Shino Can't Say Her Name

The transition to high school brings new routines, unfamiliar faces, tougher coursework, and a fresh set of instructors—a daunting shift for any teenager. For Shino Oshima, this milestone might have been a chance to step confidently into adulthood. Instead, her very first day takes a disastrous turn when she cannot even manage to speak her own name during homeroom introductions. From that moment on, she is reduced to a trembling mix of muteness and stammering, isolated by her peers and paralyzed by anxiety as she tries to navigate an unforgiving new environment. Yet hope emerges in an unlikely form: through the power of music and a handful of unexpected, complicated new companions, Shino slowly begins to find her voice.