One of Koe no Katachi’s most noticeable features is how human the characters seem. The manga, although having started publishing in 2013, relies very little on the tropes that seem to dominate manga and anime today. Although certain characters do appear to fulfil popular archetypes (for example, Ueno Naoka, the classic childhood friend), it is not what defines their personality. It is instead a catalyst for the events that take place in the manga, and the actual plot and the development of the manga are by far more significant contributors to the personalities of the characters. Koe no Katachi displays its characters proudly, and rightly so, as they are a truly exemplary of what happens when a romance story can do things right.
Our main character, Ishida Shouyo, starts the manga as the cast’s most unsympathetic character, a shock for sure. His vile treatment of the eponymous ‘silent voice’ of the manga, Nishimiya Shouko, prompts her to leave the school, spawning hatred from the reader and even his group of friends, who have spent the years since Shouko left the school bullying him. The story of Koe no Katachi is therefore actually split into two: One the one hand, it is a story of Shouyo attempting to repair his ruined relationship with Shouyo, and on the other hand it is about Shouyo finding a place again in society. Through hanging out with Shouyo, Shouko too is helped to overcome her own disability. As many a romance story has done before it, Koe no Katachi portrays the lives of two high-school students who are able to create much a much happier place for themselves by working together and with their friends.
Shouko is the real heart and soul of the manga, her stubborn kindness extending even to the boy who made her elementary school life a living hell. Whether or not her character relies too heavily on this trait is tricky to say. The conclusion I came to was that, had I lived as harsh a life as hers, friendship is something I would crave more than anything else. Her pursuit of catharsis is not so surprising really taken in this light. I would add that it is Shouko’s openness and innocent friendliness that brings out the best in the other characters too.
While not featuring as heavily as Shouyo and Shouko, the support characters are certainly not underdeveloped. The focus is initially placed on the relationships of these characters with Shouya, and how he helps them to get to know Shouka better. By the midpoint of the story though, these characters act independently, contributing heavily to the direction of the manga, in particular the ‘Let’s make a movie!’ storyline that occupies a significant portion of the overall manga. At certain points even, the story focuses entirely on these side characters and their relationships with each other, such that, when Shouya’s and Shouka’s relationship returns to the forefront, the reader notices a much warmer ‘group’ feeling, and more developed relationships between all the characters.
Although the story is not a long one, spanning only 65 volumes, there is a remarkable breadth in the topics Koe no Katachi manages to cover. Early in the story, Shouya nearly resorts to suicide before meeting Shouka, and death is a persistent theme in the manga – Shouka’s younger sister Yuzuru has an uncomfortable obsession with the topic even, going so far as to nearly only take pictures of the dead animals she finds. Being set in a high-school, also addressed are common issues such as the future plans and careers of the cast, and what it means to be ‘normal’. However, Shouko’s deafness really helps set this apart from the way these topics are typically dealt with in the high-school genre. With her disability, the topic of her future is a very important, as is how she is considered an outsider by society. The author deals with the topics in a very capable manner that fully demonstrates his respect for Shouko, her disability, and having to lead her life at a constant disadvantage. Shouko’s deafness is obviously the major theme of the manga. Although I cannot speak for the accuracy of the sign language which is prominently featured in the manga, the author takes great pains not to make Shouko’s deafness a gimmick, but a fully realised and critical aspect of her interaction with the other characters, which anyone who has experience with a hearing impairment will definitely appreciate.
The manga’s art is both detailed and very lifelike, with not a disproportionate head or oversized pair of eyes to be found. This massively helps in reinforcing the drama of the story. One thing I would point is the mangaka’s ingenious visual representation for Shouya’s seclusion from his classmates. The faces of the people Shouya hates are all crossed out, and Shoya’s gradual development as a character is accompanied by the faces slowly being revealed providing a very effective visual means to portray the development of his relationships.
One other technique that popped out was the heavy use of honorifics to signal how the perception of relationships changes. Many of the characters distanced themselves by changing how they would refer to Shouya or Shouka, adding a –san for example. This blatant relationship development suits the manga style well, making situations with several characters and the numerous relationships involved that much easier to follow.
Koe no Katachi takes a very positive and optimistic outlook on handling a hardship which can never be truly overcome, only minimised. It’s a story that is wrought with drama but critically no melodrama. All the conflict is fundamentally human, and is dealt with as though it were a conflict taking place in real-life. I highly recommend Koe no Katachi to people looking for a good romance manga, and also to people looking for a very down to earth and personal story.
