Koe no Katachi (聲の形)

A deaf elementary school girl, Shoko Nishimiya, upon transferring, meets a boy named Shoya Ishida in her new class. Shoya, who is not deaf, leads the class in bullying Shoko, because she is deaf. As the bullying continues, the class starts to bully Shoya for bullying Shoko. After graduating from elementary school, Shoko and Shouya do not speak to each other... until later, when Shoya, tormented over his past, decides he must see Shoko once more. Shoya wants to make amends for what he did in elementary school and be Shoko's friend (Anime News Network). ©大今良時・講談社／映画聲の形製作委員会

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Koe no Katachi (聲の形)

With the Blu-ray & DVD release approaching May 17th, A Silent Voice is back in magazines, with new art in Animedia (Amazon US | Amazon Japan) featuring the elementary and high school versions of Shouko Nishimiya, illustrated by key animator Nami Iwasaki (岩﨑菜美).

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Koe no Katachi (A Silent Voice) anime film BD/DVD release date scheduled for May 17th.

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Can i bring this home ;_;

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Koe no Katachi (聲の形 )

Shouko Nishimiya stares out of the page, while her mom and sister watch fireworks in new promotional art by character designer Futoshi Nishiya (西屋太志) for A Silent Voice featured in Animedia Magazine.

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Koe no Katachi (聲の形 )

Character designer Futoshi Nishiya (西屋太志) brings together Shouya Ishida and Shouko Nishimiya, focusing on their miraculous second chance together, in the latest spread from Newtype Magazine (Amazon Japan).

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Koe no Katachi (聲の形)

A younger Shouya Ishida and Shouko Nishimiya head to school, with Shouko hoping for the best, in this new illustration for Animedia Magazine (Amazon Japan), illustrated by character designer Futoshi Nishiya (西屋太志).

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Koe no Katachi (聲の形 )

A Silent Voice sisters, Yuzuru Nishimiya and Shouko Nishimiya, hold hands in this happy summer poster from Megami Magazine (Amazon US | Japan), illustrated by key animator Shinpei Sawa (澤真平).

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Koe no Katachi (聲の形 )

Shouko Nishimiya and Shouya Ishida stand together in friendship and reunion in this lovely spread by character designer Futoshi Nishiya (西屋太志), newly illustrated for the September issue of Newtype (Amazon US | JP).

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Koe no Katachi (聲の形 )

The lovely heroine of A Silent Voice, Shouko Nishimiya, is featured solo, in an Animedia Magazine (Amazon US | JP) spread illustrated by character designer Futoshi Nishiya (西屋太志).

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Koe no Katachi (A Silent Voice) Key Visual (Click image for full size!)

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Koe no katachi new visual

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Can be read on Crunchyroll or, if you don’t have an account, here.

I read a pretty amazing manga today; it was so amazing that I read all 62 chapters within the span of a few hours. It’s called Koe no Katachi, also known as A Silent Voice (official English title) or The Shape of a Voice (literal translation).

The story centers around a boy named Shouya Ishida and a girl named Shouko Nishimiya. Shouko is deaf, and after she transfers to Shouya’s school, she is relentlessly bullied for it. The ringleader of these bullies is Shouya himself, who is annoyed by Shouko’s friendly and kind nature; he feels as though she should stand up for herself and make her “voice” heard instead of constantly apologizing. Although not everyone in the class bullies her, everyone who doesn’t directly harass her (including the homeroom teacher) simply ignore what’s happening. Eventually, the bullying becomes so severe that Shouko transfers schools. 

In the aftermath of this, Shouya himself becomes a scapegoat when the class (and, again, the teacher) place the blame for Shouko’s transfer squarely on him despite all participating in it. Shouya starts to be bullied by his former friends and, in the process, realizes just how badly he hurt Shouko. He spends the next five years (still alone) trying to redeem himself by learning sign language in the hopes that he will be able to meet Shouko again someday and be able to hear her “voice.”

Eventually, the two do meet again when they’re seniors in high school, and Shouko accepts Shouya’s apology. The two become friends and then spend a lot of time trying to get to know each other. In the process, they form their own social circle consisting of their family members (Shouko’s younger sister in particular) and their former and current classmates. Shouya still hopes to make amends by giving Shouko the friends and experiences she was robbed of before, but still suffers from crippling guilt. Over the course of the series, both Shouko and Shouya change and evolve into better people (although Shouko was at a pretty good place to begin with :P).

Some of you are probably familiar with the one-shot/pilot chapter, which was passed around Tumblr last year. The one-shot was expanded into a full series in August of 2013 and just wrapped up last month (November 19th, 2014). From the very beginning, Koe no Katachi has experienced considerable controversy; you see, although the Japanese school system has a serious problem with bullying (much like almost every country’s school system), most people prefer to sweep it under the rug and not acknowledge it as it reflects badly on the school system. Koe no Katachi had a very hard time finding a publisher because of this (most publishers were too afraid of the backlash it would cause) until last year, when Kodansha Comics (which is also Sailor Moon’s publisher!) had the guts to say that it was a story that NEEDED to be told and picked it up for publishing. It’s also going to become a theatrical film!

At its core, Koe no Katachi has two messages. The first is that all people, regardless of background, disability, or anything else, deserve to have their voices understood and heard. The second is that everybody (even bullies) has the ability to change themselves for the better; they just need to be willing to put in the work. The way both of these messages are conveyed is very beautiful and moving and will likely stick with you for a long time.

I really encourage everyone to read this amazing manga! 

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映画『聲の形』 特報

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「Koe no Katachi」✰ PV

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Kyoto Animation’s anime film adaptation of Yoshitoki Ōima’s A Silent Voice opens in Japan on September 17, 2016. (Watch the promotional video here)