STORY
The concept of this marvelous piece of drama, that was too small but will stay indelibly marked in our memories, is life dreams and aspirations. How important it is for us to follow our dreams no matter how stupid or unrealistic they may seem. How important it is to do what we want for us, and for nobody else, how significant it is for us to believe in ourselves even when everyone else is against us, how essential is for us to fight for them even when they seem completely unnatainable. A story about life decisions and choices, about growing up, about fighting our inner demons, overcoming obstacles, chasing dreams or giving them up, finding reasons to live and dream and ultimately how to understand and love ourselves. A perfect coming of age story that everyone should watch. The secondary concept of the show is to showcase different types of parent-children relationships, how they intefere with our dreams (and our life in general), and how we need to confront them.
The story is pretty straightforward, it centers on three teenagers. The story is set in a high school and the background is piano-playing. Embedded in the story we get to see each protagonist struggling with their demons and through their heartwarming story they learn how to face their fears, grow up, forgive, become better people. The drama, as expected, never gets dragged, it has a point and goes for it from the very beginning. It is funny, whithout being superficial, it manages to be emotional, without being melodramatic, and most importantly it is serious without getting boring. I seriously have no drawback to point out as this was simple and yet beautifully written and thought out.
ACTING
Kim So Hyun, never fails to impress and she was impeccable once again. She pulls of her character greatly, she is kinda bitchy with a quirky personality, yet she is loveable and a great leading character and actress.
Ji Soo was luscious to watch, so fun, yet so sentimental. A great performance.
Shin Jae Ha completes the wonderful leading trio with another exquisite performance. All 3 actors presented their unique and realistic characters perfectly.
The supporting cast was brilliant, namely Ye Ji Won and Hwang Yeon Hee played their respective roles amazingly, being moms, they felt very realistic. Congrats
RECOMMEND/REWATCH
This is one of those dramas which can be watched and appreciated by everyone. Definately worth watching, it is just 3 memorable and well spent hours here. Teenagers will get great life lessons, and as for the older kdrama fans, as did i, you will feel a warming deja-vu feeling of your school years, longing feelings about those times, the good, the bad and the ugly everything is presented here in the best way possible. Definately worth a watch, and certainly rewatch-worthy.
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My heart was felt pounding for entirely different reasons:
- The growth of the characters
- The pure and honest depth of the story
- A sense of warming accomplishment communicated by the great acting
With a very easy to follow story that's both believable and motivating, completed by relatable, developing characters whose interactions with each other made me both cry and then grin, Page Turner encapsulates everything a short drama should be.
The story feels mostly predictable but there are certainly twists and surprises! The music is of course fantastic. The acting, I expected no less! And I'd certainly rewatch the whole thing again at some point just to get those butterflies again *cough*andwatchaperkyJiSooagain*cough*. It was a great ride. But be warned, the ending may not be all that you expect it to be.
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The actors are some of my favorites though.
The music was the best part about the mini-drama.
I will never rewatch this.
If you want a short drama, then this one is an ok watch.
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The story was one of the two things that brought Page Turner to my attention because not only did it sound original, but I knew that classical music would be involved as it's part of the music genre. I'm a huge fan of classic music (e.g. Chopin, Bach, Stravinsky, etc.) so this was an immediate watch for me. But not only was that a wonderful addition to the series, they dropped a huge plot twist that nobody could have imagined. It was so out of the blue, but it worked perfectly with the atmosphere of the drama. I would love to go on about more, but I would spoil things if I did.
Kim So Hyun was the other reason why I picked up this drama. She's not only my most favourite teenage actress, but my favourite female actor of all time (second favourite overall after Yook Sungjae). And this drama just adds to how much I love her and her acting. She is superb, I can not imagine somebody not liking her as an actress - her acting is on point and makes any drama much better. I can imagine most other people watched this for Ji Soo, and I can see why. I had only previously seen his acting in Sassy Go Go (plan to watch Angry Mom soon too), and he was great in that. But even though it has only been a few months since that drama, I feel like his acting has improved massively, and I love him to bits. And finally, our most underrated but still awesome main actor - Shin Jae Ha. This man made Page Turner complete. I cannot have imagined another actor playing the role of Seo Jin Mok, he did a fantastic job and I hope he receives more recognition after this.
The music was mainly just classical because, obviously, one of the main genres of this series is music and involved a lot of piano recitals, rehearsals and concours. Some are not a fan, but I love listening to classic. It's so elegant and beautiful for the ears. I'm so glad the drama brought out quite a few pieces but played them with beauty and to their full length.
I've already decided to rewatch Page Turner as soon as my exams are over in 11 weeks.
Overall, there is not a single flaw in Page Turner. The story is interesting, deep and intriguing. The acting is amazing, well done and on point. The music is just lovely and wraps the drama up nicely. If you are reading this and have not watched Page Turner, please do so soon.
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This review may contain spoilers
from all meaningless and plot less dramas that are airing these days, page turner turns outstanding. there are very few dramas which leaves good message. and if you find them in any case, you should grab it and watch. page turner is exactly that kind.story of this neatly put by Charming92 in his review. i will just add my thoughts regarding the same. you may find vague spoilers ahead. continue reading if you are fine with it.
page turner is exciting one as the name suggests. this has just 3 episodes with plot that could be dragged/ dramatised till 16 episodes. however it is made short thankfully making each episode as good as pilot episode. it makes you crave for more and more. you will fall in love with characters within no time. you will be wondering how these characters grow and settle down.
three leads are interestingly different to each other, so are their parents and upbringing. and so are their back stories. yet all are thought provoking and well established. its totally inspiring to see how they are optimistic about following their path, believing in one self, doing what they love.
as for the ending, i am satisfied with it plot wise. it is realistic and beautiful. Also i can completely understand why ji soo fans could not digest the reality, but i felt so happy for Jin Mok. i was happy that his character is not ignored. but i love these characters so much and i really cant stop myself from wishing to see how characters end up with each other. there are many questions muddling in my brain. of course answers for those are obvious, but i really want to see that with my own eyes and be contented about it. i wish they can extend last episode for 5 more mins. a lttle bit of wrapping would satisfy people like me immeasurably. may be its just me,i dont know, it felt the same after watching reply 1988.
I am in high praise for the actors who did great job here. they all are wonderful and had great chemistry with each other. i really want them to play together in another drama.
all in all, this short drama has more feels that any lenghty drama or movie can have. it glues you to screen and makes you turn page for 2 times ( i.e, Pressing Next Episode Button). I will definetly recommend for everyone.
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Story: 9/10 because the story was inspirational, hopeful & fun despite the heavy topics mentioned in the drama. They balance the happy moments with the heavy moments. I'm glad that there was a hint of romance in this drama, but was not the main plot line. You rarely get romance dramas that don't get a main plot line anymore. The drama was very realistic about pressure & life. The ending will surprise you.
Acting: 10/10 because the acting was amazing. Despite being 3 episode drama, I was very invested with the characters including the moms! I love the chemistry between Cha Shik & his mother. It's rare in drama land where the mother-son combo are very close in a relationship. I also like the dynamic between Yoo Seul & her mother despite not being close because her being a prodigy. I also like that Kim So Hyun has chemistry with not only Ji Soo & Ye Ji Won, but with her second lead co-star Shin Jae Ha as well. The character Yoo Seul is interesting. Despite being introverted, she can be sassy & fun if she lets anyone into her life. There was some good development despite being 3 episodes long and that's rare to pull off.
Music: 9/10 because the classical music choices were very enjoyable to listen to. The fact that I was a violin player and played some piano since elementary school made me relate to the 3 main characters even more.
Re-watch value: 9/10 because despite the heavy topics mentioned in the drama, it was heart-felt & easy to watch.
Overall, it's heavy melodrama with a hopeful message to everyone that you can find your passion and re-kindle your passion no matter the circumstances that life throws at you.
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This is a super short drama that captures how the fates of 3people become intertwined and help each other to find themselves. That in the end one needs to enjoy what you do in order to do it well and happily. Without a doubt Ji Soo's character Cha Sik shines the brightest. i really enjoyed watchin him in Sassy Go Go. Here he is both funny on the dorky side and determined in learning to play.
I just checked and am suprise Kim So Hyun who plays the young prodigy Yoo Sul who turned blind is only 16. what a great actress. Here's hoping she will be casted in more dramas. Her character initially takes some warming up to due to arrogance and aloofness. This changes after her accident and subsequenly meets Cha Sik. As she opens up so did my heart open up for her too.
Jin Mok her archrival was another character that took some time to warm up to. He was petty to begin with. Turns out what he needed most was confidence in himself and to play it freely to enjoy piano.
Music i rated perfect 10 for the piano piece which was syphony and soothing balm to listen to.
My only complain is i wish it was longer. I have become invested in all 3 of the characters by the end of episode 3 and there's nothing to go on from there. I did like to think and hope Cha Sik gets to romance YooSul.. any hopes for a Special or part 2?
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the story is so gorgeous and simple but touching, and its more sober moments are delightfully interspersed with laugh-out-loud points in the show. the story and characterisations are realistic, a trait not most k-dramas get to wield. i love that its main focus wasn't even romance, just the budding companionship between the two leads, and even the subplot surrounding the second male lead.
and to end, i must say that i will never shut up about jisoo's acting in this. this man is a treasure. he really carried the show.
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Unexpectedly wholesome and enjoyable
The biggest selling point of this drama for me was it's length - 3 episodes is a PERFECT drama length when you don't know what you want to watch and just want to fill in the void until you find that one drama to dedicate yourself to a good binge watch.I really enjoyed how wholesome this story was - each of the main characters had a nice, relatable story and evolution, which I ate up. I appreciated all of their struggles and how they each overcame them.
While the story did not have romance, the story was still overall satisfying, even for someone like me who enjoys a nice romantic sub-plot. The only plot improvement I would have really loved for the ending to have included was a bit more in the ending/conclusion of the story (like, a more inclusive epilogue).
I loved the soundtrack, both the OST and the selected piano pieces.
The actors were well-suited to their roles.
I will likely rewatch this for a number of reasons: it's quick and short to watch, the good feels in the end, the piano genre (I like instrumental music), and the unique plot device of blindness. Stories like this one make me want to go find similar ones to enjoy the feels again. :}
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This drama caught my attention in the first place because of how short it is when I googled it and that I am familiar with the lead female whom I know is a great actress for such a young age. However when I first had a glimpse of it, I decided to drop it since I find the beginning as another ambitious and exaggerated way of showing how gifted these students are. However, when I decided to watch it again a month or two later, and got past that 'beginning', I was able to appreciate it in ways that I would have never expected I would before. Plus, that I am quite familiar now with the other casts, my desire to watch this drama was even stronger. And I am glad that I had taken that step and finished this drama.
The storyline is quite simple with twists that are quite predictable but still has the ability to surprise you. For a short drama, I am quite surprise how almost all the necessary things that you would expect from a 16-episode drama can be found in this one: character growth, changing perspectives in life, rivalry turned to alliance, learning that our dreams may not be what we truly want or need and other matters that one can find in a slice-of-life drama. One thing that I find really fascinating in this drama is the simplicity of the story and the absence of unnecessary fillers. I love how every scene contributes to an ending nobody expected but were contented about. The flow of the story is smooth and consistent with the main problem or goal of the whole drama.
Acting/Cast:
The acting was quite impressive especially with the male leads. I love how the piano and the music itself contributes to symbolically represent each character. I didn't expect to be moved by this. But I was and this deserves a bucket of happy tears.
Music:
Music is good given that this is a drama driven by music itself. In this part, I'm referring to the piano pieces the characters chose to play and I find that the music, as I've said, complements well with the characters.
A definite 10 for rewatch value. This is a drama perfectly suited for young adults. I love how this drama can actually redirect you if your goals in life are quite blurry. The writer did a great job. I recently found out that this writer also wrote one of my favorite dramas, I Can Hear Your Voice, and so I am not anymore questioning why it's a good one. I hope to see more of this in the future but would love it more if it's a 16 episode drama.
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