The manga deals with difficult subjects: bullying, disability, alienation, suicide, but ultimately the story is about redemption.
I read the manga after seeing the anime movie, so I can't help but to compare them. Obviously there was more room for character development in the manga, but some of the characters came off as weirdos and narcissists (e.g. Mashiba and Kawai). Ueno started out more sympathetic, but became off putting because of her abusiveness and fits of rage. I just found it hard to care fore them, which is not a good thing in a character-driven manga. Seeing Ishida's childhood was interesting, but sub-plots like the movie-making didn't add much to the story. The manga lost its way towards the end and should have focused more on Ishida and Nishimiya. The ending was disappointing too, but I guess it's the journey that's more important? *shrug*



I usually prefer the original manga to anime adaptations, but in this case the movie wins for me. It took the best bits of the manga, and condensed them down into 2 hours. Still, the manga was good, but I'm not sure if I'd recommend it.

... Last updated on December 27th, 2018, 6:21am

If you're into character-driven stories with imperfect characters who try to attone, and moments that will make you ugly cry, read this. The characters are so well done that it's simply not to be missed.

tbh at first i wasnt really sure i would like it. I am not a big fan of the bullying its just plain stupid for me to read about people bullying another human being specially if the girl had a hearing problem, but I read the first chapter and then I couldn-t stop and after that I noticed I have read the whole thing and I was like wtf! in what moment I became interested in this stuff? and it has been the best decision ever in my whole day!

I found myself cried, then I laugh and then cried again. It's really a good read. I've read this in the past, but I was not really into it considering I have weak hearing. It's like trying to gouge my complex/weakness. Now, I tried to read it again, wholeheartedly. Well, the result was I cried too much and laugh.

It's touching story and I'm not really mad with the ending. They're still teenager, to stay strong with social pressure and somehow having a good relationship are good enough for them. They have a lot of room (age) to grow.

Reading this was a great experience (other people think the same - just look up the other comments)

It´s not just about bullying, its so much about everyday struggles in relationships - trying to feel/understand what other people might feel like and also how important it is to start realising

Leaving this comment feels incomplete, but still, i need to get at least this out ;D

Amazing! Just purely amazing!
The story is consistent to its theme and rises alot of different kind of emotions, while reading it. The story is so well constructed, that i'm baffled how there is this kind of talented people in the world.

Purely love this story!

Just....just read it. I tried writing a comment over and over again but I can't really seem to find the right words to dexcribe how great this was.
I felt heartbroken, and I related a lot and felt for the characters. It was so painful to see how unfair the situation was for some characters, but then again, bullying is never fair. I felt so heartbroken hen I saw how the character saw the other people. This is the first time I was ever able to fully relate to a character this way....
Just.....read it. Don't waste your time reading my comment.

I don't even know how to describe it better. I still can't forgive myself for a lot of things, bullying a disabled girl from my class is one of them. And i'm already 26 years old, time flies, yeah? I still carry my prison. I talked to the girl i bullied over in school she was cold to me, now i seriously consider asking her to meet me so i could properly apologize. I mean i get it that she doesn't need my apology anymore because it seems like she is doing fine based on her socials, but maybe.. just maybe she will be kind enough to ease my pain?
Anyway i feel a bit better about myself after reading this for some reason. Thank you very much, OOIMA Yoshitoki.

When I first began reading this series, I was excited to find that it was much different from many other stories of a similar nature. First off, we have an (ex)bully as our narrator. Second, there is the involvement of a deaf person and sign language which was a really refreshing aspect. At the beginning, the bullying genuinely pulled at my heartstrings as I felt bad for both Shouko, as the recipient, AND Ishida as he reeled with guilt and horror over what he had done to her.

For me, the story quickly looses steam when the author begins introducing all the side characters. I liked Yuzuru and Sahara, who seemed like good people. But the other characters were so irritating! These characters (minus Ishida's short friend) formerly bullied Shouko and threw Ishida under the bus when they got caught. They were jerks at a young age and they are jerks in high school. I feel that this is relatively realistic and appreciate the author trying to show their growth after reuniting with Ishida/Nishimiya. But the key word here is "trying." In my opinion, these characters hardly grew at all (if any), yet somehow at the end everyone becomes friends. Poorly used time skips and weak background stories behind the side characters, which I believe were meant to make them a bit more sympathetic, just made me more confused as to HOW these kiddos were actually turning into friends.

The two girl bullies, for example, have almost zero redeemable qualities up until the very end. Especially

Anyways, I was just disappointed that the author spent so much time rehashing the same problems with little to no character growth in our side characters. As realistic as the author tried to make this series, it turned out unrealistic and unbelievable thanks to the weird "friendship" dynamic that suddenly happens at the end (which, by the way, felt super abrupt and rushed).

So I was ready to give this series a 10/10, or at least a good 9.5. I was reading along, then I hit the end suddenly. At first I thought that I had somehow missed the last chapter, and I went on a few different sites looking for this "actual ending". Needless to say that when I found out the truth I was none too happy. Just to be clear the ending isn't awful or anything. But it IS straight up disappointing, since they've teased you with this relationship for over 60 chapters just to shrug in the end and say "well MAYBE they get together, who knows?!"

The thing is that the manga doesn't give enough of a resolution to round out the story, just in general. I mean there's almost no follow-up to the main character's childhood friends, no romantic subplot gets resolved and just in general it feels like there's hardly any resolution. It really does feel like some guy came along and stole the last chapter or two, you know the part with the resolution to the main relationship that they tease over and over again. Not a deal breaker, but the story really felt like it needed that nice and happy ending to round out the amount of heartbreak early on.

Anyhow, for what it's worth I think the rest of the manga is really good. The bullying early on is just painful to read at times, it really makes you kind of hate the main character at first. This is okay with me because the story is supposed to be about how this guy changes from the jerk he used to be into a mature adult. There are times when he acts perhaps a bit too pathetic but I guess I might to the same thing if I had no friends for years.

In the end this is a good read. Just don't expect any lovey-dovey resolutions here, that's all.

... Last updated on January 13th, 2017, 9:15pm