I wish I could like this manga, but sadly I can't. I can only say that it was a missed opportunity to write a really moving story, at best. It's not that I hate this manga, but it's certainly not what I expected.

My main problem with Koe no Katachi is its characters. Starting with the main ones, Ishida and Nishimiya. These two should've been the best written characters in the story, and considering the kind of plot this thing has, I would've expected more engaging and complex interactions. In every instance when these two had a talk, I couldn't help but think "what kind of stupid situation will happen next that will ruin it all?"

Now, I understand that they're troubled kids (especially Nishimiya), but their reactions and decisions are so weird that I fail to believe that a normal teenager would behave like this, to the point of becoming annoying and thus, not realistic enough to make you feel interested in what they do or in what they achieve. And in this regard, I have to admit that Ishida, among all of the characters in Koe no Katachi, is the best one. His struggles and urge to redeem himself are the main focus, after all. However, it's annoying when you see the main character be so miserable almost of all the time and being so slow in understanding his environment. This leads to the plot not advancing in a meaningful way, and you just feel stuck in the same place.

And Nishimiya? My God, if Nishimiya was a real person, not only I would feel sorry for her, but also I'd wonder if she's a living sandbag. I can't come up with a better definition of Nishimiya as a character: a living sandbag. She barely does anything, she tries to engage in problem the least amount of times possible, and she feels sorry for no reason. Her deafness is the excuse for her being so utterly miserable, passive and pitiful. So much so to the point of exaggeration. You're telling me just because she's deaf she will be the target of constant abuse by both her family and peers and she will do nothing about it? Not even push them to a wall and punch them in the face two or three times? Nishimiya is such an unrealistic character, I just can't take her seriously. It's like she created her character as a device that makes pity in the reader out of thin air, without ever putting her in a situation where you can honestly say "gee, now that's messed up, I feel bad for her." My guess is that her design is cute, but for me that's not enough. A cute character design by itself won't make me feel anything if said character doesn't feel realistic and believable.

What can I say about the supporting characters? Not much, they're pretty much useless and a nuisance that barely has any effect or permanent consequence in the story as a whole. They're even less developed than Ishida and Nishimiya, and end up being annoying because of how one-dimensional their traits are. They're there to give a (un)motivational speech to the main characters or to make the story longer with tiring explanations and whining that aren't that important to begin with. They fill up space, they're uninteresting and have no purpose, other than create a fake sense of conflict that doesn't have much impact.

Do I recommend this manga? To be fair, yes. Even though I said bad things and my disappointment was obvious from the start of this review, I can't say it's the worst I've read. Far from it, it's just not the masterpiece most people think it is. And with stories this highly rated, the best thing you can do is to read it yourself and get rid of the "hype". The synopsis is interesting but because of its characters, it ends up being poorly executed, leaving a bad taste at the end.

In summary, a mediocre manga with wasted potential. In any case, read it for yourself so you can understand (or not) what I'm talking about.