Learning to Shine as Ourselves
I don't like the categories for rating on here. My 4 categories are Acting/Cast, Writing, Direction/SFX/Music, Entertainment Value.A charming drama with a great message. I'm so glad I didn't pass this one up.
Acting/Cast: This drama has a great cast with acting that feels very natural. My favorite is probably Choi Hyun Wook (최현욱) and his portrayal of his character, Ha Yi Chan. I loved watching him on screen. He is such a strong and unique male lead - he's pure, joyful, passionate, tough, caring, and childlike. I keep thinking of that scene where he randomly starts spinning around and yells "TORNADO" for no reason. His character was such a breath of fresh air - no angst, all fun. His chemistry with Yoon Cheong Ah seemed so organic and the way his relationship with Ha Eun Gyeol developed felt realistic and heartwarming. I would say Choi Hyun Wook is this drama's MVP with Seol In Ah coming in at second. The entire cast just seemed like they were really enjoying their time while filming this drama and watching them have fun made it so much more fun for me. However, I would say the weakest link in this area would be Ryeoun (려운) who plays the male lead, Ha Eun Gyeol. While his character was written well, his acting was noticeably weaker than the other lead actors. He didn't have that effortless, natural feel to his acting that I felt while watching the others. Fortunately, this did not hurt his chemistry with Ha Yi Chan. 8/10
Writing: The characters are extremely well written and developed. The plot is interesting. Because it wasn’t predictable, it kept me engaged. I don’t think I’ve seen a drama with a plot and characters quite like this one. The story had a good progression of events and good pacing. There are only a couple issues I could point out in this area: One is towards the end of the drama - there is a scene that shows what had happened in the original timeline of events, but it feels a little jarring and I had no idea what was going on at first. I thought I had skipped an episode. The other issue is the ending itself – it went in a direction I did not expect, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but I felt it was like an alternate or fake reality because it seemed like too much of a change and more on the unrealistic/idealistic side. 9/10
Direction/SFX/Music: This is definitely a well-produced drama. The special effects were good, the music was good, the art was good, the styling, even the name of the band. Like I mentioned above, there was a scene toward the end that felt jarring. I would have shot it differently, like with a filter and effects to indicate that it was a different timeline of events. There was also another scene toward the end that involved a bad case of staring that I felt didn’t fit or feel authentic to the situation. However, these are just minor gripes. 9.5/10
Entertainment Value: A binge-worthy drama for sure. The fantasy aspect gives it a bit of mystery and the characters are so well written and acted that I just wanted to keep watching them. The fun vibe of this drama also makes for a fairly stressless watch. The ending though, caught me off-guard (like I mentioned before) and caused me to feel some kind of disconnection with the story. 8/10
Overall, I gave this drama an 8.5/10 due to my issues with the acting of the main male lead and the ending. This drama has a wonderful message about family, friendship, life, and self-acceptance. It’s very encouraging and healing while being entertaining. Also, I love the sign language aspect of this drama and how integral it is to the plot. I really like the direction they went with it.
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This review may contain spoilers
Amazing youth drama that's worth to watch
Spoilers ahead.This is one of the best youth k drama I have ever watched in a while. It definitely made me cry multiple times and the interactions of the two couples were so sweet. The message this show was trying to deliver is meaningful and touching.
The problem that I also face when I watch this show is also the pacing issues. not everything was concluded in the last episode and left with a lot of plot holes. For example.
Revolving Eun Yu and Segyeong:
How is the real Choi Segyeong doing in the US when Oh Eun Yu was impersonating her in Korea? How did Choi Segyeong and her husband's life change in 2023? Did Segyeong and Eun Yu's perspective and misunderstandings resolve? How is Eun Yu's fear of playing the cello and being the trophy of her mother resolve? Did Segyeong reconcile with Mr.Jonathan? Did Segyeong come back from US earlier?
(Since the real Segyeong was pretty much not really involved during half of the story, I really wanted to know how her life and perspective was changed despite not seeing the main characters in Korea during 1995)
Mr Jonathan and Eun Gyeol:
Did Eun Gyeol see him in the present? Did he not commit suicide anymore? Did he reconcile with his daughter?
Eun Ho ( I was kinda hoping he was a main character since he connected some of the dots of the story and he seems interesting but oh well):
What happened to Eun Ho and Eun Yu's relationship in 2023 at the end? How was Eun Ho and Eun Yu's relationship before the time slip? Is he still doing taekwondo?
(I'm sorry if you got heartbroken Eun Ho :( )
Yi Chan and Cheong Ah:(also with the rest of the band)
What happened to them after Yi Chan lost his hearing? How did they grow after that? Did the band disband?
What happened to the contest? What happened to grandma?
That's all. Thanks for reading my review xoxo. :3
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Youthful memory
I’ve been hearing about how good this drama is. It was on my watchlist but never really had the chance to watch it til Monday this week during my day off. I literally binged it.I love it! The story. Chemistry. Family. Conflict. And the perseverance.
I don't really know how to explain it but this drama is very inspiring and has good meaning about life.
I'm thankful for the inspiration and motivation for life.
This drama has definitely inspired me to go for it rather than miss the opportunity.
The story about impaired hearing is very inspiring!
The quote that Chan said to Cheo is
“You don't enjoy music with just your ears. Music makes you feel with your eyes, mind and heart.” ep 12.
This drama gave me an open view of people who are struggling. And that we should be thankful for what we have. We're all struggling in life however, there are ways to overcome those difficulties. Ways to make life fun by being positive. Going out. Hanging with friends and family.
Very youthful.
The acting was amazing! I love the cast! I love the 1995 group and the 2023 group. I'm happy I get to see Choi Hyun Wook act as a student again. I miss 25-21!??
Thankful for their amazing acting! The way they acted while doing the sign language must be hard! Truly a work of art!
The singing! Guitarist! AHHHH
22:45pm 12/6/23
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Worth to watch
Actually at first I didn't expect that I will love it but each epidode become better and I was wauting for next ep (what these days are rare for me for other kdramas, they don't make me curious to wiat for the rest). The acting was so good. It was so satisfying. If you love romcom and a refreshing kdrams it's for you.But something miss at the end. Everything with the ML character was clear but for the FL not. What happen to her in future? The relationship between her mother and her dad ??? And also her mother and his dad? What she could change in future?
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Best 2023 K-Drama
Before i get to the good stuff, i want to point out the ONLY weakness first. The ending was really rushed, but don't get me wrong, i LOVE the pacing in this drama. There are so many things that weren't revealed till the end which is ashame. if only they could add up to more episodes, it would really be a perfect drama.Now, when i said i love the pacing, i meant the character and relationship build up in this drama is amazing. it's nlt too slow, and it's not rushed, everything except near the ending was slightly perfect! The casting here is remarkable, the family looks so much alike and the couple looks so good with eachother. The chemistry there is everything!! It made people fall in love with the characters, which is a good thing.
Also, family complex as the conflict! Oh man how i cried alot. Lessons can be learned through this drama, every scene makes you feel things, and the comedy here is good!
I have no more arguments. It's still ashame about their weakness, but on the bright side this drama is amazing!! I would definetely watch it again <3
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Make your life twinkle!!
Twinkling watermelon is one of the first k-dramas I've watched and I have to say it left a very big impression on me. I've seen like 4 other k-dramas and they were all very good. What makes this k-drama diffrent tho, isn't just the amazing and creative story it has, I can really feel a connection with the characters of the show.One by one you get to know them. You get to know their motives, their past and what made them the way they are. By the 8th episode, I hade already fallen in love with all 4 mc's. They're all so diffrent but match very well with eachother which makes seeing them interact with one another and become closer, even more satisfying and fun. Despite their obvious persoanlity traits, they also have a more coplex side to them that you wouldn't be able to see without looking closely. Understanding the characters made the show feel so much more alive and enjoyable.
Besides the great characters, I think the show has some great lessons for us. We not only learn that we should not do anything eun gyeol does if we ever happened to be stuck in 1995 (cause he coulda handled it a lot better imo), but so does it teach us that we should do what we can to make the best out of our lives, no matter what obstacles we might face. We should make our lives "twinkle".
Overall I don't have any complants about the show at all. I did hear some people say it had pacing issues tho. I myself didn't feel that because I started watching right after all episodes had aired. I feel bad for the people that had to wait a whole week after every episode that always ends on some crazy cliffhanger. I would've loved to see more of Yi chan's life after the accident happened tho. THe ending might've been a little rushed but there isn't much the creators could do about that. The ending was great either way.
Overall I'd say this was the most enjoyable k-drama I've ever seen. It was fun to make tour own theories about the story while slowly getting the answers you've been pondering. I've enjoyed the acting and the storytelling a lot and it will definitely have a special place among the list of many k-dramas I'll be watching from now on.
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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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Fun, heartwarming drama that gets better and better as it rolls along.
The first third of the drama has the look and feel of an old time musical, where one of the protagonists exclaims, “Let’s put on a show!” as the solution to whatever problem they’re facing. It had me worried--I’m not a huge fan of musicals or musical theater--but I needn’t have. This drama has a lot more going for it than that. The struggles of the four leads feels real, and current even with (and not despite of) the time travel element. (Actually, the time travel element was handled very, very well!) The cast was quite good and had excellent chemistry—Seol In Ah, in particular, was wonderful. Much like her turn as the 2nd FL in Business Proposal, she nails the playfully cute roll of Choi Se Kyeong/On Eun Yu. Every episode was better than the one that preceded it and by the time the credits rolled on the last episode, I was sad that it was over. Great show! Highly recommend!Was this review helpful to you?
Looking To The Past
The story is about a man who is a CODA (Child of a deaf adult). He must survive in a world where their parent and brother are deaf. He's the only one who can hear in the family as a bridge for communication with the external environment. One day, He's involved in one of the band and become a member but doesn't want to be known by his family. Then his father saw him and was very angry because He didn't tell him first. On the night of that day, He find that there is something wrong with the moon and there is one of the strange shop that appears from nowhere. That's how his journey begins by traveling into the past to find out the truth about what's happening with his parent.Was this review helpful to you?
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Started with 0 expectations and fell in love
I don’t even know where to start from. I believe the cast is what gives justice to this drama more than anything else. I fell in love with Ryeoun, although I've watched him in Adult Trainee I freaking DID NOT RECOGNIZE HIM. The story is a little confusing when it comes to time traveling because it leaves some unanswerable questions, like what happens to the present until Eun Gyeol comes back? How did everything change and how did this affect the others? I have many questions, plus the ending seemed a little rushed. I would LOVE a scene where Yi Chan recognized Eun Gyeol as his past friend. Of course there would be some flaws but I think the drama is very close to being perfect. Seorina, Choi Hyun Wook and Eun Soo were soooo good, this genre gives justice to Hyun Wook's acting. The best part is the sign language and deaf people recognition, I think many people got interested in learning sign language after watching TW, including myself. I hope we see more dramas like this in the future ☺️Was this review helpful to you?
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VIVA LA VIDA~ Long live Life!
Let me start by saying. I adored it. I resented it. I also found myself going back to it, squinting my eyes and looking between the lines. The layers are just folded so perfectly. Twinkling Watermelon is cute, heartwarming, a bit heartbreaking, and relentless.The story. It is the story of many people and many communities, that are shaped by way too many events. First is the story of Eun Gyeol, the body who feels pressure and burden from being the only "hearing" member of his family. He made mistakes that made his love for music hard and he always feels guilty. Guilty for not being part of his family and guilty for not wanting to be defined/weighed down by this while wrestling with his love for them. We also have the story of Eun Yu. The drama just does a great job of weaving between them while presenting to us the idea that everyone was someone before they are placed into the roles of "mom" and "dad", "son" and "daughter."
The time travel was a brilliant way of giving these two their youth and a place to be themselves as well as understand the people they had such strong feelings towards in their own time. It also helped them see who those people were and what experiences they went through. I also liked that it wasn't some guilt trip, treat your parents better but more of a rediscover of thier parents that they clearly loved and wanted to understand more. That it became a means of courage to face them in the future.
I - mmy heart. I know going into the past means things change. I also know it was on purpose, but the one thing I wanted to change, didn't change. It was heart wrenching, but I also knew it was the piviotal lesson they wanted to teach beyond all this. It is that this experience is supposed to fuel one with the courage and insight to look forward into the future rather than trap yourself into the what ifs of the past. They weren't going there to save their parents but give them the validation and courage to become a better version of themselves in the future. As much as I hated it, I loved that the accident was something that was meant to be. As it really shows that changing a piviotal life event and running away from the reality of having to convince your deaf parent of your love for music is not the solution to the problems he faces. It also means we shouldn't run from the problems we face either and tackling the problem instead. That mindset is huge for me. The idea that we should use what we have been given to its fullest and let the disadvantages act as a driving force .
There were just so many people that I cared about, that played a role in things, that I was so happy to see again as time went by.
It was a huge moment of reflection for me. What things am I running away from? What things do I wish I could change if given the change?
If I am going to be honest, I watched this because I am a huge fan of our actors Choi Won Young and Choi Hyun Wook. I also wanted to see Seol In Ah again but the cast really grew on me. They all suited their characters and there were so many scenes where the acting really swept me off my feet. It was just so cuteeee.
I honestly don't remember much of the music while watching but I enjoyed a bunch of it while studying. The opening though is a banger.
As it is a big life lesson one, I think the rewatch value is endless. I will also be replaying Cheong Ah smiling clips forever and maybe learn some ASL as well.
The pacing towards the middle can be a bit slow for the people wanting to move the story but I loved it as it really showed the lives of the people in the past (they had regrets too). It was the whole reason they went back in time after all. Give it a try :) I'm sure something will get you to stay. If you do, I hope the lessons, feelings, and experience you get from it sticks and you are able to carry it into some aspect of your life. :)
Have a nice life everyone! You are your own person and while you don't need to life for someone else and can try living through someone else, no one can live your life the same way you do. It might not garner the same results but it will definetly be fullfilling. I hope you take a moment and embrace the youth you can experience now before you have to become a "mom", "dad", "aunt" or "uncle" for someone else. VIVA LA VIDA~ Long live Life!
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Starts off slow and builds into an amazing story
I wasn't sold on the first two episodes like many people seem to be. But I stuck it out, and I'm so glad I did because this is such a beautiful story, and honestly is probably close to the top of my list of favorite kdramas.This show made me cry a lot, and I honestly love when that happens. The cast did such a great job in each of their roles, and I believed every emotion they were trying to convey, even from the children. It usually takes me a long time to get through dramas because my attention span isn't that great, but I got through this whole series in just two weeks, which is the fastest I've ever watched anything because I just couldn't stop thinking about this show and I wanted to do nothing but watch it as soon as I was home and able to. I already want to go back and rewatch it
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