Achilles Putong

A Silent Voice is a movie with a rollercoaster of emotions all into a 2-hour movie. Its bittersweet tone and story capture many different topics of reality and mental health, combined with its stunning visuals, making it a memorable movie worth watching. 

After watching this movie twice, I’ve finally got a great grasp of the core of this movie. To me, the main message of this movie can be condensed to a single message: “Everyone’s voice deserves to be heard, and people need to listen to them.”

What a rollercoaster of emotions, I can’t believe how much they could pack in a mere two hours, this movie singlehandedly has more plot progression than most romance/rom-com anime out there, despite some having multiple seasons (I’m looking at you, Rent A Girlfriend). The visuals of this movie are probably some of the most unique quality animation you could ever find. At first, I said this movie looks like a TikTok edit (I understand my point back then). But now, the visuals make it seem as if every frame of a scene is an artwork. The animation is also in a way that every scene has the same amount of effort put into them, even if it’s a less important scene, which made me think that the first hour was already a big part of the story, only to realize I wasn’t even in the climax. That’s how much visuals can enhance emotion in every film.

The movie doesn’t only cover mental health and suicide (although it’s the two main topics of the film), it also has a big emphasis on friendship, family, grief, guilt, and most importantly, sympathy. “Sorry” is a word used in the film, while self-hatred is a common struggle between the two main characters. Basically, lot’s going on, but it’s clear that this movie focuses on a voice, or voices rather, along with how important it is to listen to these voices, both for the sender and the listener.

All the characters are great, and then we have Uno, a character whose sole purpose is to elevate the main conflict as if the main conflict isn’t already terrible enough. She was the only character who refused to change, refused to listen, and refused to acknowledge the reality of the situation. As if she thinks life is just a game, and she can control what happens and believes she’s the main character, she has hardened her heart so much she completely forgot what friendship even is, she takes everything as a mere playground and she wants to make sure she has her fun. Does she even have a heart at this point? 

 Overall, 10/10, loved every second of this movie.