La forma della voce

A Silent Voice is an anime drama film directed by Naoko Yamada (K-On!). Based on the manga of the same name by Yoshitoki Oima, it is a touching and affecting story of one's struggle for redemption.

While he was in elementary school, Shoya Ishida, in an effort to fit in with his fellow peers, teased and bullied a deaf girl in class named Shoko Nishimiya. However, this backfires on Shoya and he ends up being shunned by the other students as Shoko ultimately ends up transferring elsewhere. Now in high school, Shoya has felt constant remorse for his actions and attempts make things right with both Shoko and the classmates who ostracised him.

Poignant and beautifully animated, A Silent Voice is not only a well made anime film, but also an interesting commentary on the state of one's mental health and well-being. This film will likely strike a chord with anybody suffering from depression and/or anxiety who wish they could find a way to fix their past mistakes. Also, despite its serious tone, director Naoko Yamada still manages to insert some humorous and quirky comic relief at appropriate times, much in the vein of what was seen in K-On!, her previous work. The Japanese voice acting is solid, however it is Saori Hayami as the voice of Shoko Nishimiya who stands out the most. Her performance as a deaf girl was highly convincing and never seemed exaggerated or too comical. I have not yet seen the English dub but I plan to do so in the not-to-distant future.

I rate it 8.5/10

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 Is more than just a really good high school romantic drama. It is a captivating love story that deals with depression and friendship in a remarkably relatable way.

Without spoiling too much. I just really appreciate the believably of most of the film. Unlike Your Name where I found some parts to be overly cheesy or slow paced. A Silent Voice offers up nice character development and introduces a whole array of interesting side characters to the plot.

I do really like the idea of having a deaf friend. I've often thought about what that would be like and the whole learning sign language and writing on a book to communicate. It offers a-not often seen- perspective of that life. I found it quite invigorating and motivating to step up my own life.

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.

Have always been a big fan of anime, particularly Studio Ghibli and Miyazaki without restricting myself to just them (some of my favourites are actually without either involved).

Any film dealing with bullying and its consequences deserves to be applauded for the effort. Bullying, often stemming from something that should be a non-issue but turns out to be an easy target for bullies (for examples if your parents disallow you to play a popular video game for obvious reasons, if you have a posh accent, if you listen to and perform classical music, if you have a physical or social disability, false rumours spread about you, if you were a hard-worker rather than somebody who messed about and disrespected substitute teachers) is something that is very much relevant still and has damaging effects, it is an issue that needs to be addressed and acted upon much more than it is. This is coming from somebody who suffered merciless bullying myself in school, for all the above reasons apart from the first (in my case my school did nothing about it too), and nearly a decade on it has damaged my confidence/self-esteem, made me feel worthless and made my already bad anxiety worse despite getting a degree in music and singing regularly.

So as one can probably tell, 'A Silent Voice' really resonated with me on an emotional level. At the same time, it also really made me think and see that there is much more to the issue, the bully, the witnesses and the victim than one would tend to perceive. 'A Silent Voice' also turned out to be a very good film in its own right. It isn't flawless, some of the supporting characters are under-explored and in a few cases inconsistently and one-dimensionally written and some of the story jumps around and doesn't always feel complete.

Despite being over two hours, didn't think it was too long considering the number of characters and their stories. If anything, perhaps 'A Silent Voice' would have been even better as a series which would have solved the problems.

On the other hand, 'A Silent Voice' has an awful amount to recommend. Great isn't a strong enough word to describe the animation. Rich in meticulous background and character detail, atmospheric and ethereal in colour schemes and alive to nuances in its use of settings and character gestures and expressions, it becomes a character of its own and there are some memorable images throughout like towards the end. The music has whimsy, haunting beauty and understatement, while not overbearing the drama and letting it speak when needed. The song is catchy.

The writing is thought-provoking and contemplative, doing it in a way that will make bullying victims and those who bullied alike identify with what is said. A lot of it is remarkably insightful, and even when the film was really resonating with me it taught me a lot about an issue that isn't as black and white as perceived. The story has its issues but has a strong emotional core, with the truly powerful and touching ending leaving me shell-shocked.

Not often does one find themselves rooting for a bully as well as the victim, 'A Silent Voice' is one of those rarities. The voice acting is dynamic.

In summary, not perfect but very well done. 8/10 Bethany Cox