Meftical

A Silent Voice is often misunderstood as a film about bullying. Yes, bullying is one of the themes of this movie. But the main theme is social anxiety disorders. Both of the main characters suffer from severe anxiety issues for various reasons. I think that the reason this film is misunderstood so frequently is because people view it through a lens of good and bad. If this is your viewpoint, because you were bullied or a bully, Shoya is hard to sympathize with and Shouko is seen as a pushover for just accepting Shoya into her life again. The film doesn't show how Shoya is ostracized outside of the initial incident where he is bullied so it's hard for some people to empathize with him. Shoko has her own anxieties and mental health issues to deal with. While her new school mates don't seem to actively bully her, they do seem to be ignoring her as she has no friends. At least none that show up in this story, which can be equally damaging mentally in different ways. When Shoya shows up looking to make amends Shoko jumps at the opportunity because she is lonely and has no peers outside her much younger sister. Together Shoko and Shoya start to help each other heal from their individual trauma. But as anyone who has dealt with mental health issues knows healing is not always a straight path. Having been dealing with my own mental health issues this movie offers a lot of catharsis. But to get that catharsis it takes you through hell to get there. 9.5 out of 10 a nearly perfect movie.

The show has potential. It definitely feels like they are going a little far with the intention of pushing the envelope and that feels a bit unnecessary at times. It's very very very dark but the banter between characters is fun witty and entertaining and if they can develop a good story the cast is strong enough to make this a hit.