Released in 2016, Yoshitoki Oima’s “A Silent Voice” is a powerful, heart-wrenching, emotional drama film about protagonist Shoya Ishida’s journey to redeem himself after deeply regretting bullying a deaf girl in elementary school. Ishida encounters many obstacles and continually questions himself and his actions while he transforms from popular and outspoken at the beginning of the story to heavily introverted and self-isolated, and finally to humble and soft-spoken in the end. Like Ishiba, each character has their own struggles and personalities that really bring this story to life. That said, here is an analysis of Ishiba and the five most important characters who made an impact on his life and made this anime so realistic and touching.
Shoya Ishida
As a sixth-grader, Ishida would mess around with his two best friends and be mean to everyone but Naoka Ueno, Miki Kawai, and Shimada, acting as the class clown. When new student Shoko Nishimaya enters his life, Ishiba and those he allied with decide to target and bully her, solely because she is deaf. One day, Ishiba and Ueno steal Nishimaya’s hearing aids and throw them away. It was all fun and games for them until the next day, when the prinicipal came into their classroom and explained that Nishimaya’s mom called about Nishimaya’s hearing aids (which were by no means cheap) continuously disappearing, which led her to believe that her daughter was being bullied.
After the announcement, Ishida’s teacher asks him to stand up, and makes no effort to hide his scorn and disappointment as he announced that everyone (especially he) knew that Ishida was the bully. Panicking, Ishida attempts to point out that Shimada, Ueno, and Kawai were also taking part in the bullying, but no one paid him heed. In the following years, Ishida considered taking it out on himself, but realized that it would solve nothing. Thus, he made it his goal to find Nishimaya, apologize for his behavior, befriend her, and try to make things right. At first everyone believes he is trying to “make things right” just to go back to bullying her, but when they realize he is being sincere and genuinely trying to change, some (most notably Shoko, Yuzuru Nishimaya, and Tomohiro Nagatsuka) give him a second chance and become his friends.
Shoko Nishimaya
New-girl Shoko Nishimaya joined Ishida’s class in elementary school, and allowed people to write in her notebook to communicate with her since it was the easiest way to communicate and none of them knew sign language. Due to her hearing disabilities, she became an easy target for bullies. However, in the face of adversity she never got angry, and just rolled with the punches. Her kindness, constant apologies, and patience angered those against her all the more, but she continued to never change. All she ever wanted was to be happy, accepted, normal, and to make friends. These goals never changed, and she continued to be kind to everyone, even those who always targeted her (mainly Ishida, Ueno, and Kawai). This amazing resilience and her ability to forgive as well as befriend Ishida despite how miserable he made her life goes a long way and shows just how strong she truly is.
Yuzuru Nishimiya
As the younger and more rebellious sister of Shoko, Yuzuru Nishimaya always made sure to look out for her sister and be cold to those who hurt either of them (particularly Ishida, who she deeply hated until she eventually realized how much her sister liked him, so she decided it’d be best to end her hostility towards Ishida). Her hatred towards Ishida began to lessen when she realized he was genuinely trying to change, and she readily accepted this. In fact, she allows Ishida to keep in touch with her and her older sister and encourages him to work things out with Shoko.
She is often seen in the Ishida house, always being welcomed by Ishida’s mother and little sister. She is most often seen in the quiet darkness of Ishida’s bedroom, or in the kitchen of his house. An important detail to note is that, towards the end of the movie, there is a scene where Yuzuru asks Ishida for help with studying in his bedroom. This goes to show how much Yuzuru warmed up to Ishida and how their overall relationship (especially regarding their mutual desire for Shoko to be happy) had grown and improved.
Tomohiro Nagatsuka
Walking to the bicycle-parking lot on his way home, Ishida notices a boy attempting to steal Nagatsuka’s bike, and stops to watch the commotion. Thinking about what it’d be like to be in the victim’s position, Ishida hesitantly steps between the bully and the victim. He offers his bike in exchange for the victim to be left alone and go home without a scratch, and the bully gladly accepts.
The following day, Nagatsuka waves Ishida over and graciously thanks him for defending him and asks Ishida to be his friend. Ishida hesitates, but accepts. The two begin to hang out, and while at a food court, Ishida gets up the nerve to ask Nagatsuka what friendship really means, and it becomes a moment of realization for him. Despite his awkwardness and uncanny ability to make people feel uncomfortable around him (without trying), he is still able to give helpful advice when needed, and Ishida still forms a genuine friendship with him. Nagatsuka is the comic relief character and loyal best friend who helps alleviate the seriousness of the anime while not taking away from the overall plot and meaning of the story.
Naoka Ueno
Naturally rude to everyone, Naoka Ueno is a classic example of a stereotypical “mean girl.” Even in elementary school, she was a pretentious jerk who made no effort to stop Ishida or anyone else from bullying Shoko, and she found it entertaining to bully her. Knowing her actions and words hurt others, she refused to change.
She, like everyone but Shoko, turned on Ishida and pretended he didn’t exist, or looked at him with scorn and burning hatred. Despite her unruly actions and personality, she is still seen hanging out with Ishida and his friends. Unsurprisingly, she takes the role of the big bully after Ishida “steps down” and changes his ways. She is most often seen tormenting Shoko, and trying to guilt-trip Ishida into being on her side and helping her return things back to the way they were in elementary school.
The difference between the immature and selfish Ueno and the maturing and altruistic Ishida is highlighted by Ishida befriending Shoko despite Ueno’s insults, and his firm refusal to return things to their past state. He recognizes that things need to change and changes himself for the better, while Ueno holds on to the past and stays the same as her elementary school self.
Kazuki Shimada
Once Ishida’s best friend and partner in crime, Kazuki Shimada would help Ishida bully Shoko in elementary school. But the minute that the bullying was exposed, Shimada acted as if he never knew Ishida in the first place, and that he never took part in the bullying. After that scene, Shimada does not show up often in the movie. Though viewers may not pay this character much heed, he makes a notable appearance in a scene where Ishida and his new friend group (plus Ueno and Shoko) go to a theme park, and Ueno says she wants Ishida to get takoyaki with her.
After receiving the food and paying, Ishida recognizes the worker who served his food as his old friend Shimada who he hadn’t seen since elementary school. Dumbfounded, he is unable to speak until Ueno apologizes for using the takoyaki as a disguise for her attempt to reunite Ishida with his old friend. She admits that she wants things back the way they were before Shoko entered their lives, but Ishida refuses to go along with her plan, explaining that there is no going back, and they’re just going to have to live with it. After this event, Shimada is not seen in the movie, but his fake friendship and immediate abandonment of Ishida after their bullying was brought into the limelight taught Ishida to choose his friends wisely and treat everyone with respect.