musical drama
Ever since the musical drama was announced by Netfix, I was looking forward for it. Not to mention it lived through my expectation. The songs having melifluous voice of Ji Chang Wook made it more enjoyable.A binge watching, coming of age drama, with spectacular visual effects and cinematography! What I most appreciated was the editing that kept storyline crisp.
The actors were perfect to their role, resonating appropriate emotions! It helps one to believe in magic and let oneself dream what satisfies them❗
Simply loved Ji Chang Wook's character. to act and deliver... he charms as a magician with his poignant acting and it's enough to leave you hooked. Even characters of Choi Sung Eun, as a teenager with harsh realities trying to grow as an adult finding solace in RiEul's magic . Or even Hwang In Yoop's character as a high school student in dillema whether to pursue aspirations of his parents or to take the path away from 'Asphalt' road to let the flower bloom and let him be happy.. were so grounded and realistic. A rollercoaster journey with many a tear-jerking moments and a perfect Final Performance by ALL.
Overall a worth watching drama.
Thank you.
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It's Life
I was on disney magical land and everything is magical!All the songs were really meaningful and relatable for every student's life!
Magician was really cute and his magic is really what we need in this life!
The magic is nothing but smile and we should never let the child inside us die because we are adult lol!
Enjoying every second of life is what we call being alive!
Never give up on your dreams because you are forced by others dreams!
Even school dropouts are living in this world having a better life than others!
Finally...Do you believe in magic? Yes I do!
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Captivating, Refreshing, One Of A Kind
This drama was amazing. I wanted to write down all my thoughts about it here, so that you can decide whether or not you want to watch it. Personally, I think it is fantastic and I definitely recommend at least trialling it and it is much shorter than your average kdrama.The acting was BRILLIANT! I think they cast the right people for these roles. Ji Chang Wook who played his character fabulously! Choi Sung Eun and Hwang In Yeop were also amazing. They could all sing really well too! I feel like I have to mention Hong Jung Min and Nam Da Reum (this guy never disappoints, his acting is phenomenal) too, these guys were also fantastic.
The cinematography was stunning. It truly was food for the eye, they did not disappoint in this area at all!!! Kudos to the special effects team!
The story was good (the message of the drama and its approach to looking at loneliness/stress/pressure/poverty/depression were really good). The only thing I wish they would've added is some romance or something the cast - especially Ji Chang Wook and Choi Sung Eun - had such great chemistry with each other! (I do acknowledge that it wouldn't quite have fit it the age difference between their two characters would've been a bit weird )
The musical element was refreshing - some people thought it was unnecessary and forgotten about half-way through, I thought it added to the magic of the story and was beautiful. I will admit that it did feel a little out of place at some points, but I did love it and the songs were great too. The OST in general was so captivating, whoever composed the musical songs did a great job and the others selected were just as captivating.
I think it was really good for only 6 episodes. But maybe if it had been 8 that could’ve developed Ri Eul and Yoon Ah Yi’s relationship more, there were some sections where I felt that they cut it short.
It did take an unnecessarily darkish turn towards the end (I haven't read the webtoon so I can't compare it to that) and I think they could've gotten the same message across in a different way.
I would have loved it if two characters reunited face to face at the end (if you know you know), but the musical-like ending was really cool :)
You can tell that lots of hard work went into this drama and I think it deserves all the love and attention that it gets. It definitely won’t be for everyone and that's okay, but this drama resonated with me a lot and I think it will with others too. There were a few things I would personally would've changed/added, but they didn't take away from my enjoyment whilst watching the show.
The Sound of Magic made me laugh, cry, smile and I will definitely rewatch it! 100% recommend giving it a try :)
✨annarasumanara✨
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Resonated with me
I absolutely hate musicals and yet . . . I watched this entire show, although I fast forwarded through several of the songs. The story was intriguing to me. There was just the right balance between reality and magic to keep you asking what is going on and keep you interested. The music is actually pretty good but when I watch shows, I'm there to escape reality and people singing during their dialogue is really distracting.That said, the story in "Sound of Magic" hit home to me because I have always believed that a big part of being happy in life is finding the magic in every day events and in that regard, this show was perfect for me. I even liked the ending although a bit more resolution would have calmed my "wonder what happened" brain cramps. I also liked that fact that it was only 6 semi-short episodes so the commitment wasn't so great. If I were the director, I would have cast it a little differently but those actors did a good enough job to get a nine out of me.
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Something different but I like it!
Honestly, after watching this series, it definetly didn't go the way I had thought it would but that's okay! I still enjoyed it! This was also my first time watching a musical drama and so I wasn't sure what to expect. The songs were great and the production was AMAZING. I really enjoyed the storyline and was genuinly shocked by who the culprit actually was. I loved this drama because, at least for me, it wasn't as predictable as so many other shows these days. Yes, it gave us some common plot points but I think the whole element of magic added a nice addition. Usually there's another drama I can compare it to but this time around, I can't because I've yet to see anything similar. Which is not a bad thing! I do wish it was a little longer. Maybe 8 episodes? But at the same time, it's not lacking anything and all bases were covered so that not major flaw or anything.I think this drama is worth checking out. It may not be everyone's cup of tea but I think many people will appreciate it.
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The perfect mix of colours
I loved it, it's dark but colorful and it really stands out against other dramas with it being kind of a musical + being magical.A lot of scenes were very beautifully shot and it's just tragically beautiful and the music,,, it's so good and really suits the mysterious atmosphere + it reminds me of watching shows like Night at the Museum and Peter Pan as a child.
At first I may have felt a little awkward with them starting to sing but halfway into the song I found myself singing along so...
The actors did a great job at portraying their individual characters too and I loved each of the main characters.
I feel a connection to this show from my heart honestly!
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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 - 5/7/2022I 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 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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Wow
is so good and a lot different than what i was expecting.. storyline went from fantasy to hyper-realistic with every next episode !It’s so good that I’ve started again jichangwook has the most amazing presence, the visuals are stunning and acting & singing by all is superb.I loved it so much its definitely worth watching 10/10 !Esta resenha foi útil para você?
