NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION INTERACTIONS BETWEEN SHOKO NISHIMIYA AND SHOYA ISHIDA IN THE ANIME FILM A SILENT VOICE: A ROLAND BARTHES SEMIOTIC ANALYSIS

Abstract

The anime A Silent Voice (Koe no Katachi, Kyoto Animation, 2016) constructed most of its narrative through nonverbal signs — sign language, facial expression, eye contact, and visual symbolism — in the interaction between Shoko Nishimiya, a deaf student who experienced bullying, and Shoya Ishida, her former bully who sought to make amends. Prior studies examined this film through a single character or a single theme in isolation, leaving the dyadic dynamics of nonverbal signs between the two characters underexplored as an interacting sign system. This study aimed to analyze how nonverbal signs in the dyadic interaction of Shoko and Shoya shaped their process of reconciliation, applying Roland Barthes' semiotic framework across three levels of signification: denotation, connotation, and myth. The study used a constructivist paradigm with a descriptive qualitative approach. Thirteen key scenes were selected through purposive sampling based on the presence of narratively significant sign language or gestures, shifts in emotional relations, and recurring or dramatically weighted visual symbols. The findings showed that nonverbal gestures evolved from patterns of violence and avoidance in the early scenes, toward renegotiation through sign language and reciprocal gestures, culminating in moments of crisis and emotional catharsis in the later scenes. These findings indicated that nonverbal signs in A Silent Voice functioned not merely as aesthetic decoration but as an active sign system that shaped the direction and quality of the characters' relationship, while also challenging prevailing social myths about disability and the responsibility for cross-difference communication.