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.

Depend on what you know about the series, If you've been a fan of Violet Evergarden series, this movie is a must watch. If you never watch the series before, the story is about an ex-child soldier name Violet who had a problem of understanding and expressing emotion. After the end of the war she became a ghost writer (this occupation is called an automemory doll) and learn more about emotion through writing letters and interacted with her clients. This movie was set around 3 years after the main story and Violet is now capable of understanding emotion.( I recommend at least watch the 1st episode of the series, it would provide enough background for the whole movie, just don't be startled with the radical change of Violet's character).

Wether you are new or old to the series, this movie is still a good show in drama/slide of life genre. It's a kind of show that base on the thought that we, human have a good heart and is capable of improving oneself and be kind to one another, and it left me with a warmth in my heart. It's not perfect, the pacing is slow and some audiences may find it's boring and the movie tend to be overdramatic from time to time. The impact of emotion would variously affect each audience. Needless to say that it would be more impact to your emotion if you are already invested in to the series. If you are a fan of the series like me and felt connected to Violet, this movie is a joy to watch since Violet was grown up to be a gentle and kind person and many of her action/narration had a reference from the event of the main series.

The art, animation in this movie is top notch but not exceed the quality of the main series which in my opinion, is a quality worth to be a movie by itself. What is great about this movie is the detail of each scene. The team in Kyoto Animation must have put a lot of care and effort in this animation so many subtle things appear in the movie gave you a hint of feeling and intention of characters. This not a show that would always tell the audiences what the character was thinking or feeling but rather let the audiences figure out for themselves and this was made possible by the combination of many small details. The music composed by Evan Call is again, beautiful and suitable to the theme of the movie and the voice acting (I watched in Japanese soundtrack) is great. The only thing I complaint about is the narration of Taylor, one of the main character is a bit too loud and sometimes, downright annoying.

It's also important to note that this movie is a side story and the focus of the story is not on Violet herself. We just watch the story unfolded around her and other characters. It's the same experience as you watch each episode in the main series which is not a bad thing , but if you wish to see the story mainly focused on Violet, this show would not deliver.

I think this show is like a prequel before Violet Evergarden the Movie roll out next year. It move the time frame to 4 years after the war and violet is now 18 years old at least (which is why there are some fan service scene done right here) and it add some questions to be answered. I just hope that in the next movie all these questions would be answered and Violet would find the happiness she deserved to have.

Lastly, there is no additional scene after the credits end. Still, it's an emotional moment to think that 35 lives of talented animators were lost from the arson attack at Kyoto Animation. May they rest in peace.

This is probably the most beautifully animated anime I have ever seen, every single frame from this anime is so astonishing and gorgeous and background music is so good I guess even filler episode from violet Evergarden doesn't disappoint fans

No Joke, I really thought this was the 2020 movie that came early but that doesn't matter, it was great that I finally got a proper chance to seeing this side story , thanks to it being uploaded on a particular site (can't say sorry or otherwise it'll be at a risk of site being taken down).

Anyways man...it just felt so good to see a Kyoani anime again, especially seeing Violet Evergarden . It still breaks my heart into millions of pieces when the Kyoani logo appeared at the beginning like seriously, it's just so tragic and heartbreaking that the animators who worked behind the scenes of this anime died during that tragedy.

Thank you Watanabe Mikiko for giving us Violet Evergarden with your amazing art direction 💓💓

The fact that the story of Taylor and Amy will make you cry too so get your tissues folks if you're planning to watch this charming powerful side story!

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.