Sorry 'Kimi no Na wa' but you have to admit defeat to 'Koe no Katachi'

Akhir pekan lalu saya menulis tweet yang isinya persis seperti judul tulisan ini, dan ternyata cukup memancing perdebatan dari beberapa orang yang tidak setuju Kimi no Na wa (alias Your Name, film animasi blockbuster Jepang yang saking hebohnya sampai mau dibuatkan versi Hollywood) saya anggap 'kalah' dari Koe no Katachi (judul internasional: A Silent Voice) film animasi lain yang rilis di periode tahun yang sama dan juga sangat well-received dan highly-praised. Bahkan sutradara Kimi no Na wa sendiri, Shinkai Makoto, memberikan apresiasi sangat positif terhadap Koe no Katachi melalui akun Twitter pribadinya.

Begini tulisan lengkap saya di Twitter:

"Sorry Kimi no Na wa, but you have to admit defeat to Koe no Katachi. Kimi no Na wa is good, with a touch of cultural beliefs, sci-fi and supernatural aspect and all that stuff but Koe no Katachi is far more emotionally resonant. For some people, the aftermath thought post-watching Koe no Katachi is, "Maybe it's okay for me to live" and it's not something you get after watching the other movie."

The first complain-slash-question came to me was, "Is it fair to compare those two when Koe no Katachi is more 'realistic' and Kimi no Na wa is a supernatural story?" and first of all I'd like to say that it's totally fair. Both are coming-of-age stories (and Kimi no Na Wa is not exactly a supernatural tale; it just has that aspect in its plot) with top-class writing and execution. That first question was followed with, "If you prefer something over another because it makes you more emotional and you say it's the best then your judgment is biased".

Alright. The reason I put Koe no Katachi above Kimi no Na wa, and why the first movie feels more personally important to me, is not simply because it makes me 'cry more'. The emotional bonding comes from how far I can relate to the characters, the familiarity of the situation they are facing, how the movie feels like it directly speaks to me. What causes Koe no Katachi to win my heart and judgment as the better piece is the intensity and depth of experience it gives me as I witness every rolling scene; with Kimi no Na wa, I feel like I'm being told an awesome story―but with Koe no Katachi, it's more like I am in the story. When a work manages to resonate deep inside you and becomes so much meaningful, isn't it the most important thing? The art of filmmaking bears no resemblance with that of science or mathematics. Biased or not, personal review will always consider how much you're emotionally engaged with works in discussion. Otherwise, you only will be talking about technical stuffs or stats. And honestly, why should I care about such coldhearted review?

Human relationship is a messy thing, and Koe no Katachi portrays it very, very well. Ishida Shouya, the protagonist who lives with the shadow of his past mistakes haunting him and attacking relentlessly like a bad Karma, struggles to find his place in this world, to repent every wrongdoing he has done, and to rebuild whatever he has destroyed. It's all connected to a girl with hearing disability named Nishimiya Shouko, who was once his classmate during sixth grade of elementary school. Each scene since the first five minutes feels like a stab piercing my heart―how easy it is for somebody to be misunderstood, the hurdles someone must go through just to convey their feelings and thoughts to another person, how cruel, unsympathetic, and ignorant kids can sometimes be, also how forgiveness may come in various forms. Somehow, I can see a part of me, or people I know―no matter how tiny that part is―in every character. They are so human it's almost a painful reminder. 

Koe no Katachi is not an ambitious movie. What makes it more precious to me, if it's even possible, is that Koe no Katachi acknowledges that sometimes, a person can't live only for him/herself. There are those who need other people as reasons to be alive. There are times when you can only keep going because someone else's existence becomes your motivation. And that is completely alright. 

Saya tidak keberatan jika ada yang merasa Kimi no Na wa lebih baik, atau mengatakan Koe no Katachi overhyped, hingga membosankan. Namun bagi saya, Koe no Katachi adalah sebuah film yang sangat penting―dan perlu diingat bahwa tidak sekalipun saya mengatakan Kimi no Na wa jelek atau tidak layak digemari. It is not exactly a 'fun watch', I must admit, not when it keeps my throat dry and chest heavy with burdening feelings for nearly the whole 130 minutes. Nonetheless, Koe no Katachi pulls, absorbs, drags me in and refuses to let go. If this is called 'biased judgment' anyway, then I will go ahead and earnestly call this piece an excellent achievement in modern Japanese animation.

Sorry, Kimi no Na wa. You are now officially dethroned.

z. d. imama