A Silent Voice 4

I absolutely love these books! I always hated anything anime until I watched the movie of a Silent Voice on Netflix. I was lucky to find the first manga book from my local Walmart a few months after watching, the story is just incredible, I'm in love with Shoko and Shoya. Best ever anime that I have ever encountered on my anime journey.

The story is becoming more intense (as incredible as that may seem) in the fourth volume of *A Silent Voice*. The impact that Shoko and Shoya have on each other is increasing, as is the influence Shoya has on Shoko's family. Also cropping up again are the number of new friends (and old former friends) from the first volume of the manga.This manga was both hopeful and heart-rending (as well as pissing me off at times). The heart-rending parts were both the sadness of life in general (vague to not give away a plot point), and the hatefulness of some people. Basically, I know I'm giving away this as a plot point, but there is a part where the past of Shoko and Yuzuru's mom is shown, and the husband and his parents unfairly blame the mom for the daughter's deafness, even though the father's choice to not be vaccinated against a virus is what caused the issue. Also, they belittle the girl (their own freaking child/grandchild) and the mother for - they expect this will happen - intending to get government assistance for the child.The level of bigotry in the chapter is maddening. I heard a lawsuit nearly kept this manga from being published, as it showed negative aspects of Japanese society. The fact that folks cared more about the appearances of things in Japan than stopping evil bigotry stunned me. They are more like those people in-story who bullied and scapegoated Shoya to preserve their image and the image of the group, instead of caring about right and wrong.Unfortunately, this is a real issue in much of Asia, not just Japan. The disabled are not treated exactly kindly, and the idea of scapegoating someone to take away the sense of shame, and the idea of shunning the disabled for the same reason, are not unheard of. It's a sad fact that is arguably the result of a shame-based culture found in that region of the world versus the guilt-based culture found elsewhere. Obviously, there are good things about said cultures and bad things about other ones, like how (other than the scapegoating), you are expected generally to accept responsibility when you make mistakes, there is a sense of loyalty, and other positive factors.For that matter, it should be noted that things are improving, and many Japanese increasingly are rejecting this hate, so this isn't some stain on Japan. It's just an example of how the mangaka honestly - if a little melodramatically - portrays the issues of bullying, disability, and treatment of the disabled by *some* in Japan. Things really *are* getting better there, it's just that some are resisting the change for more understanding and tolerance because of the clinging to tradition. Tradition is great, but not when it perpetuates wrong.There were some really hopeful parts as well that showed where real growth can be seen in our characters, including the ones outside of the leads and their friends. As well, some of the characters do show the capacity to forgive great evil, which is nice and heartwarming. Even if the circumstances surrounding it are quite side.This volume really impacted me as the rest of the volumes in this series have. So Highly Recommended.Rating: 5/5 Stars.

I've done my best to keep this a spoiler-free, short review -- the equivalent of the blurb on a book's back cover.A Silent Voice is the translation of the Japanese manga series 聲の形 (romaji: Koe no Katachi). The subject matter involves a deaf student, and some idiosyncrasies used to convey deaf communication translated extremely well to English written text. At some points it is as if you can hear what deaf people experience. You don't need to like manga to appreciate A Silent Voice, but you do need to read the books in order. You can expect romantic tension and strong emotional connections with the characters. The story concerns a protagonist who made some poor decisions as a child (what child doesn't make poor decisions?) that had repercussions, even if he doesn't fully realize their weight.If you decide to give it a shot, you'll be glad you checked it out, and sad when it's over. If you love manga, or if you've never read manga; if you love emotional moments in movies, or if you want to begin to understand the emotional side of yourself; if you've been bullied, or if you've been the bully: this manga series is for you. A Silent Voice 1 A Silent Voice 2 A Silent Voice 3 A Silent Voice 4 A Silent Voice 5 A Silent Voice 6 A Silent Voice 7

The story takes some good turns in this volume, and goes some unexpected places.One of the things I like about this volume is how it develops a couple of characters, one who's shown up a few times and the other who has been mentioned but hasn't appear until now.The reader finally meets Shoko's grandmother, both in the present and in flashbacks, and she's someone well worth meeting, a woman of strength and character.Shoko and Yuzuru's mother hasn't always come off as a sympathetic character, but here we learn more about her and the things that have happened to her, and come to understand her better. We also find out why we haven't seen Shoko's father, and what we learn says nothing good about him.This is an intense volume, and not always comfortable. The ways the characters speak about themselves and each other is more blunt then is usual, in fiction or in real life. But that's also one reason that a story that could have become a typical feel-good romance becomes something special. There is plenty of humor, but also strongly emotional moments, too.I can strongly recommend giving “A Silent Voice” as a whole a shot, and this Volume 4 is a good addition to the story.

My daughters favourite series she like it she is 12 years old ;)

Great set of books.

this is a brilliant manga

+Great manga and arrived in 3 days- Cover is slightly smaller than the rest of the manga so it's uneven and the corner has been creased

The best manga that I have ever read.