Mallory

I’ve never left a review before but I felt that it was important to share my perspective. I was looking for a new anime movie to wind down after a long day and came across A Silent Voice, which had overwhelmingly positive reviews so I decided to give it a watch. But after watching it, I’m genuinely confused by the praise. As someone with a chronic illness, I found this movie disappointing and deeply damaging in its portrayal of disability but particularly deafness, which is central to the story. First off, Shouko has no character development. Her only consistent trait is feeding fish, besides that she’s portrayed solely as a deaf girl in need of saving. Her identity feels flat, she’s reduced to a disability rather than being explored as a full human being. The entire plot feels like it was written by someone with little understanding of what it means to live with a disability. Instead of creating an empowering narrative, the movie focuses more on Shouya’s redemption arc and leaves the disabled character sidelined and voiceless. Which is ironic in a movie that’s supposedly about her voice. This movie had the potential to deliver a powerful message, especially with such serious and important topics like bullying, suicide, depression and anxiety but in my opinion, it handles them in a clumsy and superficial way. It seemed like the movie wanted to tackle these issues but it didn’t reach the emotional insight they truly deserve. The writing lacks depth and it felt like emotional manipulation rather than meaningful exploration. The ending with Shouya was somewhat moving but I couldn’t really connect with it because the underlying message left me feeling disappointed and frustrated. The animation is beautiful but visually appealing art doesn’t make up for poor storytelling. I kept waiting for the movie to redeem itself but it never did and it was a waste of two hours for me personally. If you’re looking for a better story featuring a disabled main character with an identity beyond her disability, Josee, the Tiger and the Fish offers a much more respectful and meaningful depiction, I’d recommend watching that instead.