Tag: 2019

Weathering with You

Weathering with You

Weathering with You anime movie cover art
Weathering with You

Another Bad Movie Night Movie

Weathering with You (Tenki no Ko / 天気の子) is a fantasy, romance, drama anime directed by Makoto Shinkai. And yes, he’s the one who also directed the fantasy, romance, drama anime Your Name. However, Weathering with You isn’t as good as Your Name.

You can think of this movie as being like a cross between Your Name and Penguin Highway. It has a lot in common with both of those movies. Unfortunately, the plot is far more like that of Penguin Highway. And, that explains why I don’t think it was very good.

You see, the things Weathering with You and Your Name have in common are pretty superficial. They’re directed the same way, they look similar, and they have some of the same themes. These movies also share at least 1 character, so we know they’re in the same universe.

Natsumi Suga winking (at me) from the anime movie Weathering with You
Natsumi Suga winking (at me)

What this movie shares with Penguin Highway are all the bad things about Penguin Highway. Well, other than the fact that they both have cute onee-san characters. Everything else they have in common are negatives, such as plots that really don’t make any sense.

And so you’re aware, I’m about to spoil some of those things right now.

Remember how Penguin Highway had a portal into a water world? Well, this movie has something similar, but with a cloud world. And remember how the female lead faded away in Penguin Highway? Again, the same exact thing happens in Weathering with You.

Over-promising and under-delivering are rampant among fantasy drama anime movies. They craft unique worlds to draw you in and set up interesting plot points. But then, they don’t have enough run time to follow through on what they set up. So, they cut out everything that’s not 100% necessary to conclude the story.

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Sunshine Girls & Rain Boys

The main premise of the movie revolves around so-called “Sunshine Girls.” These are girls who can make the sun come out on rainy days. And, as you may have guessed, Hina Amano, the female lead, is a Sunshine Girl. When she prays for sunlight, the rain clouds dissipate.

Opposite the Sunshine Girls are some kind of rain people. I don’t remember what they’re actually called, so I’ll call them Rain Boys. These Rain Boys only got a single mention in the movie when we got the explanation of Sunshine Girls.

I assumed that they were going to play a role since it was always raining in this world. It seemed like there could be a Rain Boy behind it all. But, no. We never got an explanation for that. And it was only slightly implied that the main character, Hodoka Morishima, is a Rain Boy.

Hina Amano praying for sunshine from the anime movie Weathering with You
Hina Amano praying for sunshine

Anyway, Sunshine Girls are treated as a myth in this world. Most people don’t believe they exist. They might be familiar with the concept, but only from legends and fairytales from long ago. And yet, when a real Sunshine Girls appears, nobody seems that surprised.

When Hina is going to reveal her power to the public for the first time, people are skeptical. However, as soon as she makes the sun come out, they accept Sunshine Girls as part of their world and move on. This isn’t a fantasy-fantasy world. It’s the same as our world, but with Sunshine Girls. So, this acceptance was a bit jarring.

Imagine if tomorrow we found out that the Greek gods are real, live among us, and have magic powers. Now imagine that everyone accepts that fact within a few minutes and starts paying them to do odd jobs. That’s Weathering with You.

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A Surprising Crime Thriller

Enough about the bad aspects of Weathering with You. What was the best thing about the movie? By far, the best thing was how it turned out to be a crime thriller. I can’t say I was expecting that to be the case.

Early in the movie, Hodoka comes across a handgun he thinks is fake. That is until he fires it at someone and goes on the run as a fugitive. Then, for most of the movie, the gun doesn’t play a significant role. Hodoka even throws it away at one point.

And, let me just say that throwing away the gun was a great decision. If you’ve committed a crime, you should usually get rid of the evidence. Unless tampering with evidence has a harsher penalty than the original crime, toss it. That’s being a criminal 101.

Hodoka Morishima in the rain from the anime movie Weathering with You
Hodoka Morishima in the rain

Unfortunately for Hodoka, he makes a huge blunder at the end of the movie. He returns to where he tossed the gun and retrieves it. And to make matters worse, he then uses the gun to threaten the police. Pro tip: don’t get into a standoff with police if you want things to work out in your favor.

The good news is that since Hodoka lives in Japan, he survived his encounter with the cops. However, what he got was a fate worse than death: 3 years of probation until he graduates high school. Honestly, I’m not sure how he made it through those 3 years.

Oh, and while this is unrelated, I almost forgot the funniest part of Weathering with You. Hodoka saved Hina from the clouds. But, in return, this caused it to rain 24/7 for the next 3+ years. And because of that, the entire nation of Japan is sinking. Classic.

Conclusion

Overall, I’d say Weathering with You is a 5/10. It’s not a good anime. But, it is funny at times. And something tells me I’d view Your Name the same way if I ever rewatched it. So, I won’t rewatch it and I’ll keep pretending that it was one of the best anime movies.

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I Can’t Believe I Slept With You!

I Can’t Believe I Slept With You!

I Can't Believe I Slept With You! Volume 1 manga cover
I Can’t Believe I Slept With You!

Even If It Was Just Once, I Regret It

I Can’t Believe I Slept With You! (Ichido dake demo, Koukai Shitemasu. / 一度だけでも、後悔してます。) is a yuri manga by Miyako Miyahara. The entire series is only 3 volumes (21 chapters) long, so it’s a pretty quick read.

If you know any Japanese, you may have realized that the English title is pretty different. The more accurate translation is “Even If It Was Just Once, I Regret It.” And this is actually a much better title for the story, so I’m not sure why they changed it.

I guess “I Can’t Believe I Slept With You!” stands out more as a title. It’s almost a bit clickbaity. But, it doesn’t have the same relevance to the story as the original title. The regret the two main girls feel about their one-night stand is kind of important to the story.

Ritsuka asking Chiyo to have sex with her from the manga I Can't Believe I Slept With You!
Ritsuka asking Chiyo to have sex with her

This seems like a good time to point out that this is a wholesome yuri manga. I can understand why someone wouldn’t think that’s the case based on the first chapter. It starts off with Ritsuka (the landlady) blackmailing a drunk Chiyo into having sex with her.

I get it. That’s not exactly the setup for a wholesome series. But, it gets worse. Ritsuka lays out a contract stating she’ll reduce Chiyo’s rent by ¥70,000 every time Chiyo “services” her. Oh, and also Ritsuka is going to start living in Chiyo’s apartment with her.

So, how could this be a wholesome series in any way? Well, Ritsuka has a very broad definition of “servicing.” Any time Chiyo does anything that makes Ritsuka happy, she counts it. A hug? Check. Playing games together? Check. Going on a shopping date? Check.

I Can’t Believe I Slept With You!, Vol. 1

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Chiyo and Ritsuka

Chiyo Kozuka is the protagonist of I Can’t Believe I Slept With You! She’s a 24-year-old NEET who lived alone before Ritsuka showed up looking for the 3 months of rent Chiyo owed. But, while Chiyo’s currently a NEET, this wasn’t always the case.

She used to work at a game company. But, she quit her job after the (male) coworker she had a crush on got married. That’s right, despite this being a yuri manga, Chiyo is straight. Well, she starts off straight, which seems to be a common trope in yuri series.

I don’t particularly mind this trope. But, you do kind of have to look past the whole initial sexual assault thing. People got mad when I said that about Bloom Into You, as well. However, I think you’d have a hard time arguing that’s not the case this time around.

Ritsuka explaining the rent reduction agreement from the manga I Can't Believe I Slept With You!
Ritsuka explaining the rent reduction agreement

Ritsuka Hara is the landlady of the apartment building Chiyo lives in. But, despite her job, she’s actually quite young. Ritsuka is only 19 years old, 5 years younger than Chiyo. But, that age gap doesn’t bother Ritsuka. She tells Chiyo that she’s into older women.

Of the two girls, Ritsuka is definitely more my type. She’s smaller (cuter) and her appearance doesn’t remind me of Tsubasa Hanekawa. I also like that she knows exactly what she wants. She wants Chiyo (in bed, naked). But, that doesn’t mean she’s thinking about sex all the time.

In a lot of instances throughout the series, it’s Ritsuka who pulls back from intimate moments. There were many times when she could have gotten what she wanted, but declined. Why? Because despite how forward she was in Chapter 1, she feels bad about her contract with Chiyo. This conflict makes her a good character.

Yuri Manga > Anime

I’m not going to pretend that I have extensive experience with yuri anime and manga. I’ve watched 5 anime that I’d consider to be pure yuri anime. By pure yuri, I mean it’s about 2 girls who are in a relationship. Yuru Yuri technically counts as yuri. But, I’m not including things like that.

So, I’ve watched 5 yuri anime and I’ve read 2 yuri manga now. And, while I tend to prefer anime over manga, that’s not the case for yuri series. I’m not entirely sure why this is the case. But, yuri manga are better than yuri anime.

Now, it’s possible I’d feel this way about adult romance series in general. Manga as a medium might capture the intimate moments better than anime does. With anime, there’s a lot going on; there’s music, animation, and voice acting. If one of those things isn’t good, it can kill the mood.

Chiyo hugging Ritsuka from the manga I Can't Believe I Slept With You!
Chiyo hugging Ritsuka

I Can’t Believe I Slept With You! could receive an anime adaptation someday. It’s a relatively new manga, so it’s not too surprising it doesn’t have one yet. But, I don’t know if there should be an anime version.

First of all, considering it’s only 21 chapters long, I don’t know if there’s enough content for an anime. Some of the chapters are pretty short and not much happens in them. But, the bigger issue is what an anime adaptation would cut. I could see it cutting out the sex.

The sex scenes in this manga aren’t anything graphic. There are anime that are far more graphic. But, because this is a yuri series, I could see these scenes getting cut. And without those scenes, this would be a pretty bland romance series. It’d be like how nothing happens in the Adachi and Shimamura anime.

Conclusion

I Can’t Believe I Slept With You! (Even If It Was Just Once, I Regret It) is a 7/10. At first, I had it rated a point higher. But, as I thought about it over the course of writing this review, I don’t think it’s good enough to be an 8.

If it ever does get an anime adaptation, I’ll watch and review that too. And in the future, I want to read and review the manga for some of the other yuri anime I’ve seen, as I did for Bloom Into You. So, if you’re a yuri series fan, you have that to look forward to.

If you enjoyed this review, remember to click the like button down below. Also, follow me on Twitter @DoubleSama so you don’t miss out on any future content. And come join our Discord server to discuss anime and manga 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.

The Demon Girl Next Door

The Demon Girl Next Door

The Demon Girl Next Door anime series cover art
The Demon Girl Next Door

Series Overview

The Demon Girl Next Door (Machikado Mazoku / まちカドまぞく) is a comedy, slice of life anime that’s surprisingly based on a 4-panel manga. I say surprisingly because I had no idea that was the case until I began writing this review.

Most anime based on 4-panel manga feel like anime based on 4-panel manga. While The Demon Girl Next Door has some elements that feel that way, overall I’d say the series doesn’t. It feels like it’s based on a standard manga.

This series follows the misadventures of Yuuko Yoshida, now known as Shadow Mistress Yuuko — or just Shamiko for short. One morning, Shamiko awoke to find she’d grown demon horns and a tail. Her mother then reveals that she’s a member of a demon clan and needs to defeat a magical girl to break the seal on their family.

Unfortunately for Shamiko, she’s extremely weak. And the local magical girl, Momo Chiyoda, is extremely strong. There’s simply no way Shamiko will ever be able to defeat Momo in combat. But, something like reality isn’t going to get in the way of Shamiko’s goal!

Despite Shamiko’s intentions, she quickly becomes best friends with Momo. This is in part due to Momo not wanting to fight Shamiko and also in part because Shamiko’s not very bright and is easily tricked.

Whenever Shamiko challenges Momo to a duel, Momo turns the situation around and the two end up doing some sort of activity together. For example, before one of their first “duels,” Momo convinces Shamiko that they need to warm up first, and they end up going on a multiple mile-long jog instead.

Other times, the mere mention of exercising is enough to scare Shamiko away since she knows how intense Momo is about that.

Main Characters

You probably already have a good idea of what Yuuko “Shamiko” Yoshida is like. She’s a good-natured, clumsy, dumb girl who just happens to have awoken as a demon one day. Shamiko is also probably the best character in the series, which is good considering she’s the protagonist.

Momo Chiyoda, the local magical girl, has a very dry personality — especially when compared to Shamiko. Shamiko is always freaking out about something. Meanwhile, Momo generally keeps a straight face and doesn’t get flustered.

Also, since momo (桃) means peach in Japanese, that’s the theme of her character. Her color scheme is pink and her special attacks have the word peach in them. As we’ll see, fruit is a recurring theme when it comes to magical girls.

Shadow Mistress Yuuko "Shamiko" Yoshida from the anime series The Demon Girl Next Door
Shadow Mistress Yuuko “Shamiko” Yoshida

You may have noticed that Shamiko is holding a questionably-shaped object in the cover art for this series. That object is a statue that houses the soul of her ancestor Lilith. Lilith is, supposedly, a powerful demon who was sealed within the statue around the time of the Roman Empire.

According to Shamiko’s mother, if the ancestor statue is soaked in the blood of a magical girl, the seal will be broken. And as we see in the anime, just a small amount of Momo’s blood touching the statue allows Lilith to speak aloud.

The final character worth mentioning is another magical girl who shows up around halfway through the series. This is Mikan Hinatsuki. As with Momo, Mikan is named after a fruit. A mikan (蜜柑) is a mandarin orange. And, as you might have guessed, her character design is based on this fruit.

Something unique about Mikan is that she’s also cursed. If she gets flustered, her curse causes those around her to suffer misfortunes.

Fast-Talking Comedy

Something I wasn’t expecting from The Demon Girl Next Door is how quickly the dialogue goes by. It’s not as fast as the dialogue in The Tatami Galaxy — because nothing it — but it was fast enough that I actually had to pay attention and make an effort to read the subtitles.

Typically a series that looks like this one isn’t going to require my full attention just to keep up with what’s going on. However, there were many times when watching this that I had to focus on the subtitles rather than the visuals.

That made the anime a bit less enjoyable to watch. But, I think the comedy made up for that. Usually, the majority of jokes in comedy series don’t land for me. A truly good comedy will have most of the jokes land, even if they don’t make you laugh out loud. And I’d put The Demon Girl Next Door into this category.

Momo Chiyoda from the anime series The Demon Girl Next Door
Momo Chiyoda

I think what helped this series in the comedy department is that the comedy was a combination of dialogue and visuals. You get the lead-up of the joke via dialogue, and then the visual follow-up hits. This seemed to work better than what a lot of other comedies do, which is to make the dialogue after some action the main part of the joke.

It should also be noted that jokes didn’t overstay their welcome. That’s a huge problem with a lot of comedy anime. They reuse the same jokes way beyond the point at which they stopped being funny.

The Demon Girl Next Door will use a particular gag a few times, usually spread over the course of 1-3 episodes. For example, in episode 1 there’s a gag of people grabbing onto Shamiko’s horns. That disappears afterward and is replaced by fresh gags.

Conclusion

Originally, I rated The Demon Girl Next Door as a 6/10. But, I think that was just because I was tired after binging the series. After I had a chance to reflect on it, I’m going to say it’s actually a 7/10.

I’d wanted to watch this series ever since it aired, but never got around to it. However, the second season is going to begin airing next month, which is why I decided to binge it now.

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 Season 2 is available now.

Fate/stay night: Heaven’s Feel – II. Lost Butterfly

Fate/stay night: Heaven’s Feel – II. Lost Butterfly

Fate/stay night: Heaven's Feel - II. Lost Butterfly anime movie cover art
Fate/stay night: Heaven’s Feel – II. Lost Butterfly

Movie Overview

Fate/stay night: Heaven’s Feel – II. Lost Butterfly (劇場版「Fate/stay night [Heaven’s Feel] II.lost butterfly」) is the second movie in the Heaven’s Feel trilogy. This is the Sakura Matou route, which means it’s for people who are into girls riddled with worms.

Cutting to the chase, I thought this was a very bad movie, which goes against the consensus. But I’m not some Fate series hater. I’ve been playing Fate/Grand Order since 2017 and I believe I’ve seen all the main Fate series anime other than the movies (and the original stay night).

I’ve seen Unlimited Blade Works, Zero, Kaleid Liner, Apocrypha, Extra: Last Encore, Babylonia, and even Lord El-Melloi II Case Files. And out of all of these, Lost Butterfly is tied for the worst with the ending of Extra: Last Encore.

Normally, I don’t look at other reviews on a series or movie until after I’ve reviewed it myself. I don’t want to unintentionally be influenced by someone else. But since my opinion of this movie is the opposite of seemingly everyone else’s is, I decided to take a look.

What I found was that the things I hated about this movie are the things other people seemed to love. Apparently, the fact that this movie has a dumbed-down plot, barely any world-building, and a female lead who just wants to have sex 24/7 made this a good anime.

I couldn’t disagree more. I think Lost Butterfly tossed aside what’s good about most Fate anime. The characters aren’t very compelling, I had no idea what was going on most of the time, and it doubled down on the fact that Fate is originally an eroge, but still played it safe.

Sakura the Sex Addict

I’ve never been a huge fan of Sakura Matou as a character. Her character type simply doesn’t appeal to me. It’s the same as how I never liked Hinata from Naruto. The shy girl who’s obsessed with the protagonist is a boring character archetype.

With that said, there’s more to Sakura than just that trope. Sakura has a tragic backstory that involves being sold by the Tohsaka family to the Matou family and then verbally, physically, and sexually abused. That’s an interesting setup for the heroine because it’s nontraditional.

Usually, the main heroine is pure and perfect. Sakura isn’t and that’s why she could be a good character in Heaven’s Feel (less so in the other routes because she’s not the female lead).

The problem is that “Fate lore” got in the way. We could have had a great story about this girl who’s been broken in every way possible. Instead, we got a story about a girl who’s obsessed with sex because she needs mana, and semen is the best medium for transferring mana in the eroge that is Fate.

Sakura Matou hallucinating from the anime movie Fate/stay night: Heaven's Feel - II. Lost Butterfly
Sakura Matou hallucinating

Lost Butterfly basically has a hentai plot. Most Fate anime distance themselves from the original visual novel. This one didn’t, and I think it came across as pretty cringe — like all other anime that have hentai plots but censor everything.

Yes, we got a Sakura masturbation scene and a sex scene. And from what I understand, people loved that about this movie. But it’s not like we saw anything. This wasn’t like SAO -Ordinal Scale- in which we got a few frames of Asuna’s uncensored nipple for fan service.

The fact that Sakura is just extremely horny all the time was a major plot point that made the movie feel more on par with something like World’s End Harem (the censored version).

No Idea What’s Going On

I’m sure there are going to be a lot of people who disagree with my complaint about Sakura. But a hentai plot without the hentai just makes for a bad anime. Go all in or avoid making that the main plot.

This brings us to the next major complaint I have, which is that most of the movie made no sense. So much time was spent focusing on Sakura’s sex life that we didn’t really have time for any other plot. It’s not like the action could be cut to make room for it.

Based on my understanding of what I watched, Sakura has been dead for a while. At this point, she’s just a skin sack filled with bugs and Shirou’s semen (some people are into that, I guess). And because those bugs and semen are full of mana, she’s transforming into a corrupt Holy grail.

Saber Alter vs. Berserker from the anime movie Fate/stay night: Heaven's Feel - II. Lost Butterfly
Saber Alter vs. Berserker

Now, this development might have made more sense if I watched this movie directly after Presage Flower. I’m reviewing it 696 days after I reviewed the first movie. And it came out 455 days after the first movie. I don’t remember what happened in Presage Flower and at no point in this movie does it attempt to remind us of what happened in any way.

I’ve gone into this movie just accepting that Artoria is now corrupt and Medusa is alive even though I’m pretty sure she died twice in the first movie. Also, I don’t remember Sakura playing a major role in the first movie, so I guess she’s just been inserted into the plot now for the sex aspect.

And just because I can, I’m also going to complain about the action in this movie. The fight between Artoria Alter and Heracles was only cool because I like how it showed Heracles’ resurrection ability. The fight itself was pretty boring and I think the first movie had better animation.

Conclusion

Fate/stay night: Heaven’s Feel – II. Lost Butterfly is a 3/10. That’s 5 points lower than what I rated Presage Flower. And I’m assuming that Spring Song is going to be better. But there’s really not much I can say is good about this movie aside from the music and animation.

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 Spring Song is available now.

Violet Evergarden: Eternity and the Auto Memory Doll

Violet Evergarden: Eternity and the Auto Memory Doll

Violet Evergarden: Eternity and the Auto Memory Doll anime movie
Violet Evergarden: Eternity and the Auto Memory Doll

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.

Isabella York and Violet Evergarden from the anime movie Violet Evergarden: Eternity and the Auto Memory Doll
Isabella York and Violet Evergarden

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 Bartlett from the anime movie Violet Evergarden: Eternity and the Auto Memory Doll
Taylor Bartlett

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.