This review may contain spoilers
WARNING: SPAZZING OVER THIS DRAMA WITHOUT SPOILERS!! SORRY IF IT'S LONG GUYS/GALS/WHOEVER IS READING THIS REVIEW!! SO. . . LET'S GET STARTED THEN. . . SHALL WE!?
I agree with people when they say, "THIS IS THE BEST DRAMA IN 2013!!" because it's true!
Story: 10/10 because this story is original. The plot was amazingly written. The characters were well thought out by the writer.
Acting: 10/10 because the leads had out-of-this world chemistry! Not lying about that. People who love this drama to pieces will understand that!! The characters were well written like I said earlier. The actors and actresses were chosen well! If the actors/actresses were different, then I probably wouldn't like this drama as much as I did, that's how much I love this drama.
Sorry for the ramble next category GOMEN/MIANHE!!!
Music: 10/10 because the BGMs were memorable, it sets the mood of the story very well, it was always on point to where it was going to be. It gave the moment from to be happy & cute to very dark, sad &/or serious in not time at all. Love it to pieces & the opening song was great too.
Rewatch value: 10/10 because it was cute and memorable, & some of the scenes were memorable and great to watch.
Overall: If I gave a rating I would give it 20/10 for this drama even more because how much fun it was to watch this and can't wait for the next episode to come out. I'm probably going to have a withdrawl from this. It was an addicting drama & it's now over.
Sorry for a very long drama review. Now you get it. If you haven't seen this, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! You should've watched the drama first. Oh well, that's life & that what people do sometimes. *SIGHS* SPAZZING OVER & OUT.
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I was actually in Korea last summer when this drama was airing on TV, and let me tell you, it was popular. Every time I turn on the TV, this drama was on, and everywhere I go, people were talking about it (including my hair dresser ahjumah that was watching the drama the whole time doing my 5 hour perm). I only have limited korean abilities, and with all the lawyer jargons and complex plot, I didn't understand it very well, but even then, I was hooked!!! When I came back to the states I made it my priority to watch this drama, with ENGLISH subs!!! :) Now lets break this down one by one.
The storyline was very very great! It had a lot of depth, humor, love, warmth, suspense, and just about everything you would want in a drama. I would say I haven't seen such a deep and meaningful and loving drama in such a long time. It made me cry, it made me laugh, and every time I was finished with an episode, I couldn't wait until the next week to come!!!!
The characters had great chemistry together, although I thought the boy was very stiff at times, but who cares, he's darn cute (right girls?). I fell in love with the main actress for her sass and wittiness. I tried watching her other dramas, but can't bring myself to like her as much as I do in this drama.
One last thing I would like to add is the MUSIC, omg I am in love with the soundtrack!!! It would sell great as an album itself, I know I'm sold :)
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I Hear your voice wasn't by any means a groundbreaking drama...what can be original nowadays anyways? However its the way the writer executed the plot and gave each character a likability factor that made me realize that originality doesn't bake a delicious drama cake. This show had a recipe that i've hardly tasted before in dramaland, I honestly fell in love with 90% of the characters and the remaining 10% had a place in my heart filled with pity and hope. I hated no one to be honest and thats because in the end i learned things from each and everyone of them. This shows explores its themes very well and you won't feel like you lave to keep on licking the plate to get them... the lessons are just there! Lee Bo Young was the standout performer to me, her acting was fiery as lawyer Jang and i can't picture any one else playing her as she did with such ease. The remaining cast as well did a a phenomenal job of course, they all had great chemistry and worked off each other well.
All in all this is no less than a must see and an instant classic in my book..well done drama well done.
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It really is simple. Yet as you know with Korean dramas, the plot can never really just stayed simple. So as it progresses, it digs deeper. And effectively at that. I love how the series starts off smoothly, already presenting the plot and its backstory by Hye-song's storytelling during her public defender's interview. This to me, was a great way to introduce everything because we didn't have to go through a painful full-on flashback but rather telling it in a way that contributes both to the present happening and the establishment of what happened back then. It, in a way, also created suspense. And it also made me, as a viewer, connect the dots myself.
I really really do love how I Hear Your Voice made a great connection with all its character. One way or another, each character is affiliated with another. And even if it's just a little, it's central or it contributes to the plot. This connection is really cohesive, concise and very tight. Of course, it may not be perfect but it makes sense and upon discovery, it makes it much more exciting. Hye-song's past is connected to Soo-ha's and Joon-gook. Hye-song is also connected to Do-yeon, Do-yeon is connected to Dal-joong's. Lawyer Cha is connected to Lawyer Shin's in the past and that's only a minor detail yet it's great because it establishes the present relationship of the characters and the chemistry between all of them.
Now, I do love the flow of the story. The connection with the past to the present is strong and has always been reinforced. I liked the time span of the story as well. However, I wasn't really a fan of the time skip (the one year gap). I'm not a fan of time skips in general. To me, it always feel like there's something missing even if it does get mentioned or solved in the future, I want to see everything for myself. And that's exactly what I felt especially with what happened to Soo-ha. But I did like how the story played out. I think the drama's court and law elements is really a great treat for me, I've learnt a lot and my interest in law just intensified. But those elements itself really helped a lot with how the twists have turned out, it allows engagement with the audience to help in figuring out together with the lawyer. To some extent, it addresses what it means to be a lawyer and a public defender especially (even a prosecutor or a judge). There's a lot of value conflict and morals as well as surprising plot devices that you do not see coming. It's a mixture of comedy, romance, drama and even thriller and mystery.
But, I'm sad with how the series failed to really address its biggest plot device: Soo-ha's mind-reading. Given that everything in the plot is in touch with reality, his supernatural ability is in isolation. So it has to be addressed. Like, how? And why him? I'm sure it's not just some random decision to have that ability. It's true that it's very crucial and helpful to the plot and the characters, so for something so important to have no background at all really doesn't sit well with me.
The Characters:
This drama provides me with a deep set of characters that have their own individual characteristics which were explored. The thing is, every character that is in the drama had their roles and they needed to be there no matter how small that role is. Every character compliments one another, every interaction has chemistry even between the antagonist and the protagonist. You see, Min Joon Gook is not the meanest of the meanest but of course he, too is horrible. However, that cruelty is justified, not accepted but at least there are reasons for the way he is. This in a way, makes us as an audience understand his character despite being the villain.
His character compliments Park So Haa's and brings out the "beast" within him. There is great chemistry, I'm telling you. Even between Park So Haa and the two policemen. Every interaction feels like a crucial factor. You can basically come up with a ship for all these characters, they just have a great atmosphere together. One of my favorite is between Hye Song and Prosecutor Seo. It's such a bittersweet friendship. Like these two go way back and have such a long history together (an unpleasant one at that) and they're bickering towards each other is as much fun as how they try to hide their care for each other. It's such an interesting friendship. The subplot for Prosecutor Seo is also great, not only did it give her character depth and development but it also tied in the connections between the characters that no one is left out.
The Romance:
I get it. Lee Jong Suk has great chemistry with anyone. Be it a male or a female. (Okay, maybe I'm being a bit biased because I love Jong-suk but still) I know that age doesn't matter. I know that Park So Haa and Jang Hye Song are wonderful together and I ship them. Though, this tandem is not a romance for all. It has its audience. It appeals to some, it's weird to some. Some would not sit well with their almost 10 years gap. Some wouldn't care at all. That's just what I would say about it as a whole.
But as for me, this romance is not exactly 100% forbidden. There is a tendency to be. But it just depends on your own personal taste. I think that this romance is meant-to-be. It's much more fated than Cheon Song-Yi's and Do Min-Joon's in My Love From Another Star or at least it seemed much more like fate with how their story was presented. The connection, the history and all that are much more cohesive and united. Not to mention that yes, despite the fact that they can seem like brother-sister or pass on as a mere admiration, there is a stronger chemistry with these two. Of course, it is similar in some way to Song-Yi's and Min-Joon's, So Haa is more like the older and mature one of the two, the protector but that itself is great because it shows that differences can bring out the best and change in people. All I can say is, Lee Jong Suk is such a bae.
The Themes:
Do not live with hatred and revenge. Hate is heavy. Revenge can make you a monster. But you have the choice not to be a beast. You have the choice not to be slave to your past. As a whole, that's the drama's main focus. But to some extent, it also focuses on the value conflicts of lawyers. What is moral or immoral? Will you defend someone even if you think they commit a crime? Would you actually have to care about that or just do your job? It deals with a lot of themes regarding the past and regrets and it presents it well despite the tangled lives of its characters.
As much as I love the series, it doesn't shy away from the ever-so-cliche, alone and loneliness theme. Though it doesn't heavily focus on that, it does at some point become Min Jook Goon's driving force or at least contributed to it in some way.
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STORY
The base story is rather complicated and the description does it no justice. To be honest, the description sparked no interest in me at all, the overall rating and people recommending it made me watch it. So how can i make things simple in this one? We basically have 2 stories that collide. Story 1: The male lead, Park Soo Ha, his father gets brutally murdered in front of him and he obviously wants the murderer to rot in jail. Story 2: We have 2 girls, Jang Hye Sung and Seo Do Yeon, they have a missunderstanding (... of some shorts, you'll get what i mean when you watch it) and they get involved in the murder case as in, they are witnesses of the murder. This is your very base story, i don't think i spoiled anything, more like i made that confusing description make sense. This is the first 10 minutes of the pilot... interested yet?
After that we go 10 years in the future to see what our leads are doing today. Soo Ha is in high school, Hye Sung is a public lawyer and Do Yeon is a prosecutor. It is fairly obvious that we have a legal drama in our hands. The 2 girls are enemies for... reasons, and Soo Ha has been in love with Hye Sung ever since his father's trial because she gave the decisive testimony that threw his father's murderer in jail. So the show starts from here and develops.
I feel the need to establish the main meaning of the show, or at least what i got while watching it, from now. REVENGE ISN'T GOOD! The whole show revolves around the idea of revenge, and it tells you that revenge has nothing to give you, revenge brings nothing good to the table it just brings more and more pain. Moreover, it says that there is no need to spend time hating someone for something he did to you, you gain nothing from hating, just keep moving and life itself will get in the way of that someone's life. If you try to do something to get revenge, that bad action will come back at you, so there is no reason to push it. Seriously wonderful food for thought, amazing moral standards that we all should follow (especially me who have/had quite a different take on revenge)
Apart from the idea of revenge, the show, being a legal drama, adresses several moral questions of the law, how it works, and what it means to be a lawyer. Example: Should a lawyer believe his client no matter what? What if the client is lying? If they are a murderer should the lawyer try their best to keep them out of jail, or they deserve to be locked up? Even if they did murder someone, what about their reasons? Do they justify what they did? You get the idea... The legal part is like the 40% of the show. Basically we see Hye Sung deal with several separate legal cases where each case wants to make a point about law and all the questions i mentioned above, and at the same time we get some relationship and love triangle development.
The rest 60% of the show revolves around the backstory of the murder i mentioned in the beginning. The murderer gets out of jail and he wants revenge on everyone and everything. At the same time we get several backstory reveals on all the characters which was refreshing and great.
Now that i mentioned everything this show did right, time to discuss what this show got wrong, at least in my opinion. I basically had 3 very simple problems with the development of the show.
Problem 1: Boring legal cases. Episodes 2-7 are filled with 3, quite interesting, but unrelated to the main plot, legal cases. Yes they were interesting, but this isn't a procedural show, i hate when they do that. Episode 1 was AMAZEBALLS, like at-the-edge-of-your-sit, mind-blowing, screen-punching amazing and then we get 6 episodes of basically nothing. Yes, i liked them, but what i would have liked more? Episode 8 as episode 2 or 3....
Problem 2: Something i have faced before in other kdramas. Silly reasons for the main couple to not be together. C'mon who likes that? We all know they will end up together, if the writers can't find some serious reasons to have them apart, then don't play with out nerves and hearts and let them be happy as soon as possible! This really, really got on my nerves when the show started pushing us to cry because of the silly conversations that lead to the main couple to keep breaking up and hurt each other. Unnecessary as.... you get the idea....
Problem 3: Ok, halfway through the show, on episode 9 happens a huge game changer. I won't spoil what it is. Anyway, some people might love it, i was in two minds about it at first, but in the end i ended up to the conclusion that it was unnecessary and brought nothing to the show but unnecessary couple drama, and it basically served as a plot-slower (does this word even exist? I mean they wanted to slow down the plot since the show got extended because of high ratings). Many people argued that this 'game changer' was used to establish that the main couple really loved each other. Guys, c'mon i understand you wanting to defend your favourite show, i've been there, but this is not the way. It was well established that the couple was crazy in love almost from the beginning, this was purely unnecessary. Anyway, at least, it gets resolved fast -thank god-. Lastly, since i didn't want to give this a separate 'problem' mention, there were some minor but very obvious plot holes to conviniently help the story develop. Example: it is said that the male protagonist needs to look in someone's eyes to read his thoughts, but there are quite a few times he suddenly hears thoughts without looking at someone's eyes. Stupid plot hole that could have been avoided, but this isn't enough to kill the overall vibe of the show.
Taking problem 3 out, i have faced the 2 other problems in other kdramas, and i need to accept that this is how kdramas are written, so i need to stop whinying, but i won't! :P Other from these 3, everything else was completely on point, apart from some boring conversations here and there (i have to confess there were some episodes that nothing really happened, i will dub these episodes 'filler episodes', there weren't many but they were there).
One more thing i feel the need to mention is the supernatural element. I generally like when dramas give a supernatural twist in their stories, but they still keep them real. However, i know there are people who feel reluctant about watching a drama because of these supernatural twists. Here the supernatural element doesn't bother the development of the show, it doesn't feel fake or forced at all (ok maybe during the middle because of problem 3), in the contrary it helps the show develop and move forward and it is sweet most of the time too!
Giving the show an overall look, what i possibly liked the most was the incredible character development, all of the characters mature, i mean we get a bitchy shut down prosecutor with daddy issues who grows into a woman who owns who she is in the end. We get a shut down bitchy lawyer who only does her job for the money and sucks at it, and in the end we have a great woman who values people and their opinion. You get the idea. Another thing i loved, and i will stop there because noone will read this long ass review, is the fact that almost all plot insidents are important and are connected. I liked how every action of the characters had a reaction of some kind. I won't say anything more because i don't want to spoil anything. What you need to understand is that the writing and backstory here is perfection, possibly the best backstory i've ever seen in a kdrama thus far.
ACTING
I felt like acting was the weakest part of the show. it wasn't bad in any way, but to be honest i was expecting better.
Lee Jong Suk, looked great and i appreciated it, but i wasn't there for the eye candy, his acting was weak imo. He was alright, but i know korean actors can do more than alright.
Lee Bo Young, was great, especially her mother-daughter scenes were perfect (you'll get what i say when you see her)
Lee Da Hee, in my opinion she was the true star of the show, at least acting wise. I loved her acting from head to toe, she was flawless, especially the way her acting changed along with her character development. Wonderful actress
Yoon Sang Hyun, even though i disliked the character there is nothing bad to be said about the actor, he was the 'funny' one, but serious and emotional when he was supposed to be.
The supporting cast wasn't excuisite, but they were above average. Overall a great job.
MUSIC
I only have a separate music part in my reviews when the music is very good, here it was very good, i loved the OST!
RECOMMEND/REWATCH
Definately a must watch, to be honest normal people wouldn't even care about the 3 problems i named, i know most people like those silly problems that keep the couple apart, and a lot of people like separate cases that keep things interesting. I don't, it is a matter of preference, what was supposed to be great was here, so definately watch it!
Would i rewatch it? Yeah, why not, if there was an episode on tv i'd definately would rewatch it. I doubt i'd watch it on purpose alone again though
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law cases? not boring at all you don't need to worry about it ;)
the cast? omooooooo!! lee jong suk soooo handsome..XD his different expression? full of cuteness to the point of wanting to rewind it all over again!!! XD lee boo young and him looks good together!:> I love ALL the cast :))
the young and old relationship? it's very cute!! because of this drama it made it on my list in my favorite genre in romance :)
the ost is cute and the meaning of the song :>
This is one of the CUTEST DRAMA I've watched (I guess your wondering why)XD
WARNING: once you finish this drama you'll definitely miss the CUTE couple lee jong suk and lee boo young :(
PS: I hope YOU HEAR MY VOICE, watch it and you'll like it :)
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(This is my first time writing a review so don't judge!;P)
I personally as you can see, have given this show a 10/10 in everything. I too at the start when i read the plot of the show wasn't as keen on watching it for some no apparent reason, however what dragged me in was the fact that HE CAN READ MINDS?! how does that work? and also the hype of the actor Lee Jong Suk, when he was in school 2013, i thought to my self "lets really see how good he is" mind you i thought that before watching school 2013, so i really didn't know HOW GOOD OF AN ACTOR HE WAS AND IS!
The show personally is my most most favorite show EVER!! I definitely recommend YOU watch this show because each episode always has something going on and it doesn't drag one bit! The plot personally is one of my favorite plots, as it's so well written. As the show goes on you can perfectly see the characters growing, as well as the story getting more and more interesting.
Trust me every time you watch one episode you think "oh my god! whats going to happen next?" it kinda keeps you on your toes, but also makes your heart flutter now and then and gets you laughing and full of joy but also scared like "crap crap crap crap crap" and sad!
It makes you feel all the emotions sometimes in just one episode, which is amazing!
The cast is great and i think that, it is also partly the reason why the show is doing so so so well! They seem like one of the best casts so far! The main leads are great together even with the age difference, there romance is simple, cute and just hdiwibvbv.
If you enjoy shows that have romance then this is for you.
If you enjoy shows with a bit of mystery in, then this is for you.
If you enjoy shows with laughter and awkwardness, then this is for you.
If you enjoy shows with friendships, promises, and values then this is for you.
This show definitely suits everyone's taste! I think i'm going to be re-watching this show quite a few times!:D:D:D
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So aside from this drama having the power to lure in non-drama watchers, is a bloody good drama. It'll have you hating and fearing the bad guy, feeling pity for the nice guy in the love triangle who doesn't get the girl, and you'll be yelling a your screen for the main couple to KISS DAMMIT, or yelling at the main character to HIT THE BAD GUY DAMMIT instead of talking to him as he spouts threats and what not. You will become emotionally invested in this drama, so prepare yourself!
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Anyway, it was great! The last episode was a little boring, but it was nice to watch for people who really love the show and don't want it to end. In my opinion, almost anyone could enjoy this show. It's interesting, and never got boring for me until the last episode! Also, I don't know if this was realistic on how South Korea runs in court, but it was interesting to me to see how it worked!
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Wow. This is one of those dramas that brings you in, because of the interesting story, great chemistry between the characters and storyline that is different to most other Korean dramas. I was really captivated by this storyline... being unable to wait each week for new episodes. The story has not a dull moment, since there are new stories every few episodes and new court cases that need to be won every few episodes. Fortunately, the ending of the drama left no loose strings... it didn't leave me wondering anything, because everything was explained well in the end.
Acting/Cast:
I loved the cast and acting of this drama! Park Soo Ha (Jong Suk) was amazing in this drama. I was so glad he was finally able to come out as a male lead in a romantic drama (although School 2013 was also great!). The female lead, Lawyer Jjang, was sooooo funnnny! She was so confident in herself, in a funny way. Lawyer Cha was also a good character, however I never really felt he was in a competition for the female lead... which could be a good thing, I guess?
Music:
I really liked the soundtrack of this drama, it was so niceeee. Especially the opening song (Every Single Day - Echo), everytime it came on, I would sing along. The music in this drama definitely added to the emotion and feelings of the drama.
Rewatch?
I would definitely rewatch this drama, and I already have. It has cute romance with great chemistry, great acting and an interesting storyline!
Overall:
I definitely recommend this drama to anyone who is interested in cute innocent romance, law-y stuff and interesting storylines that involve revenge. I am surprised that so little people have actually watched this drama, it is really popular. Most people who have watched it, really like it. So go and give it a go!
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