Koe no Katachi (A Silent Voice)

[Kopi]

Watched it earlier.

Spoiler for spoiler:

I didn't really like the movie making portion in the manga as imo felt really sluggish in terms of progress. So while I was kind of satisfied they took it out, certain characters got the short end of the stick in the movie since there were character development in it. An example will be Mashiba. He only existed for Kawai to act in the movie and he wasn't shown to do anything special in regard to Shouya besides saying "I thought we are friends." when Shouya lashed out at everyone. Kawai didn't get much time to show off her uglier side too

About the ending, it was definitely lacking. Would have prefer if they use the time for that original scene where Shouya and Shouko travel to a location out of town for the epilogue instead. Just the part where an elementary friend's kid bumped into Shouya and up to the point where Shouya grabs hold of Shouko's hand to walk into their elementary reunion room would have been more desirable.

[abc0716]

Watched it on yesterday...

Certainly a very good movie to watch. Likely will rewatch it in this weekend.

[Cosmic Eagle]

Really nice. Also, I thought Yuzu was legitly a shota lol. Sad she isn't

[KanbeKotori]

I like how they remove the non-important portion, but they also removed one important portion(Shouya repaying his mom). It kinda dilutes the experience.

Also, they didn't adapt up to the end it seems. Overall it's a good adaptation though.

[Cosmic Eagle]

Shouko's mother's backstory should have been left in as well IMO otherwise it just feels like she has anger issues.

A bit ambivalent as to whether Kawai's internal monologues should have been left in. On one hand, her role seems a bit "out of nowhere" without them. On the other, it might have been too distracting if they were in.

[darkchibi07]

And this movie is getting screened in the Annecy!

http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news...e-wall/.115259

[Guardian Enzo]

Meanwhile, America is treated to a chorus of crickets.

[blakstealth]

It's funny because between this movie and Kimi no Na Wa, I was way more excited for this one. Would've been cool if this got the same treatment overseas (well, the US for me, anyways). I'm glad it's coming out on home media next month.

[Julio C]

Originally Posted by blakstealth

It's funny because between this movie and Kimi no Na Wa, I was way more excited for this one. Would've been cool if this got the same treatment overseas (well, the US for me, anyways). I'm glad it's coming out on home media next month.

Yeah, I can't wait to get it, had it pre-order for months now. It's just too bad it didn't get a theatrical release here.

As for the BD which version are you getting?

[Vegard Aune]

Speaking as a Norwegian, I never really expect to get any anime that isn't Ghibli in theaters. So just the fact that we are in fact getting Your Name here (coming out the day after tomorrow, actually) is already way more than I could reasonably ask for. Would be nice if we could get this one too, but eh. I've read the manga, I know the story, and at least this one has a confirmed BD release date, which if I'm not mistaken, Your Name still doesn't have.

[Guardian Enzo]

Well, Your Name really changed the template for non-Ghibli anime. I mean, it's already #1 all-time worldwide for anime grosses and trails only Spirited Away in Japan. Even with Funimation doing negligible promotion it did $4 million in the U.S. - if it had a real distributor behind it, it might have surpassed Spirited Away here.

I would never expect Koe no Katachi to get a semi-wide release like Your Name did, but it would be nice if films like this got at least an arthouse cameo in the U.S., given that they almost always get that or better almost everywhere else in the industrial West.

[dark998]

This also had special showings in Mexico (like Ordinal Scale) via Cinepolis. Went to watch it fully blind (didn't even watch a single trailer beforehand, no knowledge of the manga) and was pleasantly surprised. Beautiful movie, had no option but preorder the limited BD because I want to see it again already. Also considering buying the manga.

[Crossheart]

^like that, i watched in theaters.
And as a manga reader, if i remember, i comment my fears about the movie and KyoAni here...
... better than expected, at least Shouko wasn't made into a moeblob. Still the usual KyoAni issues.

[Marcus H.]

Just watched it in the Philippines.

Spoiler for Insights:

I felt that by the middle of the movie, it came as a social experiment. The movie showed one point of view of the characters, and the latter half challenges what impressions we had made based on what we see of the cast. In the end, I lost spectacularly, but I won't be surprised if many people saw Ueno as a massive bitch because of her actions although she was just so confident of herself that she quickly makes her own impressions of people and sticks to it.

The movie dwells on two concepts: "mistakes" and "understanding". Surprised that I excluded Nishimiya's hearing condition? It's because the movie tries to point out that people—those who are "normal" in a sense and those with problems that cannot be easily understood—can make mistakes and one of them has to make efforts to understand the other (yes, even the impaired needs to understand the divide). Despite a movie that features an impaired main character, it tried to paint Nishimiya as just like one of us... she faces her own problems, she is unable to understand some people, she can hurt others with this lack of understanding, and she must do something to make amends with those she had hurt.

This rather impartial view of people with disabilities reminds me of Demi-chan wa Kataritai, where our hunky professor has explained an interesting view on demis: "If you just see traits unique to demis, you'll miss their individuality. If you only see the human side, you won't understand their troubles. Both are precious. What's important is balance." Sadly, it is simply too easy to just look at what's weird in a person than to spend extra time actually knowing the person beyond that weirdness.

It's almost magic that they managed to make such a complicated issue into something that's easier to understand than expected. The movie is also a visual and aural experience. Kudos to the geniuses behind this movie.

BTW, to those interested, here are my impressions of the cast:

Spoiler for More insights:

Shoya = An asshole in Grade 6, which was later revealed as a kind of defense mechanism against bullying and a hidden inferiority complex. The majority vote wasn't actually on his side and he was eventually singled out ala Sodachi.
Shouko = Self-loathing, but not to a self-destructive point. Has a very strong inferiority complex and bows her head on many things as if using it as a wall.
Yuzuru = Pities Shouko and tries to lift her spirits by posting demeaning pictures in the sense of "at least you're not having this bad of a time". She did not know that it also feeds into Shouko's inferiority complex, turning "at least you're not having this bad of a time" into "maybe I should be reduced into these dead animals because I'm broken".
Nagatsuka = He's Sangatsu no Lion's Nikaido in another world. Full with hot-bloodedness and always loyal to Shoya.
Ueno = As I said, she is a very confident person to a fault. She sticks to her impressions of people, but when given the chance to be friendly with other people, she relents tsundere-style.
Sahara = Flees at the first sign of trouble. 'Nuff said.
Kawai = Deflects the mistakes she does and uses her apparent vulnerability to gain the sympathy of others.
Mashiba = Not that substantial, and is so distant from Shoya that his actions are based on what he sees or hears about Shoya.

[MeoTwister5]

Originally Posted by Marcus H.

Just watched it in the Philippines.

Spoiler for Insights:

I felt that by the middle of the movie, it came as a social experiment. The movie showed one point of view of the characters, and the latter half challenges what impressions we had made based on what we see of the cast. In the end, I lost spectacularly, but I won't be surprised if many people saw Ueno as a massive bitch because of her actions although she was just so confident of herself that she quickly makes her own impressions of people and sticks to it.

The movie dwells on two concepts: "mistakes" and "understanding". Surprised that I excluded Nishimiya's hearing condition? It's because the movie tries to point out that people—those who are "normal" in a sense and those with problems that cannot be easily understood—can make mistakes and one of them has to make efforts to understand the other (yes, even the impaired needs to understand the divide). Despite a movie that features an impaired main character, it tried to paint Nishimiya as just like one of us... she faces her own problems, she is unable to understand some people, she can hurt others with this lack of understanding, and she must do something to make amends with those she had hurt.

This rather impartial view of people with disabilities reminds me of Demi-chan wa Kataritai,
where our hunky professor has explained an interesting view on demis: "If you just see traits unique to demis, you'll miss their individuality. If you only see the human side, you won't understand their troubles. Both are precious. What's important is balance." Sadly, it is simply too easy to just look at what's weird in a person than to spend extra time actually knowing the person beyond that weirdness.

It's almost magic that they managed to make such a complicated issue into something that's easier to understand than expected. The movie is also a visual and aural experience. Kudos to the geniuses behind this movie.

Where did you watch? Pretty sure no local cinemas are screening.

[Marcus H.]

The nearest SM mall near my place, and by near I meant about two kilometers from home.
Many malls have the movie as a one-day release, but the reception of the movie—which was reported to surpass Kimi no Na Wa—suggests that the movie will stay for a few more days than expected.

[Cosmic Eagle]

Originally Posted by Marcus H.

Just watched it in the Philippines.

Spoiler for Insights:

I felt that by the middle of the movie, it came as a social experiment. The movie showed one point of view of the characters, and the latter half challenges what impressions we had made based on what we see of the cast. In the end, I lost spectacularly, but I won't be surprised if many people saw Ueno as a massive bitch because of her actions although she was just so confident of herself that she quickly makes her own impressions of people and sticks to it.

The movie dwells on two concepts: "mistakes" and "understanding". Surprised that I excluded Nishimiya's hearing condition? It's because the movie tries to point out that people—those who are "normal" in a sense and those with problems that cannot be easily understood—can make mistakes and one of them has to make efforts to understand the other (yes, even the impaired needs to understand the divide). Despite a movie that features an impaired main character, it tried to paint Nishimiya as just like one of us... she faces her own problems, she is unable to understand some people, she can hurt others with this lack of understanding, and she must do something to make amends with those she had hurt.

This rather impartial view of people with disabilities reminds me of Demi-chan wa Kataritai, where our hunky professor has explained an interesting view on demis: "If you just see traits unique to demis, you'll miss their individuality. If you only see the human side, you won't understand their troubles. Both are precious. What's important is balance." Sadly, it is simply too easy to just look at what's weird in a person than to spend extra time actually knowing the person beyond that weirdness.

It's almost magic that they managed to make such a complicated issue into something that's easier to understand than expected. The movie is also a visual and aural experience. Kudos to the geniuses behind this movie.

BTW, to those interested, here are my impressions of the cast:

Spoiler for More insights:

Shoya = An asshole in Grade 6, which was later revealed as a kind of defense mechanism against bullying and a hidden inferiority complex. The majority vote wasn't actually on his side and he was eventually singled out ala Sodachi.
Shouko = Self-loathing, but not to a self-destructive point. Has a very strong inferiority complex and bows her head on many things as if using it as a wall.
Yuzuru = Pities Shouko and tries to lift her spirits by posting demeaning pictures in the sense of "at least you're not having this bad of a time". She did not know that it also feeds into Shouko's inferiority complex, turning "at least you're not having this bad of a time" into "maybe I should be reduced into these dead animals because I'm broken".
Nagatsuka = He's Sangatsu no Lion's Nikaido in another world. Full with hot-bloodedness and always loyal to Shoya.
Ueno = As I said, she is a very confident person to a fault. She sticks to her impressions of people, but when given the chance to be friendly with other people, she relents tsundere-style.
Sahara = Flees at the first sign of trouble. 'Nuff said.
Kawai = Deflects the mistakes she does and uses her apparent vulnerability to gain the sympathy of others.
Mashiba = Not that substantial, and is so distant from Shoya that his actions are based on what he sees or hears about Shoya.

Ueno is an a-hole and a bit socially retarded (yeah some of her actions are literally "are u dumb or what?!") but at least she's honest lol...Kawai OTOH....such a two-faced backstabbing problem kid....the most painful thing is how it takes falling off a building to actually even allow communication to happen. I really feel the MC's pain in dealing with his issues there; it is as though talking to rocks is easier at certain points in the show.


BTW, Shouko IS self-destructive. She wouldn't have attempted suicide otherwise. It took the bridge incident to push her over the edge but she was exhibiting self-destructive tendencies since early on as shown by Yuzuru's photos in her room even if she does wake up later on when MC literally became her fall guy

[MeoTwister5]

Hoary Shito they have a showing literally walking distance from my house.

Marcus H.:

Would you happen to know how long SM or the local company will be showing the movie locally? Sadly I may not be able to watch until Monday after work. Also WTH I'm surprised the nearest SM mall to you is 2km. There are so many malls you could walk to one from any point, unless one lives in the provinces.

[The One Above God]

^How lucky. The SM Mall nearest to my house that is actually showing it is 9km away...I hope they extend the movie screening here.

[tsunade666]

I'm planning to watch it this sunday. I just hope that its still available for showing.
sm sta rosa has schedule of only may 13 and megamall, manila, sucat for up until may 16. MOA has until may 14. those are the ones near me.