Violet Evergarden: The Movie is the first movie released by Kyoto Animations after the arson attack that occurred in 2019. This film has been awaited by fans worldwide and carries a large amount of emotional weight; on and off-screen.
Violet Evergarden is a wonderful anime series that follows a slice of life format that has a main plot underneath; the question of “what love is”. The series based on the light novel follows the story of a girl named Violet who was trained in the army during a time of war at a young age. When the war ends, years later, she is left alone without the one person she relied on, a man named “Major Gilbert”. To learn more about the world around her, she takes up the role of an “Auto Memory Doll”; a person who writes letters on behalf of clients who either cannot write or have troubles expressing themselves. By doing this, she hopes to be able to understand the emotions that people feel and be able to learn about love.
Warning: This is not spoiler-free!
Violet Evergarden: The Movie is the last installment of the series and is to be considered as the “second season” of the show as well as the second movie to be released. Animation-wise, it is aesthetically breathtaking. Violet Evergarden is known for its beautiful animation and this movie did not disappoint. The colour schemes, locations and direction prov,ided by the director complimented each other perfectly. The sensitivity to detail is amazing; flowers blooming, the waves in the ocean sparkling at night, the bustling streets, and the grass being paired with the morning light. The soundtrack was also quite wonderful. The music paired with the scenes well and the lyrics to the declaration/poem at the start called “a hymn to the sea” effortlessly introduced to the movie to the viewers.
The movie continues the story of Violet and how her job as a doll has touched many people emotionally. The film displays how much Violet has grown as an individual and how she has finally learned the true meaning of love. However, as all of this occurs, it is clear that she cannot let go of her past and her feelings towards her mentor “Major Gilbert”; the man who essentially raised her and told her that he loved her. He is the one and the only thing she has ever obsessed over and cannot seem to forget him at any point in time. The problem here is that the Major is missing in action and is presumed to be dead. Violet Evergarden has always been a tragic love story between these two characters due to their separation and the fact that Violet did not know what love was.
The anime does not follow the light novel exactly so the movie is different than the contents in the novel. Major Gilbert is alive which is the same however the fact that no one knew in the anime is different than the novel. In the book, people knew that he was alive however they did not inform Violet because he wanted her to escape her life in the army. This differs from the movie because no one knew and he ran away instead so that she could live without being held down. They meet in the film, to which they were able to convey their feelings for one another which cleared their misunderstandings/guilt that was present. In the end, Violet became a well-known “Auto Memory Doll” and was able to live with Gilbert happily.
The film is on the slower side, however, the soundtrack, plot, and animation make up for it. The anime series is also slow so for fans this shouldn’t be too much of a surprise. Violet Evergarden: The Movie is definitely worth the watch and the wait! It is highly recommended and can be watched in select theatres, Netflix, Funimation and Crunchyroll.
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