A Silent Voice

This anime film from Kyoto Animation deals with bullying and its consequences and it does a very good job at showing both sides the bully and the bullied. Unlike other movies that basically have the same topic this movie takes a different approach instead of showing the bullied person getting stronger and standing up for themselves it follows the life of the bully Shoya Ishida who is totally traumatized by the things he did to this young deaf girl named Shoko Nishimiya, after all of his classmates and even the ones who were bullying Shoko with him shun him for what he’s done, soon after shoko transfers schools and Shoya shuts himself off from everyone around him. The years pass and Shoya wants to apologize and make amends with her. Not often do I find myself rooting for the bully as well as the victim. The animation in this film is just beautiful and so polished and the story is told in a way that is thought-provoking and contemplative, it has an interesting commentary on the state of ones mental health and well-being.