A Silent Voice Movie Review
A Silent Voice Movie Review
Story
The movie is centred on two protagonists. First we have Shoya Ishida who at the start of the movie tries to commit suicide but changes his mind at the last minute and recalls his days in elementary school and the events that led him here. Which leads to the introduction of the second protagonist, Shoko Nishimiya. A deaf girl who had just transferred and communicates using sign language. However this annoys Shoya and his friends and they start to bully Shoko. When word of the bullying reaches the principal, Shoya is singled out as the culprit. Soon, the class's bullying is directed towards him, subjecting him to the same treatment he gave Shoko. Shoya blames Shoko, and the two get into a physical altercation. She is subsequently transferred to another school and Shoya later finds Shoko's notebook, which she left behind, and keeps it. Fast forward to present day where Shoya is in high school and is struggling to befriend anyone due to what he did. But one day he meets up with Shoko and this is where he then tries to redeem himself by trying to befriend her and gives Shoko her notebook. Even going as far as learning sign language to communicate with her. And while this is going on he manages to make friends with a fellow student named Tomohiro Nagatsuka after he stopped a bully from stealing his bike. As the movie goes on we get to see to the struggles and lengths that Shoya goes to in order to redeem himself and what Shoko goes through as she cleverly disguises that she's depressed and constantly blames herself for being who she is. Especially when she's gets ridiculed and bullied by one of Shoya’s elementary school friends, Naoka Ueno. A girl who I absolutely hate on a personal level. She is a heartless, despicable bitch who tries to make Shoko's life a living hell. All while trying to associate herself as Shoya's friend. And that's something that hits me on a personal level. Because as someone who has been there, I know what it's like being around someone who not only doesn't understand but flat out refuses to. All while being completely biased and ignorant. Although I'm autistic and can hear just fine but I can related to Shoko and what she had to deal with. So in short, the writing for this movie is powerful, emotional and relatable to anyone who either is disabled or anyone who knows someone with a disability. And to me it also shows that sign language should be taught in schools. Hell, disability in general should be taught in schools so kids can have a better and more open understanding about it. And this movies writing is proof of that.
Animation
This movie was produced by Kyoto Animation. A studio best known for the likes of The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, Lucky Star, Nichijou and K-On!. The latter of which was also directed by Naoko Yamada. The animation throughout is astonishing and fluid which is to be expected from Kyoto Animation. From the character designs and their movements to the backgrounds, this movie has great animation. Even with the small details such as the ‘X' marks on the faces of the people that Shoya has yet to be friends with. It's real shame what happened to Kyoto Animation a few months back because I'm not sure if we'll see anything this well animated for awhile. If any of the staff that worked on this that lost their lives in the studio fire, I just wanna say thank you for your hard work and god rest your souls.
Sound
The version of the movie I watched was the English dub and it was really good with special mention to Lexi Cowden who voiced Shoko. Because they actually got a deaf person to voice her which makes it sound more authentic as trying to impersonate a deaf person is difficult to nail without sounding offensive. So this was a nice touch for the dub. While I haven't watch the Japanese version yet as of this review but Shoko's Japanese voice was done by Saori Hayami who you may recognise as the Japanese voice of Yumeko Jabami from Kakegurui. While she isn't deaf herself but from what I've heard from the Japanese trailers she does an alright job but I honestly prefer Shoko's English voice as it sounds more realistic due her being voiced a deaf person. So huge respect to whomever made that decision. The rest of the voice cast does a great job putting on a superb performance from start to finish. Music is nicely composed and pleasing to listen to with pieces that fits the tone of each scene. Wither it be during something calm or tragic or sad, the soundtrack for A Silent Voice is really good. The same can be said for the main theme song “Koi wo Shita no wa" by Aiko is a good song to listen to. Although in the UK Blu-Ray release during the end credits when the song plays, the subtitles has a spelling mistake where the word “World" was spelt wrong. Don't know if the same goes for the US Blu-Ray release but it's definitely present in the UK release. And going back to the music, the one track that took me by surprise was “My Generation” by The Who that plays during the start of the movie. I mean I have heard songs by foreign artists being using used in anime in both their English and Japanese versions. Like “Falling Down" by Oasis being used as the opening song for the first episode of Eden of the East or “Who I Was Born to Be" by Susan Boyle used in the credits of Welcome to the Space Show. But a song as old as “My Generation” by The Who in a 2016 anime was something that caught me off guard.
Final Verdict
A Silent Voice is a movie that deserves more recognition with the general audience. It has an emotional, relatable and heartfelt story that tackles major issues that many of us go through all our lives. And it not only shows that disabilities should be taught in schools but it also shows that people with disabilities are real people and should be treated as such. Top that with the great animation, superb English dub and well composed soundtrack, this movie is a must watch with the utmost recommendation. A Silent Voice is available to buy now on DVD and Blu-Ray and is also available to watch on Netflix. But in my opinion, it's a must buy. You won't regret it.
Thank you all for reading and I'll see you in another review.
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