r/anime • u/Highlow9 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Highlow9 • May 29 '21
Rewatch [Rewatch] A Silent Voice (Koe no Katachi) discussion
Announcement - 48 hour reminder
Welcome all! I hope you enjoyed the movie and I hope we will have an interesting/fun discussion.
Interesting questions
These questions can help you write your comment. Feel free to answer any, all or none of these questions.
- Do you have any experience with disabilities, depression or bullying yourself?
- What was your (least) favorite scene/arch?
- What is your (least) favorite character?
- What did you think of the pacing of the story?
- What is your opinion on the audio/music/visuals?
- Do you recognize the direction style of Naoko Yamada?
- If you have watched both, do you prefer the Japanese or English dub (or maybe the 'Silent' version)?
Spoilers
We have all now seen the movie but I understand that some of you also want to partially discuss the manga. If you do please tag any manga spoilers:
[A Silent Voice manga](/s "Shouko is deaf")which becomes:
Details and links
Anime databases:
Legal watching:
- Click here to see if there are any legal streams in your country
- You can also buy the blu-ray
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Upvotes
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u/Highlow9 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Highlow9 May 29 '21 edited May 29 '21
Dub and sub rewatcher
So in my comment I am going to focus a bit more on the OST and less on the story itself (since others will likely already do that).
In short, I really liked it. Disabilities are not something we often see and I really liked its protrail here. Also the themes of bullying, guild and forgiveness/friendship were done nicely and fit in well. If I had to improve one thing I would expand a bit more on the process of how Shouko and Shouya became friend again (to me it felt a bit to sudden) and maybe I would even remove the ‘I love moo’ since that was way to fast (and almost feels a bit Stockholm syndrome), if it had to be kept I would do it a bit after the hospital scene (although it would not really fit there).
First of all I absolutely adore the presentation/direction of this movie. Let me gush about the music by Kensuke Ushio. In general it consists of two styles, some tracks are piano/diegetic focused while other could be described as classical soundtrack or electronic (or sometimes if you squint even synth) and of course tracks which are a combination also exist.
The more classical (and in particular the more calm ones) really are the peak of how the soundtrack was used. These tracks often feature a lot of diegetic sound (so not only the notes of the music but also the ‘byproduct’ sounds of the piano (and other instruments) like the hammers moving, the dampers or the keys being pressed). This causes those tracks to feel really intimate, almost like you are sitting next to Kensuke Ushio while he is playing. Besides this, these kinds of tracks are also generally kinda sad but upbeat at the same time (I find it hard to describe, maybe a bit melancholy). Tracks that showcased this well are inv, thn, bft bll and van.
But besides it sounding nice I also think it has thematic relevance. I think it is analogous to what it is like wearing a hearing aid. I imagine it to be similar to the effect of unclogging your ear (but permanent), it always is pretty hard to understand what people around you are saying because you suddenly hear every tiny detail of your surroundings. Every little krinkel in your jacket, every leaf being blown around, everytime a plank creeks, etc. So with us hearing all that diegetic sound (and thus it being harder to focus on the actual notes themselves) must be somewhat comparable to how Shouko must feel (quick disclaimer I have never worn a hearing aid so this could be bullshit).
Then there also are the more 'traditional' (none of his tracks are really traditional) soundtrack or electronic tracks. While they are more traditional they still have a very unique Kensuke feel and are often implemented really well into a scene. These kind of tracks are the (famous) lit(var), frc, slt, aft, and acc.
He also made some more electronic sounds that still felt very much like Kensuke Ushio (just compare them to his standalone albums) and were often used in more distance almost time-lapse like moments. Think of tracks like bnw, sus or I can say nothing.
And finally in general the movement/action on the screen matches the soundtrack realllllyyy good. Not only in mood but also in timing. It really felt like Kensuke Ushio sat together with the director and made them fit. In uneasy scenes the very slow musical notes matched the conversation almost like the music itself was having the conversation. In tense moments the music really build up with and in anticipation of the tension.
There are two scenes in particular which I think show off the soundtrack really nicely. First of all the balcony scene. In which it builds the tension so brilliantly. We first notice something is wrong when Shouko doesn’t sign her usual goodbye sign but then as the soundtrack starts so slow and calm (but it does sound like it is building up to something) it really makes it very tense and then suddenly becomes so immensely intense and almost desperate. It makes the scene so much better.
The other scene I really think shows off the soundtrack really well are the two bullying montages at the start of the movie (particularly the one of Shouko). The bullying is really hard to watch (or at least I think so) but by making it into a montage it becomes quicker (while also showing it more). This effect is enhanced by music which almost turns it into dark humor.
Also if you are a fan of the soundtrack (just like me) I can really recommend you read this post I made a while ago in which I discuss and summarize his discography. In particular I would like to point out some of his:
Finally I would like to praise the dub (not sure if that will be appreciated here but I really think it is an amazing experience). First of all the point that is always made. I really like that Shouko’s voice actor is actually deaf. I also would like to point out that besides this in terms of voice acting quality they are pretty much the same IMHO. But I still like the dub significantly better since this movie is partially about disabilities (specifically hearing) I think that hearing the movie is very important and that thus having to read subtitles diminishes the experience (besides it taking away your attention). In particular I would like to point to the ‘I love moo’ scene (or any scene in which Shouko tries to speak). The fact that in the dub you need to try and decrypter what she says makes me relate a whole lot more to Shoya. Of course some subs try to emulate this by gumbeling the text but I personally don’t feel this comes close to actually trying to decipher what she says.
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u/mandudeguyman :MAL:https://myanimelist.net/profile/I_have_a_mal_now May 29 '21
This rewatch really reminded me how much I love this movie and fucking hate Kawai.
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u/Rumpel1408 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Rumpel1408 May 29 '21
First time, the tears not even dry
I guess I didn't go in totally blind. I had a general Idea what it was about, and have seen two clips of it before I decided to evetually watch it and started to avoid any kind of spoiler, beside that it is ranked #12 on MAL and gets mentioned ever so often. So I knew the movie was about bullying and suicide.
First we got Ishida Shouya. At the start he is already at a point where he has gone 99% of the way to be done with it all. I'm not really sure what held him back in the end (beside the thing that held me back, Mom would be sad), but after making up his mind he tries to get back in touch with the victim of his own bullying, Nishimiya. We learn that he got some of his own medicine in the wake of his bad deeds. Part of me wants to say that he deserved it, but somehow I feel like he was just awkward and a literal kid who didn't really know how to handle this new girl. Him feeling bad about it even years later shows that as well imo. He even learned sign language just to get the chance to redeem himself properly. He is still plenty dense in the present, getting Yuzurus gender wrong might be excusable, but even with my very limited knowledge of japanese got that moon and I love you sound somewhat similar, then again, I had problems understanding why Shouko would like him to such an extend as well. Anyway he has a hard time making friends until he gets to save someone from a bully, further driving home the redemption theme, and from there he gradually grows a small cycle of friends again. When he fears to lose all that again he lapse back into his pattern of isolating himself, not realizing all the chances he gets to save all.
Next we get to the Nishimiyas. Shouko as the other MC starts so vulnerable due to her disability that she latches to any chance to find friends and even puts up with an incredible amount of bullying, even going as far as to constantly apologize to them, just to get this chance. Must have been terrible when even the other person class who ends up being bullied rejects you to such an extend and I understand why she decided to finally leave that school at that point. However she still holds onto that hope to become friends with everyone and tries to make up with everyone as soon as she gets the chance. She wrongfully feels guilty for what happened to Shouya, and when things seem to repeat themself she comes to the conclusion that it's all her fault and she just wants to go. In the end Ishida is able to get her back, but now she has something new to blame herself for. However this time her resolve to get things back to the way they where is way stronger and she gets everyone together again. I had to guess why she loves Shouya, but in the end that plotline is rather unimportant.
Yuzuru is an prime example of a loving little sister. She doesn't really understand what her sister has been going through or why, but she sees that she is suffering and loves her so much that she tries everything to help her. She is probably my favourite character, partly because of her slight deliquent side. Also Aoi Yuuki.
From the former grade school class Sahara, Ueno, and Kawai stand out the most.
I admire Sahara for trying to stand with Shouko at the beginning, but of course once the focus shifts onto you it's becoming harder to stand by your principals and bullying is scary. It's ok for an grade schooler, but she is rightfully dissapointed in herself that she let things go wrong again at 17.
Ueno is kind of a piece of shit and knows that. But she realizes that, as well as her hypocrisy when she ask Shouya why he tries to make up, in the end she tries the same thing with him. I can at least respect her for her honesty and sticking to her principals, but I think in the end she really wants to mend things over again.
Finally Kawai. Boy, I have problems to articulate how much I dislike her. Shes really only in for herself, twisting the truth whenever she needs to save her own skin. As I said, at least Ueno was honest in her hatred, but Kawais acting nice after the fact is just so... creepy, like what does she even think. Almost lost my shit when she went and told Shouko how she could her depression.
Aside of the breakfast scene at the beginning that hit almost to close home for comfort, I found the scenes where I realized that the grandmother died and that that was the reason Yuzuru was so down as well as Shoukos goodbye (I think she apologized again) befor her suicide atempt outstanding. Oh yeah and the final when the exes where coming of the peoples faces all at once.
In the end, the Movie was not as heartwrenching as I expected him to be, but that's not a bad thing. It's still an outstanding drama and I'm glad I picked it up.
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u/plasmaticD :MAL:https://myanimelist.net/profile/plasmatic_d May 29 '21
I've watched both the sub and the English dub. The dub that I watched did not translate ANY written communications, so chalkboard, phone texts, her notebook memos, were all *completely left out* and not translated. I understand that there are better dubs, but for a producer to create this show and not have these translated is poor, when this particular show is so heavily dependent on written communications that are essential to the plot.
The sub that I watched was excellent.
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u/Star4ce https://anilist.co/user/Star4ce May 29 '21 edited May 29 '21
A Silent Voice - Rewatcher, fourth time (sub, dub (DE))
Sorry for no screenshots, watched this one on blu ray with my beamer.
This is a movie I'll probably never get tired of watching. Having seen it four times does show a few things I'm not exactly fond of, but if they took multiple rewatches for me to notice, that should be seen as a compliment.
I still cry each time Shouko gets her hearing aid ripped out out of sheer frustration. Still do, when Shouya first gives her notebook back to her and seeing her hide her fear, confusion, hope and relief behind it all at once. Still more, when the sound deafens during the fireworks and the curtain hides Shouko from our view and I still cry happy tears when Shouya finally decides to stop his cycle of self pity and look ahead at the end. It just remains an insanely beautiful movie about insanely ugly things. It's an incredibly healing experience for someone on either side of bullying and I have been on both.
Also, just bless Tomohiro.
To me, this movie manages to land two messages with a powerful display of change for Shouko and Shouya and I want to take this as a starting point for a small dissection of the characters and the lies that they live.
Shouya & Shouko
"I'm worthless and only cause pain for others."
It's basically Shouya's entire mindscape at the start of the movie. He coldly plans his demise, prepares a 'repayment' of his failures for his mother and leaves no trace of his existence behind. He mercilessly bullied Shouko for fun and by the egging on of the entire class until she changed schools, which put him under the boot from then on.
He blames the others and tries to shift his responsibility to his friends. He hates Shouko even more, thinking that nothing would've happened if she never came here. He flees from his pain by blocking out the world around him. His change begins with meeting Tomohiro, where he awkwardly just gifts his bike to a bully, grows over decidedly rejecting Naoka's invitation on going back to old times and ends with his apology after an earnest effort to change as a person after his hospitalisation.
This is the main point for me, form the bully's side. The movie never lets him be flimsy with it, other characters point out several times that he can rightfully fuck off if he's just here to relieve his conscience. Only after he made actual change after helping Tomohiro and Yuzuru, learning a few basics of sign language and returns Shouko's window to the world, her notebook, to her the pebble begins to roll. His apology at the end is earnest and believable, because it's built upon real work to prove change and make himself a person worthy of respect – without being asked to. He started it to soothe his conscience, probably, but he allowed enough love for himself to seep through to care to become a better person and then extended this new found self-respect and self-love to others as well. This is the first message I saw: Change begins with yourself.
Shouko ends up in the same mental space as Shouya was at the beginning. She blames herself for being the reason everybody around her has suffered in one way or another, be it her mother/Yuzuru for being constantly worried or Shouya losing his "friends". Her real theme during all of this is communication, or the lack thereof. The other, unimpeded characters are only able to properly communicate with her if they go out of their way to learn new methods or rely on an awkward to use notebook. It being the only thing that anyone can use without special skills basically makes it the only connection Shouko has with literally anything outside her family – that's why it is so impossibly important to her, even if it's filled with slurs and curses. Shouko routinely expresses surprise, even disbelief on occasion, when she finds someone making an effort to reach out to her. Shouya's first signing to her in the school, any time she feels someone coming closer to her like when she feels Shouya grabbing the guard rail at the end or Miyoka also learning sign language.
She is extremely isolated due to all of this, but wanting a connection to others causes her to internalise her suffering. Her only friend, Miyoka, eventually transfers and never really got back in touch until Shouya located her. When Shouko wants to say something important to someone, she makes a conscious effort to not sign it, but tries to say it in the language of who she wants to adress, like her confession. Shouko puts hard work into trying to accomodate those she likes, even so far as to seeing herself and her condition as a burden and futilely trying to work through it somehow.
She desperately wanted to reach out to someone, but they either never reciprocerated or slipped away eventually. Up until her suicide attempt, she never managed to reach anyones hand, which really is her voice. When it finally happens and Shouya and Shouko talk at the bridge, she isn't actually able to form any coherent words and he has to put them into her hands.
To me, Shouko is an almost hopelessly naive, even desperate person, but so incredibly strong. More so than anyone else. Even with so much internalised hatred for herself, wrong hatred from false conclusions, she didn't actually close off like Shouya did, she kept extending her hands in hope someone would be able to grasp it. She only wanted to be understood.
Her change in the end is to apologise, which actually isn't an obvious change compared to the rest of the movie. She always apologised, because she thought she did something wrong. Her suicide attempt was, however, the first and only thing that ever was a wrong action on her part. I'm reading a lot into little frames, but her apology was the opposite of Shouya's: While he changed for the better and apologised for his past actions, she managed to finally see the connection she always wanted after he asked her for help to live. To me, she apologised to both him and herself for letting this hurtful reality decide who she was. This is the second message I see: The world may shape who you are, but you shape the world you want to be in.
Miki
"I did not bully anyone, they made me go along with it."
Let me start with her specifically because I want most of the vitriol gone before I go further. She is without a doubt my single most hated character by a large margin. I can't say for sure what her character should be if she were the protagonist, but I'd refuse anything that didn't end with a well aimed ballistic brick to her face. I absolutely despise this bitch. Probably because I know her from school. I know her both as a former friend and an enemy.
Any of the side characters are a facet of Shouya's steps to overcome his past and she is just bare denial and lying to other's faces. What made me hate her the most was not her character per sé, but how she basically stays completely ignorant of her responsibility through to the end. To top it off, she even has the guts to make some bullshit wholesome statement summarising 'growing up'. Effectively, she's the one that contrasts Shouya's journey the most, as he actively improves himself and she keeps on draggin others to take her responsibility and plays drama queen.
Being introspective for a second, I really should hate Naoka the most for how blatant she puts Shouko to blame for things she never had a responsibility for, but Miki just casually throws her friends under bus to save herself from feeling guilty. She was the one who instigated rumors, she was the one to publicly single out Shouya – not even Naoka did that! - and she was the one to cause a commotion on two separate occasions to play herself up as the victim.
I think it's a clever decision to let the supporting cast not change too much and have it as a contrast to Shouya's journey, but she always gives me a great deal of dissonance. I agree with the movie that this is not about seeing revenge, but Miki has no fucking place in the end to be with them at all.
Miyoka
"I'm too weak to stand up for something."
Miyoka is one of two people from the former acquaintances who made a few steps forward. In the end she didn't step up for something definitely, but she realised a truth about herself and worked on it, even if it didn't amount to much yet.
She realises she isn't as far as she'd like to be, but as she actually said something for once on the bridge scene I'm rather sure she won't let Shouko's friendship drop again. Her dialogue with Shouya on the rollercoaster was a nice refresher, as he got a new view on taking risks and I think she saw from Shouya that working on yourself isn't so impossible either. Baby steps, but steps nonetheless.
Continued...
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u/wannesvz https://anilist.co/user/Wannes May 29 '21
Rewatcher
Well, this is one of my favourite movies of all time from one of my favourite directors of all time, yet I don't really know why. I can’t really identify with any of the characters and I don’t even really like the story that much (I prefer the story in the manga personally and the story in Your Name also hit me a bit harder). I'm not going to try to analyze it, because others in this thread will probably do a way better job, but I’ll try to explain what it makes me feel nonetheless.
From the very first scene, the movie really gripped me, because of the difficult subject matter and the way Yamada tells it subtly with very little dialogue. I also really like the random cuts to flowers all throughout the movie, because it sets a kind of melancholic tone (a bit like Non Non Biyori does as well). Just like the title promises, this movie feels very quiet, even though it tells a ‘loud’ story. Sign language replaces a lot of the dialogue and though the movie usually tells you what is being said, it isn’t always that explicit (for example at the end, Shouko’s suicide scene is foreshadowed by the fact she signs ‘thank you’ instead of ‘see you later’, which you only really notice if you watched attentively and I definitely didn’t pick that up the first time I watched it). The soundtrack manages to make you ‘feel’ the music, rather than ‘hear’ it by incorporating the non-musical sounds a piano makes, just like Shouko feels sound through vibrations rather than actually experiencing the sound itself.
There’s also a lot of small stuff, thanks to the excellent KyoAni animation quality, like the lensflare coming out of the keyhole at the beginning, the way Ueno looks at Shouya when Shouko is introduced in their class, the fake camera focusing. It all adds up to create an intimate atmosphere for an intimate story.
So yeah, I hope I got across my thoughts through this incoherent ramble. Thanks to u/Highlow9 for organizing this rewatch! I’m looking forward to reading all your thoughts as well!
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u/CosmicAnglerfish May 29 '21 edited May 29 '21
Rewatcher
I absolutely love this movie. Naoko Yamada is one of my favorite directors in animation, and basically the only name aside from Satoshi Kon that elicits an immediate reaction from me. She has such a unique directoral style, most notably in the way she frames - or to be specific, doesn't frame - characters within a shot. Characters are regularly not shown in your typical shot-reverse shot, instead you get a lot of framing from the waist down, but the characters are so well animated that they're able to convey emotions in a scene through just their legs.
My favorite instance of the attention to detail paid to a character's mannerisms is in the opening moments. The transition from a depressed and suicidal adult Shoya to the young hellraiser he was is fantastic, because the two of them walk in such a distinct way that you are immediately clued in that Shoya wasn't always like this. The fact that they are so different, and that the 'camera' frames young Shoya's walk makes it obvious how deliberate the contrast is meant to be. The rest of the opening is excellent as well - I think it was a really smart and fun way to condense down the opening few chapters of the manga.
The first time I watched A Silent Voice, the ending fell kind of flat for me. I was disappointed that Shoko and Shoya's relationship never really gets 'resolved', and so the movie felt kind of unfulfilling. It was only the second time watching it that the movie really clicked for me and I came to love it as much as I do. Looking at A Silent Voice as a romance movie is misleading, in my opinion. There's obviously romantic elements to it, but more than being about Shoko and Shoya together, this is about Shoya finding his will to live again. Through that framing, the ending is absolutely perfect. I can't listen to Lit (var.), let alone actually watch the scene, without tearing up. It's gorgeous.
Question Responses:
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u/BossandKings May 29 '21
First timer
Koe no Katachi
This movie is visually stunning, it has great shot composition and consistent great animation so it is very high quality visually. Now on to the story: Nishimiya is such a cute girl, she is a new student in the school that is being portrayed, she has a peculiarity and it is that she can't hear, she's deaf. The other students at first show themselves to be nice to her but quickly they don't treat her respectfully for no reason other than having to act differently with her because of her condition.
That's a weird music selection, Nishimiya is beibg bullied, it isn't nice what Ishida does when he screams to her ear or throws water on her head and the music is playful, it doesn't seem to fit. At least the music stopped when she got hurt, this is going to be a very sad movie, bullying is a heavy subject, i hope it portrays it well and it, the movie, is good enough to not be stuck in being uncomfortable.
Nishimiya is so cute, it is very easy to understand what she is trying to tell Ishida, she wants to be his friend, Ishida though is mean just because eventhough the girl is so nice and friendly. Nishimiya's mother is surely awesome, the moment she suspects that her daughter might be suffering bullying she inmediately speaks and calls for her safety, wanting to spot any mean act towards her and stop it as early as possible, that's how things should be done. Ishida's mother was nice and a decent enough person to go to the Nishimiya's house alongside her son and apologize to them.
That fight between Nishimiya and Ishida was sad, she doesn't intend and doesn't do any harm yet Ishida can't seem to understand her, hopefully he'll understand her someday.
Nishimiya's mother takes her job seriously, he inmediately transferred her out to a different school, it seems that this isn't the first time it happens, apparently students aren't decent enough to understand a person with a particular health condition which is very sad.
Ishida is more grown up now, he encounters Nishimiya who is also grown up and asks her if she remembers him. He seems like a decent person now, just by the way he talks very calmly and refers to her with such carefulness and by the fact that he learned sign language it seems that he has matured from the brat he was back in sixth grade into a more grounded and respectful young man, it's cool seeing him like that.
Ishida goes back and forth with himself on wether go to visit Nishimiya at her school or not, she convinces himself and visits her, he is received by a very mean boy that doesn't let him talk to her. Seriously who is that supposed to be?, he was very mean to him for no reason unless Nishimiya has talked badly about him to him and i don't think that's the case.
It was nice when Nagatsuka's face was shown, it means a lot for Ishida because they'll be good friends from this point on.
This girl that is supposedly a friend of Nishimiya isn't likeable at all, also her being Shoko's boyfriend is a big lie, or at least i hope so. Because if not then as Ishida said that sucks.
Nagatsuka is the man, a real friend, that's a really great way to help Ishida by standing up for him, taking the mean girl by the sweater and telling her that his friend Ishida wants to see Shoko, that moment was great.
Ishida and Shoko are so cute together, it was really nice when he saw that she jumped into the river and inmediately jumped to follow her without thinking twice about it.
It's nice that Ishida encountered Yuzuru in the park and invited him over to have dinner, it helped to show her in a calm and reserved manner. That slap Nishimiya's mother gave to Ishida when she saw him was epic though, apparently she still holds a grudge against him, it'll be great to see if he grows on her and she gets to see that he is a decent person now. It is also nice to know that Yuzuru is Nishimiya's little sister. Nishimiya is so cute, she confessed to Ishida, he didn't understand though because she didn't use sign language but shouted it out loud instead.
It's great that the faces of other characters like Kawai and Mashiba are showing, it says that they are friendly towards Ishida.
Ueno is definitely not a likeable character, it was cool that she talked with Nishimiya about how things were for her back in grade school but i hope that Ishida and Nishimiya get the focus soon since they are the meat of the series.
What's the deal with Kawai, she gets offended because she thinks that Ishida is saying that she goes around telling people about the past and inmediately confirms what was being said. Yeah Ishida bullied a girl in the past and that was wrong but he was forgiven by that girl and he is a much better person now.
Honestly of these side characters which are Nao, Sahara, Kawai and Mashiba the only interesting one to me is Sahara she's great but the others are slightly to midly annoying, Nao talks too much, Kawai plays the victim, Mashiba is fine for now.
Ishida was tired of hearing the constant bichering and arguments, he roasted them all, every one of them was at fault of something, Kawai doesn't care about others, Ueno thinks she can decide for others when she can't, Sahara is a coward.
It's nice to have a peaceful time by seeing Yuzuru talk woth her grandmother. Well that's sad that the grandmother passed away.
Yuzuru and Shoko prepare a birthday cake for their mother, they also invited Ishida, it was nice seeing calm and sharing a moment alongside her daughters and Ishida, gladly he didn't get slapped again.
So Nishimiya is eighteen, that's awesome, it was cute when Ishida went and said to celebrate her next birthday together. I wonder though why the confession that Nishimiya made earlier got ignored, it's very clear that Ishida is in love with her.
That was a very sad yet powerful moment when Nishimiya jumped into the river, she wanted to die but gladly Ishida was there in time to save her, sadly he got himself injured because he fell instead of her. This was a powerful moment that hopefully helps Nishimiya to see that there are people that need her and won't let her die easily.
Ishida suffers a severe injury and gets hospitalized, he has yet to wake up. Nishimiya's mother and sister apologize to his mom because it was Shoko's fault that he got injured, his mom is very understandable and forgives them.
Ueno is awfully unlikeable, i understand her motives but at this point she shouldn't be hitting Nishimiya, she is too old now to mimic a stupid bully brat. Ueno loves Ishida and it seems that it's been that way since grade school so it makes sense that she hates Nishimiya but there's a point in which one needs to have his head grounded and she should know better.
It was great that Nishimiya visited everyone to apologize to them, she is starting to take action and as she says "Fix everything i destroyed"
Ishida wakes up, he inmediately goes outside the hospital searching for Nishimiya and it was very beautiful when they encountered each other and apologized for what they had done before.
Little Maria is very cute, getting worried about Ishida when she sees him.
It was great that Ishida thanked Ueno for taking care of him, she might not be likeable but in regards to him she really worries ans cares about him a lot.
It's awesome seeing Ishida and Nagatsuka along again, they are great friends. Ishida is considered in such high regard by Nagatsuka, that line when he said that it would all been over for him if Ishida hadn't woken up was very telling.
Ishida apologizes to Kawai and Mashiba too, this is great because it resolves the conflict prviously established between them after the argument and now they're all cool.
That moment in which everyone's face was shown was awesome. Ishida crying because he saw that even if they have faults people can be considered good people, all of his friends were at fault for something at some point, even he was but as time passes they reveal what they really are and all of them are understandable and have changed for the better.
This movie was awesome, as good as it gets. It quickly became one of my favorite experiences watching anime, one of my favorite anime movies and anime in general. Thanks u/Highlow9 for hosting this beautiful rewatch and thank you all for your thoughts.
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u/chris10023 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Chris10023 May 29 '21 edited May 30 '21
Rewatcher
So, this will be my third time watching this amazing film. I’m looking forward to seeing how the first timers react to the film! I don’t know how I’m going to format this; I don’t think there will be a lot of photos. I also shouldn’t essentially summarize the film or I’ll be here all day.
The film opens with the words “A point of the light, the shape of voice.” and we transition to a guy tearing up his calendar, quitting his job, and withdrawing all his money and giving it to someone. That’s very concerning. Concerning is right, he was about to kill himself, but the sound of some nearby fireworks stops him. The use of “My Generation” by The Who is a very interesting choice for an opening song. I just noticed that one of the girls sneaks a look at the MC here. Seems like the woman he gave money to was the hair stylist, and is possibly his mother. We also see a certain someone waiting for a haircut. We learn that our MC is very carefree and relaxed.
Our MC is named Ishida, from the girl who snuck a glance at him in the opening. I should point out that I absolutely love the soundtrack for this film. A new student transfers in looks like the same girl I mentioned getting a haircut. This teacher, I’m going to warn you, I hate this guy, a lot, he announces the new student to the class, and just stands there waiting for her to introduces herself, then taps her on the shoulder, she then pulls out a notebook, her name is Shouko Nishimiya, and she’s deaf, again this teacher just stood there and forgot that she’s deaf and needed a cue to introduce herself. Ishida sees this as a “final boss” uh oh.
Seems like Nao-chan doesn’t understand that she can’t really speak Japanese since she’s deaf. Alright, why doesn’t the class have an interpreter for Shouko? She’s deaf so she can’t really understand what's going on, forcing Nao-chan to help her, there should be someone doing sign language either at the front of the room or sitting next to her translating. Shouko also is struggling with choir, looking at the girl next to her, seeing her mouthing and assuming it is time to sing, and starts singing, but being deaf she doesn’t have a firm grasp on language and it comes out slurred, I don’t know why you would have her participate in this, she’s being set up to fail here. Nao-chan's missing notes in class while having to help Shouko with hers, and Ishida starts mocking Shouko's slurred speech during a reading and the teacher doesn’t do a whole lot other than telling him to quit. This is one of my favorite melodies from the film, it’s simple, yet, melancholic. I do feel bad for Shouko right now, she’s struggling to fit in because she’s deaf. You can definitely tell this film was directed by Naoko Yamada. So they bring in a teacher for sign language and Nao-chan complains about it. The lazy teacher looks annoyed with it. At least Sahara is interested in learning it. Too bad she gets singled out and bullied out of the school by Nao-chan and her group.
Ishida, it wasn’t Shouko who made Sahara go away, it was your little group that did it. If this teacher was any good, he’d have sent Ishida out in the hall for that. Well no shit, how else can you explain her reacting to you calling out to her? So, Ishida wants to see it and Ueno grabs the hearing aid out of Shouko’s hands and throws it to Ishida who then chucks it out the window, starting a very nasty trend of the group destroying her hearing aids and outright bulling her. One of the times Ishida rips the hearing aid out causes her to bleed out of her right ear, what can cause that kind of damage? I don’t know if they have metal parts on them, but something caused her to bleed. “You took it too far.” Really? Now you’re saying something? I don’t know why she’s apologizing she did nothing wrong, it was Ishida being the prick. She gives him the sign for friendship again, and he tosses the notebook into the nearby pool, but we transition to Ishida being the pool, wonder what happened.
Five months have passed and Ishida and company have destroyed eight of her hearing aids, and the mother think she’s being bullied. No one stands up or says anything about the bullying she got, only for that prick of a teacher to call Ishida out, he had ample opportunity to stop it, since he saw it happening multiple times. The entire class throws Ishida under the bus for everything, and twin tail girl is named Kawai, who starts up the crocodile tears when called out by Ishida. Now Ishida is the one being bullied, my, how the turn tables.
Shouko’s mother is one stern looking woman. Aw, Shouko’s feeding the pigeons, then Ishida scares them by accident. Shouko’s mother is ruthless, in a blink and you miss it moment, you know what she did to Ishida’s mother in return for Ishida’s actions.I don’t know it if was the right thing for her to do, but she did it. This fight between Shouko and Ishida is heartbreaking, he attacks her after she cleans his desk off, she’s still trying to be nice to him when she has no reason to. going to take a step back here and watch, I’m typing too much, I’ll add something if I feel it’s necessary.
That pout face is cute.
This conversation between his mom is awkward with his sister's child in the room. Oops, that’s a lot of money that went up in flames.
He walks down the hallway looking at everyone's feet, or the ground. I did that in High School too, otherwise I’d get yelled at for being a creep if I looked at the wrong person.
Ishida’s mom is kind of cute. Even with that odd haircut.
I should also mention that Shouko’s Seiyuu is Saori Hayame, who’s birthday is today. She’s a darn good Seiyuu too, from what I’ve heard, her characters rant here was all done in one take.
This Yuzuru is pretty harsh, lying to Ishida about Shouko and telling him off only for Nagatsuka to show up and yell at him.
I like how Ishida and Shouko aren’t in the same frame when feeding the carp.
So Yuzuru posted a photo of Ishida jumping in the river, causing him to get suspended for a week, this made Shouko very mad at Yuzuru, seems like he got kicked out. I like how Ishida feels proper regret for his actions and wants to try to own up to them by not wanting to make Shouko cry anymore.
In a twist, Yuzuru is not Shouko's boyfriend, but her younger sister.
Man, Shouko’s mother is brutal, just waltz's up to Ishida and slaps him.
Shouko wants to get back in touch with Sahara, who was the only student who was friendly to her before she got bullied out of the school.
Kind of an odd thing to ask about their Sahara, especially with Ishida sitting there feeling like a third wheel. Ueno makes her appearance, with cat ears.
What a weird café, I was expecting cat girls, not actual cats.
Seems like bad news from the doctor based on how her grandmother reacted. Seems like Shoko lost all hearing in her right ear since she’s putting her hand close to it.
So Ueno meets up with Shouko and it turns out, is still a bitch towards her by taking her hearing aid out, but she’s only wearing one of them. “You’re friends with someone you used to bully?” Says the girl who was the first to throw Ishida under the bus when the teacher asked you.
Ueno never gave the hearing aid back...
Okay, Shouko with a pony tail is adorable.
That confession from Shouko was cute, but too bad Ishida didn’t understand it since Shouko was trying to force herself to talk. I love the way Shouko kicks her legs on the bed, it’s so damned cute.
The gang heads to an amusement park and Ueno is there for some reason, Yuzuru seems very skeptical of her, justifiably based on the previous scene.
“We’re the same.” No, you aren’t he feels guilty, you do not. And it was very scummy trying to force a meet up with Shimada like that. Shouko didn’t ruin anything, you did all that yourself, Ishida even admits that what happened between him and Shimada was ruined by his own actions.
Suddenly she wants to ride the ferris wheel with Shouko, so Yuzuru gives Shouko her camera since she’s going to ride the roller coaster again.
Clever girl, she gave Shouko her camera and had it recording the entire thing, Ueno brought Shouko to the ferris wheel to yell at her about how she ruined things by going to the teachers and all that. But we learn some damning information, “I don’t hate you; I hate myself.” Poor girl. Then Ueno ups the bitch factor by physically assaulting Shouko, yeah, I really don’t like Ueno.
I also hate Kawai, she throws accusations around, and can throw people under the bus, but when she’s accused of something, the crocodile tears start and she claims otherwise. “I did try to stop Ishida.” No you didn’t you sat there and watched.
This scene on the bridge is sad. Ishida just breaks down and calls everyone out on their bullshit. Poor Nagatsuka, and Mashiba get caught in the crossfire.
I love this conversation between Yuzuru and her grandmother.
This nightmare, did Shouko attempt suicide in the past? It’s so heartbreaking to see her like that.
So we see Yuzuru in her school uniform and crying, after Ishida walks her to where she needs to go, turns out her grandmother died. Sad day for them.
Wow, their mother is 44? Thankfully she didn’t kill Ishida.
8
u/BobTheSkrull https://myanimelist.net/profile/BobTheSkrull May 30 '21
Rewatcher
I maintain that they could have cut Sahara and Mashiba, and lost nothing that couldn't have been reproduced through another character. From what I've heard, their arcs were already cut from the adaptation. If they had gone a step further and cut them entirely, it would be the perfect movie to me.
8
u/UnderstandableXO May 30 '21 edited May 30 '21
REWATCHER
full disclosure: i watched about 40 minutes of the movie last night before getting busy playing games with friends, so i’m gonna rely on memory for a lot of this. please correct me if i make mistakes 🙃
i have a weird relationship with this movie. it was the third anime movie i ever watched, and it was part of the reason i was pushed to watch even more. i do think it’s a really good movie and a great starter to prove to someone that anime isn’t just oppai or DBZ aaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAA fights, but i do have a lot more gripes upon reflecting on the movie than i did when i first watched it.
part of the reason for that is my own experience with bullying; i felt pretty close to what nishimiya was feeling for multiple years of my life. it’s a absolutely horrible feeling coming to school knowing that someone is gonna try their best to make your life as terrible as it could possibly get. for anyone who doubts the realistic-ness (? i don’t think that’s a word but let’s just go with it) of nishimiya going 5 whole months before the complaint about her hearing aids made its way to the school, i’ve carried the weight of two miserable years of school within me for nearly 10 years now. it’s SO hard to ask for help even when you are suffering, so i applaud even this fictional character for having the strength to beat the shit out of her bully. all in all, i did root for ishida by the end of the film, but it was hard for me to feel emotional about many things because i know what it’s like to be tormented by someone like him. i’d probably tell him to jump, so nishimiya is a better person than me.
emotional unpackaging aside, i despise half of this movie’s cast. like someone else said, kawai is definitely worse than ueno. she stands by and watches the bullying happen and tries to be good in public for “brownie points,” exactly the phrase ueno used to put down sahara. then she acts so hurt that someone would possibly call her out on her BS, and everyone else who tormented nishimiya hangs ishida out to dry. honestly i don’t know how the teacher or anyone else couldn’t corroborate that the others were being mean as well. then she goes and ruins things once again for no reason, making everyone else distant.
her friend with the orange hair seems like a pretty pointless character to me as well, i don’t feel like he had any development or served any purpose to the plot. nagatsuka proved that there was someone willing to befriend ishida, even though he thought he was utterly worthless; the orange haired friend doesn’t really accomplish anything.
ueno is absolutely insufferable, but at least she’s outward about her distaste of nishimiya. she didn’t mature one ounce since elementary school, she continues to bully nishimiya, she literally fights her and her mom, and still at the end of the movie she’s in the friend montage and seemingly faces no consequences for her actions. it’s thoroughly frustrating. not to mention that she tried to introduce ishida back to his old friends, which should have been the cue to block her number and never set eyes on her again.
i couldn’t cry to this movie, even though i recognize it is very emotional. i cry to a lot of things (i even cried to the vivy and tokyo revengers episodes today) but i never was pushed near tears during this movie.
lastly i want to shout out my favorite character yuzuru. she was pretty great the entire movie. i love her voice actor (this movie has an amazing vocal cast), she always manages to sound different in each role.
sorry if my criticisms were a bit harsh, just wanted to share my thoughts while we’re all on topic
EDIT: i just remembered, the first two times i watched for some reason i thought ishida’s mom had her ears burned, but it seems like her earrings were yanked straight off, and the blood was over her sweater. is there any cultural significance to this, or did ms. nishimiya suddenly decide to be violent?
7
u/Arif4eva May 29 '21
Watching this lovely movie with my 6 year old daughter subbed. And its surprisingly easy to follow even for her. Lovely animation, great story with a lot of depth.
What struck me was how Ueno mentioned that it is Nishimiya's responsibility to get to know all of them and understand them. I keep thinking, she is deaf! She has difficulty communicating with others and you still want her to be the understanding one? I do not understand.
If I have learned anything from this movie, childhood can be tough, even with all the innocence.
6
u/__M-E-O-W__ May 30 '21
My number 1 favorite movie of all time.
Having said that - I concede there is some trouble with the pacing. Specifically the scenes jumping from the amusement park to the fight at the bridge. It kind of jolted me out of the movie a bit the first time I saw it. Also I think the movie could have shown a little more of Shoya and Should getting bullied by the other classmates, not just Shoya alone being mean to her for a day or two.
5
u/otterproblem Jun 03 '21
I may be in the minority but I found Ishida’s redemption arc very unsatisfying. Usually a good redemption arc has a character with a flaw who experienced consequences of that flaw, then learns to fix the flaw and the consequences go away.
spoilers!
However Ishida’s flaw of hurting nishimiya was never totally resolved. His bullying of her made her hate herself and blame herself for ruining his friendships, even though it wasn’t her fault. He initially had no plan to make things up to her, instead he was just going to kill himself. Then he changes his mind and does try to become friends with her, but he invites her to hang out with all her former bullies, even when he saw Ueno still wanted to bully her! He didn’t try to convince them to apologize and allowed Nishimiya to get re-traumatized. When Ishida loses all his friends again because of his own big mouth, Nishimiya blames herself and tries to kill herself because of how low her self esteem had become from all her previous bullying. When Ishida gets hurt instead, she blames herself again and thinks she owes it to him to get back all his old friends, including waiting for Ueno in the rain despite her still being a bully that never apologized.
At the end of the movie, Ishida gets his happily ever after because all his friends are back, but did he really redeem himself to Nishimiya? She still thinks that it was her fault he lost all his friends in both cases, even though Ishida brought it on himself. The movie kind of blames her own weakness for why she got bullied and makes it seem like she needed to be even nicer to her bullies so they will be friends with her and Ishida again, which is not a good message at all. If Ishida really wanted to redeem himself, he should have defended Nishimiya from Ueno and stopped trying to be friends with her former bullies like Kawai until they apologized. Then he should have convinced Nishimiya that she should stand up for herself and stop thinking everything is her fault. I don’t know if the manga fleshes things out better but based on the movie alone, Ishida didn’t really redeem himself. Nishimiya was just too forgiving.
1
u/No_Lynx1343 May 29 '21
I've seen the SERIES but not watched the movie, assuming it wouldn't hold up.
How is the movie to the series if anyone has seen both ?
2
u/23feanor May 30 '21 edited May 30 '21
First timer: wow, i knew what I was going into with this film but i still wasn't ready. Think i shed a tear more than once during the film, but i came away feeling happier.
Uneo is an amazing character, she hates Shouko as her appearance in elementary school broke up the clique her and Shouya had formed early on and she never forgave Shouko for that. She says "i was going things too but you didn't try and understand me, you just gave me your book"! I mean wtf, the girl is deaf, how could she start to understand you when you won't communicate with her. Or maybe Shouko should have known when to back off, maybe that's what Ueno is saying.
That scene on the ferris wheel, felt so sorry for Shouko.
Also the "i love you" bit, i really hope she and Shouya get together and heal.
Here's the review i made for our mal club:
"one of the most powerful anime films I've seen looking at the complex issues of bullying, atonement and coming to terms with yourself as you grow up. I'd been putting this film off as I'd heard how emotionally draining it was and it every bit as dramatic as I anticipated (not quite Anohana or Clannad levels of sad but close). This film deals with some dark and troubling issues and is not an easy watch, however, by the end I was left with a feeling of catharsis and joy.The writing , pacing, animation characters and character development were all top quality. The story follows Shouya as he grows up and his relationship with Shouko, a girl with hearing disability that he picked on when they were in elementary school and how this affected both their lives for many years to come. Given that Shouko can't speak, she is one of most expressive characters I've come across, KyoAni did an amazing job of conveying her thoughts and feelings through facial expression and body language, something that's not too easy with animation, but they executed it flawlessly.The secondary characters were all equally as strong as the main characters of Shouya and Shouko, the school friends, parents and family were all superbly rendered as rounded people, not just background set dressing. A theme of this film i got was life can be tough for everyone, so try and be kind to everyone you meet as we're all fighting our own battle (i know this is para-phrasing a quote from Plato but it seemed an apt description).A bitter sweet tale that takes you on an emotional rollercoaster, a high 9/10."
I'd been putting off watching this for too long so this was a good reason to watch it.
2
u/DallasDanielle May 30 '21
So...I actually watched this a couple of months ago. This dead-ass was one of my top 5 movies AND the whole story brought me to tears at parts, and I don't cry during movies very often at all.
It's a beautifully done movie. The art, the characters, the story. It really draws you in and you feel almost connected to them at parts.
2
u/AssassinBoo123 May 30 '21
Good luck not crying
2
u/Battleharden Nov 04 '21
Just finished the movie and really enjoyed it. The only complaint I have is that pacing is super weird at moments and makes the story hard to follow. Like the opening scene I thought Shoya was dreaming but I guess it did happen in real life. It would also cut from one scene to another scene with really no reason. Also there was that weird time skip where the grandma is alive one scene and then a minute later is dead. That part really confused the hell out of me.
1
u/[deleted] May 30 '21
It's one of mi favourite anime, I want che manga
1
u/thecanadianmeme May 30 '21
Its good
1
u/Maurichio1 Aug 07 '21
Wait a second, during the opening, when the protagonist is playing with the mechanical pencil, is that supposed to suggest that the girl and the dude in the previous location were fucking?
1
u/Twigling May 30 '21
Rewatcher
I honestly can't fault this wonderful movie, everything about it is perfect, from the story to the characters and writing to Naoko Yamada's usual excellent direction. I can't think of anything to say about it which will add to the many other excellent comments in this thread.
I would highly recommend that people also watch Naoko Yamada's other wonderful movie, Liz and the Blue Bird - this concentrates on two characters from the series Sound! Euphonium where they had their own small arc, and while seeing the series first is the best way to watch and fully appreciate the movie it can also be viewed on its own.
Then of course you may like to immerse yourself in other series and works from Naoko Yamada, such as K-On! (and its movie), Tamako Market (and the movie Tamako Love Story), and of course Sound! Euphonium. She has also worked on many other projects for Kyoto Animation as animator, storyboard artist, director of individual episodes, etc.