Shōya Ishida

Shōya was once the bully of Shōko Nishimiya during sixth grade, a fact he grows to deeply regret and struggles to come to terms with as he befriends Shōko several years later. Shōya attempts to overcome his own self-hatred and doubts as his friendship with Shōko continues to blossom, gathering new and old friends along the way. However, he is forced to confront the worst aspects of them and himself, ultimately creating bonds that push him to be a better person

In his youth, Shōya lived life in a constant war against boredom, often acting rowdy and mischievous in an effort to keep himself amused. Although not a completely immoral child, his stubborn pursuit of entertainment led him to become the primary bully of Shōko Nishimiya during sixth grade. Shōya failed to realize how cruel his treatment of her was due to his inability to understand or empathize with her or her hearing disability. After facing the consequences of his actions for the next five years, Shōya has become a very isolated and self-loathing person in his late teens. He has grown to deeply regret his past actions and believes himself to be unworthy of happiness. Even after befriending Shōko, Shōya is very self-critical and doubtful at first, unsure if his desire to be her friend is genuine or if he’s trying to satisfy himself. He is also shown to be quite dense to the feelings of himself and others, having outbursts of anger or crying without knowing why.

Shōya proves himself to be a kind and empathetic person at his core, becoming very close with several people he would have never expected himself to. He’s passionate about the people he cares about, often willing to disregard himself if it means helping them or making them happy, best seen in his bonds with Shōko and Yuzuru Nishimiya. Although he still struggles to forgive himself, Shōya has learned to better trust himself and the people around him, slowly but surely opening himself back up to the world. He’s become a better person since his childhood, with his best self shining through the bonds he’s made over time.

Shoya's hair and face have remained mostly the same, though he has grown very tall within five years. He stands at 6 feet, making him noticeably taller than nearly everyone around him. The only exception to this is Miyoko Sahara, who stands at 5 '11 herself. Due to his height, Shōya’s physique appears slightly skinny, giving him a bit of a lanky appearance.

Shōya’s wardrobe is rather basic, consistently wearing variations of the same few outfits. Similar to his younger self, his casual attire consists of a black t-shirt, beige cargo pants, and sneakers. However, he will sometimes wear a black long sleeve or cargo shorts instead. Shōya’s other common outfit is his school uniform, consisting of a mocha brown blazer and dress pants, white dress shirt with black tie, and dark brown dress shoes. Sometimes, he’ll just wear his dress shirt and pants, without the blazer. He also continues to wear his clothes a bit messily, usually having the labels of his shirts sticking out or having one half of his dress shirt sticking out of his pants while the other half is tucked in. This visual choice is to indicate Shōya’s lack of understanding of himself and others.

Shōya Ishida is a teenage boy suffering from both major depressive disorder and an avoidant personality disorder (AVPD). He experiences both due to the immense guilt he feels for his deplorable treatment and bullying of Shouko when they were in elementary school.

Shōya Ishida, who bullies a deaf girl named Shoko Nishimiya in elementary school. The bullying is mainly driven by a lack of understanding and empathy on the part of Shoya and his peers, who view Shoko's deafness as a weakness