Scan barcode
A review by songwind
The Shape of Voice vol. 1 by Yoshitoki Oima
4.0
(This review is for the complete series, which I read via my Crunchy Roll membership. On CrunchRoll it was translated as A Silent Voice.)
When Nishimiya Shoka joins Ishida Shoya's sixth grade class, he (and the other kids) don't really know how to deal with it. Eventually Ishida ends up bullying her, and leading the class in an escalating path of torment until finally Nishimiya is forced to leave school and Ishida's mother ends up deep in debt to pay for the girls hearing aids he destroyed.
Scared by the consequences of their actions, the rest of the class turns on Ishida, bullying him in turn. His reputation follows him through middle school and high school, forcing him to be a loner.
Finally, overcome by guilt and isolation. Ishida decides to kill himself after settling his debts. As part of that, he tracks down Nishimiya to apologize. That's the beginning of a tumultuous time of change and self reflection.
This is a very dense manga. It's not a difficult read, but it has a lot going on and tackles multiple themes. Personal growth and change, forgiveness, acceptance of difference, love, family, suicide, depression and more. Though centered on Ishida and Nishimiya, the story expands to include new characters, and old classmates from their time together in elementary school. It also deals with deafness in a complex, nuanced manner that was really refreshing.
It was really quite powerful. In addition, Oima received guidance from the Japanese Federation of the Deaf, which was nice to see.
When Nishimiya Shoka joins Ishida Shoya's sixth grade class, he (and the other kids) don't really know how to deal with it. Eventually Ishida ends up bullying her, and leading the class in an escalating path of torment until finally Nishimiya is forced to leave school and Ishida's mother ends up deep in debt to pay for the girls hearing aids he destroyed.
Scared by the consequences of their actions, the rest of the class turns on Ishida, bullying him in turn. His reputation follows him through middle school and high school, forcing him to be a loner.
Finally, overcome by guilt and isolation. Ishida decides to kill himself after settling his debts. As part of that, he tracks down Nishimiya to apologize. That's the beginning of a tumultuous time of change and self reflection.
This is a very dense manga. It's not a difficult read, but it has a lot going on and tackles multiple themes. Personal growth and change, forgiveness, acceptance of difference, love, family, suicide, depression and more. Though centered on Ishida and Nishimiya, the story expands to include new characters, and old classmates from their time together in elementary school. It also deals with deafness in a complex, nuanced manner that was really refreshing.
It was really quite powerful. In addition, Oima received guidance from the Japanese Federation of the Deaf, which was nice to see.