Licensed therapist Jonathan Decker and filmmaker Alan Seawright explore the themes of depression, the need for social connections, and more from the anime film A Silent Voice. They talk about the impacts of bullying, healing relationships, and finding forgiveness for ourselves and others.
Note: Apologies for the subtitles. We know they're missing the last letters of some lines - we tried everything we could to fix it, but alas... the universe was apparently working against us.
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Written by: Megan Seawright, Jonathan Decker and Alan Seawright
Produced by: Jonathan Decker, Megan Seawright & Alan Seawright
Edited by: David Sant
Director of Photography: Bradley Olsen
English Transcription by: Anna Preis
There's a saying that goes like this: "It's hard to forgive someone for doing wrong. It's one million times harder to forgive yourself for doing wrong."
WHOA-
Guilt could be a truly burden here.
It’s so true tho 😭
Eh for me it's the complete opposite.
@@satoatsuji8392 so basically the definition of selfishness
That moment you realise "Boss Baby" beat this at the Oscars. I dont watch the Oscars anymore.
Same, I stopped watching years ago when I realized it's rigged af.
Didn't care for it before then, but lost every shred of respect after that
I didn't realise that happened and I'm absolutely sickened by that :/ Boss Baby was mediocre and this movie is beautiful
Was "A Silent Voice" even nominated? The Oscars are worth almost nothing, that is true.
@@FirstGentleman1 oscar begs to disagree
The bullying scenes were hard enough to watch but the fact she kept trying to make friends, when she had every right to hate him was absolutely heartbreaking
Its like going back to your ex. Such a dumb thing to do
@@kingdrift1136its different to compare bullying to an ex, bullying is a form of hatred, discrimination or anything that is insecurity, or discrimination not being normal leads to bullying thats totally different to an ex who you once fell in love and then ended things with, for an ex you might go back to your ex for that rekindled romance or something that revolves around you loving them again but for bullying its different because for bullying you can choose to hate and forgive them for Nishimiya she chose to forgive Ishida and all her bullies in fact she didn’t even blame them she blamed herself on why she was bullied because she isn’t a person to hate she doesn’t have a bitter heart she didn’t hate them she didn’t held a grudge on them she choose to move on with her life thats why she transferred school, thats why she still forgave Ishida because she moved on but blamed herself thats why its totally different being angry and hating your bullies is obviously understandable but Nishiyama choose to move on past that physical and mental bullying she even blames her self she is pure hearted thats why im telling you its different its not being dumb its the opposite its being selfless shes so selfless infact that its also selfish for other people who care about her its different
Well at least she manage to fight back shoyo when he was bullying her the last time. Tho it didn’t make it better either😢😢
@@kingdrift1136Bold balls to say that while completely misunderstanding the film and the message. Let alone a breakdown by a LICENSED PROFESSIONAL THERAPIST.
Actually reminds me of how God's relationship with humanity, is described in the Bible. 🤔✝️ He keeps on reaching out to us... but, we keep doing Shit, if not outright rejecting Him. 😢
Getting a deaf actress to do the voice acting in this film was sheer brilliance and shone through - hit so hard.
the autor of the manga made this with the help of the Japanese Federation of the Deaf
The Japanese VA isn’t deaf, only the English VA
@@shrrigan7754 imo the dub version was so much better with this film
@@BreadS197 same
@@shrrigan7754 right , in the sub she speaks clearly and fluently and that's not accurate. Dub voice actor is so much better
I once saw a comment stating the following and i couldnt agree more with it: A Silent Voice is not a story about a guy falling in love with a girl, its about a guy being able to love himself again.
👍
thats why this movie hits too close home, its about a guy who accepted his mistakes and started learning to live life once again, its not your shallow romance its a character study :)
Yes!
@eqw alle i personally like to interpret that the fact the dude opens himself up to the world again is the beginning of what could be his relationship with the girl. he's now able to love himself, and possibly the girl in the not so distant future. shit i forgot their name. iirc the girl is shouko
For loving someone, you first need to love yourself.
Remember that the Oscars chose boss baby over this masterpiece. Yes I’m still bitter
The fact that Boss Baby and Ferdinand were chosen over Lego Batman Movie and A Silent Voice pisses me off to this day. -_- WTH Academy??
Let's say that they hate Anime.
They’re rigged if this was really about just movies do you think A silent voice would’ve lost Boss baby has beautiful imagination that displays childhood in a movie I haven’t seen in I feel like a long time But it will never beat out the story telling and messages A Silent voice holds It’s just facts
The Oscars is a joke
Let's be honest, the Oscars is just a group of Americans who like the occasional French stuff. It's just a local festival, not the grand world state celebration they try to advertise it as.
After my wife betrayed and abandoned me, I randomly stumbled across this movie and it was the first time I really cried for probably over 20 years. All the hurt and self-hatred bubbled up inside of me and I just started sobbing uncontrollably.
I'm sorry that you had to go through that. I hope you're doing okay.
Stay strong friend
Nothing but the best for you sir. I hope you heal and find someone that deserves you and that is faithful. I am so sorry.
I hope things get better man. They have a way of doing so, in time
i hope youre doing well, friend. That kind of betrayal is a pain I hope I never experience again. Absolutely brutal.
I love how once Ishida finally stops blocking everyone out and hears what they are saying it’s all the benign simple happy things that people usually talk about. He was assuming the whole time that they all hated him and so they must have been talking about how terrible he was but really nobody was - so much of his isolation was self imposed and he finally realized it
That's the best scene in this movie when it resonates with you on a deeper level. That is the best visualization of depression I've ever come across. I've been in his shoes and that's how it feels.. you feel like everyone is looking at you, judging and bashing you and that everybody hates you.. when in reality most of it is in your head, and at some point because you hate yourself so much you slowly but surely make people around you dislike you too, so basically you make the lie you're telling yourself become the truth. The X's representation is also 100% accurate.. when I was in that state I was always looking down and avoiding any type of eye contact and I was blocking out everyone and every sound losing myself in my desperation. Thankfully after battling depression for 4 years I overcame it and it felt just like in the movie when the X's fall down and you finally see colour again. Everything you've ever wished for was right in front of you.. you just had to look. I can't watch that scene without crying.
@@lust8890 i am answering 10 months later but that is so interesting! I had social anxiaty my whole childhood and teenage years. It also is the best representation of that. I couldn't look any person in the eyes. I was always hearing people laugh in the train and would think they just laugh about me and talk about me. It was so bad that i got sweats as soon as i needed to be in social environments. Once i got to university i met people that showed me that they liked me really just the way i am. It started my progress to tackle the issue and i started to see that people are not laughing about me, they are just laughing about anything. They were just minding their own. This is when i consciously tried to see what is happening around me. Now i am 31 and social environments can still be tiring but i started to like being around people. The X's are the absolute best representation of this i have ever seen.
@@markuse787 I went through a similar thing. I've been depressed since 14, and I escaped it at 18. In those 4 years I never went outside, didn't go to a party, didn't have a girlfriend, didn't have friends except the fact I knew a couple people but it was far from a friendship. Then at 18 it naturally happened that I linked up with those 'couple people' and slowly but surely I learnt how to socialize again, got a girlfriend and it all became better from there. For 4 years I fought with my mom EVERY DAY (I do blame some of what happened on her, but I forgave her), but once I put my life together socially speaking, me and my mom started having a great friendship, again, naturally. That is a testament that it's not the outside that dictates your inside, but it's your thoughts and perception that form the world around you. The funny thing is I'm 23 now, and for the last 2 years I've been mostly staying inside... and yet this time around I'm not depressed, because now it's a choice, I've realized that I like to be alone, while in the past I hated being alone because I thought I'm not good enough to be around people. Again a testament to how perception is everything.
@@markuse787 This. This is exactly how social anxiety feels for me. Even now, at the age of 45, my lizard brain still goes "Wait, are they talking about me?" anytime I hear nearby laughter, or people talking that I can't make out exactly what they're saying. Time and experience has just shown me that other people have WAY more bullshit in their own lives to even spend 2 seconds talking shit about me. Yet my brain still tries to trick me. It's not something that just goes away, you have to learn how to ignore it.
@@KhronicD I know what you mean! For me it also had a lot to do with feeling "okay" in my own skin. While getting older, i feel like you have "seen" alot in the world. So you realize everybody have their own demons to tackle and don't give a damn about you. :D I hope your social anxiety feels better for you and you can make progress. Consciously realizing to see the real things happen around you is a biiiiig first step.
I absolutely refuse to believe that boss baby beat this in the oscars.
The Oscars is dumb
I didn’t know this but I am livid that happens
It’s the Oscars man, that, the Emmys, Grammys and Golden Globes, all bullshit.
This^ and when Big Hero 6 beat Ghibli's Tale of Princess Kaguya smh
from what ik the Oscars are just a super fancy advert kzhead.info/sun/pbKLoMaXfGKgg5s/bejne.html
Fun fact: the composer actually put microphones inside a piano to record the vibrations and clicks that people don't usually hear to capture the idea of the vibrations of music that a deaf people would usually feel
How so inside of the piano? When recording piano, specifically grand pianos, the piano is almost always opened up and mics are put in very close to the strings (several inches above the strings). Well, I should specify that this method was used because at the time we were recording a big jazz band and the mics needed to be close up to not catch any bleed-over sound from other instruments. This specifically is done to capture just the sound of the piano, and not the sound of the room itself, other instruments, or really any other noise. As for actually recording a grand piano: Typically two mics are used, one to capture all of the bass notes and one to capture the high notes, though this is more for when you want the sound of the piano alone. Another way to record a piano is to keep the mics a good distance both up and away from the piano (1 meter or so) so you can capture both the sound of the piano itself and the natural acoustics of the room the piano is in. I should also say that it's not uncommon to use 4 microphones, to get both sounds of what I just described. 2 inside the piano to get the piano sound themselves, and 2 mics outside of the piano to pick up the room itself (and the reverberations of the piano itself playing through the room). Honestly, there's 101+ ways to mic a piano. And all that really changes is what it sounds like (even if only very slightly). So I'm curious as to how it was recorded since whenever I've recorded grand pianos, I've yet to mic one so the vibrations of the hammers striking the strings of a piano are heard moreso than the tones produced by the strikes themselves. P.S. For those unaware of how pianos make sound, the most basic explanation is that hammers are striking different length metal (usually metal) strings to make different tones. The shorter the string, the higher the pitch.
This is from an interview: "First, I did some research on hearing impairments. I found out that the types and degrees of them vary depending on individuals, and so I didn’t take deafness as a concept. Instead, I focused on a hearing aid, which plays an important role in the film. A hearing aid is basically an amplifier for your ear, so theoretically, it should create some noise. Then, I began to think how much noise to pick up, what sort of difference we hear between noise and musical tones and what makes noise become meaningful. All those thoughts led me to one conclusion, an upright piano. The fact that my parents were holding music lessons at home might have helped me, but upright pianos clearly stood out as an instrument that I could control the noise as much as possible. Upright pianos could produce noises from nails clicking on keys, a hammer clunking by pressing keys, a felt part on a soft pedal when it’s pressed down and a soundboard creaking as strings echo. In order to complete the concept of recording all those noises, I dismantled a piano and set up a microphone inside. By doing so, I was hoping to capture and record the sound as a whole including such noises, not musical tones."
@@wonderlanddreamer1021 Thank you for posting the partial interview!
@@wonderlanddreamer1021 I think the acoustics of the piano itself definitely contributes to that. Please correct me if I’m wrong though!
That's fucking genius
Worst part is that Ishida was portrayed as the main and only villain. While his classmates where just as bad, and sometimes even much worse. The teacher never did anything, he never cared. But he, and his former friends where all very quick to turn on him and throw him under the bus. Watch Ishida's body language also. He's mimicking sign language when first introduced in his class. But stopped after Ueno voiced her dislike of it. He was the only one who bully'd her about to raise his hand when the terrible teacher asked, no one else did. And so much more. It's in the tiny details like body language that shows Ishida is actually not as bad as portrayed by his former freinds and the likes.
That's the point, people don't want to get in trouble do they blamed him as the bad one
that's the thing with bully culture, the bullies would not hesitate to turn against each other when things go downhill, and some even play the victim to avoid trouble
he even looked to his friend when he pulled out her hearing aids, seeking validation from them
I feel like people who empathize the most have a tendency towards depression.
😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂lmao 😂lmao the 😂😂😂lmao the 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
One scene that really hit me hard is the one where his mother confronts him about his planned suicide. It’s chilling the way she brings it up so casually before breaking down into an emotional mess.
This moment for me was the second time in the movie that I cried. (The first was the classroom fight between shoya and shoko.) This scene highlights how shoya’s actions have affected his mom in terms of her relationship to him when she says she knew something was wrong based on the way he was acting, and that moment of the movie hit me like a truck.
Second only to the scene where Nishimiya's mother - the one whose defining traits throughout the film have been a) being emotionally distant to her deaf daughter and b) blaming Ishida the hardest and longest for the bullying, borderline hating him - she f*ckin' BOWS DOWN to thank him for saving her daughter's life. One of the most powerful scenes in anything I've ever seen ever.
I think the scene that hit me the hardest was when Yuzuriha and Shoko's mom were pulling down all of the photos. When I first saw it, I thought, "How much different would it have been if Shoko actually did die that night?" The more I thought about it, the more I started to realize that it might not have changed at all. There was nothing that either of them could have said or done to stop her. The only reason why she's alive right now is because Shoya managed to catch her. I don't know if this is how family members grieve when someone commits suicide (and I'm too afraid to ask anyone I know who's had to go through that), but I would imagine it would have to be something like this. Just wondering if there was anything they could have done differently to stop their loved one from making that choice.
It makes me scared to have kids one day. Supporting suicidal people has taken such a toll on me. I don't regret it, but I don't want to have to do it again.
the most relatable line in the movie for me was "Am I allowed to be this happy?"
Yeah it's one of the most powerfull lines I Can think of. Alongside with the "Can I cry now? " line from I wanna eat your pancreas
I’m sorry- can I eat your what?
@@Nazrock12 Pardon? What movie is “I Wanna Eat Your Pancreas”? This made me laugh today. Edit: Whoops, I misread it and didn’t realize that _I Wanna Eat Your Pancreas_ IS the movie.
@@KeitieKalopsia the title actually make sense once you watched the first 5 minutes. The movie itself is a really emotional story about living with a fatal disease.
@@KeitieKalopsia yeah I Want to Eat Your Pancreas is one of those big examples where u don't judge a book by it's cover🤣 the title will obviously be funny to people hearing it the first time(I'm guilty of that) but the film itself is straight up heartbreak and depression😭
Never forget, Boss Baby was nominated for an Oscar over this masterpiece of a film.
It’s really annoying to me that a large majority of people don’t like watching these movies because they “don’t want to feel depressed.” To me that just seems so ignorant because this world isn’t just all sunshine and rainbows, so many people go through this and to just brush that off is so irritating to me I can’t even put it into words.
@@noizyboy05 probably because they don't want to have that short sadness we all have everytime we finish watching animes, cant blame them for trying to stay happy when they can
the awards bs is from america obviously they would choose their own films
Boss baby, more like bullshit baby
This film is WAY more intelligently written (and animated) over Boss Baby. But more people in the US have probably seen Boss Baby to vote for it than A Silent Voice.
I think one of the least talked about characters is Nagasuka. (the bubble hair guy) He is mostly ignored because everyone sees him as support or comedy relief. Everyone assumes that he's fine and he might be, but he is ignored. I just relate to him so much, I am basically the same. Fun and sociable, so it seems like we can't help in serious situations. For some reason, people like us end up attracting the most hurt people, and end up getting hurt as a result.
When I Choose To See The Good Side Of Things, I'm Not Being Naive. It Is Strategic And Necessary. It's How I Learned To Survive Through Everything
@@hugo254hcm is that a quote from everything everywhere all at once?
do you mean "end up getting hurt as a result" as a you being ignored? or because the the hurt people attracted to you hurts you?
I feel he's more than comic relief as he's literally the first to reach out. He's the first to break down the walls.
@@danzanbattumur9638 bc the hurt people end up pushing me away or hurting me in some way. I just can't stand to see my friends suffer
I don’t think anyone mentioned this, but at 7:09 when ishida lowers the umbrella after yuzuru scolds him, seeing his old shoes reminds him of his ways as a child and that he thinks he wont be able to change, but when yuzuru lifts the umbrella, he realizes those shoes arent on the “child version” of himself, but instead are being used to help someone in need.
5:21
Jonathan: "Depression doesn't go away, doesn't lift for most people. But there's a capacity to feel again, there's a capacity to experience joy." Me: *SOBS 6 seconds in
Same
We make 3 now.
make that 4
Definitely needed a cry break too
@@AsterisSleeping 5
"It's slower and it's more pensive than Western audiences are used to...but it breathes." And isn't this just an amazing commentary. You managed to explain why I love these kinds of films in a really beautiful and accurate way. Thank you for that.
It's one of the best things about the new Disney film Luca but unfortunately what a lot of hate about it.
@@kaylawoodbury2308 If you like it, you like it. No need other people's opinion. on the other hand, haters are the most vocal. It's the same with Raya and The Last Dragon. It's definitely not a movie for Americans, as it's very dense on South East Asian histories and philosophy.
This,,, i keep thinking they should be able to review A monster calls because this. slow but alive and real.
@@zitronentee Honestly, I really didn't enjoy Raya and the last dragon because it felt like it could have benefitted from being a TV series. Something that could flesh out the story, world, and characters. It was such a beautiful world that went by so fast XD. I feel like producers don't really know western audiences. It feels like recent times, we're given face paced stories, yet what we want is a slow and well thought out world with amazing stories. It sucks when a show gets shortened or canceled, when it could have benefitted from being a longer running show. While shows like Family Guy, the Simpsons, SpongeBob and such just never end, their stories long burned out. Also, I didn't like the dragon's model, looked like princess Elsa XD Anyways, sorry for this rant, when that movie is mention, I just need to talk about it, ya know?
@@ron4202 As I said, it is dense on SEA culture and history. So, it's normal for Americans or anyone without knowing history to not to get it. SEA has a very long history with a lot of tribes, kingdoms, cultures and languages across. There were a lot wars and also political dramas and backstabbing. Only recently that after the end of European colonization that we are kinda over it and try to move on, building our country while maintaining peace for the sake of our well-being.
I strongly believe everyone should watch a silent voice at least once in their life
Very true
I wish more people I know would try it. As soon as I mention it's an anime they instantly dismiss it, and that makes me so sad 😞
@@AldenDoblePretty ridiculous, it's just an animation style
@@SofieArts I couldn't agree more. I hate how closed minded some people can be 😩
@@AldenDoble a good story is a good story doesn't matter if its live action or animation, people need to realise this.
i'm on the autism spectrum and have dealt with severe depression and social anxiety most of my life. This film is one I will never get tired of seeing...it makes me cry every time. I think it is such a poignant film that strikes a chord with those who have felt othered or unlovable before. It's genuinely a masterpiece.
We have similar diagnosis so I want to be there to say that you're doing a good job. I just thought you needed to hear it again.
I have hearing loss. I’m not deaf, however. But I remember feeling very similarly to Shoko.
"Depression doesn't go away, it doesn't lift for most people. It's something they still have to wrestle with, it's still there. But there's a capacity to feel again and there's a capacity to experience joy." Damn that hit so hard
it deff did, i started bawling lol. but it is so true, just hard to see sometimes.
Real
Well for me the social anxiety, depression, bullying and "off himself" attemps were the most relatable 🥲
Yeah, living with depression is like walking in a rope, without looking down, because you will fall. In time it gets incredible exhausting and at least I try to find a soft spot to fall. The longer I wait, the longer it takes me to get up.
this reminds me of when i suddenly realized that my dad loves me. like a veil lifted from my eyes and i can finally be happy to receive his love
I love the symbolism of ishida covering his ears. He hated himself for hurting a deaf girl, so he refuses to both look at connection and makes himself deaf to it for what he believes is her sake.
Such a great movie love it
You got the same profile picture as my friend lol, almost thought you were her XD
He refuses to listen
a moomin and a silent voice fan 🥰
the beginning makes you thought that the title is about the deaf girl, nishimiya, but at the end is more about ishida who silent himself for hearing people voices cause his trauma of getting bullied for bullying nishimiya in the past.
The part that makes me cry the most is when Shouko reveals that she wants to make herself disappear for Shoya's sake, because she blames herself for his choices, his isolation and his depression. She is so sweet and its so awful that thats how she sees the world bc she feels rejected. Her unending empathy is beautiful, but along with the feeling of displacement in her community has made her think that she is unworthy if others suffer because of her existence. Somehow, shes convinced herself that if she was just removed from the problem everything will be alright for Shoya. Shouko deserves more. And im glad that shes gettibg more. More support, and apologies to make her realise her worth.
it is insanely reassuring seeing proffesionals react to this film in such a good way.
Something I appreciated about this film is that the bullying didn’t start right away. The rest of the students were surprised when she told them she couldn’t hear, but they rolled with it. They read her notebook and wrote her, and one girl even helped her at music class when she started singing too early. The trouble started because the other students got annoyed/frustrated when they were constantly having to make accommodations for her - because the school wasn’t making a n y accommodations for her. The teacher didn’t even know she was deaf when she arrived on her first day. The teacher constantly spoke to the class or her, without writing anything on the board, even though he knew she couldn’t hear him. The bullying started because the school set a bad example for the class by not valuing and supporting her as a student. Accommodate students with disabilities
*clap* this is very important and true
Exactly! In my forth grade class, there was a deaf girl in my elementary school. Everyone thought she was so cool! The students all tried to learn some sign and to be her friend. The teachers helped her with work without ostracizing her, and all in all it was a great experience. Man I love my elementary school. Middle school on the other hand...
My thought exactly!!
Agree
really good point, only thing being that kawai miki pretended to sing by mouthing it so that she could look like she was helping nishimiya who accidentally sung too early after seeing that. she’s always been an asshole
About the bullying in the early part of the movie: Japanese society can be extra cruel to anyone who is different (I'm half Japanese). The saying in Japan about this is "the nail that sticks out gets hammered down." So the kids were getting mixed signals from the adults in their lives. The text was telling them that they should not be mean to someone who was born with a handicap, but the subtext was telling them to be cruel to anyone who commits the sin of being different. Ah, Alan understood and explained this at 14:30
I heard only recently japanese schools lifted rules that forced students with non-black hair to dye their hair darker. It's crazy the kind of things societies will not only force on people but children (especially considering how bad constantly dying your hair can be for it.)
@@nickelakon5369 Yea but you if dye your hair at all you can get in trouble
@@whitemask279 not if you had lighter hair and were dying black. But without the rule, I get the feeling that some will choose to continue dying their hair to avoid standing out.
Kids are mean all over. I remember in elementary school kids would tease the special education students so they would get angry enough to chase them on the playground because it was “fun.” Kids are mean because they don’t understand how not to be mean unless they’re taught.
@@studybuddy. Children are taught to be mean at home and/or by their peers. Children aren't born cruel. Some two year olds for instance are known to squish bugs because some toddlers aren't emotionally developed yet. But if things go as they should, they will learn not to hurt others by the time they're 3 to 5. Empathy must be excercised and children and adults alike should be sensitised and learn to process their feelings so they can be kind and civile. But bullying, cruelty and harrassment are not a "children's thing". Violence is learnt. Rarely ever anyone is born vile. Humans in stressed societies are also prone to physically or emotinally beat up individuality, joy, peacefulness and kindness out of other people, and out of non-humans. But it doesn't come from no where. It's a social disease. Some societies and some eras are more violent and anti-social than others. Miserable people who are emotionally stunted become terrified of being the next target and join packs of social predators from cowardice and from learning to enjoy causing pain.
I could not find the words to describe what I felt when all those Xs fell of peoples faces when I first saw this movie. I was just sobbing at that scene, like how powerful that scene felt. I was so happy in that moment Ishida felt he was worthy of love 😭
God this ending always ends up making me cry. Such a real portrayal of how depression felt... and how hard and liberating it was to kinda be able to feel
OMG pfp twin 😆
This is not a “Hey, I’ve got time why don’t I watch A Silent Voice” film. This is a “I need to see this before I die” film.
This isn't JUST a movie, it's an EXPERIENCE.
I recommend the comic it was based on if you really enjoyed it.
Its a cleansing. I cried like 10 years out of me while watching it.
yup 100%
Definitely.
"despression doesnt go away, doesnt lift for some people. it is something they still have to wrestle with. it is still there. but theres a capacity to feel again and theres a capacity to express joy" im in tears
me too
Im in serious thought about having depression or not. But i feel a lot of disconnection with reality (especially living in a small town)
please same
Me too...
There comes a point when you have "wrestled" with it for so long, you just give up of ever feeling happiness that is not forced.....
I've never cried so hard at the end of a movie. Thank you so much for reviewing this one, it affected me so much and I hope it touched others. Masterpiece of film.
You're very welcome.
As much as I appreciate the complexity of being able to empathize with the bully, I do really want to see an analysis of Nishimiya herself. I say this as a deaf person who grew up in similar circumstances to Nishimiya regarding the bullying, othering, decomplexifying, patronizing/avoidance behaviors stemming from a fear of interacting with someone who they see as too “fragile”, etc. This is not even mentioning the ways in which these themes are systemically reinforced as well. Ableism is so complex, and yet it is a subject that doesn’t come up in analysis of this film, or in conversations in general. This lack of dialogue only perpetuates the subconscious or even conscious mistreatment and dehumanization of disabled people as an object for the general population to avoid, pity, or try to fix whether that be through our differences themselves (ie. hearing ability) or a charity project type-relationship to make yourself feel like a better person; which all seek to disregard the abundant intersectional nuances of human experience that people with disabilities are just as full of as anyone else. We see this in Nishimiya herself, as she has internalized so much negative messaging from her environment, that the idea that her life is so worthless and burdensome that she must spend every waking moment accommodating for other peoples experience of sound (rather than the other way around) as a way of apologizing for existing/experiencing reality in a way out of her control, is now genuinely part of her own self view and life philosophy. Taking responsibility for oneself in spite of the role of external forces in your struggles is admirable but there need to be a balance- as without it, you end up internalizing external anger and manifesting it as self hatred- a subconscious action commonly present within all discriminated groups of people. As representation and celebration of complex life experiences (ie. minority; hate that word but that’s a story for another day) in general moves more towards “complex character who also happens to be [XYZ]”, I hope this shift will happen with the disabled community as well. There’s an entire reality’s worth of storytelling- and humanity- that has yet to be explored beyond just surface level. Don’t get me wrong, I love a Silent Voice, but considering how integral Deafness is to the film, there is an entire world of analysis to be done that (at least to my knowledge) nobody has explored on KZhead. Maybe one day we will even get to explore think pieces about intrinsic value (not needing to break down barriers/fundamentally change the world to be considered valuable as a human with less common life experiences) and disabled joy. Thank you if anyone read this, have a great day 😊 🤟🏽
I did watch several videos that explored those concepts and also Nishimiya's side of the story. Given that both are de facto primary characters, it would be great if analysis of both would be included. Though I can find 2 "reasonable reasons" of why there is more about the bully then the bullied. 1. You'd likely want to cover it with a person that is deaf or at least has some hearing impairment like Nishimiya. 2. I can see in their anime reviews (on YT) how little of the material they use. Because Japanese studios (and the American companies that have rights for North America) are scary when it comes to copyright. There are other reasons as well, given that boy is the main character and is both a bully and bullied, which makes analysis of him easier to touch on many things that broader audience is familiar with to some extent, but again, I did see couple videos trying at the very least show Nishimiya's perspective. And tackle problem of Ableism in Japan and worldwide.
"I can see the difference; it's way better in Japanese" Even non-anime fans can tell lmao
You mean the dub?
Yes
the english voice actors were good, it's just that the whoever was directing the dub had them sound like they were voicing an action film instead of a slice of life story about depression
Silent Voice had an amazing dub, love that Shouko was actually voiced by a deaf voice actress. It really added to the authenticity.
I'm the world's biggest anime fan and I watched 90% English dubbed anime. Visual novels and live action I do subbed though.
Can we mention the fact that this memorable movie lost the Academy's Best Animated Movie Award nomination to "Boss Baby"? Easily the moment in which I stopped caring about the Oscars forever.
Oh wow I didn’t know that! That is very disappointing..
True, I felt so terrible about it. Specially thinking about how bad of a movie "Boss Baby" is.
Boss baby never won, it just got a nomination, wich this movie did not. The movie who won was Coco
@@Kotoamatsukami6910 Silent voice didn't get nominated? That even worse bruh..
@@Sweet_Jelly39 Agreed, multiple people in the Oscar comites have confessed that they don't watch most of the animated movies that are watched, and that they vote for Disney or some other stuff that their grandkids take them to.
this movie both destroyed and healed me. His story was and still is so close to mine, that I found motivation to heal and to forgive myself in this movie through seeing his development. I love this movie so much, but I know I will NEVER be able to watch it again. I love this episode a lot, even if it made me ugly cry at 9am in the middle of class.
"Depression doesn't go away, doesn't lift for most people, its something they still have to wrestle with, its still there. But there's a capacity to feel again, there's a capacity to feel joy." This is quite possibly the best take away anyone could have. Bravo Mr. Decker! I just watched this movie for the first time and I am writing this 12 hours later. I am still crying thinking of all the powerful moments. I cannot believe how little people know about this phenomenal film in the west. As someone that was bullied in middle school myself I really connected with this film and it quite possibly might be my favorite animated film of all time. Definitely in the top 3.
This movie is just like a therapy session for universal teenagers out there with their own problem of connecting to their friends and family and the community. Everyone need it in their teenage life to learn about compassion and empathy.
Everyone needs it, not just teenagers. Not everyone, even the considerably called adults, know and practice accountability and self-reflection. It's all about blaming others and never blaming anything for themselves.
I watched this in my late teens/early twenties I believe, and I think it was just as therapeutic for me as most everyone else.
Legit tho when I watched this i legit cry soo badly cuz how bad I relate to this movie
The original manga story was written and drawn by a 19-year-old.
most of us end up with no friends in the end :)
A Silent Voice is simply one of those must-watch animated films that you need to watch if you're a fan of memorable, heart-wrenching movies.
Any other suggestions?
Check out “I want to eat your pancreas “
@@auhsoj5758 not a movie but "to your eternity"
You really need a life
@@auhsoj5758 not animated but "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty" was another life-changer for me
"the cure so many things is connection, and we may think no one wants to connect with me but we just need to find the right people." i started crying so much
i watched [ a silent voice ] back when i was 15, newly struggling with depression while being a socially anxious outcast introvert. the film felt all too real by the way it resonates with my every being that i cried like there was no tomorrow in the comfort of my dark room during the ending scene. it was as if it acknowledged and understood me more than anybody ever could. over time, it got better, and it feels as if i've finally reached ishida's level of liberation just like the ending of this film. i was wrong. i am now 22, and starting physical lectures after the pandemic was hard. i feel like ishida during the hallway scene most of the time, with figurative X's on my course mates' faces. it's been nearly a year and i'm still in the same position. in the video, jonathan said "depression doesn't go away, doesn't lift for most people. but there's a capacity to feel again, there's a capacity to experience joy". indeed, my depression didn't go away because it's always been there, lying dormant and waiting to rear its head. so, right now, i'm just looking forward to the day i can feel the same way ishida did at the end of the film again. i am hopeful, even if it's going to be a long time from now.
Hello I sort of get what you are talking about well don’t always compare yourself to this character waiting to get happy, but if it makes you feel better to relate to this character do so but not lots be your own movie character I really want to see things get better for you I don’t know really lots about you but I just go through peoples comments here, I really don’t know what to say because I might say something wrong but I can wrap it up by saying you will get that day and you can do it I cheer you on
@@YUSHEIVA i appreciate the thought and kind wishes. thank you :)
Don't give up. My 20s were similarly hard for me. I felt so disconnected and out of place. In my case I had an untreated anxiety disorder, where I did eventually need medication. But the biggest help was counseling. Gradually it helped me to regain my confidence. But I also felt that he time leading up till 25 was tumultuous, which is when our Brian's finally mature fully. I also felt like I was chasing a dream of happiness and stability that would never come. Please just know that nothing stays the same forever. And it doesn't have to take as long for you as it did for me, with the right help. Now I am a well rounded adult, 34, who still struggles but comes out on top of what used to crush me (the vast majority of the time) Things really aren't like they are in the movies, but it is right that things can get better, not perfect but definitely and most certainly better
Sorry for the spelling mess ups 😆
@@saraf7371 i'm so happy that you finally managed to find what works for you!! thank you for the reply. i myself started counselling just recently and hoping that it'll help me even a little
"If people are telling you you're the problem, don't believe it." I've never needed a sentence so much in my life.
To clarify, if people are telling you you're the ONLY problem, don't believe it. Sometimes we are the problem. and we can't move on and help either ourselves or people we've hurt with out accepting that (I guess to clarify, a whole person is rarely the problem, more something they do, the way they behave etc).
@@felixhenson9926 yess this is exactly what i want to say. Sometimes we are the problem and we need to admit it and change.
Karens be like: “I already do that”
We need to stop telling our girls that “boys will be boys” and that harassment is a way of flirtation, and we need to stop ignoring our boys’ emotions and give them the support and guidance that they deserve.
Here here!
Louder for the people in the back!!!
This right here!
I'm a cis-dude, and I NEVER understood the whole "giving someone a hard time as a method of flirting" thing. NEVER.
Based take. People need that connection. The more we sort people into categories that we don’t let them escape from, the more we hurt them in the long run.
One thing I really admire about Ishita, is that despite anticipating rejection and even hostility (which he did receive), and also being depressed (not diagnosed but as Jono said, it is likely), he didn't run away from accountability and tried to connect with others anyway. This can be extremely hard and scary for a person with low self-esteem and depressed.
Well...sorta. He was 100% intending to commit suicide and only stopped because he wanted to make amends with Nishimiya. And then Nagatsuka wouldn't *let* him run away, regardless how much Ishida wanted to.
Just watched this last night and the last 5 minutes hit me pretty hard The “looking down” and putting X’s on peoples face is super relatable
"And depression doesn't go away, doesn't lift for most people; it's something they still have to wrestle with. It's still there. But there's a capacity to feel again and there's a capacity to experience joy." - Jonathan Decker Takeaway: You don't have to wait until you're completely rid of depression in order to move forward and find joy again.
great takeaway. I struggle to let go of the idea I need to get all well before anyone can love me.
Yeah, that's a great takeaway, and one that I need to accept too, even if I struggle with it a lot
Thank you
Thank you for the takeaway. It really means a lot to me :)
haha thank you all for saying thank you
Violet Evergarden is another piece of anime that is so good at showing grief, depression, and acceptance, I cried in every single episode
Episodes 7 and 10 fucked me up the first time I watched it; I recently rewatched it and, just like you, I cried or at least teared up in each episode.
I LOVE Violet Evergarden!!
Whenever I think about episode 10 I just start crying 😭😭😂
There's a video of a war veteran talking about Violet Evergarden, I think you would like to see. It's just so beautiful and touching. This is one of my favorite animes and I'm always happy to see other people who love it too
YES THIS! I absolutely love Violet Evergarden.
As a lifetime chronic depressive agoraphobe who has almost no connections with others in two decades, I want to say thank you. Even if I'm not there I do feel a connection with y'all. Thank you for talking to me and all of us, it means the world to me, truly.
“And we may think ‘no one wants to connect with me’, but we just need to find the right people”. Couldn’t have said it better!
I believe when he still sees the “x’s” on people faces, the voices he hears from them are things he thinks they are saying about him. So when the “x’s” finally fall off and he hears the voices, they’re just peoples conversations. Nothing being said about him. Something I connected with heavily. And just utterly floored me in hopes I can hear the same. Edit: Not that it’s good we’ve all felt this, but it’s nice to know we’re not the only ones that felt this. Thanks for the 5k guys
Yeah social anxiety really makes you hear things that are not there, something I can especially attest to with having been bullied for majority of my elementary school years. I'm just casually walking in the streets and suddenly hear kids (or adults, mostly happens with kids tho) laughing and my brain instantly makes it about me and believes they are laughing at me because that is what I've been conditioned to believe for majority of those elementary school years when my brain was still developing. It's really scary stuff
so true, totally agree!
Not only that though, it's a metaphor for him and Shoko being the same. He put his voice and thoughts into what they are saying, just how Shoko always thinks shes causing people issues with her inability to hear. They approach it differently but they think the same way. It's another reason behind why he asked her to show him how to live, because they are in the same boat and on a very similar journey for recovery and self love
I had the same situation. For a longest time, when I got praised about something my dumbass brain interpreted it as mocking. It took me years to unlearn that.
@@jokurandomi93 I still tend to do that. Not as much anymore. But certain situations I do.
"There's a capacity to feel again, there's a capacity to experience joy." And with Alan tearing up, this had me bawling my eyes out
As someone who suffered from deep depression it made me cry as well and not feeling emotion
@@tomwatson8090 Hey Tom! I deeply relate to your reactions. I hate to say, but I'm currently going through depression right now because of college. I know I have people there to help, but I just have this small feeling that its not enough for me. Anyways, hope you're well, and I anticipate your future blessings.
Me too rn me too i cant even see rn
I wish you both (Makio, Tom) the best, hope you'll be able to take your life in your hands again and to live it to the fullest. Good luck, stay strong
@@harrmuu all people are weak at the end of the day. There's only so much they can do to help
I love this movie so much! I think it handles so many delicate topics like suicide, bullying, depression, abuse.... so regardful. What I love most about it is that the story isn´t just about the bully or the victim. It is about how this affects their whole lives but also their familys and friends.
don't forget that it also brought up difficulty with disabilities as well, this really was the full package😊
I can't decide if it's ironic or entirely appropriate that a film about a deaf girl has such amazing sound design
I still get over how shitty their teacher was, he knew they were bullying nishimiya, but decided to take action only after the mom contacted the school, and then put all the blames on Ishida And i just realised, while talking about this, that This is actually how most schools in real life act if in the same situation...
Teacher in my school can't see differences between bullying and teasing. The only time they come to realize is when student resigned from that school or when parent decided to punish the bully himself when class still running.
I'm talking about something in the past, i don't know if they changed now or still the same.
The school also threw a girl with a disability into a class with no support and then asks a bunch of elementary school kids to be her aide. While it is nice that one of them volunteers to learn sign language, the fact that there is not an interpreter or aide or anything means Shoko was stuck at the whims of her peers. I really hope Japanese schools have better integration that this because it would not be legal in the US.
@@kirshi8492 No kidding... I have had a shoulder injury since 3rd grade from what the teachers on recess duty called "horsing around"... in what scenario does three people pinning one down and a fourth wrenching their arm back until something pops just "horsing around"? Or... when the bullying results in broken teeth from being tripped with a surprise jumprope when trying to get on a balancing beam in PE... that was not a great year for me. Thankfully, I'm 25 and kind of laugh at knowing all four of them have criminal records... and that a guy who had a crush on me apparently beat two of them badly enough to hospitalise them when they tried crap in juniour high. *sweatdrops*
@@lucanandrews774 I'm so sorry and proud of you
For someone who also suffers from social anxiety, I bawled when the "X" on their faces disappeared. This is the best Anime I've seen.
same, i think i applied it to myself more when i saw it, since i really struggle with eye contact so i saw it more from that aspect than how these guys saw it as accepting everyone's love, but like a lot of great movies, tv shows, books etc, this one is great in how it is different every time you watch it, and changes how it affects you each time.
this movie made me cry SO MUCH the first time i watched it :( and watching it again a couple months ago it hit so much harder :(
SAME MY GOD I CRIED It's not the best ever imo but so good
ME TOO. I STILL DONT KNOW WHY BUT THAT SCENE MADE ME SOB SO HARD
No joke i felt exactly like sho in that moment. I didn’t even realize i was bawling until the credits started rolling. When i did finally realize i started crying 10 fold.
I was the scapegoat for my childhood friends and they made me believe I was a terrible person for years. One time someone spread a rumor that I was a fake friend so my “friends” plus random people I didn’t talk to, shoved me into a corner at school and started yelling insults at me. My teacher didn’t do anything until after class where she told me, “They’re your friends, you shouldn’t get sad over a misunderstanding” So I didn’t realize how fucked up and toxic my relationship with those people were until recently when I cut the source of the problem off. So I kin him ✌️
That is horrible I’m glad you got away from such a toxic relationship. I hate that the teacher did nothing to help your situation
@@rhsya5979 teachers are kind of useless sometimes sadly
Bro if i was in that situation, i would probably start thinking i was dreaming, or having a nightmare or something, just seems too absurd to be real. xD
@@Lauren_567its not their job
This movie honestly saved me, it is my all time favorite I have seen it like 8 times and still makes me break down. One of the best movies I have ever watched
Thank you for pointing out that depression doesn’t just suddenly get cured. All of the X’s falling off of the crowd’s face is a beautiful scene, but I hope audiences can understand that the character will continue to have bad days. And that’s part of the process.
Before I went to therapy to get help I used to dream that someday I'd get help and I'd no longer feel empty all the time. Hearing the therapist finally tell me that I had depression and severe anxiety was a relief and heartbreaking at the same time. I cried the whole way home. When the therapist and I decided it was OK for me to slowly wean off my daily pills the first bad day I had really messed me up. I had a meltdown and confessed to my husband that I was hoping it would mean I would never have to feel those ugly things again. Now I know enough to recognize my bad days and reach out. It's tough stuff
As someone with depression I recognized that moment not as a cure but as clarity and finally letting in the connection and beauty of his reality. I've experienced similar moments, but for me it's more often that colors seem brighter and the world is suddenly more vibrant.
@@Christina-xc7on I think the main thing that shows that the film is aware that it’s not that simple to “fix” depression is that fact that we’ve already seen one moment earlier on where the X went back over people’s faces after an unexpected encounter with his old friend caused him to shut back down for a bit. It shows that the Xs falling away isn’t a permanent solution, just growth away from the negativity. It indicates that he’s healing, but it’s not a magic bullet and he’ll still struggle sometimes.
Ishida likely wouldn't have been depressed without suffering years of bullying. There's a difference between physiological depression caused by chemical imbalance and depression caused by trauma.
Imo, the Xs represented "his own world" and the falling off represented him "opening his eyes to the world, and himself to others." Not necessarily human connection like the therapist said, as the X's fall off of complete strangers. Since he's been conditioned to be lonely, his self-deprecation and feelings of guilt constrict him from associating with others, it's easier to imagine they don't exist. He holds himself like an outsider looking in, and that's the main thing I take from the X's. Imo, the X's didn't represent depression, or atleast, not mainly. They moreso represented character development and how he finally feels like he had a place in the world. It represented how his world and world view has finally "clicked" into place and how he can finally let go of the overbearing feelings of guilt and eventually find joy in the world, and trust in himself. So yeah, depression was definitely a major part of this movie, but in my honest opinion, I don't think the X's represented his depression just "falling away" instantly. If I had to relate it to anything, it's more like closure and the effects it has.
The way everyone made Shoya a scapegoat was such a d-move. Yes he was the biggest bully but holy shit even the teacher had turned a blind eye to the bullying and only came forward and acted angry when principal and Shokos parents got involved. Everyone basically made a plea deal to testify against Shoya in trade that their ass gets saved
Agreed. I mostly hated the teacher in this story rather than the children. If he was a proper adult then i am a sure that it wouldn't have ended up the way it did. That's what happens in most schools where bullying happens. Either the teacher or the school turn a blind eye and sometimes both do that.
Fr like yeah he was a bully but NOBODY EVER TRIED TO STOP HIM NOT EVEN THE TEACHER which is why he went out of line and kept doing it, I totally blame the school and teachers it's their job to guide kids like holy sh*t I'm not even asking for the teacher to punish him (i feel like that will make him even worse and they would totally blame shouko for it even though it's not fair) but at least talk to him? Kids can be assholes sometimes but talking does help, i just hate those kinds of teachers they never help you, i got bullied in middle school and even then i knew my teachers would not do sh*t about it
And the fact that his “friends” not only blamed him entirely but then completely stopped being friends with him and actively tried to ostracize him. The blond kid with the half open eyes made me mad the most.
This was one of the realest parts of the movie though .... Like in real life, the relationships he was making were all fake and when the going got tuff his worst fears came true .... Like a self fulfilling prophecy he was trying to avoid by entertaining everyone by bullying but it was that which isolated him in the end
I'm not sure... I thought the bullying happened during break times and after schools. Sahara moved to another school without saying anything, and definitely Nishimaya herself wouldn't tell the teachers who's the bullies. So I'm not surprised that the teacher had little clue who are responsible for the girl, other than Shouya. Especially that it's only Shouya himself that blatantly bullies Nishimaya during classes, while everyone else are having fun watching it from behind, making him easier to be blamed. Other than that, I'm pretty sure there are strict rules for teachers that prevents them to directly handle the situation when there's no major complaint. Although it's true that the teacher is the first person to shift the blame to Shouya. Then again, regarding strict rules, I assume the teacher has been holding his anger towards Shouya for a long time, hence slamming the chalkboard when there's finally a serious complaint. If anyone deserves the hate is Shimada. The character barely had any story as well, other than just being the bigger bully.
When I read the original one-shot manga of Koe no Katachi I broke in to uncontrollable tears. It reminded me too much of when I was bullied in primary school because I was Chinese. That by itself is something but the film reminded me of something much bigger. I still clearly remember my grade 3 teacher putting up a "help box" or sorts where you can write and drop in notes of your problems and they will be addressed back by notes you can pick up in private. For the first few weeks I intermittently dropped in notes that I was being harassed and bullied. And you know what my replies were? "Just stand up to them and say "no"". Having severe social anxiety is the only reason one would even use the box in the first place. Needless to say the bullying continued until the main bullies transferred out. This feeling of betrayal by authority and people who were supposed to be responsible for taking care of literal children flooded back to me when I experienced the story of Koe no Katachi. Hearing that the Parent-Teacher Association of Japan tried to block the manga's publishing because they were too scared of their incompetence and shortcomings being exposed was just the cherry on top. Children are more than just things you have to look at and throw an apple at every once in a while.
I can't believe an oscar given to boss baby instead of this movie when nishimiya literally the voice actors also deaf and did a super AMAZING JOB on voice acting
Something that makes this drama hit even harder is the fact that a lot of the people who worked on this film passed away in the Kyoto Animation arson attack in 2019.
Yeah. A lot of dead and injured, but the worst was they were mostly young adults, and the kyoto team really cared about animations.
*sobbing* Nooooooooo!
For what i remember the names of the ones that died in the arson and work in the movie are: Kigami Yoshiji that worked as a Key animator in the movie. Ami Kuriki also a key animator. Keisuke Yokota Production Manager. Kigami Yoshiji make the storyboard and was a Key animator too. Nishiya Futoshi the character designer from the movie. That's are some of the ones that I remember.
also many don't know this was based on a true story and the guy actually died.
@@juicybussystzy This is false, a simple google will prove that it’s not based on a true story. Also if it were, the movie would say it too at the start
I think that more people need to talk about the fact that the teacher saw all the bullying that was going on, but did NOTHING. Ishida was still a kid, so he couldn't understand why what he was doing was wrong. His classmates cheered him on ,his teacher (the only adult who saw the bullying) didn't say anything, so Ishida thought that his actions were justified.
Yeah this was kind of hard to see. But at the same time, it was pretty realistic was it not? Teachers, some of them at least, don’t do anything to combat this.
In the manga, the teacher even partakes in the bullying and also laughs while shouko was being made fun of
The teacher didn't give a crap because he thinks people like Nishimiya are just using their disabilities to their advantage, when in reality, a part pf their lives is them dealing with it and learning to live their life with it. The act of not acknowledging the suffering of an individual is demoralizing and can break someone.
I heard from a review of this film that the teacher did nothing for stereotype all those environment were the school and the teachers just don't care about this bullying issue and just pretend like there isn't any issues
@@pvrify Ooof this just hurts
As someone with autism and social anxiety, when the x on the face fell off I cried. This movie is amazing
I love this movie. I don't easily cry, but this movie allways brings me to tears. Life is unfair. Some are better or worse off, but my lust for fairness never seems to vanish. I very much relate with the main characters self inflicted punishment. It's just so sad when the main character starts to hear again at the end for he can choose to while the death girl can not. I can't help but feel like it's impossible to live for ourself. They wouldn't want to end their life if they didn't feel like a burden. We can choose to better our own life by being nice to others, but our self worth will always depend on those around us. - Your local internet troll with high neuroticism
I think believing that our self worth is determined by those around us is just another part of mental illness affecting our perception of reality. It is definitely hard to worth on overcoming that feeling though. :(
A part of this film that I never see discussed to any depth is that when Ishida blocks out sound around him, he's imposing deafness on himself. He is making himself like Shoko, whose deafness led her to be isolated and bullied. This movie is so subtle, so complex. The thing that resulted in Shoko's being socially isolated and resulted in her bullying is later imposed by her bully upon himself as a consequence of his bullying her and being socially isolated for it! This is a BRILLIANTLY made film.
I never thought of that! This movie never ceases to amaze me with these details!! :')
This comment blew my mind. I had never thought of it that way, oh gosh.
Can you help what time this scene happens? I want to rewatch it to understand.
@@A1lexander it's like right after we see him at high school for the first time. he puts the hands on his ears and everyone have an x on their faces.
I never thought of that, thank you for commenting! This movie is truly incredible.
Underrated scene in this movie: Ishida's mom's outburst after finding out Ishida's planned suicide. That scene broke my heart, despite the lighter mood at the end
Yea......
Nice
Agreed.
yess dude throughout the whole movie i almost cried on that part
Same 😢
This anime changed me for the better and made me have a better perspective on life and how others feel
I didn’t realize all of the subtleties and what was going on deeper then surface level in this film, it is just so good
This movie means so much to me. I used to be very abusive to someone I cared deeply about, and this movie has helped me cope with that and start to learn to be a better person. This movie taught me that even though I viewed myself as bad, I could change. Honestly, this movie probably saved my life. To anyone who hasn't watched it, please do. It's so important.
I had the same experience.
I had the same experience.
YOU HAVE ME SOBBING OH MY GOSH. Can I give you a virtual hug? Thank you so much for sharing that!
I'm glad you're changing for the better :) ! No one is truly born evil, as we all are just complicated as human beings, so it is definitely possible to learn from your mistakes like Ishida and atone for what you did wrong in the past.
@@justagray-ace2787 Actually, a lot of people are evil and uncomplicated.
For once, after so long, he didn't feel alone in a crowd. He saw people and actually felt like they were people. And the relief was so strong that it made him cry and that's beautiful. EDIT: I've never had this many likes before, wow.
I have never seen a more accurate depiction of that feeling of being alone while surrounded by people. I know I personally struggled with it and to see it so accurately depicted was an odd relief.
That moment hits too close to me because not long before I watched the movie, I had that moment myself. I cried for at least 30 minutes after the movie ends. The relief you get when you find there is somewhere you belong to in the crowd of people is very nice. I didn't cry like Shouya, I wanted to and did have teary eyes, but I was in a crowd where I couldn't cry all of the sudden 😂
this is making me tear up bc its so true
That moment straight up made me cry. For so long he believed he deserved to be alone, to be in the dark forever bearing his guilt. He even thought of escaping life forever. But he strived to change. And finally, he felt the change finally. He deserves to live. He doesn't need to live in the dark anymore. He has all these people. Life is finally worth it.
Oh my god I've never cried so hard in an anime before this one, it's sooooooo amazing and as someone who's had severe depression my whole life it is eerily accurate.....seeing the x's over faces, trying to remoive yourself from reality to and the world to give yourself some sort of peace before you ....act.
I connected more with Nishimiya, because I am deaf myself. It is hard to try and form connections with other people when they can't understand what it is like to struggle to hear. Often I dealt with people getting frustrated by my repeated requests for them to repeat something, because they start to think I am just not listening. It certainly doesn't help that my insurance keeps trying to weasel out of helping to pay for my hearing aids. Eventually I did find friends who were willing to repeat themselves over and over, but we mostly text and email instead of phone calls and face-timing.
My daughter was born deaf, and the beginning of the movie is something I fear for her everyday as she grows up. That she'll be picked on by kids who don't understand, because kids can be cruel. I am so glad that you guys reviewed this! It's one of my favorite movies and your channel is one of my favorites!
Fight for her! As much as you can, get other kids her age to see her for more than her disability. Play dates, hobbies, interests! While younger, you can help her find the friends she needs in her life, they will fucking PROTECT her for you when the worst years show up!
I hope your daughter will be surrounded by people like her growing up and be given tools to deal with ignorant, cruel people. That’s the best gift you can give her so she can navigate this would as a deaf individual in the future knowing what she can do and get people like your family or your friends, her own friends when she made her own friends to protect her, advocate for her and accommodate her to make her comfortable as humanly possible in this ableist world.
Keeping her and yourself involved in the deaf community will help you greatly. Even just looking for deaf groups online, and seeing if there's a local group. It'll give her to get to know she's not alone, and for you to learn how to parent her, and what she can do when she faces discrimination. Because she will. No amount of sheltering will stop her from experiencing those things, but you can make a huge difference in her life by teaching her how to cope. I am not deaf, but I am disabled and the struggles our communities face can be similar at times. One of the biggest issues for me growing up was a lack of understand/ support from my parents about my specific issues, and not being given the support to feel safe to speak up when I was treated incorrectly or inappropriately. You can prevent those struggles by making a big effort to learn and teach.
Well, she will be picked on. That's not a maybe. And not only by kids, by adults as well. It's even worse with adults. She will need the love and support of her family and friends, to show her how great she is. At least you are willing to support her. A lot of children have to deal with bullying on their own. But you know, a lot of people with such tough begginnings often grow up to be stronger, more focused and successful as a result. Have you seen this, BTW: Things Not To Say To A Deaf Person - KZhead Coolest group of people I have ever seen. Some of them are VERY and I mean VERY successful youtubers.
I am deaf, and I went to the hearing school with a deaf program which is better than special education class. I didn't get pick on, but many ghosted me or stared at me. I just couldn't make a conversation when hearing people just doesn't know how to respond back. I was able to hang out my deaf friends together from pre-K to 12th grade together. We all supported each other, and we understood the hard times we have to go through. Now, we are best friends after high school, and my friends were fortunate to have hearing children. I think it is important to teach her like having boyfriend, no drug, and normal lectures like a normal kid. Deaf will be no different from hearing people, but it is the environment you choose the best for her. So she can grow from it ❤
Ishida's mom is a real MVP here... taking literal beatings from Nishimiya's mom... literally having her earrings ripped out of her ear... All for the opportunity to show her son how valuable he is. She is an amazing parent and did so much to help him find his own worth.
Cap
Yes :)🙌
I wish I had a mom like that 😔
Exactly 🤍
The frying of his renumeration bills to his mom was such a powerful statement.
21:15 I had always assumed that the dialogue was something he had made up in his head. Especially because of how outlandish some of the conversations were and nearly all of what he overheard was discussing him. As someone who has been through depressive episodes and is overly critical of myself I strongly related to this bc when I'm in the worst of it this is how my brain processes things. Every person that's talking is mad/judgeing/disgusted with me, and they're laying out every little flaw I think I have. I do think this is an interesting take on this element tho, does anyone else interpret it differently?
I am slowly reading the manga, and it does a better job of making this a little clearer. In the manga he is making it up in his head, making it seem like they are talking about him even when they aren't. If you liked this movie, and don't mind reading manga, I totally suggest giving the manga a read.
@@Deantwo Yeah, I remember I'd read the manga and was so excited when the movie came out (and it delivered BEAUTIFULLY) But the manga does go into a little more detail about the other characters as well, so I'd recommend it to whoever wants to check it out.
To me, in the last scene, the reason why the crosses fell and Ishida starts crying inconsolably it's because he finally fogives himself. It is also the reason why he didn't go with her advances when she fells in love with him (besides the fact that he didn't quite get it at first), he just couldn't forgive himself so in his eyes he wasn't worthy of her love. This movie absolutely broke me. And I watched it on the same weekend with "I wanna eat your Pancreas" and Josie, among others... I almost died crying.
When he said " If anyone says one person is the problem or if a whole group is saying you are the problem Don't believe it We don't exist in a Vacuum. We all interplay off of each other. " It hit me hard
@@itboyzhuzanjin shut up
@@syauqijamil5170 childish reaction
@@davidkekstroll5836 this person was spamming on every comment and its very annoying
same
I just got a message from a friend who I haven't spoken to for a long time after a big argument within our friendship group. It's been months since I've contacted any of them and it turns out that in that time, they've turned it around so that everything is my fault, even though I apologized and held myself accountable for my actions when it all blew up. Funny what a little distance and a lack of an alternative perspective can do to someone's reputation. I watched this at the perfect time. Another quote I found today that is really fitting: "Sometimes people pretend you're a bad person so they don't feel guilty about the things they did to you." And I think that applies in the bridge scene when he was calling them out for scapegoating him.
The people that hate this movie that I've talked to always hate the fact that Ishida was forgiven. I find this so interesting, we live in a climate of cancelling and unforgiveness. And the truth is way more nuanced and complicated that "Bully kid bad". Abuse and bullying affects everyone, even the abuser. The way this story tackles these issues is brilliant. The manga even goes further with characters like the red haired kid that never forgives his bullies and is a bully himself because of that.
Im sorry, the people that hate this hate that Ishida was forgiven by the person he was bullying!? Like thats even close to their call to make? Unbelievable
@@neighborhoodk3477 Yeah, I guess it is too uncomfortable to some that had experience bullying and never got over it. They prefer a simple story of revenge where the bully gets what he deserves. Actually one of the top reviews on rotten tomatoes states that she didn't like that the fight scene is coded as rape and that Ishida got away with it.
@@neighborhoodk3477 I get you. But I also get why the scene can be triggering to some. It's kind of on purpose tho, people cannot see beyond actions and appearances. Which is kind of ironic because that is one of the main themes of the movie. Thankfully most agree that this is a masterpiece.
The people that hate it for that specific reason are for me represented by Ishida's blonde (girl) friend. She was a bystander that silently judged the bully while being simultaneously an enabler of it. They hate the bully because it makes them feel accountable for what has happened and they could not do anything about it. I hate bullies especially those that inflict physical harm to another person, but looking down on them and wishing ill upon them when they are trying to correct their mistakes and seriously want to be a better person is no different to a bully themselves. Sadly that's just how it is, if you were in the shoes of Ishida you will need to learn to go on with life knowing that some people will not see you in a good light forever.
That's cancel culture for you, they need therapy asap. Everyone deserves forgiveness especially if they are sincere like Ishida
I kinda regret watching this anime back when I was too young to be able to appreciate these kinds of story telling. To be honest, I remembered this anime to be pretty average, but now that I've rewatched some of the scenes from this video, it has deeply resonated with me, especially that scene where all the "X" fell off. I feel like I should've rewatched the movie before watching this
12:00 theres a song about suicide called "her last words" and one of the lines in the song is "and in a year you'll forget im gone, cause im not really something to be dwelled on, thats what they used to tell me, all those kids in school, so im going by law of majority rules" to me it feels like the same thing. you're told by almost everyone that you arent needed ect so you believe it
I love that it acknowledges how his classmates react to everything, how he's trying to make amends, trying to patch up what he did, and still acting like he was the ringleader when it wasn't just him. Especially the one who constantly downplayed her involvement when she was laughing along with them but when confronted she'd cry and claim she never did, that felt so real and so on point.
Pretty much. There are some people so convinced they're a "good person" that they will deny anything that even seems to contradict their "goodness"; cognitive dissonance is extremely powerful. My own mother is a more extreme example of this total denial of ever doing anything to harm someone else. As I was growing up, she constantly raved about her she was the best mother on earth, she took every chance she could to explain how she was far better than every other parent we ever saw (friends, family, strangers in public, etc). She checks every box of NPD on any check list I can find about narc mothers, abusive mothers, gas-lighting mothers (including the Tangled video on this channel), etc. She's convinced my BPD that she caused is because I'm a bad person, and I'm a drama queen for that's probably diagnosed C-PTSD. (for the record, I don't talk to her anymore because she's too harmful to my mental health)
@@jacqslabz I'm very sorry to hear you grew up with a mother who couldnt see the fault in her actions and... what makes it worst thinks she's better than other mothers who learn from their past mistakes and show genuine love to their children. I'm glad you cut off someone like that, sure some people say family is everything, sometimes it's the best course of action to realize that the person who did birthed you, took care of you and is the reason you're alive isn't mentally healthy to be with in the long run
That girl seriously annoyed me, especially how everyone blamed Ishida for the bullying when he never forced anyone to go along with him. They all participated by choice, even just by laughing. It's so real because I went through something similar.
@@LovelyLies16 Actually in the manga they are more involve in the bullying than Ishida himself, like for example the blackboard part, it was not just Ishida writing it was all of them.
agree, also the only thing i dislike this film is why they fall in love.
This movie, this fucking movie. It made me cry so much and I ended up having a panic attack. Honest to God I never cried so much. It's a masterpiece and I would never watch again because I can't handle how emotional and how personal it is for me. It has become the number 1 movie I reference when talking about mental illness.
I watched it so many times simply because I need a reminder of what great storytelling is
I cried the entire time I watched it basically. And just watching these clips had me crying so fast
@@Samantha_yyz me too!
I totally understand what you're saying. I have the same reaction to Jenny-Jinya's comics. I can't look at them, but they're beautiful and wonderful and important and I reference her work all the time in my animal welfare groups.
This and Wolf Children DESTROYED ME 😭
I've been struggling with C-PTSD and agoraphobia for almost a decade now and this movie became one of my go-to comfort movies when i feel bad. Easily one of my most favorite movies ever created.
This is why I love anime! And silent voice especially! It has a beautiful message, we all need to be compassionate, empathetic, and loving to others, even if they’ve done wrong ❤️
I cried a lot watching this movie because I could relate so much to Ishida, not that I used to be a bully, but that I used to be a selfish, narrow-minded person when I was a kid. I used to be an arrogant, loud, and extroverted kid, but as I grew up, I became introverted and insecured about everything, and I felt that everything is my fault and that I reaped what I had sowed. Everywhere I go, I felt like people are judging and seeing me from my past self, that they wouldn't accept my changes and efforts to be better. Overall, it was such a beautiful and well-composed movie~
Wow
i. feel. you.
i feel ishida thoroughly. I have been bullied before ever since 1st grade then 6th grade came and i was the bully instead in ishida timelapse, he was the bully then became the bully i have an on and off experience. Bullied, became the bully, bullied again. Esteem lowered very fast, expected to have friends to have a better grade so i sucked it up and tried suffering on our tight education system just in the end to notice i was only being used and just getting me to get credit away from me. I thought my 6th grade bully gang left me as soon as elementary graduation considering i dont act one of them anymore.. Instead at least a little of us had our glow up on how we do things, we tried to be better spite the wrongs sometimes, we try to fix it. I got to finally connect with them again on 8th grade im in 9th grade its doing well now. Though im still bullied in my current class with no friends in that class, im jsut excited to move out the city by 2022 and have a fresh start in a province.. [EDIT: I might as well tell the story] On 1st grade i got my teachers back on me, because they have teached my oldest brother as well, back then i dont know much what theyre talking about since my mother tongue was english not our countries language. I have heard one time i was called teacher's pet, and me being dumb i didnt knew what it meant at first, instead i thought it was a good thing but when i found out its a deregatory on 3rd grade my esteem lowered, teacher's pet are heavily bullied in my country, i never had friends at least once from 1st-3rd grade. I almost failed to pass 3rd grade because of me not studying well after the influence of my bullies got worser. I had to pass. So i smuggled some things for our top students in my class to let me copy them off, i just got lucky to pass. On 4th grade i tried to redempt but instead i was the idiot girl paired with a idiot boy saying were a fitting match. I actually tried to study more but its degraded jsut to pair me to that guy forcibly, im not being rude be he have told me he isnt interested in learning, he doesnt wanna continue and lamost dropped out [I add we were paired because of our advicer teacher, you think oh its just classmates bully but then the teacher became one as well]. On 5th grade i got my redemption on my studies, getting top 7 in our class but i spite me knowing how teacher's pet works, i have used it again, i tried to get off extra grade from my classmate who is the daughter of our science teacher acting like im one of her friends too, i got to pass, but she have attacked me for using her mom and told me to stay quiet that her and her friends ditch off her mom to pass. I never felt more shame to myself, i want redemption but i dont know how to even properly do it. Im still young i always say, maybe this mistake inventible but at the end i feel like im just using it. 6th grade came, someone finally came up to me and started our friendship by talking our favorite kpop, anime, and dream jobs. I felt comfort until they let me enter their gang, a transferee came. We used to call her ugly, disgusting, tomboy and more slurs. When i see her i reminded it myself, she was a teacher's pet, we had become as well under LGBT to act boyish, and most importantly she was bullied too like me before. Spite feeling empatthy on her troubles like a saying before "a bully became a bully for a reason." i thought it'll be better if i was the bully myself too spite experiencing how much a hell hole it is to be bullied. We did not only bully her but our other classmate who have a mental problem with a problematic addiction on pplaying. I always thought this is too much but i cant believe to continue on this path that is wrong. We soon graduated elementary, we parted. 7th grade came, i know no one in my class. I tried to make friends as soon as 2nd quarter came and had a top 8 in class. And tried to make friend out of my status that im in the top 10. In the end i was used, i was bullied, i even paid of my classmates to deal my problems and when i did that my status got heavier unliked and disgusted for who i am. So when the pandemic hits, under that time i tried to fix myself, spite the pandemic giving me a burnout from my drawing skill i at least have fixed myself. Even though im still bullied in 8th grade, i apologized to the one i have bullied before. And just tried to ignore them all and just stayed quiet. I dont know how to stop this people bullying me so thats why when i heard were moving out soon i never felt more glad, thinking if we moved out i might not get bullied anymore and just have a start..
I feel like I'm the yellow haired girl with glasses. Just because I'm quiet most of the time people keep on telling me I'm a kind person. So whenever I make a mistake I victimise myself. I used to be friends with a girl who was bullied by our class. I didn't help her at all, instead of doing something I became their double agent. But because I'm the timid and quiet one, no one faulted me for that. One day, she showed up in class with her father's gun. The teachers were informed and she got suspended. She was so thirsty for attention and frienship. Maybe she thought that if she showed it off she could get friends. Of course, everyone shamed her for that but what they failed to realize is that we are also to blame. Sometimes, I wish I could turn back time and tell her that she still got me. Maybe if she had someone during those times things wouldn't turn out the way it did. We haven't been in contact ever since 7th grade. I don't know what school she goes to or if she's still in our city. I've said so much hahaha if you're still reading at this point thank you and please excuse any grammatical errors for english isn't my first language.
Same bro same~
When watching this movie for the first time, i cried within the first few minutes ALL THE WAY to the end. So hearing one of my favourite channels talk about this is really healing:D
NO SAME. The grip it had on me.
Because like Ishida, I bullied and I was bullied. And it was such a struggle to find redemptions and learn self-love. But I'm glad I was able to grow, and cinema therapy has helped me take it further. The film has such a nice message and cinematherapy really allowed the message to ring louder. Hope more people start healing and start loving:)
I felt the same way
I broke down in tears in the scene where they threw all her conversation notebooks into the school's koi pond... my GOD did I ever ugly cry. I cried sooo many times through the course of this film.
I haven't even seen the movie, just the clips in this video, but I cried anyway! I'm crying as I write this and I barely even understand why.
this was such a beautiful film. as someone with social anxiety and suicidal this movie hit hard and years after watching it even now makes me feel such a strong emotion whenever its brought up in a video or recommendation plus as someone who enjoys art, music, and cinematography this was absolutely gorgeous you guys explained a lot of the feelings well thank you
That last scene makes me cry every. single. time. To think about that scene, to think about what Shoya is feeling, has me sobbing ugly fat tears. The first time I watched this movie, I cried throughout the credits, when the credits ended I sat in front of the black computer screen crying still, I could not stop. My heart felt so heavy like it could burst. I've never felt like that watching a movie and have never felt that for any other movie since. This movie makes me cry on command.
As someone who was bullied for my disability at school, I really didn't want to watch A Silent Voice. It felt too real. However, im really glad I did (after downing several glasses of wine). I honestly didn't realise how much I blamed myself for being bullied until I saw Shoko doing the same. These days I work on those feelings of guilt with my therapist and im pleased to say that I'm doing a lot better :)
It’s great to hear that you’re doing well
Im glad u hv been strong through this.
I’m glad to hear you felt comfortable enough to watch the shape of voice. It is a magnificent film. Kyoto animation and naoka Yamada hits it out of the park
You guys are so kind, thank you
@@bellewether4534 Good to hear that man. Stay strong 💪 and best of luck to you.
It took years to get rid of my depression. I had to work so hard on my reality everyday, every single day. I filled so many notebooks with the same content, everyday, writing my thoughts out of the darkness. I am a different person now and so is my world. It was rewriting my dark thoughts and now my brain thinks so different... my past life is like a dream of someone else.
Hey, du auch hier:) Auch für mich ziemlich akkurat wie du das darstellst. Großen Respekt vor deiner Leistung Weiterhin viel Kraft und Erfolg für dich!:)
I have been through the same, even though I am still in high school, but in my mid 9th grade and till mid 10th grade I was in depression due to my grades. The thing is when you are consistently good, the slightest of mistakes would be the toughest of stains in your records, which made me think, why do I even try to get good grades and thoughts like that, heck, I lost 24 kilograms in a year without exercise or anything even though I didn't stop eating etc... I really didn't know what to do, the thing was since I am still in my teens, there is the you-know-kind-of-thing-where-you-can't-talk-to-your-parents factor, so I had to talk to my "friends" who never waited for me for any thing, even though I used to think that by doing help and working for them whenever possible, maybe I can start relying on them too. But life isn't like anime, and I had no way to do anything, I couldn't sleep even though I wanted to, I couldn't talk to others even though I wanted to and that just made me more and more depressed... But, then my mom, being the kind person she is just randomly came and said to me "If it is too hard to talk or speak up to us or your friends, just try chatting, because it doesn't require you to personally be present in front of them." The same night I wrote messages long like this saying everything to my mom, she kept awake despite all the tiredness and work she does at home to read my messages late at night.... then... she came and hugged me in my room and said - "Why, did you grow up so much that you became a boy who can hide his pain from his mother and the others ?" That was the first time I cried my lungs and heart out for what seemed like an eternity... Looking back, I just want to thank my mom and dad and all the other parents for giving us life and a reason to keep living ....
I am glad your making the steps bc you're doing great and I wish nothijg but the best for you
I couldn't have said it better
Thank you so much for saying this because for the longest time, I've been searching for someone, for proof that it's possible for depression to go away like how mine did.
Two others I really like very similar in tone to this (out of so many, I'm sure) are '5 Centimetres per Second' and 'The Garden of Words'. I was tearing up through them.
Silent Voice is easely my favorite film ever. Like in general. The details, the message, the feelings. It hits close to home, in a sense. I always cry during this film.
I love how Alan talks about the shots, the music and the composition while SOBBING lol. I love this movie and I can’t believe you guys made a video on it
This channel is becoming my weekly appointment to cry with Alan, wtf XD
Yeah. I know we all joke about him crying all the time, but it's really great to see a guy comfortable crying. He's a good role model, and it helps people realise crying is okay.
@@dexa6623 kinda jealous of that. I never cry from sadnas (more of anger really) like my grandma died last week and i was unable to cry. I was super fucking sad but i just couldn't.
@@yuvalgabay1023 I did the same thing at my grandmother and grandfather's funerals. I was upset, especially about my grandmother, but nothing came out. It's okay if you can't cry either at things like this. It's actually a lot more common than you'd think.
If you notice throughout the show, when he sees the Xs and hears everyone badmouthing him, its his own voice. He's projecting what he thinks of himself into the people around him. At the end when he finally listens he hears other people's voices, and they don't care. They're talking about the fair, or about the food, and that's when the Xs drop.
Yeah, I actually didn't notice that untill watching it a second time.
This. I really relate to this film a lot...especially my past with bullying others back in 4th-6th grade
I've been doing this exact same thing since my dad died.
I noticed it too when watching the movie, most of them didn t even talk about him but he believed they did
13:05 This part, I could relate, I really felt this. A certain family member of mine, they would practically turn my family against me. I dont how to say it but…my family member would tell me they are arguing with someone, because of me. Ive been told it was all my fault. My younger sibling even wanted to add to the fire. So i tend to say sorry a lot. And i practically feel bad for everything, even if it’s not my fault. It’s a type of guilt i feel i guess.
This movie hits hard in general, and having similar experiences to the characters only amplifies that. I will never be able to watch this movie without bawling. Hands down by favorite film.
As usual, you guys have been the catalyst for me to grow up, becoming not what i was taught but to become who i am, and deal with all my hurt. You both have been so awesomely impactful in my life. Keep up the good work guys. Lots of Respect to you.
Thanks for sharing!
"hurt people hurt people" aaaaaaand i'm sobbing "he can't accept the love of others because he thinks he isn't worth it" aaaaaand i'm sobbing harder
anime hits the emotions so well. i find myself crying a lot when i watch, mostly because i need my own therapy, which i am getting but long road. this specific movie can make you look at your own depression in a new way. can help you see the things you are doing more clearly. a lot of the time i don't realize i am pushing others away. I don't recognize that i am wrapping the darkness around me instead of pushing through it.
The moment where it keeps cutting to black kept showing me in the reflection. And all of a sudden I went from smiling and misty eyed to straight up tears. It's been so so so hard. I don't know how to cry anymore. But hearing that I'm allowed to be loved is such a strong punch to the gut that it hijacks it and gives me that ability for a short time.