Adapted from the manga series, A Silent Voice is the tale of revenge, friendship, hope, social anxiety, and bullying. It is one of the best romance-drama films that follows the life of Shoya Ishida. He is a tutor character in the film who wants to end his life by jumping from the bridge. Before doing the same, he decides to repay the debt to the mother, who suffered from his past actions. The film was a phenomenal hit compared to “The Garden of Words,” “Your Name,” and “5 Centimeters Per Second.”
Directed by Naoko Yamada, A Silent Voice is a beautiful film that melts hearts away with its character, story, background music, and animation. This film is one of its kind, getting mixed reviews from audiences. However, fans believe the fanbase misunderstood the film. The confusion among fans derived from a misunderstanding of the main theme.
Let’s address the confusion among fans regarding the film’s theme, providing clarity to enhance viewers’ enjoyment of the A Silent Voice anime.
Misunderstandings About A Silent Voice
“A Silent Voice” is not a straightforward romance-drama film — you can watch and understand it all at once. The film shares a deep-rooted message, helping viewers to cope with life better.
The 2016 anime film ‘A Silent Voice’ was a smash hit worldwide, earning praise and criticism. Although it had memorable characters, beautiful animation, a unique story and background music, it received criticism from fans.
The biggest misconception viewers had was that the story centred around romance. While there are some romantic elements, romance is not the main theme; the important themes are bullying, social issues, mental health, disability, and forgiveness.
The main character, Shoya Ishida, was ostracized because of his actions in middle school. He constantly bullied a deaf girl, Shouko Nishimiya, leaving lasting mental scars.
Before ending his life after repaying the money he owed to his mother, Shoya decides to meet Shouko one last time and apologize for the suffering he caused her. This decision turns into a turning point as he decides to live for her.
As the story progresses, we learn more about Shoya Ishida, who learned sign language to communicate with Shouko Nishimiya. His bullying backfired, destroying everything important to him, and his mother had to pay for his deeds.
Years later, Shoya has the opportunity to reunite with Shouko and make amends. He promised to fulfil every wish of Shouko and make up for the things she missed in middle school because of him.
Shoya’s Friendship With Tomohiro: The Important Part In The Story
Shoya’s friendship with Tomohiro Nagatsuka is an important part of the story, and their bond adds depth to the film. Tomohiro was Shoya’s first friend since middle school and a fan favourite. He supported Shoya when others were against him.
Yuzuru Nishimiya, Shouko’s little sister, also supported Shoya as she got to know him better. She realized he had suffered the most and had paid a heavy price for his past deeds. She also learned that Shouko started expressing more of her emotions because of Shoya.
A Silent Voice Finale
In the finale of “A Silent Voice,” Shouko Nishimiya tries to end her life by jumping from a balcony. Shoya ran to save her, successfully rescuing her but losing his balance and falling. He was saved by his friends and, holding hands with Shouko on the bridge, they overcame their fear together.
Both Shoya and Shouko had their own problems, which they later overcame, not alone but together. Their relationship is one of friendship and mutual support, rather than romance. The film offers a new take for fans tired of traditional romance-drama anime. A Silent Voice is not like any straightforward romance-drama film that you can watch and understand everything in one go. More than that, the film shares a deep-rooted message for viewers alike, helping them to cope with life even better.
The 2016 anime film ‘A Silent Voice’ was a smash hit worldwide, earning praise and criticism. Although the film had everything from memorable characters to beautiful animation, from a unique story to background music, still often received criticism from the fans.
One of the biggest misconceptions about the film viewers had was that the story centred around romance. While there are some romantic elements in the film, romance is definitely not the main theme the film revolves around. The most important themes are bullying, social issues, mental health, disability, and forgiveness.
The main character, Shoya Ishida, was ostracized because of his actions in middle age. He constantly bullied a deaf child, Shouko Nishimiya, and left lasting mental scars.
He decided to end his life after repaying the money he owed to his mother. However, before he gives all the money to his mother and ends his life, Shoya Ishida decides to meet the girl one last time and apologise for the suffering he brought her in the past. This decision suddenly turns into a divine gift because the boy decides to live his life for the girl.
As the story progresses, we learn more about the main character, Shoya Ishida, who learned sign language to talk with Shouko Nishimiya. In middle school, Ishida didn’t understand Nishimiya, so he had to resort to bullying to get to know her better. This act backfires, destroying everything he held dear to him. Not to mention, his mother had to pay for his deeds.
Years later, Shoya has the opportunity to reunite with Shouko and fix their past. He promised to fulfil every wish of Shouko and the things she missed in middle school because of him.
While the two have a good time together, Shoya’s friendship with Tomohiro Nagatsuka is an important pillar that brings the gang together. The character is introduced at the start of the film and soon becomes the fan’s favourite. The friendship between Tomohiro and Shoya makes the film more spicy to watch. He was Shoya’s first friend since middle school. Tomohiro Nagatsuka was also the one who supported him when others were against him.
Other than him, Yuzuru Nishimiya, Shouko Nishimiya’s little sister, supported Shoya throughout the film. At first, she was angry at him for upsetting her sister, but as time passed, she got to know him better. She realized the boy had suffered the most and had paid a heavy price for his past deeds. Moreover, she learned that Shouko started expressing more of her emotions because of Shoyo. And that’s enough reason to change the view toward the person.
During the finale of A Silent Voice, Shouko Nishimiya tried to end her life by jumping from the balcony. After seeing his friend committing suicide, Shoya ran toward her, grabbed her hands and protected her from falling. He was successful in saving her but lost his balance and fell. Thankful, he was saved by his friends, who grabbed him back to the surface. When Shoko and Shoya held hands on the bridge, it wasn’t a sign of romantic feelings, but a sense of overcoming from their fear.
In A Silent Voice, both had their own set of problems, which they later overcame, not alone together. Being together means that Shouko and Shoya help each other as friends. Moreover, the film is a perfect treat for fans, bored with traditional romance-drama anime and looking for something new.