Violet Evergarden Movie 劇場版ヴァイオレット・エヴァーガーデン

| Episodes: 1 | Score: 8.8 (301338)

Updated every at | Status: Finished Airing

Type: Movie

Producers:Shochiku | ABC Animation

Streaming: Netflix

Synopsis

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]

Voice Actors

Namikawa, Daisuke

Ishikawa, Yui

News

Reviews

choco_m00n
09/01/2024, 07:06 PM
*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.
CodeCypheur
01/08/2024, 09:43 AM
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.
Luna_Lolita_Chan
09/22/2023, 12:14 PM
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.
-Equinox-
08/07/2023, 01:57 AM
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...
elderonn
05/14/2023, 12:48 AM
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.
VortexHash
07/20/2022, 10:48 AM
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.
Herolles
12/11/2021, 02:35 PM
---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 in 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 and 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)
alexhendrix
12/11/2021, 08:23 AM
- 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?
jeremypascal
10/30/2021, 07:59 AM
SPOILER HEAVY REVIEW!!! As you can probably guess by the score, I have some major issues with this movie. However I'm gonna get the good things out of the way first: + Awesome animation + Awesome sound (this includes music and voice acting) + Decent story for the first half of the movie, many recurring characters and many events from the TV series that got brought up againTo talk about my issues with the movie, I first have to talk about the TV series, the themes it brought up and the development of Violet as a character. The story of the TV series was all about Violet's development from a tool of war, an unfeeling robotic puppet whose only purpose in life is to follow the orders of her superior officer, to an independent woman who has come to terms with her own emotions and has her own will and purpose in life. It also was about Violet processing the loss of the person most important to her. She had to accept that Gilbert may never come back, and that she needs to find a way to move on and live a life that doesn't revolve around him. I loved the TV series! I enjoyed all the little stories of the side characters and Violet's own story. It really hurts me to see the movie throw most of that out of the window, go in a very different direction and end at a point that was very unsatisfying to me. The first half of the movie was decent, we had a few more side stories with nice references to the TV series and Dietfried and Violet started on processing the loss of Gilbert together. Then we found out, that Gilbert is still alive and the trouble began. (So the whole "Coming to terms with the loss of someone important" theme is thrown out of the window I guess...) When Violet and Hodgins came to Gilbert's island, we found out that he had changed a lot and didn't even want to talk to Violet. I really liked this character development of his, he was partly responsible for the horrors of the war and for the misery of Violet's childhood and tried to redeem himself. Him not wanting to see her again and thinking that it'd be better for both, despite us knowing that he was really hurting her a lot at that moment was also something I liked. It showed us, that Gilbert is probably just not as perfect as Violet remembered and made him seem more human to me. At this point I thought: "Well ok, maybe they see each other one last time or maybe they exchange some letters and then Violet can move on and continue her development to an independent women who is able to come to terms with her own emotions and Gilbert convinces her, that she doesn't have to follow any orders from anyone anymore and should instead do what she wants?!" Nope, Violet does send a letter to Gilbert and he immediately decides to run after Violet, because now he wants to see her again! So Gilbert runs to the beach, shouts out Violet's name, to which she responds by jumping off her ship and swimming towards Gilbert. We then get this scene, where both of them are crying, Gilbert says her that he loves her and that he wants her to stay with him and then gives her a hug. We later learn that both of them lived happily everafter on the island... This one scene at the beach is so disrespectful to the entirety of Violet's character development that came before! Not only does Violet call Gilbert "major" throughout the entirety of the scene, but she also agrees to his order to stay with him forever! So in the end, Violet didn't move on at all, she still obeys the orders of the same superior officer, does as he pleases and is completely dependent on him! And that's the end to Violet's story as a whole?! This is just so very disappointing... I loved Violet Evergarden a whole lot, but now they managed to not only deliver a poor ending, but also to invalidate most of what made it so good in the first place. If you were watching Violet Evergarden for the good music and animation, then you're gonna be just as happy with this movie. But if you enjoyed it because of it's story and Violet as a character, then you'll be as disappointed and hurt as I am after watching this movie (which you probably already did, because of the spoilers). Sorry this kind of ended up being a rant. I felt the need to express my disappointment and anger with this movie, so that I'll be able to move on from it.
Kingsman117
07/03/2021, 07:49 PM
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.
V4Watcher
05/25/2021, 03:42 AM
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.
Slippery09
04/23/2021, 08:11 PM
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.
DaniloAnh
03/31/2021, 02:59 AM
Violet Evergarden: The Movie - SPOILER AHEAD These lines are being typed when I still have some warm tears lingering on my face, while playing the sentimental vocal soundtrack "Mirai no Hito E" from TRUE. I tried to remember when was the last time that I cried this much, feel this much, and had such an uprising unspoken shakiness that just waits to explode and erupt into the avalanche of emotions. Many films/movies that tug your string, many media products begging for your tears, spoon-feeding your pains and wrenching your hearts. Violet Garden: The Movie, however, slowly melts your heart away, makes you wish to cry andvoluntarily succumb to the emotional weight, but as the same time heals your broken heart with powerful lines, and soothing undertone like a passionate ode. It repeats this cycle until viewers realize that they have finished the roller-coaster ride of emotions and become a crying mess. What this movie does is to portray the narrative as the collection of three overlapping stories with the mixed bags of past, present and future. Together, they have formed an everlasting final tale of a former child soldier, an exquisite Doll, and more importantly, a finally true-to-be human girl known as Violet Evergarden. The first story is the framing medium fast forwarding to half of century in the future, and following Daisy. She is the granddaughter of Anne from TV series' ep 10, who has lived her life to the fullest. Anne's passing has left a deep scar to Daisy, distancing herself from her parents. However, upon finding the grandmother's treasure, 50 years worth of letters typed by a Doll, Anne sets on the journey to learn about this mysterious figure shaping the life of her beloved grandma. The second and the third story contain the larger chunk of the film length and have a close interconnection in reaching the endgame. They pull us back to the present, where we see Violet, Iris, Cattleya, Erica, Benedict, Hodgins, and the CH Postal Company in the midst of industrial and technological revolution. The invention of devices called telephone soon will make the ghostwriters, or the Dolls to become obsolete. The change is coming and forcing everyone else to make decisions in their crossways, to embrace the future that is thriving ahead. But Violet is facing dilemma of being unable to shake the pasts out of her mentality. Ghostwriting is what connects her to Major Gilbert. It becomes a new foundation for her to cling into will of living. Writing letters is what keep her intact against the post-trauma disorder, guilt and lack of reasons to keep up; so much that without it, what would be left for her? While everyone else is walking steadily through lives, Violet only has two things that matter to her, working and Gilbert. She visits his mother's graves, she reconciles with his brother Dietfried, and her eyes shine brightly upon finding Gilbert's belonging like a child finding the long-lost toys. She walks on the thin wire of emotional stance, which has been overcast by the sign of demise, knowing this would not be last for too long. Fortunately, as Violet is trying to cope with her burden, she met her new unexpected client, Yurith, a socially awkward young boy with an incurable disease; and surprisingly the new beacon of hope regarding whereabouts of Gilbert. Throughout the 2/3 of the movie is the focus of Violet's quest to see Gilbert, commingled with her task of fulfilling the last wish of a soon-to-be-dead. Although they seem to be separate on the surface, these stories are intertwined where Yurith and Violet form a connection to realize the truly important things to convey their love to dearly beloveds they care about. The movie also explores the closer aspects of two brothers Gilbert and Dietfried, their past guilts and deep wounds of regret. For Dietfried, he loses a chance to profess how much he loved his long-lost brother. For Gilbert, he carries with him the physical and mental disabilities. He is disgusted with what he did to Violet. He regrets for making her hands tainted with countless lives and blood; and despite how much he cares for her, the inability to say "I love you" once more on their reunion would just carve another cut to his already damaged soul. On the other side, Yurith only wants to convey his love to his parents, baby brother, and his best friend, but is unable to do so with his pride and self-pity of his fate. When things are unfolded, stories are told and conflicts are resolved, all the pieces of the script are tied together and Violet Evergarden: The Movie follows a traditional conclusion with little of plot twists, and fairly predictable outcomes. But thou shall not jump to conclusion as a poor plot. It is the well execution of storytelling, rich sketch of universe, fluid transition between scenarios, and the perseverance of character's progression that make Violet Evergarden special. And as the cream on the crop, characters are manifested, animated and humanized that can be deeply relatable depending on our own experience. Story has an authenticity and a freshness that may drive our feeling through the crisis. It is "genuine", to say the least. If all of those above are still not impressive enough, Violet Evergarden still has its signature move to tug at your heartstring. The vibrant visuals are not less than spectacular, astounding and unfathomable. Characters' designs are carefully touched with dynamic facial expressions. The landscape and finishing backgrounds are polished whose every second can be still-shot work of pure art. The music is amazingly composed and well-timing that is soothing and sentimental, endeavoring and timely, and melancholic yet reassuring. The voice-over team outdid themselves, with souls and loves in dialogues. The peak of this harmony is evident transparently throughout the movie: from the faint smile of Yurith upon passing his last words, the rolling flashback of Anne, to the idyllic reunion under the moonlight. Seeing Violet bawls her tears out, continuously thumps herself to compress emotional explosion, and valiantly utter each spoken word, I have my utmost respect to KyoAni for such a well-drawn scene with the high complexity of mental state. The movie ties the knot with Daisy who concludes the telltale of the infamous Doll and her legacy. It shows the lasting power of words, that long after the writers, senders and recipients are dusted in the sand of time, still have the ability to change the lives. Yurith is a testament to written words, but also spoken works. Letters can touch the human heart, but so do the voice, the smile and tears, and any other shapes or medium forms. Gilbert is the final reminder in building the bridge from human to human. A way to connect with each other still be there as long as we have the courage to show them. In the end, Violet Evergarden: The Movie is a fantastic closing chapter of Violet's journey. More than just her journey to find the meaning of "love", it is also our own journey to remind ourselves what makes us, creatures with intelligence and self-awareness, become human. As an emotional experience with insightful view of the human condition through stages of lives and circumstances, it taught us the empathy - which how basic it may sound, is easy to be forgotten in these days and ages. “After all, all we have is the present". Mumbling this final movie quote while looking into the void, I just thought: What a good day to cry!
Marinate1016
03/30/2021, 08:45 PM
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.
iishoxyii
03/30/2021, 07:51 AM
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.
-Pharos-
12/11/2020, 06:13 AM
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.
Anowink
12/07/2020, 12:28 AM
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.
ziIIa
12/03/2020, 06:33 AM
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…
TCTriangle
09/20/2020, 08:49 AM
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.
LacrimaMosa666
09/18/2020, 03:54 AM
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.

Violet Evergarden Movie 劇場版ヴァイオレット・エヴァーガーデン

| Episodes: 1 | Score: 8.8 (301338)

Updated every at | Status: Finished Airing

Type: Movie

Producers:Shochiku | ABC Animation

Streaming: Netflix

Synopsis

Voice Actors

Namikawa, Daisuke

Ishikawa, Yui

News

Reviews

choco_m00n
09/01/2024, 07:06 PM
*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.
CodeCypheur
01/08/2024, 09:43 AM
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.
Luna_Lolita_Chan
09/22/2023, 12:14 PM
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.
-Equinox-
08/07/2023, 01:57 AM
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...
elderonn
05/14/2023, 12:48 AM
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.
VortexHash
07/20/2022, 10:48 AM
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.
Herolles
12/11/2021, 02:35 PM
---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 in 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 and 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)
alexhendrix
12/11/2021, 08:23 AM
- 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?
jeremypascal
10/30/2021, 07:59 AM
SPOILER HEAVY REVIEW!!! As you can probably guess by the score, I have some major issues with this movie. However I'm gonna get the good things out of the way first: + Awesome animation + Awesome sound (this includes music and voice acting) + Decent story for the first half of the movie, many recurring characters and many events from the TV series that got brought up againTo talk about my issues with the movie, I first have to talk about the TV series, the themes it brought up and the development of Violet as a character. The story of the TV series was all about Violet's development from a tool of war, an unfeeling robotic puppet whose only purpose in life is to follow the orders of her superior officer, to an independent woman who has come to terms with her own emotions and has her own will and purpose in life. It also was about Violet processing the loss of the person most important to her. She had to accept that Gilbert may never come back, and that she needs to find a way to move on and live a life that doesn't revolve around him. I loved the TV series! I enjoyed all the little stories of the side characters and Violet's own story. It really hurts me to see the movie throw most of that out of the window, go in a very different direction and end at a point that was very unsatisfying to me. The first half of the movie was decent, we had a few more side stories with nice references to the TV series and Dietfried and Violet started on processing the loss of Gilbert together. Then we found out, that Gilbert is still alive and the trouble began. (So the whole "Coming to terms with the loss of someone important" theme is thrown out of the window I guess...) When Violet and Hodgins came to Gilbert's island, we found out that he had changed a lot and didn't even want to talk to Violet. I really liked this character development of his, he was partly responsible for the horrors of the war and for the misery of Violet's childhood and tried to redeem himself. Him not wanting to see her again and thinking that it'd be better for both, despite us knowing that he was really hurting her a lot at that moment was also something I liked. It showed us, that Gilbert is probably just not as perfect as Violet remembered and made him seem more human to me. At this point I thought: "Well ok, maybe they see each other one last time or maybe they exchange some letters and then Violet can move on and continue her development to an independent women who is able to come to terms with her own emotions and Gilbert convinces her, that she doesn't have to follow any orders from anyone anymore and should instead do what she wants?!" Nope, Violet does send a letter to Gilbert and he immediately decides to run after Violet, because now he wants to see her again! So Gilbert runs to the beach, shouts out Violet's name, to which she responds by jumping off her ship and swimming towards Gilbert. We then get this scene, where both of them are crying, Gilbert says her that he loves her and that he wants her to stay with him and then gives her a hug. We later learn that both of them lived happily everafter on the island... This one scene at the beach is so disrespectful to the entirety of Violet's character development that came before! Not only does Violet call Gilbert "major" throughout the entirety of the scene, but she also agrees to his order to stay with him forever! So in the end, Violet didn't move on at all, she still obeys the orders of the same superior officer, does as he pleases and is completely dependent on him! And that's the end to Violet's story as a whole?! This is just so very disappointing... I loved Violet Evergarden a whole lot, but now they managed to not only deliver a poor ending, but also to invalidate most of what made it so good in the first place. If you were watching Violet Evergarden for the good music and animation, then you're gonna be just as happy with this movie. But if you enjoyed it because of it's story and Violet as a character, then you'll be as disappointed and hurt as I am after watching this movie (which you probably already did, because of the spoilers). Sorry this kind of ended up being a rant. I felt the need to express my disappointment and anger with this movie, so that I'll be able to move on from it.
Kingsman117
07/03/2021, 07:49 PM
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.
V4Watcher
05/25/2021, 03:42 AM
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.
Slippery09
04/23/2021, 08:11 PM
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.
DaniloAnh
03/31/2021, 02:59 AM
Violet Evergarden: The Movie - SPOILER AHEAD These lines are being typed when I still have some warm tears lingering on my face, while playing the sentimental vocal soundtrack "Mirai no Hito E" from TRUE. I tried to remember when was the last time that I cried this much, feel this much, and had such an uprising unspoken shakiness that just waits to explode and erupt into the avalanche of emotions. Many films/movies that tug your string, many media products begging for your tears, spoon-feeding your pains and wrenching your hearts. Violet Garden: The Movie, however, slowly melts your heart away, makes you wish to cry andvoluntarily succumb to the emotional weight, but as the same time heals your broken heart with powerful lines, and soothing undertone like a passionate ode. It repeats this cycle until viewers realize that they have finished the roller-coaster ride of emotions and become a crying mess. What this movie does is to portray the narrative as the collection of three overlapping stories with the mixed bags of past, present and future. Together, they have formed an everlasting final tale of a former child soldier, an exquisite Doll, and more importantly, a finally true-to-be human girl known as Violet Evergarden. The first story is the framing medium fast forwarding to half of century in the future, and following Daisy. She is the granddaughter of Anne from TV series' ep 10, who has lived her life to the fullest. Anne's passing has left a deep scar to Daisy, distancing herself from her parents. However, upon finding the grandmother's treasure, 50 years worth of letters typed by a Doll, Anne sets on the journey to learn about this mysterious figure shaping the life of her beloved grandma. The second and the third story contain the larger chunk of the film length and have a close interconnection in reaching the endgame. They pull us back to the present, where we see Violet, Iris, Cattleya, Erica, Benedict, Hodgins, and the CH Postal Company in the midst of industrial and technological revolution. The invention of devices called telephone soon will make the ghostwriters, or the Dolls to become obsolete. The change is coming and forcing everyone else to make decisions in their crossways, to embrace the future that is thriving ahead. But Violet is facing dilemma of being unable to shake the pasts out of her mentality. Ghostwriting is what connects her to Major Gilbert. It becomes a new foundation for her to cling into will of living. Writing letters is what keep her intact against the post-trauma disorder, guilt and lack of reasons to keep up; so much that without it, what would be left for her? While everyone else is walking steadily through lives, Violet only has two things that matter to her, working and Gilbert. She visits his mother's graves, she reconciles with his brother Dietfried, and her eyes shine brightly upon finding Gilbert's belonging like a child finding the long-lost toys. She walks on the thin wire of emotional stance, which has been overcast by the sign of demise, knowing this would not be last for too long. Fortunately, as Violet is trying to cope with her burden, she met her new unexpected client, Yurith, a socially awkward young boy with an incurable disease; and surprisingly the new beacon of hope regarding whereabouts of Gilbert. Throughout the 2/3 of the movie is the focus of Violet's quest to see Gilbert, commingled with her task of fulfilling the last wish of a soon-to-be-dead. Although they seem to be separate on the surface, these stories are intertwined where Yurith and Violet form a connection to realize the truly important things to convey their love to dearly beloveds they care about. The movie also explores the closer aspects of two brothers Gilbert and Dietfried, their past guilts and deep wounds of regret. For Dietfried, he loses a chance to profess how much he loved his long-lost brother. For Gilbert, he carries with him the physical and mental disabilities. He is disgusted with what he did to Violet. He regrets for making her hands tainted with countless lives and blood; and despite how much he cares for her, the inability to say "I love you" once more on their reunion would just carve another cut to his already damaged soul. On the other side, Yurith only wants to convey his love to his parents, baby brother, and his best friend, but is unable to do so with his pride and self-pity of his fate. When things are unfolded, stories are told and conflicts are resolved, all the pieces of the script are tied together and Violet Evergarden: The Movie follows a traditional conclusion with little of plot twists, and fairly predictable outcomes. But thou shall not jump to conclusion as a poor plot. It is the well execution of storytelling, rich sketch of universe, fluid transition between scenarios, and the perseverance of character's progression that make Violet Evergarden special. And as the cream on the crop, characters are manifested, animated and humanized that can be deeply relatable depending on our own experience. Story has an authenticity and a freshness that may drive our feeling through the crisis. It is "genuine", to say the least. If all of those above are still not impressive enough, Violet Evergarden still has its signature move to tug at your heartstring. The vibrant visuals are not less than spectacular, astounding and unfathomable. Characters' designs are carefully touched with dynamic facial expressions. The landscape and finishing backgrounds are polished whose every second can be still-shot work of pure art. The music is amazingly composed and well-timing that is soothing and sentimental, endeavoring and timely, and melancholic yet reassuring. The voice-over team outdid themselves, with souls and loves in dialogues. The peak of this harmony is evident transparently throughout the movie: from the faint smile of Yurith upon passing his last words, the rolling flashback of Anne, to the idyllic reunion under the moonlight. Seeing Violet bawls her tears out, continuously thumps herself to compress emotional explosion, and valiantly utter each spoken word, I have my utmost respect to KyoAni for such a well-drawn scene with the high complexity of mental state. The movie ties the knot with Daisy who concludes the telltale of the infamous Doll and her legacy. It shows the lasting power of words, that long after the writers, senders and recipients are dusted in the sand of time, still have the ability to change the lives. Yurith is a testament to written words, but also spoken works. Letters can touch the human heart, but so do the voice, the smile and tears, and any other shapes or medium forms. Gilbert is the final reminder in building the bridge from human to human. A way to connect with each other still be there as long as we have the courage to show them. In the end, Violet Evergarden: The Movie is a fantastic closing chapter of Violet's journey. More than just her journey to find the meaning of "love", it is also our own journey to remind ourselves what makes us, creatures with intelligence and self-awareness, become human. As an emotional experience with insightful view of the human condition through stages of lives and circumstances, it taught us the empathy - which how basic it may sound, is easy to be forgotten in these days and ages. “After all, all we have is the present". Mumbling this final movie quote while looking into the void, I just thought: What a good day to cry!
Marinate1016
03/30/2021, 08:45 PM
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.
iishoxyii
03/30/2021, 07:51 AM
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.
-Pharos-
12/11/2020, 06:13 AM
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.
Anowink
12/07/2020, 12:28 AM
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.
ziIIa
12/03/2020, 06:33 AM
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…
TCTriangle
09/20/2020, 08:49 AM
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.
LacrimaMosa666
09/18/2020, 03:54 AM
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.

Violet Evergarden Movie 劇場版ヴァイオレット・エヴァーガーデン

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Violet Evergarden Movie 劇場版ヴァイオレット・エヴァーガーデン

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Violet Evergarden Movie 劇場版 ヴァイオレット・エヴァーガーデン

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PV Collection for Feb 10 - 16

'Violet Evergarden' Anime Film Delays January 10 Opening [Update 11/9]

Anime Industry Grapples with Aftermath of Kyoto Animation Fire [Update 10/13]

'Violet Evergarden' Receives Side Story Ahead of Anime Film

'Violet Evergarden' Anime Film Announced for January 2020

Violet Evergarden Movie 劇場版 ヴァイオレット・エヴァーガーデン

North American Anime & Manga Releases for May

TAAF 2021 Anime of the Year Winners Announced

PV Collection for June 22 - 28

Anime Postponements Due to COVID-19 Outbreak [Update 2/5]

Spring 2020 Anime Postponements Due to COVID-19 Outbreak [Update 1/14]

PV Collection for Feb 10 - 16

'Violet Evergarden' Anime Film Delays January 10 Opening [Update 11/9]

Anime Industry Grapples with Aftermath of Kyoto Animation Fire [Update 10/13]

'Violet Evergarden' Receives Side Story Ahead of Anime Film

'Violet Evergarden' Anime Film Announced for January 2020

Violet Evergarden Movie 劇場版ヴァイオレット・エヴァーガーデン

Violet Evergarden Movie 劇場版ヴァイオレット・エヴァーガーデン