Koe no Katachi is a film that should inspire a lot of people simply because it has very recognizable elements that are able to translate from one culture to another without any real difficulty. When Shoya, a young boy that does not understand the young girl Shoko that has just moved to his area and has started to attend his school, comes to believe that Shoko doesn’t belong he begins to treat her horribly and shows absolutely no mercy. She does her best to be kind but eventually she has to transfer schools as he becomes too much to put up with and the distraction is more than the school wants to deal with. Yet after being so mean to her for so long Shoya eventually feels the distinct sting of karma as his friends abandon him and his classmates begin to treat him just as he treated Shoko.
Here are a few other things you might not know from the movie.
10. In the beginning scene at the hair salon Nishimiya can be seen looking over hairstyles.
It’s a small thing to notice really but one that has at least something to do with the movie and enough that it should be noticed as the opening rolls on. Shoko is after all a main character and it’s apparent that she enters the lives of her fellow students much sooner than they would think.
9. The actor that plays Nishimiya is actually deaf.
This might help since the actor would be much more attentive to the character’s condition. Playing a disabled individual is something that many actors, even voice actors, tend to have a tough time with now and again if they’ve never dealt with such a condition before.
8. The Who did the opening song.
It’s great that they managed to get a band that’s famed worldwide to perform one of the songs for the movie. At one point and time the opening songs would be performed by someone that was considered star within the same country where the movie takes place, but the inclusion of other bands is pretty nice.
7. The film premiered in 120 theaters across Japan.
Obviously it was a big deal in Japan as they tend to love their movies just as much as anyone. It’d be interesting though to see the difference in theaters between the US and Japan, if there are that many to begin with besides the refreshments.
6. It became one of the highest-grossing films in Japan.
Officially it came in and number 19 but that still seems pretty good considering how many films Japan has put out and how many manga have managed to be made into movies. It says a lot for their love of cinema and anime as well that they have so many top movies that have been featured.
5. The story centers on the treatment of Nishimiya and how being bullied has affected Shoya more than her.
This is a very strong and notable theme that a lot of films might touch on but don’t quite delve into as much as this. The role of the bully in cinema is usually to be mean, nasty, and to eventually get beat up on or shunned in some way, but usually in films this is more implied than anything. In this film you get to see the actual result of what came from Shoya’s decision to belittle Shoko. This kind of comeuppance in other movies usually involves the bully suffering in some way but as it was just said, a lot of it implied, never shown. This film definitely takes things the extra mile in showing just how bad things get for Shoya.
4. There is a very great amount of irony in the film.
The bully getting bullied throughout a good portion of the film is something that a lot of people can understand since a lot of bullies in life tend to think that they’ll be on top of the heap as long as they want to be. The downside to that thought is that when someone finally knocks them off their perch they have no idea what to do and how inkling of how to react other than to slink away, dejected and rejected by their peers.
3. It received great reviews.
It actually received a 93 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, which is hard to get and usually means that someone really liked the film. It’s a good mark for any movie to be honest.
2. The film won several awards.
The director obviously did something right with this one because it won no less than four awards and was considered one of the most moving pictures that had ever been seen.
1. It’s a story about love but also about redemption.
One has to be impressed by the fact that it wasn’t just getting even with a bully, it was teaching someone the consequences of their actions and allowing them to then make up and seek redemption for them.
The movie is worth a watch.
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