Such a great movie. Just for context you follow the main character Shoya Ishida during his life while he bullies a deft girl in his childhood and all you want to do is put him in his place. After just short of 2 hours you are crying with him as a teenager after he overcomes the fear of looking people in the eyes and forgiving himself for his past sins.
As for Shouko Nishimiya she's just a sweet girl all the way through but with major psychological traumas not only from her bullying at school but also from her relationship with her mother. She feels like she's dragging everyone she cares about down and she's the reason they can't achieve happiness. This manifests in her always apologizing and allowing others to push her over.
After not seeing each other for a couple of years after Shoya bullied her in middle school she is terrified of him when they finally meet up. During the movie she ends up falling for him while he's trying to atone for his past behaviors but ultimately she can't shake off this feeling of still being a burden for other people while at the same time not being able to fully express her feelings and emotions to others. There's a very cute scene when she tries to say that she loves him but she ends up saying she likes the moon (similar words in japanese).
When I watched the movie I was on the edge of my seat during the 'fireworks scene' and the shear brilliance of the event changes in such a short amount of time.
This movie is a great example of the show don't tell mentality. Out of necessity for the plot of the movie or just pure genius of everyone that worked in this project this is a movie where we can learn so much from the characters movements, slight eye rolls and facial expressions. I also find it really powerful that they decided to keep the crosses on people's faces like in the manga symbolizing the fear of Shoya not being able to look people in the eyes.
Overall this is a very powerful story with amazing main characters and also very interesting and polished side characters. If there is one thing I could complain about this movie is that some of the side stories fell short due to time (It's understandable when trying to adapt a 7 volume manga into a 2 hour movie). In the manga the side stories are a little more polished and if you enjoyed the movie I recommend you to read the manga in order to fully experience all the side stories and understand a little bit better some of the characters motivations and state of mind.
Finally, the use of music and sound in this movie is second to none. The soundtrack is amazing and it really adds to the story. Even if you're someone that prefers reading the manga version I highly advise you to watch the movie for a completely different experience to an already familiar amazing story.