Shouko Nishimiya
Shouko Nishimiya (西宮 硝子, Nishimiya Shōko) is a character introduced in Koe no Katachi. She is the female protagonist of the A Silent Voice series.
While Shouko may not be completely deaf (given the hearing aids she possesses in both ears), her hearing loss is drastic enough to the point that she can be considered clinically deaf. Despite this, it has been shown that though she cannot clearly understand individual words, she can hear various pitches of tones in the voices of other people. Also as stated in Chapter 21, Nishimiya is observed to only wear one hearing aid. This may be a repercussion of Ishida's act of pulling out her other hearing aid, and permanently damaging her ear in Chapter 1.
Appearance
As a child, Shouko kept her hair in a style somewhat reminiscent of a bob cut except her hair is straighter around the sides. She usually wears dresses when out of her school uniform.
In her teens, Shouko has grown into a pretty young lady with a petite build. She is shown to have light brownish-pink wavy hair which reaches her chest and her bangs reach the bridge of her nose. Her eyes are dark brown in colour. She is usually seen in only the school's uniform.
Her school uniform consists of a navy blue blazer, a blue ribbon, a white blouse, a light brown sweater (vest), a pale blue skirt with light blue details, navy socks and brown shoes.
Personality
Shouko is a very easy going person and is able to quickly forgive many, such as Shouya; her childhood bully. She is somewhat clueless and doesn't see herself as a special individual that needs to be pitied. Shouko is also hard to anger and slow to cry, as she has endured a long, painful life; with her mother aside leaving her grandmother to take care of the Nishimiya sisters.
Shouko cares deeply for those around her and rather than blaming the world and people that have hurt her, she blames herself. It has been clearly stated that Shouko hates herself and fears that she is useless. She knows she has been such a burden to Naoka as classmates, and tries to reconnect her ties and help Naoka and all she has 'tainted'.
Plot
Grade School
Shouko was a transfer student in the class of Ishida Shouya. Everyone is surprised seeing her talking through written words in her notebook and told them that she is deaf (online translation). Shouya thought that she was weird and uttered it loud surprising everyone.
As the class progresses, everyone's treatment to Shouko was fine at first. But later on, most of the people around her were making efforts to help her making Shouya think she was slowing the class down. It was when their teacher calls for her during recitation and it was stalling them because she needed to write her answer first since she cannot speak properly. The students around her had to write what the teacher says usually what to answer on their textbook. Usually, it is either Kawai Miki or Ueno who were doing the job.
Everyone started to feel that she let them down after they lost to a choral competition. This started Shouya's pranks because of her weird reaction towards people who act as if they cared when they erased the insults about Shouko but were actually the ones responsible for it.
The bullying started when Shouya read like Shouko during recitation. It was followed when he shouted behind her, thinking she was just pretending to be deaf.
The bullying worsened after Shouko either lost or broke eight of her hearing aids, pushing her mother to consult the principal regarding the matter. After Shouya was identified as the main bully and got bullied by the rest of the class, unknown to him, Shouko wiped his desk full of insults every morning. And at the moment Shouya snapped at Shouko's weird reactions, she brawled with him with a happy expression. After that incident, she transferred.
High School
Shouko was surprised when Shouya looked for her and ran. But after he tripped and fell, she took his hand and wrote "WHY" on his hand, wondering why he came to appear before her. She was more surprised when Shouya used sign language as he talked to her.
Their friendship began when Shouya jumped when she fell on the bridge by trying to catch her old notebook she used to communicate, that slipped out of her hand.
Relationships
Friends
Ishida Shouya
During Grade school, he was her main bully. But after they met again in High School, Shouya asked her to befriend him in which she agreed to. He helped her gather friends but Shouya was uneasy as they met their classmates in Grade School. Shouko then fell in love with Shouya and once confessed to him but he mislead the word "suki" (I love you) to "tsuki" (The Moon). In the end, Shouya wanted to be friends with her alone in which she felt guilty that he is feeling miserable. However, they both go through a series of life-changing events together, which changes both of their outlooks on life. At the end, in the graduation event, after fixing their friendship with the others, Shouko and Shouya are portrayed by going into a room taken by their hands, a metaphor that they will be together as a couple from now on.
Sahara Miyoko
Sahara voluntarily learned sign language and helped Shouko during Grade School but after she got bullied too, she stopped attending class until their graduation. Shouya helped Shouko find Sahara during High School as she felt responsible for Sahara getting bullied. When they met again, thanks to Shouya's efforts, they became friends and they always meet up with each other every Tuesday on the bridge.
Ueno Naoka
At first, Ueno was the one helping Shouko understand the class during Grade School but she started to hate Shouko after slowing down the class and lost the choir competition and became one of her bullies.
After meeting her again, Ueno admitted that despite trying to make up with her, she still hated her due to her foolish actions.
Kawai Miki
Kawai and Shouko were in good terms during Grade School and was never a part of the bullying, or so she says. During High School, Kawai was never in bad terms with Shouko but she sometimes did actions that left Shouko out of the group.
Tomohiro Nagatsuka
As Shouya's friend, Nagatsuka considered Shouko his friend and he supported Shouya with his relationship with Shouko.
Mashiba Satoshi
Mashiba interacted with Shouko in a normal way as he talked and laughed together with him. He helped Shouko on getting permission using the Suimon Elementary School for their film.
After seeing Shouko's actions, he realized his selfishness.
Shimada
He never directly bullied Shouko like how Shouya was. When Shouya fell from her apartment, He was the one who helped him get to the hospital and told Shouko not to tell him what he did.
Family
Nishimiya Yuzuru
Yuzuru is one of the only people aside from their grandmother whom has helped Shouko through her past/present. She is not frightened to stand up for her sister, as she would go as far as pushing people away such as bullies including the younger Shouya. She loves Shoko dearly and tries whatever she can do to also protect her.
Ms. Nishimiya Shouko and her unnamed mother, who is just known as Ms. Nishimiya, have a very distant mother and daughter relationship. Although Ms. Nishimiya does care about her daughters, she has a rather hard time expressing that emotion, for she works non-stop to provide for her loose family; she demanded when Shouko got a hair cut that it was to be a short cut like a boy's in order to make Shouko appear stronger and more intimidating. Once attempting to cut Shouko's hair herself Yuzuru distracted her family by cutting her own shoulder length hair to be the strong one their mother so desires. Eventually, her heart softens over the course of Shouya's reappearance after he has proven his change by helping her daughters and being there after Ms. Nishimiya's mother had passed away.
Nishimiya Ito The grandmother of both Shouko and Yuzuru is very close and more motherly to the both of them and still, shows extreme support for her own daughter who has locked herself away from the family. Ito showed a great amount of enthusiasm to teach both toddler Shouko and unborn Yuzuru sign language and once again take the burden of being a mother for her grandchildren.
Trivia
- Shouko (硝子) is another way of reading Garasu (硝子), meaning "glass".
- Shouko's blood type is A.
- Her birthday is on the 7th of June.
- Shouko and Shouya share the same nickname, Shou-chan.
- The user ID of her mail address nichinichisou0607@mokomo.ne.jp is a pun of the initial sounds of her name and a flower plant Madagascar periwinkle (日々草, nichinichisou in Japanese) plus her birth date.