![]() ![]() In the manga the bullying is depicted pretty realistically. On the other hand it gives the film more time to calmly depict his inner struggle instead of trying to cover all the other characters' stories and their subplots depicted in the manga (for example, it is perfectly right decision that the subplot of Nagatsuka's film project was left out), and focusing on more fragmentary narration the film can depict the adolescence more via the way it's felt and experienced, like memories but, on the other hand it diminishes and lessens others' experiences, especially Shōko's. ![]() I'm a little bit uncertain whether the decision of focusing mainly on Shōya's perspective was the right thing to do. The crosses that have marked other people's faces are finally gone, and Shōya hears their voices and the emotional music (the only great piece of music in the film) is played in the background. Another such scene is the final scene, where Shōya finally makes peace with his past self and his friends forgive him and he's able to enjoy the school festival with them. In the scene others' voices and the music have stopped, only a lonely plane is flying in the sky, and Shōya can finally hear Shōko's voice. Especially great and beautiful is the scene where Shōya flees from the hospital to see Shōko, which in the manga is depicted from Shōko's perspective. However, during the last act of the film I started to think otherwise, noticing that after Shōko's suicide attempt and Shōya's hospitalisation the scenes with music diminished. I felt that the scenes that worked in the manga so well because of their contrast between (implied) silence and dialogue, turned out to be manipulative and sentimental in the film. Though the voice actors succeed well in their work, especially Irino Miyu as Shōya, their performance is flattened by uninteresting and clichéd soundtrack by Ushio Kensuke. I expected more daring contrast between silence and cacophony of voices, which in my opinion would have expressed perfectly Shōya's inner struggle. The auditive elements of the film are pretty basic, which first left me disappointed. This is expressed through several shots where only legs are shown, indicating that Shōya prefers to see only parts of the people, instead of trying to see them as whole beings. ![]() Since Shōya can hear technically, he ought to be able to hear people's voices, but he decides to actively shut them out of his life. By this respect the anime changes the focus more clearly to Shōya's perspective. Even though the main character in the manga is Shōya and the reader gets only few selected glimpses through Shōko's perspective, it nevertheless emphasises the silent perspective of Shōko and underlying the manga's theme of the hopeless feeling of not being able to hear or understand each others' voices. Since the theme of the story is people's inability to listen to and understand each others' voices, I was intrigued how this theme would be handled via an auditive medium of film. However, the deep emotional wounds that torment both Shōya and Shōko aren't healing in the way they hope to. ![]() Five years later Shōya seeks forgiveness from Shōko, deciding to become her friend and listen to her voice better. Eventually Shōko is transferred to another school, and because of his actions Shōya becomes ostracised by his classmates. When Nishimiya Shōko, a girl with a hearing disability is transferred to Shōya's class, he decides first to make fun of her, then actively and brutally bullying her since he feels her transferring to the class has changed its dynamics into worse. In short, the film tells about Ishida Shōya, a 17-year-old boy who is tormented by his past self's actions. I felt that I need to organise my thoughts and feelings about it, since I'm not exactly sure what to think about it. In summary, in my opinion A Silent Voice is a modern masterpiece of comics that resonates most powerfully through its characters' silence and incompetence in listening each others' voices.Īfter reading the manga several times, I finally decided to watch its acclaimed anime film adaptation. The characters of the manga show how complex and irrational the adolescents' feelings and thoughts can be, which I find to be very rare in any art form. By contrast it also shows how important, though difficult, forgiveness can be in order to grow as a person. It shows how devastating bullying can be and what kind of mental wounds it leaves, yet the manga is never cynic, nor overtly manipulating. It moves me to tears every time I read it, creating an enchanting and one of the truest depictions of adolescence I've ever seen. A Silent Voice (聲の形, 2013-2014) by Ōima Yoshitoki is one of my favorite comics of all time. ![]()
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