A story about an elementary school boy whose class receives a deaf girl as a transfer student. Creeped out by her use of a notebook to communicate with others and her politeness, he bullies her to the point she's forced to change schools again, and becomes hated by everyone for it, even his fellow bullies. Five years later, tormented by this past, he makes it his mission to find her again and make amends for his mistakes, also reconnecting with other former classmates in the process.
It's a pretty powerful story, but it had some shortcomings. Firstly, the deaf girl pretty much gets treated as a one-dimensional doormat, whose only purpose is to keep the plot going. Secondly, the protagonist is supposed to be a really anxious high school boy who is hated by everyone for being a former bully, yet somehow he ends up visiting an amusement park with a large group of friends halfway through the movie. Finally, the ending felt rushed and somewhat ambiguous. Did he succeed or not? His relations with the girl improved, but he's unable to enter his own classroom or look anyone in the eye during the school festival, and some of his friends/classmates still seem to resent him.
The piano-centric soundtrack did a good job setting the mood, but was otherwise forgettable, except for the songs that play when Shoko is introduced, during the train trip, and the credits roll.
7/10.
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Originally Posted by FDL1
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