“Do you believe in magic?”, if so this week’s drama review is for you, let’s talk about the 2022 production ‘The Sound of Magic’.
Based on the WebToon ‘Annarasumanara’ by Ha Il-kwon, written by Kim Min-jeong and directed by Kim Seong-yoon, this Netflix production tells the story of a mysterious magician and a high-schooler with a lot to deal with but no parental support.
‘The Sound of Magic’ is not like any other drama, this musical drama narrates the story of the character through incredible acting and music.
The characters
Yoon Ah-yi (Choi Sung-eun) is a high schooler who has to grow up rather fast after she is forced to live alone and look after her younger sister due to her father’s debt. Ah-yi and her sister struggle to make ends meet all the time, and she has to work several part-time jobs, while studying and looking after her sister.
She just wishes to grow fast, to escape the life she has been living and finally be able to be independent and not need adult intervention in her life.
By chance, luck and magic, one day she has to go to the abandoned amusement park in her neighbourhood, where he meets Lee Eul.
Lee Eul (Ji Chang-wook) is a magician who lives in the amusement park, contrary to Ah-yi, he wishes to stay young rather than facing adult life. He wants people to believe in magic and to enjoy life as much as they can, however, his personality makes it hard for people to believe in his words.
With his magic, he tries to help Ah-yi as much as he can, he becomes the emotional support she’s never had, but this is heavily criticised by classmate Na Il-deung (Hwang In-youp) who worries about her relationship with the magician.
Il-deung is a wealthy and very smart high schooler who must live off the expectations of his parents. He tries his best but the constant pressure from his parents makes him develop heavy anxiety and he comes across as rather cold and prickly.
He develops a love interest towards Ah-yi, and after she rejects him, he decides to investigate why she hangs out so often with the magician.
After meeting Lee Eul, Il-deung starts believing that life can be more than what his parents prepared for him, however, this sudden change also brings consequences he will have to face.
The story
With a unique plot and incredible acting, ‘The Sound of Magic’ touches on sensitive topics related to abuse, power imbalance, poverty and mental health.
With just eight episodes this series smartly narrates stories that could be real and adds the magical aspect as an escape form for the real world problems.
I was very surprised with the writing and the acting. Chang-wook is well-known for his performance abilities, but in this series he also sings. At the same time, Sung-eun and In-youp are relatively new faces in the acting world but they deliver outstanding performances with their singing and acting roles.
If you are up for a drama with an interesting plot, and beautiful direction and production, check ‘The Sound of Magic’. It is a short watch, perfect to binge just one day. Check the trailer below.
