Violet Evergarden und das Band der Freundschaft

I haven't seen any of the Violet Evergarden series so I watched this movie with no context. The story was still easy enough for me to pick up though. It starts off with the titular Violet Evergarden taking on a student Ms. York at an etiquette student as they open up to each other. We learn more about their characters and their backstories but for a while the plot doesn't really go in any particular direction. It is not clear who is the protagonist - we can't see who is propelling the action because there isn't really any progress anyway. Around halfway, we finally see a focus on Taylor Bartlett who aims to become a delivery person, bring joy to others and find her long-lost sister again - a plot thread that took far too long to set up. By far the defining feature of this film is the visual animation quality. Everything pops out with well defined colours and details like the light in the sky, the reflections in the water, the architecture of the town and even the mechanical arms of Violet Evergarden.

Violet Evergarden: Eternity and the Auto Memory Doll is a continuation of the 2018 anime series Violet Evergarden. Its titular character is a former soldier who lost both of her hands in the war but is now nevertheless pursuing a career as an auto memory doll, a ghost writer slash typist slash secretary for hire.

The good things of the series carry to this movie as well. First of all, it's crazily good-looking. The animation is at times so beautiful that it honestly becomes a bit distracting. I found myself missing lines because I was admiring the details. Likewise here. And it's actually quite rare that a movie version of an anime doesn't look better, but here I'd say they're about even. That's definitely more of a compliment towards the anime than it is a flaw on the movie's part.

Furthermore, the story also fits nicely with what we've seen in the anime. This could have been a two-parter in the series itself. It's sweet, heartfelt, at times really sad and filled with melancholy, but in the end optimistic and looking hopefully towards the future. Everything that made the anime so great.

That being said, it can feel a bit padded. You'd have hoped that if they were going to make a movie, they would have chosen a storyline that would have better served its length. Still, that's pretty much the only disappointing thing about this film.

If you liked the anime series, then this is definitely worth a watch. As a standalone film... I think it actually might be a bit hard to follow. Not recommended.

I am a big fan of the Violet Evergarden series. However this "movie" seems more like an extended episode and (no spoilers) has a rather abrupt and unexpected finale. The entire presentation is excellent up until the last 5 seconds, then leaves the audience in a "What? That's it?" state of mind.

Up until that point this does not disappoint. Who would believe that anyone could pull this much meaning and emotion from the simple plot of a letter writer and mail carrier. This movie will tug at the heart strings... right up until the "what???" ending.

It makes one wonder if this is intended as the first of a 2-part series. If so, there is no indication of such. It leaves the impression that the production company hit a time or budget constraint and said, "Okay, that's a wrap!".

So if you haven't seen this yet, you can go go into it eyes wide open. It will be a wonderful excursion further into this very unique world, but then

One more impression: I personally felt this movie could have used another 30 to 60 minutes to add some more plot elements and better examine the Violet character herself (she is after all, supposed to be the theme of the show). This series is about her development as a person. Despite their unconvincing attempt at such... that element of the series just doesn't quite succeed. Prior presentations of this story have been significantly better.

So, rating it a step above mediocre, but at 6 stars considerably lower than the 10 stars I would give Violet Evergarden as a complete series. This just didn't quite live up to what fans would hope for and expect.

I just watched this movie, very recommended for all of you who wants to know what's next for Violet. Great addition stories, heartwarming as usual, the animation and songs are exactly just like the short series, and more importantly this movie has a soul.

For every Violet Evergarden fans, you just can't missed watching this.

Plot

Violet Evergarden, a former soldier returned from war, comes to teach at a women's academy and changes a young girl's life.

I don't really have much to add to the review but I do feel like the movie had two stories taking place at once and cramps them into one single movie. But other then that complement you might enjoy it if you liked the series.