Movie Overview

The Violet Evergarden Movie (劇場版 ヴァイオレット・エヴァーガーデン) is the conclusion of the Violet Evergarden series. It takes place after the events of the TV series and the Eternity and the Auto Memory Doll movie.

Now, before I go any further, I need to make you aware that I’m going to spoil everything about this movie in this review. It’s highly suggested that you watch everything the series has to offer before reading any further.

With that disclaimer out of the way, the Violet Evergarden Movie is the story of Violet being reunited with Major Bougainvillea. It’s discovered that the Major has been alive this whole time living on an island within the nation that he and Violet once fought against.

However, Violet’s journey to be reunited with the Major isn’t the only plotline of the movie. It also tells the story of a young boy with a terminal illness named Yuris. Yuris wants Violet to write letters to his parents, younger brother, and friend to be delivered after he dies.

If you’re thinking that this sounds a lot like the plot of episode 10 of the series, that’s because it is. In episode 10, which I regard as the single best episode of anime I’ve seen, Violet writes 50 letters from a mother to her daughter to be delivered on the daughter’s birthday every year after the mother dies.

That’s not the only connection to episode 10, though. The movie actually starts out in the “present” with the granddaughter of the girl who received those 50 letters. And throughout the movie, we jump through time to follow this girl’s search for more information on Violet.

Episode 10 left such an impact on me that I immediately recognized the house in the movie.

I Didn’t Need This Movie

This is probably an unpopular opinion, but I don’t think this movie was necessary. I didn’t need Violet and Gilbert to be reunited and live happily ever after. In fact, I would have actually preferred if Gilbert had just continued to be presumed dead — like how the anime series ends.

I’m generally not someone who needs a “hard ending.” Leaving the ending open, especially if that open ending is the more tragic option in a drama, is preferable to me. And, I don’t particularly think that Violet needed to be reunited with Gilbert for her character arc to be concluded.

I never felt that Violet’s journey as a character was leading her to the point at which she would be reunited with Gilbert. Rather, it’s Gilbert’s “death” that jumpstarts her journey of self-discovery and learning how to connect with others.

I was also a bit underwhelmed by the ending. If we’re going out of our way to have Violet reunite with Gilbert, then at least make the payoff at the end worthwhile. They hug while standing in the ocean and then we’re just told that they lived together on the island for the rest of their lives.

Did they get married? Did they have children? Do they have surviving descendants in the “present?” Was their relationship even a romantic one? We don’t even have the answer to that basic question.

Sure, they both say that they love each other. And it’s very probable that Violet has romantic feelings for Gilbert. But at no point did Gilbert confirm he felt that way about Violet. He could just as easily love her as an adopted daughter. He’s like twice her age (which doesn’t really matter in context) and has always treated her as a child.

The Highlight of the Movie

The portions of the movie that have to do with Yuris, the sick boy I mentioned earlier, are the best. It’s a great reversal of episode 10. Instead of a parent leaving behind letters for their child, it’s a child leaving behind letters for their parents (and sibling).

I hate to admit it, but I may have shed 1 or 2 tears during the climax of Yuris’s story. That’s the first time any movie or series has achieved that. Episode 10 came extremely close. And if I rewatched it, it might succeed.

But, not only was Yuris’s story emotional, but it also tied together an overarching theme of the whole series. That theme is that nothing is permanent. People die, the world progresses, and there’s nothing anyone can do to stop time from moving forward.

One of the ways this theme is illustrated via Yuris is his use of the telephone. Because it’s been so long since I watched the original series, I don’t remember if the radio tower was being constructed during it. I feel like it was. But I can’t say for certain.

However, the radio tower was definitely being constructed in the Eternity and the Auto Memory Doll movie. Its construction and progress were mentioned multiple times in that movie. In particular, an old woman asks Benedict about it at least two separate times.

At the start of this movie, Iris comments on how once the radio tower is completed, telephones are going to put auto memory dolls out of business. And at the climax of Yuris’s story, it’s a telephone that allows him to talk to his friend Lucas one last time when there was no time left to write a letter.

Conclusion

Despite the issues I have with this movie, such as it really not being necessary and the “present” timeline portion not amounting to much, it’s still a 9/10. For an anime to make me feel the way this one did, it has to be at least that high.

If you enjoyed this review, remember to click the like button down below. Also, follow me over on Twitter @DoubleSama so you don’t miss out on any future content. And come join our Discord server if you’re interested in discussing anime with other members of the community.

Finally, I’d like to thank Roman for supporting DoubleSama.com at the Heika tier this month. To learn more about how you too can become a supporter of this blog, check out Patreon.com/DoubleSama.

Movie Overview

Violet Evergarden: Eternity and the Auto Memory Doll (Violet Evergarden Gaiden: Eien to Jidou Shuki Ningyou / ヴァイオレット・エヴァーガーデン 外伝 -永遠と自動手記人形-) is the first Violet Evergarden movie to release after the conclusion of the TV series.

However, the events of this movie don’t take place after the events of the series. Instead, much like with the special, this movie takes place at some point within the middle of the series. I’m not exactly sure when, though, because it’s been a few years since I last watched Violet Evergarden.

If I had to guess, though, I’d say that the movie probably takes place before episode 5 of the series. I’m basing this solely on the fact that Violet refers to Isabella as her first friend. Surely, Violet would consider Princess Charlotte, who’s introduced in episode 5, to be her friend.

At the end of the day, where the movie falls within the context of the series doesn’t matter. I guess maybe it does if you want to watch it in its chronological placement. But this is a side story meant to be experienced after the main series. That’s even where it falls in the source material.

Anyway, this movie is a bit weird in that it has two distinct halves. In the first half of the movie, Violet is tutoring Isabella York, a girl at a girls’ academy for the children of noble families. And in the second half, Violet is training Amy Bartlett, an orphan who wants to become a mail courier.

When the shift happened midway through the movie, I wasn’t a huge fan of the change. But, it pays off in the end. So overall, I’d say it wasn’t a detriment.

Isabella York

The half of the movie that focused on Violet’s time with Isabella York is definitely my preferred half. I would have been completely happy with getting a full movie of just Violet and Isabella. And I was a bit disappointed that their 3 months together was condensed into half a movie.

I have to admit that I wasn’t expecting to care about Isabella at all when I started this movie. But, surprisingly, that’s exactly what ended up happening. At the start, Isabella isn’t a pleasant person. However, she’s extremely likable once she opens up.

Isabella is a normal girl. She doesn’t know how to interact with other girls her age, she’s shy, and she doesn’t feel like she fits in with high society. But she still wants to make friends and do all the things friends do together. With Violet, she gets to experience this for the first time.

I really enjoy anime characters who act like normal people. Of course, I like Violet too even though she’s anything but normal. But it’s refreshing to see a character like Isabella when you consider how most of the other anime I watch daily don’t have realistic characters.

And by realistic, I’m mainly referring to how the characters respond to various situations. Yes, Isabella originally being an orphan who’s thrust into high society isn’t very realistic. However, the way Isabella reacts to the situation of being alone in an unfamiliar place and how she opens up to Violet after getting to know her is.

Going back a bit to how I like Violet, I think that’s also a reason for me preferring this first half of the movie. Violet plays a bigger role in this half, with Benedict filling in for her a significant amount in the second half.

Amy and Taylor Bartlett

In the second half of the movie, we dive more into Isabella’s background as an orphan. She originally went by the name Amy Bartlett before being taken in by the York family and renamed Isabella. The York family took her in because they needed an heir and Amy was an illegitimate child of Mr. York.

However, Amy wasn’t alone when she was taken in by the York family and sent off to the academy to learn how to be a member of high society. She had an adopted younger sister, who was really more like a daughter, Taylor Bartlett.

Taylor is the focus of the second half of the movie. After we get the background of her and Amy, we learn that Taylor wants to become a mail courier so that she can deliver happiness to people — just as Benedict did for her by delivering Amy’s letter to the orphanage.

Taylor and Benedict simply aren’t as good characters as Isabella and Violet are. Taylor doesn’t really act like a kid. She acts like a small, dumb adult. And while that might sound like a kid, it’s not. For a kid who’s around 7 years old, Taylor shows an exceptional level of restraint when it comes to everything other than being a mail courier.

We see that she wants a lot of things just like a normal kid would. She looks longingly at other children playing in a park and she stares wide-eyed at the box of candy she delivers to a boy. But she also never acts out or complains and she didn’t even run out to see Isabella at the end.

As for Benedict, he’s kind of just a jerk and there’s not much to his personality. However, I will say that I enjoyed just how frequently we got shots focusing on the fact that he wears stiletto boots with frills.

Conclusion

I give Violet Evergarden: Eternity and the Auto Memory Doll a 9/10. The title doesn’t make sense and I would have preferred if the movie wasn’t split into two halves. But the emotional payoff at the end was really good. I loved seeing how Isabella reacted to Taylor’s letter.

If you enjoyed this review, remember to click the like button down below. Also, follow me over on Twitter @DoubleSama so you don’t miss out on any future content. And come join our Discord server if you’re interested in discussing anime with other members of the community.

Finally, I’d like to thank Roman for supporting DoubleSama.com at the Heika tier this month. To learn more about how you too can become a supporter of this blog, check out Patreon.com/DoubleSama.

My review of the Violet Evergarden Movie is available now.