The Sound of Magic (2022)

Falls On a Flat Note

First of all, if you haven't watched this yet and you're thinking this is some kind of lighted-hearted musical, be forewarned that this should've given an advisory warning for depictions of self-harm (suicide), sexual assault, child abandonment, poverty, murder, highschool angst, peer pressure, moderate bullying, physical assault on a female high school student and a terrible pet death. Everything you would find in a typical musical... ya' no. You've been warned.

I don't really know how to briefly summarize this show. Basically, the FL, Ah-Yi, is a high school student who is struggling to make ends meet while trying to just get through school and at the same time take care of her little sister. Both parents abandoned them. So one evening she finally meets the ML, Ri Eul, the magician. Ri Eul basically performs some magical tricks to cheer her up. Later, they finally form an unlikely friendship after he manages to rescue her from getting sexually assaulted by her boss. That's pretty much the gist of it.

As the story develops later, a student goes missing and of course, the magician becomes the main suspect. This leads to questions about the magician and his background and whether or not Ah Yi and Il Deung, (the SML), believe if it's possible that he could be involved with her disappearance.

There are other secondary characters with their own subplots, the SML, Il Deung, her rich, smart classmate who has a crush on her, the annoying bully Ha-Na who bullies Ah-Yi and who becomes even more annoying when she keeps bugging the magician. There are also Il Deung's typically rich and no-nonsense parents and a useless teacher and an even more useless detective.

Now while this review has spoilers, I will only touch on a couple of scenes that really, really bothered me. Major spoilers are ahead...

At one point, a detective comes to Ah-Yi's school to question her about the magician who is now a suspect in the case of the missing student. But guess who walks in at her school as a witness? The former boss who sexually assaulted her. Like OMFG... how could this happen in real life? Then she's visibly shaken and the MALE detective and MALE teacher don't take note of her obvious, shaking discomfort and fear. To top it off, when she tries to explain what really transpired, (about the sexual assault), the boss, the abuser, cuts her off and interrupts her purposely so she never really gets to explain her side of the story.

This scene had me raging. I couldn't believe the writer(s) thought it was okay to write the victim basically being silenced and ignored in a place like her own school. It could've been written like she was able to stand her ground and have the courage and power to face and point out her abuser so that at the very least, she could've been instrumental to the case and helped the detective. We need more empowering scenes for young women who are victims of assault, not diminishing ones. The writer(s) really messed this up. Even with the detective and teacher being in the same room as her but being completely oblivious to her reaction was ridiculous. All they did was stop all the yelling the former boss was doing.

In another scene, I won't say which characters these two were but one scene happens, where a female student gets almost choked to death by a man. Now of course, perhaps he was so enraged at the time, but still, this is unacceptable to me as he never gets held accountable for it. It also made me dislike this character after. I get it, what she did was really bad but it was also accidental. I dunno, maybe it's a reasonable reaction on the guy's part in the heat of the moment... had it been a guy who made him angry but not a young woman. It would've been better for his character had he just chased her out enraged or she just ran out guiltily. A real man would never hit a woman. Ummm...

Another thing that bothered me... It's hard for me to understand the relationship between the two leads. I'm not sure if they tried giving the magician a "savior" concept or what but I feel confused as to his relationship with the female lead, a high school student and minor. Like, was he a big brother, uncle, friend, or possible future boyfriend? Did he like her "like" her or just liked her like a friend or little sister? It was kind of uncomfortable to watch because he's an adult and she's a minor and there are some scenes where it almost felt predatory and like "grooming". Just when you think you get comfortable with these two as "friends", something small happens that makes you cringe. He would do something subtly or intentionally that makes you uncomfortable even if it's related to "magic". I don't think that writers or directors were able to draw a fine line early enough between these two leads. And how many times can you ask, "Do you... believe in magic?" or say, "Annarasumanara"? Sigh... apparently, not enough times. Also, there are gaps in whether or not the magic is "real" or just tricks. Or maybe he's just a psychic. Or maybe the magic is real, or maybe the necklace he wears has magical powers, or maybe he's really a magical butterfly... whatevs man. I'll never know and I'm actually okay with it because a part of me doesn't care enough. I should also mention that I pretty much figured out the ending and who the main culprit was very early.

Lastly, that last ending musical performance. It just didn't fit into the overall show. I get it, I've watched a lot of musicals to know that in the end, they have a small musical number to feature and applaud all the characters, but for some reason, it felt out of place and cheesy, piled on with more cheese and more cheese. Even the audience's acting seemed awkward and forced. Perhaps because it was over the top with just bad choreography. Musical endings like that are usually found at the end of live Broadway shows. Musicals in movies, like Moulin Rouge, Sweeney Todd, Out of the Woods, Phantom of the Opera, etc., or TV musicals don't usually have endings like that unless it's animation. A blooper or gag reel would've been a more suitable ending.

Also, if you're looking for a happy ending with any of the characters, there isn't anything really impactful or worthy enough for the audience to be so happy about the ending. It's all just lacklustre.

I had strong hopes for this show, especially with the first episode but after that, it was just missing something. While the singing was good, I just felt they were missing some kind of strong emotions behind them. I felt like some voices weren't powerful enough. My only fave scene was when Hwang In Youp (Ryan Leon), who played Il Deung, sang with his guitar. That was really more of the kind of musical concept was I looking for. Uplifting, not like depressing and stressful throughout most of the whole show.

Unfortunately, I don't think I'll rewatch this one nor would I recommend it. I really had high hopes for this.

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Do you believe in magic!

The sound of magic is musical fantasy drama about a girl who meets a unknown and suspicious magician who make her believe in magic.
For me it's my first ever musical korean drama and the music was so so good it's feels like you are watching a Disney musical movie.
The top Tier cast and the very heartwarming story made it to the top drama of this year and ji chang wook and Hwang in yeop was "chef's kiss" personally started this drama only because of Hwang is yeop but i love the storyline.
The storyline was so fresh and new to kdrama world and the ending was so heartwarming i literally felt so many emotions after completing the drama,the female lead was also good in her role she was your typical poor girl with all the problems in her life but how magic helped her was so heartwarming to watch Hwang in yeop was a top student but has so many pains behind his all success, ji chang wook literally masters the role of a magician i am glad he picked this scrip and his story was so emotional to watch.
Recommend watch

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A magical and surprisingly deep drama

“Do you…believe in magic?” These five words perfectly capture the essence of Netflix’s newest K-drama, The Sound of Magic. These are also the words uttered by the enigmatic magician fronting this series, Ri-Eul. But is he really magic? Or is everything one big misdirection?

The Sound of Magic plays with this idea constantly, combining elements of The Miracle on 34th Street, Goblin and Extracurricular, blending them together into a beautifully surreal and incredibly thought provoking series.

What begins as a fantastic journey into the world of magic soon takes a dark turn as we’re left to question exactly what we’ve seen.

I’m being careful not to go into spoilers here but suffice to say, The Sound of Magic is a magical series; a wonderful, hedonistic ride boasting strong themes at the heart of this one that gives it a good amount of depth.

The story itself focuses on Ah-Yi, a poor school student who ekes her way through life, struggling to get by. After her mother leaves and her father goes on the run from loan-sharks, Ah-Yi is left with nothing. Se’s struggling to pay her rent and trying to keep up with studies while working part-time. Ah-Yi is in proverbial hell.

Screaming out for help, Ah-Yi’s cry is seemingly answered by Ri-Eul, who encourages her to show up at an abandoned theme park for a magic show she’ll never forget.

As Ah-Yi allows herself to indulge into this fantastical world, she becomes taken with this guy and learns more about the magical world he adopts. Unfortunately, Ah-Yi’s fellow student Il-Deung does not share her enthusiasm and worries that Ri-Eul may be hiding a darker truth.

I won’t go further into the story but the dialogue has been masterfully crafted to deliver little foreshadowed hints to what’s going on.

Beyond the surface level story about magic though is a much darker theme revolving around stress, societal pressure and what constitutes as “normal.”

In this increasingly digitalized world, we’re under more pressure than ever before to portray our best selves at all times. Because of that, those who dare to stand out from the norm or carve a different path for themselves are vilified.

The Sound of Magic plays with that idea to its very core, examining and dissecting what it means to be normal and how the childlike innocence of our youth is ripped apart and replaced by studying, working and trying to pay our bills.

These themes are never explicitly mentioned though, as a lot of this ticks away in the background. Likewise, we’re also not really told some of the more pressing questions one may have about Ri-Eul. While some will be disappointed by this, I personally think it works really well to maintain that aura of wonder and suspicion, which are the two feelings this show conjures and perfectly balances across its run-time.

What’s particularly interesting with The Sound of Magic though is the way this is presented. The whole series is laid out like a musical production at the theatre, complete with musical numbers, a revealing post-credit sequence (no spoilers here!) and a lot of whimsical and fantastical elements thrown in along the way.

Magic tricks aside, The Sound of Magic also has a smattering of dream sequences, interesting choreography and some breath-taking shots of Korea too.

The Sound of Magic won’t be for everyone but the series does a fantastic job fleshing out all of its characters, delivering a simple but effective story and layering all of that with thought provoking and relevant themes about society and our place in the world.

It may not be the best K-drama of the year, but it’s certainly one of the more surprising. This one’s a definite must-watch.

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Melo-Fantasy Drama with Singing - But not quite a real Musical

Completed - 5/7/2022

I am a big fan of musicals, so when I heard that "The Sound of Magic" is a short Korean musical drama, I got to check it out. However, I think my expectations were too high, and the drama didn’t quite deliver. The premise of the story is good, and I enjoy the general theme of finding your true self and path, through the belief in magic. However, I felt that the execution is lacking a bit. I was expecting a more upbeat and hopeful drama, but this is sadder and darker than I thought.

If we’re talking about a musical, we can’t ignore its music. I was not very impressed with the first episode and found the songs and the singing to be just OK. However, I did enjoy a couple ballads throughout the drama, especially ‘Have a Good Night’ sung by the sisters. I do think the music is lacking in variety and there are only 2 group numbers. I would have liked to see more. Since the majority of the songs are slow ballads, I am missing the dancing/choreography of a musical. The singing is OK. I guess the actors are not really theater actors who can sing, and it shows. I have to remind myself not to compare “The Sound of Magic” to “The Sound of Music” or any of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s creations. That would be an unfair comparison, thus, I didn’t lower the rating despite my minor disappointment. I do plan to get the OST from Spotify, and I might enjoy the music more as I listen to them more.

I do enjoy the acting of our young leads, Choi Sung Eun and Hwang In Youp. I am not familiar with Choi Sung Eun but I think she was very expressive in all her sad and teary-eyed scenes. Hwang In Youp is not that cool bad boy in “True Beauty” anymore but a studious student searching for his own path. Of course, the top attraction to this drama is Ji Chang Wook. I think as a veteran actor, he did fine. He isn’t as charismatic as the Magician as I would have imagined. I want his personality to be bigger (not as crazy as Willy Wonka, but a little more oomph). His best performance is in Ep 6. I enjoy the young actress, Oh So Hyun, as the little sister, especially her singing in ‘Have a Good Night”. She has a beautiful, young and pure voice. It’s also a nice surprise to see every actor's younger self, Nam Da Reum, to play the teen Magician. There has got to be one annoying character in these Asia dramas, and the award goes to Baek Ha Na, the classmate. I guess that means Ji Hye Won did a great job portraying her. Also, what is up with all the parents in this drama? They piss me off!

I feel the cinematography is a little uneven. There are scenes that are beautifully shot, usually the magic and fireworks at the theme park. But all the other scenes don’t look anything special and somewhat dull. I was just expecting a Netflix production to give us a little more. I understand the theme park is abandoned, so I don’t expect glamor inside. But the scenes shot inside the Magician’s office or the stage do not look very nice.x

Overall, do not go in expecting a big musical drama production. Think of it as a Korean melo-fantasy drama with music and songs. Oh, also don’t miss the stage performance of all cast members at the end of Ep 6.

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I'm not all that fond of musicals, but I love Ji Chang Wook so I gave it a go anyways. Before I started it, I thought it was going to be some wishy-washy story about magic with some singing included. I was wrong. I forgot that it was also a Kdrama and you can always expect the unexpected. This was so much more than a story about magic, it was about finding your own path to adulthood and that the adult you want to be or need to be isn't always what everyone wants from you. From what I gathered, the moral of the story is growing up is hard and stressful but having just/at least one person believing in you can be a whole world of difference to your mindset.

I'm still not sure if the reason I love it so much was because of the quality of dramas I've been watching lately or if I could see myself in it, but it's one I'll not be able to forget for a while.

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"Do you believe in magic?"?

When we were little we all believed in magic. The world looked so beautiful because it was filled with magic. But over time, as we grow older, we forget about it.

All in all, I thought this was a beautifully captivating drama, weaving in threads of hope into an otherwise bleak tale. it was really beautiful with a unique storyline, a musical genre fantasy with a plot twist you won't expect. Throughout the drama, this line stuck into my head and it really touched my heart that '“flowers don't bloom on asphalt paved roads but on bumpy sand roads”.

The whole cast did a really great job portraying these characters. The life story of Ah Yi is heartbreaking and the actress is pretty convincing with her sweet demeanour. Choi Sung Eun’s acting is what stole the show for me. I'm happy that Ji Chang Wook (ML) finally got a role where he shined again after long time. JCW is as usual: handsome and charming. Hwang In Yeop character is the opposite of his True Beauty character and he plays the awkward yet cute nerd so well.

This one may not be as entertaining for some but it is definitely unforgettable. I appreciate the message the story was trying to tell, but I felt there were some holes in the plot at times. the creators end up not bothering to explain how he’s able to do impossible magic tricks while acknowledging at the same time that he likely has mental health issues. I appreciate that the story has an ending, and I've heard that it ends just like the Webtoon but I still would’ve prefer that the story was a bit more conclusive.

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Do you believe in magic?

First of all I must start with my first impression about this series. It reminds me of Disney movie High School Musicals infused with Magic version which turned into emotional slide gradually as the episodes pass-by. It really picturized the burdens and social statuses which most of the high school students go through in their real life. This series potrayed the social norms that were created by the adults about being successful life. Doing what we love makes us happy even with low income considered as failure?. Being in High social status and earning lots of money is more important than being Happy? Growing up into adult is so scary. That's the fact. I can relate with my own life with it. Ri-Eul Chose not to grow up. He did the right thing. Even i want to go back to my childhood but my parents doesn't allow me to. Am in my 30's still am not allowed to decide my own future.
Ri-Eul wish you were real. I need magic in my life too.

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Annara Sumanara!!!

দাংসিন মাবসবেউল মিডসইবনিকা? Do You Believe In Magic?
প্রথমেই নেটফ্লিক্সকে বিশাল একটা ধন্যবাদ দেয়া উচিত এই পোস্ট-প্যানডামিক ডিপ্রেসিং একটা টাইমে একটা মিউজিক্যাল ফ্যান্টাসি বানানোর মত সাহস করার জন্য। তবে দিলাম না, কারণ ড্রামাটা নিয়ে যে লেভেলের মার্কেটিং করার দরকার ছিল, তারা তার কিছুই করেনি। একই কাজ করেছিল আরেক মাস্টারপিস Move To Heaven নিয়েও। সবচেয়ে ভালো কাজগুলোকে নিভৃতে মুক্তি দিয়ে দেয় আর বস্তাপঁচা কিছু জিনিস নিয়ে খালি হাইপ তোলে। বাজে চর্চা...
ড্রামাটা কেমন সেটা নিয়ে কিছু বলব না তেমন। তবে এটুকু বলতে পারি, যদি খুব ছোট্ট একটা তালিকা তৈরি করা হয় যেগুলো না দেখলে পৃথিবীতে জন্ম নেয়াটা বৃথা বলে গণ্য হবে, আমার মনে হয় এই ছোট্ট ড্রামাটা সেই ছোট্ট তালিকায় স্থান পাবে। তবে আপনি যদি পিউর আর্টের ভক্ত না হন, এই জিনিস আপনার কাছে অখাদ্য মনে হবে। এই ড্রামা সবার জন্য না...
সবাই যার যার জায়গায় সেরাটা দিয়েছে। মেইন লিডরা তাদের পারফর্ম্যান্স দিয়েছে একশোতে একশো, ফাউলগুলো তাদের ফাউলগিরি করেছে অত্যন্ত ফাউলভাবে মানে ভালোভাবে আরকি, আর বালপাকনাগুলোও তাদের বালপাকনামিতে ছিল সমান পটু। মিউজিক বেশ ভালোই লেগেছে আমার। গল্প, স্টোরি বিল্ড আপ, মেসেজ এসব নিয়ে কোনো কথা হবে না। কথা হতে পারে এত তাড়াতাড়ি কেন শেষ হয়ে গেলো সেটা নিয়ে।
আমি নিশ্চিত, রবীন্দ্রনাথ ঠিক এই ড্রামাটার কথাই মাথায় রেখে লিখেছিলেন-

"ছোট প্রাণ ছোট ব্যথা, ছোট ছোট দুঃখ কথা,
নিতান্তই সহজ সরল।
সহস্র বিস্মৃতি রাশি প্রত্যহ যেতেছে ভাসি
তারি দু'চারিটি অশ্রুজল।
নাহি বর্ণনার ছটা ঘটনার ঘনঘটা
নাহি তত্ত্ব নাহি উপদেশ,
অন্তরে অতৃপ্তি রবে সাঙ্গ করি মনে হবে
শেষ হয়ে হইল না শেষ..."

সবশেষে একটা কথাই বলতে চাই-
আন্নারা সুমানারা!

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Do you believe in magic?

I must say, I didn't expect it to be this good. I loved the psychological side of it and how much it focused on the hardships of students. It showed a different side to what it feels like to want to be an adult, to have dreams and how hard it can be to have a different future then what the society expects.

Story: The story was really interesting. The biggest mystery was the girls disappearance, but if you pay attention to the biginning you would know who is responsible. Some things were predictable, but some parts actually surprised me and made the story even better.

Acting: Its really a star studded cast. I loved them all and I hope that this will get a second season because I can't get enough of the cast.

Music: I completely forgot it was a musical when I began the first episode, and then they suddenly started singing and I was confused, but the music was so beautiful, sad and fun at the same time, it was really nicely done.

If there is a season 2 I might rewatch this one to connect the story better.

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Not a fan of musicals

so I only watched this drama for the two main Male leads, as I am not a big fan of musicals per se.

And i was really glad that it was only 6 episodes long, which was okay for a musical, however, I will be honest to say that I fast forward every time a song came on, so i actually have no ideas on what the music was about.

Generally the story was okay and basically very simple, you either believed in magic or you don't . This drama is about a high school girl named Yoon Ah Yi who is struggling to support herself and her sister. Her mother had abandoned her, and her father, who was in debt and had fled to make money. She had to work part-time to make ends meet. Despite having many adult responsibilities, she always managed to get good grades and was near the top of the school. She believed that poverty was the cause of her misery and her ambition was to become an adult as soon as possible and to acquire more wealth. She literally had to grow up really fast and deal with what was happening around at a young age, I did feel for her and the struggles she had to go through, my only disappointment was there were things that a child should not have to grow through and the teacher that literally turned his head away when she spoke up.

The visual effects were incredible and mesmerizing! The scenes with the blue butterfly fluttering around are especially lovely. I couldn't take my eyes off the screen because they were so beautiful. This exceeded my expectations!

Overall, I truly enjoyed it a lot. Had some questionable choices, acting and directing wise, but I still believe it’s a solid drama.

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