As we all know, the anime movie adaptation of Koe no Katachi was released not too long ago and no doubt, there was a huge amount of hype! Be it people changing their Facebook profile pictures to the main heroine, Shouko, an hour or two after checking in to the cinema or long-time fans complaining about how mainstream it has become. Although the movie was a huge hit, one question still lingers.
Is it really as good as the manga?
In case you haven’t watched Koe no Katachi yet, this short article will contain spoilers. Proceed at your own risk.
The Flow
Well, the anime was adapted from the manga so there’s really no surprise that there wouldn’t be much of a difference in the plot between the two but if there is something I want to point out, it’s that the movie is drastically diluted in terms of how the scenes make you feel and how much of the manga has been cut out from it.
What? How does that work? It would feel the same either way right? Well, it’s not entirely wrong. In my opinion, the manga really amplifies the general feel of the scenes because there is just something about reading and getting into the manga that really hits me. I get to interpret it in a way in which I would like to experience it and that alone really allows the reader to feel and relate to the scene, more than the watcher would watching the movie. I personally believe it’s because of the manga’s drawn sound effects (SFX). It’s not all bad though. The movie really did make the comedy scenes a lot more amusing compared to how it was shown in the manga because the voice acting made it feel a lot more lively.
On the other hand, a considerable amount of the manga has been cut out from the anime. In the anime’s defense however, it’s already pretty long even without those scenes. I’ll say that the most noticeable missing part was where everyone decided to make a movie together but I don’t think it’s really important to the point it would affect the main point of the plot.
Characterisation
A few differences between the movie and manga characters are, I believe, the intensity of the actions, reactions and portrayal of emotions the character experiences. An example being how Shouko carries herself. She is noticeably more feisty compared to how she is in the anime. A similar scene to this was shown very briefly in the movie.
Conclusion
I’d say the anime movie would be good if the watcher hasn’t read the manga as the watcher wouldn’t be aware of all the scenes cut out and wouldn’t have expected the movie to reach certain expectations. As someone who has read the manga and is fully aware of the changes, it was slightly disappointing. My conclusion would be that the anime movie adaptation is not as good as the manga, plot and character wise.
