Movie plot

The movie starts in the middle of the life of the high school student Shoya Ishida. He intends to commit suicide but changes his mind in the last second. He recalls his elementary school days and how he came to that point in his life. A new student transferred to his elementary school. It's a girl and she informed the class that she is deaf. Because of that, she needed much help with things and her classmates quickly got annoyed. Shoya and his friends started to bully her. When word of the bullying reached the principal, Shoya was singled out as the culprit by his teacher and friends. Shoya blamed Shoko, and the two got into a fight. Shoko transferred to another school and the class's bullying was directed towards him. In middle school, he became an outcast because of his reputation as Shoko's bully.

Now in high school, he has fallen into a depression and can't look people in the eyes. Shoya makes friends with Tomohiro Nagatsuka after Shoya helps him with a bully. Shoya visits Shoko in the sign language center and reveals that he has learned sign language. He asks her if they can be friends and the two begin meeting at a bridge to feed koi fish. One day Shoko's notebook falls into the river below the bridge and they jump in to get it, which is forbidden. A picture of Shoya jumping in the river was posted online leading to him being suspended. As it turns out the person who took and posted the picture was Shoko's sister Yuzuru. She wanted to get revenge on him.  Shoya finds Yuzuru, who ran away from home, and brings her to stay at his house. When she leaves in the middle of the night, Shoya follows and they make up. They reunite with Miyoko Sahara a classmate who was always friendly to Shoko. Shoko buys Shoya a gift and tells him that she has feelings for him, but because she tried to speak and not sign what she wants to say, Shoya doesn't understand her.  Shoya invites Shoko to an amusement park with Tomohiro, Miyoko, Miki Kawai (another classmate from elementary school), and Satoshi Mashiba (Miki's friend). There, they meet another classmate from elementary school, Naoka Ueno, who drags Shoko into a Ferris wheel. There Naoka tells Shoko that she hates her and blames her for everything that happened. Yuzuru secretly recorded everything and shows the video to Shoya. Miki strongly believes that she had no part in bullying Shoko and exposes Shoya's past to the students who were oblivious to it. Later she tries to apologize but Shoya blows everyone off. Shoya learns that Shoko's and Yuzuru's grandmother died and tries to cheer them up. Shoko tells him that she blames herself for everything that has happened to him and he decides to devote his entire social life to the sisters.

During a fireworks festival, Shoko goes home, saying she needs to do homework. Shoya follows her after Yuzuru asked him if he could get her camera. When he arrives he sees Shoko standing on a balcony, attempting to commit suicide. Shoya can pull her back up but he himself falls into the river below the balcony. He is rescued by his best friends from elementary school but slips into a coma. Shoko wants to help Shoya and starts meeting up with each of the group members and explains their situation. One night Shoko has a nightmare in which Shoya says his farewell to her. She wakes up and runs to the bridge where she bursts into tears. Meanwhile, Shoya awakens from his coma and stumbles to the bridge where he finds Shoko. He apologizes to her and tells her that he once considered taking his own life but decided against it. Shoya then asks Shoko if she can help him continue to live. After Shoya is stable again he goes to the school festival where he realizes how much his friends actually care for him. During the festival, he is finally able to look people in the face again. He looks around himself and starts crying.