Kawaii at the Movies: A silent voice

Ready for a new appointment with anime on the big screen? Next week, in Italy it will be the turn of A silent voice, directed by Naoko Yamada (one of the few Japanese female directors) and one of the biggest success of last year in Japan. The movie arrives in Italy thanks to Nexo and Dynit and it will be in Italian theatres on October 24th and 25th, but we went ahead and we talk about it a bit earlier.

Shoya Ishida is a bully. Or better, he was a bully in primary school when he was tormenting Shoko Nishimiya, a deaf girl communicating with others by writing on a notebook. But Shoya is also a victim: abandoned and humiliated by his friends, he shut the world out, so much he can’t watch at people faces anymore. Burdened with shame and guilt, Shoya decides to kill himself. Before doing it, however, he has a last thing to do: find Shoko and give her back the notebook he throw her away at school.

Adapted from the manga by Yoshitoki Oima, A silent voice deals with very serious and current issues: bullying, diversity, loneliness, suicide, but also friendship, forgiveness towards others and ourselves. And it deal with them telling the story from the point of view of the “villain”, without justifying him, but reminding us that often violence is born from deafness, not of the body, but of the heart.

It’s not so difficult to recognize themselves in the many characters of A silent voice. We have met them at school: the bully and the victim, the kids who watch in silence, the girls who talk behind your back, the friend who tries to do the right thing. Often these roles are not fully defined and the movie show us clearly the many faces of the coin and the reasons that push the characters to behave in a certain way. If you expect a melodrama of those who remain on the stomach, however, think again. Some scenes are hard to watch, especially for those who have been on the side of the victim, but the two hours of film flow with lightness, some tears and smiles.

Our final verdict? You should absolutely watch this movie! A silent voice is an anime you will not forget so easily and that will make you excite, entertain and reflect. Let us know if you liked it!