This review may contain spoilers
I was expecting a different ending-SPOILERS****
****SPOILERS AHEAD***Since the whole show deals with the value of family and understanding that your parents were also young once, I really didnt expect the ending to be so based on career "success". The main character ends up being famous but he doesnt even know how he got there, hasnt even lived through it, Also, his parents would be completely different people since their lives have been different so i wonder, wouldnt that be disappointing for the main character? how is that a happy ending? I wish they had focused more on whats important: love, family and not on materialistic stuff
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Viva La Vida!
Likes1. One of the most satisfying ending i've watched in recent years. I was crying and smiling in the last two episodes.
2. The strongest part of the drama is the close relationship between the father Yi Chan and son Eun Gyeol in whatever timeline they were in. Pre time slip, during time slip and post time slip.
3. High school love story of Han Yi Chan and Yoon Chung Ah was so cute.
4. The Watermelon Sugar band and the band mates. Plus the cameos as adult versions. And their songs.
5. Eun Gyeol and Chung Ah didnt have a lot of scenes because Eu Gyeol was always with Yichan or Eunyu but he did best thing to his mom, which is to get rid of the evil stepmom and let her be free to live her life.
Dislikes
1. I didnt like Seol Inah's character. I dont know if it was the actress or the character itself. But she kinda grew on me in the end. Im curious to find out what happened when she wentback to the present. Is her family still together? Did Segyeong become happier?
2. I think we needed an extended 15-20 mins to see what other changes happened to the present or maybe i just couldnt believe it was all over.
Rating: 9/10
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Long Live Life ─ with flaws, scars and healing
This was one of the dramas I actually didn't plan to watch until I saw the spoilers of the first episode on Twitter ─ and absolutely liked how the premise was about CODA. I also enjoy watching dramas of a child time travelling and meeting their teen parents so I didn't hesitate to give it a try and I am so glad that I did.Starting from the name, throughout the episodes they made a reference to Frida Kahlo's Sandías / Viva la Vida (Long Live Life). In Mexican folk culture, watermelon is commonly found in representations of the Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) celebration ─ so at first, I thought the story might mostly focus on angsty side of life. However, it was just another connection with how Eungyeol's life changed thanks to music shop owner and how his death affected more than one life. So, it wasn't about sadness or fear of death but mostly about natural path and development. Thus, Sparkling/ Twinkling Watermelon is such a nostalgic name for this drama because it can be interpreted as: Radiant life/youth, sparkling performance, or a sparkling period of time in youth before they became adults. And I really like it when the name actually summarises the storyline.
When it comes to acting, everyone did a great job at portraying their characters. As for characters, I must admit, for me, mostly Ha Yichan and Yoon Cheongah stood out ─ as teens and adults. Their characters were beautifully written and acted. They weren't perfect but they were perfect with their flaws, scars and their healing processes.
The drama also showed beautiful dynamics ─ whether it was friendship or parental relationships.
At the end, just like any other time travel drama, there were unanswered questions, discrepancy and some "what if" scenarios. But overall, it was an enjoyable watch.
link to edits: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLI-LyvxxdMxDG3OaZjOkQIQUXWkuLTosF&si=HlG3s3wpE07lYOTL
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Refreshing
Honestly one of the best series that I have seen where persons that have a different way of life is depicted. The family life that was shown is so accurate to the ones that persons with hearing limitations have to face. As someone that knows sign language but doesn't have to, it was nice to see a story that revolved around it. All the concerns that go with being in their situation was real and I appreciated having them in such an amazingly positive light.The story was new to me, having the hint of mystery and time travel and a sprinkle of romance...Sorta. The life conversations I couldn't follow because I don't know the signs used, but it was still beautiful to watch. I must say, for a person that supposed to be "super smart" Gyeol was pretty dumb too many times, but it was funny so I excused most of it. His passion and understanding were his driving force to help everyone he met, I mean he did have direct relation to them, but even if Ha Yi Chan was a stranger I would risk it all to help him also. He is honestly so amazing, his thirst for life and living it to the fullest because he wants to help his grandma. I wish he got the world, but he got the next best thing. He was kind and caring while being a fool, there was no reason to not love him. I literally cried when his tape got left in street because of you know what. Worst yet when he was standing on the roof of the hospital after his grandma visited him. I tell you there was no more heartbreaking scene than these moments. Yoon Cheong Ah was such an amazing example of resilience, strength and determination seeing her growth into having friends that she trust was sweet. Her teacher though, lets just say she needed more than a time out and I was sooooooo happy when all her maids got fired.
The ending honestly wasn't amazing but I loved how things turned out, it was slightly underwhelming but I still liked it.
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Viva La Vida! Viva La Music!
In short: This Kdrama worth the hype, and it's not overrated! It's almost perfect!Why it's not perfect? Because I think, they could've done more with the storyline in the present, and of course, in some cases the time-traveling plot is inconsistent, but honestly, I don't really care, because THIS ISN'T A SCI-FI, this is Kdrama about FAMILY!
I don't really know what should I say, I don't want to go into spoilers, so the only thing I can say is that, this show is well-written, every character is amazing, and so called "villains" are good too. I mean, not good people, just well-written and the actors did a fantastic job!
The show captures really well how hard it is to be a teen, or being a parent, or just being alive in general.
I was a bit disappointed that they didn't do much with Se Kyeong and Eun Yu, but I get it, the main focus was Eun Gyeol's family!
If I'm being honest, my favorite character was Cheongha, after all the bad things that happened to her, she never lost hope, never give up and raised her kids later. I liked her adult version, but I LOVED her young version even more! Shin Eun Soo is an incredible actress, and she's very likable as well.
Anyway, I don't want to mumble for long, if you didn't watch this Kdrama yet, watch it now!
Lastly: The OST is also amazing. For 16 hour, I was a teen again!
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MY NEW COMFORT KDRAMA
I was in a HUGE kdrama slump. i had no interest in watching any new releases especially ongoing dramas… i was even in my cdrama era for awhile but Twinkling Watermelon brought me out of my slump. I had like no expectations for this drama. I just kept seeing it on my TL and saw it was highly rated on Viki so i wanted to give it a chance. The first 2 episodes were really depressing and confusing for me so i kinda had to push through and i’m so glad i did because i instantly got hooked on episode 3 and i’ve been tuning in every week since episode 7 from then on. I love everything about this drama from the storyline, family, friendships, romance, music, comedy, angst, acting, etc. It’s everything i look for in a kdrama. ‘90s youth band dramas will always be my comfort. I know people refer to this as a time travel drama but i see it more as a youth drama. Anyways, we have 4 more episodes and i’m wishing for a happy ending because i can’t really predict the ending at all… I just know i’ll go back to this drama a lot and you’ll see my talking about it 3 years from now.Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
MUST WATCH!!
This drama is top 2 in my drama list and oh my gosh this shows the efforts of a man for a woman he love and A REAL SON i guess....... idk lets look at some pointers why is it a must watch kdrama!ACTING: The cast was veryyyyyyyyy goooddddddd every role is given suitable to every actor and they acted it so WELL! The couples, friendship,bond between son and father,efforts for love this drama shows all of this and if you like time travelling drama this is a must watch again we have found first point why is it must for you.
OST: Actually i don't notice OSTs much but it was soo good and fit soo well with the moments between the each other so it was a 9/10 for me.
STORY LINE: The story was a 9/10 for I'll tell you why. First of all it was a time traveling drama and i am watching time travelling for the first time it was confusing in between but then got it after sometimes. I know Yoon chung Ah was not his first love but the troope was veryyyyyy good it was SHE FELL FIRST HE FELL HARDER i love these kinds of troops yeah back to topic Yoon chung Ah was not his first love but his true love and i felt so bad when he acted rude with her in starting but poor boy he didn't know she was deaf but later they shared moments with each other, he learn sign language for her and i was melted at that point like THE EFFORTS!! He also protected her and she got along so well with his family, he ate her food even though it was not good, i have noticed one thing in kdramas that the efforts that is done by a man can also be done by a real man like in real life so why to lower girls standard and that is not that hard to do. The bond between son and father is like 😭🫶🏻 oh my god he did everything for his father that he doesn't go deaf but being deaf was in his destiny like meeting yoon chung ah!❤️ But i cuted 0.5 because second lead's screen was not much like their dating era they didn't show much😭 but still this drama i can't forget in my whole lifeeeee😭❤️🫶🏻
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This drama felt so real and touched me on a deep level
Twinkling Watermelon – 9.5/10This drama felt so real and touched me on a deep level. It made me reflect on my own childhood, my attachment styles, and the things I never fully healed from.
Twinkling Watermelon didn’t just tell a coming-of-age story—it showed what a truly healthy, loving family should look like. It reminded me that parents are just kids who grew up with their own struggles too.
The characters were written with so much heart and care. Watching them grow, heal, and love properly felt like a lesson I didn’t know I needed. Beautiful, emotional, and full of life.
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This review may contain spoilers
un answer question
a lot of unanswer questions1. his father in 1995 just only hurts his ear ,but he still can talk but why? for 28 years he never talk?
2. what happen with yoon chung ah before ha eungyeol back to 1995? how she becoming so poor?
3. what happen with choi se gyeong birth secret? her mom death and her adoption
4. why choi se gyeong nice with yoon chun ah?
5. chung ah mother?
6. it really doesn't make sense, oh eun ya goal is to find her mother's first love, then make them together? But her mother has gone to the US, even if she is close to her mother's first love it won't change anything, because they are different people. so this is a useless effort
7. so choi se kyung first love is oh?
8. about oh eunya suicide friend?
9 and in the last how eun ya know that who the la vida music man is? mr jonathan young face in magazine still same with 1995
10.didnt know what happen with yoon chung ah and ha yi chan before ha eungyeol back to 1995
11. didnt know what happen with choi se gyeong and oh eun ya after they back to 2023
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We all deserve a twinkling life!!!
Starting off with one of my favourite lines in the show;
“Here is a thing about life
It may not give you everything you want..
But it does hide a little present for you from time to time..
I hope you can endure
The cruel hardship life throws your way...
So you can receive the present life tucked away..
To you and every one you want to protect..
VIDA LA VIDA...LONG LIVE LIFE”
- MASTER
Twinkling watermelon was a beautiful and heartwarming and heart wrenching coming of age drama about youth friendship love music family time travel bromance acceptance trauma parental love and understanding ..all of this can be used to describe this drama.
The cast was spot on ( I love how each of the actors managed to make their roles shine)
The characters were all written beautifully..I loved the imperfect setting for the characters which made them relatable and also made their characters growth and development natural and beautiful...they also each had their charms which added to the beauty of the story and the characters them selves.
The story was a roller coaster of emotions....I found my self laughing alot and crying alot most of the times but I loved how it had this aspect of consistency hence remaining to what it was originally set out out to be...a beautiful and heartwarming drama about healing friend ship youth family music and many more.
The acting was AMAZING, I think this was the dramas greatest weapon....the actors and actresses had a natural potrayal or emotions it almost felt real at some point...the acting was the kind that could move you in an instant and make you feel the characters pain and happiness.
The chemistry between the couples was undeniably good...I loved both and hoped to see more of them...one couple being calm and beautiful and the other being chaotic and fun.
The osts were beautiful and nostalgic.
The dialogue was well thought out educative and relatable..there were many life lessons thrown in both directly and indirectly through the different scenarios the characters go through...I loved how the drama tried it's best to potray disabilities as a gift that should be appreciated and something you can feel proud of rather than a burden or something that can make you feel insecure about your self.
This drama managed to touch various sensitive topics that kept me invested considering the fact that they were things that happen in out actual lives and things that we could all relate too in one way or another....which I definetly loved so much.
The ending was heartwarming and heart wrenching yet beautifully captured...I hoped it was a bit longer since I wanted to see more but either way I felt satisfied to some extent.
Do I recommend this drama?
Definitely....if you want a drama with amazing casting, acting, a consistent and beautifully written plot, with well thought out dialogue, life lessons, music friendship, growth, family, love then this is exactly what you should be watching...and you can thank me later.
EASILY ONE OF THE BEST DRAMAS OF 2023
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The best for me
Completed watching it some days ago and even till now, rewatching it. Just love the overall storyline, wanna really described all I wanna say but it's just too many to say, and just wanna say I really love this. But the most I really love are the actors in their characters, they're just too perfect, flawlessly acted like it's no different from a daily life pov. Plus the music, I love it all.Was this review helpful to you?
1This review may contain spoilers
BEAUTIFULL MASTERPIECE
so it's just a love story ? no, it's not bro.i would explain my feeling but... i a had a lot of emotions during this show. i laught, been angry, embarrassed, broken and my heart filled with love. Yi-chan and Cheong-ah is THE true love. i love him.
"what you saying ? i can't hear at all..." broke me in piece. heartbreaking, not you, but i feel happy for her, he find the peace. peace in he family. is not a bad ending for her ears, (but fck u the car) I think it was the only one good ending.
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