A Silent Voice (film)
A Silent Voice: The Movie is a 2016 Japanese animated 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
Japanese teenager Shoya Ishida intends to commit suicide. Changing his mind at the last minute, he recalls his days in elementary school and the events that have led him here. A new student named Shoko Nishimiya informs the class that she is deaf. She tries to integrate with the class but ends up annoying Shoya and his friends, so they start to bully her. When word of the bullying reaches the principal, Shoya is singled out as the culprit. Soon, the class's bullying is directed toward him, subjecting him to the same treatment he gave Shoko. Shoya blames Shoko, and the two get into a physical altercation. She is subsequently transferred to another school. He later finds Shoko's notebook, which she left behind, and keeps it.Now in high school, Shoya is a social reject. He blocks out the faces of those around him, unable to look them in the eye. Tomohiro Nagatsuka, another loner, befriends Shoya after Shoya helps him with a bully. Shoya visits the sign language center, returns Shoko's notebook to her in the hopes of making amends and reveals he has learned sign language. The two begin meeting at a bridge to feed bread to Koi fish.
One day, Shoya and Shoko accidentally drop Shoko's notebook into a river, and they jump in to retrieve it, which is prohibited. Yuzuru Nishimiya, Shoko's younger sister, secretly takes a photo of Shoya jumping in and posts it online. Shoya is suspended.
Shoya finds Yuzuru, who ran away from home, and brings her to stay at his house. When she leaves in the middle of the night, Shoya follows and tells her that he is remorseful for the way he treated Shoko; she decides to go home. The sisters' mother, Yaeko Nishimiya, slaps Shoya in the face before bringing Yuzuru inside.
Shoya and Shoko reunite with Miyoko Sahara, a classmate from elementary school who was friendly to Shoko. Shoko gives Shoya a gift and confesses her feelings for him, but because she tries to speak her affections rather than signing them out, Shoya does not understand her.
Shoya invites her to an amusement park with Tomohiro, Miyoko, Miki Kawai and Satoshi Mashiba. There, they meet another classmate from elementary school, Naoka Ueno, who drags Shoko into a ferris wheel. Naoka voices her feelings of hatred for Shoko, whom Naoka blames for creating a rift between her and Shoya. At school, desperate to remain blameless for her part in bullying Shoko, Miki exposes Shoya's past to the students who were oblivious to it. Later, the group has a heated confrontation.
Shoya goes back to the bridge to meet Shoko but ends up seeing Yuzuru, whose grandmother had died recently. To cheer Shoko up, Shoya takes her to the countryside, where he begins to understand how much she blames herself for everything that has happened to him. Desperate to change her mindset, Shoya contrives to regularly meet with the sisters.
During the fireworks festival, Shoko goes home under the guise of finishing some schoolwork. Shoya follows when Yuzuru asks him to get her camera. When he arrives, he finds Shoko standing on the balcony, about to commit suicide. Shoya succeeds in grabbing her and pulls her back up, but he falls into the river below. He is rescued but slips into a coma.
One night, Shoko dreams about receiving a farewell visit from Shoya. Horrified, she runs to the bridge and collapses in tears. Shoya, awakening from his coma, stumbles to the bridge and finds her there. He apologizes for the way he treated her. He asks her to stop blaming herself and admits that, while he once considered ending his own life, he has since decided against it. Shoya then asks her to help him continue to live.
When Shoya goes to the school festival with Shoko, he finds out how much his new friends still care for him, and they reconcile. During the festival, Shoya is finally able to look at other people's faces again. He looks around at his family and all the new friends he has made, and he cries.
Voice cast
;Shoya Ishida;Shoko Nishimiya
;Yuzuru Nishimiya
;Tomohiro Nagatsuka
;Naoka Ueno
;Miyoko Sahara
;Miki Kawai
;Satoshi Mashiba
;Kazuki Shimada
;Keisuke Hirose
;Takeuchi
;Miyako Ishida
;Yaeko Nishimiya
;Shoya's Older Sister
;Maria
;Ito Nishimiya
;Pedro
Production
The anime adaptation of the manga was announced in the manga's final chapter that released on November 19, 2014, later specifying that the adaptation will be an anime theatrical film on December 17, 2014. In the Weekly Shōnen Magazine's 46th issue of 2015 that released on October 14, 2015, Kyoto Animation and Naoko Yamada were announced to be the animation studio and director of the film adaptation, respectively. The film's distributor, Shochiku, listed the adaptation releasing in Q4 2016. On April 8, 2016, the film adaptation's official website opened, announcing that Reiko Yoshida would write the script for the film, Futoshi Nishiya would designed the characters and the film was scheduled for release in Japanese theaters on September 17, 2016. Kensuke Ushio and Pony Canyon composed and produced the music, respectively. The film's theme song, titled "Koi wo Shita no wa", was performed by Aiko, while "My Generation" by The Who was used during the opening credit.For the English dub, deaf actress Lexi Cowden was cast as Shoko.
Release
The film premiered in 120 theaters across Japan on September 17, 2016. It was screened at the 2016 Scotland Loves Animation festival on October 22, 2016, and at the ICA in London on February 5, 2017. Anime Limited distributed and released the film in the United Kingdom and Ireland on March 15, 2017. Purple Plan released the film in Singapore and Malaysia on March 9, 2017. Madman Entertainment released the film for a limited duration in Australia and New Zealand from April 9, 2017, and April 16, 2017, respectively. Viz Media Europe acquired the film for distribution in Europe, Russia, Turkey, and French-speaking Africa in 2017. In 2017, Konnichiwa Festival released the movie in theaters in Mexico, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Panama, and Peru for a limited time in May, while in countries like Argentina and Uruguay, Anifest had a theatrical release in June. Pioneer Films released the movie in the Philippines on May 10, 2017. Eleven Arts screened the film at Anime Expo on July 3, 2017, with a limited theatrical release in the U.S. on October 20, 2017, and a second screening in January 2019.Home video
Pony Canyon released the film in Japan on May 17, 2017, on standard edition DVD, standard edition Blu-ray, and a limited edition Blu-ray. The limited edition Blu-ray contains two animated videos of the film's theme song and "Speed of Youth", one of the original soundtracks by composer Kensuke Ushio. In the United Kingdom and Ireland, Anime Limited released the film on standard edition DVD and Blu-ray, and a collector's edition combo set on October 30, 2017. Madman Entertainment released the film on standard edition DVD and Blu-ray, and a limited edition combo set on December 6, 2017. Shout! Factory released the film on a standard edition DVD and Blu-ray combo set in North America on April 2, 2019, and Right Stuf released the film on a limited edition combo set on November 26, 2019. Netflix released the film on their website on June 5, 2019.Reception
Box office
The film opened at #2 at the Japanese box office behind Makoto Shinkai's Your Name, and grossed a total of from 200,000 admissions within two days of its premiere across 120 theaters. As of November 30, 2016, the film has grossed a total of over from 1.7 million admissions. It ranked at #16 on Nikkei Hit Ranking for 2016 from East division. It was the 19th highest-grossing film in Japan in 2016 and also the 10th highest-grossing Japanese film of the year in the country, with .In China, the film grossed . It also grossed $310,407 in the United States and Canada, $110,552 in the United Kingdom, $437,577 in Bolivia, New Zealand, Paraguay, Spain and Thailand, and $5,471,482 in other territories, bringing the film's worldwide total to approximately.
Critical reception
Makoto Shinkai, director of Your Name, called the film a "fantastic piece of work" and a "polished and grand production" which even he is unable to replicate. It won Best Animation of the Year in the 26th Japan Movie Critics Awards, where director Naoko Yamada also received praise for her work on the film. At the 2017 Annecy International Animated Film Festival, the film was selected as one of the nine feature films in competition.On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 94% based on 34 reviews, and an average rating of 7.61/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "As beautifully crafted as it is powerfully written, A Silent Voice looks at teen bullying from a soberingly hard-hitting perspective that's uncommon for the animated medium." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 78 out of 100, based on 10 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".