Vaioretto evâgâden gaiden: Eien to jidô shuki ningyô

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

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 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.

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.

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.