Audience reviews
20 · Sample from the first available page, separate from the total number of ratings.
Viz108
A Silent Voice unfortunately did not live up to the hype for me. I can see a lot of what the movie is trying to go for, but the execution to me feels somewhat lacking. The portrayal of bullying and social exclusion is incredibly raw and vivid, but the story itself is so lackluster that it feels more like high school gossip than a real drama. Maybe that's supposed to be intentional - these are supposed to be middle school kids, after all, but it makes for a story that, as a viewer, I couldn't get invested in. None of the moments of forgiveness felt particularly earned, characters behaved almost inhumanly cruel at times (seriously, who bullies a deaf girl with a broken arm who literally just attempted suicide outside of a hospital? and then gets in a fight with her mom???), and while I think…
Read at the sourceAronKovacs
Hi guys Áron here, I am here to say that this is a masterpiece about regret and deep themes. I liked when Ishida learned how to love himself again so you know that this story is beautiful :)
And also everything felt like it could happen in real life, like feeling guilty or the theme of bullying, because this is I can tell is educational in a way that doesn't say some 1+1=3, it teaches that bullying someone, will hurt yourself the most. And also this mwuah absolute cinema movie is unique too like this is something so unique I didn't except this
Read at the sourcebolVSmorse
While Koe no Katachi is widely praised, the movie fell short of my expectations due to its pacing and character engagement. The core narrative carries an undeniably sad and heavy tone, but the overall progression feels overly sluggish. This slow development hinders the emotional impact, making it difficult to truly sympathize with or connect to the characters' personal journeys.
On a positive note, the visual character design is well-executed and appealing, bearing a neat resemblance to Subaru from Re:Zero. However, strong visuals alone are not enough to compensate for the emotional detachment caused by the slow-paced storytelling.
Aunque Koe no Katachi es ampliamente aclamada, la película no cumplió con mis expectativas debido a su ritmo y a la falta de conexión con los personajes. La…
Read at the sourceThatSyyGuy
The original sin for the Koe no Katachi movie was the decision for it to be a movie. Every problem the film has can be traced back to that. The original manga they decided to adapt is 7 volumes long - *62 chapters* - and two hours just isn't enough time for that much story.
I ended up experiencing this story three times in quick succession; I watched the movie, then read the manga, and then rewatched the film again. I wanted to go through the manga after my first watch because while I came away feeling like I understood the general idea and enjoyed the story, I was confused about so many specifics. Character decisions or scenes making no sense or coming out of nowhere, plot points that didn’t add up in my head, weird lines of dialogue I didn’t understand - just an overwhelming sense that…
Read at the sourcearwuoe
A Silent Voice, based off the manga of the same name (which I haven't read yet), focuses on guilt and forgiveness
The story is centered around wrongful actions done when one is young and naive, and living with the regret as one gets older. It's about understanding the feelings of yourself and others, and learning to change and forgive yourself. You see this portrayed by the main character having bullied a deaf student in elementary school, now living with the consequences as a high schooler.
I'm all for this kind of theme being portrayed in media, but I think it falls short here purely in the structure and way it's presented. It's very slow paced, and you get a lot of scenes of spaced out dialogue, making it easy to lose interest. I just don't know if the settings and situations are the…
Read at the sourceRoman6
This animated movie is deeply emotional, evoking a wide range of feelings through a compelling narrative and well-crafted characters. The potential for a true masterpiece is clearly visible; however, as a film adaptation, it lacks overall impact. While the writing is top-notch, the side characters (including the female main character) feel heavily sidelined and stripped of their depth. Their motives and impact are largely dismissed, leaving them underdeveloped compared to the male protagonist, who absorbs nearly all the narrative focus—a byproduct of telling the story entirely through his perspective. That said, it is by no means a bad movie, but it simply lacks the necessary impact and character motivation. I haven't read the manga yet, but I can strongly sense that it gave this story the…
Read at the sourceGNays
It is quite a masterpiece, in every aspect. Anime where the main cast is all a group of friends is a pretty common trope but most of the time it goes around various unnecessary points stalling the viewer. A Silent Voice is different.
First, it is the main plot. It is a pretty basic problem commonly seen in real life, millions of kids are a victim of bullying and A Silent Voice processes it extremely well. The characters feel natural, some are thoughtful, some are mean and all of them are naive. They are just children, what do you expect? Despite that they are all trying to accomplish what they think is right. Overall, great story.
About animation, it's good. Probably as good as it can get in a vanilla romance. It has direct visualism of mentality from time to time and other than that, vi…
Read at the sourceAan1m
An emotional and powerful masterpiece and such a profound experience - the mc shoyo navigating through all of his regrets and difficulties he came across after his childhood and class incident with shoko is a testament to how much his character progresses through the story - going from a bully to falling for shoko and in turn saving her at the end - going into it not knowing anything seeing shoko almost end her life was genuinely gut wrenching experience - the way that disability is portrayed in the movie with such delicacy is amazing to see and the end scene of the movie is one of my favourite scenes of all time - seeing shoyo finally accept himself and finally able to see the rest of the world - just an incredible experiance
Read at the sourceSaki2019
A Silent Voice is one of the most emotionally powerful anime films ever created. Rather than relying on melodrama, it tells a sincere and deeply human story about bullying, guilt, forgiveness, disability, mental health, and the difficult journey toward accepting both others and yourself.
The story follows Shoya Ishida, a former bully who tries to make amends with Shoko Nishimiya, a deaf girl he mistreated during elementary school. What begins as a tale of redemption slowly unfolds into a moving exploration of loneliness, anxiety, friendship, and the consequences of our actions.
Kyoto Animation's visuals are breathtaking from beginning to end. Every frame is beautifully animated, with expressive character acting, gorgeous lighting, and subtle visual symbolism that enhances the emotional sto…
Read at the sourceEnshourT_
When people recommend A Silent Voice they usually say something like "It's really sad" or "Get ready to cry" and honestly they're not wrong. This movie will probably make you emotional but I think calling it just a "sad anime" sells it short. If all you know about A Silent Voice is that it's sad, then you're missing what actually makes it special. It's telling a story about guilt, loneliness, forgiveness, and learning how to live with the mistakes you've made. That's why people still talk about it years later.
- STORY: THE STORY DOESN'T START WITH REDEMPTION
What I like most about this movie is that it doesn't start with Ishida becoming a better person It starts after he's already ruined someone else's life. When he was a kid he bullied Shoko, a deaf classmate who only wanted to fit in. H…
Read at the sourcefp264
This theme is particularly close to my heart, so I'm not entirely impartial on this one.
The animation is beautiful and colorful, the characters are cute, especially Nishimiya.
The music perfectly fits each situation and was composed by the same composer who did the score for Chainsaw Man.
The story has some flaws, but then again it's an anime and a work of fiction — it's common to see behavioral inconsistencies in the actions of the characters. Sometimes I wanted Nishimiya to be more confident in herself and stand up for herself (but she does do that later on), and sometimes I wanted Ishida to pull himself together, apologize to Nishimiya, and start fresh (but then the story wouldn't be what it is).
I was never bored throughout the entire movie, from beginning to end — which is a rare thi…
Read at the sourceechidknux
This is one that hit me surprisingly close to home. Growing up, my best friend was deaf and it was torture to know what people were saying about him, knowing he couldn't hear them. Next door to me was a girl with Downs Syndrome, and the people that would pile on and gang up on her because she was different was heartbreaking to witness.
This anime broke my heart for both Shoko and Shoya. For Shoko, because she is such a sweet character who just wanted to be friends with others, smiling constantly and trying to not be bothersome to someone. Just a good kid. Then there's Shoko. Shoko is a complicated one, because you see the kind of kid he is, but then you also see how he is as he's grown more mature. He's fraught with guilt for how he was as a kid, he laments over how he and his classmates…
Read at the sourceStrobbyCrescent
Beautiful, poignant, and heartbreaking, this emotional journey balancing despair with hope and vivacity stays with you long after the credits roll. A realistic story with some intentional visual abstraction that fans of symbolism and surrealism will appreciate. "Koe no Katachi" spotlights individuals struggling with self-hatred, social disconnection and psychological isolation in their respective situations, and how they navigate learning to forgive themselves and move past their shortcomings. For Shouya Ishida, who shoulders the childhood guilt of bullying a deaf classmate and suffers ostracism after being painted as the sole villain, this is his story dealing with his regrets and trying to make amends. For Shouko, we see her fighting to stay happy and to be heard with her silent voice, t…
Read at the sourceRickyGgG
This made me bawl my eyes out. The third act of this movie is one of the greatest I've ever seen. Not just in anime but in fiction. It just really hit so close to home. The emotional turmoil this portrayed is absolutely real life, as soon who's experienced this. While I never went as far as self-deletion, I can completely understand it all.
I thought it just be one of those cliché romance stories but it's a lot deeper than that. These kids went through a lot and definitely regretted it. I mean it's hard to see why, you're a young kid. You wouldn't think logically and people get hurt from your mistakes. But the redemption arc was amazing. Trying to change for the better but still haunted by the dark past. It's sad but you still want to see more. You think you understand how it's gonna end…
Read at the sourceBossian
Plot 8/10 I love this movie but it has some wired stuff or lack of context manly with characters like Mashiba, Satoshi (red hair kid ) he kinda just shows up
Romance 9/10 the Romance is quite believable some how thats all I have to say about it
Development 10/10 the movie was great at developing and giving reasons to characters actions
Animation 10/10 I loved the animation idk why it just looked great
Soundtrack 6/10 the sound track was good but nothing special
The ending NA till this day I dont know what to think of the ending there were many things not resolved and it didn't feel like a ending
Read at the sourcesimonanimeman
A Silent Voice is about a former bully named Shoya who used to pick on a new transfer student, Shoko, who used to be deaf. This all happened in elementary school before she eventually left. Years later in his high school years, Shoya seeks to make amends with the girl he bullied through elementary school.
I’ll start off with one of this films biggest strengths, the realism of their core characters. Many of them feel very real and authentic, personalities you could imagine in real life. The biggest example is Shoya, this movie shows you how he knows what he did was wrong and not only did he apologize for it, he tried to genuinely change his behavior and it was great to see. Naoka represents the complete opposite of Shoya, someone that has a hard time trying to change and we see throughout…
Read at the sourcexKyro_
A silent Voice is and will remain a peak anime movie for me,i really enjoyed it and it shows us how cruel is if someone would bully someone because in the end you will get karma.
The story was good,i mean it was an a movie of 2 hours so no need for a big story or whatever.
The animation i cant lie but was peak,the animation was so great i really liked it so much.
Overall A silent voice is an anime that i enjoyed myself and i give it a 10/10 because how deep it is and how sad it is in some moments and how it shows us how cruel the bullying can go,so in the end,bullying is bad.
Read at the source_Bubassotto_
This is the kind of film you'd recommend even to someone who's never watched anime.
A Silent Voice is a very clear example of how Japanese animation can break through any audience barrier. It doesn't rely on exaggerated action or fantastical elements to impact; what it delivers is something much closer, more human, and precisely for that reason, powerful. It's a work that could easily be shown in schools because it addresses extremely relevant themes such as bullying, depression, social isolation, and hearing impairment in a sensitive and realistic way.
The premise itself is quite unconventional: we follow Shoya Ishida, a boy who used to bully Shoko Nishimiya, a deaf classmate. Years later, consumed by guilt, he tries to redeem himself and find a way to repair (or at least mitigate) the…
Read at the sourceseelig90
A Silent Voice
A movie that really cuts deep for a lot of people. It’s a deep and very saddening story with an uplifting ending that makes you rethink everything. It might not be the longest out there, but it does amazing things with the time it has. Sure, it skips a few things from the manga, but I still love this movie. The art style is phenomenal the way it shows the highs and lows of the story is incredible.
It is a must watch for anyone.
A Silent Voice I loved it, and I hope you do/did too.
Read at the sourcetplays
A perfect movie.
I honestly wish every teenager would watch Koe no Katachi. Maybe it would make more people think about how they treat others. In a world where so many people only care about themselves, this film is a powerful reminder that our actions can deeply affect other people, even when we think it is “just a joke.”
The movie talks about the damage we can cause, the guilt that can follow a person for years, and how difficult it really is to apologize and forgive. It shows that forgiveness is not just a button you press, it is a painful and complicated process.
There are many beautiful metaphors in the film that represent emotional barriers, social disconnection, guilt, shame, and fear of human connection. It also shows how trauma can stay with a person for a long time and even pus…
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