Should A Silent Voice have ended differently?

[cedgehoganime]

By the way guys I would prefer if we weren’t disrespectful to the original commenter; open discussion on our opinions help us develop and potentially relook at things differently so no disrespect to this person for seeking out what other people’s opinions may be!

[tendofan]

To paraphrase something I heard a long time ago,

“‘I’d die for you’ is nice and all, but ‘I’d live for you’ is where it’s really at; Isn’t that the hardest thing of all?”

A Silent Voice isn’t and shouldn’t be a tragedy. It doesn’t want to deliver a hopeless message. I think it’s a significantly more impactful story for it, too.

[Osoro_goggles]

I agree, tragedy for the sake of tragedy doesn’t make something deeper or more adult

[sickening_love]

I made this point to my friends too. They believe there has to be tragedy, but it doesnt have to be if there is supposed to be development.

[DevilOfPresageAndGluttony]

The movie's whole purpose is LITERALLY to teach the consequences of one's actions, forgiveness, and then closure. If Shoyo died, Shoko would blame herself every day for being the cause of his death— What she needed wasn't revenge for all the bullying she experienced as a child but closure and acceptance of the past, and what Shoyo wanted was to be truly forgiven by her and to finally be freed of his guilt.

[vinidood]

People that think sadness and tragedy are more mature than joy are living miserable lives. I love A Silent Voice for being the way it is. I cried with Shoya in the end. Had he died, it wouldn't be as emotional as him recovering and finding he is loved and missed by those around him. That they might get mad at him but that they won't leave him. Understanding that is real maturity.

[meenahdesu]

Realistically speaking, I don't think Shoko would ever be fine if Shoyo died for saving her. It was like building up the whole plot so far just to throw it all to the gutters.

It'll just make the tone of the whole movie from hope and progress to utter despair and "no one deserves second chances, everything is futile".

[thelittleal]

Just because someone doesn’t die doesn’t mean its less adult or deep.
It matters if it works for the story it’s telling

[Giveup]

Same its about the courage they had to overcome the guilt for their mistakes

[marsextras]

they 100% made the right call in the movie. having shoyo die at the end would be such a cop out

[alisiablaze]

I am glad the character didn't die. Silent voice is an amazing story. If the mc died, then it would not have shown the beauty of living alive to those who feel the same situation as the mc. As someone who relates aot to the mc, the movie gives u hope that one day things may change for a person and it could be just tomorrow so always try ur best.

[Ravenclaw-eyoq]

She felt bad enough about him getting hurt at the end, imagine if he actually died

[claybowman]

Shoya's inner monologue when he's pulling shoko up from the balcony never ceases to make me emotional. "Please God, give me one last ounce of strength, and I won't run away from things anymore. From tomorrow, I'll look at people's faces, I'll listen to their voices. From tomorrow, I promise to do things right.” it shows that he believes in that moment he deserves to lose shoko because he won't look people in the face or listen to their voices, because he hasn't been proper and yet he bargains for something he doesn't believe he deserves and if there is a god his bargain works. He gets his final ounce of strength in return for facing the greatest test of courage. In the manga he says as a kid that from 50ft or higher the water is as hard as concrete. He regains the bravery he had as a child along with the compassion of a young man tempered by life. I love this movie and the source material so so much.

[mani_bhai_]

"Atonement by death" is such a cheap way out more often than not

An example is Endeavor from My Hero Academia. Spoilers for those who haven't read the end














Throughout the story, Endeavor keeps reminding himself that he was an absolute abusive scumbag who destroyed his whole family and soon acknowledged he's the reason that his son who he kept hyping up, became a villain.
So his end being that he forever has to live not as Endeavor but as Enji Todoroki, being crippled, Dabi finally dying, Natsuo cutting him off and Shoto being a hero on his own without the Endeavor name attached to it
It feels like such a good ending writing wise. By no means, Endeavor got a good end. He knows it and he deserves it. Till the end, he now has to live with his sins and will seek atonement for as long as he can

[JayCarraway]

It would’ve been that old “death is the only true atonement” and I feel like that’s a tired and unhealthy trope.

[N_Tertainment]

A fact that anime fans need to understand : character deaths ≠ good writing.

[Moonzztone]

It gives me the same vibe of the people that were angry that Bojack didn’t die in the end of Bojack Horseman (they don’t understand it doesn’t fit thematically to the massage well).
Having the tragedy of a character dying for the sake of it doesn’t make it better, things need to align with the narrative and give it massage strongly.

Like breaking the cycle.

[tatarsauce]

Washington cooked when he said “dying is easy young man, living is harder”

[eecuttel]

Silent voice was one of my first animes, some of the themes def flew over my head!

[samdayak]

I am a firm believer that main character deaths or departures have to be well calculated. Otherwise, you may cheapen the experience of a character development and their story. If a character's development leads to them atoning for their regrets, then that character must live in order to truly reinforce that atonement.