Photo/Illutration College student Tamaki Kabasawa, who served as a sign language model for “A Silent Voice,” shows how to sign “friend,” which has an important implication in the animated film, in Tokyo’s Setagaya Ward. (Yukiko Nagatomi)

When Tamaki Kabasawa served as a sign language model for the Kyoto Animation Co. film "A Silent Voice," she never imagined that she would one day find inspiration in her character's plight to overcome her own.

The hearing-impaired Tokyo college student expressed pride for her part in the film by the "Kyoani" studio, the target of an arson attack this summer that claimed 36 lives.

Kabasawa, 20, was a senior high school student when she became involved in the film, which focuses on hearing impairment and bullying and was worked on by many of those who died in the tragedy.

She said the work always inspires her when she feels isolated from her surroundings because of her disability, adding that prays the studio will recover and continue to produce animations.

Born with a hearing impairment, Kabasawa served as a sign language model for "A Silent Voice" at the encouragement of a sign language performance group she belonged to.

There is a scene in the movie in which a boy named Shoya bullies hearing-disabled Shoko. Kabasawa performed the character's sign language movements and standing positions in line with storyboards and other instructions from the studio while her actions were captured by cameras set up at four angles.

The studio produced the sequences based on the video footage to give the character greater realism.

About two years after the film's release, Kabasawa started feeling it had been her salvation.

As she was attending a school for the deaf when she joined the project, she said she "couldn't quite understand" Shoko's feelings when struggling to communicate with those without hearing impediments.

However, Kabasawa found herself surrounded by people with no hearing problems for the first time when she enrolled in college. She joined a dance club, but her movements were out of sync with her counterparts. She also had difficulty understanding what other people were saying and felt left out. Kabasawa soon found herself spending more time alone.

Feeling left out, Kabasawa started identifying herself with the character Shoko and broke down in tears when she watched the movie again.

During the story, reformed bully Shoya learns sign language to befriend Shoko, while she tries to continue communicating with him in writing, even though she still experiences bullying.

"It shows the importance of normal hearing and hearing-impaired people reaching a compromise," Kabasawa said. "Watching the movie made me think, 'I must continue to do my best.' I've also made friends at college who are interested in learning sign language."

Artists who worked on "A Silent Voice" were among the 36 victims of the arson attack.

They include Futoshi Nishiya, 37, a character designer who said on an official Twitter account: "Tenderness, determination, being pitiful and being honest. I tried to show the protagonists with various qualities"; color designer Naomi Ishida, 49; painter and special effects artist Sachie Tsuda, 41; and animator Atsushi Ishida, 31.

"(The loss) is so shocking that it is beyond imagination," Kabasawa said. "This film, worked on by individuals who died (in the arson attack), has inspired and will continue to inspire many people. It is to my intense pride that I played a part in it."