So I've been thinking recently about how I like to read, I have all these books and manga that I've read and also watched the film or anime counterparts and I thought it would be interesting to compare what I thought of each. The one I've chosen for today's analysis is a movie I've watched several times, and even though I've only read the manga through once and it was a while ago. That being said, let's dive right in.
So the first thing I want to say is that the manga is pretty long so it was only going to cover everything if they had made it into a series and they made a movie instead. It was natural that some things would get cut. The first thing on the chopping block was most of the childhood bullying. The manga really shows Shoya's state of mind throughout. How he's trying to alleviate his boredom and show off to his "friends" who join in as well and then throw him under the bus when shit hits the fan. The movie relegates all of this to the opening montage, which is a perfectly fine artistic choice. The bullying is the backdrop, the main focus is the affect it had on the kids after they got older anyway.
Next, a lot of the friendship with Tomohiro gets cut, but enough of it is left that you get a good sense that this is Shoya's first friendship since he was like ten and he doesn't want to mess it up. I really loved that they kept the x's on the faces and the camera angled to show that he's always looking down was a good choice as well. I also really love the musical accompaniment they picked for the most emotional moments because it really fit in nicely.
The only thing they cut, which I understand they didn't have time for, that I would have liked them to keep because it had such an impact on me, was the movie. You see, in the manga, the friend group that starts to form around Shoya and Shouko decides to make a movie. The movie requires them to talk to the elementary school teacher at the school where Shoya bullied Shouko and you see just how much the teacher's attitude factored into the hostile environment where the kids thought it was no big deal to bully one another for being different. Shoya finds out just how devastating this can be when he becomes the target instead of the bully, but you also see something else and that is the development and exposure of Toshi as a character. In the movie, his character is kind of a backdrop character, necessary only as the fuse that ignites Miki Kawai to show her true colors since she has a crush on him. In the manga, he is a staunch protector of bullied kids because he endured that as a child and he goes off on the teacher for allowing it to happen in his school. When he finds out that Shoya used to be a bully, that sets him off which is the beginning of the friend group unraveling. It is also the movie that eventually brings the friend group back together as Shouko gets everyone back together to finish it and they show it to Shoya at the cultural festival as proof that they all love him.
The other thing they downsized for the movie was the extent of Ueno's animosity towards Shouko, especially after the suicide attempt. In the manga, Ueno keeps Shouko from visiting Shoya in the hospital when he won't wake up. She physically baracades the door so Shouko can't get in. Some of this animosity is shown in the movie because the rooftop attack scene is kept in, but the majority of it, and the final culmination of Shouko actually getting Ueno to agree to help with the film is a progression that I liked seeing in the manga.
Overall I would probably rate both of them a 10/10, both were very emotional. I also have to say that this is one of the handful of anime movies I can watch in dub because they did such a wonderful job with the VA for the dub. I still prefer hearing the original Japanese, maybe someday I'll be able to read the manga in the original Japanese script as well.
Well that has been it for this episode. Hope you enjoyed and tune in next time when we discuss one of my favorite authors Jane Austen and the many adaptations of Pride and Prejudice that I've seen.
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