A Silent Voice is a 2016 Japanese animated drama directed by Naoko Yamada and written by Reiko Yoshida. It is a production by Kyoto Animations and features character designs by Futoshi Nishiya. The film is based on the same name manga written and illustrated by Yoshitoki Ōima.
This is a rather special tale. The kind that tends to stay with you for quite some time after you’ve watched it. The kind you revisit from time to time. The story revolves around Shouya Ishida (Miyu Irino), a carefree and playful sixth grader who spends his time jumping around in rivers, goofing around with friends and playing space video games. And then one day, a new girl, Shouko Nishimiya (Saori Hayami) joins his school. She also happens to be deaf. And thus, a bit more different from the rest of the kids. And well, you know kids. They can be absolute savages. And Ishida is no exception to this. He certainly isn't a Lord of the Flies kind of savage but a bully he certainly is. He pushes Nishimiya around and takes great pleasure in it while his classmates play spectators. And before you know it, tables have turned. Nishimiya transfers to a different school and Ishida’s reputation as a bully earns him the position of the target for his class’s bullying. The story now takes us further into the future. Ishida is now in high school and is a depressed loner with severe social anxiety. He is also grappling with redemption and tries to make amends with Nishimiya. And perhaps hopes for not exactly friendship, for the fear of being too ambitious or unworthy, but just for something even remotely close to it.
This film is no doubt an extraordinary anime film and it’s all thanks to the characters amongst other things. The characters all work quite well in tandem and they play a very vital role in bringing out the essence of the film. Bullying is one of the main themes of the film and it’s remarkably done. No matter which part of the world you’re in when it comes to bullying, it’s pretty much the same. There are always bystanders who will watch from the sidelines, friends who are too scared to do anything and friends who end up cheering on the bullies. The character development has very accurately portrayed how bullying doesn’t just affect the bully and the victim but also the people around.
Yamada is known for method directing - bringing out the character’s inner motivations and emotions - and creates a sense of realism, something which is typically uncommon in anime films. The cinematography is quite incredible. Yamada establishes early on that Ishida is the main character. The camera angles capture Ishida’s personality very well; the way the characters are in cropped frames by showing just their legs and the crossing of faces is a brilliant way to show how we block people out, sometimes even unknowingly.
The music in this film is phenomenal and it starts with a song by The Who, a 60s rock band during the scene where a carefree Ishida goes about his life. The song is essentially about how they just want everyone to fade and further into the film, it’s Ishida and even Nishimiya who want to fade away. The rest of the music in the film is by Kensuke Ushio. The music that came with Ishida’s point of view has very clear tones whereas, with Nishimiya, most of it is muffled tones, very high pitched. Almost as if Nishimiya herself is listening to it. The fireworks scene is another example of how fine the music in this film is.
A Silent Voice leaves you feeling tender. It’s brilliant the kind of emotions this film manages to draw out. Overall, it’s a perfect blend of visual style, music, character and story. There are quite a lot of things one should learn from this film; how forgiveness doesn’t come easy, stand up for yourself as well as others, how terribly cruel children can be, actually listen to people and last but not least, don’t be an arsehole.
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