Shōya Ishida

Shōya Ishida (Japanese: 石田将也, Ishida Shōya) is the main protagonist of the slice-of-life manga A Silent Voice and its 2016 anime film adaptation of the same name. 
A former juvenile delinquent and school bully, Ishida was an aloof and easily-bored child who for a while was the main tormentor of a similarly-aged deaf girl named Shōko Nishimiya after she transferred over to his elementary school. Despite not being the sole source of her misery in grade school Ishida was particularly cruel towards her, occasionally to the point of physical violence, scarring Nishimiya both physically and mentally and eventually prompting her to transfer to another school. This in turn eventually resulted in him becoming a scapegoat for the entire class, with his friends all turning against him to protect themselves from the consequences of their own actions against Nishimiya.
By his mid teens, however, Ishida had become a mere shell of who he was in grade school, having completely isolated himself from all his peers over the years to the point of blocking out their faces in his mind. Plagued by self-hatred on account of his past actions Ishida began to suffer from a deep depression and suicidal ideation after realizing the sheer extent of his wrongdoing, and originally intended to commit suicide after tying up any loose ends and making amends with his former victim. Ishida’s will to carry on living is unexpectedly rekindled after Nishimiya accepts his offer of friendship, however, and he finds himself set on a path towards redemption. With his plans now put on hold indefinitely, he strives to form a true bond with his former victim, hoping to atone for his past sins and return the happiness he had once taken from her by reconnecting her with old classmates whom she never had a chance to befriend.
He was voiced by and as a child in Japanese and and Ryan Shanahan as a child in English.
==Personality and traits==
In his elementary school days Ishida was a rambunctious and thrill-seeking yet narrow-minded and inconsiderate child who enjoyed pulling pranks and going on so-called "tests of courage" with his two friends, Kazuki Shimada and Keisuke Hirose; these tests entailed dangerous acts such as jumping off local bridges into the river below and were intended to stave off their chronic boredom. Although popular and well-liked among his classmates Ishida began to display a more devious side to his character, however, after the deaf transfer student Shōko Nishimiya started attending their elementary school. Much like most of the other children in the class Ishida slowly began to see her as a weird and unnecessary burden for the class despite her best intentions, and started bullying her while his friends all egged him on. 
The bullying carried on over the course of the following months and reached its climax after a physical altercation broke out between Ishida and Nishimiya, with the latter transferring out of the school not long afterwards. Over time Ishida's friends also began to turn against him in an attempt to save their own skins, denying any involvement in Nishimiya's bullying and instead singling him out as the sole perpetrator. In turn, Ishida's formerly carefree life began to take a downward turn, with seemingly everyone he knew systematically abandoning and ostracizing him all throughout middle and high school. 
By the time he reached his senior year of high school, Ishida had become a completely different person to who he was before, now struggling with crippling depression and loneliness. Despite his contempt for others Ishida hated himself most of all for what he did to Nishimiya in their childhoods, and begins to work tirelessly to make up for the mistakes of his past after reconsidering committing suicide. Ishida holds a high degree of respect and love for his mother, and prior to encountering Nishimiya again he spent five years earning back the 1.7 million yen she withdrew from her bank account to repay Nishimiya's mother for the hearing aids he broke, indicating just how deep-seated his self-hatred was as he felt that earning back that money was him paying her back for all the misery he caused her. 
In order to face Nishimiya once more he decided to teach himself Japanese sign language, self-studying it to a point of high proficiency in order to eventually apologize to her for his past actions.
== Navigation ==
pl:Shōya Ishida
Category:Male
Category:Honorable
Category:Anime Heroes
Category:Manga Heroes
Category:Teenagers
Category:Neutral Good
Category:In Love
Category:Mentally Ill
Category:Unwanted
Category:Selfless
Category:Successful
Category:Jerks
Category:Nurturers
Category:Protectors of Innocence
Category:Siblings
Category:Guardians
Category:Kids
Category:Arrogant
Category:Protectors
Category:Insecure
Category:The Hero
Category:Internet Heroes
Category:Bond Protectors
Category:Chaotic Good
Category:Thrill-Seekers
Category:Rescuers
Category:Tragic
Category:Suicidal
Category:Reluctant Heroes
Category:Movie Heroes
Category:Determinators
Category:Misguided
Category:Scapegoat
Category:Honest
Category:Sympathetic
Category:Loyal