So, I've always been a fan of older lady-and younger guy love stories. Maybe its because it's unrepresented in Kdramas and maybe I like it because I'm in an age gap relationship myself, but I always like watching dramas with this premis to see how they are going to do them. I found this drama while searching for these type of stories, and after all the glowing reviews and the supernatural element I was super excited going into this.

'I Hear Your Voice' is a really good drama and I enjoyed it immensely. But in my humble opinion (which as you can see many disagree with) it could have been better. Why? Maybe my expectations were too high after reading these reviews but... well, my biggest disappointment with this drama is that I feel like the leads lack chemistry. As I watched, I was sold on the male lead loving the female, but I didn't quite get the same intensity from the female lead towards the male. Maybe its because I watched 'A Witch's Romance' just before this drama and their chemistry in that is the best i've seen in a Kdrama EVER-- its hard to top that level of interaction and chemistry and perhaps I went into this a bit spoiled. But in 'I Hear Your Voice' the FL falls in love very subtly, and as such, maybe its too subtle. The ML feelings are immediate and intense, they are a core part of the plot, and at first she isn't on the same page, but when she catches feelings, it seems a bit forced. And while it was nice watching them those feelings play out, I kept hoping they'd have super heart-stopping romantic scenes and they never truly did. I mean yes there are many cute moments between them, but as someone who loves to internally squee at cute scenes, there just wasn't enough for me, and this made me sad. And part of the problem might be that the second male lead is a great match for the female lead too, in terms of personality and chemistry--so it's almost difficult to root for the main male over the second lead at times. In the end, I felt like I wasn't given enough GOOD reasons to want the two leads together, even though Jang Hye Sung seemed to be drawn to Park Soo Ha, I would have liked to feel it from her more intensely. Ultimately she treats him like a child for a lot of it (and he acts like one too sometimes) and I never felt the drama managed to quite break that dynamic for me-- perhaps because Park Soo Ha's actor comes across as so young in this. His inital attraction to the FL starts as a crush when he is a boy, and the drama (in my opinion) never quite shakes this-- He really does seem like a High School Student with a long-lingering crush. Dont get me wrong, the love story is cute AF, but I would have liked to see their love evolve and feel more 'real' and I was disappointed in that respect personally.

Other things I didn't like were just tropey things that plague most dramas-- the 'horror movie' trope where people do stupid stuff instead of running away, taking precautions, etc, are par for the course for kdramas so it was fine, but they did rely on it a bit to advance certain dramatic plot points, which was frustrating. Also some of the courtroom stuff was kinda laughable in the way it was dramatized-- they tried really hard to make the legal stuff seem realistic, but they definitely broke/bent the law in this drama to fit the plot and it is a tiny bit silly at times. That said, the second female lead-- the rival lawyer of the LF was great though, and they do an amazing job of turning her from conceited villainess to a real person with real feelings. And the main villain really shines too--- he is terrifying at times, and is a real highlight of the show. In fact, all the acting of the side characters in this is really solid, and at times they outshine the leads.

The plot itself was very different and rather cool with the supernatural element in it, and the premise itself is where the drama shines. Its very clever and riveting and it makes you sad and mad and all at once. I was stuck on the edge of my seat for a lot of this drama. I was not bored at all and I dont think I fast forwarded unlike I usually do with other dramas. The flashbacks of the female lead are also where this shine, Kim So Hyun does an amazing job as the young version of Jang Hye Sung, and those scenes stood out to me as really memorable.

Over all, it was a pleasant drama with a great premise, intense moments and quite good acting. It's a good first step into noona-type romance kdramas. If you are a fan of that type of kdrama definitely give this one a try! The suspenseful story will keep you hooked for sure. It's not my fave Kdrama but its definitely worth watching.