The Quiet Pain of A Silent Voice

[TW: Suicide, Self-Harm, Abuse]

Here’s a confession: I’ve spent most of my life deeply hating myself.

I don’t know when this began. I can’t pinpoint the exact time, or exact moment. As with every human being who has ever lived, I’ve endured my fair share of traumatic events and painful experiences. I’ve endured bullying, emotional abuse, physical abuse, longing, abandonment, heartache, pain. Some of my earliest memories are painful ones, and even my most treasured moments are laced with unwanted feelings. I’ve had terrible things done to me; I’ve done terrible things to others.

I’m a person, and like those within A Silent Voice, I just want to be seen and understood.

Childhood Abuse

A Silent Voice is, at its core, a story about bullying and overcoming pain. When Shoko Nishimiya joins her newest class as a young middle schooler, she is full of light and softness. She’s kind and sweet and curious. She is also deaf, and bullied incessantly for this.

Young Shoko communicates with her class via a written notebook.

At the start of the film, we see Shoya Ishida attempt to kill himself with little context. He’s saved up as much money as possible, sold all…