Several years have passed since the end of The Great War. As the radio tower in Leidenschaftlich continues to be built, telephones will soon become more relevant, leading to a decline in demand for "Auto Memory Dolls." Even so, Violet Evergarden continues to rise in fame after her constant success with writing letters. However, sometimes the one thing you long for is the one thing that does not appear.
Violet Evergarden Movie follows Violet as she continues to comprehend the concept of emotion and the meaning of love. At the same time, she pursues a glimmer of hope that the man who once told her, "I love you," may still be alive even after the many years that have passed.
[Written by MAL Rewrite]
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Comentários
TCTriangle
I have to personally give this film a 7/10. It's still far better than average, but the ending misses the mark entirely for me. I will state my reasons below, first in a spoiler-free section and then in a spoiler section. Before I begin, full disclaimer that I have NOT read the novel, and so the source of my complaint is not "it is different from the original so it sux0rZ!!1!". I am simply giving my thoughts on the story progression and why I was so let down. Spoiler-free section: First, let me start off by saying that I loved a lot about this movie. The voice-acting wason-point, not just from Violet's actress, but also her boss Hodgins, and even side characters they introduce as one-offs in the movie. No complaints whatsoever about any of the performances. The animation was the usual golden standard from Kyoto Animation - breathtaking at parts, and exactly what we've come to expect over the years. The soundtrack is no slouch, either. The orchestra works well as it has done in the TV series and previous "Gaiden" movie, and the ending song from True fits very well within the film's atmosphere and emotions.
So, if all those elements were perfect or near-perfect, what kept the movie from the perfect 10/10, or even a 9 or 8 for me? 2 words: "the ending" - arguably the most important part of any story that seeks to be emotionally satisfying. The last 20 minutes of the film were extremely underwhelming for me, try as the film did to make me emotionally satisfied with the conclusion to Violet's story. Now I can't go into the details without spoilers, but suffice it to say that, speaking for myself, I saw it as a disappointing end to Violet's character arc. Not only was it wholly predictable, leaning on some of the most cliche tropes used in media, but it also (in my personal opinion) betrayed a lot of the character development and buildup for Violet throughout the anime series. I found myself thinking, "oh god, they're not going in that direction, are they?" right before the climax of the film, but lo and behold, they went in that direction.
Well, now that I've outlined my big complaint without spoilers, I'll get into the meat of it.
---SPOILERS SECTION---
Throughout the anime series, Violet learns through her chosen profession what it means to be independent, what it means to feel, what it means to love. Violet started out as a robotic, emotionally damaged literal doll who could not function without orders from a superior officer. Throughout her encounters across the land writing letters for various clients, each with their own story arc, and interacting with the supporting cast at her workplace, Violets learns to think for herself, to act on her own desires, and, slowly but surely, understand what it means to feel "love."
Now, some people may argue that this was all leading up to Violet reuniting with Gilbert, telling him "I love you," and living happily ever after with her former commanding officer-turned-lover. And those people will find this fairy tale ending perfectly satisfying - the ship is complete. Nothing more to say.
But thinking back on the TV series, I can't help but question, "Really, is that all it was this whole time? A long, roundabout romance story?" Because if that's all this was, then I must say that I've given more credit to the emotional maturity of this series than I should have. Forgive me if I sound harsh, but I think I've spend way too much time with Violet on her journey, looking on as if I was growing and maturing with an old friend, to simply be given an "and they lived happily ever after" ending, with no strings attached, complete with the "dash to the port/airport" cliche and the "jump off the boat to rush to shore and embrace lover" cliche.
Even if it is implied that Violet has grown as a person and changed from the Violet who fought under Gilbert out of dependency to a Violet who chooses to be with Gilbert out of love, it still makes her character completely revolve around one person, and boils her storyline down to "girl reunites with boy after being separated after war."
Gilbert understood that Violet would again dedicate everything to her old master if he returned to her life, and that's why he hid out in the middle of nowhere all this time. So why, after sticking to this decision for years, did he have a change of heart in one moment with just one letter? Was he that fickle? Did he not think things through when he decided to play dead? Was he just horny? It just doesn't make any sense.
And we are led to believe that Violet grew old and died peacefully with the same man who she had supposedly become independent from, who supposedly was no longer the sole thing about which her world revolved? The ending just becomes a more emotionally unsatisfying mess the more I think about it. It's as if the director/writer said, "Look, I know Violet has matured a lot over the years, but she needs a happily-ever-after ending with Gilbert no matter what happened in between. That's what the audiences want and expect, so that's what we'll give them. Oh, and let's throw in a scene of Violet bawling her eyes out while hugging Gilbert in there so the audience will feel happy for her."
I'm going to stop here before it becomes a rant, but needless to say, if the ending had been more nuanced, less cliched, and given Violet (and the audience) more credit, I think the movie could have been a perfect 10/10. But as is, I cannot, because the straightforward ending simply did not live up to the quality of everything that came before. Still a solid movie besides the ending, so 7/10 overall.
Slippery09
The Violet Evergarden Movie is a huge disappointment in term of what it means for violet as a character. The ending to this movie does a complete 180 on violet journey as a character. Violet regresses back to a lesser form of herself by the end of the movie and it's depressing to see. Too see Violet who are the start of her journey felt incomplete without gilbert and said her life had no meaning beside being his "tool". Too someone by the end of the story who understood what love meant through its form of friendship, partners, and family. While also finding a careerthat fulfilled her, friends she could rely on, a father figure through Hodgins. Too see her literally throw away all she gains just so she can be on some island in the middle of nowhere with gilbert. This just felt like a spit in the face of her journey as she reverts back to square one. The movie makes it clear that gilbert all violet needs to be happy but that shouldn't be all that she deserves. Violet journey sadly by the end of movie meant almost nothing as she reverts to someone that feels like gilbert is her master.
-Pharos-
THIS REVIEW IS SPOILER-FREE As the death-causing waves of COVID-19 continue to encounter all parts of the globe, one may understand how lackluster the world is without theatre movies - one of the most recreational industries of humankind. The fact that no movies were produced, or even recorded, for 5 or 6 months really hits the industry into its core, and casts a big doubt on its survival. Luckily, the debut of several movies during this crisis has just confirmed that the community has its capability to overcome the difficulties. And to be honest, it was much more outstanding than I've ever imagined. The latest movie of DemonSlayer was a good example, a remarkable debut and a truly wonderful cure for the whole community indeed. Everyone is talking about it, everyone is hoping this will act as a catalyst for more to come out.
I'm not an exception of this, but to be honest my intention was left on something else, something that may truly helps me gain back my fading interest...
Violet Evergarden Movie.
I have just finished it with my warming tears hooking on my face all along at the theater. I didn't even remember where was the last time I cried so much like this...
Where should I start with...
The story was introduced in a quite unfamiliar way, which may distract or confuse viewers a bit thereafter. But from my perspective, it acts as a guide for the whole story to be smoothly displayed and thereby more easily grabs their intention. As the story continues to progress, you'll have the chance to meet both new and appeared characters, each will leave a mark on the story as a whole.
What I love most in this plot is that everything was set and done exquisitely, a proper pace we've all seen in this franchise to a decent amount of time separated for each scene to develop and expand the story, and the position flashback scenes which makes viewers cry so bad. Such great works KyoAni have finished, that every words, every expressions and actions matter.
Several friends of mine told me that the plot was what they did not found difficult to predict, and surprisingly they were right. It was indeed a drawback of this movie where the actions and conversations at the beginning indicated way too many details, which should have better been revealed in the middle or later of the story. Having said that, when the final phase of the movie was displayed and as your delicate heart were already step-by-step melted, it shattered yours and in the meantime pushed the whole story into a breathtaking finale.
The BGM and SFX of this movie is, from my perspective, the most successful and indispensable part of it. Old OSTs were played all along the movie, which really hit me with nostalgia and fill me up with fresh feelings that I've been new to for ages. The sounds of nature, the birds, the river, the waves of the ocean, the sadness in rainy scenes were absolutely incredible. Crucial conversations were remarkably emphasized by wonderful soundtracks at the beginning but then just relied on characters' voice soon after, which makes them more genuine and in a more aesthetic viewpoint. And of course, why should not I mention the appearance of "Michishirube" at the end of the movie, which was somehow sounded way much better than any versions and in any situations in the anime series.
And not to forget the visuals, still as outstanding as usual. The characters were beautifully designed, each of whom possessed a unique look as well as a distinguished way of understanding and acting. And how about the landscapes? They are all delicately polished to the smallest details, which gave them a more real and lively look, as to highlight the meaning of each scene taken spot on them.
The conclusion of the movie is something I adore so much, but the point is that I've never read the novel so it's not objective to say which one is better. To be honest, a happy ending is all I wanted after being shredded in pieces by the story and my own feelings, and I appreciated that they did not disappoint me... However, the changing of the sky color in the final part was something unrealistic. What I mean by that is, the way they changed the sky color in order to emphasized the contents (as it shifted from day to dawn then dust relatively) was quite unusual and not as successful as they expected it to be.
The movie, even though not flawless, is still something real authentic and fresh that may drive our feelings through this crisis. It's not actually the one that marks the return of KyoAni after its 2019 tragedy, but it's believed that Violet Evergarden Movie will set a high standard for any movies coming out after it.
So, if you feel life is boring and want something fresh, or you are desperate for more anime after you hyped up with Demon Slayer movie, then this is the one for you. I won't add any further details that may ruin your feelings or your expectations, I'm just here to firmly tell you that the movie is amazing and you should give it a try.
Take a deep breath, close your eyes, let the music flow in your mind and take you along until the very end of the journey.
LacrimaMosa666
Holy shit. Coming to Japan in order to watch this movie was one of my best decisions this year. Mere month after I've seen final Fate/stay night Heaven's Feel movie I come back this time to Kyoto. Is it better than super hit from ufotable? It doesn't matter actually, I'm speechless. And in love. TV series has few flaws, plot pretty bland and predictable, simplified to the border. But I still loved it, because all these things weren't actually problematic as Violet Evergarden never pretended to be something else than beautiful story about understanding what love is. And it was damn beautiful. And this movietook it whole level up.
STORY: 8
So how this 140 minutes long movie looks compared to its prequel? Well, much, much better. It went full melodrama mode. Movie pick up the story basically where 2018 TV show left. Violet is unable to forget about Gilbert and don't want to believe he's gone forever. Even everyone told her to move on. The MAL synopsis doesn't give much justice to the actual movie plot, but on the other hand... it's somewhat perfect. This nearly two-and-a-half hour long movie throws us pretty fast in the story and it's damn hard to avoid spoilers at this point. Enough tho say, that Violet herself is at her limit and anything can broke her faith and feelings she just learned to understand. As for romantic melodrama pacing is damn fast and story and directing doesn't give much time to process the story. But it ain't flaw, actually it's better for the plot and it's heartbreaking twists. Trust me, even with no spoilers, you'll need napkins. This movie doesn't take prisoners, you'll cry. Especially changes towards Light Novel went even deeper than in TV series. And I'm happy of that, especially when it comes to the finale. Trust me, you can expect suprises, even tho it's still bit predictable. But it was to be expected. It's Violet Evergarden at her finest.
ART: 10
Honestly, this movie is fucking breathtaking. KyoAni did another masterwork, quality of animation is just speechless. Such a beauty, starting from flawless and even more enhanced character designs, throught amazingly animated action and dynamic scenes, finishing on backgrounds and planning. Animation is flawless, smooth and better than ever. Colours, quality, shadows, all location and character designs is just top of the top notch. If it comes to animation this year, no one can stand next to this masterfully crafted work, except ufotable of course. And even that, it's extremely hard to compare this animation to anything I've ever seen. Work of pure art, such a beauty that leaves you literally speechless. KyoAni outdone themselves.
SOUND: 10
It's KyoAni, sound quality is over the top. Perfectly synced, beautifully fitting every second of this movie. All-star seiyuu squad did work of the year, next to final F/sn movie, can't actually decide which is better. Voicing is perfect, leaves no doubt that it's real piece of art. There's soul and love in every dialogue, feelings and power is everywhere, it's a work full of dedication and understanding. Both, for characters and audience. Then we have beautifully crafted atmosphere, world is full of life and ambient sounds are just perfect. And finally we have soundtrack. Evan Call outshine himself once again, music is beautiful, very soft, but at the same moment powerful. It's extremely well fit the melodramatic atmosphere and works both, as perfect piece of work that hit you straight into heart and separate album, will get it asap.
CHARACTER: 9
As before, this movie stands mostly on characters. But this time psychological portraits are deeper and much more detailed. Violet struggling with herself, her feelings, beliefs and past even more than before. It can be truly heartbreaking at one point. This time Dietfried, Gilbert's brother received much more screen time and his character is much deeper and more clarity than before. Finally we can completely understand him, his pain and he went throught. In the past and now. Fortunately rest of the supporting characters got just enough time and plot to actually, unlike the TV series, be much more important to both, Violet and audiences. I mean that this time every important character, starting from Claudia finishing on Cattleya have important task and deepened characteristics and psychological portrait. It's a huge step forward comparing to the prequel and deserves praise. This time characters are on the first plane, including the most important one next to Violet.
ENJOYMENT: 9
The movie heavily plays on the feelings, even more that TV series. But taking whole melodrama to another level it was pretty predictable. Enjoyment is top notch, but can be literally painful at some point. Before you visit your nearest cinema, ensure you have enough tissues on you. I'll not spoil anything, but it's Violet Evergarden, so trust me, you'll need them. Enjoyment overall is great, you'll sit on the edge of your seats, you'll feel, laugh and cry with the characters. And you'll love Violet even more than before. Such a powerful chatacter. Once again she's having literally whole production on her shoulders, but this time, there's no flaws. Enjoyment, even hurtful sometimes is outstanding. It's a perfect entertainment. And perfect sequel, without a doubt it's the best return for KyoAni after the tragedy. Beautiful.
OVERALL: 10
It's 10. Second best anine movie I've seen this year. Extremely poignant, beautifully crafted, with beautiful, bit predictable, but still satisfying plot. It's an perfect example of closing a story and hitting deep into soul of its viewer. This anime movie is not only the best closure for the story, but actually is better in everything than its prequel TV series. It's deep, touching and full of extremely different feels. Will leave you speechless, shocked and ultimately satisfied, even if you didn't like prequel. KyoAni managed to achieve something very rare, they delivered satisfying, amazingly crafted epilogue to this story that's actually better than ever before. 140 minutes long runtime gives perfect amount of time to answer all unanswered questions, to deliver beautiful romance and extremely touching story. It's a masterpiece on its own rights. And beautiful tribute to all these people that died in this awful fire. Is it better than final Fate movie? Probably not, but it manages to stand next to it like equal. Terrible year for humanity, but great year for anime. This is how you craft masterpieces, even if you don't agree. Beauty.
Long live Kyoto Animation.
And get bloody tissues, you'll need them.
Luna_Lolita_Chan
I hated the movie. Violet evergarden was supposed to be a show about grief, then acceptance. the real stages you go through after someone dies. I Frist watched this on Netflix, after the death of my father, he had cancer so much like violet, me and my mother had to watch him die slowly. the "violet evergarden: the movie" wasn't on their. I could relate to this show due to a similar circumstance. and I can say, I went through a lot of her stages. I never watched the movie until re-watching the show with a friend, we used a free anime site. They loved the movie because romanceis their favorite genre. but all I got was a sour taste in my mouth and like someone hit my heart with a baseball bat.
I liked the movie but. it felt like everything the show was trying to say and focus on, it threw away last minute, to make a sappy love story.
And the thing that made it different turned it into just like other animes.
And all I thought watching it was "Violet got back the one she lost, what about me?"
my father is dead and he's never coming back, and a show that was meant to help those who are grieving just punched them in the face.
I love violet evergarden, and it's one of my favorite animes out there, without the movie included.
and safe to say, I'm never watching that movie again.
I will watch the show and the movie that came after. but if anyone wants to watch the last movie with me I'll be telling them the exact reason why I can't.
Herolles
---No spoiler zone--- I'll be quick in this section because a lot of what I blame on the movie is based on elements developed later in the story. So in a word : This movie is a disappointment and even worse, it disavow all of the character development of the series. Don't watch it if you liked the original anime. But let's be fair, the movie still have some qualities : - Even if I feel like the quality is overall a bit worse than the series, the art is still astonishing and some of the shots from the movie are real masterpieces (especially on the last part). - TheOST still is really enjoyable, and have some tracks that I will listen even after my viewing.
- And finally I love the way that the world depicted in the series, is evolving. It gives me a great sense of immersion and poses the question of the evolution of work in our society (even if it's brushed off quickly).
But let's talk about the elephant in the room in the next section.
---SPOILER---
Story (4/10)
The story is pretty bad.
I'm kinda lying here, the story if you take it independently isn't that horrible, just painfully average. It's just a love story like you've seen a lot (with the typical "I can't be with you" "I don't deserve you" "blabla" type of shit) but the worst part is that the major is so underdeveloped here that it's just uninteresting.
I will add that this doesn't feel natural. The way the events unfolds feels like that part was squished in here because the author found that cool and wanted a traditional ending, but compared to the original it is a HUGE throwback (I will talk about it more in the character part).
I just gave four for the story because of the first part with Yuris, which I felt was quite a nice story, not as impactful as I would want it to be, but still "enjoyable". It's quite the shame that the movie didn't put more time and attention on it, because it would have been a better story that what we got.
In general, the story is too conflicted to be impactful which, for a movie of 2h30 is incomprehensible. I mean, the movie is supposed to be centered around the reapparition of the major, but we don't see him for the 2/3rd of it. And when he's on screen he is barely developed. These many sidestories, even if I like them (more than the main plot I add) are hindrance to the love story because, they block the movie from developing something that is new compared to the series, not just a scenario of "what would happen if the major was alive OMG".
Art (8/10)
Not much more from what I said before, really cool. There is some amazing scenes. And overall the art is still one of the best asset of the movie.
Sound (7/10)
Same here, really cool OST, not a lot much to say. It contributes greatly to the feels in the series, and it hasn't changed here.
Character (1/10)
And there it is. THE problem I have with this movie.
It kills all of the character development of the series. All of the message and originality of the anime, sacrificed for the generic happy ending.
So let's start by talking about Gilbert... His development is a disaster.
In the original anime, Gilbert is described as someone who deeply cares for Violet and serves as her only parental figure. His final message "I love you" isn't really made explicit as the series let the interpretation of theses word to Violet and thereby to the viewer.
Here, the major, is a major (pun unintended) douchebag. He is someone who abandoned everything out of spite and intentionally, to go fuck off on the edge of the world because he felt bad. I summarize, he left a child traumatized and physically injured on a battle field after telling that he loved her and left without even a single thought about her well-being. He didn't even try to contact his family which (we learn) deeply cares about him and wasn't even aware of his mother death. And finally he refuse to see any of his former friends and family, because he feel that he has wrong them and prefer fleeing and ignoring them than try to make up for his mistakes.
I won't go further than this, but I will mention that the chronology (which by the way is quite fucked up) make that he was romantically attracted to Violet when she was between 10 to 14 years old. The world depicted is one where this situation may be acceptable, but I'm quite frankly not comfortable with it (but for the sake of the immersion I won't really count that as a major flaw).
Overall, this is a detestable character, and his reasoning ruined all of the feel and the aura built around him. It's a shame because all of that made the generic love story feel like a disaster because, what is depicted here isn't love. I can't see that you would hide yourself from the very same person that you love for a reason so selfish. And this kills the very principle around which Violet developed herself in the series.
The other character aren't that developed. The movie add nothing particular about them other than the professional reconversion of Erica. Oh and finally... WHERE'S MY BEST GIRL TAYLOR ?
Overall (3/10)
As I said, this movie was a disappointment. It literally made me angry (which for a movie is quite the accomplishment) because it's viewing, ruined the original anime for me.
Violet Evergarden is a beautiful love story. It's about how love and words, can change someone. It's a story about loss and grief. About how the people that we care for help us find a meaning in our lives, even if they're not present anymore. All of the stories depicted during the anime told us how our words, as little as they can be, help other go through hardship and let them live their lives to the fullest.
This isn't the case here.
All of the message about, finding the deep meaning of love (which as I said precedently is left vague for the different interpretations) is gone. Now it's just the romantic aspect that's left. All of the story, about coping with loss, about passing through grief to find a purpose, to find what's our reason to live beyond a single individual, it's gone. And the final episode, where Violet finally acknowledge that the major is gone, but realize that even if he isn't there anymore, her memories of him and what he made for her will forever accompany her in her new life... have now lost all of their meanings.
I'm really sorry, but if your entire series is based around the grief and loss of someone, you can't make him reappear without reason while expecting to keep the meaning of the story intact.
I know why people love that ending, because for the character... that's the good ending, and people love that. But in regard to all that has been built up previously, it's an insult to the viewer. And I don't like being insulted.
(That was way too long, I'm sorry)
ziIIa
I could not believe my eyes. Kyoto Animation, you god. Violet Evergarden has always tried to entail one single story, Violet tries to find the meaning of love. In this movie, it reiterates this concept and pushes it to a whole new level. Humans have emotions, and so does Violet. Despite us being granted the power of feeling emotions, Violet does not. This beautifully crafted story of a somewhat coming-of-age romance film will go down as a classic in the future. To start, Violet Evergarden Movie took the risk of running 3 stories in one movie—Violet’s story, Yurith’s story, and the really minor one that started thewhole movie off and starts the whole plot off. But it blew all my expectations away when it skilfully blends everything naturally, like it just intertwines smoothly. Every minute of the movie tugs my heartstrings, and the critical moments of the movie just yanks on it. What can I say, it’s emotional, enchanting, and painful at the same time. Ironic right? Well, I guess that’s just how it is.
As always, KyoAni never fails to continuously impress me with their extravagantly elegant art style and animation. With a perfect 3DCG and 2D blend too, the whole movie just pops out and stands out even among other high budget anime films. When it comes to making big projects such as films, cutting corners will really suck ass. But KyoAni took advantage of every frame and turned it into a glorious piece of art. You seriously cannot tell me there is nothing more unique than what Violet Evergarden brings in terms of art production. There is just no competition.
Oh, the sounds of the orchestras and TRUE’s beautiful voice just comes back whenever I remind myself of Violet Evergarden’s incredible soundtracks. With the assist of amazing direction and careful placement, these soundtracks shined when it’s their turn to shine. May I just give extra credit to all the voice actors too, Ishikawa Yui does an amazing job in voice acting Violet and I would like to praise her for that.
I especially loved the character development that went on in the 2 hours 20-minute runtime of the movie. We finally get to see both sides of the story, and both sides of the struggle between Violet and whoever the other man could be. There is so much I would like to say but I’m trying to keep it as spoiler-free as possible. To make it simple, we’ve had a really powerful character arc in terms of development and interaction.
Overall, I loved the Violet Evergarden Movie. I love it even more than the original TV series. I love it so much that I’m about to go lower the scores of some of my highest rated anime just because 10/10 is not an accurate representation of the score I want to give this movie. It’s 11/10. You’ve heard my voice, now it’s your decision to catch this modern masterpiece that will not disappoint in execution. God, I’m still feeling empty inside…
Kingsman117
A visual triumph for the beloved KyoAni team that sees the conclusion of one of my most heavily invested anime since I first discovered it. It's fair to say there was a lot riding on this film, not only to bring a resounding end for the anime's titular character but being the first film to be released after the devastating arson attack caries even more emotional weight for the creators and the eager fans wanting to see it. Regardless of my final opinion on Violet Evergarden: The Movie, I've never been more thankful as an anime fan to see such passion and dedication put inby the team who worked on the film, which makes it so much harder for me to act as a critic in this situation.
There is a lot that VE gets right straight out the gates: taking place shortly after the ending of "Violet Evergarden Gaiden: Eien to Jidou Shuki Ningyou" we are quickly brought up to date with previous characters of the show, establishing the critical change in time and technology after the war - a very interesting theme that serves as the main conflict/resolution of the film - and especially showing the character development of Violet up till this point. It's that last part where this film then proceeds on a downward spiral that in my opinion conflicts with everything KyoAni had set up with Violet up till this point. The writers of the show initially made a crucial change from it's respective source material, one that objectively did a much better job at establishing Violet as an independent character who had to face her own struggles separated from the only person she ever cared for.
By the end of the show Violet was in a content place, she'd lived past her previous life as a soldier, as Major Gilbert's weapon and had found resolution with his seeming demise. She had created a life for herself, one that Gilbert would have been happy for her. She'd changed and shaped so many lives around her, from friends to enemies, playwrights and singers, daughters, sisters, and even old commanders. Along the way, she even came to understand what it meant to love, how to cherish it, how to express that feeling on the behalf of others, as well as the pain and heartbreak it causes. Come the ending however, all of that seems to have been wasted on our heroin and results in one of the most cliché confessions I've ever seen, with a complete 180 for multiple characters development. That's the spoiler free version.
One of the major areas this film struggles with is the pacing. I was overjoyed when I first learnt of the 2hr 20min run time, believing it would get the chance to show us in depth the extent of Violet's character as well as some of it's more notable side characters which we haven't had much development from. Instead though this film decides to go on the very slow burn, and while every frame may be beautiful...it also takes forever to go anywhere....and when we finally do get there, I couldn't help but feel disappointed.
*MINOR SPOILERS*
The film essentially has three ongoing plots: The first plot is set during the present time and focusses on Anne's (The daughter from episode 10) granddaughter as she finds out what happened to VE in her final days as an Auto Memories Doll. The second plot focusses on sick boy Yurith who Violet writes letters for as his dying wish. The third plot has Violet discovering that Major Gilbert is in fact still alive. To put it bluntly, none of these plots really have much in common with the others, as the first one has no impact on the main characters, the second one is wasted by Violet's final decision, and the last one is only really focussed on in the second half of the film.
The first plot was certainly interesting if you are a fan of the world in which VE takes place, but really doesn't add to the theme of the film even though it tries. The second plot really feels more like a side story, which is strange considering the show has always been about discovering other people's stories and writing letters to convey their feelings. This is not to say that the film certainly doesn't lack emotion and even though I questioned Yurith's purpose in the film, I still couldn't help but tear up at his conclusion. Yet he doesn't get nearly as much development as other side characters we've come across before, and therefor doesn't carry much weight on the story as a whole.
*SPOILER END*
Most of the time however is focussed on Violet remembering and reminiscing her life with the Major, only to find out that he's been hiding on an Island this whole time which once again brings up the same conflict she had half way through the show. It feels in every essence like the writers were going back on how they initially set up her character. We see some interesting points, like Gilbert wanting to bury his past in order to protect Violet from the pain she suffered. It's also here however that the film seems most conflicted with the message it's trying to convey, as everything the film sets up for these characters completely and suddenly chances by the end, with very little resolution on top. It's hard to tell if this was what the writers always intended from when they gave us that original open ending in the series but I'd definitely take that conclusion over this one.
Another area where I feel like this film falls behind is the music. I love the soundtrack for VE, and even here it's hard not to love the subtle notes than blend beautifully with the gorgeous imagery. However there is nothing here that is unique compared to what we've heard before, no typewriter, no resounding scores, it's mostly the same melancholy tone that doesn't really change throughout the film. Everytime a letter was flying through the air, I just kept being reminded of the opening scene in the series and wished the music would catch up, but it never did. I also couldn't help but feel disappointed by the lack of resolution for the show's side characters: Claudia, Benedict, Cattleya, Luculia, and Iris just to name a few. None of them have any memorable moments, and even though we spend a lot of time with Claudia, I couldn't help but feel like the film missed a great opportunity with his character by the end. After all, he was the closest thing Violet had to a carer after Gilbert's departure.
It's a shame that for every moment this film get's right, it also takes two steps back. If the film had trusted it's audience and been just a bit braver to continue the journey it initially set up, this would have easily been great. It's not the resounding conclusion to Violet's story I was hoping for, but I take comfort in the knowledge that there are many fans who love KyoAni's work and especially love this film. I just wish I could have had that connection with Violet's story one last time.
alexhendrix
- where's the character growth? i see a lot of praise for violet's character development. really? it looks like she never really walked out of the major's shadow. - compared to the start of season 1, she is more independent now, that i will not begrudge her. but there is no improvement from where the end of season 1 left her. i'll go ahead and call it a regression. we've been through those flashbacks & same struggles. we've been through the intense gilbert longing. same old, same old. - the goddamn age gap. - seriously. it's so off-putting. i'm guessing the setting takes place after the 18th century.and it's steampunk lined with fantasy. out of all the things, i don't think we need to keep the funny perceptions of age.
- the main story is hopelessly outshined by the sick boy's story, even though the sick boy's part took the back seat. the sick boy's story was predictable, but moving. there's nothing new to the main arc, except the backpedal on violet's growth in season 1.
- the art is breathtaking, so that's really good.
- i was mostly bored while watching the movie. or cringing at the sketchy parts of the show. not good.
- so. where is the character growth?
CodeCypheur
It's good in terms of; a well written B-plot (with the kid), beautiful art and animation, great music, well written in terms of the words being very pretty and dialogue flowing extremely well. But the story...god it sucks. It just continues upending Violet's character from the last episode of the show by reverting her right back to square one. A dependent robot who only lives for one person. She has no personality of her own by the end of the show, no growth, no nothing. It has no message, no story or deeper meaning to it - it's just wow girls dependency is back. If theyjust removed the second half and kept it as B-plot then Violet living for herself it would've been perfect. But no, it's intent on destroying what it built up.
Overall though I can't give it a bad rating because the B-plot had me sobbing my eyes out almost every scene of it, as well as the other positives I stated in my first paragraph. But I would not recommend it to anyone unless they're okay with just turning their brain off and pretending Violet hasn't just lost all her development.
As a side note I am glad that they didn't have any explicit romance in this, I've always hated the idea of Violet - the literal child getting with a literal adult man who literally has to raise her. So it is easy to interpret this as a platonic love which I very much do.
-Equinox-
This will only make sense if you have not watched this movie yet. In case you have read TCTriangle's review already, you will not find much new information here as that review (the spoler free part) is a very good summary of what I was feeling about this movie. That being said, I did decide to reinforce it and make sure anyone going through reviews here understand it is not an isolated opinion. I really enjoyed the entire V.E. story, it is very well written (I am only familiar with the animation version of the story) and that made me even more surprised how hard they droppedthe ball with this one. And by "hard" I mean they have dropped the ball multiple times during the movie. Multiple times they had the option to develop the story in a way that actually respects and compliments Violet's charachter and concludes her journey, but no. Missed the mark, all the time.
Maybe it is not PC to say this, but this drop in storywriting quality might have something to do with the 2019 incident.
Regardless, I already am affraid for Hibike! Euphonium as the next amazing storyline to be destroyed by Kyoto Animation.
I am really trying to understand who the target audience was for this movie. My only conclusion is: viewers who do like the entire storyline, were demanding another "installment", but have no understanding how actual humans and (romantic) feelings develop/work.
For them, this ending of the V.E saga is probably a good one. The overal rating suggests that they are the disproportionate majority.
Good for them. At least they could enjoy it.
In case you happen to be a healthy human being, have personal experince with functioning (romantic) relationships and do like (or thinking of starting to watch) the V.E saga, stop with Violet Evergarden Gaiden (where you can see Violet at her "peak" in a subtle, nuanced and elegant way - so DO watch it up to that point) and never watch this movie.
Here you will only see the repeated disresptect of Violet and what she has achieved so far.
Here you will only see that the story goes so far from natural human behaviour that it just feels... wrong.
My personal opinion is that this is not a happy ending for Violet. It is the exact opposite...
choco_m00n
*sorta minor spoilers beware I remember I watched this movie when it came out and was VERY dissatisfied. The only thoughts I kept having during it was: "I hope this isn't going in the direction it's going," and unfortunately, it did. Don't get me wrong, I love Violet Evergarden. The anime holds a special place in my heart, but I constantly smacked my head with frustration during this movie because her character development was thrown straight into the trash. I'm beginning to think many anime/manga creators love doing that near the end of their series! (I'm being sarcastic). Here is the issue. Violet Evergarden is aboutgrief, acceptance, communication, and, most of all, learning what "love" means. This movie absolutely cancels all of that and instead turns into Violet chasing after that said "dead" person for an hour, so what was the whole damn point, man? She was supposed to be a changed person, but she's returned to square one. Wasted grief, no acceptance of his death, no concise communication, and I don't know if it was just me, but his character was also off because of that. It's almost like the movie creators didn't really know how they wanted him to act because, clearly, he changed and seemed to have moved on.
It was exhausting to watch her and the way she behaved. Look, writers, the past is an obstacle to overcome, not something that necessarily has to be solved. Especially if the solution is nonsensical.
SO here's what I envisioned would've been enough to satisfy me: she helps a person who is similar/went through a similar situation as her (as simple as having lost a beloved and becoming numb because of it), she finally comes to terms with/faces Gilbert's death, maybe visit his grave or whatever, and narrate/write a whole-hearted letter about how much he shaped her view on life, her growth, how she's going to live on with his influence, and most importantly, what she learned love was.
iishoxyii
Have you ever watched something heart-moving and so breathtaking and saddening at the same time that you can’t pinpoint your emotions to any extent. Yeah, that’s what a slice of life anime does to you and this movie does that for you a complete supply of a touching story with a tint of drama and slice of life in it is already amazing. Violet Evergarden stands out as a gorgeous finale for the entire series, with such a compelling story and characters and scenes that move you to the core to the point that you can just sit back there and feel amazed and baffledat the same point that is when you know that the show is touching your soul. The movie brings viewers up to rapidly with what emerged in the past while also canvases a stunning picture for the world of automatic dolls that can be used for both human tools and for war by the military to assist the lives affecting them properly and the lives of those around them.
Story ~ 10
Violet Evergarden is an orphan who’s been raised to be a rock-solid soldier and nothing more than a weapon to be yielded in war. Given as a gift to Major Gilbert, violet enters war at a young age. The stories in themselves are influential, which makes a big difference as it is all the more frustrating that it feels almost as if they are three individual episodes that have been put together. But ultimately, it is all but a minor complaint on my part as each tale can hit different emotional developments. The movie primarily follows Violet throughout the movie, giving all the viewers a grand idea of how this “Automatic Doll” is struggling and persevering to find herself while also discovering a path for the future.
The only problem I had with all these stories that were put together that they were a sentimental story that I can’t handle as a person and every single part hits differently, and they feel as if they are incoherent from the others but they are not supposed to be.
Animations ~ 10
I have never in my whole time period of watching anime have ever doubted Kyoto Animation as it has always struck hard when it came to animations as it is considered to be one of the powerhouse studios of animations. The character's facial expressions and backgrounds for the environments popping on the screen. Violet Evergarden has everything going for it when it comes to its art style nobody can say otherwise. The graphics shown are crisp and flawless and silky, and the moviemaking is just artistic in its scene alterations. The scenes of the movie flow from scene to scene effortlessly and without any unforeseen changes that are meant to catch viewers off-guard. Furthermore, the anime’s demonstration of design is masterful like I’ve never seen in any mainstream anime before, capturing the emotions of the characters perfectly and displaying the tear-jerking moments fluidly this movie is definitely a slick one. Kyoto Animations does a phenomenal job to keep up to the expectations of the watchers with the likes of exquisite art style from series like Clannad, Full Metal Panic, Chuunibyou demo Koi ga Shitai!, K-on and Haruhi Suzumiya, and many others that I’ve watched. Thank you Kyoto Animations for the astounding job that they did with the movie.
Sound ~ 8
I am not a big fan of the music in this anime but it’s a symphony that tells a tale about a sad story that has happened or is about to come which makes it even sadder to some extent. Composed by Karasawa, Miho, the song ‘WILL’ is strong and is catchy as well. While both the openings and endings have their own set of keys they portray standalone classical music pieces, often retaining the simple yet strong violin leads that are beautiful.
Characters ~ 10
For those who’ve not yet watched any of the contributions of the franchise, the so-called Violet was originally a warrior for her land, who afterward falls in love with her superior “Gilbert”. The movie mainly follows Violet during the course of the movie, giving all the viewers a brief view of the “Automatic Dolls” character who is not fit for the roles that she has been assigned, stressed, and determined to find herself while also determining a pathway for the imminent. We have our beautiful yet emotionally and tangible orphan person who’s just a mere tool for the upcoming war from a young age. The young lady grows up to be slightly unemotional and seems to be passive without any love or affection for her.
The main motivation of Violet is that she is always endeavoring to discover herself to find out who she is and what place does she hold in this world.
Overall ~ 10
The movie is an absolute spectacle showing how it is a love letter to the anime community and how it does a commendable and outstanding job of placing both its viewers and newcomers together to an absolute blast of emotions and a prodigious story-telling. Some may say it’s too depressing, some may say that they weren’t satisfied don’t listen, just watch it on your own you’ll own if the anime is stirring your feelings. Yet another story influenced by war and moved by people looks on how the world should be and the loss of their special ones in war. The execution is flawless and that it is actually one of the most compelling anime out there. It deeply moves viewers with its breathtaking visuals and cheeky emotional breakdowns that occur throughout the story. The imagination that this anime brings up is beyond belief and it takes you to inherit some types of feelings that cannot be comprehended.
This is a mature anime that speaks to its audience about life and how complicated and tangled it is, yet how beautiful and painful and tragic it can be at the same time.
Is it worth the watch?
Absolutely.
Oculiquetzal
[This review will include my overall opinion on the series, along with most of its additional content and this movie, as one finished and complete story. If, somehow, you have watched this movie but have not watched the show it is concluding, consider yourself warned for spoilers for both? I suppose.] “Art is not communicative, art is not reflexive. Art, science, philosophy are neither contemplative, neither reflexive, nor communicative. They are creative, that's all.” - Gilles Deleuze (L'Abécédaire de Gilles Deleuze) “Humanity tends towards the organized body, the body with organ, the male member. The modern human is dressed in blue, as far from the red-blooded feminine asit is possible to be, gendered and sexed in a world still solidified in the mold of brotherhood and patrilineal inheritance. The female body is already diseased, on the way to the limits of life, while the phallus functions as the badge of membership, or belonging – to one’s self, society, species.”
- Sadie Plant (Coming Across the Future)
There is a distinct difference and an uncanny similarity between inspiration, suggestion and command. Language, in most cases, and especially in the case of granting any sort of foundational education on something, takes the form of command, whether intentionally or supra-intentionally. But despite this, all three of these are forms of the subject being made to act towards something. In this instance what I would like to discuss is emotionality, and its own inspirations, suggestions and commands. There is an inherent and unmissable subtlety to the emotional, as opposed to the informational. Exposition "exposes", which makes this word for the granting of logical and critical information about a setting perfect for getting across the point, but what is the equivalent of this in granting the viewer psychological information? In fact, what is psychological information in the context of storytelling?
There is an absolute plethora of ways to dissect what emotionality and psychological information is, but allow me to demystify and simplify this, for the sake of a clarity of vision in what will soon become my discussions about Violet Evergarden, and its countless failures. A story, at its core, reduced eidetically, is a conveyance of narrative information. This narrative information, while conveyed, is given to the listener, who in most cases is not yet cognizant of the information, and therefore it is up to the narrator to convey the information in a way befitting of the narrative. When the narrative itself, in the case of something as formal and logical as, say, a battle in a war, is about the losses, the arms used, the territories captured or lost or what have you, it quickly becomes apparent that we are sharing purely analytical information. What happens, however, when we mean to capture some sort of philosophical content, or at the very least we intend to make our listener believe that what we are sharing means to convey some form of intellectual information, which is fully intent on making one think or believe differently than they did prior? It is in these cases that we must functionally switch from a conveyance of simple analytical information and create both theoretical and emotional content for our narration. Or, put in a much more pedestrian way, we make the listeners Think and Feel.
Thinking and feeling are obviously base-level activities and despite our best efforts to create jokes about those of us who cannot do one or the other, we must at some point be confronted with the fact that every single one of us, even our strongest detractors, think and feel *something*. But in the case of a narrative medium of a primarily emotional and psychological quality, we intend to uniformize this phenomenal quality for all involved, or, simply put, make everyone think and feel the same thing. There are simple and suggestive ways to do this, so let's now turn our attention towards inspiration, suggestion and command. For inspiration, I'd like to bring up a purely textual medium. When Cormac McCarthy writes "one of the Delawares emerged from the smoke with a naked infant dangling in each hand and squatted at a ring of midden stones and swung them by the heels each in turn and bashed their heads against the stones so that the brains burst forth through the fontanel in a bloody spew" in Blood Meridian, we are not merely led to envision something as though it were happening, since this writing is clearly ever so evocative, but we are also inspired to think and feel the exact same way. The average reader meditates on the brutal nature of the massacre in this scene and about the very nature of violence, in a way that makes them consider what may drive someone to do that to the most defenseless among humans. They also feel disgusted through that evocation of an image of the slaughter of defenseless infants, or at the very least they surely feel the grotesque nature of this. Obviously violence and grotesqueness are obvious and unsubtle by nature, but this is exactly why evoking these subtle meditations on human nature through violence is good writing. We then move to question what differentiates suggestion. For an example of suggestive narration on emotionality, I'd like to turn to something with audiovisual qualities. In Serial Experiments Lain's second episode, Girls, there is a scene in which Lain traverses her school's hallway, when a nondescript, spectral being seems to move through her. Her reaction is somewhat unfazed, at least compared to the audience's, but the sudden nature of this event confuses and unsettles the viewer, and this unsettling atmosphere is made stronger by the generally stark and lightless presentation of that being, plus the somewhat ambient, industrial-adjacent soundtrack for that given scene. This is stronger in nature than mere inspiration, it is suggestion of emotional content, which I believe to be the most straightforward way of conveying emotional information without downright manipulating the listener into believing as we do. Which is precisely what I define as command in this specific case.
Command, being our third and most important category right now, is one of the most primary reasons for the profound failures of Violet Evergarden's narrative. It is the driving vehicle of both the emotional content in Violet Evergarden's storytelling, as well as its character-craft, and even in its spectacle. As I once put to someone, Violet Evergarden is an extremely successful anime in lying to the viewer about being character-driven, through sheer spectacle. But allow me to slow down and elaborate on all of these points, after which I will give examples, break down my main criticisms and deliver a final verdict.
Finally arriving to the story I am trying to paint a horrid portrait of, let's talk about this show. Violet Evergarden is the story of a young, presumably 14 years old or so, war orphan, our titular character, who survived this story's equivalent of World War II, or at the very least something extremely thematically similar in terms of weaponry, jargon and culture, but more on this and the lack of meaningful world-building later. Violet herself survives, though loses two arms, and is unsure of the status of major Gilbert, an extremely important character, who remains only present through mention and flashback for the vast majority of this story. Gilbert is seen as a plot device to drive forward most aspects of Violet's story (and despite how clichéd it is to center the character progression of a young woman entirely around her relation to an older man, I will not be creating any sort of feminist analysis of this, as there are significantly more important points to be discussed here.) and is, both in status and relation to Violet, relatively ambiguous for the most part. We see, therefore, sketched for us, a trajectory for the character of Violet: a story not just about the act of integration and territorialization (remember for a second that Violet is a "wild" quark, she has been an orphan for an unexplained amount of time and has spent the majority of her adolescence in war), but also about the psychological effect that a recapitulation of societal interaction and "civilized" characterization on someone still maturing. These are supposed to be the major points of reference, and in fact are the major points of reference for her character, for the first half of the anime series. Let's first talk about these points, as I believe the first few episodes to be the strongest point of the narrative for several reasons.
We begin with a rough return to society for Violet. She has robotic arms (or rather, inexplicably perfect prosthetics) she needs to get accustomed to, no job or job prospects, legal guardians she does not particularly care for, and who serve zero narrative purpose other than a simple convenience (accidentally introducing the idea of Gilbert being dead later on), and a more metaphorical guardian who does not serve much more purpose, but is significantly more connected to both Violet and Gilbert through having served in the war. It is now every episode's purpose to show us stepping stones in Violet's journey first towards understanding human interaction and intersubjectivity, then to immerse herself in the minutiae in it, and finally to become a fully functional part of society who is able to shed the horrible scars of trauma that having served in a war from such a young age and also losing an amalgam, but "important" figure would obviously cause. This is the intended trajectory, albeit the first episode already teases one of the worst mistakes they make regarding this trajectory (the metaphor of being "on fire" for trauma, which we will return to shortly) and we will now discuss the execution of this trajectory.
The first half or so of the story, or rather, everything up to the moment of Violet's realization of Gilbert's death (which always-already requires immense suspension of disbelief and is handled poorly) is about her attempting to understand why this figure she always followed and was clinging onto would tell her, in their final moments together, before disappearing and possibly dying to an explosion or bleeding out or somesuch, that he loved her. This phrase, "I love you", is a primary element of the story, start to finish, and its ambiguity is also a cause of many headaches (as there is a 12 or above year age difference between Violet and Gilbert, and therefore their love for one another should, in most other cases, unless one specifically wants a story that is adjacent to grooming and pedophilia, be a sibling or parent-child type of love), as love is a primary and extremely self-apparent, yet ridiculously hard to define emotion. Violet slowly but surely makes sure to partake in the work that her metaphorical guardian, Claudia, organizes, a sort of personalized sending of letters for those who cannot phrase their own emotions or cannot write, the Auto Memory Dolls. She clearly wants to be a part of this sort of work for her own needs, as she fully intends to understand the meaning of love through learning as much as she can about human emotions. Yes, the story does initially point out how impossible it would be for someone who was raised in violence and bloodshed only, with such robotic (yes, the arms are actually a metaphor and they are a really blunt and uninteresting one) emotionality to convey in letters feelings of adoration, love, loss, grief, and other such wildly abstract concepts, but this is very quickly brushed away (as is her physical recuperation and usage of her robotic limbs) so as to quickly make her into the most promising Doll at the company. This is done in order to give us the thing that will inevitably ruin any suspense of disbelief and lead us to my first definition of the ways in which this anime commands, the formula.
Formulaic is something which is repetitious not necessarily in a way as to crescendo off of itself, but rather in a self-same manner. Always adapting the same point, over and over, often in the same way, and always reaching the same conclusion. Today's episode of Violet Evergarden is an episode in which Violet has to go to a place far from Leiden, the HQ for their Doll company, and meet someone who is themselves eccentric or has some form of eccentric request for one or several letters, which is, in the form of a twist, revealed to be a form of emotional release for both the person requesting the letter, and also for Violet, who is still trying to come to grips with her own grievances and losses. Does this sound familiar? Well, that's because I described most episodes of Violet Evergarden. We very quickly move past the actual act of reterritorializing Violet into the very effeminate and very submissive Female Figure, who acts through her doll-like beauty and robotic intellect, and we must now consistently address and re-address her grief towards all she lost in the war. This is where the show commands you. At the end of most episodes, there will come the most somber moment of the subplot, with sad classical-adjacent music, an overabundance of violins, slowly moving wordless shots or a montage, the confrontation with the theme of death in some way, and some more "character growth" for Violet. That last one was a joke, there's not really any across all of the show or the movie, but there is a consistent command in these scenes for the viewer to feel sad but hopeful, get to the point of tears, think about the overwhelming weight of loss and grief and death, and then be wishful for Violet to live a normal life someday. This is our constant ending point and we consistently introduce Violet to two-dimensional non-characters who act as nothing more than vessels for her to open up more and more towards human nature. "Is it possible for a human to learn how to be human?" According to this show, all you need is to beat yourself over the head consistently with the same exact conclusion to some of the most primordial questions about existence and you will learn.
Moving on from the established formula, just as the show does, we must address that I did not describe every episode of Violet. Some, in fact, are different, and their difference is exactly what makes the show worse than a simply repetitious and meaningless but pretty meditation on loss. There is a swift departure from this theme of dealing with grief and reterritorialization, in which we must briefly confront Violet with her own compliance with orders and conformity to the army and somehow pretend that we are actually making any meaningful commentary on the post-traumatic stress that soldiers face when they are confronted with the fact that they are complicit in murder. We quickly confront Violet through a showy flashback with not just the fact that her ambiguously beloved major is dead but also the fact that she is a mass murdering psychopath, supposedly, and show her being the best soldier ever, because the thing she must excel at is everything, she was perfect at murder and now she is perfect at emotionality-conveyance, obviously. This arc needs little elaboration from me, as there is little elaboration to begin with in the show itself. We make no effort to make any meaningful or concise statements in the episode and a half focusing on the combat and its effects, but rather simply tell Violet that she must become okay with the fact that she killed a bunch of people and that she will never be the same but she can try to live a life as such. Rather than addressing the fact that she was enslaved as a child, forced to be conscripted into an army that is implied to not even be her own country's forces, and was essentially just a tool for combat, we have been making strong statements about how she is a person of her own right and we must now also treat her as an adult when it comes to confronting her sins. This not only feels extremely heavy-handed and meaningless in the grand scheme of the show, but is also really ass-backwards in comparison to the otherwise relatively relaxed and meditative themes of finding the self. But that's okay, because as soon as we reach a haphazard and half-hearted conclusion, we move on to the proper last arcs of the show, which will truly establish why it's disappointing.
A major mode of interaction with the stories given in the first half of the story is to slowly but surely meditate on the same themes each episode, which is why it drastically shakes up one's expectations and alters them irreparably that most episodes in the latter half include some form of combat or extreme situation, there is a lot of tension and a lot of violence on screen, a constant return to Violet's past in war, but in meaningless spectacle. This is how they thrill the viewer and this is how they hide how little is actually being said consistently, which clearly works as these are some of the most celebrated episodes. Our main character, by this point, is still somewhat robotic, but dares to act on her own volition, is still somewhat sociopathic, but does not kill people (wow, look at the benevolence on this one) and is somehow still combat-ready in the same way Penny, the robot girl from RWBY, is. An unassuming doll-like exterior hides the most perfect and unbeatable soldier ever, who strikes fear unarmed into multiple armed men, can block and deflect grenades with her robotic hands, can disarm a bomb by simply tearing it off its hinges. Yes, I am describing things that actually happen in this show about finding acceptance in society, territorializing, and writing letters, unfortunately. Without further ado, and with no more meaningful topics to discuss, we have reached the end of the shitshow that was Violet Evergarden, whereupon we are confronted with a relatively meaningless and extremely middle-of-the-road ending where Violet writes a letter, again, to the major, and submits it to some festival or other, and then we end on just essentially everything being the same as it had been since practically the third episode, with Violet supposedly having accepted the passing of the major, but in a Kierkegaardian way, still hoping somewhere under this infinite resignation (no, I do not wish to actually compare Violet to the knight of faith, this is in jest) and we as the viewers are left with some false and commanded overwhelming emotion or other, but no real conclusion, plus a teaser at the very end about opening a door, leaving her surprised. (of which nothing real comes.)
Before I move on to how this is ruined even further by the existence of this movie, I would like to address the extraneous issues with this story. I will move through these with relative haste, as they make me feel miserable about having watched it, and they are somehow still not quite as bad as the actual story being told. For one, yes, the animation is absolutely phenomenal and is instrumental to the spectacle obscuring the meaninglessness of the topics they attempted to convey, I will not debate this, but I really do not generally care about the quality of animation when it comes to animated series, I am always more interested in the plot and especially the characters. The music is extremely forgettable and emotionally manipulative cinematic classical music, nothing need be said more. The secondary characters and especially the tertiary (episode-specific) characters are given no real emphasis or development, they might be relevant or important for one episode or perhaps two, but Benedict, Cattleya, Claudia, Iris, etc. will be nobody's favorite characters, as their significance is so minute they barely even resemble characters to begin with. Claudia and the major's brother, Dietfried, will be relevant to the further review of the movie, but Dietfried especially reaches zero actual development in the base show aside from, by the end, begrudgingly not despising Violet for no apparent reason other than to have an antagonistic force in the story. Another important and somewhat upsetting measure is the world-building, which is not only sorely lacking, but has absolutely horrendous implications for Violet herself. Everything about the time period the story is implied to be set in, from the technological advancements, the arms used in the war scenes, the sorts of structures and clothing assigned to the characters, implies us to be somewhere within the middle of the 20th century, as a basis for comparison and to be embroiled in, or rather, just barely crawling out of, this setting's equivalent to the second World War, and everything about Violet's specific chosen army and nation is (similar to, funnily enough, another anime I quite fervently dislike, Frieren) themed in the German language, with some outliers for other Western European languages, but the uniforms themselves, the names of all places, etc. are quite German, while in the conclusion arc, where the Gardariki army, the enemy in this war, shows up, their own areas are snowy tundra, their weaponry and uniforms and even their names are often akin to Russian equivalents, and more. This is, although I'd like to believe this to be coincidental, especially with the overwhelming force of their armed forces and the implication that Violet was a war orphan taken as a mere slave, treated as less than human for being-other, and forced to act as a human tool and soldier for this German army, essentially making her this universe's equivalent to Hitlerjugend. Some may obviously call me on this and say it's "obvious conjecture", but I did specify that this is, in my hopes, simply an extremely elaborate and horrid coincidence. Though, due to another coincidence in the movie, I do believe the author might simply have some less than savory views. More on this later, let's now turn our attention to the movie.
"Should the starting-point for the understanding of history be ideology, or politics, or religion, or economics? Should we try to understand a doctrine from its overt content, or from the psychological make-up and the biography of its author? We must seek an understanding from all these angles simultaneously, everything has meaning, and we shall find this same structure of being underlying all relationships. All these views are true provided that they are not isolated, that we delve deeply into history and reach the unique core of existential meaning which emerges in each perspective."
- Maurice Merleau-Ponty (Phenomenology of Perception)
Four entire years have passed. What changed? Well, times are a-changing, and phones, which are obviously evil if you write letters for a living, are slowly but surely driving Dolls out of business. This is no problem for Violet, obviously, who is so unbelievably perfect and famous and incredible that she has no trouble finding work. This movie will focus on one subplot which is the same exact formula as much of what the show was, the plot of the sickly child attempting to convey his love and grievance to his family, and leave them with something. This is obviously still formulaic, but is easily the most evocative part of the movie, as you are at least used to the formula and can enjoy it for being one of its better implementations. Some may bemoan that I am leaving out the parts set in the present, but I assure you, I have many words for that whole abomination. For now, let's stop discussing the subplots and focus on the meat of the movie and why it's the worst continuation of Violet imaginable. We reintroduce the viewer to a virtually unchanged version of Violet. 4 years have passed but she is still struggling with the exact same issues she was during the show, in the exact same ways, and she still has the same extremely undiegetic skills and potential, as previously. She is widely beloved but is still robotic, she is accepted by the community but she is still delusionally hopeful, she is everything she was, and if anything, this Violet is even further backwards than she was at the end of the series. We get to introducing the fact that the major is alive, which is in and of itself immediately an undoing of everything the show itself stood for. Though the show often alluded to the possibility of the major still being alive, it did make half of the story, and most of the episodic conclusions themselves, about an acceptance of the grief of living without those we love in a world that takes them from us. But, obviously Violet is introduced to this fact as well, and we are then subjected to the most painstakingly long and boring cat-and-mouse game imaginable, as we learn that the major is in fact also the greatest person ever and is singlehandedly making the community of a small island better by himself by being their teacher, letter-writer, mentor, handyman and everything else as well, but due to being so perfect, he was incapable of handling his own trauma in any meaningful way, so he immediately rejects the notion of meeting with Violet, and we have to watch the two of them just barely miss each other or specifically fail to meet with each other until the very end of the movie, which then gives us several other issues to work with. Before fully diving into what is wrong with the movie's portrayal of both of these characters and with their relationship, I would like to address some other problems with the movie.
I believe I've made it quite clear that despite the formulaic nature of the first half of Violet's story, it is the enjoyable segment of all of this, since there is a tangible intent behind the constant reiteration and the attempts at elaboration. Although it usually remains the exact same idea being conveyed, there is the constant intent both of emotionally blackmailing the viewer, and the added intent of making some surface-level philosophical meditation about the nature of human interaction and about the different forms of love and loss possible. It is in this way that the subplot about the sickly child manages to convey the initial meaning behind Violet Evergarden better than the actual primary plot of the movie, since it is about a character who is experiencing a loss of choice and agency and having to confront both their own regrets and their own inability to deal with these regrets in a timely-enough manner as to actually reach any sort of sustainably happy conclusion to their life, so he writes these letters more so as a sort of acceptance than any sort of redemption. He loved his family, but clearly resented them, he wanted to live, but didn't make this clear, this is a much stronger foundation to a story than the actual story being told, about the man who was supposed to be dead, but isn't, just so we can make the freshly adult and virginal Violet immediately throw away all the agency she learns to be romantically involved with a man she met as twice her age and her owner.
We are first introduced to the fact that this story will in fact be about romantic love when realizing that the 4 years passed just to make sure Violet would be of age, but then this is in fact very much sealed when the Violet side of the main plot begins with a meandering and honestly quite unimaginative arc about Dietfried, Gilbert's brother. The two of them rekindle their ability to be in each other's presence due to Violet still consistently visiting the grave of the brothers' mother, and then is invited, in front of Claudia, Violet's metaphorical guardian, to trudge through a bunch of Gilbert's childhood books and toys and such on their family's ship. In a conversation following this, between Claudia and Cattleya, who are at this point very much seen by the viewer as the father and mother figures in Violet's life, there is the overwhelmingly disgusting implication that, if the major did not later turn out to be alive, Violet's parental figures would be fine with her going to the major's older brother for an intimate comfort as a way to put herself through the trauma of having lost the major. This, I remind you, is still 4 years after the start of the show, the show in which she supposedly puts herself past that very same trauma, with Cattleya actually saying "It's clear Violet still has feelings for the major. Those feelings may crush her if nothing is done about them. The captain may be able to comfort her in ways we cannot." It is in this implication of an obviously unhealthy and extremely ethically unsound and uncomfortable coping mechanism and the formerly discussed ridiculously huge coincidence that I find, maybe this author's views are simply unsavory. But I digress, let's move on to the final and most awful issue to be discussed here.
Gilbert's age, from what I can remember, is never quite discussed, but he is seemingly in his early 20s when meeting Violet for the first time, who is a mere child, somewhere from 8 to 10 years old, and they spend years together with this young adult giving this child her name and raising her during wartimes, which may be a sweet story if his death actually happened and was the cause of all this grief truly, or if their relationship were that of a parent and child or two siblings. Instead of this, what we actually get, is a halfhearted but still disgusting implication of romantic entanglement and love, which is fully and truly reinforced by the final panel shown in this movie, that of Gilbert and Violet holding hands together, both on a bed. It also tells us that Violet was never heard of again after she suddenly stopped working as a Doll and disappeared to live with the major. I don't believe I need tell you more, but surely if you would like to defend this, you can say "well, it's only implied, not confirmed." I digress.
There is also, I believe, merit to be told in how little is actually done with the quite generous (140 minutes) length of this movie. Obviously we have mentioned the subplot about the child, which is entangled with the main plot only as a way to add tension about whether Violet will be able to leave the possibility of the major's visage behind, which she is obviously incapable of doing, but this does not take up too much time, and the grotesquely mishandled arc with Dietfried isn't quite so long either, quite a bit of the movie is simply about teasing that the major is alive, then deus ex machina-ing this knowledge to the actual characters (there is an astronomically low chance of what actually ends up happening, actually happening) and then this meaningless back and forth once on the island, where they have to make sure that the person is actually the major, and then it is, and then he hides, and Violet isn't allowed to meet him, and then we reintroduce the subplot to add tension but clearly this isn't enough to make Violet leave, but the major still won't meet her, so of course, the one thing necessary to make her dreams come true, once again, a man appears to do her job for her, Dietfried makes it possible by suddenly appearing, mildly scolding his brother, and then making him go after Violet, who of course by this point has given up, so as to give you the extremely emotionally overcharged and manipulative scene of this perfect and untouchably faultless girl diving into the ocean just to swim to her beloved. Once again, the female character has zero actual agency, but the male character makes it possible for her to find happiness in the arms of her significantly older beloved, why not?
And in conclusion, after this complete ass-backwards building of a single character's supposedly character-driven but extremely shallow ouroboric narrative, after the absolutely abysmal and suspect world being built up, after all the extremely heavy pathos and ridiculously heavy-handed emotional blackmail intended for the viewer, we are left with one last thing to discuss, the events of the modern day, which first serve only as a way to tutorialize the viewer on how to enjoy Violet Evergarden content at the beginning ten or so minutes of the movie, by reminding them of things that happened in the show, especially the things that were most highly praised by the viewers after the release of the anime. And, once our story concludes, we see this girl find some form of kinship with the character of Violet and seek out the remnants of her effect on the world in a museum and on that island and other such things. This is meant to be two things at once, for one, a conclusion to a fantastical period drama, where we are shown the conclusion that our protagonist truly had an effect on the world and such, and for two, a postmodernist insertion of the viewer into the story, as we ourselves are meant to be the modern youth who finds kinship with Violet's journey towards self-actualization and a fully realized portrait of the self. Neither of these work, and we are left feeling as though this was just wasted time in a movie about nothing.
So now we must be sure to say, Violet Evergarden is not really about much. It's an extremely pretty and shallow work about the supposed actualization of a girl who does not and can not exist without the image of the man to guide her and give her some form of community. Violet does not exist without the major, who himself is an extremely shallow and terribly implemented, unnecessary character by the end, and has no real arc or purpose. Violet's, on the other hand, is simply to create, to find, to be with this major. Violet is barely a character in her own right, because every time she reaches any stride towards finally embodying her own character traits, the story thrusts her back into the grasp of being on this journey towards the major. Everything in this story revolves around a character who represents nothing and is simply there to drive along a meaningless narrative that peters out as if it never even truly began. Violet Evergarden has so many things to say, but it has nothing to say about any of them, meaningfully. It is a show that intends upon so many wonderful concepts and fails to deliver every single one of those concepts.
The one thing I would like to grant Violet Evergarden is that it intended to be creative. There is an actually creative and interesting story hidden somewhere between the lines of miles of conjecture and meaningless drivel and sadly and pathetically executed attempts at making something philosophical, grandiose, deep, beautiful, etc. Something about aesthetics could be placed here, the actual philosophical discipline, but there is nothing truly beautiful hidden beneath. Violet Evergarden promises to you, with its reaches towards profundity, a dive into the metaphorical ocean, as she herself did into a physical one, but you shatter yourself against the pavement in realization of the fact that you dove into a puddle, with no depth.
If your intent in watching anime is to be baited into tearing up at miserably simple and extremely shallow formulaic mini-stories that never truly give you any conclusion other than "if you can't handle grief, don't worry, your loved ones never actually died." then this is for you. If you are looking for something simple and repetitive about self-actualization and grief and, like me, you thought Frieren was disappointing, since it failed to be about those things, the first 7 or so episodes of this are for you. But if you want to watch something that's more than an empty spectacle that is a veneer for anti-matter as a story, then I urge you, watch something other than Violet Evergarden. And if you enjoyed the show still, and think my criticisms of it are unfair, or exaggerated, especially skip this movie. There is at least something to be enjoyed about the show, but this movie desecrates even that little. Thank you for reading my thoughts.
tl;dr for the feeble-minded: the show is bad, don't watch
Marinate1016
Violet Evergarden: The Movie made me fall in love with anime all over again. This movie, and tv series, represent the best things about this medium. You could not ask for a better conclusion to a masterpiece. Thank you Kyoani. Back in early 2019, I went through the roughest period of my life. I was severely depressed after a horrible breakup and didn’t do much more than lay in bed all day. I hadn’t watched a new anime in over a decade because I thought anime was something I’d outgrown. One day, I decided to get back into the medium and finished up some older showsthat I had never completed. The masochist in me then decided that I wanted to go on a “sad anime” tour. I watched all the usual suspects, Clannad, Anohana, Kimisui, Koe no Katachi, Angel Beats, etc. I’ve gone on record before about how these series literally saved my life. But, one series in particular stuck with me in a profound way. Violet Evergarden.
Violet’s journey of finding the meaning of love, acceptance of loss and grief was exactly what I needed at that point in life. Episode 10 in particular helped me with the lingering grief I had about my father’s passing. The masterfully crafted anime motivated me to check out the Light Novels, which I’ve now completely read, and the OVA. When I found out that a movie was coming out to wrap up the series I was beyond ecstatic. Knowing that the anime and LN differed in their approaches to Violet’s story made me really excited to see how Kyoani would close out Violet’s journey.
Violet Evergarden: The Movie surpassed any and every expectation I could have ever hoped for. I knew Kyoani would bring the gorgeous visuals and animation, but the story that they crafted around Violet and the other characters was the most powerful they’ve ever done. Violet’s character development coming from not being able to understand what the word “love” meant, to being able to help others who are unable to express themselves is remarkable. She is fully able to empathise with people now. The movie was a satisfying resolution to her, the other dolls’ and a certain someone’s stories.
“After all, all we have is the present” Such a simple line, yet it may be the most powerful that I’ve ever heard in an anime. Too often we take what we have for granted. We neglect to tell our parents and loved ones that we love them, or we say mean things to people we care about. Violet the anime and Violet the movie are all about taking full advantage of what you can do and say today to those you care about. Please. Don’t let those moments slip.
Violet Evergarden:The Movie gets the easiest 10 I have ever given.
elderonn
Violet Evergarden, both a doll in occupation and in mentality. I assume you have watched the series before reading this review. There will be minor spoilers for the movie in this review, but nothing MAJOR. Before we start with the actual review of the movie, we need to talk about the series first. The series was, in nature, the journey of violet evergarden to understand emotions, To understand what the major told her before his death, the words “I love you”. As violet progresses through the episodes and gets to listen to more and more people she develops, and finally understand major’s feelings. And as shefinds out about his death, she finally understands what was said to her in the first episode, that she is burning inside. Through the second half of the series Violet tries to understand her own feelings towards the major. And in the final episodes, she writes a latter to the deceased major. And it was beautiful and emotional. What did violet learn? Emotions, human nature and most importantly, she moved on and became an independent person and not a death killing doll as she was before, just like how the major wanted.
Then comes the movie. Violet evergarden the movie regresses everything that violet went through as a character and blatantly discards all the messages of the series. Now the not so MAJOR spoiler of the review is that the MAJOR is alive. We know this since almost the beginning of the movie. As soon as violet finds that out she suddenly goes back to her old self and can’t live without him, discards all of her friends and people that helped her become the person that she is by the end of the series in order to pursue the major. This makes thematically no sense. Not to mention the dues ex machina that is the major surviving. The worst part about the movie has to be that the movie tries to bend and retcon the father daughter dynamic that the major and violet had into a romantic relationship. Which is both pedophilic and untrue to the essence of the original series. This decision has to be the worst “fan service” I have ever seen, truly appalling. The only two redeeming parts of the movie is how beautiful it looks, and a side plot in the movie that is very emotional and engaging.
With taking everything into consideration, I advice not to watch the show. As any violet evergarden fan will only get disappointed and dissatisfied from this abomination of a movie.
Sincerely, Elderonn.
Anowink
As time passes, nothing stays the same. Familiar places become unfamiliar, and even people you have known for many years will change along with the passage of time. Violet Evergarden Movie masterfully explores this theme by following the life of its protagonist, Violet Evergarden. Story: The story is divided into three parts. The first part is about a girl, Daisy, trying to learn about Violet Evergarden. The second part is about a young boy, Yuris, asking Violet Evergarden to write letters for his family. The third part involves Violet Evergarden meeting Gilbert for the first time in years after their untimely departure. At first glance,these parts seem unrelated. However, Violet Evergarden Movie seamlessly connects them to tell a story that is amazing beyond words can describe. It is the best storytelling I have ever seen.
Art: After watching Violet Evergarden TV series and Violet Evergarden Gaiden, I was not sure how anything could surpass them in terms of the art quality and design. However, Violet Evergarden Movie exceeded my already unimaginably high expectation. Whether it is outdoors or indoors, every scene is breathtaking and a joy to watch. Violet Evergarden Movie sets the new standard for art design, and I do not think anything will be able to come close to it in quite some time.
Sound: Violet Evergarden Movie’s sound design is nothing short of perfect. Evan Call did a phenomenal job again, and TRUE’s insert songs were amazing as always. Also, background music perfectly set the mood, and every sound effect was perfectly done. Simply put, it is the best sound design I have ever experienced.
Character and Voice Acting: Characters are masterfully depicted and multifaceted. Violet Evergarden’s emotional moments brought many tears to my eyes, and Gilbert’s cold words made my heart stop for a bit. Voice acting was also stellar. Every voice actor did a phenomenal job, but Ishikawa Yui’s performance stood above everyone else. Her performance will be remembered as one of the greatest female performances of all time.
Overall Enjoyment: I have watched the movie multiple times at the theater, and every time I am surprised at how good it is. I will probably watch it more at the theater and even more when the blu-ray is released.
Conclusion: Violet Evergarden Movie is a peerless masterpiece that provides the perfect conclusion to the masterful Violet Evergarden series. It is a must-watch for everyone, and it is without a doubt the best anime movie I have ever watched.
VortexHash
The more time passes, the lower I rate this movie. Let me explain. I was a huge fan of the series, i rewatched it many times, made my mom watch it, told all my friends, etc. It was a fantastic story. I loved how it avoided all too common romantic simplicity and instead focused on overcoming grief, growing mentally and emotionally, maturing and so on. It was great. And the sereis itself ended on a very satisfying note, so honestly i didnt know what else was there to adapt for the final movie.... However, as I was waiting for the movie, one specific rumour about the moviestarted to float around the internet. I read it, thought to myself "nah, they cant do it, it would ruin the entire point of the series, they cant do it now, its too late", so i discarded it as just speculation... but kept it at the back of my mind, battling with this idea, searching for rationalizations of how they could potentially execute it.
And... the rumour was true, i discovered it before watching the movie. So going into the movie all I was doing is rating the execution. And, to be fair, at the time I felt very fondly about it. The music was great, art and animation was fantastic, albeit story had some problems. Also the movie had a big part of it dedicated to some arbitrary sub-plot, the time on which would have served much better if it were to be used to deepen the main story.
But overall, as a standalone animation movie - its great.
However, as a continuation of the series - just as I feared - it completelly nullified the impact and point of the series for me. I cant bear the thought of rewatching the series now, as it just rings hollow to me - empty, manipulative, meaningless even. Before that I had the series in the highest regard, a 100% opaque oil painting full of nuances. But now, after watching the movie, and sitting on it for some time, it became a 30% transparent layer in photoshop, a shell of it former glory.
A pity tbh. I thought this story would be one of my favorites for life. Now it would just be a short memory of a series I used to love.
V4Watcher
I cannot express the feelings I felt while watching this movie directly, so here I write a letter, in fact a review, to unfurl the mark this movie left on my soul. Let me tell you, straight off the bat, that Violet Evergarden isn't like one of those movies that boast a crappy, realistic and sad ending. It dared to bring forth the ending we all knew was impossible, but wished for deep within our hearts, and animated it with grand splendour. (Spoilers ahead) Run Gilbert run! One of the most satisfying moments of anime ever, was Gilbert, standing near the cliff, weeping after reading Violet's letter.His brother, who had treated Violet merely as a weapon, was now here, standing before Gilbert, for the sake of Violet. All the years he had wanted to thank him culminated into this beautiful moment, where he made Gilbert realise where his heart truly belonged, and made him race to the one who yearned most for him.
The way the film started was indeed a very pleasant surprise. Relating it deeply with one of the most emotional and heart-touching episodes of the Violet Evergarden series, it couldn't have been handled in a better way.
Life is fleeting for everyone, none spared. It lies within us how we spend the few precious moments with those we cherish. Violet Evergarden, captured this delicate perspective, and shepherded it to us in various ways.
A boy, who loved and adored his family and one true friend, but had no idea how to convey it, in desparation, lobbed to the telephone and called the Postal Company, despite his weak body, for the sake of thanking everyone who had been there for him. With little money to spare, he was ready to give up all of it, so that they could keep a part of him after he had crossed Death's door.
Gilbert, in the aftermath of the war, realised how many lives he had led to their doom, and eventually got crushed by the overbearing guilt, enduring and suffering it alone in solitude. He blamed himself for Violet losing her arms, and made himself responsible for all the suffering Violet went through. He distanced himself from everyone he cared for, thinking it was for the best. But alas! Destiny did not see it the same way. However far apart fate separated him from those he loved, destiny pulled them together again. Violet and Dietfried, together, showed him that he didn't have to face the burden all alone, that it could be shared, because that was what bonds were truly capable of.
A young lady, feeling a deep resentment because they hadn't visited their grandparent more often, let out her frustration towards her parents, despite knowing that her argument was half-baked. Following the steps of Violet Evergarden, she realised the importance of bonds and what love really signifies. In order to apologise and let them know how she truly felt, she sent them a letter with just a few words, but infinite meaning. Those words were "I love you."
Capturing the essence of something so fragile and delicate- the concept of life and death itself, and animating it in such a way that it calls upon the very soul of the viewer, is candidly astonishing. Every scene from the beginning of the movie to the very end possessed great detail and precision. Kyoto animation really outdid themselves, and their passion that went into making the film was very evident. The vibrancy and life of every scene was stunning, beautifully drawn and animated to bring out the best.
A splendid mixture of plot and sentiment, sprinkled with the right amount of comedy, animated down to the finest detail, is what I would summarise the Violet Evergarden movie in a few words. This was not just a film made to simply entertain, it was one which strove to make us realise what was important in life, and cherish moments that might never come by again.
