A Silent Voice: The Movie

## The Movie

### Soundtrack

I really enjoyed the soundtrack of A Silent Voice. The orchestration just adds so so much to the scenes. It's like experiencing a certain scene from multiple senses. It's so good.

Aiko's track, Koi wo Shita nowa also really fits the movie. It has a very melancholic vibe, which is perfect for the movie's themes. Definitely a song to add to my playlist.

### Thoughts

A Silent Voice is a movie about bettering one's self not just for the sake of others, but mainly for the sake of one's self. It's a movie that touches on the many struggles of life, such as disability, depression, anxiety, and more. All of the above are executed incredibly well, almost to the point of leaving no room for error. It's like the animator used the colors from the human mind to illustrate those stories.

The plot of A Silent Voice follows the journey of Shouya as he goes through the motions of grief from regretting his bullying in the past. Of course, even the bullying is depicted very realistically, to the point that all the blame is put on Shouya, which eventually leads him to live an isolated school life. It's almost sad and harrowing to feel these feelings towards someone who has done bad in the past. As someone who has felt that feeling of being lonely at school, I really felt how Shouya felt at school, where he couldn't even look at the faces of the people around him. Even outside of his school, he was ashamed of himself. But the people who knew about his past still hated him, whether it was because he bullied Shouko or because he ratted his friends out.

Then, the story opens up as Shouya tries to start a friendship with Shouko. All she ever wanted was a friend, after all, right? He starts to prove people who see him in the old light wrong, starting with Shouko's sister, who eventually comes to accept him (and vice versa). After that, an old friend of Shouko from elementary school. Eventually, Shouya gets the idea of reconnecting Shouko with some of the people who bullied her. It all goes well until a former friend of Shouya, Ueno, tells Shouko how his bullying of her led to him being ostracized from his friend group. In that scene, you can't help but feel bad for Shouko. It's not unrealistic that she blames herself for that. Then, all hell breaks loose and Shouya's secret almost breaks out. Eventually their hangouts devolve into just Shouya and Shouko together, and maybe her sister, too. It's such a realistic depiction of how a friend group would break up. It's not gradual, but rather sudden, like a ticking time bomb. I really find it realistic how there are people who care too much about their own image, refuse to see how Shouya has changed, or even too cowardly to defend anyone. They're all such flawed people.

What shocked me about the final act was, of course, Shouko's suicide attempt. It happened so suddenly, and she looked as happy as ever before then. Wow, the depiction of suicide and anxiety in this anime is done so incredibly well. I also really liked the scene where Shouya saves Shouko, which leads him to a near death experience. Metaphorically, it's also the scene where Shouya forgives Shouko for him getting ostracized. Even if it's almost illogical and irrational to do that, I still find it beautifully realistic. Finally, the story wraps up with Shouya finally apologizing for what he did to Shouko. It finally ends with Shouya finally regaining his confidence to face his problems and friends head on. It's so lovely that he even cries in public. Wonderful.

The entire plot of A Silent Voice is really good. There aren't really any slow moments that make you want to stop watching entirely. From moment to moment, you really feel the emotions through the screen, whether it's anxiety, happiness, love, or awkwardness. Besides that, I also really liked the depiction of the characters. It must be so awkward for Shouya to interact with people who basically wronged him, and I really felt that! The character dynamics are so well written that I almost think that it's based on a real experience. Simply lovely.

I also enjoyed Shouya and Shouko's relationship. Shouko really sees Shouya for who he really is: an anxious and caring guy. She's really the first one who sees how much he has changed upon learning his own character flaws. What an incredibly kind girl. Then, there's Shouya. I wouldn't say what he had done is inexcusable. I think he grew out of it. He got a part-time job to pay his mother's debt, learned sign language, and overall became a much more pleasant person. It's true growth from his weakest moment. The side characters might say that his or Shouko's life got worse due to the bullying, but in my honest opinion, it got better. Of course, it would be better if he didn't do the bullying at first, but like Ueno said, it was inevitable. I think the main message of the movie is contained here. This movie is about how no matter how inevitable and hurtful the stones that life slings at you may be, the true character of someone is not shown in their weakest or strongest moments, but rather in how they continue to learn and improve.

I would also like to talk a bit about a certain detail the story almost didn't talk about: Shouya and Shouko's romantic love for each other. It's certain in the earlier scenes that it was probably one-sided; only Shouko liked the other in that way. The scene where she attempts to confess to him is so funny. She should've been more direct! Eventually, it becomes clearer, but still vague that Shouya also likes Shouko romantically. I think one of the best tiny details of the story is that in the end, it's not revealed that they reciprocate in that way for each other. They do, in fact, become closer after Shouya's coma. But it's not shown that they start dating at all. I love that. It's almost like an invisible confession.

One last theme I'd like to talk about is suicide. As someone who's had suicidal thoughts, I can't help but relate to both Shouya and Shouko. Before Shouya reconnected with Shouko, he wanted to kill himself. He just felt like such a burden to everyone, whether it was his sins or personality. I find the depiction incredibly relatable. How can you not feel for him? Besides that, Shouko also wanted to kill herself. Surprisingly, it's not because her life is tough, whether due to the bullying or her disability. I find it incredibly well written that what eventually pushes her over the edge (LITERALLY!) is how her existence led to the destruction of the social life of someone she loved, twice. It's clear she cares so much for other people to the point of self destruction. What they share in common is so clear: they care so much for each other and everyone else. Maybe you can call it codependency, I don't care. But they needed each other to show them the right way of living. Shouya needed to be seen and recognized for who he is, not who he was. Shouko gave him that true unconditional love. On the other hand, Shouko needed someone to love her despite her disablity. It's just all written so well.

Finally, there's the artwork. A Silent Voice is animated like a regular anime, only with so much more detail. Each and every frame is gorgeous. The backgrounds are insanely good. The movement is fluid while also keeping that anime feel. Maybe it's not as detailed as something like Your Name or any Ghibli movie, but A Silent Voice is still one of the most beautifully animated anime movies out there.

To cap it all off, I will say that A Silent Voice is, at the time of writing, my favorite anime movie of all time. The errors in the aspects of this movie are so miniscule that I can't think of a single one. It's got a smooth story, emotional writing, elegant dynamics, and more adjectives plus nouns. There are too many words that describe how good this movie is. Incredibly unique, while also pulling on familiar heartstrings. 10/10, Gem-Gem.

Finally, I'd like to say that I had been looking and feeling this anime for a while. Maybe I saw it in the past, maybe not. The scenes at the start felt so familiar. I had been looking for this for so long.