Shouya Ishida

The protagonist of the story. Blood type A.

In his elementary school days, Shouya was an immature and rough leader-type boy who was poor at communication. Out of curiosity, he bullied Shouko, who was deaf. He originally had a strong dislike for boredom and had a bad habit of testing his courage by jumping into rivers or picking fights with those bigger than him. The bullying of Shouko was merely an extension of this behavior, but it went too far, leading to a class trial where he was condemned by his classmates.

After the class trial, Shouya fell to the lower ranks of the school caste and began to be bullied by the classmates he was once close with. In contrast, he realized the kindness of Shouko, who, despite being bullied and even getting into physical fights with him, never abandoned him and tried to be his friend. However, it was too late, as Shouko had already transferred to another school. During his middle school years, he became completely isolated and distrustful of people, and even when he advanced to a prestigious high school, he closed his heart due to his past sins (seeing X marks on the faces of classmates and school staff, with some exceptions). After repaying the cost of the hearing aids that his mother had covered, he contemplated suicide (but reconsidered after becoming friends with Shouko).

In an effort to apologize and express gratitude to Shouko, Shouya taught himself sign language while searching for her. Finally, five years later, he reunites with Shouko, now a high school senior.

After their reunion, Shouya feels a sense of mission to restore the happy elementary school days he took from Shouko and tries to devote himself to her. However, this also means facing the awareness of his past sins, self-denial, and trauma, which is a painful process.

Both Shouko and Ueno have feelings for him, but he is unaware of this, and initially, he is unable to confront his own feelings for Shouko.

During the filming of a movie planned by Nagatsuka, Shouya becomes paranoid, suspecting that Kawai has spread rumors about his past bullying of Shouko (which was true, as Kawai did reveal Shouya's past to the class), worsening his relationships with those around him. When Shouko attempts suicide due to the stress of the situation, Shouya successfully saves her but falls himself, ending up in a coma for a time. Upon recovering, he seeks out Shouko, they express their feelings to each other, and they begin to move past their history together.

In the main story, he lives with his mother, sister, niece, and Maria. By the final chapter, at age 20, his brother-in-law Pedro also lives with them. Their home is a barbershop called "HAIR MAKE ISHIDA," run solely by his mother. Shouya plans to become a barber and take over the family business.

According to the author, "He is depicted as a reflection of myself. I can't make Ishida do anything I haven't felt, thought, or been able to do."