Sparkling Watermelon (2023)

Fun chaotic experience... except I'm a virgo and chaos is not my thing.

Jokes aside, Twinkling Watermelon deserves all the hype. I can't lie that this colourful poster and the confusing synopsis are a bit of a turn-off, and usually time-travel concepts can go wrong so eaisly. Thanfully, this drama never went wrong... somehow, it worked.

Behind its popularity hides the fact that TW is somewhat different than a lot of popular dramas. The concept itself is quite unique. And poeple love unique stuff. I remember when we were all watching Extraordinary You three years ago, we've all enjoyed it because it was different and it quickly became really popular... somehow it reminded me of it.

The drama gives you a warm feeling. It makes you feel young again. It makes you regret that you're not a teenager anymore. It makes you dream and it gives you motivation to achieve these dreams. It tells you that you should be grateful to your parents and that they had life before you that you don't know and never will. It can make you cry, either out of happiness or pain. It's thought-provoking and it stays with you for a bit even after finishing it. Supported with cute characters, excellend acting and some good music, it's the perfect drama if you want to watch something to keep you warm on cold days or to distract you when you need it.

However, it is indeed very chaotic which leads to probles with the pacing and it made me skip a bit. Like, close to the end, I just wanted to fast-forward to the ending episode because I just wanted to see how it ends. The second half gets a bit too draggy, I feel like if it was shorter it'd have been better. Started off stong and ended strong, but somewhere in the middle it losts the charm.

But it's still worth it. There are way better dramas out there but there are also way worse.

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Full of plotholes, but endlessly endearing

Twinkling Watermelon is about eighteen year old Ha Eun Gyeol traversing through life as his parents "angel" and how that stacked a burden on his shoulders until he blows up. In a fun bit of magic, he then becomes a blast from the past and meets his father. Shenanigans ensue.

To be quite honest, I struggled to get through the first half of this drama and failed to see what others enjoyed so much. Characters were annoying, I disliked certain plotlines, and thought it had no direction besides relying on chaotic humor and a prevailing feeling of anticipation for already known events. The MC's everyday adventures were not enough to capture my interest, and I wondered if I should continue.

Probably around episode seven or eight is when I felt myself being pulled in, and I'm extremely glad I continued watching. The plotlines all gather up in a cohesive bundle, the characters redeem themselves without sacrificing their base motivations, and the developed relationships between all of them tugged on my heartstrings continuously. Twinkling Watermelon has a perfect blend of magic, storyline, and family relations to keep you watching. It's a bit cheesy at points but endearing, enough angst to keep the plot propelled but not so much it bogged it down, and everything was drawn up neatly.

There are plotholes concerning the time travel, but I just squinted and pretended they weren't there. It's not too glaring of an issue at the end of the day.

All in all, I would recommend you watch for a lovely story about found family. It's not a wholly light watch, but it is a pleasantly surprising one.

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The ending....

I have seen people rate this 10 and I agree with them if it's only the story of Ha Yi Chan and Yoon Cheong Ah. Their story was perfect for me. But there was no other story apart from theirs.

There was a part where they introduced On Eun Yu's friend's death, but there was no follow-up on that. And the future, I was so curious about how things will end up for Choi Se Kyung, but the only ending we saw was of Ha Eun Gyul's family. Choi Se Kyung, being one of the main characters in the drama, and her ending wasn't even shown.

So yeah, the drama was perfect in the time traveling era, but the future and ending wasn't enough for me.

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First Rank???

This is my first time reviewing on this website. Honestly, I watched this drama while it was still ongoing. The drama is good, especially in the early episodes, which were quite sad. While watching, I somehow preferred the scenes with the four main characters (Ha Yi Chan, Eun Gyeol, Se Kyung, and Cheong Ah) because they're funny and cute, which made me laugh. The appearance of other characters, like Yi Chan's friends, felt boring. The plot and conflicts were also too simple and not complicated, especially for a time travel genre. For the first rank, I think it's a bit overrated compared to other dramas with more complex plots and issues.

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It is decent but it could have been better if the pacing was made well.

It is a nice story and up till the end, I have liked it. But for all the hype that it has, it still did not reach the standard that I have expected it will have.

I have heard about this kdrama months ago when a lot of people hype it up in social media. I have watched some few scenes and it really did not interest me. I mainly watched this because it is always in the list of kdrama recommendation for rom coms. So I tried it. It did make me finished it till the last episode which is a rare for me as most of the famous kdramas out there, I did not even finished like Queen of Tears, Crash Landing On You, etc. More likely because I already predicted the end. This one, I still reserved my predictions as there will be countless possible results of how Ha Eun Gyeol's, the Main Character, actions will change the future and there could be so many possible scenarios for it that I just have to see what the writer decided to pick.

It was good, but I am hardly satisfied, The ending is so rushed out when it already suffered some pacing issues halfway through the episodes. Halfway through the story, there are some filler scenes that are not really that necessary, like flashback scenes, dating scenes, casual scenes that indeed has some use for the story but was not integral. The writer in me had already figured that they are just adding scenes to fill out the running time, I find myself speeding up the scenes more and more. Then it came to the end, and even the first half of the last episode was lengthen. The scenes of what happen now in the new future was super rushed that it leaves me dissatisfied, The whole purpose of the time travelling was to change the future but we only saw glimpse of it which is so dumb in my books. The CODA message in the book stating that its meaning was to wrapped things beautifully as it is nearing the end was contrary to how this drama ends, it was not wrapped out well.

Most of the consequences was not told. There are a lot of missing information and how that future came was missing. It felt it needed one episode more which should not have been as the past episodes could have been made into a normal pace, that way we can have more space for the future arc. They should have been tackling the future arc from episode 15 or the very first minute of episode 16, but the writer decided not to which is a major fail for me. But overall it;s not bad and I like it even if it did not reach my standards.

Shin Eun Soo and Choi Hyun Wook's performance was good and they have silent chemistry. I like the way they are casted and they are perfect for the role. Ryueom on the other hand was a good actor but he was overly acting in this, there are scenes that needs mild shocked but his face and body acts like the world ends. He is good on portraying different emotions and he is ver convincing in his acting, too convincing in fact that it made me question if I am just too chill or the character he was portraying was over-reacting. When he is happy. he is super happy; when he is sad he is overly sad; when he is angry he is overly angry . I was waiting for the controlled emotions instead of blatant manifestation of it but I never saw it. Seol In Na was always good in terms of her acting skills but I think she fails this one in different way. For one, she was miscasted for me. She did not fit the image of a teenager, she had played so many mature roles before aging beyond even her real age around 30s that her playing a 17 year old girl despite how young she looks, still will not make it convincing for me. Aside from that, her character was pretty annoying and antogonistic in a way that when romance happens, I was just not convince.

They have no chemistry with Ryueom, I felt that their romance plot was haphazardly made. I did not know what Eun Gyeol sees in her. When their scenes came, it felt like they were siblings instead. I can't feel the tension, longing, care and affection between them. They have no chemistry. I can't even romanticized Ryeoum because my Unnie side will rise up. I can only see him as a teenager guy who was struggling with how life made him mature early and how he needed someone to care for him. He felt minor despite how I am only 24 and he was 25 in real life, it felt violating. When I see him with Choi Se Gyeong, I felt like shouting in the screen :"Focus on school first kid and drink your milk". He was a kid in my eyes. With his romance plot with CSG it felt unsatisfying. Mostly half of the drama, CSG was unconsciously painted as a hindrance and something annoying that stops him from achieving his goal. I fell antagonizing feelings for her. She was not introduced well. Her character was misintroduced as someone annoying and she felt wrong afterwards. It could have been better if they introduce CSG as a simultaneous or synchronous character instead of a surprise one, this way she will be loved more and be understood, we would even cheer for her as we knows what she is doing.

Overall it is good, but it could have been better.

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A Hell of a Drama, hell yeah!!

Twinkling Watermelon is a beautifully fleshed-out drama that is mostly well-written, well-acted, and well-directed. From its main characters to its support characters, everyone shines!

- First the Story -

I would've given a 10, if it wasn't for that evil stepmother plotline. I REALLY dislike that trope where the stepmother gets all the blame and the poor father/other responsible is blameless. "He didn't know, poor him :(" hell nah! The "he was out of the house this entire time" excuse doesn't stick, and I honestly wanted him to suffer the consequences also. Yi-chan was right, Cheong Ah didn't have to forgive him! I can't imagine any plot holes on the top of my head, so that's a good thing, I suppose.

Other than that, I'm frankly surprised they managed to keep this drama so consistently good, the story never fell flat, or had I lost interest (something that happens very often if I'm being honest)! Eun Gyeol is not a one-sided protagonist who is not allowed moments to show how flawed and immature he is at times, he IS flawed and he IS immature, he's a teenager and he acts like it!! Another Surprise was Eunyu who is a compelling deuterogist to this story. She is not a damsel in distress and knows very well what she wants and her growth was masterfully done!! Her romance with Eun Gyeol is one of the high notes of this drama and I was craving for some more cute scenes between them.

Ha Yi-chan's and Cheong-Ah's romance is REVIGORATING. So cute, so adorable, so pure. Ha Yi-Chan is a lover boy on the deepest sense of the word and Cheong-Ah is an angel that fell from heaven, frankly. Something someone pointed out that really stuck to me was that every scene between Ha Yi-Chan and Cheong Ah was kept between them, not even Eun Gyeol was there to see it and I thought that was so sweet, it's their moment, their story.

Every scene between Eon Gyeol and his parents was a blast! That poor boy was bullied to hell and back while he was just trynna help, lmao. The scenes in the final two episodes made me cry like I was a recently born baby, who just put his wrinkled lil face to the world, I was sobbing hard.

I was also really happy deafness was not treated like a horrible, life-destroying thing in here. It happens, people are deaf and they can and will live happy and fulfilling lives like it's shown in this drama. Really glad that this disability was treated with the respect it was supposed to be given.

THAT twist was also super cool, had me crying hard.

- Second The Acting/Cast -

Brilliant, simply brilliant, every single actor chosen in this drama was stupid good (and the script they were given is partially credited for that). I want to say that the one actor who shone the most is Choi Hyunwook, that kid's gonna go far, I'm telling y'all, he's brilliant! Every scene of his is fresh and funny and STUPIDLY well-acted. He acts so naturally at times I almost feel like I'm just seeing a random ass boy doing stuff instead of a drama. Secondly, Ryeoun is also phenomenal here, I loved him in '18 Again' but seeing him here was just a blast, he acted beautifully during the whole drama, and like Choi Hyunwook I was delighted by his presence as a protagonist.

Shin Eunsoo is AMAZING, she didn't have a single line of dialogue but her expressions, and mannerisms really talked for her. She's an insanely good actress who kept an insanely good performance from beginning to end. And the talk of the town Seol In Ah, do I even need to say something? Girl had two roles in one drama and she was a genius in both of them, giver her an award already.

The support actors were also amazing, special thanks to Ha Yi-Chan's adult actor, that man copied his counterpart's mannerisms to a TEA, insane stuff.

- Thirdly The Music -

The weakest link I'm not gonna lie, the BGM's were alright but the only one that I remember a lot is the 'nananana' sad music, it is engraved in my brain. The vocal tracks tho, were pretty good, however, 'SHINING' is generic and forgettable and I don't even remember the SPINE9 song, 'A song for you' tho... ahh, the strings of my heart.

- Fourth The rewatch value -

I would watch it again, yeah. I heavily recommend this drama to those who want to laugh, cry, and get nostalgic for something you never lived, an amazing experience.

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A beautiful journey to heal yourself thanks to music, brotherhood and 1990's vibe

This youth drama with a fantasy twist and set mainly in 1995 provides a great nostalgia throwback feeling as you follow a group of high schoolers starting a band together. The drama approaches in a wholesome way profound topics about friendship, family, as well as differences and disabilities that overall resonated well with me as the characters grow and learn. Though both romances were pretty cute, it is the brotherhood within the band and especially the father-son relationship that really got me invested.

In terms of storytelling, I truly enjoyed the set up and introduction. However, I cannot help to think that the conclusion would have deserved more time to reap properly all the rewards of the set-up done in the show. I was expecting the way it ended, there was a lot of satisfying emotional payoff but it could have gone deeper on the aftermath for all the characters following one of the major event happening in the last episode as well as regarding the evolution of the main protagonists and their relationships (especially regarding the female leads where it felt a bit short).

Overall, the quatuor of main characters work very well together, and I am pretty satisfied by the performances of the ensemble cast (especially for some of the more secondary characters). Choi Hyun Wook delivers a consistent and reliable performance in the role of the frontman of the band. I loved him in Weak Hero Class 1 and I love him as well here. The only little flaw I see is that his character tends to be very shouty. I think it is both bound to the role as well as to some of the directing. It is not at all detrimental to the story but it prevents some range in the acting as the character is always at 100%. Despite this, he (and his character) was clearly my favorite part of the show.

The filmmaking is pretty great with a colourful and boyish atmosphere perfectly fitting for the scenario. I love the soundtrack with its "older indie rock" feels. Every song done by the band is super catchy and the musical scenes each time delighted me.

I would recommend this to people looking for a very solid youth drama set in the 1990's. If you enjoyed movies like "Back to the Future" and dramas such as the "Reply" series, you will for sure immensely enjoy it! If you are a fan of musical genre shows, this one is also clearly made for you. I personnally really loved it despite some issues with the pacing of the script and the way I would have liked a bit more development on some elements, especially towards the ending.

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As fresh as summery fruits, as hopeful as green grass in the winter

When I watch Twinkling Watermelon, I remember that Shakespearean idiom:
"My salad days. When I was green in judgment, cold in blood. To say as I said then!"

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The plot revolved around two teenagers who feel that their whole lives are mere fulfillment of their parents expectation. Until one time they find themself in the year of 1995. This time the two teenagers able meet their parents in their salad days, youth as bright and as sweet as summer fruits.

Yi Chan is a bright, passionate teens, living his youth to the fullest. Cheong Ah, a lonely deaf teens, keeping her desire to communicate with the world in silent. Se Kyeong, the cello queen, living as replacement, unable to owning her own live. Now the two teenagers able to see them not just as 'mom' or 'dad', but individuals with their own struggle and dream.

Here they begin the journey to understand. Journey to accept. Journey to learn to listen (because apparently it's not deafness that make you unable to listen, it's unwillingness).

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Actually the beauty of this drama didn't lie in the plot. It's heavily rely to the charm of the characters and relationship between them. Their bonding moments, how some slowly falling in love, the desire to help the person you love, youth friendship. But overall the vibe is summery bright, no somber at all. At the end, there is no regret.

The main attraction is Eun Gyeol and his parents. Yi Chan, this man is the frontman of this drama. His way of live, how he treat others, this charming youthful energy. Cheong Ah, the sweet girl that's been treated unfairly by the world. Her journey to connect to the world is the highlight of the show. This two is my main couple. Our appa and eomma, haha.

And Eun Gyeol, a CODA, the dutiful kind child who do everything to protect his family. He is so precious, his burden was too heavy. I'm glad some of this burden lifted from him. The ending is working in a sense that it's hopeful and satisfying. It's so fantastical but it's keeping some of realistic take. That no matter what happen in your life, don't take all burden by yourself. Communicate with the person you love. And even though life doesn't give everything you want, it has unexpected present for you in many points of your journey. It's keeping the spirit of living.

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Disappointing

Started great but then got boring and repetitive. Our ml is the only hearing member of his family, the rest are deaf as such he feels responsible for them and can't do what he really wants to do aka music, he time travels and meets his parents in the past in hopes to change the future. Now the beginning with his family was great and him trying to convince his father that he is his son and all the comedy that came after that.. At some point eun yu gets introduced and the plot begins to drag as the main focus was his parents.. It's became his parents and that girl that traveled back to change her mom husband so she can not be born. An emo girl that is so annoying and I genuinely don't know how their romance started. Mom and dad romance started late and then dragged. No re-watch value. It could have been much better but ahime

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soft, funny and romantic

loved everything bout this show.. soft, funny and may bring tears to ur eyes in every episode... it doesnt matter how old are you, your gender or your character; this show can give a piece of some emotions that you even dont know that you need it... also there is a good chance this show can give you a new perspective about people with disabilities... especially if there is a person with diabilities in your family i guess this show make you vry like a river from beginning to the end... actors and actresses are perfect fit in scenario and from the first episode you can relate with them easily...

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I think I just found a new favorite Kdrama!

Sometimes, a hyped show is overrated. You keep turning it up and down, trying to figure out what others see in it but it makes no sense. Then sometimes, the show isn't bad by any means but it's definitely not as good as others say. But on very rare occasions, the show is actually as good as everyone says it is! Twinkling Watermelon is definitely one of those rare stars in the night sky. Sure, it's a musical and that is a bit irritating, but the show makes up for it with a very creative plot, amazing cast with natural chemistry, effective humor, and so much genuine emotional anchoring that not watching this show would be an absolute loss.
Now, obviously this has time travel and I think they did it in such an interesting way and we're not gonna over-analyse the logistics of it...anyway, I thought the way that this works out which is sort of similar to "Back to the future" was so cute. It's just so emotional when Ha Eun Gyeol, the main character, meets his parents for the first time.
The plot is complex, very complex, but the show doesn't fumble and it wraps it up so well. And I'm so surprised to be saying this but I think this show could've had maybe an extra 20 minutes to explain some bits from the ending even more! (I know, asking for more time when usually 16-episodes shows drag, already! WILD!) The whole thing is heavily relying on the relationships between the characters and these characters are just so easily lovable that watching the show is just so fun. I didn't totally love our female lead as she caused a whole lot of drama but the actress is a personal favorite and she did a good job and despite the frustrations, it's all a part of her character growth so I think it wasn't a bother. My favorite characters remain Ha Yi Chan and Chung Ah, though. And of course, nothing beats the relationship between Yi Chan and Eun Gyeol. It was so touching and I just wanted them to be happy. :(
I've already expressed my love for the four main actors but the supporting cast were wonderful too. Everyone was just right in their own position and they all did such a good job. Kudos all around.
I wanna gosh more about just the plot and the perfect humor and the fact that despite a little hiccup between episode 11 and 12, this show manages to escape the curse of epsidoe 12 and the show doesn't lose the narrative momentum in episode 12. Despite the fact that it could've ended at that point, the story does find an excuse to keep going but at least here the excuse they use lands well for the plot and facilitates the existence of some of the most emotional moments of the whole show in the final episodes. Overall, I'm just so impressed with the writing in this show. It stands out among the sea of repetitive (if still endearing) and overwritten shows that keep getting made. And I think this isn't even a webcomic adaptation, right?! An extra star just for that!!!!
The production is very good here. It's nothing revolutionary but there are little affects used here and there that just make the show quirky and unique. The story is mainly set in 1995 and the fashion is just the right amount of vaguely retro that it isn't offensively modern and still conveys the 90s aesthetic. At least they don't have a 30 year old woman wear a 2024 trendy hairclip!
I might rewatch this actually. I loved it.
Final comment: This show deserves its place at the very top of Top Shows list. It was a delight to watch and I recommend it to everyone!
P.S.: If anyone knows who the singers for the main characters are, please let me know! Thank you!

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A BEAUTIFULLY CRAFTED STORY

Twinkling Watermelon deserves all the hype it can get. Every part of it is beautiful, from the story to the actors and to the name. "Twinkling Watermelon"?? How bizarre. Turns out the strange name has a beautiful meaning behind it! The characters all felt extremely realistic which is crazy for a time-travel story LOL. For multiple reasons, this drama made me appreciate life more.

This story is so beautifully crafted and I'm grateful that I got to witness it. When Eun gyeol time travels to the year where he is the same age as his father, despite his father being immature, Eun gyeol manages to still learn lessons from him and vice versa. The story depicts multiple characters figuring out whether they want to be themselves, or be their parents' picture perfect child. we explore anxiety and struggles teenagers face. this drama has pretty much a mix of all genres but it doesn't feel like too much. there's many plot twists and i'll be honest, i didn't expect ANY of them.

obviously there's some unanswered issues because this is a time-travel drama. the question is, if Eungyeol and On Eun Yu go into the past and impact and affect people's lives, how come no one remembers them in the future?

I ended up feeling bad for all the main characters. Ha Eun Gyeol, his family's angel. The voice that connects them to others. They want him to study medicine when his heart belongs to music. Despite saying some hurtful things to his father, he really loves him.

Ha Yi Chan gives off golden retriever energy! His heart is so bright and kind and even when he's mad at them, he cares for others. When his inevitable fate occurred, I cried along with him. My heart broke into a thousand pieces and I cannot at all imagine how heart-wrenching it would be to suddenly never be able to hear ever again. I really felt for Eun Gyeol then too, he tried so hard to prevent this and it happens when Ha Yi Chan saves him from being hit by a car. The guilt would drown me. :( And if you have seen any of my past reviews on dramas that have old people in them, you'll know they're my WEAKNESS. I cried SO MUCH when Yi Chan's grandma sobbed when she realised he lost his hearing.

At first, when Choi Se Kyeong came back from Korea, I really disliked her character. She was annoying, bitchy and made me so upset but then we found out Choi Se Kyeong actually wasn't Choi Se Kyeong.. Then the actual character, On Eun Yu, grew on me and I started to love her. She was just really misunderstood and so was her mother. I'm glad she now understands her mother more. I live for healing family relationships LOL.

Yoon Cheong Ah's abuse shattered my heart. Just imagine living in a world of complete silence. Being deprived of love and not being able to express yourself freely. I was so fucking mad at that principal but we got the well deserved slap and in the end she got kicked out! I feel so bad for the actor of the principal tho LOL, she's always playing annoying characters but her QOT character was eh. I love this trope though, she fell first and he fell harder. SO CUTE.

the romance was chef's kiss. but the last episode was definitely too rushed. i needed to see more moments between BOTH couples? we just got a small reunion between Eun Gyeol and Eun Yu and literally nothing between cheong ah and yi chan!!

im really impressed by the acting from EVERYONE. i was shook when i found out Choi Hyun Wook is only 22-23? He certainly looks it but his acting skills are so good?! all the young actors devoured. i wanna see Ryeoun in more main roles. everything he expressed felt realistic and came across well. and, we only expected the best from seol in ah! one of my fave korean actresses. i do still think her in business proposal was the better role though. i just love her character so much more there but really seol in ah did a fabulous job in twinkling watermelon. Shin Eun Soo did amazing! her emotions were so natural and she really took the role on. also her eyes omg, they're so pretty and wow she knows how to act.

OVERALL:

When we face new challenges, we shouldn't back out of them. We should go and face them and accept them. that's what ha yi chan can teach us. :) this drama has so many beautiful quotes imbedded into a beautiful well thought out masterpiece. I'm still giving this a 9.5 because i want to rewatch this, appreciate it more and then give it a 10. this is healing and gives you a new perspective to look at life. i recommend this and i believe this deserves the high spot it has on MDL.

if you decide to watch this, i hope you have a splendid time watching and one more thing!

you are loved. don't define yourself based on your achievements. you're more than that. strive to be the happiest and healthiest version of yourself. :)

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