Some movies will make you feel emotional because of what happened to the characters. **“A Silent Voice” ** is one of them. It’s an anime films that makes you sit back and think about how we treat people and how much damage we can cause them without even understanding the consequences of our actions.
The anime was released in 2016 and directed by Naoko Yamada. The story is all Shoya Ishida who was a sixth-grade student. A new girl was admitted into his class, her name is Shoko Nishimiya. She’s deaf and her classmates did not understand sign language, so she always make use of a notebook as a means of communicate to them. Shoya decided to bully Shoko because of her disability. He will always mock her, he even damage her hearing aids. So, all these treatments makes school miserable for her. Honestly, I found this part of the story really frustrating because Shoko is just trying to make friends, but the more she try, the worse things become for her. While watching, I can’t help but to feel sorry for her, especially when the people around her fail to understand how much their actions hurt her.
As time went on, Shoko leaves the school, but story doesn’t end there. So after a long time, Shoya becomes lonely, he becomes a teenager who struggles to interact with other people around him, even his classmates turned against him too. So the situation made him understands what it feels like to be excluded. So, He decides to find Shoko again, in other to apologise to her. He was hoping that he can somehow make up for his past behaviour. I found the change in his character somehow interesting, in the movie, they did not actually want us to feel sorry for him and forget his past. Personally, I wanted to see him become a better person, but I also felt that his guilt is not going to automatically erase the pain he has caused in the past.
One of the things I find interesting in the film was how its shows Shoya’s social anxiety through the blue X marks covering people’s faces. Although It’s a simple detail, but it says so much about how disconnected he feels from everyone around him. Honestly, I see it as something creative because we can actually see how he experiences the world instead of just hearing him explain his feelings to us. And as the story goes on, those marks on their faces begin to disappear, I think all these shows that Shoya is gradually opening up and wanting to connect with others again.
I also love the gentle moments between Shoya and Shoko. The conversations they had through sign language is so touching, and sometimes their expressions communicate more than their words could even do. I love how their relationship was not presented as something perfect, their problem did disappears immediately they start getting closer. Nah! This is different. They have their misunderstandings and emotional struggles of their own. To me, All these makes their connection feel more believable.
The other characters in the film also add depth to the story, because I also discover that Shoya is not the only person struggling with unresolved feelings. The film also shows that childhood experiences can somehow follow people into their teenage years, by affecting their friendships and even the way they see themselves.
However, I still have a little issue with the movie, nothing serious. I feel that some of the supporting characters in the anime received more attention than they should, I feel it’s not necessary because there were moments when I want the story to focus more on Shoya and Shoko instead of moving between so many personal conflicts between the other characters. But anyways, I still enjoyed the overall experience.
Overall, A Silent Voice is emotional animated film with a meaningful story that goes beyond bullying. I love how it depicts the consequences of our actions and also reminds us that people can change,but they cannot undo what they have done in the past. Another thing is how the anime handles forgiveness without pretending that apology can fix everything.
So, If you’re looking for an anime movie with genuine emotional depth, I will definitely recommend “A Silent Voice” for you.
Images were sourced from IMDb.
Rating: 85/100
Originally posted through scrobble.life/anime.
