Silent Voice

The visual storytelling is powerful and effective soundtrack, you don't even need to read the subtitles to know what the characters are saying. But I felt sad for that girl. There is a huge shock in this movie. How people change. How much a person can be loved. As a teenager I have much more things to learn. Probably If I'll have time I will watch it twice. Even I fall in love with ANIME after watched this.

A Silent Voice (or "The Shape of a Voice") is a great addition to the "slice of life" anime of modern times. At times life affirming in its quieter moments, at other times shocking in its depiction of Japanese teen life.

Egged on by his school mates, Shoya bullies the newly arrived Shoko, who happens to be deaf. Perceived to be receiving special treatment, and being different (a crime in Japanese society), Shoko is fair game for any number of cruelties. Until it goes too far.

This movie then takes a different approach. Instead of showing the bullied person's return to strength, it shows the traumatised bully (and his cohorts) as he seeks to recover from the horror he put Shoko through. You may balk at the thought, but the paths of Shoya and Shoko are explored in their later high school lives, both being treated sympathetically.

The animation is beautiful, the script manages to avoid typical Japanese cliche, and the story takes some shocking turns without relying on trite misery or emotional manipulation. If you miss Ghibli, give this a watch. You'll be happy to know the spirit of great Japanese animation lives on.

One of the best anime movies i have ever seen. Everyone i have request watch this has cried so far and i don't blame them. This film is filled emotionally to the absolute brim, and re-watching it is somehow sadder. We are presented with a wonderful and original art style of course made by the well known Kyoto animations. This movie is a must see, a 10/10 from me.

A Silent Voice is an emotional and beautiful movie that almost anyone can relate to in some shape or form.

The story is both heart wrenching and heartwarming, as it tackles many issues such as bullying, social anxiety, depression, and suicide. Many of the characters deal with some or all of these issues. The issues the characters deal with in the past ultimately lead them into becoming what they are in the present movie.

There are many characters in a Silent Voice with some shining more than others. Shoya is a great main protagonist who (unlike most movies) is battling something much bigger in his life, his past self. The other main character Shoko is outstanding. You can really genuinely feel all her emotions just through her facial animations alone. Other notable characters I enjoyed were Shoya's best friend Tomohiro (who brought a nice comedic presence to the film) and Shoko's little sister Yuzuru. My only problem with a Silent Voice is with a couple of side characters who show up once and a while, but don't really contribute as much to the film - this is only a small nitpick though.

The majority of the music in a Silent Voice is played only by piano making the film take a more somber tone. This makes a lot of scenes feel more peaceful and calm contradicting what many of the characters feel deep down inside. The song titled "Lit" is a beautiful piano piece that I believe would make anyone emotional, when listening to it. So I enjoyed a lot of music in a Silent Voice with a couple of songs that really stood out.

The animation in this movie is absolutely gorgeous. There's a firework scene that is beautiful, it definitely is the animation highlight in this film...it's breathtaking.

In conclusion, I absolutely love this film. Everything feels so genuine and the characters feel so real. It really feels like there was a lot of love and care put into this movie and it definitely shows. This movie made me cry and I can almost assure you that it will do the same to you. Final rating 9.510

There's nothing more cruel and twisted than a bully destroying the life of an innocent, just because of how different they are to everyone else. Having, well had, a deaf family member allowed this tragic high school drama to shroud me in a wave of familiarity. Not necessarily due to the absence of a human sense and how to deal with it, but the actions of bullying that I myself may have delivered to others at a naively young age.

Yamada and Kyoto Animation have produced one of the finest modern anime features in the last decade, enough to make me realise my erroneous judgements and how they have affected my so-called friends at the time. After nearly committing suicide, Shoya reflects back to his elementary school days where he bullied a young Shoko for her deafness. Having realised his insensitive approach, he attempts to make amends by befriending her and apologising.

This review may get personal, apologies in advance. Watching bullying makes me physically wretch. No one should be afflicted with that much pain and solidarity for being themselves. I've realised that for so long, believe me, as I myself was a bully. I even contacted my "friend" a few years ago to apologise profusely. But quite rightly, I received no response. Just an indication that it had been "read". In this story, Shoya represents me. So to witness the first act, whilst shedding a few tears almost instantly, was a hard-hitting yet tantalisingly emotional experience. The verbal, physical and downright inhumane abuse that Shoko received was enough to make me look away.

Overwhelmed with tainted reminiscence, Yoshida does not shy away from the original manga's poignant message. Transforming a grotesque bully into the sympathetic protagonist was always going to be tough. The audience has to feel his weakened mentality and earnest personality into wanting to right the wrongs he caused. Yoshida wrote every single character with a colossal amount of humanity. Never did it feel artificial, his longing for redemption. Never did it exhume desperation, the suicidal tendencies for the sake of melodrama. Never did it feel forced, the tangible romance blossoming between Shoya and Shoko. Beautifully written, gorgeously realised and touchingly human. The medium of anime rarely exceeds this level of writing. The sheer realism embedded within the animation made me weep tears atleast four times. Heck, I'm getting emotional just writing about the film! God damn!

Kyoto Animation have really outdone themselves in terms of capitalising on the source material's drawing style. Simply put, the animation was stunning. Faultless. From the majestic urban backdrop amidst a fireworks show, metaphorically symbolising the explosive fluctuating nature of mental instability, to the wonderfully drawn character models that expressively exhume a variety of emotions. Yamada intricately orchestrated the animation to create a frenetic narrative structure, complete with time shifts and illusory visions, alluding to the haphazard thinking during times of solitude. Arguably too frantic at the best of times, especially with abrupt scene transitions, but overall very well edited by Shigemura who utilises ripples to explore the vibrational impact of character actions.

The outstanding cinematography that creatively harnessed human body parts to reveal feelings, most notably legs, was memorable to say the least. Absolutely stunning. Intuitive details, for example implanting crosses on the faces of school peers that Shoya is outcasted by, further explored this idea of solitude. And rest assured, Yoshida never ventured into unnecessary melodrama. At no point did I feel forced to like Shoya, just because he wanted to walk down the path of redemption. It was all natural progression. The romance that carefully grows between Shoya and Shoko was exceptionally-well executed. The conclusion could've been cut tighter after the coma, however the film primarily revolved around Shoya as a character-changing venture, it was only fair the ending focused on him too. Oh, and the English dub wasn't irritating! Initially I had qualms with the deafened voice of Shoko, and aside from the crying, it was handled with earnest care.

The same can be said for the entirety of this anime feature. No matter if the story is relatable to the viewer or not, it is irrefutably beautiful. You will laugh. You will smile. And yes, you will cry. It's a journey that expressively explored every emotion available, and I can safely say it's a near-masterpiece.