10 Great Anime Films Of The 21st Century (That Aren't Studio Ghibli)

Having initially found a foothold in the industry with the television series The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya before graduating to a key team position on its bumper-length film adaptation The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya, Naoko Yamada had already proved adapt with the YA high school genre when she took charge of K-On! The Movie in 2011 - but all that experience built to an impressively arresting head with her adaptation of the manga series A Silent Voice.

After leading a campaign of harassment against new - and deaf - arrival Shoko in primary school that first ostracizes her - and subsequently him after he is found out - high-school student Shoya seeks to make amends between the pair once they move up to high school. The two, as social outcasts, slowly begin to bond against expectations - but for Shoya, redemption may ultimately be a bridge too far.

It's a particularly expressive exploration of the heightened status of adolescence, and a sensitively emotional one at that, unafraid to tackle the subjects of bullying, disability and self-loathing. Like Evangelion 2.0, it tackles the inner states of teenagedom with a moody honest - and it refuses to shortchange the innate melodrama it wrangles together. Yamada followed it up with another high-school drama, in the shape of Liz and the Blue Bird - but it's this effort that stands out from the crowd.