Shoya Ishida and his ‘X’ situation
I feel like it very important to point out when this ‘X’ is used.
In my opinion, it doesn’t matter if Shoya can look at the person in the face or not, it’s about how much anxiety he feels around them.
The reason Shoya can’t look anyone in the face in the first place is because of anxiety and self-loathing.
The best example is Shoya with his family. He can look at his niece and mom’s faces perfectly fine! That’s because even if he hates himself, he doesn’t feel major anxiety when talking to them. He cares for them too much to not be able to not look at their face.
We see this slowly become important in the show.
At the started, he originally can’t look Nagatsuka in the face simply because he is a new person and Shoya feels major anxiety around him.
However, once Nagatsuka introduces himself and shows he has no bad intentions, the ‘X’ fall off his face. He slowly begins to care for this boy.
What about Shouko? She never had an ‘X’ in her face.
That’s because he was so determined to make it up to her that he had to put his anxiety and depression aside. How could he expect himself to even help her or apology if he can’t even look her in the eyes? He cares for her so she doesn’t have an ‘X’.
Well, what about Ueno? She had an ‘X’ on her face.
That’s because after her actions, Shoya saw her as a ‘threat’. She tried to corner and bully Shouko so now Shoya had anxiety around her. She brought back so many bad memories, it was hard NOT to feel panicked, especially after her “confession” and “mistakes”.
This is such an important concept because it truly helps us see from Shoya’s perspective. This detail allows us to see who he cares about, who he is determined to talk to, who he hates, who he is afraid of.
By limiting the ‘X’ to just being ‘not looking people in the face’, you limit the whole meaning of the movie and how much of a complex character Shoya is. He isn’t just depressed, he also still has feelings, emotions, opinions. Even if he doesn’t get ‘angry’ he still feels hatred and resentment.
That’s what makes Shoya so Human. That’s what makes the movie special.
janainaart
jacobvanloon
germansingergirl
2087
origamiaround
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