When it comes to creating a connection with their audiences, very few films manage to achieve what A Silent Voice did. The poignant tale of redemption of a childhood bully who grew up to be a loner as a teenager, tugged at the heartstrings of everybody who viewed the anime.
Perhaps one of the biggest strengths of the movie was how realistic and accurate most of its characters were. In fact, their realism was hauntingly surreal, which is why despite the movie being a massive hit, there are certain characters that fans have still been unable to forgive.
10 Miki Kawai: The Bully Who Played Victim
Mika was undoubtedly one of the most realistic characters in the movie, which is also perhaps why she was one of the most intently disliked ones as well. She was a narcissist who loved attention and balked at the thought of being hated by people.
She never hesitated to play the victim card, even when she knew she was in the wrong. She was also the first person to rat out Ishida to her teacher, despite being a bully herself.
9 Kazuki Shimada: The Boy Who Abandoned His Friend Only After His Bullying Was Exposed
Kazuki was a “fair-weather” friend. The moment people turned on Ishida, he too turned his back on his best friend. He never stopped Ishida from bullying, but also conveniently condemned his actions when everybody else did the same.
Even when the two met years later, he treated Ishida as a stranger, never even once bothering to acknowledge the history the two shared together.
8 Naoka Ueno: The Tsundere Who’s Rude To Everybody By Default
As a true blue tsundere, Naoka was often rude to her classmates in general, and Ishida in specific. Her words and actions often hurt people, including Shouko. However, despite being aware of the result of her actions, Naoka did not bother to change her ways.
Like all her other classmates, she also laughed at Shouko and never stopped Ishida or his friends from bullying her.
7 Yaeko Nishimiya: Her “Tough Love” Belief Resulted In Her Daughter Getting Consistently Bullied
Yaeko was someone who believed in “tough love.” After becoming hardened by her husband leaving her when she was pregnant, she expected Shouko to become strong the same way – by facing and overcoming hardships.
This is partly why Shouko was bullied for so long – because her mother wanted her to let that experience strengthen her resolve, not break her. Some of her anger was misplaced as well, like how she hated Ishida for bullying her daughter, but never once hated herself for allowing the bullying to happen.
6 Miyoko Sahara: The Sweet Girl Who Got Bullied Simply Because She Was Friends With The Victim
Undoubtedly, Miyoko was one of the kindest characters from the movie. She befriended Shouko and even made efforts to learn sign language so that she could communicate with her.
Unfortunately, this made her a target of Shouko’s bullies as well. Despite that, she and Shouko grew up to be close friends and she was the first person Ishida contacted so that he could apologize to Shouko.
5 Miyako Ishida: The Sweet Mother Who Wanted Her Son To Do The Right Thing
Miyako was a single mother who is shown to be extremely loving and kind toward her family. She always welcomed everybody with open arms (as could often be seen in her treatment toward Yuzuru).
Despite loving Shouya unconditionally, she made it clear that his actions had disappointed her. She also offered to pay for Shouko’s hearing aids that had been lost or broken due to her son’s actions.
4 Yuzuru Nishimiya: The Rebellious Younger Sister Who Stood By Her Big Sis Through Thick & Thin
Shouko’s younger sister was shown to be a rebel who had an estranged relationship with their mother. She was fiercely protective of her sister and was shown to have an intense hatred toward Ishida.
However, upon learning that Ishida had changed his ways, she does not hesitate to accept this new version of him. In fact, she could often be seen encouraging him to communicate more with her sister.
3 Tomohiro Nagatsuka: The Funny Sidekick Who Turned Out To Be A Good Friend
Tomohiro was a little too sincere, seeing how one act of kindness from Ishida was all it took to make him his (Tomohiro’s) best friend. His behavior and attitude made a few people uncomfortable around him, including Ishida. However, he never let any of that affect him.
For the most part, he’s shown to be a genuine friend of Ishiada’s, offering him genuine advice whenever needed.
2 Shouya Ishida: The Bully Who Got Bullied, & Wanted Nothing But Redemption
After being ostracized by his entire class (including his friends) for bullying Shouko, Ishida went from being a fun and outgoing young boy to a complete recluse.
As a teenager, he had but one goal in mind – to find Shouko, apologize to her for his actions, and befriend her. His genuine and sincere behavior soon won over the hearts of everybody, including Shouko’s cold-hearted mother.
1 Shouko Nishimiya: The Victim Who Eventually Forgave Her Bully
Throughout the movie, Shouko was shown to be a sweet young girl who wanted nothing else but to make friends, be happy and live her life like a normal girl. Being bullied seemed to have an impact on her mental well-being, something which is dealt with later on in the movie.
Despite everything, she did not allow her past to let her become a hardened person. If anything, her willingness to forgive Ishida and become his friend went on to show what a truly strong girl she was.