History YMMV / ASilentVoice

** Ueno for similar reasons, although in her case she ''did'' start out as TheScrappy prior to the later chapters [[RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap rescuing her for many readers]] and thus creating a divide in opinion.

** Ueno after Chapter 44 as well, when her own POV is shown that makes her more sympathetic. She finally admits to her faults and ultimately makes peace with Shoko. The LesYay she shares with Sahara also contributes to this.

** Ueno earned this when [[spoiler:on the Ferris wheel she tries to shift blame from herself to Shoko for Shoko's bullying and Shoya's loss of friends and current state, then responds to Shoko saying she hates herself with a slap and a flippant "so what".]] She is RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap for many in later chapters of the manga, though.

** A lot of fans cheered for Shoko's mom when she [[spoiler:slapped Ueno in an effort to stop her from attacking Shoko, and kept on slapping her when Ueno just wouldn't stop insulting her daughter]].

* TheWoobie: Shoko, for being bullied in elementary school, which made her the way she is now.

* AccidentalInnuendo: Shouya tells the girls that he's going to the toilet after Sahara starts to playfully fondle Shouko's chest.

** Shouko is rather socially awkward and childlike, but that doesn't make her any less cute and lovable.

** Nagatsuka. His interactions with Shouya and Yuzuru are very awkward yet endearing at the same time.
* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation:
** In the manga, how sincere Ueno's love for Shouya is seems up to debate. As much as she obsesses over him, she did still abandon him to be the scapegoat for the bullying Shouko received for years, suggesting her advances toward him are more oriented toward making herself feel better than out of genuine love. Then there's her remark while Shouya was comatose that [[IfICantHaveYou she'd rather he remain in his coma forever instead of waking up and getting together with Shouko]], showing a selfishness that's more love in the {{Yandere}} sense than true. Finally, the fact that she [[AmbiguouslyBi potentially ends up with Sahara]] brings in the possibility that she was a repressed bisexual who desperately didn't want to face that reality and clung so obsessively to Shouya simply because he was the ''boy'' she felt attracted to, [[HaveIMentionedIAmHeterosexualToday meaning she could pass for heterosexual]] if she became a couple with him.

** Shouya. He's not scrappy material, but there is a segment of readers who can't sympathize with him after his bullying of Shouko in elementary school. This is dependent on the reader believing his character development and attempts to make amends afterward--not to mention the darker parts of his development, particularly his becoming suicidal (and actually planning a well though-out suicide), becoming the victim of bullying himself, and his severe lack of self-esteem to the point that he thinks he doesn't deserve an ounce of happiness--don't make up for what he did as a kid.

** The [=POV=] chapters following [[spoiler:Shouya's coma]]. While some like that these chapters shed some light on Shouya's friends, others felt that the story was more interesting when it followed Shouya's POV.

** A TearJerker it may be, but Shouya finally snapping and calling everyone else around him out for their faults and how despite them they all are content making him the lone scapegoat for everything that happened to Shouko also feels like it was a long time coming.
** Yuzuru calling out her mother for being so aloof and only trying to make amends when Shouko is already broken is quite satisfying.
** Shouko's mother slapping up Ueno when the latter tries to beat up an injured Shouko is this in-universe -- Ueno literally gets sense knocked into her about what she's done -- and out of universe.
* CrossesTheLineTwice: Shouya having to earn 1.73 million yen (about 15,000 American dollars) to pay for damaging Shouko's hearing aids is karmic, especially since it takes him five years. His mother yelling at him for being suicidal after he gives her the money and confesses his plans is dramatic. Her burning the money by accident, right after he promises not to commit suicide if she doesn't burn it? A SugarWiki/{{Funny Moment|s}}.

* DieForOurShip: Ueno suffered greatly from this in the first two-thirds of the story, but later this was prevented thanks to [[spoiler:her only casual encounter with Shouya in the final of the manga and a strong LesYay involving Sahara]].

** Shouko's grandmother. Being one of the few truly good supportive adults in the manga definitely helps.

** Maria, Shouya's kid niece, is quite popular for being both a rare (half-)black character in anime/manga and being so cute.
** Sahara, due to her generally easygoing and kind nature making her come off as a great friend and total (female) bro for Shouya and Shouko (and [[LesYay possible girlfriend for Ueno]] in the manga).

** Shouko's mother has two: Bitch Mom (for her initial icy demeanor) and the/Nishimama.
** Shouya's mother is referred to as MOTYAY (Mother of the Year All Years).

* IronWoobie: Shouko. Despite everything she gets put through, she remains [[AllLovingHero kind and forgiving]] to everyone.

** Shouko's mom once you find out what happened to her husband. [[spoiler:Her in-laws blamed Shouko's deafness on her, claiming that she must have done something wrong, and pushed their son to divorce her because of it.]] Does not justify or forgive how she tends to treat or behave around her daughters, but it does add another dimension to her that wasn't previously seen.
** Shouya, definitely. This poor guy's life is a roller coaster of feelings. As a child, while he wasn't the only student who bullied Shouko, he was the first and definitely the worst of them. His actions ranged from calling her names, to physical harm, to ruining her hearing aids. And he did all of this while feeling proud of himself and not thinking about the consequences of his actions. It all comes back to bite him though when his classmates and friends quickly threw him under the bus when the time came to fess up for Shouko's bullying, and soon he became the class scapegoat. Shouya spent his years through middle and high school without any friends or support because of this, and grew to disdain and distrust people so much, he started mentally x-ing out their faces just so he didn't have to deal with them. During this time, he was also hit hard with the guilt of what he did to Shouko. This guilt was so bad that he spent those lonely years working and trying to resolve himself, so that one day he can earn Shouko's forgiveness, and maybe even forgive himself. And since his reunion with Shouko, his life has just been filled with way too many emotional twists and turns to list. Seriously, someone give him a hug already.
* LesYay: Sahara seems to be a magnet for this. There's her groping Shouko after her reintroduction, her group of admiring kouhais, and her VitriolicBestBuds relationship with Ueno. In the finale, [[spoiler:Ueno shows off a ring that she received from someone asking to be her partner, someone 5'11", gorgeous, and starting their own label, who turns out to be Sahara]].
* MemeticBadass: Shouko's mom, who apparently has the ability to teleport and pimp slap those who have wronged her daughter.

** Shouko herself. With her [[AllLovingHero mild-mannered, kindhearted personality]] and somewhat childlike mannerisms, she is absolutely ''precious''.

* {{Narm}}: As tragic as Shouya's fall is, it was hard for some readers not to snicker when the translation said that he suffered "major damage to his buttocks." Played up when Chapter 55 opens up with Ishida on his side while his doctors are examining the injury site.
* NightmareFuel: Various elements of the bullying and [[DrivenToSuicide the results of circumstances involving it]] aren't exactly shied away from here. It also doesn't help that with the story mainly following Shouya's perspective, we get to see how the aftermath affects him and all the desperate or occasionally broken results of his attempts to make amends when guilt doesn't overcome him. Plus, there's the occasional creepy moment, like a certain Kawai expression that showcases negative thoughts boiling beneath her smiling façade, or Ueno's explosion of pent-up hatred towards Shouko.
* RealismInducedHorror: The main reason this series gets so much praise is how it demonstrates the authentic portrayal of trauma brought on by bullying. Even when Shouya genuinely tries to apologize to Shouko for mistreating her in grade school, she is still visibly traumatized and uncomfortable. It only takes a while for Shouko to feel comfortable around him again. Ueno's PsychologicalProjection and BlamingTheVictim mentality (specifically in the ferris wheel and hospital scenes) are also common for people who are unrepentant about their actions.

** Nishimiya's mother after Chapter 44. [[spoiler:In short order, she apologizes to Ishida's mother over what happened to Shouya, ruthlessly beats up Ueno in defense of Shouko, then offers to pay for Ishida's hospital bill (although Ishida's family has insurance, so it isn't necessary) and bonds with Ishida's mother over their ex-husbands.]] She's still a sharp and at times severe woman, but she's much more relatable than she used to be.
** Ueno after Chapter 44 as well, when her own POV is shown that makes her more sympathetic, she finally admits to her faults, and ultimately makes peace with Shouko. The LesYay she shares with Sahara also contributes to this.
* OneTruePairing: Shouko/Shouya, obviously. The fact the manga [[spoiler:only hints it will become canon in the future, and that the film removes most of the romance (except for Shouko's confession), makes fans' desire even stronger]].

** Ueno earned this when [[spoiler:on the Ferris wheel she tries to shift blame from herself to Shouko for Shouko's bullying and Shouya's loss of friends and current state, then responds to Shouko saying she hates herself with a slap and a flippant "so what".]] She is RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap for many in later chapters of the manga, though.
** Shouko's mother gets some flak for not letting Shouko use sign language in front of her and seems to have no interest in wanting to learn it so she can communicate with her. Many people say she's a bit too authoritarian for her own good. She gets better after some [[DefrostingIceQueen defrosting]] and [[spoiler: even RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap for many after chapter 44, where she apologizes to Shouya's mother for Shouko causing Shouya's accident and slapping Ueno for hurting her daughter.]]
** With her [[NeverMyFault inability accept any kind of responsibility]] regarding Shouko's bullying, [[EvilCannotComprehendGood not understanding why she should feel remorse nor why the others do]], her hypocritical attitude towards Shouya, and using CrocodileTears to make herself look innocent, it's very easy to hate Kawai. [[spoiler:Even more so after she blows her conversation with Shouya out of proportion and lets everyone know that he bullied Shouko in the past, especially [[BullyHunter Mashiba]], pulling the same exact stunt she did in the past and, in general, making everything far worse than it should be without getting any comeuppance other than a well-deserved TakeThatScrappy from Shouya.]]
*** [[spoiler:Given the revelations from chapter 45 to chapter 48, Ueno comes as slightly more sympathetic, given that she admits that she's aware of her personality issues; that she's a ClingyJealousGirl and has a crush on Ishida, hence why she dislikes Shouko; and that she just doesn't know how to handle it. Compare with Kawai who is still in denial about her involvement in Shouko's bullying and manages to make Ishida's accident and Shouko's suffering be all about her. The fact that chapter 48's climax sets up a confrontation between Kawai and Ueno, the fandom was actually cheering for Ueno because Kawai comes across as the bigger HateSink due to her near-pathological ItsAllAboutMe[=/=]NeverMyFault attitude.]]

** Most people remember the scenes of the entire class bullying Shouko more than anything else from this manga. The anime makes the situation somewhat better by cutting many of the elementary school scenes.
** Shouko's introduction--holding up her notebook, which says "I'm Deaf"--is the most iconic scene in the manga.

** Takeuchi-sensei, Shouko and Shouya's elementary school teacher and the shining example of AdultsAreUseless, shows up when Shouya and Mashiba visit the school and he's just as shallow as ever. Which led to much rejoicing when Mashiba sprays him with his water bottle. Ishida mentally notes that he wished that he, instead of Mashiba, was the one who had sprayed with the water bottle, making the reaction InUniverse as well.
** While the entire scene where Shouya [[spoiler:essentially disowns his entire group of friends is a major TearJerker, more than a few people were glad to hear Shouya say exactly what the audience felt about Kawai]].
--->'''Shouya:''' [[spoiler:Kawai, you disgust me to the very bottom of my heart. Please don't say anything else.]]
** A lot of fans cheered for Shouko's mom when she [[spoiler:slapped Ueno in an effort to stop her from attacking Shouko, and kept on slapping her when Ueno just wouldn't stop insulting her daughter]].

** If the story were taking place in the United States, Shoko's mother could have sued the school for violating ADA compliance -- due to being an institution that failed to give her daughter proper accommodation[[note]]In the United States, the school would have been legally required ''at minimum'' to seat her at the front of the class where she could easily read the board and her teacher's lips, though more likely also provide a sign language interpreter or teacher's aide, rather than place her near the back of the class where she can barely see the board, can't hear at all, and be forced to rely on her classmates to share their notes or explain what the teacher is saying, since her classmates are ''not'' qualified teachers or interpreters. Failure to provide any of these accommodations would be grounds for a lawsuit by ''Day 1''.[[/note]] especially given that one of the students destroyed 1.73 million yen's worth of hearing aids. Shoko's bleeding ear would have been grounds for Shouya to be arrested on charges of ''assault''. As it turns out, in Japan all she can do is demand compensation from Shouya's mother, with the school pressuring Mrs. Ishida to pay off the amount, but that's about it. With the burden falling on Shouya's mother, it ends up driving them into debt because she has to take out a last-minute loan to pay off the amount. While this does make Shouya realize the harm he caused not just to Shoko but to his loved ones, it also is unfair that the burden falls on his mother and Shouya has to work off the debt while the school doesn't receive any retribution whatsoever.
* {{Wangst}}: It's one thing to feel remorseful for one's cruel actions, but Shouya constantly beating himself up leads up to this, especially when we see that Shouko ''still'' has it ''much'' worse than he does. Though it's questionable to use Shouko's situation as some sort of counterpoint, when 1. their personal issues are different in themselves even if intertwined and 2. Shouya ''doesn't'' ''pity himself'' for what he's done or gone through, which is kind of the point of this trope.
* TheWoobie: Shouko, for being bullied in elementary school, which made her the way she is now.

** Shouya. He's not scrappy material, but there is a segment of readers who can't sympathize with him after his bullying of Shouko in elementary school. This is dependent on the reader believing his character development and attempts to make amends afterward--not to mention the darker parts of his development, particularly his becoming suicial (and actually planning a well though-out suicide), becoming the victim of bullying himself, and his severe lack of self-esteem to the point that he thinks he doesn't deserve an ounce of happiness--don't make up for what he did as a kid.

** If the story were taking place in the United States, Shoko's mother could have sued the school for violating ADA compliance -- due to being an institution that failed to give her daughter proper accommodation[[note]]In the United States, the school would have been legally required ''at minimum'' to seat her at the front of the class where she could easily read the board and her teacher's lips, though more likely also provide a sign language interpreter or teacher's aide, rather than place her near the back of the class where she can barely see the board, can't hear at all, and be forced to rely on her classmates to share their notes or explain what the teacher is saying, since her classmates are ''not'' qualified teachers or interpreters. Failure to provide any of these accomodations would be grounds for a lawsuit by ''Day 1''.[[/note]] especially given that one of the students destroyed 1.73 million yen's worth of hearing aids. Shoko's bleeding ear would have been grounds for Shouya to be arrested on charges of ''assault''. As it turns out, in Japan all she can do is demand compensation from Shouya's mother, with the school pressuring Mrs. Ishida to pay off the amount, but that's about it. With the burden falling on Shouya's mother, it ends up driving them into debt because she has to take out a last-minute loan to pay off the amount. While this does make Shouya realize the harm he caused not just to Shoko but to his loved ones, it also is unfair that the burden falls on his mother and Shouya has to work off the debt while the school doesn't receive any retribution whatsoever.

** Less charitable fans, particularly those who only watched the movie, have been known to view Ueno as somewhere on the sociopathic spectrum for her lack of empathy and remorse in addition to her wild mood swings.
** Manga readers are more prone to diagnosing Ueno with Borderline Personality Disorder, as its symptoms match a lot of the mental and emotional problems that she's shown to have throughout the series, including her violent outbursts.

* UnintentionallyUnsympathetic: Naoka Ueno, mainly in the movie. Whilst the rest of the cast are deeply sympathetic, tragic and likeable people, especially Shoko Nishimiya and Shoya Ishida (after he TookALevelInKindness from his bullying days), Ueno on the other hand continued to torment poor [[BullyingTheDisabled deaf]] Shoko well past elementary school and explicitly says to Shoko in private ([[KickTheDog before slapping her]]) that she doesn’t regret her bullying her at all, yet Ueno is still accepted into the main group of friends and EasilyForgiven by [[AllLovingHero Shoko herself]] at the end. The manga fleshes her out more and does have her finally feel regret for what she's done and work at bettering herself, but even there it has the added wrinkle that [[spoiler: the primary motivation for her hatred for Shoko, rather than just a stubborn refusal to truly grow and mature, was the [[GreenEyedMonster jealousy]] she felt toward Shoko due to a {{Yandere}} style crush she has on Shoya, which is taken to some creepy levels [[DudeShesLikeInAComa while Shoya is hospitalized]].]]

* AccidentalInnuendo: Shouya tells the girls that he goes to the toilet after Sahara starts to playfully fondle Shouko's chest.

* UnintentionallyUnsympathetic: Naoka Ueno, mainly in the movie. Whilst the rest of the cast are deeply sympathetic, tragic and likeable people, especially Shoko Nishimiya and Shoya Ishida (after he TookALevelInKindness from his bullying days). Ueno on the other hand continued to torment poor [[BullyingTheDisabled deaf]] Shoko well past elementary school and explicitly says to Shoko in private ([[KickTheDog before slapping her]]) that she doesn’t regret her bullying her at all, yet Ueno is still accepted into the main group of friends and EasilyForgiven by [[AllLovingHero Shoko herself]] at the end. The manga fleshes her out more and does have her finally feel regret for what she's done and work at bettering herself, but even there it has the added wrinkle that [[spoiler: the primary motivation for her hatred for Shoko, rather than just a stubborn refusal to truly grow and mature, was the [[GreenEyedMonster jealousy]] she felt toward Shoko due to a {{Yandere}} style crush she has on Shoya, which is taken to some creepy levels [[DudeShesLikeInAComa while Shoya is hospitalized]].]]

* UnintentionallyUnsympathetic: Naoka Ueno, mainly in the movie. Whilst the rest of the cast are deeply sympathetic, tragic and likeable people, especially Shoko Nishimiya and Shoya Ishida (after he TookALevelInKindness from his bullying days). Ueno on the other hand continued to torment poor [[BullyingTheDisabled deaf]] Shoko well past elementary school and explicitly says to Shoko in private ([[KickTheDog before slapping her]]) that she doesn’t regret her bullying her at all, yet Ueno is still accepted into the main group of friends and EasilyForgiven by [[AllLovingHero Shoko herself]] at the end. The manga fleshes her out more and does have her finally feel regret for what she's done and work at bettering herself, but even there it has the added wrinkle that [[spoiler: the primary motivation for her hatred for Shoko was a {{Yandere}} style crush on Shoya, which is taken to some creepy levels [[DudeShesLikeInAComa while Shoya is hospitalized]].]]

* UnintentionallyUnsympathetic: Naoka Ueno, mainly in the movie. Whilst the rest of the cast (beyond [[{{Narcissist}} Miki in the manga]]) are deeply sympathetic, tragic and likeable people, especially Shoko Nishimiya and Shoya Ishida (after he TookALevelInKindness from his bullying days). Ueno on the other hand continued to torment poor [[BullyingTheDisabled deaf]] Shoko well past elementary school and explicitly says to Shoko in private ([[KickTheDog before slapping her]]) that she doesn’t regret her bullying her at all, yet Ueno is still accepted into the main group of friends and EasilyForgiven by [[AllLovingHero Shoko herself]] at the end. The manga fleshes her out more and does have her finally feel regret for what she's done and work at bettering herself, but even there it has the added wrinkle that [[spoiler: the primary motivation for her hatred for Shoko was a {{Yandere}} style crush on Shoya, which is taken to some creepy levels [[DudeShesLikeInAComa while Shoya is hospitalized]].]]

* UnintentionallyUnsympathetic: Naoka Ueno in the movie. Whilst the rest of the cast (beyond [[{{Narcissist}} Miki in the manga]]) are deeply sympathetic, tragic and likeable people, especially Shoko Nishimiya and Shoya Ishida (after he TookALevelInKindness from his bullying days). Ueno on the other hand continued to torment poor [[BullyingTheDisabled deaf]] Shoko well past elementary school and explicitly says to Shoko in private ([[KickTheDog before slapping her]]) that she doesn’t regret her bullying her at all, yet Ueno is still accepted into the main group of friends and EasilyForgiven by [[AllLovingHero Shoko herself]] at the end. The manga fleshes her out more and does have her finally feel regret for what she's done and work at bettering herself, but even there it has the added wrinkle that [[spoiler: the primary motivation for her hatred for Shoko was a {{Yandere}} style crush on Shoya, which is taken to some creepy levels [[DudeShesLikeInAComa while Shoya is hospitalized]].]]

* UnintentionallyUnsympathetic: Naoka Ueno is a prime example of this. Whilst the rest of the cast (beyond [[{{Narcissist}} Miki in the manga]]) are deeply sympathetic, tragic and likeable people, especially Shoko Nishimiya and Shoya Ishida (after he TookALevelInKindness from his bullying days). Ueno on the other hand continued to torment poor [[BullyingTheDisabled deaf]] Shoko well past elementary school and explicitly says to Shoko in private ([[KickTheDog before slapping her]]) that she doesn’t regret her bullying her at all, yet Ueno is still accepted into the main group of friends and EasilyForgiven by [[AllLovingHero Shoko herself]] at the end. The manga fleshes her out more and does have her finally feel regret for what she's done and work at bettering herself, but even there it has the added wrinkle that [[spoiler: the primary motivation for her hatred for Shoko was a {{Yandere}} style crush on Shoya, which is taken to some creepy levels [[DudeShesLikeInAComa while Shoya is hospitalized]].]]