Harry Situation Reviews: A Silent Voice

A Silent Voice is a Japanese anime film based on the manga of the same name. The story centers around a boy named Shoya who gets a new classmate, a deaf girl named Shoko. Soon the boy starts bullying this girl from straight up teasing to physical abuse. Shortly after all his classmates turn on this boy when his tactics go too far and he becomes the victim of bullying to a point he is traumatized of what he did and pretty much isolates from everybody in his teenage years. Now older, Shoya runs into Shoko again and is hoping to make amends for all the torment he has caused her.

This is a very touching film, but also kinda a hard film to watch, especially if you've ever been picked on (myself included). It is very sad but also can be uplifting in moments.

As an anime fan I do appreciate one that is about slice of life and high school drama. It's much more entertaining that any of the crap Disney and Nickelodeon throws out with their lame sitcoms. But what makes this film so different than other anime, even films in general, is that rather than focus on the bullied Shoko it chooses to focus on the bully Shoya. We first start out watching him be cruel to this poor girl. He actually yanks out her hearing aids at one point, which literally made her ears bleed. Later on in the film we see how regretful of his actions he has become and how desperate he is to make amends. He takes sign language classes, he tries to return her notebook that Shoko uses to communicate, and all around tries to be a better person because the torment he caused suddenly came back on him. Unfortunately for him he can't seem to find peace and for give himself for his actions. He spirals down a slope of severe depression and self-loafing to a verge where he wants to die. Honestly this actually struck a cord to me because it reminded me of a real moment in my life where this did happen to someone I knew. I once had a friend who I learned did bully someone that it drove that person to commit suicide. Unfortunately a month after that person's death, my friend also committed suicide due to feeling regret for his actions.

And it's actually interesting to see how he sees people now. Throughout the film, when Shoya is a teenager, all the students his age has an X over their face, like he really doesn't know who they are or how to communicate with them. And when he opens up and gets to know them those X's peal right off.

But the film does a good job of focusing on Shoko too. It's interesting to see how similar she and Shoya are very similar. They both express great amounts of depression and self-loathing you can't help but feel bad for both of them. And they're not the only ones who feel that way. Throughout the movie we get to meet other classmates who are viewed as social outcasts as our two main characters do, yet somehow they all come together and form their own group of friends.

The animation in this film is amazing, as most anime are. Well except for Devilman Crybaby. The animation in that one was just bad and awkward to look at. Here it flows very well. The cinematography also stands out too. I usually overlooking cinematography in animated films but I can't help but notice how well this one shines. Almost like it serves as a silver lining for each of the characters.

There is one major flaw in this film however and that's the runtime. This animated movie is two hours and ten minutes in length. That is way to excessive than an animated film needs to be. But that's due to certain scenes place in that it felt like padding. Honestly they could have chopped off at least half an hour of the film, just remove the padding, and we'd get a pretty even film.

A Silent Voice is a very emotional film, and it's definitely worth checking out when you have the chance. You might find it on DVD if it's available already. I actually managed to watch this on YouTube so you can look for it there. This isn't just a film for anime fans, this is a film for everyone, especially if you ever felt lost in your world and are hoping to find a silver lining in life. Check it out. You will be amazed.

Positives:

-Great character development

-Great animation

-Strong themes of regret

-Emotionally strong

-Great cinematography

-Great character perspective

Negatives:

-Half hour too long

Final Grade: A-

So that's my review of A Silent Voice. Have you seen it? What are your thoughts? Please be kind, leave a like and comment, and check out more reviews by me, Harry Situation!

Best Quote:

Shoya: "Shoko, I need some help. I was hoping that you could teach me how to live."

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