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Description
The story revolves around Nishimiya Shōko, a grade school student who has impaired hearing. She transfers into a new school, where she is bullied by her classmates, especially Ishida Shouya. It gets to the point where she transfers to another school and as a result, Shōya is ostracized and bullied himself, with no friends to speak of and no plans for the future. Years later, he sets himself on a path to redemption.
Note: Won the 19th Tezuka Osamu Cultural Award New Artist Prize in 2015 and the Ogaki City Cultural Alliance Award (Lifestyle Culture Division). Nominated for the category "Best U.S. Edition of International Material" in the 2016 Eisner Awards.
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.
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
Spoiler (mouse over to view)
the class rep girl. Ishida echoed my thoughts when he told her "You disgust me from the bottom of my heart," and I cheered a little bit because someone had finally called her out on her being extremely fake and shallow. Everything the author wrote about her made her seem like a superficial, self-absorbed brat with zero character development...so I was flabbergasted when 1)she was still easily part of the group 2)the author, with no build-up, tried to portray her as a (somewhat) decent person with the paper cranes for Ishida.
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.
Starts out as phenomenal and then gradually loses its "punch". The conclusion is so anticlimactic that I actually forgot that I'd read it. It's a somewhat disappointing series for those who value consistency in manga, but it's still pretty good.
No, you can not go back in time, you wake on a dream of the beautiful what might have been, the what if and never fulfilled wish. The smiles that you might have made and might have had, the happiness that could never be yours, because there is no turning back in time. Only the undying scars, the tears by the unforgettable, and the wish for death.
Most things have already been said, so I shall keep it focused:
Some people may complain about the ending, about how the series lost its momentum in comparison to the one-shot; however, I think the final development is very befitting. Things mellow out as you grow older. And as much as Koe no Katachi is about bullying, it is also a coming-of-age story.
Events and people that seemed so crass, so insufferable in your youth become bearable as you learn to put them into perspective. Even more so as time makes you realise that people cannot change that easily - and they don't have to.
This does not mean that one should just forgive and forget. However, life will never go exactly the way you want. Not everybody can get along with each other, in the same way that you cannot like everybody; not even among your close acquaintances - but that's all right; we're only human after all. Once you've accepted this fact, you'll be able to take life's various unpleasantries in good humour,
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just like Nishimiya Shōko does in the end.
What really counts is to grow aware of one's own flaws and attitudes, so that when the time comes and you want to change, you'll know where to begin. Or to say it with Ishida Shōya's words
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"I think you're fine the way you are [...]. I think you'll be able to change when you really need to. What you like and what you don't isn't everything".
I believe that is the message Ōima Yoshitoki-sensei wanted to convey when she chose to leave some conflicts unresolved.
Same goes for the romance. Don't be bothered by the "Unresolved Romance" tag! Some people might see it that way, I personally don't - but does it matter? The main "romance" - if that's what you want to call it - is realistically subtle, and no matter how it goes, life will go on for our protagonists. We know that they'll be fine regardless of what life may throw at them because they have matured throughout the series and will continue to do so. That's all we need to know as readers of this marvellous manga.
Silent Voice tackles the issue of bullying, but instead of just painting it black and white with the victim serving justice to the bullies, it takes a more intricate look on just how complicated the situation can be. There are no heroes, no villains, only people - and that's what makes this manga an absolute must for any fan of the genre.
It's not a flawless story. The one shot, and the first volume, are spectacular, but after that it quickly drops and becomes unnecessarily drawn out, and the ending leaves a little to be desired. The subject of being deaf is also left to the side a bit, and ironically it sometimes felt like Nishimiya never really got a moment to have her thoughts come across. However, sprinkled across the entire manga are the occasional fantastic moment, making it worth the read. In the end A Silent Voice has several morals it wants to get across, and it manages to do just that. And for this reason, I'm giving it 9.8, the highest I've ever given to a manga.
I love this story for who it speaks for. It not only gives the bully a chance for redemption, but also alerts the readers of the issue of mistreating disabled individuals. I liked how the author wrapped up the story--it was very touching when I marathoned through the story.
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