The film was produced by Kyoto Animation, directed by Naoko Yamada and written by Reiko Yoshida, featuring character designs by Futoshi Nishiya and music by Kensuke Ushio.
The film covers elements of coming of age and psychological drama, dealing with themes of bullying, disability, forgiveness, mental health, suicide, and friendship of opposite sexes.
The film received highly positive reviews from critics, with praise going to the direction, animation, voice acting, musical score and the psychological complexity of the characters.
Shōya reconciles with Shōko when returning her notebook at the sign language center she attends, realizing she is still lonely due to her shyness.
When Shōya illegally jumps into the river to retrieve Shōko's notebook, Yuzuru takes a photo of the incident and posts it online to have him suspended from school.
This leads to the group falling out the following day when Miki desperately exposes Shōya's past to the others to remain blameless in Shōko's bullying.
[7] The film's theme song, titled Koi wo Shita no wa (恋をしたのは), was performed by Aiko, while "My Generation" by The Who was used during the opening credit.
[17] The cinematic adaptation, based on the manga of the same name by Yoshitoki Ōima, covers a large part of the original plot.
The film then tackles handling guilt within a community (although this aspect is explored more in-depth in the manga),[19] redemption for mistakes of the past,[20] forgiveness and self-respect.
[21] Director Naoko Yamada explains that bullying should not be considered as the central theme of the film but rather a means to explore Shōya's personality as he gets older.
[23] The narration of Shōya's story, starting from his past to present, describes how he slips to the lower end of the hierarchy that he established at the beginning.
[25] This behaviour is often emphasised by camera framing, which avoids the faces of people around him as Shōya shies away from eye contact, often focusing on body language instead.
[26] In some face-to-face conversations, Shōya's interlocutor's face is cut out of the frame; the empty space left behind him achieves an unsettling effect for the viewer.
Shōko is juxtaposed with white daisies, symbolising purity, and blue or red cyclamen, which can represent resignation, leave-taking, but also deep affection.
[29] The koi, a symbol of luck and perseverance in Japan, represent Shōya, Shōko, and the rest of the group overcoming their shortcomings and rebuilding their lives.
[21] Composer Kensuke Ushio, recognizing the central role of sound in the film, gave importance to musical and non-musical elements, including silence.
The limited edition Blu-ray contains two animated videos of the film's theme song and "Speed of Youth", one of the original soundtracks by composer Kensuke Ushio.
[53] It was aired on July 31, 2020, at 9:00 PM through Nippon TV's Friday Night Roadshow amid the COVID-19 pandemic in Japan, along with the 2017 anime film Fireworks.
2 at the Japanese box office behind Makoto Shinkai's Your Name, and grossed a total of ¥283 million from 200,000 admissions within two days of its premiere across 120 theaters.
Makoto Shinkai, director of Your Name, called the film a "fantastic piece of work" and a "polished and grand production" which even he is unable to replicate.
[62] It won Best Animation of the Year in the 26th Japan Movie Critics Awards, where director Naoko Yamada also received praise for her work on the film.
The website's critical consensus reads, "As beautifully crafted as it is powerfully written, A Silent Voice looks at teen bullying from a soberingly hard-hitting perspective that's uncommon for the animated medium.
"[65] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 78 out of 100, based on 10 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".