A welcome diversion off of the beaten path but perhaps a bit too far
“The Sound of Magic” is very much not a typical Korean drama. It’s a bit of a musical although there are times when there are long elapses of time between musical numbers. It is a scant six episodes. It can’t completely leave behind school bullying, tiger parents, useless school administrations or class divides but its heroine and her journey are neither a Cinderella story nor a rehash of other familiar rags-to-riches storylines.A note before diving into the heart of things…
The Netflix influence is obvious here and it works well in some areas and very badly in others. The production value is phenomenal. The special effects are maybe not Hollywood summer blockbuster level, but they are as good as it gets in streaming. And this is a narrative that very much fits in a smaller number of episodes rather than the typical 12-20. On the other hand, the Netflix full season drop rushes the viewing process, increases likelihood of spoilers and deflates the suspense that should be building from episode to episode. This isn’t a new issue, but it’s not dissipating as Netflix makes further inroads in the genre.
Ji Chang Wook plays Ri Eul, a mysterious figure living in an abandoned amusement park. Why the amusement seems to be unsecured and intact allowing him to live there and anyone else to wander through it is never explained and perhaps that’s because no sane explanation could be invented. Same for why the local police seem to have hardly any awareness that it exists. Regardless, the script throws attempt after attempt to make him an ambiguous character but with uneven success. Despite some gaping logical holes though, Ji Chang Wook not only imbues the character with the Top Draw Talent Charisma but nails the quiet mysteriousness and elegant physicality of Ri Eul. Among his recent work, it is several steps higher in quality than anything else.
Choi Sung Eun has a more generic character as Ah Yi, a teen abandoned by her parents, living in poverty, picked on by schoolmates and with a firehose of bad luck aimed directly at her. It’s not whether she’s got things the hardest in this show, it’s whether a similar character from the industry can match her distress. Despite not breaking any new ground, Choi Sung Eun dispatches the song and dance numbers with aplomb, manages to keep an inner core of joy & hope deep down inside the character and never lets the bigger names in the cast push her presence out of the spotlight. There’s perhaps a bit of a missed opportunity that perhaps this actor could have taken a more complex and original character much further, but possibly that’s something for future roles.
Hwang In Youp completely switches gears from his most recent work to a bookish star student and it’s a mixed bag. He can pull off the young skinny kid with glasses look, but the macho baritone delivery that pops up on a fairly regular gives it away that this is not a natural thing for him. The character heads in an awkward direction too as his Il Deung is not quite an academic rival, nor a very good bff and not convincing as a boyfriend for Ah Yi while the short runtime doesn’t allow him to generate any meaningful connection with Ri Eul either.
Ah but the supporting and guest cast is magical. Im Ki Hong is always a delight. Choi Young Joon, Kim Hye Eun, Yoo Jae Myung and Yoon Gyung Ho sparkle. The standout, however, is Ji Hye Won as a classroom instigator that checks all the boxes for enmity without the over-the-top mustache twirling melodrama typical bully act.
Given the character sketches, the narrative setup is easily apparent. Ri Eul gives Ah Yi moments of relief from her dreary life. But is he for real? Director Kim Seong Yoon does a nimble tightrope walk between musical & fantasy & more generic teen coming-of-age slash the drudgery of present day reality and the desperate yearning for escape to a more magical world. He keeps the plot moving. There is plenty of tension buildup and cliffhanger suspense throughout. As for whether he nails the landing at the end, eh, it’s not entirely clean. Things don’t clearly resolve for anyone but one minor guest character. Maybe that’s more like real life and makes it better? Maybe but if so, then it’s perhaps not the musical or fantasy show deep down that it was advertised to be. Maybe it would have been better re-genre’d as a Nancy Drew or Scooby Doo teen mystery than a Roald Dahl musical fantasy.
Still, while the destination may not be Shangri-La and “The Sound of Magic” is likely an also-ran for any year-end lists, the journey there is a treasure with no shortage of excellent acting and production and a refreshing plot. Recommended and fairly strongly.
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Feels like a missed opportunity, but there's magic!
The show was definitely interesting but I feel like they just didnt commit enough. Not to the mystery, magic, romance or to the music. (The actress' wig was annoying me throughout to the point that it was too distracting as well.) But it's a cute short watch, last episode being the best one in my opinion but it does feel quite unfinished with the story, we don't get to see where main two characters end up. If they would cut out the fluff, which is most of the episodes 3-4-5 it would've worked great as a movie I think, but somehow they managed to create a show which feels too long and too empty and unresolved at the same time. But it's definitely enjoyable and I appreciate the magical element and the message behind the show! Always believe in magic guys.Was this review helpful to you?
I Believe It Needed More Episodes
LIKES:THE SOUND OF MAGIC, concept reminded me a little of (American) K-PAX.
Production was good and so was the cinematography. Special FX were great.
The fantasy aspect of this drama was well done.
All the singing was a little annoying, but I was into the storyline so kept watching
FAN of Ji Chang Took and I like Hwang In Youp too. And I was surprised by how well FL Choi Sung Run acted, she was great.
I loved how they used Bella too.
The conclusion was predictable to a certain extent, but satisfactory.
DISLIKES:
How they handled the bullying, sexual assault & self harm, could’ve been written better. Some of the characters needed better development, which was another writing fail.
Also how they concluded his character was annoying
Ending felt a little rushed and for Na II Deung his future self should’ve been shown as much as Soon Ah Yi’s future self was.
They tried to hint at a romance, but then left it hanging mid way.
Some parts dragged a bit too.
The directing wasn’t the greatest.
I’m not a fan of musicals, but this was bearable, however nothing from the OST stood out or was memorable.
OVERALL:
Do you believe in magic? Yes, this show’s message was enjoyable even with some of the heavier content/topics it had. This fantasy drama could've benefitted from a few more episodes, instead of rushing the last few. The singing parts were tolerable. I would rewatch certain episodes, but not the whole thing again. I would recommend this for others to watch.
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Never answers the question, is magic real or not?
The music and the singing were very good. That, for me, was the highlight of the whole show. I felt as if they wrote the songs and then thought, "wait, now I have to write a story around the music" and didn't actually know where to take it.Watch this in a dark room, because it is filmed in a very dark way. Actually, the whole story, as well, was a lot darker and more disturbing than I thought it would be, especially just basing it off watching the trailer. There's quite a bit of sadness and evil in this.
I had a difficult time believing Choe Sung-eun and Hwang In-Youp as high schoolers (of course, I'll always suspend disbelief for him!), and really, neither of their characters were very likeable. Ji Chang Wook as the magician - I'll admit I was glad to see him again, especially since I haven't cared for his last couple of dramas. He did what he could with the role, but I didn't find it well-written. He wasn't mysterious as much as we never knew what his deal actually was.
I'm glad it didn't have any more episodes, because I was glad when it was over. I'd suggest giving it a try though, because most people seemed to like it a lot more than me.
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This review may contain spoilers
one of the most underappreciated masterpiece kdramas ever released
minor spoilers, tagged just in case.as happy as i am to see people LOVING this show on mdl, unfortunately that is not the case for a lot of people outside of this platform, which to me frankly is very surprising. keep in mind its been around a year since ive watched it, so this review might not be the best but i still wanted to write something for one of my favorite shows. first off, this show is very underappreciated. and i mean VERY much. the only times ive seen people bring it up was to call it boring or slow, which kind of breaks my heart. the show isn't for everyone that's for sure, and it is kind of slow, but it's such an experience. the whole thing is a cinematic masterpiece with absolutely mind-blowing cinematography. the story isn't the most extraordinary out there, but it's done extremely well. the story is basically about a girl (ahyi), a high schooler, who lives alone with her smaller sister due to family problems and of course there's the classic "being in debt" part of the plot too. she is a top student though, therefore she wants to grow up as soon as possible so she can solve it all out by getting a stable job. on the other hand we have the magician (rieul) who did not want to grow up. he wishes he could be a child again. he's a mysterious but warm-hearted guy who performs magic at an abandoned amusement park. one day ahyi meets rieul and tldr; he comforts her, she starts believing in magic, etc etc. the show is very emotional, heartfelt, and is very important to me. I'm also a person who wishes he could stay a kid forever, so i find rieul's character very comforting and relatable. i think due to the way my childhood was, this show means even more to me. every single second of this show felt magical, from beginning to end. the ending was a bit bittersweet, but i think that's what made the show even better. never did it feel rushed or low quality. i think with what they had, they executed it perfectly. it's very high budget (at least to me) and the plot wasn't disappointing to me neither. and of course, acting was great. but let's talk about the most important part of the drama (since its a musical) which is of course the ost. i can not explain in words how amazing the soundtrack for this drama is. every single song/track is very well made and high quality and every song is just beautiful. immediate 10/10 for the music. the only reason i would say the rewatch value isnt the best is genuinely because you just dont need to rewatch this drama. it leaves such a strong impression on you that i feel like rewatching it would just take away from the initial feeling u had when watching it for the first time. its one of those shows that you wish you could watch for the first time again because rewatching it doesn't feel the same. its also one of the shows that concluded perfectly. i truly hope it doesnt get another season because i feel like it could lowkey ruin the whole thing. if you feel like watching something a bit different from the usual kdrama plots, please give this drama a chance! its beautiful and it wont disappoint. but dont watch this if you're not into slower dramas with not much violence/romance. there is quite a bit of violence in the show, but it's not the main plot. so if youre planning to watch it just for the violence part it might not satisfy you. i mostly recommend this to very sentimental people like myself.
tldr: this drama is truly amazing. go watch it. it will make you cry.
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I get sad thinking about this for some reason. I think it was the ending
Listen. I’ve got no business getting this emotional over a drama that was one of the most mediocre things I’ve ever watched, and yet I actually kind of teared up at the end there. I’m extremely bothered by the fact the drama never explains the magic system, such as how one becomes a magician, whether the magicians are real or just all collectively hallucinating, and what the limits of the magic powers are. The story had a really weird pacing and an even weirder conclusion. That last story arc about the “villain” of the drama was just odd and terribly introduced so it felt like it basically came out of nowhere. The rest of the episodes had essentially no plot whatsoever and barely explained any of the characters’ situations. Overall, I was ready to rate this drama a 5 (before the ending finally got explained) then a 6 (because the random magic made no sense), then I settled for a 7 because of the final scene that tugged at my heartstrings a little bit. Would I recommend it? No, not really. If you like any of the actors enough, I suppose you could, since I, too, watched this drama only for Ji Chang Wook. Overall, pretty crappy drama with an unexpectedly wholesome ending that makes the last 6 hours almost worth it.Was this review helpful to you?
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Magical coming-of-age drama
A wonderful coming-of-age musical that highlights the problems of teenagers who are just finishing school and slowly moving into the world of adults, while being forced to give up their dreams to take care of their own families. Aesthetically, it did resemble well-known musicals such as La La Land or The Greatest Showman. Despite this, the cinematography of this project is dazzling and the main cast gave us exemplary acting performances. The series beautifully combines elements of the real-life problems each of us can encounter with elements of fantasy and a bit of crime. Overall, I would rate the series 10/10. Absolutely loved it and contrary to a lot of negative opinions about the show's ending, I feel like it was essential for Ra Eul to disappear in order to see Yoon Ah Yi evolve into the magician she's become.Was this review helpful to you?
Do You Believe in Magic?
Though it's my first time writing a review but i will try to be calm. I'm so overwhelmed with this drama. Magician is the best it shows reality of people around us but at the same time escape through it. I loved it completely! It's a blockbuster in casting blockbuster in writing and execution. I'm in love with the magician."Do you believe in Magic?" Yes I do.
It's so important to have one person trusting you inspite of all other being against you.
You can just blindly go and download all episode to binge it. I was so happy seeing Ji Chang Wook's comeback and I proudly say that this drama is so far the best drama of all 2022 realises.
I you are tired and frustrated of reality, go ahead and watch it. This will bring smile on your face at last ☺️
*Annara Summannarra"
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a bit disappointed
i quickly watched this and it truly had a good storyline. however it saddens me that il deung didnt have a more deserved ending to his storyline as well as more developmente. sure we saw his issues but couldnt his self harm as well as the reasons of his headaches be better spoked about ? in a way he was exactly how ri eul was when he was young so why couldnt his storyline have a more important plot point ? and he dropped out but then what ???? you couldve at least showed us his life years later. although i loved all the 3 mains i still liked il deung the best and i think his story shouldve been spoken about more...Was this review helpful to you?
it’s alright
i didn’t really understand it(the story??the meaning??) but it was sweet. the ending was sweet to be exact. it just didn’t peak my interest that much but it wasn’t bad & i can see why people really like it. i think i was just struggling to understand where the story was going. i feel like it would be better if it was longer-if it had more time to build up the story and the characters. it’s just a bit to (?)bland(?) for my tastes. can definitely tell it’s good though; it’s just not my cup of tea.Was this review helpful to you?
Too Much Ballad Songs for a Musical
Everything else was passed the Good teir so i won'tsay anything on that, but for a drama that's a musical all of the songs except two (the opening song and the yellow flower field sung by Hwan In Youp's) were actually good and memorable. The rest of the song were so bland and boring, I know they were mostly speaking through the ballad song but i had to skip them because they weren't captivating enough and since music is a top contributer to this drama since its a musical i was very disappointed to hear ballad arter ballad after ballad. That just my two sense of the downfallsof this drama otherwisethat that it was good, i do recommend.Was this review helpful to you?
Do you believe in magic?
Annara SumanaraLikes
1. The first 3 episodes were strange yet fascinating. Ahyi's life was depressing to watch then they'll start bursting into a song and i feel like i'm in a disney movie with the fireworks and flying horses.
2. I probably wouldn't have watched this if not for Ji Chang Wook. He was so mysterious, sometimes scary but often times like a child. I dont know if he was trying to be Willy Wonka or PT Barnum in the Greatest Showman movie.
3. I loved Sung Eun, sometimes I feel romantic vibe between them esp when they're singing a duet but then i remember Ahyi is in high school and Rieul is 30yo.
4. I loved all the musical performances but sadly the songs were not memorable.
5. The second half was way better, when the childlike fantasy plot became serious murder storyline. I loved the last episode, i even teared up hearing Rieul's past and when he gave Ahyi his hat. Is it really magic?
6. Two things that struck me. When Rieul told Ahyi, "...You should do the things you want just as much as the things you don't want to do."
And when Il deung said, "I didn't know before that flowers don't bloom on smooth asphalt but on bumpy dirt." The real magic is Rieul being able to comfort and guide Ahyi and Ildeung to be better people.
Dislikes
It was trying to be too much at the same time. Musical. Fantasy. Sexual assault. Murder. Daddy issues. The first half was for kids, the second half was for adults.
Rating: 8/10
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