Will There Ever Be a Sequel to A Silent Voice 2 (Koe No Katachi)?
Since the romantic drama manga A Silent Voice was adapted into a film in 2016, fans from all over the world have been eagerly awaiting its sequel. Given how psychologically complex the characters are, people are curious as to whether we will get to know more of the story in A Silent Voice 2.
Introduction
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The manga “A Silent Voice” (Koe No Katachi in Japanese) was authored and illustrated by Yoshitoki Oima, running from August 2013 to November 2014 in the Weekly Shonen Magazine.
The plot follows a suicidal high school student, Shoya Ishida, who begins to target a newly joined sixth-grader, Shoko Nishimiya, who is deaf, and bullies her mercilessly with his friends. When the principal finds out, Shoya is shunned by his teachers and fellow classmates.
The incident leads to Shoko getting transferred to another school while Shoya becomes an outcast and becomes depressed and lonely, refusing to engage with people normally. When Shoya gets hold of Shoko’s diary, he visits the sign language center to return Shoko’s book and apologize, but ends up asking to be friends and Shoko accepts.
However, once when Shoya jumps into the river, which is not allowed, to get Shoko’s notebook that he had accidentally dropped, Shoko’s sister Yuzuru captures the incident and posts it online for revenge. This leads to Shoya getting suspended. Later, when Yuzuru runs away, he even brings her to stay over in his home, and they become friends. He never leaves the siblings’ side.
After a misunderstanding where Shoko tries to express her feelings to Shoya, Shoya eventually realizes that Shoko blames herself for everything that Shoya went through. When he one day finds Shoko trying to kill herself, he saves her but falls into the river and ends up in a coma.
One night, Shoko feels incredibly distressed after having a nightmare of Shoya saying farewell to her, and she goes to the bridge. Shoya wakes up from his coma and finds her at the bridge, and they both promise to let go of the past and live fulfilling lives.
The interesting part of the story is that Shoya keeps envisioning “X” marks over people’s faces. As he slowly redeems himself, the marks slowly disappear. The inclusion of disability and its perception by society is an important theme of the movie.
The exploration of Shoya’s personality and his yearning for redemption, self-respect, and forgiveness leads the plot. The movie also deals with the subject of suicide in a delicate manner and showcases the importance of support in such cases.
A Silent Voice 2
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This tearjerker of a movie shows that one doesn’t have to be defined by their mistakes and that it is possible to grow into a decent human being and redeem yourself.
People enjoy rewatching it often as the character arc is incredibly beautiful. There are seven volumes to the tankobon (a book that isn’t part of a series, contains independent volumes of a single manga) edition of the manga, which have been published as a comic by Kodansha Comics USA.
The books have a lot of intricate details and side character arcs that the movie does not include. Because of this, you don’t get the overall experience of watching multiple characters develop over time, and everyone else except the lead seems inconsequential. In fact, the sign language in the movie hasn’t been translated for viewers who don’t know it, so you miss out on more content.
It’s no surprise that the entire franchise has fans demanding A Silent Voice 2 to experience the subtle, character-developing exchanges that strengthen the love story between Shoko and Shoya.
Additionally, there’s also a lot of excitement about knowing what the adult version of the leads would be like. Just the background score by Kensuke Ushio leaves you wanting more.
Will There Be a Sequel?
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To date, there has been no news about whether a sequel to A Silent Voice will be made. Practically, it may not be possible to make one unless new storylines are created, given that the seven volumes of the manga have been exhausted to create the first movie.
The movie ending is quite similar to the manga as well, so the lack of source material ultimately points to the fact that A Silent Story 2 may not happen.
Is A Silent Voice Based on A True Story?
After the movie’s release, it was rumored that the story was inspired by real events. The irony of a bully getting bullied is a reality that many people may want to be true. However, there has been no statement from the creators that A Silent Voice is based on a true story. We can thus assume for the time being that all speculation about this stands untrue.
This does not stop A Silent Voice from being one of the best romantic dramas to ever exist in the world of anime.
This 130-minute movie went on to win the Japanese Movie Critics Awards for the Best Animated Feature Film, the Japan Academy Film Prize For Excellent Animation of the Year 2016, and was also nominated for the prestigious Mainichi Film Award for Best Animation Film.
You can watch the movie on both Netflix and Amazon Prime.
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