The Movie Fans Deem “10 times better than Your Name” is a Gem that Deserves More Credit for How Well it Handled its Darkest Themes

SUMMARY

• Makoto Shinkai's masterpiece Your Name is one of the highest grossing movies that dethroned Hayao Miyazaki's movie Spirited Away.
• Fans on X deem A Silent Voice as a far superior movie than Makoto Shinkai's magnum opus Your Name.
• Naoko Yamada's excels in portraying complex and darker themes in her movie A Silent Voice.

Show More▼

Of all the highest-grossing movies, Your Name is popular for dethroning Hayao Miyazaki’s masterpiece Spirited Away. Through its portrayal of romance with intricate storytelling, it sets itself apart from most shojo romances. However, there’s a film even greater than this one which is often slept on.

Taki Tachibana in a still from the film | Credit: CoMix Wave Films

A Silent Voice reflects brilliance in its portrayal of disabilities and human relationships. It handled the heavy themes of bullying and redemption perfectly. While it may not be one of the highest-grossing movies, fans on X deem it far superior to Makoto Shinkai’s film. 

A Silent Voice is a far superior movie than Your Name as fans on X point out.

A Silent Voice is a 2016 film directed by Naoko Yamada. It is based on the novel of the same name written by Yoshitoki Oima. While most coming-of-age films are laden with light-hearted themes, Oima’s story sets itself apart through its dark yet compelling storyline. It also led many to draw parallels between the movie and My Hero Academia. However, there’s more to it.

Shoya and Shoko in a still from the film | Credit: Kyoto Animation

While it failed to dethrone Hayao Miyazaki’s film, it excelled in most ways through its depiction of redemption, relationships, and disability. As opposed to Your Name, which focuses on the trope of body swap, Yamada san’s film is a heart-rending yet poignant take on forgiveness and bullying. Several users on X deem it superior to Makoto Shinkai’s film. 

An X user @AniNewsAndFacts celebrated the release of A Silent Voice 8 years ago. Several users deemed it superior to Makoto Shinkai’s magnum opus.

Literally a life changing experience. Thank you Yamada Naoko and Kyoani for one of the greatest pieces of art ever made and for opening my heart back up to this medium

I still can never forgive boss baby, a silent voice got absolutely robbed that year.

Still one of my favorite movie of all time

Be it marketing or re-release of Makoto Shinkai’s film, Naoko Yamada’s film is nothing short of a masterpiece. This holds especially true with the outlining of complex themes in the storyline.

Naoko Yamada’s brilliance lies in her portrayal of the darkest themes in A Silent Voice

Apart from Shoko Nakamiya’s disability, the film underscores complex yet dark themes of bullying, redemption, and suicide. By reducing the film to Shoko’s deafness, most viewers often overlook the film’s brilliance. Bullying on the whole is a difficult and complex subject that requires careful representation. Yamada handled it perfectly.    

Shouya and Shoko in a still from A Silent Voice | Credit:

The theme of forgiveness runs parallel with mental health. In most cases, mental health is still considered as a taboo. Apart from bullying, suicide is a sensitive yet disturbing subject. The film outlines the complex emotions of grief, betrayal, and pain perfectly through its well-written characters. The film deserves its due recognition. 

While Your Name excelled as a high-grossing film, A Silent Voice deserves its due recognition. This holds especially true for the authors finesse’ in portraying complex emotions and handling of dark and disturbing themes. 

A Silent Voice and Your Name are available for streaming on Netflix.

Written by Himanshi Jeswani

Articles Published: 117

An avid reader and writer traversing around the world of anime, manga and all that jazz.