Trigger warning: Suicide / Depression
As someone who was bullied for being different when I was a child, I have an understandable soft spot for stories about the subject of bullying. That doesn’t mean every bullying story will click with me, as it’s still a painful subject to this day. I look at some of the stranger kids I teach today and understand why I was disliked as a child when I see their behavior, knowing that they’re just trying their best to fit in. It’s a harsh mirror into my own past, but also a sign of growth. The person I was back then when I was bullied relentlessly is no longer the person I am today. And of course not just the person who got bullied changes. The person who did the bullying will change as well. How they will change, and in what way they will come to accept the aspects of their own life that they do not like looking back on, that is something for each individual to look at themselves. And the manga that inspired the 2016 movie does exactly that.
Now my bullying situation was not as bad, nor as black or white as what happened to Nishimiya Shoko. A young girl who cannot hear is transferred into the elementary school of our protagonist, Ishida Shoya. Shoya is a rambunctious child who highly values his ability to stave off boredom by doing crazy stunts like jumping off of bridges and into rivers. He is a popular kid with lots of friends by the time Nishimiya transfers. Nishimiya was being bullied in her previous school because she can’t hear properly, and is hoping to make a fresh start here at this new school, but things quickly go south. Shoya and some of the other children in the class see her as a threat to their fun life, due to them having to now tip toe around her disability. She participates in the choir while being completely tone deaf, she has to get someone else’s help to take notes and there is even the talk of learning sign language. What’s worse is that one of the teachers is even very opposed to being particularly accommodating for Nishimiya, even going against another teacher’s idea to learn sign language, causing even more of a rift in the class. It’s all heartbreaking to watch. Shoya destroys her hearing aids, her notebook, throws trash on her and even hurts her ear when ripping out a hearing aid, which we later in the story learn left a permanent scar.
When things eventually get so bad that Nishimiya has to transfer out once more, the atmosphere in the class has already shifted into a foul one and attention has gone towards Shoya. Unbeknownst to himself, he’s become so much of an unlikable character that his friends have now started bullying him as well. Nishimiya – who has been cleaning the graffiti off of Shoya’s table to protect him from the bullying – is now gone and Shoya becomes a total social outcast, which lasts until he’s in high school. Now 17 and severely depressed, he has one last thing he wants to do. He wants to apologize to Nishimiya before ending his life. So he searches her out and they talk. He even learned some sign language to be able to talk to her. After their conversation, Nishimiya tells him that she’ll see him next week and he decides not to end his life after all.
With this set-up, we get a world in which we can start exploring the lives and trauma of the children involved in the bullying situation. Naoka had a crush on Shoya and hated Nishimiya for ruining their friendship. Miki was the self-absorbed class president who has to come to terms with how unlikable she is and Miyoko has to learn to stand up for herself and stop running away from her problems. They’re joined by new friends, including Nishimiya’s younger sister and two classmates of Shoyo. Together they all try to make a movie, but they are hampered by fights, mental health and all sorts of issues along the way.
A silent voice has long been my favorite anime movie. In an era dominated by Your Name, I always found that this story about bullying touched me on a much more personal level. I read the entire manga in two days last week and couldn’t stop crying for most of the later volumes. Shoya is an absolute piece of shit as a child and seems to be beyond redemption yet through his actions in this story he does find redemption after all this time and it’s a beautiful journey full of pain, love, friendship, fighting and learning to be the best version of yourself. Anyone who likes emotional stories should absolutely watch this movie or read the manga. I would recommend watching the movie first and then diving into the manga afterwards. Do make sure you’re in a good headspace when you watch or read it though. There is some really heavy stuff in this series. Even putting aside some of the main themes, there is a surprising amount of depth hidden behind each one of the characters and although I think it had a very satisfying ending, it does leave you with some feelings that you’ll have to work through yourself. At least that’s how it was for me. Thanks for reading!
Opal Kaharis 