Posted in: Anime, Movies, Review | Tagged: a silent voice, anime, film, movie

A Silent Voice Returning to Theatres for 5th Anniversary

For its 5th Anniversary, the beautiful film, A Silent Voice, will be screening in nearly 300 theatres nationwide thanks to Eleven Arts in partnership with Anime Expo for the latest installment of AX Cinema Nights. The film is a bit of an emotional rollercoaster that will have you screaming, fighting, smiling, and bawling at your screen. It was a beautiful experience, both visual and story-wise. Tickets are on sale here.

The film is a coming-of-age story about bullying and making things right. It follows Shoya Ishida, a bully, and Shoko Nishimiya, a girl with hearing disabilities. The story unfolds from their encounters in 6th grade after Shoko transfers into the school and is constantly harassed and bullied. However, things take a turn, and they have to deal with the effects bullying has on their lives. Years later, it is Shoya who finds himself isolated and wants to atone for his mistakes years back. The story is based on the manga A Silent Voice by Yoshitoki Oima. The story also depicts the struggles of growing up with a disability and touches on important topics such as isolation, mental health, anxiety, depression, and suicidal thoughts.

When watching the movie, it is impossible not to be consumed by emotions. The beginning portion of the film must be one of the most uncomfortable to sit through. Watching someone be bullied for their disabilities is rage-inducing, and even much more so when the ones surrounding them do not stand up on their behalf but simply laugh. At moments it was easy to forget this was an animation because of the turmoil and anger it caused seeing Shoko be bullied. I wanted to scream for her, hug her, and tell her everything would be alright. And much more like real life: those bystanders who just laugh only point toward the bully as the one to blame when they also were part of it and condoned it with their smiles.

But yet again, much like real life: things change… people change… And with it, our perspective as we let guilt consume and take over instead of working through it. It was pretty fascinating to feel my anger as a viewer turns into feeling for Shoya as we see him deal with his anxiety and isolation. It was beautiful to see how each of them and their friends-slash-classmates from 6th-grade change as Shoya brought them together once again. It was beautiful to see how humanly relatable their situations were and see their relationships rekindle as they healed. I think it was a very brutal representation of what bullying, anxiety, depression, and bottling up your feelings and emotions can do to you and those around you.

We must also address the animation: the art, character design, and scenery are wonderfully detailed and just breathtakingly stunning. Every second of this film is beautiful. It did not matter how uncomfortable certain scenes might have been to sit through; it was still impossible to look away because every little detail of the animation was captivating. The film's visuals were just as beautiful as the story it told. A Silent Voice is definitely a must-watch and just an experience to live through.

A Silent Voice

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Review by Alejandra Bodden

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8.5/10

For its 5th Anniversary the beautiful film, A Silent Voice, will be screening in nearly 300 theatres nationwide thanks to Eleven Arts in partnership with Anime Expo for the latest installment of AX Cinema Nights. The film is a bit of an emotional rollercoaster that will have you screaming, fighting, smiling, and bawling at your screen. It was a beautiful experience, both visual and story-wise. 

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