Discription
Koe no Katachi (A Silent Voice: The Movie) (2016)
Summary:
Shoya Ishida, a former elementary school bully haunted by his past actions towards a deaf classmate, Shoko Nishimiya, lives as a social outcast. Years later, burdened by immense guilt and contemplating suicide, Shoya embarks on a journey of redemption to reconnect with Shoko and make amends for his cruel behavior. Their journey explores themes of bullying, forgiveness, self-acceptance, and the complex dynamics of friendship as they navigate their past traumas and attempt to build a future.
Plot:
The film opens with a grim scene: Shoya Ishida (voiced by Miyu Irino as a teen, Mayu Matsuoka as a child), now a high school student, emptying his bank account and preparing to commit suicide. He plans to jump off a bridge, burdened by years of guilt and social isolation. However, just as he's about to jump, he remembers a past encounter with a deaf girl and is startled by fireworks, leading him to abandon his suicide attempt and begin a path towards redemption.
The narrative then flashes back to Shoya's elementary school days. Shoya is a mischievous and restless boy, constantly seeking ways to alleviate his boredom. His life takes an unexpected turn with the arrival of a new transfer student, Shoko Nishimiya (voiced by Saori Hayami), who is deaf. Shoko communicates through a notebook and sign language, which most of her classmates find confusing and inconvenient.
Initially, Shoya and his friends, especially Naoka Ueno (voiced by Yūki Kaneko), engage in relentless bullying of Shoko. Shoya, in particular, is cruel, constantly making fun of her inability to hear, screaming in her ear, and repeatedly ripping out and breaking her expensive hearing aids. Despite the bullying, Shoko remains kind and forgiving, attempting to connect with her tormentors, often with a gentle smile.
The bullying escalates to a point where Shoko's mother, Yaeko Nishimiya (voiced by Akiko Hiramatsu), intervenes. When the school principal investigates, Shoya's "friends" and teachers quickly scapegoat him, placing all the blame solely on him to avoid their own culpability. Shoya, now isolated and ostracized by the very classmates who participated in the bullying, becomes the new target of their cruelty. Shoko eventually transfers to another school, and Shoya is left to bear the brunt of his past actions alone. This experience profoundly affects him, turning him into a social outcast throughout middle school and into high school. He develops severe social anxiety and an inability to look people in the face, visually represented by "X" marks covering the faces of those around him, symbolizing his self-imposed isolation and inability to connect.
Years later, in high school, Shoya is still plagued by his past. He is a loner with no friends, and his guilt over bullying Shoko consumes him. Driven by a desperate need to atone, he learns sign language on his own. He manages to track down Shoko at a sign language school and attempts to return her old notebook, which he had kept. Their reunion is initially awkward and strained. Shoko's younger sister, Yuzuru Nishimiya (voiced by Aoi Yūki), a protective and often blunt girl who dresses like a boy and loves photography, is highly suspicious of Shoya and initially tries to keep him away from Shoko.
Despite the initial resistance, Shoya's persistent efforts to make amends slowly begin to break down the walls around Shoko and Yuzuru. Shoya also befriends Tomohiro Nagatsuka (voiced by Kensho Ono), a similarly friendless and eccentric classmate who immediately declares Shoya his best friend, thus removing an "X" from Nagatsuka's face in Shoya's perception.
Shoya's journey of redemption involves him trying to help Shoko reconnect with their old elementary school classmates, hoping to build a new circle of friends for her and, by extension, himself. This leads to a complicated and often painful series of interactions:
- Miyoko Sahara (voiced by Yui Ishikawa): A kind girl from their elementary school who genuinely tried to befriend Shoko but was also ostracized for it. Shoya helps Shoko reconnect with her, and Sahara is still willing to learn sign language.
- Naoka Ueno (voiced by Yūki Kaneko): One of Shoya's former bullying accomplices. Ueno still harbors resentment towards Shoko, believing she was responsible for their class falling apart. She is also revealed to have a crush on Shoya, further complicating the dynamic. Ueno struggles to accept Shoko's deafness and often acts cruelly, leading to direct confrontations with Shoko and Shoya.
- Miki Kawai (voiced by Megumi Han): The class president in elementary school, who acted innocent while subtly participating in the bullying. She maintains a self-righteous facade and believes herself to be an angel, often attempting to portray herself as a victim when confronted with her past actions.
- Satoshi Mashiba (voiced by Toshiyuki Toyonaga): Kawai's crush and a new friend in high school. He has a strong sense of justice and is disgusted when he learns of Shoya's past.
The group attempts to make a film for a school competition, which becomes a central activity through which their complex relationships and unresolved pasts are explored. During the filming, old wounds resurface, betrayals are exposed, and misunderstandings lead to a dramatic falling out. Shoya, overwhelmed by the emotional strain and his inability to truly connect, isolates himself once more, lashing out at his friends and reinstating the "X" marks over their faces.
This period of renewed isolation for Shoya coincides with Shoko's increasing despair. Feeling like a burden to everyone and believing she is the cause of all the problems, Shoko attempts suicide by jumping from her apartment balcony during a fireworks festival. Shoya, who had gone to retrieve a camera for Yuzuru, witnesses the attempt and, in a desperate act, manages to save Shoko's life but falls himself, sustaining severe injuries and falling into a coma.
While Shoya is in a coma, his former friends are forced to confront their own roles in the past and present. They visit him in the hospital and begin to reconcile with each other, realizing the gravity of their actions and the importance of their bond. Shoko, consumed by guilt over Shoya's injuries, visits him daily, apologizing profusely.
Shoya eventually awakens from his coma. He makes his way to the bridge where he and Shoko often fed the koi, and finds her weeping. In a deeply emotional confrontation, he apologizes for everything he put her through, for his past bullying, and for his own self-destructive tendencies. He tells her not to blame herself for his past or his current state, and admits his own suicidal ideation. He asks her to help him keep living, and she agrees. Their tearful reconciliation marks a turning point for both.
The film concludes with Shoya's recovery and his gradual re-integration into society. He attends the school festival with his reunited group of friends, finally able to look them in the eye without the "X" marks obscuring their faces. He realizes that he is not alone and that he is worthy of friendship and forgiveness. The final scenes show Shoya, Shoko, and their friends moving forward, having faced their pasts and embracing the possibility of a future filled with genuine connections and understanding.
Cast (Japanese Voice Actors):
- Miyu Irino as Shoya Ishida
- Mayu Matsuoka as Young Shoya Ishida
- Saori Hayami as Shoko Nishimiya
- Aoi Yūki as Yuzuru Nishimiya
- Kensho Ono as Tomohiro Nagatsuka
- Yūki Kaneko as Naoka Ueno
- Yui Ishikawa as Miyoko Sahara
- Megumi Han as Miki Kawai
- Toshiyuki Toyonaga as Satoshi Mashiba
- Satsuki Yukino as Miyako Ishida (Shoya's Mother)
- Akiko Hiramatsu as Yaeko Nishimiya (Shoko and Yuzuru's Mother)
- Ikuko Tani as Ito Nishimiya (Shoko and Yuzuru's Grandmother)
- Fuminori Komatsu as Mr. Takeuchi (Elementary School Teacher)
- Ryō Nishitani as Kazuki Shimada
- Takuya Masumoto as Keisuke Hirose
Crew:
- Director: Naoko Yamada
- Writer: Reiko Yoshida (Screenplay), Yoshitoki Ōima (Original Manga)
- Producer: Shinichi Nakamura, Toshio Iizuka, Shigeru Saito, Riri Senami, Kensuke Tateishi
- Music by: Kensuke Ushio
- Cinematography: Kazuya Takao
- Editor: Kengo Shigemura
- Animation Studio: Kyoto Animation
- Distributed by: Shochiku
