Original poster artwork · Great Cinema Master List
Spoiler-free premise
A former school bully tries to reconnect with the deaf classmate he once mistreated.
Read expanded premiseLonger, still spoiler-free+
Years after bullying deaf classmate Shoko Nishimiya and becoming ostracized himself, teenager Shoya Ishida seeks her out to apologize. Reconnection draws both toward former classmates, sign language, and painful memories each has interpreted differently.
Why it belongs
Naoko Yamada makes shame and repair visible through hands, feet, eyelines, crossed-out faces, and animation attentive to hesitant social movement.
Read expanded why it belongsThe fuller editorial case+
The patient ensemble resists treating apology as instant absolution. Low framing, delicate hand gestures, ambient school sound, sign language, and X marks over faces translate isolation into a visual grammar.
Major award wins
No verified wins in this six-institution crosswalk.
Awards are reference metadata only · zero points in 40/40/20
Good for
Date NightFilm Club
Descriptive guidance derived from rating, genre, runtime, mood, and GCML scores.
Institutional reference ranks
Sight & Sound—IMDb Top 250212AFI 100—
Reference metadata only · not part of the 40/40/20 score
Great Cinema Master List scores
Greatness8.6
Engagement9.4
Ease8.8
Japanese · PG-13 Animated Feature Mood: Imaginative & Accessible
