A Silent Voice was originally a manga created by Yoshitoki Oima that sold over seven hundred thousand copies in Japan and over a million worldwide. Naoko Yamada(Liz and the Blue Bird) animated the film adaption while Reiko Yoshida rewrote the script for the silver screen. The film went up against Makoto Shinkai's Your Name, coming in second behind the film but still becaming the tenth highest grossing Japanese film in 2016 with Death Note: Light up the New World making the same spot. Many people have constantly praised the manga and this film for the depth of story telling, subject matter, as well as, animation which was produced by Kyoto Animation.
A elementary school kid's class gets a new student who they find out on introduction that she's deaf. The kid starts to bully her because of her deafness. Before long everyone in the class follows in bullying the girl, who would only smile in response to their assault. Soon the girl transverses schools and the school staff get wind of the bullying that even on. The kid who started h bullying soon becomes the target of bullying for most of his time in school. His crime also follows him to high school where he suffer from mental problems based on the guilt he has. That's until he meets the girl that he bullied again……
This film has a harsh subject matter about the bullying of the disabled and can be hard to watch for anyone who has a kind heart. However, I do believe that this kind of story needed to be told because thus kind of bullying happens to people without the bullying every being reported. The first half of the film tells the beginning of the girl coming to the school and the gradual decline of patience the class had with the girl after awhile. Her bullying didn't make any kind of sense. I understand that having to make adjustments for a classmate with disabilities is hard but only thing the school had to do was get her an aid to help her take notes. Learning some sign language shouldn't have been mandatory for all of the students, only the ones who wanted to do it. The way in which the school dealt with the girl's disability cause her bullying to take place too. Not saying that the classmates get to have any excuses. You also have to look at the circumstances that didn't make for a smooth transition for the girl's stay at that school. The boy that bullied her suffered as much as the female lead in the end. He didn't get any kind of break for what he did. Instead his crime followed him where ever he went crafting an unstable mental state. His world became one where he couldn't look people in the eye or stand living life period. I didn't think this film would deal with so many issues outside of bullying. Topics such as suicide and courage to face the pain of life play a huge part in this film. The second part of the film conveys the people who were in the elementary school together as they have moved on to high school in the process of growing up. Each person deals with what they have done in different ways which makes the overall film very emotionally draining in a great way. There's a weight that weights down on the viewers as they watch the film unfold. Only to truly be lifted at the end of the film. Everything about A Silent Voice is the beauty in sadness.
The animation comprises of a youthful look even when the characters enter high school. Appearances also feature a wonderful depth in Emotion. For example, the Xs over peoples eyes when the main male lead looks at the world after he's deemed a monster for bullying a deaf girl. Or the black screen that shows a pale white light like a tunnel the signifies a break through in connection for the character. I believe the animation does an amazing job showing the changes in the characters, especially the male lead. A Silent Voice gets to a point where the story isn't about a deaf person anymore. She becomes the foreshadow of the hurt that both character's share, making their romance all the more complexed.
For a person who's didn't make it through the whole manga of A Silent Voice, I was greatly impressed by this film. It really does have everything to make you feel something. You also get a look through the eyes of people with wounds no matter if the can hear or not. Those wounds are the same on us all.
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