Initial thoughts; I came across this drama through an exchanged list with a few friends. Have always loved Ji Chang Wook but I must admit that I wasn’t entirely engaged as some of his recent works have been a bit meh. Though I was willing to give it a go after seeing a promotional video.

Tone of the show; ‘Sound Of Magic’ is very much what I’d say is a “ non offensive” show. It was sweet in parts, lightly melodramatic and angsty in others with a few cheery ( and sad) musical songs out of nowhere. Honestly I’m not saying that it didn’t go into issues and I thought that it was pretty brave of the narrative to go into some hard issues like inequality and hinting at exploitation. But it was very rarely pushed to the boundaries. Not saying that this a bad thing at all as the show was what it was. Lighthearted and occasionally dipping into some darker themes but never to the point of making viewers squirm or delivering shock. For those expecting a dark fantasy series like Hotel del Luna then you might be a bit disappointed especially as themes were rarely driven forwards.

Characters/ Acting ; I think as a lot of people in reviews have pointed out, Chang Wook’s character, the magician, was a bit disappointing. Honestly pleasantly surprised to see CW delivering an outstanding performance but his character sort of felt as though he had missing parts. I can’t say that I’m basing my judgement on the webcomic as I’ve never read it but even as a newcomer to the world of The Sound Of Magic, I have to say that the magician felt a bit lacking in charm and mystery. His character twist felt a bit sudden if I’m honest. Surprising but could’ve been built up or hinted at more.

The female lead was decent enough. The actress Choi Sung Eun wasn’t familiar for me apart from her performance in Beyond Evil but she was good. Her character felt a bit cliche if I’m honest. We’ve seen the poor girl trope so many times being branded and branded again that it can feel a bit lost amongst others. I did like the main female lead’s uncertainty and her genuine sincerity but I felt as though the narrative missed out on a lot of opportunities to explore her process of growing up too fast and coming to terms with reality as well as her mother not coming back.

The supporting lead was played by Hwang In Yeop. I’ve liked In Yeop like many since his performance in 18 Again and adored him in True Beauty. It was definitely weird seeing him play a “ good student” role aside from “bad boy” or “ delinquent bully”. Nevertheless his performance was fairly good and I definitely thought his onscreen pairing with Sung Eun was well done. His character felt a bit repressed at times. I liked the fact that the show presented the potential lover genuinely caring about the female lead and falling for her but there was a lot not talked about the supporting male lead nor understanding the female lead’s pain or struggles, or at least him coming to understand her circumstances more. His backstory was existent and even from a brief glimpse I feel as though we could understand a lot about him but could’ve been better.

There’s also the female lead’s bully who was necessary but definitely a cliche and superficial character. The ending felt a bit rushed more than anything and incomplete but the pacing was okay in my opinion just a little slow at times.

I liked the filming techniques and it did add a certain magic but there definitely could’ve been more in later episodes. The musical songs felt a bit bland. There were a few ones which were good but definitely not enough to get stuck in your head.

Overall; Decent series and fun but felt as though it could’ve been a bit more concise at times. Overall I liked it but I can say the trailer certainly made this one seem a bit edgier and provocative than it actually was in reality.