriter. The drama transitions between sentimental exploration and genuine humor so seamlessly that I simply cannot put an episode on pause. There is no intrigue who ends up with whom, and because everything is predetermined we get a chance to feel this fleeting moment of happiness and enjoy it while it lasts.

"내가 사는 세상엔 소리가 없어. 그래서 이렇게 눈을 감으면 세상이 사라져."

?I'm sure every viewer has caught on to a couple of KSL (Korean Sign Language) words just by watching this drama. It contributes well to the awareness of people with hearing impairments and subtly educates about the challenges they face in society. Deaf character Cheong Ah still enjoys listening to music vibrations, and many deaf people still enjoy going to loud energetic concerts. Moreover, there is a scene where Yi Chan interprets the legendary song '마법의 성' into KSL and performs it for Cheong Ah - this is what deaf performers do. I suggest you check out Justina Miles interpreting to ASL (American Sign Language) at Rihanna's Super Bowl show this year to get an idea of how you can communicate a song to those who can't hear it.

"수화야. 손으로 만들어내는 소리."

Sign language is an incredible dimension of human expression, and it's not hard to learn. It should be more widespread in today's society, and good thing someone is popularizing it. I personally started learning ASL and KSL, and even though there is no one around me to talk to, sign language has improved my acting (surprisingly!) and communication in general.

?Deaf experiences can vary. Some people are Deaf and mute like Cheong Ah, who lost the ability to hear before she learned to speak; some people are partially deaf, and others, like Yi Chan, lost their hearing later. In Yi Chan's case, he is probably mute by choice, either for Cheong Ah or to not give in to an ignorant society, since he could talk normally after getting the trauma.

"음악은 귀로만 듣는 게 아니야. 음악은 눈으로, 마음으로, 심장으로 느끼는 거야."

?Twinkling Watermelon is simply magical and now one of my top K-dramas. Its ethereal plot allows me to rediscover other aspects of life that we usually miss in today's hustle culture, like creating music, art together, building strong friendship - all those overlooked human expressions that are essential for human happiness, just like sign language. But overall, it's also a blissful reminder to stay strong and try living my only youth to the fullest. 나도 '반짝이는 워터멜론'처럼 반짝반짝하게 빛나고 싶다.

Learn sign language, you guys! Sign language changes the world. ✨

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A must watch!

No words can describe the love I have for this show. The only flaw of this Kdrama is its title because, for some reason, it doesn’t make people want to watch it ?. But seriously, if you haven’t watched it, you’re missing out!!!

It was so heartwarming and made me feel so many different emotions. I loved the acting, and the couples were so cute. The way this show portrayed pure and genuine friendship while telling life lessons, especially about youth, is the reason why this show is now my favorite ever. One of the lessons I loved in this drama is that bad things happen in life regardless of how hard you try to avoid them, but you are the only one who can decide whether or not you should let that determine your whole life.

I have to admit that there were a few plot holes and some necessary things like On Eun-yoo’s part in the last episodes (I don’t want to spoil, but if you watched it you know what I am talking about), but nothing too big to get over.

I can’t wait to rewatch it in a few months ? I repeat, it’s A MUST WATCH.

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You are missing out if you didn't watch this!

Love love it --- best acting I've seen in a while (maybe ever really). Top to end everything fit so well. Should have had a Grandpa scene in the end but nevertheless all was so beautifully done.
Was it so hard to make a drama with a bittersweet yet happy ending? You know who you are!

The acting was very well balanced between emotional and comical which is not an easy task. I applaud everyone who participated in the casting. Although at this point chungha's step sister should really get a role where she isn't the rich mean girl; like I know it suits her but c'mon.

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the plot of the story

i really loved this drama. it gives a warm vibe. in every ep which is they talk about father, i cried, really. anyway, i really recommended twinkling watermelon drama to people who love to watch warm vibe drama, the skills of the acting so great, i laughed every ep. in my opinion eungyeol and eunyu dont have a couple chemestry, cause eunyu look a little bit older than eungyeol, they suit as a sister and younger brother. but to yichan and chungha they have a solid chemestry that i cant denied. it come neutrally makes me loved their chemestry. but fr the actors acting is 100% solid. i love their acting so much. i cursed at the end of 15 ep. i cant wait for the last ep tomorrow. i hope the writer gives us a happy ending story, i hoped so. i really want their future change. but fr i cant understand to chungha father. fr i want to slap him cause like fr that he didnt notice that his daughter is suffering since kid. i was like, "bruh are you blind or what" FR i want to slap him, but its okay now he realize.

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Comfort youth drama on its way!

Twinkling Watermelon is one of the few masterpieces of 2023.
I personally don't really like time-travel and 80s-90s dramas. That's why I didn't expect much and watched the first episodes just for the amazing cast. The first eps I'd say were not that engaging, but it didn't take long till I was eagerly waiting for the next episode. It's an amazing story with perfect acting and immaculate vibes.
The plotline is very satisfying to watch and the character development is chefs kiss.
Story: 10/10
Cast: 10/10
Music: 10/10
Rewatch value: 10/10
Total: 10/10

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One of the best dramas out there

Twinkling Watermelon was a great drama, probably one of the best out there. Every character developed to perfection. All the characters, main and supporting, have a purpose and a role to play, none of them feels out of place or as a filler.

I was so happy that the change was not Eun Gyeol saving his father because that would defy the purpose of the drama for me. Instead it showed us that even the smallest change , although it might seem insignificant might carry importance. Also, is Eun Gyeol supposed to live his new life with no recollection of his past and how his childhood was different??

The only black spot for me was that the final episode was slightly mismanaged. The first half of this episode could have been in episode 15 and then 1st half of this episode could have focus on Yi Chan trying to adjust after the accident. I really hate the way we left their younger versions, Yi Chan in a dark place and Cheong Ah unaware of it. It was great to see the older versions and see how the future changed but those were not the characters we grew close to, cheered for and cried with. It just left a bitter taste that we didn't get to say goodbye to the younger versions when they were happy, when everyone else got that. I mean we needed a scene between them to have some closure, what stopped Yi Chan, what happened to Choeng Ah and her father, even a montage could have done the job and answered those questions, but we got nothing and, at least personally, I feel cheated. Also, it would have been great to have a scene with how Eun Yu's life changed in the future.

All in all, Twinkling Watermelon is not only one of the best youth dramas out there but one of the best dramas in general and it’s definitely worth watching.

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How can a drama be so funny yet so heartbreaking at the same time?

The plot was something new, yet simple and refreshing. It wasn't too complex like 'A Time Called You' (another time travel masterpiece) which I liked because I was never confused about what was going on or who was who. The drama was so beautifully-written that it was a great experience and it really felt like I was in the drama myself, experiencing what the characters were. As for the hearing loss part, the ending was perfect. As heartbreaking as I was during the climax portions, it was bittersweet to see how the writer wrapped up Ha Yi-Chan's story.

The casting was absolutely perfect, especially the younger cast who I was immensely attached to during the whole drama. The friendship between the band members and the girls was so natural, realistic and flowed so well. Of course the bromance or father-son bond is something I have to mention because it had me laughing so much- "I like girls!" lmaoooo. The character development of Cheong-Ah was a perfect pace- I loved seeing her character slowly break out of the shell both society and her family made for her. Seeing her accept and love herself, embracing who she is and learning that being deaf is not a flaw, was so lovely to watch that I genuinely cried at multiple points in the drama (also because of Ryeoun's amazing portrayal of a lonely and struggling son).

The only issue in my opinion is that I believe Eun-Gyeol and Eun-Yu recognised that they're both from 2023 too late for my liking. I think it would've been great if they'd had a least one or two episodes where Eun-Yu was just Eun-Yu and not Se-Kyeong. I was expecting them to "recognise" each other and help each other with their personal missions but it seemed more like an individual fight instead- which is in no way a negative but just not the route I was expecting.

Overall, this drama has everything you could want for in a drama: plot, acting, music, casting, ending. EVERYTHING was perfect.

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