A SILENT VOICE

Title : A Silent Voice

Japanese : 映画聲の形

Hepburn : Koe no Katachi

Language : Japanese, Japanese Sign Language

Release Date : September 17, 2016 (Japan)

Directed By : Naoko Yamada

Distributed By : Shochiku

A Silent Voice The Movie (Japanese: 映画聲の形 Hepburn: Eiga Koe no Katachi, also translated as The Shape of Voice The Movie) is a 2016 Japanese anime teen drama film produced by Kyoto Animation, directed by Naoko Yamada and written by Reiko Yoshida, featuring character designs by Futoshi Nishiya and music by Kensuke Ushio. It is based on the manga of the same name written and illustrated by Yoshitoki Ōima. The film premiered in Japan on September 17, 2016 and worldwide between February and June 2017.

Plot

Shōya Ishida walks along a bridge, contemplating suicide. He flashbacks to his elementary school days when his teacher introduces a new student, Shōko Nishimiya, who is deaf. Irritated by his inability to understand Shōko, Shōya begins bullying and harassing her, making fun of her disability, and even tossing her hearing aids out the window. Shōko tries to befriend her classmates but Naoko Ueno leads the other girls to rebuff her. The teachers and Shōya's friends do not intervene in his bullying of Shōko despite being witnesses. One day, Shōya yanks out Shōko's hearing aids, making her ear bleed. After this incident, the school principal asks if Shōko is being bullied. Shōya's teacher demands Shōya to stand up, knowing he is guilty. When Shōya points to his friends as accomplices, they deny it. Shōya's mother, Miyako Ishida, takes Shōya to the Nishimiyas and apologizes, and Shōya feels guilty when he sees the amount of money his mom gives to pay for the cost of all the hearing aids (1,700,000 yen). Shōko transfers to another school and Shōya's friends turn on him, making him an outcast.

Now in high school, Shōya is a loner, isolated by his classmates because of his past, but accepts it as punishment for what he did. Full of guilt, shame, and anxiety, he blocks out those around him, unable to look anyone in the eye, and works to repay his mother for the money she had to give for the hearing aids. One day, he decides to return Shōko's sixth-grade notebook in hopes of making amends with her. He apologizes to her in sign language, which surprises her, and declares that he wants to be friends. He returns her sixth-grade notebook, but when it accidentally falls in the river, Shōko jumps from the bridge to retrieve it, Shōya following her. That night, a photo of him jumping is posted online.

Shōya is suspended from school for a week for jumping in the river. Yuzuru, a protective boy he believes is Shōko's boyfriend, reveals that he posted the photo that caused Shōya to be suspended, but Shōya is not angry, saying he deserves it after what he's done. He brings Yuzuru to stay at his house when he sees Yuzuru sleeping in the park, appearing homeless, but Yuzuru leaves in the middle of the night. Shōya follows and tells him that he is remorseful for the way he treated Shōko. Yuzuru reveals that she is actually a girl, and Shōko's younger sister, not her boyfriend.

Shōko says she wants to reconnect with Sahara, the only classmate that was kind to her in elementary school, and she and Shōya take the train to visit her. Shōya also runs into Ueno, surprising him. Shōko later gives Shōya a gift and confesses about her feelings for him. Because of her handicap however, Shōya misunderstands and thinks she is talking about the moon, frustrating Shōko. At school, Kawai exposes Shōya's past and blames him for bullying Shōko, despite taking part in the bullying herself. The group has a heated confrontation about who is to blame for bullying Shōko, ending with Shōya calling everybody out for who they really are. Shōko, blaming herself for all the problems with Shōya and his friends, attempts suicide by jumping from her balcony. Shōya grabs her but falls into the river himself when he pulls Shōko to safety. At the hospital, he goes into a coma. Shōko and her family feel extremely guilty for Shōya's condition, and her mother apologizes to Miyako, bowing at her feet. Ueno beats up Shōko for Shōya's accident but Shōko's mother and Miyako intervene. Shōko also apologizes to Miyako, wailing at her feet.

One night, Shōko has a dream where Shōya declares he is dying. She runs to the bridge, sobbing. Shōya wakes up from his coma and runs to the bridge as well, finding her. He declares that everything was his fault and Shōko should not blame herself. He formally apologizes to her for his past misdeeds and says that he wants her to help him live a normal life. When Shōya arrives home, Ueno reveals that it was Shimada and Hirose who pulled him out of the river. He goes to school with Shōko, but finds himself physically queasy from anxiety at the crowd of students. The friends gather and Shōya attends his school fair with them. He finally manages to look everyone in the face rather than at his feet, and feels that he has redeemed himself.