A Silent Voice

K-On is one of my favorite anime of all time for a lot of reasons, but part of it is the amazing direction from Naoko Yamada. So, when I found out that A Silent Voice was directed by the same person, I was very excited to check it out, and it totally lived up to my expectations. A Silent Voice is one of the most impactful films I've seen in a long while, and solidifies Yamada is my favorite anime director of them all.

A Silent Voice is built around a simple but effective premise, in which Shoya tries to befriend the deaf girl Shoko who he bullied throughout elementary school. It's essentially a feature-length redemption arc, and a great one at that. The movie starts with a series of flashbacks to the aforementioned elementary school days, a very impactful sequence because of how realistically the bullying that occurs is, both in regards to the bullying towards Shoko and the ostracizing of Shoya soon afterwards. In high school, Shoya and Shoko reunite and the attempt to make amends begins. A Silent Voice executes this redemption storyline incredibly well because of how it never quite feels like a straight line. Shoya messes up just as often as he makes progress, and the film never portrays his journey as easy in any way. Making things even harder is the fact that both Shoya and Shoko blame themselves for what happened at elementary school, and the movie does a great job of exploring these feelings of guilt and self-hatred, resulting in some of the most resonant moments of them all. A Silent Voice is a very emotional film that juggles a lot of themes, from redemption to anxiety to guilt to depression to bullying to dealing with disabilities, I feel like there's something everyone can relate to in some way when watching it.

It's not just the main duo that's great, however. The side characters are all fairly fleshed-out and interesting, particularly Yuzuru, Shoko's little sister who's dealing with far more than it may initially seem. The main issue with A Silent Voice is the fact that it was based off of a fairly sizable manga, meaning that obviously some moments got cut out and the pacing felt a bit fragmented at times. As someone who didn't read the manga, I thought the film worked perfectly fine on its own merits and the creators did a good job at telling a cohesive and satisfying story, even if some of the characters weren't as fleshed-out as they could've been. The script and visuals even manage to include some more subtle details throughout the film, and trusts the viewer with piecing some important facts together without explicitly stating them. I'm sure that if I were to watch it again, there would be many more details I ended up completely missing. The emotional moments also manage to hit hard pretty much every time, whether it's heartwarming like the amusement park scene and the last ten-or-so minutes, or devastating like the opening sequence.

A Silent Voice's storyline is already emotional on its own, but it's Yamada's amazing direction that elevates the film and continuously impressed me throughout. Just like in K-On, the animation is really detailed and fluid, and all of the characters have their own distinct way of moving that perfectly exemplifies their character. Despite the generally grounded nature of the story, there are plenty of impactful visuals that wouldn't have felt as powerful if it was in live-action, particularly the well-known Xs on everyone's face and how they fall off and regenerate as Shoya's relationships with the other characters develop. The framing is also pretty amazing too, resulting in many visually striking scenes, particularly the several important bridge scenes and the fireworks scene. Another excellent carry-over from K-On is how the colors mute whenever the tone gets darker and more serious. The score is subdued but works perfectly for the film, especially in the most emotional and intense moments.

Overall, I loved A Silent Voice. It was an emotional rollercoaster with a strong cast and phenomenal direction from Yamada, and its many thought-provoking themes can resonate with a lot of people.

5/5 Stars