A Silent Voice

Shoko Nishimiya: You can change starting now.

This movie is a masterpiece. Everything from its direction, sound effects, character development, frame setting and symbolism left a deep impression on me. It is very much full of emotions. One has to be a careful watcher and a careful listener to extract the maximum out of this brilliant art. The movie has good character development as well. Through the passage of the movie, we get to know more about the major characters and their thought process. Although, there are side characters which were given very little screen time and only served to support the main characters.

The movie deals with real life issues. While most anime we see have fantastical elements present in them, this one is so close to reality that by the time it has finished, you most likely would have shed some tears. It delves into heavy themes like self-acceptance, redemption, anxiety and what it means to be friends. Take for example self-acceptance, Nishimiya does not like herself because she thinks of herself as a burden on others and considers herself to be the reason why Ishida has been abandoned by his mates. Despite this, the movie highlights that there is a silver lining and it is our decisions that would shape us and our future.

Talking of the animation itself, it is beautiful. It captures the attention and doesn’t let go. The director uses a cross on people’s faces to show how Ishida has blocked others from his life. It is only when he feels comfortable with them, the marks fall off. There are a number of camera shots framed at people’s legs. The director uses this style to convey two things. First, how uneasy it is for Ishida to face the person he is conversing with. Second to show characteristics of the person in view such as their carefree nature or nervousness. Then there are shots that disobey the two-third rule and put the character at a position close to the edge of the screen, putting most of the space rather too empty so as to induce loneliness and anxiety in the scene. There is good use of lighting as well.

Sound direction is of superior quality. It completely gets me. The scenes would not have been so impactful if such sounds were not present. Whenever I hear the music piece “lit”, I instantly imagine the ending scene with Ishida crying. Dialogues are thoughtful and relatable.

If I were to pick anything that I feel didn’t fit the movie completely would be the climax bridge scene. It felt a little fantastical but hey, I could live with that.

I think the movie successfully manages to deliver the message it set out to do. Should you watch it?
There’s no reason you shouldn’t.