'A Silent Voice' ending explained: Why did Shoya remove 'X mark' from faces of people- Republic World (2024)

Advertisem*nt

A Silent Voice is a popular Japanese animated teen drama film, which was released in 2016. When it released, it got mixed reviews from fans who either felt that the film was unrealistic or liked it too much for its story and characters. However, a number of people have always looked up for the ending of A Silent Voice and an explanation of the ending.

Plot of the film

The film revolves around a boy named Shoya who is suffering from depression and has suicidal thoughts. The young boy changes his mind last minute as he recalls his time spent in elementary school. He evaluates events in his life that he considered led him to a situation where he was in present.

Shoya had a female classmate called Shoko, who was deaf. Some of the friends of Shoya start bullying Shoko. Soon the complaint reaches the principal and Shoya is singled out as the culprit and he gets the reputation of a bully, hence becomes an outcast. Shoya's classmates pass mean comments to him and he becomes lonely. As a coping up mechanism, he starts to ignore his classmates and crosses out each one’s face in his imagination. That way, he is able to turn a deaf ear to their mean words.

Shoya starts blaming Shoko for the loneliness he was going through. Throughout the course of the film, it is seen that both Shoya and Shoko are going through their lives journeys filled with pain and suffering. Years later, they happen to meet and open up about their feelings.

Ending of A Silent Voice

Towards the end of the film, Shoya meets Shoko and apologises to her for mistreating her. They open up about their feelings and Shoya tells her that he did have suicidal thoughts but has now given up those thoughts. She offers to help him.

Shoko and Shoya go to their school festival and Shoya decides to accept and listen to the people around him. When he does that, he is able to hear and look at other people’s faces again, giving him confidence in himself. The character is able to feel and accept the love and care from his family and friends around him.

Read Also |'The Good Place' Filming Location: List Of Locations In LA Where This Show Was Shot

Read Also |Megan Fox Thinks Film 'Jennifer's Body' Failed At The Box Office Due To Her Public Image

'A Silent Voice' Ending explained

A Silent Voice ending explained: Shoya was always afraid of the voices of others, who talked about him and bullied him. He, therefore, created an X mark on their faces in order to feel safe. But towards the end of the film, he decides to face his ‘bullies’ and listen to the voices of the others.

This enables him to listen to the real voices which are unlike the ones in his imagination. He is able to accept the voices of others even if they were bad-mouthing him and this becomes a turning point in his life. HE realises that good or bad, everyone has a voice.

Read Also |New On Disney Plus In October 2020: What Is New On Disney Plus Hotstar?

Read Also |'Hocus Pocus' Cast To Reunite For A Fundraising Event For NYRP; Details Here

Advertisem*nt
'A Silent Voice' ending explained: Why did Shoya remove 'X mark' from faces of people- Republic World (2024)

FAQs

'A Silent Voice' ending explained: Why did Shoya remove 'X mark' from faces of people- Republic World? ›

A Silent Voice ending explained: Shoya was always afraid of the voices of others, who talked about him and bullied him. He, therefore, created an X mark on their faces in order to feel safe. But towards the end of the film, he decides to face his 'bullies' and listen to the voices of the others.

Why do people have Xs on their face in A Silent Voice? ›

Oima also uses her art style itself to express Ishida's depression and detachment from the world, such as through the “X's” that appear on people's faces and the half-faded words in text boxes that appear when we see them from Ishida's point of view.

What do the x's represent in A Silent Voice? ›

It is to demonstrate that everyone around him isn't important. He puts an x on everyone because he doesn't want to interact with them. He secludes himself. The story of X's on people faces in ishida's life starts in the scene where he is blamed for all the trouble caused to Shoko.

Why couldn't Ishida look at people's faces? ›

The main reason that he had such an issue with looking at people's faces was because of the social anxiety he developed after becoming the scapegoat for the bullying of Nishimiya, and the isolation he suffered throughout his middle school years as a result of this, which ultimately led him to become a very introverted ...

What was the actual ending of A Silent Voice? ›

The film ends with a powerfully emotional scene of Shoya and his friends experiencing the school festival together. At that point, Shoya opens himself back up to the world again after not doing so for years and the metaphorical 'x's covering almost everyone's faces fall off.

What mental illness does Shoya Ishida have? ›

Shoya has social anxiety and, as a result of this, the focus is often on the ground to emphasise that he “has trouble looking people in the eyes.” Blue Xs also cover the faces of those that Sho is too afraid of and doesn't believe that he deserves to connect with.

Is there anything inappropriate in A Silent Voice? ›

For example, it examines the idea that friendship isn't founded on logic and reason, but on connection and vulnerability. Because the movie deals with mature and disturbing themes like bullying, suicide and atonement, it isn't recommended for children under 14 years.

What does the light mean at the end of A Silent Voice? ›

This explains why the light envelopes the whole screen at the very end of the movie after shoya has his epiphany, as he has finally reached the light at the end of the tunnel. He has made peace with himself and shouko and is free of his regret and suffering.

Why did Shoya cry at the end? ›

Shouya isn't just suicidal because of the realization about what he did to Shoko, or the subsequent bullying his way. He also realized that his actions caused his mother to end up badly in debt, to the point where he has to earn back the money since she can't as a hairstylist.

What do the Blue Crosses mean in A Silent Voice? ›

In "A silent voice" movie, why are there crosses on some characters' faces? This is probably because the main character is afraid to look at people in the eyes and/or because he feels as if he can't trust them.

Did Shoko love Ishida? ›

She fell in love with him after they met a few years later. Then Ishida was a changed and depressed guy. But He was really nice to her and her sister. With the previous longing for friendship and now additional affection, it turned out to be love from Shouko's side.

Why does Shoya cover his ears? ›

He's full of guilt. He's ashamed. He lifts his hands, to cover his ears, blocks out all the noise but the ringing in his head. And Shoya Ishida shuts himself off once again.

Who is Ishida in love with? ›

Ishida Uryu nursed a crush on Inoue Orihime during the "Soul Society" story arc, but Orihime never returned his amorous feelings, and it seems Uryu didn't expect her to.

What do the x's mean in A Silent Voice? ›

A Silent Voice ending explained: Shoya was always afraid of the voices of others, who talked about him and bullied him. He, therefore, created an X mark on their faces in order to feel safe. But towards the end of the film, he decides to face his 'bullies' and listen to the voices of the others.

Is there A Silent Voice 2? ›

Furthermore, the movie adapts all 7 volumes and 64 chapters of the written source material, which means there's no more story left to adapt.

Does Shoya love shoko back? ›

Shoya wanted more than anything to make things right with Shoko and dedicated his life to making her happy. He even saved her life when she tried to commit suicide herself. The two of them loved one another and ended up being each other's purpose in life.

Why are there crosses on peoples faces in A Silent Voice? ›

In Koe no Katachi (A Silent Voice) my current interpretation of the X on someone's face is that the protagonist does not wish to acknowledge or socialize with this person. An extension of this could be perhaps that he does not wish to hear their "voice", if we were to stretch somewhat on the themes of the story.

Why didn t they kiss in A Silent Voice? ›

This is why the conclusion of the story HAD to be Shoya and Shoko overcoming their inner demons, not kissing under cherry blossoms. A purely 'romantic' conclusion would have felt cheap and shallow.

Is A Silent Voice good for 13 year olds? ›

One thing to say right away- This movie is not for kids. Not because it's too violent or psychologically impressionate, but rather because it is a bit hard to understand.

What does the cross mean in A Silent Voice? ›

For example, our main character Shoya Ishida (voiced by Miyu Irino) cannot look at the people he isn't close with in the eyes and to show this the background characters wear a cross over their face. This symbolizes Shoya's self-pity and self-hatred.

Top Articles
Latest Posts
Article information

Author: Jamar Nader

Last Updated:

Views: 6342

Rating: 4.4 / 5 (75 voted)

Reviews: 82% of readers found this page helpful

Author information

Name: Jamar Nader

Birthday: 1995-02-28

Address: Apt. 536 6162 Reichel Greens, Port Zackaryside, CT 22682-9804

Phone: +9958384818317

Job: IT Representative

Hobby: Scrapbooking, Hiking, Hunting, Kite flying, Blacksmithing, Video gaming, Foraging

Introduction: My name is Jamar Nader, I am a fine, shiny, colorful, bright, nice, perfect, curious person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.