NaDannMaGoGo
Member
You still haven't realized that you're cursed?
Incoming bigger financial success than Titanic. Duckroll alone is the key to Shinkai's success now.
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Summer Anime 2016 |OT| Makes Me Happy When Skies Are Grey
- Thread starter BGBW
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You still haven't realized that you're cursed?
Incoming bigger financial success than Titanic. Duckroll alone is the key to Shinkai's success now.
MikeHattsu
Member
*checks* Hm... Probably not...
And The Last Samurai is like the 11th highest grossing movie in Japan? Heh...
hosannainexcelsis
Member
That thread in OT went well...
Don't remind me.
Curing hangover with acid huh ?
Cheers, will investigate.
Tales of Zestiria 11
For a moment, I dared hope Relena v2 will indeed be offed How silly of me.
Even outside of the hilariously evil minister, I struggle to take the politics in this series as anything else than comedy. There's only so much ofAlisha abusing me with all the peace, peace, peace talk. I'm not even sure what claim the princess has on deciding things since there's apparently a king who decides things and if he chose to deposit his trust in nefarious advisor X then Relena is nothing more than a meddling traitor to her country. Off with her head !
names2hard4you
Member
No matter what, if people are watching it and paying for it, it's because the word of mouth is good, reviews be damned. The production committee is making money, that's all that matters to them in the end also. But afik, the critics' reception for this was good, so idk if that even applies in this case.
Agreed.
NCR Redslayer
NeoGAF's Vegeta
But are you just out of touch with the kids? Or is it the children who are wromg?
NCR Redslayer
NeoGAF's Vegeta
But if we didnt support transformers as kid, we wouldnt have gotten the awesome voltron anime on netflix.
Koe no Katachi
Note: There will be minor spoilers.
“Koe no Katachi,” the newest film from Kyoto Animation, is translated in the opening titles as “The Shape of Voice,” an obvious reference to the deafness of a main character. The movie could have just as easily been called “The Shape of Pain,” as the inner pain of each character and their struggles to communicate it with their “voice” take center stage in this melancholy but uplifting film from KyoAni ace director Naoko Yamada.
The movie was announced in 2014 as an adaptation of the award-winning manga. This represented something of a change for KyoAni, who has up to this point been heavily focused on TV production, with all of their films functioning as sequels or recompilations of their TV work. The reputation of KyoAni and Yamada for excellent visuals and direction meant that expectations for the film were high, even as the question remained of how well they could adapt a truly mainstream manga as a standalone, two-hour film, without any aid from a previously established TV franchise.
The protagonist of the story is Shouya Ishida, a self-hating teen whose life is shaped by his relationship with a girl he first met in elementary school, Shouko Nishimiya. Shouko is deaf, and her transfer into Shouya’s school eventually upends his previously carefree school life(vividly illustrated in an opening montage set to The Who’s “My Generation,” of all things), in which he jumps off bridges into rivers, plays video games with his school buddies, and generally acts like a typical bratty pre-teen boy. A demure girl who cannot communicate with her classmates outside of a notebook, Shouko is completely incomprehensible to the brash Shouya(he literally visualizes her as an extraterrestrial being). Restless and desiring to fit in with his peers who have already begun to ostracize her, Shouya mercilessly bullies Shouko with the casual malice and indifference of a child. In several heartbreaking scenes, the lonely Shouko’s attempts to respond with kindness and offers of friendship only drive him to hate her all the more. Eventually he goes too far, at which point the undependable school authorities finally respond by singling Shouya out, and the unstopping machinery of social conformity is turned against him. Shouya is instantly ostracized and made subject to all the same abuse he inflicted upon Shouko. None of this particularly helps Shouko, of course, but at least they tried, right?
After a timeskip, we meet Shouya again as a high school student, now bitter, wordless, and completely withdrawn from his peers. His once-brash personality completely mellowed and hollowed out, he decides to visit the girl he once hated and asks her if they can be friends. The bulk of the film deals with his journey to find out if he can ever be redeemed, or if he can ever forgive himself. Koe no Katachi is easily KyoAni’s most emotionally raw work, with themes of inner pain, self-loathing, and isolation that bring to mind the works of other studios, such as the similar themes present in series like Haibane Renmei or Evangelion. Several shots in particular feel like a callback to Evangelion’s abstract and iconic representations of depression and isolation in the 26th episode. If there is a comparable work in KyoAni’s catalog, the closest would probably be the fifth episode of Hyouka; but in this case, the protagonist would be Sekitani Jun, rather than viewing him afar in time and space. This is no shot against Hyouka(or other KyoAni works), which is one of the best animated TV shows in history and achieves its own goals with aplomb, but the immediacy and intensity of the existential pain in Koe no Katachi is not something Kyoto Animation has achieved before.
Naoko Yamada, even at her young age, already had a filmography which would be envy of most in the anime industry, but she has clearly achieved something special here. Along with talented screenwriter Reiko Yoshida, she has created an often subtle, texturally rich film which sticks with you long after it has ended. When you look at the basic premise of the story- “a jackass is mean to a disabled girl but he learns that being a bully is bad through the power of love,” it’s very easy to see where things could have gone very wrong. Certainly these kinds of sad sack stories are not uncommon in anime and manga. You can look at stories such as “Ano Hana,” the popular, well-intentioned, and competently directed, but atrociously written TV series for one example of how not to do a “traumatized teens” story. There are also KyoAni’s own divisive KEY adaptations, such as Kanon and Clannad, which are loved by many (I personally find them insipid and cloying, as well as generally nonsensical). On the other hand, there are films such as the underrated “Marnie Was There” which competently explore similar ground. There is also the large “Iyashikei,” or “healing” anime and manga genre, which often attempts to instill similar feelings. However, despite many of these stories being wonderful in their own way, with a few notable exceptions, they don’t have the inclination to drag the viewer down to the same depths before lifting them up that Koe no Katachi does. It takes a certain level of confidence and talent to achieve the careful tonal balance present in the film; it would be very easy for most directors and writers to fall into exaggerated, exhausting melodrama when presented with the same story (see the collected works of Mari Okada, which I appreciate in a twisted kind of way, or basically every Tetsurou Araki anime). It’s hard to pick your spots like Yamada and Yoshida do here, but by doing so, they allow the impactful moments to really stand out. This steady treatment helps make even some of the more contrived story moments forgivable. What must also be mentioned is the difficult task they took on in adapting an entire multi-volume manga into one two-hour film. They achieve this without turning the film into a greatest-hits mush by skillful use of montage and a laser-like focus on the core relationship of Shouya and Shouko.
However, it is not just the body language of the characters that speaks in the film, but also the spatial relationships of each character within the frame. Using physical distance, wide shots, and depth of field to represent emotional distance is an ancient film technique, and it’s put to expert use here. Through most of the film, Shouya simply can’t get close to Shouko- they’re always separated, by distance, lighting, framing, and so on. And of course, Shouya later becomes isolated not just from Shouko, but from everyone in his life. One large exception is, meaningfully enough, when Shouya and Shouko actually get into a physical fight: it’s the one time in the early film when they’re both speaking a language the other can understand. It’s this visually established distance that makes it all the more meaningful when they finally manage to get closer, and when they are finally able to hear each other’s voice.
The repeated imagery of plunging into water, as if in a “baptism” or rebirth, must also be mentioned. On the one hand, this can be viewed as characters seeking a rebirth, to be reborn into a new and better place when once again break the water’s surface. In the opening montage, Shouya and his friends repeatedly jump from a bridge into a river, not knowing what they seek besides fun. It’s meaningless, dangerous child’s play. But in Koe no Katachi, the characters do not enter the water only to be reborn, or to have fun, but also to recover that which they have lost; bullied children have their notebooks thrown into the water, forcing them to enter it to recover their “past.” This repeated imagery all builds up to an important scene later on, in which a true “rebirth” and “recovery” can finally occur.
As regards sound design, there is obviously never a film where it isn’t important, but especially so in a film that addresses the ability to hear itself. The score from Kensuke Ushio(Ping Pong), mostly piano-based, is for the most part beautifully understated and minimal. In one particularly memorable and mostly silent scene, the gentle piano supports grieving family members, separated by their own frames, observing the path of a butterfly. It’s the mostly complementary and invisible nature of the soundtrack that allows it to really shine in the few scenes where it really becomes noticeable. The voice work is also quite good, with a special mention of Saori Hayami, who is very believable in her depiction of Shouko.
One final thing I should mention, don’t be misled into thinking the film is primarily romantic; that aspect is there, but it’s secondary to the emphasis on friendship and functional human relationships. Also, you shouldn’t get the impression from what I have written that Koe no Katachi is a relentlessly downbeat and depressing film; that is not the case at all. It is indeed immensely painful, in believable ways, as in one scene, where a deeply hurt Shouya deliberately insults and belittles the flaws of his friends, so that he can reject them before they are able to reject him. But it is also a very hopeful film, with an ultimately uplifting message. In fact, it is exactly this realistic depiction of pain and sadness that makes the bittersweet encouragement believable. The message is that we can hear each other’s voices; that we can learn from each other how to better live. It’s not a movie where the idea is “everyone lives happily ever after,” even at the end, every character is still a flawed individual who will sometimes hurt themselves and their friends with their actions. Shouya’s breakthrough is not that he will always be happy, but in realizing that, when he finally drops his preemptive guard against all intimacy, he really does have people who love him and care about him- and who he cares about, as well.
Note: There will be minor spoilers.
“Koe no Katachi,” the newest film from Kyoto Animation, is translated in the opening titles as “The Shape of Voice,” an obvious reference to the deafness of a main character. The movie could have just as easily been called “The Shape of Pain,” as the inner pain of each character and their struggles to communicate it with their “voice” take center stage in this melancholy but uplifting film from KyoAni ace director Naoko Yamada.
The movie was announced in 2014 as an adaptation of the award-winning manga. This represented something of a change for KyoAni, who has up to this point been heavily focused on TV production, with all of their films functioning as sequels or recompilations of their TV work. The reputation of KyoAni and Yamada for excellent visuals and direction meant that expectations for the film were high, even as the question remained of how well they could adapt a truly mainstream manga as a standalone, two-hour film, without any aid from a previously established TV franchise.
The protagonist of the story is Shouya Ishida, a self-hating teen whose life is shaped by his relationship with a girl he first met in elementary school, Shouko Nishimiya. Shouko is deaf, and her transfer into Shouya’s school eventually upends his previously carefree school life(vividly illustrated in an opening montage set to The Who’s “My Generation,” of all things), in which he jumps off bridges into rivers, plays video games with his school buddies, and generally acts like a typical bratty pre-teen boy. A demure girl who cannot communicate with her classmates outside of a notebook, Shouko is completely incomprehensible to the brash Shouya(he literally visualizes her as an extraterrestrial being). Restless and desiring to fit in with his peers who have already begun to ostracize her, Shouya mercilessly bullies Shouko with the casual malice and indifference of a child. In several heartbreaking scenes, the lonely Shouko’s attempts to respond with kindness and offers of friendship only drive him to hate her all the more. Eventually he goes too far, at which point the undependable school authorities finally respond by singling Shouya out, and the unstopping machinery of social conformity is turned against him. Shouya is instantly ostracized and made subject to all the same abuse he inflicted upon Shouko. None of this particularly helps Shouko, of course, but at least they tried, right?
After a timeskip, we meet Shouya again as a high school student, now bitter, wordless, and completely withdrawn from his peers. His once-brash personality completely mellowed and hollowed out, he decides to visit the girl he once hated and asks her if they can be friends. The bulk of the film deals with his journey to find out if he can ever be redeemed, or if he can ever forgive himself. Koe no Katachi is easily KyoAni’s most emotionally raw work, with themes of inner pain, self-loathing, and isolation that bring to mind the works of other studios, such as the similar themes present in series like Haibane Renmei or Evangelion. Several shots in particular feel like a callback to Evangelion’s abstract and iconic representations of depression and isolation in the 26th episode. If there is a comparable work in KyoAni’s catalog, the closest would probably be the fifth episode of Hyouka; but in this case, the protagonist would be Sekitani Jun, rather than viewing him afar in time and space. This is no shot against Hyouka(or other KyoAni works), which is one of the best animated TV shows in history and achieves its own goals with aplomb, but the immediacy and intensity of the existential pain in Koe no Katachi is not something Kyoto Animation has achieved before.
Naoko Yamada, even at her young age, already had a filmography which would be envy of most in the anime industry, but she has clearly achieved something special here. Along with talented screenwriter Reiko Yoshida, she has created an often subtle, texturally rich film which sticks with you long after it has ended. When you look at the basic premise of the story- “a jackass is mean to a disabled girl but he learns that being a bully is bad through the power of love,” it’s very easy to see where things could have gone very wrong. Certainly these kinds of sad sack stories are not uncommon in anime and manga. You can look at stories such as “Ano Hana,” the popular, well-intentioned, and competently directed, but atrociously written TV series for one example of how not to do a “traumatized teens” story. There are also KyoAni’s own divisive KEY adaptations, such as Kanon and Clannad, which are loved by many (I personally find them insipid and cloying, as well as generally nonsensical). On the other hand, there are films such as the underrated “Marnie Was There” which competently explore similar ground. There is also the large “Iyashikei,” or “healing” anime and manga genre, which often attempts to instill similar feelings. However, despite many of these stories being wonderful in their own way, with a few notable exceptions, they don’t have the inclination to drag the viewer down to the same depths before lifting them up that Koe no Katachi does. It takes a certain level of confidence and talent to achieve the careful tonal balance present in the film; it would be very easy for most directors and writers to fall into exaggerated, exhausting melodrama when presented with the same story (see the collected works of Mari Okada, which I appreciate in a twisted kind of way, or basically every Tetsurou Araki anime). It’s hard to pick your spots like Yamada and Yoshida do here, but by doing so, they allow the impactful moments to really stand out. This steady treatment helps make even some of the more contrived story moments forgivable. What must also be mentioned is the difficult task they took on in adapting an entire multi-volume manga into one two-hour film. They achieve this without turning the film into a greatest-hits mush by skillful use of montage and a laser-like focus on the core relationship of Shouya and Shouko.
The entire movie is, of course, animated with the trademark skill and flair that KyoAni has come to be known for. It’s so easy to take it for granted- the subtle and unending character animation, the beautifully painted backgrounds, the experienced use of digital effects- but it shouldn’t be, not when it plays such a large role in making the film as strong as it is. As is appropriate in a film about finding a way to communicate with someone who literally cannot speak your language, there’s a huge emphasis on body language: posture, facial expressions, and most importantly, hand gestures. This has been written about in more detail on SakugaBlog and I encourage everyone to read it. Sign language plays a significant role in the movie, with a special emphasis on the hands-clasped gesture used when asking to be friends. The resemblance to gestures used in prayerful petitions is not unintentional, I’m sure.
However, it is not just the body language of the characters that speaks in the film, but also the spatial relationships of each character within the frame. Using physical distance, wide shots, and depth of field to represent emotional distance is an ancient film technique, and it’s put to expert use here. Through most of the film, Shouya simply can’t get close to Shouko- they’re always separated, by distance, lighting, framing, and so on. And of course, Shouya later becomes isolated not just from Shouko, but from everyone in his life. One large exception is, meaningfully enough, when Shouya and Shouko actually get into a physical fight: it’s the one time in the early film when they’re both speaking a language the other can understand. It’s this visually established distance that makes it all the more meaningful when they finally manage to get closer, and when they are finally able to hear each other’s voice.
Another major aspect of the visual direction is the vibrant and beautiful world the characters inhabit. This could seem like a strange choice in a film where we spend so much time with the characters lost in their own melancholy, but they are not lost because the world is ugly. Rather, the world is beautiful, but they cannot find themselves in it, which forms a large part of their despair. One example can be clearly seen in the scene where Shouya walks, in slow motion, through the brightly lit, heavily unfocused school building, with the other students looking like half-transparent ghosts. It’s as if he inhibits an entirely different world, where he can only ethereally observe reality, and despise it for being both desirable and unreachable.
The repeated imagery of plunging into water, as if in a “baptism” or rebirth, must also be mentioned. On the one hand, this can be viewed as characters seeking a rebirth, to be reborn into a new and better place when once again break the water’s surface. In the opening montage, Shouya and his friends repeatedly jump from a bridge into a river, not knowing what they seek besides fun. It’s meaningless, dangerous child’s play. But in Koe no Katachi, the characters do not enter the water only to be reborn, or to have fun, but also to recover that which they have lost; bullied children have their notebooks thrown into the water, forcing them to enter it to recover their “past.” This repeated imagery all builds up to an important scene later on, in which a true “rebirth” and “recovery” can finally occur.
As regards sound design, there is obviously never a film where it isn’t important, but especially so in a film that addresses the ability to hear itself. The score from Kensuke Ushio(Ping Pong), mostly piano-based, is for the most part beautifully understated and minimal. In one particularly memorable and mostly silent scene, the gentle piano supports grieving family members, separated by their own frames, observing the path of a butterfly. It’s the mostly complementary and invisible nature of the soundtrack that allows it to really shine in the few scenes where it really becomes noticeable. The voice work is also quite good, with a special mention of Saori Hayami, who is very believable in her depiction of Shouko.
One final thing I should mention, don’t be misled into thinking the film is primarily romantic; that aspect is there, but it’s secondary to the emphasis on friendship and functional human relationships. Also, you shouldn’t get the impression from what I have written that Koe no Katachi is a relentlessly downbeat and depressing film; that is not the case at all. It is indeed immensely painful, in believable ways, as in one scene, where a deeply hurt Shouya deliberately insults and belittles the flaws of his friends, so that he can reject them before they are able to reject him. But it is also a very hopeful film, with an ultimately uplifting message. In fact, it is exactly this realistic depiction of pain and sadness that makes the bittersweet encouragement believable. The message is that we can hear each other’s voices; that we can learn from each other how to better live. It’s not a movie where the idea is “everyone lives happily ever after,” even at the end, every character is still a flawed individual who will sometimes hurt themselves and their friends with their actions. Shouya’s breakthrough is not that he will always be happy, but in realizing that, when he finally drops his preemptive guard against all intimacy, he really does have people who love him and care about him- and who he cares about, as well.
Good read. Nice to see that it's really a good movie, and it doesn't rely solely on creating intense feelings of sadness. Honestly, this was my main worry with this, I have blind faith on Kyoani.
SliceSabre
Banned
That's the first positive review/impressions of the movie I've seen.
NaDannMaGoGo
Member
Trailers looked so promising for me that I'm honestly surprised at the supposedly bad reception (am not really following it much at all). I'll see for myself...whenever it is that I can finally see it :|
this season had some of the more outstanding episodes including one of the best if not the best voice over work I've heard via Oikura Sodachi
I have lost count of the number of times I rewatched episode 5
It's not surprising because the source material is not good at all...
The movie is getting trashed?
Yea I heard the source is melodramatic to the 11th degree.
NCR Redslayer
NeoGAF's Vegeta
Well i for one am shocked.
SliceSabre
Banned
Only a few to be quite honest but not enough influence me and none of them where as expansive as your post.
Your house is around near those stations, right?
;P
hosannainexcelsis
Member
By one person on Twitter who, by posting the first English-language impression of the movie, ended up setting the tone for English discourse about the movie. But if you look at reviews of Silent Voice by Japanese critics, and user reviews on Yahoo JP, reception from Japanese audiences has been largely, if not exclusively, positive.
Cornbread78
Member
names2hard4you
Member
On AnimeGAF?? Never, come on!
Well I too have seen a mixed reaction out there just letting you know. But you shouldn't let others' opinions shape your own. If you find the movie interesting, watch it and make your judgement.
MikeHattsu
Member
I don't have a house in Japan!
I liked it too.
Would probably have liked it even more if I knew all of what was going on
victreeb3l
Member
Whoa, grats to Shinkai. Hearing good things about the movie. Seems like its more than just eye candy.
Koe no Katachi? The manga was excellent for the most part. I dont think the movie covers the entire thing. Surprised its getting negative reviews
Koe no Katachi? The manga was excellent for the most part. I dont think the movie covers the entire thing. Surprised its getting negative reviews
haha, good one
NCR Redslayer
NeoGAF's Vegeta
Only offshore oil rigs.
We know he has a motherbase of trained killer lolis.
Joe Molotov
Member
It must suck to live on an oil rig, you can't legally watch any of your DVDs on it.
names2hard4you
Member
MikeHattsu Gear Solid VI: The Gaijin Pain
NCR Redslayer
NeoGAF's Vegeta
NaDannMaGoGo
Member
I never know who to trust on that :/
Orange was supposedly great too and oh boy did that turn out to be some schlock.
NaDannMaGoGo
Member
You got so many good recommendations that you can easily just put this aside and try something else. You could also watch the first FMA series and see if you end up liking that. It certainly does the early stuff much better but whether you'll actually enjoy it when you're not fond of FMA:B at all I kinda doubt.
Turin Turambar
Member
But what about Ueno.
names2hard4you
Member
Well damn. Move on yeah. No point in sticking to something if you aren't enjoying it. By now you should at least be enjoying the world and alchemy stuff. Sure you are just at the start and a lot more stuff happens, but if by now none of it intrigues you in the slightest bit, you may as well just drop it now.
It gets better but if you want to stall it for later go ahead.
Mob Psycho 100 11
how is a Reigen even possible
Weird episode in the sense of how things turned out in the first half of it, while it had some exciting moments, it did come off as ridiculous at times. I get what they were trying to pull off with Reigen but I felt it went a bit too far in more than one way. If Reigen's skill wasn't clear enough then there was the unnecessary 15 second exposition about what he just did. This isn't unique to this particular sequence though.
Mob is under a dilemma to either unleash his powers with potential murderous intent using the excuse that he will save his brother or listen to his master and simply run away from the situation for now. It hinted on Reigen having a past with a bitter experience on a similar tone if anything going by how adamant he was about it.
MetroidPrimeRib
Banned
too late
nintendoman58
Member
This reminds me of Scott Cawthon's inspiration to make Five Nights at Freddy's.
Everybody criticized his Chipper and Son's game for having horrifying-looking characters, so he went on to make a horror game with horrifying-looking characters!
It's GENIUS.
Everybody criticized his Chipper and Son's game for having horrifying-looking characters, so he went on to make a horror game with horrifying-looking characters!
It's GENIUS.
Something with Eldritch abominations I suppose.
- Status