A Silent Voice

[LumRanmaYasha]

It's been almost a year since the anime film adaption of A Silent Voice was announced with the manga's final chapter, but we've finally gotten another update on it. The film is being made by KyoAni, and directed by Naoko Yamada. Suffice to say, neither name fills me with much confidence and has made me far more skeptical about the success of the film, as opposed to enthusiastic and excited about it like I should be. 

...Still, KyoAni's failings lie in how most of their stuff tends to be boring plot-less moe shows aimed at otaku. Their actual animation and production quality is pretty strong; it's just that the series they usually work with a substance-less, pandering bores. Anyone who's read the manga knows ASV is not like their usual kind of stuff at all. So if they apply their usual pedigree of production quality, and focus the story on a specific part of the manga rather than trying to cover it all (most people think that just covering the first volume would work best as a stand-alone film, and I'm inclined to agree), than it could still turn out to be really great. Again, I'm a lot more skeptical about how good the film will be now, but I'm remaining optimistic that it will turn out well.

[Foggle]

KyoAni is a good studio that unfortunately makes a lot of bad shows. Between FMP, Hyouka, and Amagi, I have a lot of faith in them as a company, but that specific director is definitely a bit worrisome...

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

I'm not exactly a fan of KyoAni's track record, myself. It's worth pointing out that when they adapted good source material like FMP, we got an excellent action anime in TSR, which is baffling given how different it is from what they are known for putting out, but that was a whole decade ago.

So, yeah, I'm really skeptical about how they will handle this. Then again, this series could be in worse hands, so I'll give KyoAni a shot.

[Spark Of Spirit]

That's a shame. Specifically because nothing about ASV is moe in the slightest, and that seems to be the only thing this company does anymore. But hopefully the material can shine through even if the director doesn't quite stick the landing.

[Foggle]

That's a shame. Specifically because nothing about ASV is moe in the slightest, and that seems to be the only thing this company does anymore. But hopefully the material can shine through even if the director doesn't quite stick the landing.

They haven't focused purely on that kind of show since, like, half a decade ago, though. Hyouka, Free, Amagi, and arguably Beyond the Boundary don't really fit into that category.

That said, the particular director they selected for this film has literally only worked on moeshit...

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

I hope that this director doesn't try to play this movie up as a romance or a cutesy slice of life story, because it's neither. It's a story of redemption, overcoming guilt, self-loathing, and depression. It's a beautifully told story that really deserves to be adapted by someone who knows how to portray these kinds of themes.

[LumRanmaYasha]

The first visual and trailer have finally been released. The release date has been set for September 17th.

Man, that animation looks gorgeous. I'm still really excited for this. Hopefully they've nailed the story down, and won't try to play up the romance angle too much.

[LumRanmaYasha]

This more has to do with the manga than the upcoming film, but this recent interview with Oima is really informative look into her thought process behind making the story, her experiences, and her goals in writing it.

Also, here's a cool video showing her drawing an ink illustration of Shoko and Shoya for a contest Kodansha USA is doing.

[LumRanmaYasha]

New trailer and key visual!



God, the film looks so gooooood! Really excited for this.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

While the animation and voice acting look great, I am admittedly a little worried by that trailer since this movie will indeed be an abridged version of the full manga. Of course, that can still turn out great if they manage to capture the spirit of the manga, but it does mean that most of the supporting characters will be pretty underdeveloped. Still, I'll take what I can get and I'm definitely going to be checking this movie out.

[LumRanmaYasha]

They'll definitely have to condense some things, but I do think with a good screenplay and acute emphasis on the most potent character and story beats they can really make it work as a standalone film. I'm pretty optimistic about it.

[LumRanmaYasha]

YOU HAD ONE JOB KYOANI! 

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

You see, this is what happens when a studio that did almost nothing but moe fan-service shows for over a decade tries to adapt something with actual heart and character to it.

Also, I'm not surprised to hear this. Once I saw the trailer and realized that they were trying to cram the whole manga into a single film, I knew that chances would be that the pacing would go to shit.

[Foggle]

You see, this is what happens when a studio that did almost nothing but moe fan-service shows for over a decade tries to adapt something with actual heart and character to it.

The problem isn't necessarily KyoAni, as (IMO) both Hyouka and Amagi were fantastic series with lots of heart and character. The thing is, they didn't get the people behind those shows to make this film... they got the people behind K-On and Tamako Market.

[Avaitor]

Dammit.