Vaioretto evâgâden gaiden: Eien to jidô shuki ningyô

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.

I love the show and episode 10 is one of my favourite episodes of TV of all time, but sadly, this movie didn't work for me at all.

I rewatched the show's finale in preperation and had tears in my eyes there, but this movie just didn't do amything for me emotionally.

It's not that the story wasn't sad (in a good way), it's just the execution of it.

The show got me crying repeatedly within 20 minutes, and in 1.5 hours this didn't manage that.

My heartfelt condolences to the friends and families of the victims of the Kyoto Animation arson attack.

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.

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.