A Silent Voice Cinema Review 2

Date: 2017 March 06 15:35

Posted by Joe

We're all talking about A Silent Voice this week. This is the second of two reviews of the emotional roller-coaster anime film arriving in UK Cinemas on Wednesday 15th March 2017. Although Lee and I saw the same film we both came out with different opinions of the title. Rather than just mash it into one review, we've published both reviews for you to compare and contrast.

Full Story

The number 1 grossing anime of 2016 was Your Name. It smashed all kinds of records globally, but what about the number 2 anime of 2016? That would be A Silent Voice. Adapted from the manga by Yoshitoki Oima it tells the tale of Shoya a boy who bullied Shoko a new deaf girl in his class. As the story unfolds, Shoya realises the error of his ways and seeks out Shoko to apologise and redeem himself a few years later.

The film gets off to a good start with a punchy sequence that sets the scene with Shoya as a boisterous lad, getting into scrapes, doing daring things and generally having a laugh with his friends (with The Who playing as background music too). It gets you on Shoya's side and sets up his life with his family. He's the class the clown. Sure he goofs about, but he doesn't mean and harm and he does it with his friends.

Shoko is a deaf girl who communicates with her class mates via a notepad. She immediately becomes a target for Shoya to bully for his entertainment and the rest of the class are willing to join in too. A lot of these scenes make you feel awkward and uncomfortable and show the careless cruelty of children. We won't tell you what happens next, as that's up to you to find out.