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聲の形
1
—
Finished
Jan 8, 2011
8.8/10
Average Review Score
100%
Recommend It
16
Reviews Worldwide
What Koe no Katachi has really done is amazing. Evoking such a range of emotions in such a short amount of pages. It's bold and brave and so very real. Its tackles this issue of bullying head on without faltering, the pure truth. The ignorance of the adults, children blaming one another and all of it is so heartbreakingly real. The ending is a good one, though that may not always be the case in real life, but opens the eyes to readers the full impact and effects of bullying. A beautiful story that wouldn't take you even 10 minutes to read but beautifulto the core.
It's rather rare for me to catalyze a motion of progress whenever I'm in a state of idleness. But having the thought of flipping a few pages of a sentimentally driven one-shot manga last night not being a bit of a drag, I astonishingly caught myself bawling inside. Koe no Katachi is undoubtedly a work radiating with prominence. Being a one-shot written and drawn by Ooima Yoshitoki, a promising young mangaka, I marched my eyes forth to the manga without any excitement nor high expectations, only a neutral reading experience. And gratefully for that, my dwindling emotions suddenly underwent rapid maturation and eventually softened the wallsof my heart. This manga certainly doesn't possess anything that could thrust us to the edge of our seats the way sword fighting, intellectual skirmishes and bizarre brawls often do. However, this 64-page one-shot's density is solely held together by particles of varying emotions and souls; something that we seldom find in our reading media. The beauty of this short read is engrossed at its plot at the very least, whereas the characters and art are also commendable but not as riveting as the former. Furthermore, the simplicity exhibited in the execution of events really enthralls me. The story is not actually that strong either, but if anything, it's Ooima's kitschy perspective in life and passion in writing which makes this piece of work worthy of all the praises it's receiving. Reading through the pages where Nishiyama Shouko is being ostracized and aggressively bullied for her hearing impairment utterly weighed everything down in my chest. Furthermore aside from bullying, Koe no Katachi tackles the dreadful corners of humanity where hypocrisy reigns. But ultimately, this manga refurbishes the hope overshadowed by the ugliness of human nature, which is quite well substantiated in Ishida Shouya's change of heart as he elaborately realizes his mistakes and reconciles with Nishiyama years after. Despite the bleakness exhibited, this manga is still strongly moving and at the same time cute. I am indeed easily propelled (sentimentally) by mangas having similarities to this in terms of themes, although I prefer novels better as my reading medium. Also, I just can't neglect the notion inside me that Koe no Katachi is really really close to Onanie Master Kurosawa with the all the bullying cases, but less on the psychological department. In essence, Koe no Katachi is a promising one-shot capable of grasping every fiber of your emotions for a short duration. If you're the same as me who takes a peculiar kind of pleasure in bawling endlessly beneath a pillow, you'll surely love this as much as I did. Note: I read this last night while listening to MAXIMUM THE HORMONE, and still, my tears ceaselessly fled from my lachrymal ducts. Koe no Katachi is THAT great.
Elementary school student Shouya Ishida is creeped out when Shouko Nishimiya, a meek girl born with impaired hearing, transfers into his class. Following her arrival, Shouya and his friends begin to torment Shouko, making her the hapless target of ridicule and assault. The constant bullying turns school into a living hell for Shouko, where even the teachers remain indifferent to the situation. Koe no Katachi tells the heartbreaking story of Shouko falling victim to bullying, but also one of hope, remorse, and redemption. [Written by MAL Rewrite]
I'm not going to lie and say i truly enjoyed this story, but i will say that the idea of the story truly is amazing. Now i may be contradicting myself with what i just said, but the reason i didn't entirely enjoy the story was that it was just so sad and so real, however, when i finished i found myself saying "what a story" because it was just that good. That's as much as i can say because it is a one-shot after all and there isn't to much i can say without ruining the story.
Koe no Katachi is a truly remarkable story. Who would've thought that you could experience such emotion from what? 62 pages, or near enough. It's quite refreshing and worthy of all the praise it's received. I loved how thought provoking it is, I really started to question myself whilst reading it, and the fact that a one shot could do that is incredible. I enjoy reading one shots because there are no emotional strings attached (aside from perhaps a few 'aaws') but Koe no Katachi left me thinking about it afterwards, thinking about the characters. It braved a serious topic of bullying, neglect and self-hatred,and for that I feel it is most definitely worth the read. It is, without a doubt the best one-shot I've ever read.
Koe no Katachi [The Shape of Voice] is a very impressive manga written and drawn by Yoshitoki Ooima. The story primarily focuses on the actions of one boy, Shouya Ishida, who begins bullying a young deaf girl, Shouko Nishimiya. Annoyed at her handicap he begins tormenting her. Initially feeling encouraged by his classmates’ amusement at his behavior, he becomes increasing more and more abusive. However, when his actions get out of hand and draw the attention of the school administration, he finds himself alone and now the object of abuse by his classmates. The real genius of this work is its subtlety. We have toadmire Shouko-chan as we see her struggle to main her dignity and her integrity. Yet it in the story only when she snaps at Shouya-kun do we get a brief glimpse of just how deeply all this has hurt her. As for Shouya-kun, he is what may be called a work in progress. He is at first a coward; he begins by mocking her knowing that she cannot hear him. Bolstered by the seeming approval of his classmates his behavior becomes increasingly bolder. Yet later when he is actions have become a problem for the class, he is shocked that the class is quick to absolve themselves and put all the blame on him. In part due to his protests and in part to absolve themselves for the shame he has brought them, he becomes the object of their abuse. Here again are unanswered questions; Is he be bullied as punishment for being a bully? Or has the class just chosen a safe and sanctioned target? Can bullying a bully be an appropriate response? Again fast forward to the end, where he making an effort to apologize to Nishimiya-san. Again while he is making a remarkable effort, it still falls short. While the suggestion that had she had a voice, this could all have been avoided may have some merit, it is also so offensive on level that it might be better he had not make that comment at all and one wonders if she is grabbing his hand in an effort to silence him, or to stop him from making a further fool of himself, and once again in her kindness trying to save him.