Introduction
Koe no Katachi(A Silent Voice) is one of the best movies I have ever watched animated or not. Critically acclaimed in 2017, A silent voice creates an emotional picture of a bully reconciling with her victim after a life of trauma and agony. A silent voice shows that anyone can change as they grow up and redefine themselves as a person. The trauma of the girl bullied and the vicious ostracization of the bully leads to a beautiful story about the rekindling of their relationship. In the U.S and Japan this was considered one of the best anime movies ever released. Personally, A Silent Voice was one of the most beautiful movies I have ever watched and I was forever changed by the emotional impact that his movie has. The movie is 129 minutes long and follows bully Shoya Ishida and victim Shouko Nishimiya and their heartfelt journey to acceptance, friendship and love. 
Story 9/10
The story follows Shoya Ishida, a school bully, and Shouko Nishinomiya a student with a tragic hearing disability. It starts out with both of them in middle school and Nishinomiya is constantly being tormented by Ishida’s bullying. Eventually, Nishinomiya has to transfer schools due to bullying which causes Ishida to be ostracized from the school. With that it fast forwards to their high school days where Ishida ends up going to the same school as Nishinomiya again. Knowing all the harm he has caused her, he attempts to become friends with her to make amends about what he did in the past. The story then progresses with the attempts of him to make amends with her. Eventually they fall in love and the story complicates further and it focuses on Ishida’s attempt to reintegrate with society by becoming friends with Nishinomiya and forgetting his troubled past. Thematically the story is extremely well done. Although the story follows a former school bully, making it hard for the audience to ultimately sympathize with him, his situation and relationships are depicted in a way which not only makes you root for him but also makes you feel bad for both of their situations. The creator does a fantastic job exploring the tropes of social anxiety/ depression, coming to age and romance all in one emotional cinematic masterpiece.
Characters 10/10
The characters in this movie is what makes it so great. Each character has a unique role in this cinematic universe that impacts the story line. Starting with Ishida, he starts out as a typical middle school bully, doing things to the less fortunate in the class so that he could seem funny or popular. However, once the tables have turned, he slowly starts to become a social outcast with anxiety which affects him into his high school years. Then instead of bullying he tries to right his wrongs and the person that helps him out the most with overcoming his anxiety is Nishinomiya. The character development that he undergoes comes full circle when he completely overcomes his social anxiety at the end of the movie. Nishinomiya as a character does not undergo as much character development as Ishida however her character is integral to the story. She is a sweet girl with a hearing disability which makes it hard for her to not only hear but also speak. She tries to actively help Ishida and become friends with him but many people try to stop such a thing from happening such as her sister and mother. However in the end it does work out and Nishinomiya ends up developing deeper feelings for Ishida which changes their whole dynamic. Overall the characters are well done and add elements to the story each in their own unique way. 
Art/Music 10/10
The art and music in this movie is phenomenal. Every scene is done with excruciating detail while the music builds to the emotion so well. The Art in this movie is important because it helps visually depict what social anxiety feels like which helps the audience sympathize with the main protagonist. The color and vibrancy in each scene helps paint a much clearer picture of the emotion behind each word or action that the characters do. The music also helps build the emotion in the movie. With such great visuals and a soundtrack to go along with it A Silent a Voice ascends all other movies in its genre with all the elements of a timeless classic.
Conclusion
A Silent Voice was one of the stand out movies in 2017. It was was one of the movies that brought anime movies to the western world and popularized them. On the all time top 100 anime list it comes within the top 10 making it a fan favorite as well. With many positive critics reviews it is not surprising why so many people enjoyed this movie. With such a moving plot, deep characters and beautiful cinematics there is not much you can hate about this movie. I recommend this to anyone that enjoys emotional movies or coming of age stories. This movie touches on serious thematic elements in today’s society and this is a movie that everyone could benefit from watching.
Story 9/10
Characters 10/10
Art/music 10/10
Overall 9.7/10