Summary
The critically acclaimedA Silent Voiceis one of the most popular anime films of the last decade. A redemption story following Shoko Nishimiya, a girl with a hearing impairment, and Shoya Ishida, her childhood bully, was the winner of multiple awards, including theJapanese Movie Critics' Best Animated Feature Film of 2016. However,the manga by Yoshitoki Oimafrom which it was adapted never received the same sort of widespread attention, despite being the definitive best way to experience such a heartwarming story.
Like many film adaptations of long-running series, a lot was lost in the transition between takingA Silent Voicefrom the pages of manga and bringing it to the big screen. Due to a reading experience that can span several hours through seven volumes, readers are able to become close with characters like Shoya and Shoko, and intimately observe their subtle mannerisms or traits which ultimately define them and act as springboards for the story to progress. Though 2016’sA Silent Voiceis a good adaptation that captures the spirit of the manga,it fails to truly carry over everything that made the original so special.
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The Manga Portrays Shoya’s and Shoko’s Childhoods Differently
Shoya’s Motivation for His Treatment of Shoko Differs Between Anime and Manga
A Silent Voice’s first volume covers the childhood classroom experiences of both Shoya and Shoko over the span of nearly 200 pages. Meanwhile,the film only dedicates roughly 15 minutes of its over 2-hour runtime to this section of the story, including multiple montages to quickly run through events. The manga, by having the freedom to extend the childhood portion of the story, allows for a closer examination of both Shoya and Shoko. The first of the film’s montages, in which Shoya and his friends partake in innocent childhood activities,actually explains some of his behavior toward Shoko in the manga.
Shoya’s narration through his early childhood reveals the grade school boy having an early existential crisis, realizing that life is more than just fun and games. In his proclaimed ‘war against boredom’, he and his buddies thrill seek and partake in daredevil competitions, until sometime later, when Shoya notices his friends slowly start to grow out of childish games.
Feeling insecure, he begins targeting Shoko with bullyingas a way to hold onto the immature belief that life is nothing more than staving away boredom, hoping his friends will join in on the fun, which they all eventually do.
Like Shoya, Shoko’s childhood is more thoroughly examined in the manga’s opening volume and also in later chapters, from more than just Shoya’s perspective. It is shown to the audience thatShoko endured similar treatment at her prior schools, having transferred on multiple occasions. Her mother, shown to be stoic and unflinching in the film, lashes out when Shoko refuses to get a haircut pictured on a male model in a magazine. Her overbearing and overprotective nature is evident, claiming the boys' haircut would toughen Shoko up.
Unlike the film,A Silent Voice’s manga paints everyone’s treatment of Shoko in a much harsher light. Even their teacher, who would be expected to scold the children’s behavior, sympathizes with them rather than explaining why what they are doing is wrong. Shoko’s eventual leaving is unceremonious and sad:there one day and gone the next.
A Silent Voice’s Manga Allows for a Closer Look at the Cast
Unlike the 2016 film, which mainly follows Shoya from a third-person perspective,A Silent Voice’s manga offersmore first-person narration not just from Shoya, but from multiple characters. This allows for a closer, more intimate look into how characters feel or react to certain experiences. Shoya is often seen overanalyzing everyone’s words or behavior, seemingly allowing his depression and guilt to creep into his every thought or action. This constant critical anxiety causes more harm than good to himself and those around him and hinders Shoya’s ability to truly understand Shoko.
This added runtime in the manga adds more to Shoko’s characterization than anyone else inA Silent Voice. The high school senior with a hearing impairment was often relegated to the role of a character being observed, mainly by Shoya, throughout the runtime of the film. However, the manga sees Shoko often recounting experiences from her own point of view, includingthe frustrations and hardships that often come due to her impairment.
This culminates in a heartbreaking chapter near the end of the story, in whichShoko imagines how different her life could have beenhad she reacted differently to the bullying she endured, or if she never had her impairment to begin with. Side characters like Yuzuru, Nagatsuka, Naoko, Miki, Miyoko, and Satoshi all have chapters dedicated to their backstories, the most important of them focusing on Shoko’s mother. In the film, the Nishimiya family background is never touched upon, while the manga recounts Shoko’s father divorcing her mother when it is discovered that she’s deaf.
The Manga Continues After the Film’s Ending
The Audience is Given a Look Into Shoya’s and Shoko’s Future
The biggest omission from the film version ofA Silent Voiceis the subplot in which the main group of friends make a movie. Rather than the film’s ending, where the characters become closer after Shoya’s hospital stay, the manga uses this movie they make together asthe main driving force behind reuniting the group of friends. Though their film is eventually lambasted by judges at a contest, Shoya, Shoko, and the gang rally behind the belief they have all learned to share in one another’s abilities.
WhileThe Silent Voice’s film conclusion is a tear-jerking, heartfelt moment in which Shoya finally learns to forgive himself and others,the manga gives readers a more direct look into the future after the school festival. Shoko expresses her desire to go to Tokyo to study hairdressing under a hearing-impaired teacher, while Shoya wants to stay in their unnamed town to study hairdressing to one day take over his mother’s salon. It is left up to the reader to infer whether he followed Shoko to Tokyo or stayed behind.
The final chapter sees a skip to an unspecified time in the future, where the main cast of characters all reunite for a “Coming of Age” ceremony in their hometown. Shoya and Shoko, standing outside the building where the events are taking place, both confess that they feel nervous about entering. Eventually,Shoya takes her hand, and the two walk into their futures side by side.
It’s hard to argue against the fact that 2016’s film adaptation ofA Silent Voiceis a good movie, offering signature, high-quality visualsfrom the legendary Kyoto Animation, along with one of the best soundtracks in modern anime. However, to fully enjoy the story of Shoya Ishida and Shoko Nishimiya,the manga is undoubtedly the definitive version. Spanning a concise 7 volumes, a rare length among popular series, there is little reason not to check outA Silent Voice’s original manga.
A Silent Voice
Cast
A Silent Voice is a Japanese animated film directed by Naoko Yamada. It follows Shoya Ishida, a former bully who seeks redemption by reconnecting with Shoko Nishimiya, a deaf girl he once tormented. The film explores themes of bullying, empathy, and forgiveness, offering a poignant look at the complexities of human relationships and the impact of one’s actions on others.
