By Eleanna Alexopoulou and Evi Askouni

            This is an animated movie created in Japan. This film is produced by Kyoto animation and is based on the manga with the same name. It was released on 24 August 2016 and became really fast, one of the best animated films of all time. The movie received many positive reviews and a lot of praise for the quality of the animation.

            The story begins as Shoya Ishida tries to take his own life, but changes his mind at the last minute. Then the plot cuts to the past, where Ishida is still in sixth grade. There he meets a transfer student, Nishimiya Shoko, who suffered from a hearing disability. Shoko tries to adapt to the new environment but due to her impairment, fitting in is very difficult. To make things even more complicated for her, Ishida and his friends start to bully her. When the teachers found out about the bullying, Ishidas’ friends blamed only him for it. His bad reputation makes him the new outcast and now he is also a victim of bullying. Ishida blames Shoko for the things that happened to him. Skipping to the present, Ishida is in high school and still doesn’t have any friends. He decides to try to find Shoko and apologize to her about the awful things he did to her back in the day. When he does find her, he asks for forgiveness. Shoko agrees to become friends with him and so a very eventful journey begins.

The movie gives a lot of insight about teenagers’ mental health and raises awareness about suicide and other important topics such as bullying and depression. It shows the difficulties people with disabilities and mental illnesses face and how the main characters deal with them. What makes this movie interesting is the fact that the story is narrated from the perspective of the bully (Shoya) rather than the victim. The title is to the point explaining the concept of the movie, while “Shape of voice” signifies that communication and bonding is not only accomplished through speech but can take many forms.

If you are looking for an engaging, controversial drama film, this is the best choice because not only it is entertaining, but it also teaches many valuable lessons.