The release of the Japanese anime film A Silent Voice, also known as Koe no Katachi, from Kyoto Animation came out on September 17th, 2016 and looks to be doing pretty well so far. With that in mind, Kyoto Animation has put together a thirty-three minute promotional piece that works to introduce viewers to the original work, the production itself, the cast, and some of how it was made. It’s a familiar kind of making-of piece when you get down to it but it’s being released at a pretty good time to draw in people for a second weekend by feeling more connected with it after seeing this.
The announced cast includes Miyu Irino as Shouya Ishida, Saori Hayami as Shouko Nishimiya, Aoi Yūki as Yuzuru Nishiya, Kensho Ono as Tomohiro Nagatsu, Yuki Kaneko as Naoka Ueno, Yui Ishikawa as Miyoko Sahara, Megumi Han as Miki Kawai and Toshiyuki Toyonaga as Toshi Mashibasa.
The film is based on the manga by Yoshitoki Oima that’s being released in North America by Kodansha Comics. Produced by Kyoto Animation, the film is directed by Naoka Yamada based on the script from Reiko Yoshida with Futoshi Nishiya handling the character designs.
Plot concept: Shoya is a bully. When Shoko, a girl who can’t hear, enters his elementary school class, she becomes his favorite target, and Shoya and his friends goad each other into devising new tortures for her. But the children’s cruelty goes too far. Shoko is forced to leave the school, and Shoya ends up shouldering all the blame. Six years later, the two meet again. Can Shoya make up for his past mistakes, or is it too late?
