Ahhhhh I’m so behind in reviews. Going to try to crank them out this week!!! First up is Ji Chang Wook’s Fantasy Musical, “The Sound of Magic” now airing on Netflix.
Hangul: 안나라수마나라; Romanized: Annarasumanara (which is the magic phrase continually said in the drama – think abracadbra)
Release Date: May 6, 2022 on Netflix
Plot: A poor high school girl is faced with adult problems and lost her ability to dream, comes across a magician who teaches her how to dream again.
My Review:
Clocking in at only 6 episodes, The Sound of Magic, was a rather quick 2-day binge-watch at the end of a long work day. I didn’t read anything about it before watching it, I just jumped right in when Netflix gave it as a suggestion and I saw Ji Chang Wook. So I was definitely surprised when they first broke into song. The beginning episode gave some High School Musical/Glee vibes. I absolutely love musicals on Broadway, but for some reason on the small screen, they seem a little more cheesy. Once I was able to get over the random singing, I realized this was a very standard high school drama with the poor girl – rich stuck-up guy plot line.
This was the first I saw of Choi Sung Eun who played Yoon Ah Yi, the high schooler who was abandoned by her parents and taking care of a younger sister. She was struggling to live, eat and pay rent, but was very smart in math and still pursued her studies. She got bullied by her peers for wearing old clothes and being poor. Personally, I’m really curious if situations like this really exist in Korea. This is not the first drama that has a high schooler living alone with ZERO social services support. There is no way this would fly in America. Child Welfare Services (CWS) would be called and they would be placed in the foster care system. Is this just for drama purposes, or are there really minors having to live on their own and survive? But okay, that plot point aside. I thought she did fine in her role and was a believable actress.
I struggled a little more with the acting of Hwang In Youp who played the stoic and intelligent, Na Il Deung. I have seen other actors do this same type of male lead before (Lee Min Ho, Kim Soo Hyun) and they were still able to have some micro-expressions and subtly to their acting that let you see the character was layered. I think Hwang In Youp just isn’t to that level yet of acting yet.
Although Ji Chang Wook was the top billing, he wasn’t in the romantic lead. He played the mysterious magician that lived in an abandoned amusement park whose catch phrase was, “Do you believe in magic?” I had trouble pegging his character. I believe it was by design, but the writers left him mysterious and enigmatic. At times he was the mysterious hot guy, other times he was the potential pedophile hot guy, then there was the empathetic compassionate hot guy, followed by the psycho possible murderer hot guy and lastly the needs massive therapy hot guy. It was a rather strange and interesting acting choice for Ji Chang Wook. I wonder if he was trying to move away from being a rom-com lead and that’s what lead him to this script. I have to say, he did act the part superbly. Although, his character was left to a rather unsatisfying end, which I will not spoil here.
The writers tried to give us a deeper message behind the music. It is a story about a teenage girl forced to grow up too fast, a teenage boy under the pressures of his parents and societal expectations, and a grown man who uses magic to overcome deeper wounds of his past. Through magic, the teenagers dare to dream their own dream and follow their own paths. I appreciate the message, although I do think the execution fell a little short. The plot line got really rushed at the end and a lot of characters had unknown and unfinished endings.
I don’t regret watching this drama, but I wouldn’t recommend it to others. If Ji Chang Wook is your man, then definitely watch it to see where his acting is going as he enters his post-military, mid 30’s. If you got nothing else going on and want a short time commitment drama, this one will do. But there are a lot better dramas out there if you have a long to watch list.
Final Opinion: If you got nothing else to watch
kdrama binger 
I enjoyed this one. I thought it was entertaining. The actor who played Ah Yi was amazing. There were parts that tore my heart into pieces.
Korea definitely has a child welfare system but the difference between Korea and North America is Korean neighbours will take care of kids if they’re in need. There will always be a random nosey ajumah who notices theres no adult and tell you to come over to eat. They will usually ask the parents what’s going on and see if they can help before they report them.
LikeLike