Koe no Katachi

Shoya is a bully. When Shoko, a girl who can't hear, enters his elementary school class, she becomes their favorite target, and Shoya and his friends goad each other into devising new tortures for her. But the children's cruelty goes too far. Shoko is forced to leave the school, and Shoya ends up shouldering all the blame. Six years later, the two meet again. Can Shoya make up for his past mistakes, or is it too late?

(Source: Kodansha Comics)

The main character and narrator. Ishida bullied Nishimiya Shouko in elementary school and when she transferred away, he was ostracized and bullied by his former friends. He started to ignore those around him (imagining them with a large X across their face) and was driven to the point of suicide. He changed his mind after he apologized to Nishimiya and began to spend time with her. He learned sign language specifically so he could apologize to her and is shown to be very talented in it. He feels like he hasn't been punished enough for bullying Nishimiya and often wishes he could kill his younger self. He seems resigned to the fact that he will never be able to have friends again.

Shouya Ishida

A young, deaf transfer student with an amazingly positive outlook on life. Despite being a victim of continuous bullying, she always keeps a smile on her face.  Later on in the manga, she tries to tell Ishida she loves him, but due to the fact that she can not hear, it comes out wrong and he is unable to understand what she is saying. Shouko attempts to commit suicide but is stopped by Ishida, who ends up falling off of the railing she jumped from and lands himself in the hospital, where he lay unconscious for a couple of days.

Shouko Nishimiya

Ishida's older sister. She is significantly older than him as she already graduated from college when he was still in elementary school.  Curiously, she is the only character with lines whose face is never seen; even her husband and daughter are shown and get more screen time than her. According to Ishida, his sister had dated numerous men, one of whom has a younger brother who was bullied by Ishida; this event probably led to his breakup with her. Later, she dated a Brazilian man named Pedro, this time, her relationship stuck and she had a daughter, Maria, with him. The final chapter reveals that she is expecting her second child with Pedro. (Source: Wikipedia)

Shoya's sister

A cold woman, who after catching a virus from her husband during pregnancy, left Nishimiya deaf. Her husband's family quickly filed for a divorce. When her husband left, she was pregnant with Yuzuru and her mother helped her raise both her daughters.  Eventually, she left her mother to care for the children permanently while she works—causing problems in her relationship with Yuzuru—not helped by the fact Yuzuru frequently skips school to take photos of dead animals. She made Nishimiya stay at the elementary school where she was bullied for so long in the hopes it would toughen her up and prepare her for how people would treat her. She planned to cut Nishimiya's hair like a boy to make her look tougher, but Yuzuru cut her own hair instead in protest. She hates Ishida and feels he can never atone for the happy school years he stole from her daughter. Upon seeing him again years after he left school, she slaps him; however, after her mother's death, she begins to warm up to Ishida and thanks him for being Yuzuru's friend. (Source: Wikipedia)

Yaeko Nishimiya

A girl from Ishida and Nishimiya's elementary school and the girl that Ishida was closest to at school. Ishida remembers her bossing him about and also being his main helper in bullying Nishimiya. After having separated from him since middle school graduation, Ueno runs into Ishida years later, herself now working in a cat café.   It is revealed that Ueno is in love with Ishida and originally picked on Nishimiya to impress him, however when she learned that Nishimiya was cleaning the offensive words off Ishida's desk before he could see them she convinced herself that Nishimiya also loved Ishida and was using her disability to get his attention, leading her to grow jealous and resentful toward Nishimiya. However, unlike Ishida, Ueno never learns her lesson and continues to hate and bully Nishimiya once she reconnects with her through Kawai and Sahara (whom she remained friends with). Ueno watched Ishida suffer through middle school—still being bullied for what he did to Nishimiya—and feels bad herself for being unable to do anything. She claims that their sadness, from her having to cut off contact with Ishida to him hating everyone, including her, has all been because of Nishimiya. In truth, however, Ueno is irritated because Nishimiya never defends herself whenever she is bullied, thinking her as a weak person because of this. Despite being within the group of friends, Ishida still imagines Ueno with an X over her face, showing his disgust with her, until after his release from hospital, after which Ueno is dragged by Sahara to become her assistant as a model. (Source: Wikipedia)

Naoka Ueno

A kind and loving single mother of Shouya and his older sister who owns a hair salon. She cares for her granddaughter Maria as well as Ishida and often lets Yuzuru stay around the house. She became disappointed upon learning that Ishida bullied Nishimiya and had to pay 1.7 million yen for all the hearing aids Ishida broke.  When Ishida pays her back with the intention of killing himself afterwards, she reveals that she had been aware of his plans and threatens to burn the money if he tries to kill himself again—leaving her with nothing. Unfortunately, she accidentally burns the money anyway.  After Ishida ends up in a coma, she becomes awkward around Nishimiya, despite trying to remain polite. (Source: Wikipedia)

Miyako Ishida

Ishida's young niece who lives with Ishida and his family. Maria is half-Japanese from her mother's side and half-Brazilian from her father's side.  She gains a constant wonder about the difference between things that are dead and alive after Ishida's fall and fearing he might be dead, Yuzuru takes it upon herself to teach her the difference—being an expert on the matter. (Source: Wikipedia)

Maria Ishida

Pedro

A short, fat and lonely boy who is a habitual liar. When someone tries to steal Nagatsuka's bike, Ishida offers his to be taken instead. Nagatsuka sees this act of kindness as a unbreakable act of friendship and swiftly becomes Ishida's self-proclaimed best friend and starts to idolize Ishida. He is shown to be quite obsessive and protective of Ishida and often dislikes him befriending other people. However, Nagatsuka is also supportive of Ishida and often offers advice. He has plans to become a millionaire, so is willing to hand out money to friends and is keen to become a film director—entering himself and Ishida into a film competition. It is shown both Ueno and Kawai find Nagatsuka repulsive, while Ishida is uncomfortable that Nagatsuka is so willing to take his side when he knows so little about him. Though his film proves to be a failure, this only made Nagatsuka resolved to take up film studies as his college subject.  (Source: Wikipedia)

Koe no Katachi Characters