Sound of Magic: Annarasumanara by Ha Il-Kwon (An Oxford College Student Review!)

Sound of Magic: Annarasumanara by Ha Il-Kwon

In this column, I feature comic book reviews written by my students at Oxford College of Emory University. Oxford College is a small liberal arts school just outside of Atlanta, Georgia. I challenge students to read and interpret comics because I believe sequential art and visual literacy are essential parts of education at any level (see my Manifesto!). I post the best of my students’ reviews in this column. Today, I am proud to present a review by Victoria Cheng:

Victoria Cheng is a second-year student at Oxford College and is considering majoring in Biology. Her home is Orange County, California, where she spends most of her time with her cats. Victoria’s favorite writers include Sing-Shong and Rick Riordan, and her favorite book is The Lightning Thief. Her other interests include scrapbooking and playing piano.

The Sound of Magic: Annarasumanara is a powerful coming-of-age narrative written and illustrated by Ha Il-Kwon. It tackles the daunting pressures all young people must inevitably face: the weight of responsibility, what it truly means to grow up, and rediscovering old dreams. I highly recommend this comic for readers ages 15 and up, particularly those in high school or college. It delves into complex themes such as financial struggles, mental health, and suicide, promoting conversations around these topics.

The story revolves around 11th-grade student Yoon Ah-yi, who is doing her best to make ends meet as the sole provider for her and her younger sister. Her mother left when she was young, and her father was on the run from loan sharks, leaving her to struggle with the burdens of adult responsibilities. Ah-yi’s financial difficulties become further complicated when her life intertwines with her well-off, self-proclaimed academic rival, Na Il-deung, who faces his own unique familial issues. Ah-yi’s life is forever changed when she stumbles into an abandoned amusement park, where a mysterious magician named R resides. His breathtaking magic tricks challenge everything she once believed to be true, launching her into a world where reality and illusions blur.

Do you believe in magic? The central motif in The Sound of Magic re-examines what it means to believe and have faith in the extraordinary. As a child, it’s easy to see the world in vibrancy and have silly dreams, untainted by the responsibilities of adulthood. Even though the magician, R, is an adult, he exudes childlike wonder and chooses to live in a world where his magic really exists, resisting the societal expectations placed upon him. He extends to all an invitation to experience his magic, in the desire to rekindle the hopes and dreams that every child once had. It’s easy to dismiss his magic as foolish and a waste of time, with Ah-yi originally viewing it as a cowardly attempt to run away from reality. But, R’s magic is not about escaping reality — it’s about changing your perception of it.

Yoon Ah-yi is a captivating main character, forced to grow up and carry adult responsibilities without any reliable adult role model to guide her. She’s resigned to work herself to the bone for a stable future and has long since forgotten the dreams of her childhood. Her desperate need for money often puts her in precarious situations as she struggles to draw the line between survival and compromising her integrity. The ominous depiction of dollar bills, captured through the medium of real-life photographs, stands out from the black-and-white world and mirrors the malicious looming presence of financial struggles in Ah-yi’s life.

The Sound of Magic manages to capture the complex challenges of being a high school student, juggling academic pressures with figuring out self-identity and the world around them. Through Na Il-deung’s awkward interactions with his crush Ah-yi, the readers see beneath his big ego, visually represented by his extremely long face, and his struggling to grow up. At home, his parents breathe down his neck on excelling academically and humiliate him for deviating from the life plan they’ve laid out for him. Ha Il-Kwon critiques the toxic academic environments present in many high schools, where students’ mental health and well-being are negatively impacted by the overwhelming pressure to be better than everybody else.

The asphalt road, an endless and lonely path, is a masterfully illustrated metaphor for the journey an individual is expected to follow, the monotonous and never-ending pursuit of success in life. Na Il-deung is depicted running along this road, surrounded by nothing but darkness and the long path ahead. The story uses this powerful motif to have readers reflect on how focusing only on achieving societal milestones, such as getting a good job or marrying at a certain age, can cause a person to lose sight of the wonderful spontaneous moments in life. Ha Il-Kwon challenges the idea that following a conventional life plan equates to being a “good” adult and that there are countless paths in all different directions to be taken in life.

The illustrations in The Sound of Magic are nothing short of stunning. Mainly illustrated in black and white, the narrative is enhanced by the deliberate usage of mixed mediums and bursts of vibrant color that serve to punctuate certain motifs. The collages blend hand-drawn art with real-life images, adding another dreamlike layer to the magical aspects of the story. The contrast between the colorful depictions of mystical elements and the somber, monochromatic real world is visually appealing. Through the webtoon paneling style, Ha Il-Kwon created a playful panel format that flows smoothly from one panel to the next and breaks away from traditional layouts. In fact, a lot of elements in this webtoon, such as the placement of narration, variation in visual mediums, and visual pacing combine to create something innovative.

Overall, I give The Sound of Magic: Annarasumanara a rating of 5/5 stars. Despite how short the story is, only 27 chapters long, the webtoon delivers an emotionally impactful story that leaves the reader to reflect on how we can live a life that honors the dreams we abandoned as we grew up. The central characters are fleshed out really well, with all of them having complex motivations and backstories, giving them authenticity in their actions. Unorthodox and all-around magical, Ha Il-Kwon’s storytelling is incredible and will leave you believing in magic too.