A Silent Voice (film)
| A Silent Voice | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Japanese | 聲の形 |
| Hepburn | Koe no Katachi |
| Directed by | Naoko Yamada |
| Screenplay by | Reiko Yoshida |
| Based on | A Silent Voice by Yoshitoki Ōima |
| Produced by |
|
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Kazuya Takao |
| Edited by | Kengo Shigemura |
| Music by | Kensuke Ushio |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Shochiku |
Release date |
|
Running time | 130 minutes[1][2] |
| Country | Japan |
| Language | Japanese |
| Box office | $30.5 million[3] |
A Silent Voice (Japanese: 聲の形, Hepburn: Koe no Katachi, lit. 'The Shape of Voice') is a 2016 Japanese animated drama film[4] produced by Kyoto Animation, directed by Naoko Yamada and written by Reiko Yoshida, featuring character designs by Futoshi Nishiya and music by Kensuke Ushio.[5] It is based on the manga of the same name written and illustrated by Yoshitoki Ōima. Shoko Nishimiya, an elementary school-girl with impaired hearing, transfers into a class of hearing students. Although she tries to reach out to her classmates, her disability makes her an easy target for bullying. Eventually, the physical and emotional abuse escalates to the point where she is forced to leave.
The class and teacher refuse to take responsibility for their complicity in the bullying and instead push all of the blame onto a single participant: Shoya Ishida. He is ostracised by his former friends and becomes a victim of their bullying himself, forcing him to spend the rest of his schooldays alone and bitter. He falls into a deep depression and comes to realise the gravity of what he did to Shoko, attempting to make amends in his own small ways, such as taking a sign-language class.
Years later as a high schooler, he happens to meet Shoko again and finally has a chance to apologise for his past actions. The story unfolds as Shoya and Shoko get to know each other as real people and struggle with the emotional scars of their pasts.
Plans for an animated film adaptation were announced back in November 2014, Kyoto Animation was confirmed to produce the film in November 2016. Miyu Irino and Saori Hayami signed on as voice casting in May 2016 and the theatrical release poster and official trailer were released on July 2016.
A Silent Voice premiered at Tokyo on August 24, 2016. It was released in Japan on September 17, 2016, and worldwide between February and June 2017. The film received highly positive reviews from critics, with praise going to the direction, animation, and the psychological complexity of the characters. It has grossed over $30.5 million worldwide.
The film won the Japanese Movie Critics Awards for Best Animated Feature Film, the Japan Academy Film Prize for Excellent Animation of the Year, and the film was nominated for Mainichi Film Award for Best Animation Film.
Plot[]
High school student Shoya Ishida intends to kill himself, but he changes his mind at the last minute and decides to wrap up loose ends. A flashback reveals Shoya as a sixth grade student in elementary school, during which a new student named Shoko Nishimiya joins Shoya's class and is revealed to be deaf. She tries to integrate with the class but ends up being an easy target for Shoya and his friends to bully. When word of the bullying reaches the principal, Shoya is singled out as the culprit by his teacher resulting in the class's bullying becoming directed toward him. Shoya blames Shoko, and the two get into a physical altercation. Shoko is subsequently transferred to another school and Shoya later finds a notebook Shoko left behind and keeps it.
Being outcast throughout middle school for his reputation as a bully, Shoya, now in high school, is a depressed loner who is unable to look others in the eyes and envisions an "X" mark over people's faces. To wrap up his loose ends, Shoya goes to return Shoko's notebook at the sign language center and apologize, but then panics and asks to be friends instead. Shoko accepts his offer, leading Shoya to endeavor to make up for his bullying of Shoko. Tomohiro Nagatsuka, another loner, also befriends Shoya after he protects him from a bully.
One day, Shoya accidentally drops Shoko's notebook into a river; he then jumps in to retrieve it, which is prohibited. Yuzuru, Shoko's younger sister, takes a photo of Shoya jumping in and posts it online to get revenge on him, eventually leading to Shoya getting suspended. Shoya finds Yuzuru, who ran away from home, and brings her to stay at his house. When she leaves in the middle of the night, Shoya follows, and the two make up and become friends.
Shoya and Shoko reunite with Miyoko Sahara, a classmate from elementary school who was friendly to Shoko. Shoko later gives Shoya a gift and confesses her feelings for him, but because she tries to speak her affections rather than signing them out, Shoya mishears her.
Shoya invites Shoko to an amusement park with Tomohiro, Miyoko, Miki Kawai (another classmate from elementary school) and Satoshi Mashiba (Miki's friend). There, they are joined by another classmate from elementary school, Naoka Ueno (who had also bullied Shoko alongside Shoya then), who drags Shoko into a ferris wheel. Naoka voices her feelings of hatred for Shoko, blaming her for creating a rift between her and Shoya, with whom she is infatuated. Yuzuru, who had been secretly recording the encounter, shows the video of this to Shoya. Desperate to remain blameless for her part in bullying Shoko following the leak, Miki exposes Shoya's past to the students who were oblivious to it. Later, she attempts to apologize to the group, but Shoya blows everyone off after Naoka remains dismissive.
Shoya learns Shoko and Yuzuru's grandmother died recently. To cheer them up, Shoya takes them to the countryside and sees that Shoko blames herself for everything that has happened to him. Shoya decides to devote his entire social life to the sisters.
During a fireworks festival, Shoko goes home under the guise of finishing homework. Shoya follows when Yuzuru asks him to get her camera. When he arrives, he finds Shoko standing on the balcony, about to commit suicide. Shoya succeeds in grabbing her and pulls her back up, but falls into the river below. He is rescued by his former best friends in elementary school but slips into a coma. Hoping to help Shoya, Shoko meets with each of the group members to explain her and Shoya's situations.
One night, Shoko dreams about receiving a farewell visit from Shoya. Horrified, she runs to the bridge and collapses in tears. Shoya, awakening from his coma, stumbles to the bridge and finds her there. He apologizes for the way he treated her, asking her to stop blaming herself and admits that, while he once considered ending his own life, he has since decided against it. Shoya then asks her to help him continue to live, to which she agrees.
When Shoya returns to school, he is reunited with his friends and comes to understand how much they still care for him. The friends go to the school festival together and Shoya finds he is finally able to look people in the eye again as he envisions the "X" marks falling away. Looking around at his family and all the new friends he has made, Shoya tears up, knowing he has finally redeemed himself.
Voice cast[]
- Shoya Ishida (石田 将也, Ishida Shōya)
- Voiced by: Miyu Irino,[6] Mayu Matsuoka (child)[7] (Japanese); Robbie Daymond,[8] Ryan Shanahan (child) (English)
- A high school boy who bullied Shoko Nishimiya, a deaf girl, in elementary school. He becomes the victim of bullying when the principal finds out. Now a social outcast, he strives to make amends with Shoko.
- Shoko Nishimiya (西宮 硝子, Nishimiya Shōko)
- Voiced by: Saori Hayami[6] (Japanese); Lexi Cowden[8] (English)
- A deaf girl who transferred to Shoya's elementary school where she was the victim of constant harassment by Shoya and his friends, forcing her to transfer again.
- Yuzuru Nishimiya (西宮 結絃, Nishimiya Yuzuru)
- Voiced by: Aoi Yūki[7] (Japanese); Kristen Sullivan[8] (English)
- Shoko's younger sister who is opposed to Shoya being around Shoko.
- Tomohiro Nagatsuka (永束 友宏, Nagatsuka Tomohiro)
- Voiced by: Kenshō Ono[7] (Japanese); Graham Halstead[8] (English)
- A rotund high school boy who befriends Shoya.
- Naoka Ueno (植野 直花, Ueno Naoka)
- Voiced by: Yūki Kaneko[7] (Japanese); Kira Buckland, Gia Grace (child)[8] (English)
- Shoya's elementary school classmate who joined him in bullying Shoko.
- Miyoko Sahara (佐原 みよこ, Sahara Miyoko)
- Voiced by: Yui Ishikawa[7] (Japanese); Melissa Hope, Catie Harvey (child)[8] (English)
- One of the few classmates in Shoko's elementary school who was friendly to Shoko.
- Miki Kawai (川井 みき, Kawai Miki)
- Voiced by: Megumi Han[7] (Japanese); Amber Lee Connors, Annabelle Corigliano (child)[8] (English)
- A classmate of Shoya's from elementary to high school.
- Satoshi Mashiba (真柴 智, Mashiba Satoshi)
- Voiced by: Toshiyuki Toyonaga[7] (Japanese); Max Mittelman[8] (English)
- Miki's friend, a high school boy who befriends Shoya.
- Kazuki Shimada (島田 一旗, Shimada Kazuki)
- Voiced by: Ryo Nishitani, Sachiko Kojima (child) (Japanese); Michael Sinterniklaas, Spencer Rosen (child)[8] (English)
- Shoya's elementary school friend and accomplice in bullying Shoko. When the principal finds out, he starts to bully Shoya.
- Keisuke Hirose (広瀬 啓祐, Hirose Keisuke)
- Voiced by: Takuya Masumoto, Hana Takeda (child) (Japanese); Brian Beckerle[8] (English)
- One of Shoya's friends in elementary school who later starts bullying him alongside Kazuki.
- Takeuchi (竹内, Takeuchi)
- Voiced by: Fuminori Komatsu (Japanese); Marc Diraison[8] (English)
- Shoya's teacher in elementary school.
- Miyako Ishida (石田 美也子, Ishida Miyako)
- Voiced by: Satsuki Yukino (Japanese); Sara Cravens[8] (English)
- Shoya's mother.
- Yaeko Nishimiya (西宮 八重子, Nishimiya Yaeko)
- Voiced by: Akiko Hiramatsu (Japanese); Lipica Shah[8] (English)
- Shoko and Yuzuru's mother who disapproves of her daughters being around Shoya.
- Shoya's Older Sister (将也の姉, Shōya no Ane)
- Voiced by: Ayano Hamaguchi (Japanese); Stephanie Sheh[8] (English)
- Maria's mother and Pedro's wife.
- Maria Ishida (マリア, Ishida Maria)
- Voiced by: Erena Kamata (Japanese); AnnaBelle Deaner[8] (English)
- Shoya's niece and the daughter of his older sister and Pedro.
- Ito Nishimiya (西宮 いと, Nishimiya Ito)
- Voiced by: Ikuko Tani (Japanese); Barbara Goodson[8] (English)
- Shoko and Yuzuru's grandmother and Yaeko's mother.
- Pedro (ペドロ, Pedoro)
- Voiced by: Ryunosuke Watanuki (Japanese); Chris Jai Alex[8] (English)
- Maria's father, the husband of Shoya's older sister and Shoya's brother-in-law.
Production[]
The anime adaptation of the manga was announced in the manga's final chapter that released on November 19, 2014,[9] later specifying that the adaptation will be an anime theatrical film on December 17, 2014.[10] In the Weekly Shōnen Magazine's 46th issue of 2015 that released on October 14, 2015, Kyoto Animation and Naoko Yamada were announced to be the animation studio and director of the film adaptation, respectively.[11] The film's distributor, Shochiku, listed the adaptation releasing in Q4 2016.[12] On April 8, 2016, the film adaptation's official website opened, announcing that Reiko Yoshida would write the script for the film, Futoshi Nishiya would designed the characters and the film was scheduled for release in Japanese theaters on September 17, 2016.[13] Kensuke Ushio and Pony Canyon composed and produced the music, respectively.[6] The film's theme song, titled "Koi wo Shita no wa" (恋をしたのは), was performed by Aiko, while "My Generation" by The Who was used during the opening credit.[14][15]
For the English dub, deaf actress Lexi Cowden was cast as Shoko.[16]
Analysis[]
Themes[]
The cinematic adaptation, based on the manga of the same name by Yoshitoki Ōima, covers a large part of the original plot. Some segments have been shortened for runtime reasons. Individual scenes were weighted differently so that the manga can be considered supplementary literature, for example, of the characters' backgrounds.[17]
The more obvious themes covered by the film are school bullying and the integration of disabled people in society. The film then tackles with handling guilt within a community (although this aspect is exposed more in-depth in the manga),[18] redemption for mistakes of the past,[19] forgiveness and self-respect.[20] Director Naoko Yamada explains that bullying should not be considered as the central theme of the film but rather a means to explore Shōya's personality as he gets older. The course of bullying is presented precisely and intuitively, in rapid sequences. It is depicted as a collective failure, starting from school managers and overwhelmed teachers to the class community itself.[21]
The film, lastly, deals with the theme of suicide. Yamada said she was "determined to confront the topic with integrity and treat it gracefully", stressing that it "is by any means not the right decision".[22]
Stylistic means[]
The narration of Shōya's story, starting from his past to present, describes how he slips to the lower end of the hierarchy that he established at the beginning. From his perspective, it is shown how bullying can affect an adolescent's psyche and prove his resilience. Shōya faces many challenges: the rejection of Shōko's mother's or the avoidance of former classmates, who don't want to confront their past behaviour when he and Shōko work through their past.[23]
Shōya's alienation and inability to stare at his fellow people are symbolised by crosses (