A Silent Voice

A beautifully animated probe into the lives of broken children. You make mistakes as a kid that can easily drag with you for years. It tortures you. And suddenly maybe there's a chance to deal with it – but do you have the right to? I really applaud that, because some people might wave a hand at bullying, it's just kid stuff, but this film shows in a very select and beautiful way that even that kind of "stupidity" can affect a lot of people for a long time. It subtly portrays how the fragile shell of a child can break at a moment's notice and how difficult it is to glue it back together, and that the broken cannot handle it on their own. In addition, it shows the contagiousness of brokenness. To put it more clearly – the psychology of the bullied, the bullies, and the bystanders is wonderfully portrayed. Not to mention that it was wrapped up in pleasing colors, subtle vibrancy, and fitting music. It fit my mood terribly well. I'm a little sad about the ending; it may have been too idyllic and far-fetched (almost faintly Murakami-esque) for me, but I'd still love to watch it again sometime. The next time I want something with human guilt. A strong 4 stars. (05/29/2019)

I am very sure about the rating for this movie because I am rarely lucky enough to be able to sit glued to the screen for two hours and take in every minute. This movie was a very intense spectacle, during which I got chills down my spine several times, alternating feelings of tension, disappointment, and joy. I really enjoyed the drama. In terms of ideas, the depth of the narrative, and sophistication of the characters, it is a very strong production. It is perhaps more forced than it needs to be, even though it still (at least in my opinion) works perfectly. The soundtrack was also delightful and perfectly suited the movie and hearing The Who in an anime movie made me extremely happy. Sure, I could write about the animation, which has a couple of minor shortcomings. For example, the part with the roller coaster did not seem so attractive. However, that would only be pointing out some slight blemishes in something I think is almost perfect. Even now, after I have finished watching it, I have food for thought about people, how we are, what we could be, and about our weaknesses and strengths. I am also considering the possibility of whether we can change. It is hard to find the words; you simply have to see this movie. 9.5/10. (05/18/2017)

This anime was produced in the same year as Your Name but that is where all similarities end. There's no point in comparing the two shows, because they are something completely different to each other both in terms of sub-genre and visual appearance, and each targets a completely different audience. First of all, it must be acknowledged that the creators of A Silent Voice have shouldered a difficult task. To create a coming-of-age psychological drama that is believable (first and foremost, that is, having well-written psychologically complex characters), that managed to do more than just stupidly and superficially touch on the subject of the inclusion of disabled people into a "normal" social group and to portray the causes, the course and consequences of bullying on individuals and the group, but at the same time not to be an exceptionally moralizing movie or a heavy weepie with a walk through the valley of tears, while still retaining the inventiveness, likable characters and excellent audiovisual experience that are somehow typically expected from KyoAni's anime works. Plus, it is a miracle that they succeeded, and on top of that without pathos. This is indeed not a tear-jerker high school romance and the creators know very well which aspects to focus on. In the end, however, I was hesitating between 4 and 5 stars, mainly because of the sketchy middle section, and the somewhat rushed ending, but since there are so many similarly successful anime in that specific sub-genre (Aura is the only one that comes to mind right now, and that has gone downhill from the second half of the season onwards), it has to be admitted that A Silent Voice is simply on a different level, and even if just for the best ever use of The Who in anime, it deserves that fifth star. Dontcha think? (12/23/2019)