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I refuse to accept such a score! I refuse to agree with the masses! Goblin Slayer is underrated and here is WHY!

Right off the bat we start with a strong opening episode that tells us "this is no lighthearted adventure and all bad stuff happens". It's not a matter of being edgy, it's a matter of telling a story the right way! The dude has trauma, well justified trauma, nothing is wrong with the main character and side characters as far as I can see. If you want to be so picky about everything here then you might as well become a housemaid for all ... I care.

The story itself manages to do a great job at building suspense, expectations as well as subverting those expectations. It actually includes character development along with a little bit of world building that's done well. Or well enough for my standards (which are rather high (please ignore my current top scores, they are long since incorrect)). Also, the pacing is on point, so that's that.

Voice actors and actresses did a magnificent job. Not only do the voices represent characters well, they also match their looks for the most part. I guess that's what you would expect from studio with a good reputation. The animation is mostly on point excluding some out of place looking CG armor, but it blends in well enough to not distract your from watching. Sound design is also nice, it doesn't feel artificial at all.

TL;DR In short it's a really well done anime that manages to drag you into the world and feel sympathy for the characters despite being so dark and somewhat cheerful at the same time. You could describe it as life honestly.

This is a spoiler-free review.

First things first, this is my first review, so don't expect much, but I just can't not review this right now while my feelings and memory are still fresh. Truth be told, this is the very first anime movie that made me feel emotions this strongly, even Kimi no Na wa (Your Name) didn't manage to do that. I am rating this movie as a separate piece of art, just a movie. I am not rating it as an adaptation and I am not comparing this to the manga (which I haven't read).

Story 9/10
It's by no means heartwarming! It's a damn ... roller coaster! Just so you know, Koe no Katachi tackles dark, but everyday feelings and stories of young and not so young people. It has a meaning. Every action leads to reaction. Whatever characters did in the past, whatever they are doing right now. Although there are some things I am not satisfied with, it's not that big of a deal when you take into account a whole movie. Personally speaking, it is heavy on the heart. It's not often that I react with strong feelings to a movie or a show (last time I reacted this strongly was when watching Houseki no Kuni [Land of the Lustrous], and excluding anime it was in 2009 when I watched Wall-E [I was 10 at the time]).

Art 10/10
It's gorgeous, honestly speaking it's more in the direction of cute than realistic, but there is a fine balance between those 2. It also helps in relating to characters and conveying feelings of the characters in the movie. There are some parts where things are inconsistent, but it only happened once or twice and it didn't really bother me.

Sound 10/10
Music - I love it. In fact I love it so much that I am gonna go map the song of one scene in osu! right now. You know it's great music when it evokes feelings within you, you know it's great when listening to it after watching the movie makes you feel the same when you felt while watching the movie, although I can't speak for myself right now, since I am writing this review instantly after I finished watching it. As for sfx (sound effects), it's the same like with any other good anime or movie, they didn't screw up and there wasn't anything I picked up on as "artificial" or "not sounding right".

Characters 9/10
I can relate a lot to both main characters, whether it's about feelings of the one who bullied (since those feelings are not only related to bullying) or about personal feelings of the bullied one. They are written well, well enough to satisfy me at least. Although you can see inconsistencies and sometimes makes you wonder "but what about this and that", it's not something that bothersome. Feelings of the characters are conveyed so well that at the end of watching the movie, you know how they felt and why.

Enjoyment 10/10
Again, it's a damn roller coaster of feels, but the enjoyment remains. Despite how heavy this movie was, the ending left me with satisfaction.

Overall 10/10
I am willing to ignore some inconsistencies for the sake of rating it 10/10 honestly. I can't help but love the movie, and don't really know how to convey my feelings to people reading this review, because just praising it like I did is still not enough to say how much I love it.

The reason why I love this movie is not only because I can relate in some way to main characters, but also because you can feel some depth in them. They don't feel two dimensional or anything, the feel like fully fleshed out real people with real problems. This is what really lacks in many anime, manga, light novels and movies I have watched and read until now. If you want to watch something compelling, something that will make you think about the past, about meaning of your actions and many other things, then Koe no Katachi is for you.