Miyu Irino voices Shoya, a nasty kid in primary school who bullies a hearing-impaired girl, Shoko, voiced by Saori Hayami. After he is finally caught and punished, Shoya is ostracised, an experience represented by crosses in front of everyone’s faces. Later, as a teenager in middle school, the penitent Shoya attempts to re-befriend Shoko and reconstruct his circle of friends from that time – all the kids who ignored, deplored or enabled his behaviour – to put things back together somehow. Within this new web of friendship, a complex, delicate relationship between Shoko and Shoya begins to grow. For some reason, I found myself thinking of the classic TV drama My So-Called Life. It’s a beguiling film: subtle, sensuous and delicate.
