Are Weeb There Yet?
An Exploration and Education in Anime!

AWTY 56 - Play Nice (A Silent Voice)

4 years ago
Transcript
Speaker A:

This is wrong on so many levels.

Speaker B:

Hello, and welcome to our weed fairyear exploration and education and anime. I'm your anime idiot, patrick dugan.

Speaker A:

I'm an anime expert, dana hollander.

Speaker C:

And I'm brenda mccullough. Your anime.

Speaker A:

He'S got jokes because it's.

Speaker C:

A gentle silent voice.

Speaker A:

Yeah.

Speaker C:

Because there's nothing we restart.

Speaker A:

No, I think that's the best way to do it. I think he did it.

Speaker C:

It's not going to get better. It's going to be some weird, cryptic reference from the 60s. Otherwise.

Speaker B:

Behind the scenes, we are very worried that brendan's computer will crash at any second. And that was a very mean prank to play on us. As soon as we started recording, my.

Speaker C:

Computer is going to.

Speaker B:

I legitimately thought that was the most perfectly timed way for the computer to be like, fuck this, I'm out.

Speaker C:

This podcast isn't worth it, and it's self destruct.

Speaker B:

It feels like that sometimes.

Speaker C:

But it was a goof because we're watching a silent voice. Yeah.

Speaker A:

So it's a goof.

Speaker B:

We're watching another movie this week. We've been burned by so many series lately. Decided to just forego that medium entirely.

Speaker C:

Just movies now.

Speaker A:

Yeah.

Speaker B:

So, yeah, this was your pick this week, dana. What's your history with it?

Speaker A:

Nothing. I've just heard very good things about it. I know what it's about, vaguely, but I don't know exactly what it's about. But I've been interested in watching it because I like a good anime film.

Speaker B:

You are a cinemagoer of these Japanese persuasions.

Speaker A:

Well.

Speaker C:

You love Japanese films. All the samurai films.

Speaker A:

All of them. crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, that's my shit.

Speaker B:

On loop every day playing in Brendan. Do you know anything about this movie?

Speaker C:

Probably about the same as dana. I kind of got a basic idea of the plot, and I remember when it came out, it had some buzz because I think it came out not too long after your name. So it was two, like, big, emotional anime movies that got, like, wildly popular, like, even in the States. So I was kind of like, oh, hey, check this out. Anime is not just tits and monsters, which last episode we covered that.

Speaker B:

The release of this Us release, I should say, was October 20, 2017. So within the last same year.

Speaker A:

Same year is your name. Your name came out in the States in April of 2017.

Speaker C:

Okay. Convenience.

Speaker A:

Yeah.

Speaker B:

Your name in April.

Speaker C:

Great.

Speaker A:

Snow.

Speaker C:

Different anime.

Speaker B:

I think they're the same.

Speaker C:

So, yeah, I know just about the plot, and I know it's supposed to be, like, beautifully animated and wonderful score, but that's about it. I don't know too much. And this was also on my list to watch eventually.

Speaker B:

Well, let's get that pencil ready to cross it off because we're about to watch the whole thing.

Speaker A:

Let's go. I'm not crying. You're crying.

Speaker B:

Correct. I am not crying.

Speaker C:

One of us is crying.

Speaker A:

Nanny, I'm crying.

Speaker B:

Yeah, we'll talk about it, but I haven't really been saying how I feel about this movie because I don't like it very much.

Speaker C:

Get that out right up top.

Speaker A:

That sucks.

Speaker B:

I was being cagey about it because I knew that you liked it, so I wanted to talk about it on here.

Speaker A:

And he'll get inside me and make me especially sad. That's fine. Yeah. Let's go.

Speaker B:

Surprise.

Speaker C:

Fighters, to your corners. swinging at the bell.

Speaker B:

Yeah. I should rephrase this. I think this is a very beautifully well made movie. I think the message is quite simple.

Speaker C:

Interesting.

Speaker B:

Yeah. So we'll get into it.

Speaker A:

Okay. So movie starts. We have a boy, and he's making plans. He has a calendar that has deadlines on it. One is to quit his job. Another one is to go to the bank, which, I mean, I know are signs of, like, wrapping things up. Yeah. Content warning, talk of suicide. So he's shown on a bridge, and he crosses off a day that says Final day. And he gets up on the bridge and he well, I think in his mind, he gets up on the bridge, but he doesn't actually do that. And he's, like, distracted by some kids doing some fireworks. And then we get, like, an opening, which is him just hanging out with all of his friends. Just a bunch of kids, elementary school kids. And the opening leads up to this day at school when a new girl is there, transfer student. She's very cute and shy. And the teacher tells her to introduce herself to the class. She does not do so. He taps her on the shoulder. She gets out a notebook, and she has notes on it that says, my name is Shoko. If you want to talk to me, use this notebook because I can't hear. And all of the kids in class are pretty like because I guess they've never met a deaf kid before. nanny. She just gets to know some of the girls in the class. They're pretty nice to her to start out. Her nickname is shon, which they say is the same nickname as the boy we saw earlier. His name is ishida. His last name is shoya, so he's shoon also. What a coincidence. And then we're pretty much just shown her in several different scenes, having a really hard time at school because they're just not accommodating her disability. There's a girl named now who at first is very helpful to her. She takes her notebook and she writes stuff down for her during class. There's a moment where they're reading out loud in class, and the teacher still has her do it because she can talk. Like most deaf people, they can talk because she can't hear herself. It's not perfect. And then when ishida goes, he makes fun of her, which is shitty child. Yeah. And she's having trouble making friends. We're shown her after school with now and, like, a couple of other girls. And now is just like, we're leaving by Shoko. And she's just by herself. And then ishida comes up and she signs to him that she wants to be friends. And she says it, too. And he calls her weird and throws dirt in her face. So that's cool.

Speaker C:

Another dick move.

Speaker A:

Another dick move.

Speaker B:

Off to a great start.

Speaker A:

Off to a good start.

Speaker B:

A very likable character.

Speaker C:

Yeah.

Speaker A:

And then the teacher tells everybody that they're going to start taking some time out of every morning to learn sign language so everybody can talk to Shoko easier. And now is like, why do we have to do that? Writing is easier for me. And then there's one girl that gets up, and she's like, I want to learn it. And her name is sahara. And then there's just, like, more shit of them ridiculing her. And he writes something on the board. I think I missed something. Because he writes something about how she took sahara away. Did sahara leave the school for some reason or another?

Speaker B:

Yeah. I also missed what they were trying to get at with this.

Speaker C:

No clue. Cool.

Speaker B:

You wrote something neat on the chalkboard is what it boils down to.

Speaker A:

Yeah, it just comes up later, so I missed something. And he erases it as she walks in. And he's like, oh, no, someone did this. How rude. And then she writes, thank you. Which is sad because he's a jerk.

Speaker C:

He's the one that's children are awful.

Speaker A:

Children are awful. And then she has hearing AIDS, and they kind of start making fun they don't kind of start making fun of her for it. They do make fun of her for it. He yells in her ears and starts taking them out and just fucking throwing them. And then one day, he rips them out of her ears, and she starts bleeding like he pulled on her ear lobe. And he's called to the principal's office because assault. And as he's leaving the school with his two friends, she's waiting for him, and he's like, what do you want? And then, sorry. She holds up her notebook, and it says, I'm sorry, which made me very sad. And she just wants to be his friend so bad. And he's just the worst. And then he tosses her notebook in the pond. And the next day, she's not there. And the principal is in their class saying, she's not in class today because her mom found out she's getting bullied. Like, you guys are fucking up her hearing AIDS, which are very expensive. Who done it? And the teacher was just like, ishida, I know it's you. Like, you. You're the worst. You did this.

Speaker B:

You've openly done it in class in front of me. I know it's you.

Speaker A:

I know it's you.

Speaker B:

Also, I'm a shitty teacher that doesn't give a shit. So I've just sort of let it happen and get to this point.

Speaker A:

It's true.

Speaker C:

So far, everyone kind of sucks here except for these two girls.

Speaker A:

But so ishi does kind of trying to be like, oh, well, you guys make fun of her, too, but it's just that thing if he's the one who got caught, and everyone else is just saying, like, well, yeah, but we told you to stop, even though they didn't.

Speaker C:

Yeah.

Speaker A:

And then the school calls his mother. He gets home, and she tells him, get ready. Like, we're going to go see Shoko and her mom. And they go see her, and his mom gives shoko's mother money to replace the hearing AIDS. And then Shoko is like with her, but, like, adjacent to the scene, she's off feeding some pigeons. So ishida kind of sneaks up behind her and tries to be sneaky, but the birds fly off. We don't really see them have a conversation, but yeah, after this, he starts getting bullied for one reason or another, I guess because kids suck. And there's one day where he goes into the classroom and sees joko wiping his desk off, and he's like, what are you doing? And it's evident that she just didn't want him to see whatever someone had wrote. She thinks she's returning the favor for him, doing that for her. And then he just starts fighting her physically, which was sad, and she pushes him down and gets on top of him, and he's like he says, you always have this look on your face, like, just say what you're thinking. And she says, I'm trying my best. And that made me sad. And that was the first time I cried. It was like the first time I teared up.

Speaker C:

That was a rough scene.

Speaker A:

Yeah. And then after that altercation, Shoko transfers, and there's a time jump. ishida is at another school, and he is there to find Shoko, and he sees her, and he's like, hey, do you remember me, Is? She just like and runs away, which is fair.

Speaker C:

Bye.

Speaker A:

Naturally, physically fought her the last time they saw each other. But he chases after her, and he wants to return a notebook, and he hands it to her and signs, you forgot this. And she signs to him, like, Why do you know sign language? And he says, I learned it. Like, I just wanted to learn it. And then he asks if they can be friends. And she cries. And then we jump to the day after he tried to commit suicide. He goes downstairs for breakfast. His mom looks exactly the same from his childhood.

Speaker C:

Don't great mom.

Speaker A:

Yeah. She thanks him for the money because he left money on her pillow. And then she asks him why he tried to kill himself. And he just says, like, I've been through a lot lately. And she was just like, I knew it. I knew something was wrong. Why don't you talk to me? And she picks up the money, and she holds a lighter to it, and she's like, if you have to promise me that you're not going to try some shit like that again, or I'm going to burn this money you worked so hard for. And he's just like, okay, I'm very sorry, mommy. And then she burns it by accident.

Speaker B:

Oops, I want to talk about this real quick because this also solidifies why I think he's such a piece of shit. So they say ¥1.7 million, which I did, the conversion rate is almost $16,000. So it's sort of built up as light childhood bullying. But my dude cost this deaf family $16,000 in damages.

Speaker C:

Was that directly the money he cost them and that's what he was paying back, or was it just a general.

Speaker B:

Like yeah, when when they go to when his mom drags him to apologize, she gives the mom money to pay back for all of the multiple hearing AIDS that he trashed, which costs $16,000.

Speaker C:

Okay. I knew she gave him the money, but I wasn't sure if it was directly, like, he's paying back exactly how much he cost her or it was just like a general, like, hey, I'm going to kill myself. Here's all the money I have to make up for just everything.

Speaker B:

Yeah, well, you said that I owe you, so I believe it's a direct correlation to that.

Speaker C:

Okay.

Speaker B:

The other thing I want to just while I'm talking about this, number one, felony damage charges for destruction of property is anything over $500, at least in the Us. So this kid would have had felony, like, hate crime charges against him for targeting this deaf woman in her class. But light bullying is the gist.

Speaker C:

It ain't great. Kids are shitty.

Speaker A:

It ain't great.

Speaker B:

And especially they talk about it.

Speaker A:

Kids are shitty, though, I think.

Speaker B:

Yeah, kids are real shitty, which is why I don't like it, because I don't give a shit about this piece of shit. The reason he started getting bullying, they say later on he has eye contact issues, which yeah, I get that. But also, a lot of the bullying we see in him being bullied montages are him being bullied for being such an asshole to this person he drove out of school. A lot of the graffiti and stuff are like, jerk, you fucking asshole. So that is some of the bullying stuff he gets to, and we'll feed into more stuff I don't like later on. But I just want to establish that while it's still relevant.

Speaker A:

Great.

Speaker C:

Okay.

Speaker B:

Sorry. I have feelings about this movie.

Speaker C:

Clearly.

Speaker A:

So he's going back to school. He explains that him taking that notebook to Shoko was supposed to be like a last act of courage. He reveals that once they graduated from elementary school and moved on to middle school, his friends kind of dumped him and told everybody not to talk to him because he's crazy. And we have this visual of him in his eyes, just like x's being over everyone's faces because he just ignores them all. He doesn't want to look at them. He can't look at them. He doesn't want to deal with it. And he also, while sitting in class, has this moment of making things up that people are saying about him, saying that he's crazy and asking why he's alive and stuff. And he's eating lunch alone, and he's, like, wondering when he can see Shoko again because he really wants to. He goes home, and his mom apologizes for accidentally burning the money. And then she says that she wouldn't have wanted to use that money anyway because he raised it specifically to kill himself, which would have made her feel gross. The next day, he's parking his bike at school, and he's walking toward the school when he sees this kid with really fluffy hair, very Steven Universe esque.

Speaker C:

I was thinking that he's like a little squad, a little pro, and it.

Speaker B:

Has slight green tint to it, so it's slight. Steven Universe, deckoo five.

Speaker C:

Yeah.

Speaker A:

So someone comes up to him and is like, let me use your bike. I forgot something at home. And he's like, nah, this is my bike. You cannot use it. And they kind of start fighting each other, and he's calling for help. And then ishida goes over, and he says, do you want to just use my bike? And the guy's like, yeah. So he steals his bike.

Speaker C:

Shocker.

Speaker A:

And he has to walk home, and he's thinking, I have to find, like, a natural way to see Shoko again. I can't just go see her. It will be weird. So he finds God. divine intervention. God. I was going to say God intervention. That's not.

Speaker C:

Jesus pops out with a coupon. Hey, what up?

Speaker A:

Hello. There's a coupon for some bread. And he's like, oh, she likes to feed the fish bread. I'll bring her some bread. So he's brilliant. He gets to the school. He gets to her school, and there's a kid standing at the door, and very is Scott here? He just left. Because he's like, Can I see Shoko? And the kid is just like, she's not here. And he's like, I can see her. She's over there. And they're just like, she is here. And they close the door. She's not here. And he's walking home, and Fluffy hair boy is there with his bike. He's like, I found your bike. I looked all over for it. I found it abandoned in a rice field. Here you go, friend. My name is Nagasuka, I think. Nice to meet you. And the X falls off of his face because now he's a friend because he did this thing for ishida, and now he's comfortable with him, so he's a friend.

Speaker B:

Also, I looked at my notes, and yes, that name is correct. Nakazuka.

Speaker A:

Great. They go to the movies together. They're just, like, having a chill time. They get food. And ishi does like, what does it mean to be friends? Like, what are the qualifications of having a friend. And Nagasuka is a very funny guy. He like, grabs a French fried dissidents of ketchup so it looks like a cigarette, and he's just like, My dude, there are no qualifications for being friends. Friendship transcends words and logic, my man. And he starts calling me yasho, which I also love.

Speaker C:

Nickname. Yeah, it was at this scene, I was like, this is the biggest dork I've ever seen. And I love him.

Speaker A:

Yeah, he's great.

Speaker B:

Finally, a character. I like, you don't even like Shoko. She's like you.

Speaker A:

Okay? So ishita tries to go see Shoko again, but the same little kid is blocking the way. And he's like, this kid that we at this point assume as a boy says, I'm going out with Shoko, and ishida just accepts this. He's just like, yeah, okay. All right. That makes sense. Sure. And then the kid says, if you're here to be selfish and get some kind of self satisfaction out of this, you should leave.

Speaker B:

Yes. And in my eyes, the movie ended right there.

Speaker A:

And then Nagasuka is there, and he grabs the kid, and he's like, hey, fucker. My buddy wants to see this girl. Let him see the girl. So they're causing a scene, and then all of the people that are in the classroom, like, come over to watch. And ishida makes eye contact with Shoko, and he's like and he eats himself out of there, and Shoko follows him, and they're having a signed conversation down by the river where she feeds the fish. And the kid that is supposedly going out with Shoko has a camera. So he's zoomed in on their hands and is translating the conversation for Nagasuka. And ishida says, I wasn't sure if it was okay for me to come see you, but I want to be your friend. And she says, I want to be your friend. And then he gives her the bread, and they feed the fish together, and she pulls out the notebook he gave her and opens it to read it. And he's like, no, never mind. I don't want you to read it. And they struggle over it, and it falls in the water, and then she jumps in the water to get it, and then he jumps in too, and they get out, and he apologizes for that and gives it back to her. And then they part ways for the day.

Speaker B:

So, yeah, I'll pick up from here the next day at school. It turns out the kid that was so protective was taking pictures and posted all over social media. Show you jumping into the river, and he gets suspended for improper behavior or whatever. Things like trespass.

Speaker A:

They're, like, not supposed to jump in that river or something. Irrelevant.

Speaker C:

Yeah.

Speaker B:

Basically, it was, like, against student conduct, which is being an idiot all wet and stuff. So he's suspended. His mom tells him to go pick up his sister at school, and when he does, he hears someone in the park, like play tunnel thing. He goes in and it's the kid. It's the kid that was taking pictures. We learned that their name is Yusuru and they're still mad about stuff. And show you. Sorry. I should say zuru is still mad at showya. But Showya doesn't really care that the picture got him suspended. So rather than sleeping in the slide, Show You decides to take them home for a nice dinner. So that night, yuzuru is staying over and goes out in the rain. Show you as follows gives them shoes so they are out in the rain. And it turns out that Yazuru had a fight with Shoko and that's why they were gone. And questions Show You his motivations for trying to reconnect with Shoko. And show you as like, hey, I know I'm a bad person. I know I don't deserve anything, but I'm trying here.

Speaker C:

Try and hear me.

Speaker B:

And then suddenly we learned that yuzuru is actually shoko's sister and not her boyfriend at all. Which number one, before they established, when we first get them in the classroom, they just say, Shoko is my girlfriend. And I was like, yes, she is gay. Perfect. Great. No, because they hadn't established Usaru as the boyfriend yet, they just said, Shoko is my girlfriend. I was like, yes. Finally.

Speaker C:

That's what I thought too. But also, earlier, Maria, the younger child of Show You house, was like, oh, bye, mom. AC their mom or her mom go off to work. And I was like, oh, but show you his mom's still here. And I was like, oh, two moms. Yeah. And I find out. No, maria's actually show you. maria's actually show you his niece? It's his sister.

Speaker A:

Yeah.

Speaker C:

So it's like oh, okay.

Speaker B:

Yeah, that that kept fucking me up. That relation, that whole family dynamic. I was so confused because we don't.

Speaker C:

See half of that for most of the movie.

Speaker B:

So it's just yeah, we got the big reveal that zuru is the sister. They get to the house and Shoko and yuzuru's mom comes out and recognizes shoya as the boy who was the worst and of course, slaps him in the face.

Speaker C:

Fair.

Speaker B:

Yeah. So they go, well, he leaves. And then yuzuru and the mom go inside and the mom's like, hey, don't hang out with that piece of shit. And sister, I first misheard it as Usabu. My notes going back and forth. So I'm just trying to translate my own handwriting in real time.

Speaker C:

Give everyone nicknames.

Speaker B:

Yeah. Little gay sister is like, well, I can decide who I want to hang out with, so I don't care. I'm not going to tell Shoko to not hang out with anyone. So the next day, shoya introduces nakasuka to Shoko and Yazuru and tries to get shoko's phone number, but says it so vaguely that Shoko is like, oh, I actually want the phone number of one of our elementary school friends who was not the meanest person in elementary school, but someone who's still a bully. So they learn that she goes to a distant school.

Speaker A:

She wants sahara's phone number. I don't think sahara would ever bullied her.

Speaker B:

With the time jump, I lost track of who was who elementary school. So, I guess. Yeah. Sorry.

Speaker A:

Yeah. sahara is a good person.

Speaker C:

She's the one that wanted to learn sign language, right?

Speaker A:

Yeah.

Speaker B:

I now realized that after being told. So, yeah. They go to visit her. She is going to school in a distant city. So Shoko and Show ya go and travel. And they find her and learn that she learned sign language and is super friendly and immediately jumps back into being friends and apologizes for what happened and all the bullshit that happened in elementary school. So while they're catching up, shoya feels super guilty and all that and walks away and passes noka. Who is the extra mean girl in elementary school? I'm going to correct you now.

Speaker A:

Her name is uno, but they call her now.

Speaker C:

I'm going to correct you right now. Her name is Bitch. I just wrote bitch.

Speaker A:

I hate her.

Speaker C:

She doesn't deserve a name.

Speaker B:

No, see, I don't really pay attention to anyone's name in the elementary school. I'm just learning all of their adult, adult high school names.

Speaker A:

Got you.

Speaker B:

But now yeah, now, whatever. So, yeah, I forget who wants them to reconnect, but shoya or shoka wants now to be at least reconnected somewhat. They visit her at the Cat Cafe that she works at. She sees them and hides, so they end up not connecting. And Show You is like, oh, I wouldn't want to hang out with me either. Self clothing. So we see Shoko at the doctor, and she's getting news and show you a cat to give her a little purse that he picked up at the Cat Cafe. And she's crying in her room. But I believe the news was that she got, like, a new or she lost hearing in one ear, but got, like, a new hearing aid in the other and is able to verbally communicate a little bit. This was also left as subtext, so I don't know the exact change that happens here.

Speaker C:

Yeah, I was kind of confused by that.

Speaker A:

Yeah. The way I just saw it was like, is that she's just going to fully lose her hearing eventually. That's just how I read it, probably.

Speaker B:

Yeah. Because I was confused because she is being more verbal than previously. But they do note that one hearing aid is gone, so I assume she completely lost hearing on one ear and I don't know, maybe is trying to verbally communicate. This is all subtext. Yeah, but yeah. So later on, now actually meets up with Showya and sees Shoko across the street buying something and is like, oh, that deaf idiot. We're still making fun of her, right?

Speaker A:

I hate her.

Speaker B:

Is now, like, oh, no. So Shoko comes over to meet them and now jumps right back into bullying her and takes her hearing aid and show you. Is like, hey, I'm changed now. And now is like, oh, she's your girlfriend. You only care because she's your girlfriend.

Speaker C:

She started out as mean girl in my notes, and this is when she elevated to just shared a bitch.

Speaker A:

Yeah, you would think as you get older and mature as a person, you would think, wow, I really shouldn't have made fun of that deaf girl in my class.

Speaker C:

No, she did not crop her mind. No.

Speaker A:

As soon as she saw her again, she was like, Old habits, old habits.

Speaker B:

So the next day after the bullying, they go to see the carp. Shoko is wearing her hair up for the first time, and you can see the hearing aid, and she's speaking. Shoio is thrown off by this and asks if she can sign, which immediately makes her self conscious because basically what he's saying is, your voice is weird because you're deaf. And she gives him a gift that she got the previous day, and in her voice, she says, I like you. But he cannot make out the words that she's trying to say. So he thinks she's talking about the moon. And so he offends her, and she runs away and is all embarrassed because she confessed her feelings and he didn't understand her. So the next day in class, he goes up to one of the other people from elementary school he hasn't talked to basically since then and is like, hey, so why do girls change their hair? There has to be a single answer, right? One reason.

Speaker C:

Well, he overhears them talking. Before he talks to them, she walks in, and they hear all the other girls like, oh, you change your hair. You got a date. Do you like somebody? And throwing out these suggestions of why she might have changed her hair. And that's what makes him think like, oh, is that why Shoko changed her hair? And that's enough for him to get up and ask him.

Speaker B:

But she is like, yeah, there's many reasons. It's not always about a guy. But also, this other classmate wants to hang out with you, so they bless you. So they gather up. They're all being chums, actually trying to have high school friendships. So basically every character we've mentioned so far goes to an amusement park. It's showya shoko usuru.

Speaker C:

Steven Universe.

Speaker B:

Yeah, Steven Universe and bitch for some why is she for some reason, who invited her?

Speaker A:

Because I don't think it was ihita.

Speaker C:

I think it was shoka maybe trying to like because it's like a bunch of the grade school kids again. Oh, everyone should be I don't know.

Speaker A:

It could have been the blonde girl, maybe.

Speaker B:

Yeah, but they go on a roller coaster. We get some enlightening, like, hey, don't judge things until the end. Heavy handedness. And we. See, shoya is actually having the realization that he's having fun for the first time and is still feeling guilty. Like I don't deserve to have fun. So he and the bitch girl decide to go get food. They go to the concession stand, and the person working it is one of the old friends that turned on Show You. And he's now feeling all weird again because he remembers about what a dick he was. And Bitch Girl is like, I thought you would want to reconnect because you.

Speaker A:

Were mad at me.

Speaker B:

We're doing that.

Speaker C:

I was doing you a favor. You should be happy.

Speaker B:

Yeah. And basically just goes into the life was so much simpler before death. Deaf girl showed up and ruined everything because you got weird and everyone feels weird. It's all deaf girls fault, man.

Speaker A:

Fuck this bitch. You suck so hard.

Speaker B:

Yeah. She goes and she's like, hey, I really want to take Shoko on this ferris wheel. You and me alone go on this ferris wheel. Sounds like a great idea, especially after saying how much better things would be if you were never on it. Let's go on this very tall object. And your zero is like, hey, Shoko, take my camera and maybe take some pictures. And they leave. And then after the amusement park yuzuru. And show you meet up. And Yazuru is like, hey, I snuck. I was basically just rolling the camera the entire time. You really need to see what happened. And we see that on the ferris wheel. Bitch Girl was like, hey, you deaf idiot. Why do you have to ruin everything? Everything is your fault. And then just like, attacks her. And yeah, that's basically where we get to the third act.

Speaker C:

The third act. So yeah, I'm just going to call her sister because I'm going to butcher the name if I try to pronounce it, show you the video. And we basically see he says all he wants is for shogo to like herself. And he sees just a lot of self loathing in her. So I just want her to have her all the shit I put. And when he's at school, Show You tells his new friend, he's like, the redhead. I just called him Ron the girl together all times. I just called him Ron and hermione it's easier. Tells him about the video, and he's kind of like, wow, what a bitch. Like, who bullies the deaf kid? Only a douchebag would really be a bully to a deaf kid. He's just like, yeah, and dies inside. And then we get irredeemable and we.

Speaker B:

Shouldn'T root for this person, right?

Speaker C:

Hold it to the end. And when he gets back into the classroom, hermione, the blonde friend who was like in elmer school with all of them or middle school or whatever, starts talking to Show You and starts confronting him about the stuff. And after she finds out about the video, and it's kind of like, well, you were a bully, too. And he's like, no, all of us were bullied. She's like, no, I wasn't. But you laughed along. Like, you didn't defend her. You didn't stop it. And then they just kind of got into the tussle, and she starts kind of, like, freaking out and yelling and kind of draws attention, saying, like, the reason Shoko had to change schools is because you show you you were the bully that really drove her out of school. And he's just like, I'm going to barf, and runs out because he's getting the anxiety attack sort of thing again. And he runs out, holding his mouth shut. And as he goes out, he just leaves school and just goes on the self reflection thing. And then he ends up at the usual spot on the bridge, and he sees Shoko and her sister there. And while he's there, they're talking a bit, and then everyone else shows up. Steven Universe ronnie Hermione miko bitch. I had most of their names.

Speaker A:

Everyone is here.

Speaker C:

Everyone's here.

Speaker B:

Everyone should be here.

Speaker C:

And Hermione comes up to show you and apologizes, saying, like, sorry, I kind of went at you there. I had a lot of motions bottled up, and I think all kind of spewed out. And a bitch comes strolling in on her high fucking horse, thinking, oh, Latin, look at me. God, I hate her so much. There's literally no redeeming quality. And she comes in saying, we were all guilty of bullying Shoko. You guys didn't stop. You guys made fun of her. I'm the worst now. Cool. And she's the worst.

Speaker A:

Well, ishida was definitely the worst when.

Speaker C:

They were kids, and she's just calling a scene, kind of saying how everyone sucks and show you just kind of snaps. And he kind of goes in a fetal position on the ground and just kind of says, like, why are you trying to bring everyone down to your level? Just because you know you'll never be at their level, so you have to bring everyone else down. That's why everyone doesn't like you. And they're like, oh, wow. Hey, that was pretty harsh. And he's like, what? Are you trying to defend her? Miko, you run away like you always do. Whenever things get tough, he's like, whoa, miko. God. See, I'm bad with the names. The one that wanted to learn sahara.

Speaker B:

Sorry, miyoko.

Speaker C:

Sahara. Yeah, I got all I watched the dub, so I think we have the names. sahara.

Speaker A:

That's me.

Speaker B:

Yeah, I had miyoko, too.

Speaker C:

Okay. And then he's like, Hermione, you just love hearing the sound of your own voice. That's why you're always talking so much and putting yourself in these situations that you really don't belong into. And everyone's just kind of like, fucking whoa. Show you like, what the fuck happened with you? And Stephen Universe comes up, and he's like, hey, man, are you okay? You're kind of snap. And he's like, what? Are you doing? Like, touching me? We barely even know each other. We didn't know each other, like, a month ago. So why are you acting like you're my friend? It's just like, all right, I'm going to give you your space because you're totally working through something. I was like, hey, that's probably the most emotionally mature thing in this movie. Yes. And everyone just kind of leaves because they're just like, wow, wait a fucking shit on the party. And Ron comes up and he's like, hey, man, that wasn't cool. He's just like, what are you even doing here? You're not part of our group. And he's just like, all right, fuck it. I tried to help him. I see when I got me. He just like, leaves. And so he kind of just bullies everyone else, just going real hard on everyone and scares them all off. So that's just Shoko and her sister there. And he's like, hey, so what are you doing during the summer? Maybe we can hang out and go, this one just like, fucking dude, read the room. She's like, oh, boy. Shoko and her sister go back home. And her grandma pulls her sister sign, kind of says, like, hey, I'm worried about you. Like, you're really wrapped up in Shoko's life. Like, don't forget to, like, live for yourself. And her sister's like, grandma, you're doing the same thing. Like you're learning a sign language. She said, I'm doing that for me. And her sister's like, well, I'm doing this for me. Like, it's the same thing. Her grandma's like, you're a good kid. I got two good grandkids like you're good kids. And then we see shoka sister has this dream about Shoko and, like, this dead pigeon or something and freaks out. And then wakes up. And we see her in bed with Grandma trying to comfort her back to sleep. And then it cuts to shoyo, like, out getting bread, kind of talking to himself up of like, hey, Shoko, how are you doing? Like, planning to meet her up again and acting like nothing happened yesterday after he just snapped at everybody. And at the bridge, she sees her sister in a school uniform crying, like, further down under the bridge. He's like, oh, I should probably say something. I never mind. And kind of like, turns away, pretending he didn't see. And she sees him up in the bridge. He's like, hey, show you what up. Shake it out. It's summer, and I'm in a school uniform. Weird, like, trying to play trying to play it off like a normal day. And he's like, yeah, I saw you crying earlier. What's going on? She's like, you don't want to be involved. He's like, yeah, I'm worried about you, though. She's like, you and grandma say the same thing. Yeah, because it's concerning. She's like, all right, fine. If you want to come along, you can tag along with me. He's like, okay. And they get to this gate by the stream, and she's like, all right, I'll see you here. And I was kind of confused. I'll see the boarding school. Is that what she's in the uniform? And then as Showya is walking away, she comes running back. She's like, all right, I'll be honest. I'm scared. And then, yeah, he comes back and she says she's scared. And it's a hard fucking cut to Grandma's funeral. Like, out of nowhere. Didn't see that happening. And we see that she's in her school uniform because I'm guessing it's the most formal clothing she has. So that's why she's wearing it in the summer. It's just like, oh, boy, that's a rough gun. And Show, you a Texas shoko saying, like, hey, you want to go out tomorrow? Like, kind of get your mind off things. And they go off. You see him on a train, and they go to a museum, and they spend the whole day together. And they get flashbacks of when they're kids and moments like this that we see him going up the hill and trip. And shoka goes to help him, and she apologizes. He's the one that made her unhappy. So now he'll always be unhappy when she's around her. Currently kind of saying, because you bullied me when we were kids, and now you're just trying to redeem yourself, so now you'll be unhappy when you're around me. And he's like, no, that's not true. Like, come on. I want to be around you. And then we get a shot of all of his newer friends turning their bags on him, like in a kind of in a dream.

Speaker A:

This shit was sad. This reminded me of the end of phantom of the Opera when he's singing masquerade to himself. I don't know if either of you have seen phantom of the Opera.

Speaker B:

No, I haven't heard it since I was a weebaby. Oh, it's safari.

Speaker A:

Some sad shit.

Speaker C:

He's doing this kind of the same thing. He's kind of singing a little song to himself, but he's definitely going through another depressive episode. He's like, well, there's no turning back. There's no pretending like we could just go back to the way things were and be happy. So time to double down. And he just hangs out with Shoko and her sister a bunch, and he's, like, clearly forcing himself to be happy and, like, real upbeat.

Speaker A:

I don't feel any guilt.

Speaker B:

Look, I'm not unhappy. When we hang out, see, everything. This is healthy. This is a healthy lifestyle, basically.

Speaker C:

And he's like, oh, hey, tomorrow we do this thing. And they're like, oh, no, we already got plans. He's like, oh, okay. Maybe I can come along. They're like, nah, you know what? Yeah, you can come along. And then we just cut to them in their apartment and Showcase apartment, and they're making a cake. It's their mom's birthday, so they want to make her a cake and show you. Is helping out. He's like, yeah, I'm going to try and bounce before your mom gets back, because the last time she's you saw me, she smite me upside the face. So I'm going to leave.

Speaker B:

Your mom hates because of the multi thousands of dollars that I cost her.

Speaker C:

I don't know why. And Shoko and her sister are like, nah, it's fine. You can stay. And as soon as the mom walks back in, she's like, the fuck are you doing here? Okay. She's like, chill, mom. He cool. He can rock. And they're having cake that they made, and they're just having like a little birthday dinner sort of thing. And Shoko's mom says, like, oh, izuru I submitted your photos to a contest. Like, what? Why? Got to do that Shoko's idea. Come on. I did just something I do for fun. It's not a thing. Then they make plans to go out, see fireworks later because it's the summer. It's anime fireworks. Got to see the main girl in the yukata check, so that might as well be on the bigger part at this point. And so we see them out at the festival having snacks and stuff and having good time. And there's the fireworks. And while they're watching the fireworks, sugar sister and her mom get off. And they're like, oh, hey, let's go get some snacks. Come on, mom. And you leave the two love birds alone. Hey, yeah, ultimately, thanks for inviting me out. Sorry to kind of impose on your mom's birthday. Sugar is like, she was happy. She's signing. And they start talking about like, oh, well, it was your mom's birthday. when's your birthday? Man, I can't believe I missed it. I just missed it a few weeks back. It's like, next year we got to plan something. He's like, oh, god, I'm planning next year's stuff. Like we're a couple. And he kind of gets, like, nervous. And then all of a sudden, shook gets something. Well, I got to go. I got to go study. He's like, but it's the sum. Are you sure? He's like, yeah, I got to go. And Grant, a lot of this is subtext because it's self signed and like subtitles. So it's just like kind of if you don't know sign language, you're kind of interpreting what she's saying from him. Okay, I guess I'll see you later. And she leaves the festival to go study. And then her sister and her mom come back like, oh, what happened? She just left. It's like, oh, hey, dope. I left my camera at home. Can you go run back to our apartment and get it for me so I can take pictures of the fireworks instead of me going back to get it? He's like, yeah, okay. Weird. So he goes back to their apartment where Shoko just went. And he goes in. He knocks everything. He's polite. But he goes in. He's like, I guess here's the camera. I should make sure it's charged. And as he turns, he sees Shoko out on the balcony. He's like, huh, I wonder what she's doing out there. I thought she was supposed to be studying. And he sees her start climbing up on the railing of the balcony. Oh, fuck. I know what's happening. He's been there. And as he goes to run, he goes to Yellow. Shoko. And he like, trips at the table, the chair. And he falls over. And he gets back up. And we see the curtain flapping over the window. And we see her standing on the railing. And then the curtain flaps over to the camera. When it pulls away, she's gone. Shit. But then we get a cut to him diving over the railing, like hanging on. And he grabbed her by the hand at the last minute. So he's still holding her. And he's, like trying to pull her back up. Like, come on, shoka. You got to help me. Like, this isn't what we're doing. He's praying to God. He's like, God, if you help me out with this, I won't run away anymore. I'll start listening to other people's feelings and stuff. Like, I'll start looking people in the eyes. Like I've turned my life around and all this stuff. And he even realizes, like, oh, I never even apologized for the stuff I did as a kid. I don't think I ever apologize for scarring your ears from ripping the hearing AIDS out and all this shit. He's like, Come on. God. You got to help me out. And as he's like saying that, you see Shoko reach back up and start pulling herself up onto the balcony. And right as she's getting back over to the railing, Show You falls and trips over. And he falls off the railing instead. So then we get a shot of him falling, and he falls into the river we've seen earlier. And we see kind of blood pouring out a bit. And then it's just a hard cut to sirens and lights. So yeah, Show You fell off the balcony instead. He got his wish from earlier.

Speaker A:

Come on, Brendan, don't do this.

Speaker C:

And then it just cuts to Shoko's sister. Like, I guess in the hospital waiting room, I think it's not super clear. And show you his mom shows up and oh, hi, Mrs. Show you his mom. I just want to ask how Show You is doing and all this stuff. It's like, oh, he's showing. His mom seems pretty upbeat considering her son's, like in the hospital for falling off how many stories? And she's like, nah, he's better. He's fine now. They took him out of the icu, saying he's got his own room now. Like, he's doing good.

Speaker A:

He's in a cold. We don't know that right away.

Speaker C:

But it's like, oh, yeah, we find out. He's in a cold. She's really upbeat.

Speaker B:

He will live. Just not right now.

Speaker C:

Just not right now. Not quite yet. And at that moment, Shoka's mom, like, walks in. And as soon as she sees shoya's mom, she just drops down and like, begs for forgiveness, like super hard. And like crying, like saying, like, I'm so sorry. Like, it's my fault. And it's Shoka's fault. And show his mom's pulling her up like, no, stop it. Stop. No, stop begging for forgiveness. Like fucking naga. It's no one's fault. It happened. He's fine. Let's move on, sort of thing. And her sister's crying too. And it's just and then we cut to we see shoka outside and guess what's happening. She's getting bullied a fucking gang by bitch who's just yeah, she just physically.

Speaker B:

Hitting her, beating her up.

Speaker A:

It's your fault for no reason.

Speaker C:

If it wasn't for you, he would never be in the situation. It's hitting her. And while she's hitting her, shoka's mom comes out and just bitch slaps the girl across the face. And then they start fighting. I know Shoka's mom is trying her best. She seems to hit a lot of people. I just want to acknowledge that.

Speaker A:

I think as soon as we're introduced to her mom, she just doesn't seem like a great person because I don't know, it's never made completely clear. But in my mind, the fact that she was like, tell Shoko this to use you in my mind again, is like that she never bothered to learn sign language, so she doesn't know how to talk to Shoko. You know what I mean? So I was just like, oh, she's a bad mom. Got it. I'm not mad at her.

Speaker C:

I just think we don't see nearly enough of her to get a real idea of who she is.

Speaker B:

Yeah, she's in maybe like five scenes.

Speaker C:

In this whole movie.

Speaker A:

Yeah, because we only ever see her beating children.

Speaker B:

Excuse me. Beating children who have beat her child.

Speaker A:

Yeah. When she slapped now across the face, I was just like, it's what she deserves. I said that out loud.

Speaker B:

I was like, upside. Everyone in this movie deserves it too. Everyone in this movie. Side show code needs us.

Speaker A:

I have nothing against her beating up children that have beat up her daughter.

Speaker C:

I like, Ron. Anyway, his mom comes out and pulls them apart. What the fuck? You don't knock it off. Everyone's here bitching about my son and trying to see him. And don't be fighting, rap out my son like, fuck off. And she goes to Shoko and kind of pulls her up and dust her off. And Shoko starts crying and apologizing for she's like, Jesus, what did I just say? Stop apologizing about my son. He's going to be fine. And then back in their apartment, you see her sister taking down some of the photos she had up of. She took a picture of some dead frogs or like road kill. And she's like, maybe if there's less death around, shoko won't try to kill herself. This is a rough scene. I don't know, uncomfortable for me. Yeah.

Speaker A:

Made me cry. That's something that made me cry.

Speaker C:

Another day. Shoko tries to visit show you and runs into Stephen. And they find out Bitch has been in the room the whole time and blocking Shoko from going in to visit. So Shoko goes out and talks with Stephen a bit more, finding out. He's like, he's my true friend. I can't lose him. He's the only friend I got. It. She's like, you're a pure boy. And he's like, I know. Show you will wake up. Like, don't worry. And Shoko wants to try and she says she wants to try and rebuild what was destroyed. So she goes to all of their friends that Show You kind of snapped at and trying to rebuild all the roles of ships and stuff and try and bring everyone back together. And then we see her waiting outside the hospital for Bitch to come out. And she's waiting there like multiple days in a row trying to mend the fence with her. But she's a bitch. She won't. And she just keeps walking past. And then we see Shoko has a dream about shoya's suicide note. I'm lost here. The stream was confusing for me. He's going to learn. Okay, yeah, I wasn't super clear on that, but that makes more sense. She wakes up and she starts running down and she runs through the spot, the bridge where they usually meet up. And she's just crying. And like, oh, he's not here. And it's right when she gets there, when she's breaking down crying. Show you wakes up in the hospital and she's like, oh, what the fuck? Oh, God, why am I in a hospital? Fuck this. And he gets out of the bed and just starts walking out.

Speaker A:

Fuck this.

Speaker C:

This hospital's got shit ass security because a guy just woke up from a coma and just walked right out the door.

Speaker A:

Where is his nurse?

Speaker C:

Yeah, there should be some sort of alarm or security guard of some sort.

Speaker A:

Hello?

Speaker C:

So he walks his room service, he walks down to the where they usually meet up. He's like, oh, no, she's not here. But it's because she's off to the side, like, crying on a little, like, cubby area. And when he gets close enough, he sees her and he breaks down and cries. And they have this moment, and she like pokes him. And kindness is startled. He's like, he's really here. He's awake. And he like, met me here and conversations with her and he didn't mean to hurt her. And he apologized for all the stuff he did as a kid. And she's saying, like, no, it was my fault. I was being selfish. And everyone's trying to be because of me, but it's like I'm not being better for them. And it's just this real, like, I'm not doing it justice. I'm not even going to try. Like I am, but it's the emotional conversation between the two of them saying like basically trying to say, like, they both hate themselves. And they're like, well, we got to work on this because so far we both tried to kill ourselves.

Speaker A:

Shoko doesn't deserve that at all. Yeah, Shoko, nothing is your fault.

Speaker C:

None of it's her own. Yeah, all of your friends, everyone. And Show You says he wants Shoko to teach him how to live. And he kind of gets like, oh, god, that's very open and embarrassing. You guys just almost died. It's okay to be open. And then we see Show You asleep in the car, and his mom's driving him back from the hospital. And then he gets there. Maria is there, like, watering the plants outside. And she's like, oh, Show You, you died. And hugs him. It's like, god damn it, Maria. You're the best part of this movie. And little angel like, hiding around the car, baby. She ducks back around. She's like, oh, yeah, she was in your bed, like your hospital room every day, like, waiting for you to wake up. And he's like, oh, I guess I should talk to her, even though she's still bitch. And she goes and they have a little heart to heart. And she bitch, basically says, like, I'm never going to showcut. I'm always going to hate her because she's deaf. You won't have a breath, and there's a little rain. And she says, there is no what is the reason Kazakhi you have done? I leave you in high school. He's the one that pulled you out of the river, like when he fell into I told you that. He's kind of trying to even still repair his friendship from back then. And then he goes to see he goes back home, and he sees joko's mom's there getting a haircut. And she's like, hey, show you. Sorry again about the whole balcony thing. It's fine. Just stop. And then we see maria's dad just pop in like, yo, I'm going to go pick up Maria from the playground. It's like, hey, what? Who are you? Just like, hi.

Speaker A:

Nice.

Speaker B:

Can we introduce a new character five minutes before this movie ends?

Speaker C:

Cool. Yeah.

Speaker B:

Okay.

Speaker C:

We see him in, like, the montage in the beginning and then now, and nothing of it. Okay. Yeah, I think they say he's like a soldier and he was deployed or something. And he just came back. So she goes upstairs and he choked his sister. She's like, oh, hey, I won the photo contest. I'm trying to get back to school. I won the contest. I'm bad at school. Can you help me out? He's like, yeah, okay. Helps teachers or study and getting ready to go back to school. And then he sees those little stick animals that shoka gave him earlier. His mom and Maria put them in the garden. He's like, oh, I guess that's what they're supposed to. And he meets up with shoka back at school. He said, thanks for being here at my school, because she doesn't go to the same thing. Thanks for being here for me. And as he walks back into school, he's kind of getting another anxiety attack and getting depressed because everyone's talking about him whispering, and he's kind of getting overwhelmed. And shock pulls him back up. He's like, no. Pulls him by the hand back to his classroom to help him. And when he opens the door, everyone's like, oh, show you his bag. And then he just shuts it again. He's like, oh, I'm overwhelmed again, and goes into the bathroom trying to catch his breath and breathe. And that's when steven's there. And he opens the bathroom door. He's just like, my man, I knew you'd be alive. It's just like a good boy. And he just gets very emotional, like, you're my best friend, and I couldn't have gone on without you. You're my only friend. And he kind of brings joya back to reality. Grounded pulls him out of the bathroom. We see Ron and hermione there, and everyone kind of, like, rekindling stuff. Like, yeah, we kind of had a thing on the bridge, but we can go past this. And everyone's there and Shoka's there talking still. And then we hear bitch on the side of the stairwell come walking out. She's like, oh, God, everything's getting so sappy. And there's like, God, why are you here? And she's like, Let me guess. shoka is going to apologize like she always does. You're a moron, moron. And that's when Shoko grabs her hand and starts signing what moron is in sign language. She's kind of like, all right, I'm out. It's nice to see Shoko kind of.

Speaker A:

Getting letting her now sign it.

Speaker B:

Yeah, she signed it wrong. And Shoko was like, hey, moron, this is how you sign moron. And it was a good like, she actually stands up for yeah, it's supposed.

Speaker A:

To be a redeeming moment for now, being like, oh, she's learning to sign. That's nice. But it's like, no, the first thing you signed to Showko was Moron.

Speaker C:

And Shoko was like, oh, that's pretty close to what you're trying to say. Okay, yeah, I thought her hand came similar to what it was. And Shoko was just like, oh, let me fix that for you. But the other way you guys described it as makes more sense and is a better scene. Anyway, so now that they're all, like, rekindle stuff, they mended the bridges and all the hurt feelings, show you goes out into the festival, like the courtyard of the school and sees all his stands, and we get shots of all his friends and everyone's happy, and he gets all emotionally tearing up. We get another shot of the shape of a Voice, which is what the movie opened with. So it was like a nice bookend to the opening. So yeah, that's a silent voice he accepts. God bless papa.

Speaker A:

Bless people into. His life. God bless.

Speaker C:

I'm not even going to ask anyway.

Speaker B:

So yeah, let's chat, shall we?

Speaker C:

All right.

Speaker B:

So you know how you all felt about Bitch Girl? Yeah, that's how I just felt about Show you the entire movie. Just like, we can't come back from this.

Speaker C:

I can see your point of the severity of what he did was so bad. It's irredeemable. But is that to make the argument that no one is ever redeemable, like, there is a threshold of irredeemability.

Speaker B:

I do believe in redemption, but I feel like, number one, he was feeling ostracized because everyone was like, hey, you fucking suck. You bullied that deaf girl out of school. And also, while we're being critical of you, we also notice you don't make eye contact, but primarily, you are a bully that we do not like or want to interact with. So setting him up as the victim in the same way as the deaf girl is not a fair comparison, I guess.

Speaker A:

And I guess I never really saw him that way. I never saw him as a victim. Like, yeah, he was bullied, but I.

Speaker B:

Was like, I just stayed with fuck him.

Speaker A:

In my mind, I was like, it.

Speaker B:

All comes down to basically, we wouldn't have this movie if Showya was any other person that would say fuck you as soon as he showed up in high school. Like, if we're all dork ass losers, if someone who bullied you in elementary or middle school came up to you and just out of the blue didn't say sorry or anything, it was just like, hey, let's hang out, would your immediate first reaction be, yes, I'm going to fully dive into this?

Speaker A:

No. But I think another thing is that shoko is so naive. Like, she always wanted to be his friend. So I think just like, that validation from him. Like, this is a toxic relationship, but I think that validation from him of like, I want to be your friend now, was like, Hell yeah, man. You know what I mean?

Speaker C:

I think she already had more of a reason to be more accepting than if, like, hey, I got bullied by this asshole in elementary school, and I never wanted to be his friend. And now he wants to be friends. No thanks. But she had more of a goal, or they already had a reason to establish that. But also, I would say with beginning with showo, with you guys saying, like, he was an asshole, he doesn't deserve to be redeemed. He deserves to be bullied. Like, he was bullying others. Couldn't you also make the case that that's the same as what Bitch Girl was doing? She's like, shoko deserves to be bullied because she's different. She deserves it. It's justifying it for yourself why you're treating her like this. So if you're saying, like, he was a bully, now he deserves to be bullied, it's just another justification for I'm justifying why bullying is happening if we want to dissect it.

Speaker B:

I'm not standing by like, yes, it was right of the school to lash out against him. It was the movie saying in high school. Now they are on an even playing field. That is what I disagreed with.

Speaker C:

Okay.

Speaker B:

Because he's ready to kill himself because his high school life is so terrible because of the repercussions of his actions when he was younger. Okay, so it's not so much of, yeah, this fucking bully deserves to be bullied because this bully is bullied. That does not erase the debt that has been established by him bullying this deaf woman.

Speaker C:

Okay.

Speaker A:

Yeah, I guess I just saw him.

Speaker B:

Getting bullied as like, yeah, it's consequences to someone who couldn't really stand up for themselves, force them out of school and cost them $16,000 in damages. And the school was like, you know what? You're not a good person and we're not going to hang out with you. That seems valid. Full on bullying is a little much.

Speaker C:

But see, even when they were kids, I felt it as the reason everyone turned on him is because he tried to bring everyone else down when he got in trouble. And they're like, oh, you were trying to get us in trouble too. Now you're going to get ostracized.

Speaker A:

Yeah, I think there's just a lot of it also is like, not a lot of it, but there are things to be interpreted in your own mind. That's what it's coming down to right now.

Speaker C:

A lot of subtext.

Speaker A:

We all saw these characters as different people. So while ishida show, you is not likable, I think that because he saw the error of his ways, he is more redeemable than like, now because she still hates shoko for literally no reason.

Speaker B:

That brings me to point number two with the establishment that bitch girl is still bitch girl outside of elementary school. It sort of leans into I specifically remember demi Diguibe has a parody of the ending song for Green Book, which has a great line that's been stuck in my mind all day. It says, perspective is the key. I'm going to paraphrase a little bit. I just needed to find someone more ableist than me. And that's sort of what now the character was of. Oh, now we can root for Show. Yeah, because we have someone who's even worse. So he's no longer the villain. It's the person who's even worse.

Speaker C:

I see what you mean.

Speaker B:

So establishing oh, because I was ableist as a child, we can overlook that because she's ableist as an adult. Well, even then, still in high school, so not even a full adult. Also something that just super bugged me so much. At least twice in this movie, someone has told shoko, hey, life is hard. Sometimes you just have to deal with it. Says all of the able bodied bullies to this bullied deaf woman saying, hey, life sucks. Sometimes. Yeah, multiple times. So they really tried to hammer that point home that life sucks sometimes. And it's like, hey, no, you don't get to say that. The person who bullied this poor defenseless child, yeah, everyone had the best intention, but just that such tone deafness of, hey, you struggle just with everyday society, but me, a person who has everything, I'm going to tell you, life is hard sometimes. You just got to deal with it. To the one person who has not been visibly affected the most forgiving person to like a Jesus level, I would.

Speaker C:

Argue the case that there is still saying where it's like the worst day in someone's life is still the worst day of their life, regardless of the severity of other people's lives. The worst day a soldier has to face is much worse in comparison to the worst day of any year old girls, but it's still the worst day of their life up to that point. So it's hard to compare. You don't want to make pain and suffering competition into who's had it worse. But I think it is much more of a problem with this movie because the pain and trouble that shoko is going through is inflicted upon by the characters talking about their struggles as well. So it's like you have struggles for other reasons. She has struggles because of you. So I do think that is a fair criticism of this movie. So it's interesting that there's so much subtext and maybe language barrier and miscommunication in a movie about a deaf person and communicating how she feels. Yeah.

Speaker B:

And I will acknowledge I am very much in the minority because there are only two bad reviews I could find on rotten Tomatoes of this movie and only one I agreed with.

Speaker C:

I've heard some people not admonishing it, but like saying, like, there's a reason your name was so much more popular than a signal voice. Like, I think I think a majority of people do say it's a good voice, but I have I have heard other criticism of it.

Speaker B:

So yeah, but like on rotten Tomatoes, critic reviews is like 92% positive and audience is 94. And some of the audience ones were like, it's too long, and I only like the funny one. So I just credited those things. But yeah, the one review, it was from the Village Voice. Basically, I agreed with it saying, hey, they coded the attack on shoko in the classroom when they're in elementary school as rape because he's like standing between her legs, beating on her. So why do I care about this kid? And I have the same feeling. I don't care about your redemption. You don't deserve to kill yourself, of course, or be bullied, but no one owes you this forgiveness. To bring in another quote from a show I like, BoJack horseman, you have to live with the shitty thing you did for the rest of your life. I'm not going to give you closure. So sort of going in and being like, hey, I want to be friends. Woman I tormented is putting it all on her to keep being as forgiving as she was as an elementary school kid, which she has every right to say, hey, fuck off. Like her entire family basically did. But she just happened to be the most forgiving one.

Speaker C:

Yeah, I can agree with some of those points. I think that still would root back into, does no one deserve redemption? And it's up to because she was the victim in the bullying, it's up to her to determine if he deserved to be redeemed. And in this situation, it's based on what the writer wanted. It's not like she's a functioning person. She didn't make her own. So it's a very scripted scenario because it is a movie. If it was a real life circumstance, it would just be up to debate of whether she forgave them or not. And that's it. But because it's a framed narrative, it's more debatable of like, is this okay or not? Because someone chose to do it for her. So we're also already going along. So I won't get too into it.

Speaker B:

Yeah, I'll leave it there with, this is a well intentioned idea, but it sort of leans into boys will be boys. As long as they're a good adult, everything's fine. And it's like, that's not great.

Speaker C:

Yeah, I can see that case.

Speaker B:

So, yeah.

Speaker C:

That'Ll do it.

Speaker B:

Do any of you want to end on more positive notes because you liked it?

Speaker A:

No, I mean, I'm going to be real. Like, I just feel defeated. Like, I don't know what else to say. Like, I yeah, like I I mean, I liked it while I was watching it. And I think every point you made is fair. But I don't know. I don't have anything.

Speaker C:

Oh, God. I'm getting du. Raw flashback.

Speaker A:

I'm not going to spend time defending it like you were defending Du Rock. And again, this is my favorite anime or anything.

Speaker B:

The vast majority of people agree that this is great. So I will gladly retreat and say it wasn't for me if that's what it comes down to.

Speaker C:

On a lighter note, next week my fucking birthday.

Speaker B:

Happy birthday.

Speaker A:

Oh, thanks.

Speaker C:

But we're starting up something special. We made it a year. We did a full year. So we're not just doing an anniversary episode. We're doing a month special. Well, we are doing an anniversary episode, but it's leading into a marathon.

Speaker B:

Yeah. We're diving into at least my anime origins. We're going to watch a whole mess of four kids dub. So for our one year anniversary. Since next week is the official anniversary, it'll just be us celebrating. But then we're going to have a whole slew of fun people joining us to talk about some questionable stuff at best.

Speaker C:

So next week we're starting off it's also dana's birthday. So you picked Tokyo? Mimiu?

Speaker A:

Yeah, I'm excited. I haven't seen anything of it in a really long time.

Speaker C:

I know nothing about it. It seems very pink.

Speaker A:

Yeah, I've seen, like, clips of the four kids dub, but I've never watched the four kids dub, so I'm a little scared.

Speaker B:

But hey, so, yeah, if you have a suggestion for us to get to in mid November because it's going to be a little bit reach out to us. Our email is areweetheret@gmail.com or you can reach us on Twitter and Instagram at are we There Yet? You can find me on Twitter and Instagram at mrpatrick. dugan.

Speaker A:

You can find me on Instagram at queen. Period Weebu, and on Twitter at queen underscore weebu and Queen underscore Weebu.

Speaker C:

Art you can find me on Twitter at aBTS brendan it stands for Almost Better Than siles, which is a video game podcast I also do.

Speaker B:

And thank you to camille ruley for our artwork. And thank you to Louis zong for our theme song stories off the album Beats. You can find all of louie's music at Louisong bandcamp.com. Thank you and we hope you'll join us next week as we learn to live with anime.

Speaker A:

Bye.

Speaker C:

Key points.

Episode Notes

CW: Ableism, Assault, Harassment, Suicide

You ever pick on the new kid so bad it's a felony? We watch and discuss the messaging behind A Silent Voice.

Special Note: Due to multiple technical difficulties during recording, the audio lost sync at approx. 40 Minutes. The rest of the episode has been restored to be listenable, but please note that there may be a few inconsistencies in the conversation due to these errors.

Twitter: @Areweebthereyet

Instagram: @areweebthereyet

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/areweebthereyet/

Thank you:

Camille Ruley for our Artwork

Louie Zong for our Themesong "stories"

https://louiezong.bandcamp.com

Find out more at http://areweebthereyet.com

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Copyright 2018