:: The Shape of Voice ::

Salam, good day peeps!

How's life for y'all? Mine has been a bit more than ordinary...probably because two weeks ago, it was holiday and the month of Ramadan finally arrived this year. A lot has happened since few days but yeah, I'm living my life with all might.

ANYWAY, THAT'S NOT WHY I'M WRITING TODAY!

Yesterday, I watched this particular animation film that has been receiving great reviews from all anime and manga fans. So, I thought "maybe I should share a piece of my mind here too." Without further ado, let's start!

Credit: myanimelist(.)net

The film I'm going to talk about is entitled Koe no Katachi or translated as The Shape of Voice. The film was adapted based on the manga of same name written and illustrated by Ouima Yoshitoki and it tells the story of Ishida Shouya, a wild young boy and Nishimiya Shouko, a deaf young girl. When Shouko first transferred to his class, Shouya and the rest of his classmates learned about her deafness and began to bully her for fun. That rebutted their so-called 'fun'  as Shouko's mother notified the school about her being bullied and he was singled out by his 'friends' and got blamed for everything regarding to Shouko. As time passes, he is in his third year of high school and being as regretful and remorse he has within himself, he sets on a redemption to meet Shouko and make amends for his wrongdoings to her.

So, what is my take on Koe no Katachi?(spoilers ahead)

First of all, the studio which the film was being produced is Kyoto Animation, well known for soft looking characters and animation merged with subtle colors making it much beautiful as well as being left of a good impression for the overall story and make good use as the story focuses on those two main characters.

Shouya was in his deepest depression as he was ostracized by his friends even after in his high school year that he even considered to commit suicide so he will not be a burden for his family, especially his mother. He developed low self-esteem as he shut down the voices around him and look on the floor so he wouldn't see the expression of other people have on their faces. The regret and guilt he has for the wrongdoings he did to Shouko led to him learning sign language, sincerely hoping he will be able to meet Shouko and apologizing to her. It was a challenge at times when he and Shouko befriending each other, their former elementary classmates and friends were in disbelief and even tries to break down their blooming friendship.

As for Shouko, her deafness led to many disadvantages in her daily life especially with her 'new friends'. Her inability to communicate as normal kids does, resulted her being bullied during elementary school as her earpieces were thrown away from her and she was made fun by Shouya and the rest of the class and finally the worst part; she moved into a new school because of the bully issue. Meeting Shouya, who is in desperation to meet her, was a big turning point for their friendship. When she knew Shouya learned sign language to communicate with her, she tried to change herself too. Despite that, their former classmates and friends almost made it impossible for them to rekindle their friendship resulting her to commit suicide but got saved by Shouya, who was badly injured instead.

As for the theme, highlighting Shouko's and Shouya's individual issues brings out the idea of an individual's own defects whereby there are things unavoidable in our lives that could get beyond our reach. As it goes in Koe no Katachi, Shouya's attempts for redemption became his own weak point as he was no longer believing that he can befriend others and he distrust the 'friends' he used to have during elementary school. Of course, at some point in our own lives, we had times when we did things that led to such an impact but that makes us imperfect and humane. Without having defects, we can't call ourselves human beings because humans are imperfectly perfect. So why bother when it's okay to be yourself and try to live life and experience more?

With that being said, I sincerely recommend this movie for its emotional heartstrings and the message carried through Shouya and Shouko's perspectives.

That's all for my not-so-good review. As usual, thank you for reading and I hope you consider watching Koe no Katachi as it unveils real issues such as bully and its effect towards someone. Till then!