Anime 37987 Violet Evergarden Movie Reviews Filter Check 2

A visual triumph for the beloved KyoAni team that sees the conclusion of one of my most heavily invested anime since I first discovered it. It's fair to say there was a lot riding on this film, not only to bring a resounding end for the anime's titular character but being the first film to be released after the devastating arson attack caries even more emotional weight for the creators and the eager fans wanting to see it. Regardless of my final opinion on Violet Evergarden: The Movie, I've never been more thankful as an anime fan to see such passion and dedication put in ... by the team who worked on the film, which makes it so much harder for me to act as a critic in this situation.

There is a lot that VE gets right straight out the gates: taking place shortly after the ending of "Violet Evergarden Gaiden: Eien to Jidou Shuki Ningyou" we are quickly brought up to date with previous characters of the show, establishing the critical change in time and technology after the war - a very interesting theme that serves as the main conflict/resolution of the film - and especially showing the character development of Violet up till this point. It's that last part where this film then proceeds on a downward spiral that in my opinion conflicts with everything KyoAni had set up with Violet up till this point. The writers of the show initially made a crucial change from it's respective source material, one that objectively did a much better job at establishing Violet as an independent character who had to face her own struggles separated from the only person she ever cared for.

By the end of the show Violet was in a content place, she'd lived past her previous life as a soldier, as Major Gilbert's weapon and had found resolution with his seeming demise. She had created a life for herself, one that Gilbert would have been happy for her. She'd changed and shaped so many lives around her, from friends to enemies, playwrights and singers, daughters, sisters, and even old commanders. Along the way, she even came to understand what it meant to love, how to cherish it, how to express that feeling on the behalf of others, as well as the pain and heartbreak it causes. Come the ending however, all of that seems to have been wasted on our heroin and results in one of the most cliché confessions I've ever seen, with a complete 180 for multiple characters development. That's the spoiler free version.

One of the major areas this film struggles with is the pacing. I was overjoyed when I first learnt of the 2hr 20min run time, believing it would get the chance to show us in depth the extent of Violet's character as well as some of it's more notable side characters which we haven't had much development from. Instead though this film decides to go on the very slow burn, and while every frame may be beautiful...it also takes forever to go anywhere....and when we finally do get there, I couldn't help but feel disappointed.

*MINOR SPOILERS*

The film essentially has three ongoing plots: The first plot is set during the present time and focusses on Anne's (The daughter from episode 10) granddaughter as she finds out what happened to VE in her final days as an Auto Memories Doll. The second plot focusses on sick boy Yurith who Violet writes letters for as his dying wish. The third plot has Violet discovering that Major Gilbert is in fact still alive. To put it bluntly, none of these plots really have much in common with the others, as the first one has no impact on the main characters, the second one is wasted by Violet's final decision, and the last one is only really focussed on in the second half of the film.

The first plot was certainly interesting if you are a fan of the world in which VE takes place, but really doesn't add to the theme of the film even though it tries. The second plot really feels more like a side story, which is strange considering the show has always been about discovering other people's stories and writing letters to convey their feelings. This is not to say that the film certainly doesn't lack emotion and even though I questioned Yurith's purpose in the film, I still couldn't help but tear up at his conclusion. Yet he doesn't get nearly as much development as other side characters we've come across before, and therefor doesn't carry much weight on the story as a whole.

*SPOILER END*

Most of the time however is focussed on Violet remembering and reminiscing her life with the Major, only to find out that he's been hiding on an Island this whole time which once again brings up the same conflict she had half way through the show. It feels in every essence like the writers were going back on how they initially set up her character. We see some interesting points, like Gilbert wanting to bury his past in order to protect Violet from the pain she suffered. It's also here however that the film seems most conflicted with the message it's trying to convey, as everything the film sets up for these characters completely and suddenly chances by the end, with very little resolution on top. It's hard to tell if this was what the writers always intended from when they gave us that original open ending in the series but I'd definitely take that conclusion over this one.

Another area where I feel like this film falls behind is the music. I love the soundtrack for VE, and even here it's hard not to love the subtle notes than blend beautifully with the gorgeous imagery. However there is nothing here that is unique compared to what we've heard before, no typewriter, no resounding scores, it's mostly the same melancholy tone that doesn't really change throughout the film. Everytime a letter was flying through the air, I just kept being reminded of the opening scene in the series and wished the music would catch up, but it never did. I also couldn't help but feel disappointed by the lack of resolution for the show's side characters: Claudia, Benedict, Cattleya, Luculia, and Iris just to name a few. None of them have any memorable moments, and even though we spend a lot of time with Claudia, I couldn't help but feel like the film missed a great opportunity with his character by the end. After all, he was the closest thing Violet had to a carer after Gilbert's departure.

It's a shame that for every moment this film get's right, it also takes two steps back. If the film had trusted it's audience and been just a bit braver to continue the journey it initially set up, this would have easily been great. It's not the resounding conclusion to Violet's story I was hoping for, but I take comfort in the knowledge that there are many fans who love KyoAni's work and especially love this film. I just wish I could have had that connection with Violet's story one last time.

The more time passes, the lower I rate this movie. Let me explain.
I was a huge fan of the series, i rewatched it many times, made my mom watch it, told all my friends, etc. It was a fantastic story. I loved how it avoided all too common romantic simplicity and instead focused on overcoming grief, growing mentally and emotionally, maturing and so on. It was great. And the sereis itself ended on a very satisfying note, so honestly i didnt know what else was there to adapt for the final movie....
However, as I was waiting for the movie, one specific rumour about the movie ... started to float around the internet. I read it, thought to myself "nah, they cant do it, it would ruin the entire point of the series, they cant do it now, its too late", so i discarded it as just speculation... but kept it at the back of my mind, battling with this idea, searching for rationalizations of how they could potentially execute it.
And... the rumour was true, i discovered it before watching the movie. So going into the movie all I was doing is rating the execution. And, to be fair, at the time I felt very fondly about it. The music was great, art and animation was fantastic, albeit story had some problems. Also the movie had a big part of it dedicated to some arbitrary sub-plot, the time on which would have served much better if it were to be used to deepen the main story.
But overall, as a standalone animation movie - its great.
However, as a continuation of the series - just as I feared - it completelly nullified the impact and point of the series for me. I cant bear the thought of rewatching the series now, as it just rings hollow to me - empty, manipulative, meaningless even. Before that I had the series in the highest regard, a 100% opaque oil painting full of nuances. But now, after watching the movie, and sitting on it for some time, it became a 30% transparent layer in photoshop, a shell of it former glory.
A pity tbh. I thought this story would be one of my favorites for life. Now it would just be a short memory of a series I used to love.

SPOILER HEAVY REVIEW!!!

As you can probably guess by the score, I have some major issues with this movie.
However I'm gonna get the good things out of the way first:

+ Awesome animation
+ Awesome sound (this includes music and voice acting)
+ Decent story for the first half of the movie, many recurring characters and many events from the TV series that got brought up again


... To talk about my issues with the movie, I first have to talk about the TV series, the themes it brought up and the development of Violet as a character.
The story of the TV series was all about Violet's development from a tool of war, an unfeeling robotic puppet whose only purpose in life is to follow the orders of her superior officer, to an independent woman who has come to terms with her own emotions and has her own will and purpose in life.
It also was about Violet processing the loss of the person most important to her.
She had to accept that Gilbert may never come back, and that she needs to find a way to move on and live a life that doesn't revolve around him.

I loved the TV series! I enjoyed all the little stories of the side characters and Violet's own story.
It really hurts me to see the movie throw most of that out of the window, go in a very different direction and end at a point that was very unsatisfying to me.

The first half of the movie was decent, we had a few more side stories with nice references to the TV series and Dietfried and Violet started on processing the loss of Gilbert together.
Then we found out, that Gilbert is still alive and the trouble began.
(So the whole "Coming to terms with the loss of someone important" theme is thrown out of the window I guess...)
When Violet and Hodgins came to Gilbert's island, we found out that he had changed a lot and didn't even want to talk to Violet. I really liked this character development of his, he was partly responsible for the horrors of the war and for the misery of Violet's childhood and tried to redeem himself. Him not wanting to see her again and thinking that it'd be better for both, despite us knowing that he was really hurting her a lot at that moment was also something I liked. It showed us, that Gilbert is probably just not as perfect as Violet remembered and made him seem more human to me.

At this point I thought: "Well ok, maybe they see each other one last time or maybe they exchange some letters and then Violet can move on and continue her development to an independent women who is able to come to terms with her own emotions and Gilbert convinces her, that she doesn't have to follow any orders from anyone anymore and should instead do what she wants?!"

Nope, Violet does send a letter to Gilbert and he immediately decides to run after Violet, because now he wants to see her again! So Gilbert runs to the beach, shouts out Violet's name, to which she responds by jumping off her ship and swimming towards Gilbert.
We then get this scene, where both of them are crying, Gilbert says her that he loves her and that he wants her to stay with him and then gives her a hug. We later learn that both of them lived happily everafter on the island...

This one scene at the beach is so disrespectful to the entirety of Violet's character development that came before!
Not only does Violet call Gilbert "major" throughout the entirety of the scene, but she also agrees to his order to stay with him forever!
So in the end, Violet didn't move on at all, she still obeys the orders of the same superior officer, does as he pleases and is completely dependent on him!

And that's the end to Violet's story as a whole?!

This is just so very disappointing...
I loved Violet Evergarden a whole lot, but now they managed to not only deliver a poor ending, but also to invalidate most of what made it so good in the first place.
If you were watching Violet Evergarden for the good music and animation, then you're gonna be just as happy with this movie.
But if you enjoyed it because of it's story and Violet as a character, then you'll be as disappointed and hurt as I am after watching this movie (which you probably already did, because of the spoilers).

Sorry this kind of ended up being a rant. I felt the need to express my disappointment and anger with this movie, so that I'll be able to move on from it.

As expected Violet Evergarden continues to be beautifully animated, the music and sound is lovely, so on and so forth. So what is my problem with it?

I feel like this movie just undid all of Violet's personal growth. The end of the anime, she was finally moving on with her life. She kept the hope that Gilbert was alive in her heart, but she moved forward with friends and people who loved her. She had immense personal growth.

Why? Why did this movie have to come and undo all that? You gave her strength to go forward, then threw her past in front of her ... and made her run back to it. It's a beautiful movie, but this movie pissed me off.

Claudia is best dad.

I really wish Gilbert hadn’t survived. Violet’s clinging to him was—or should have been—what still kept her tethered to the past, preventing her from more properly developing into an individual, mature human being. A better writer would have had her come to terms with what cannot be changed, so both the pain and positive formative memories could swirl into something better. Someone better.

Hell, I would have accepted the Major pushing her away and her leaving as healthy and realistic enough. But them discovering each other and falling in love like this? Too contrived, too feel-good and soapy. Even for an obvious dude-soap like VEG. ... And frankly, adoptive parent-child dynamics like this still creep me out. It’s like Gilbert did, in the end, raise her to be… useful to him. Yuck.

I’m honestly going to pretend this one doesn’t exist; it’s only indisputable achievement is as yet another impressive piece of animation and atmosphere from KyoAni. Really disappointed in whoever came up with this totally incongruous indulgence. 5/10

Short Review (spoiler-free):

If you already found VE the TV series to be mediocre or had a hard time sitting through its overly sensational narrative, unfortunately the movie is not going to change that for you. Then again if you are already a fan you can either totally ignore my review or take it with a whole pack of salt. The movie did not work for me, but it does not have to be the same case for you. There's no shame for liking something that speaks to your heart.

For the record, I do not hate the franchise. On the contrast, I wanted to ... like it or at least find a charitable angle to appreciate it just like some of my anime friends. I gave Violet Evergarden TV series a 7/10 praising its meticulous art and overall solid reconciliation arc of the titular character. Then why is my rating for the movie (which is endlessly praised here and rated No.17 of all anime) lower than the series? It boils down to this: the movie went full "Chiung Yao" and threw the solid characterization out of window for shallow fan-service. Coupled with other issues inherited from the series, this finale movie is noticeably weaker for me.

Baseline impression: 7/10, weighed down to 6.3/10 by ridiculous emotional manipulation and cheap plot.

Recommended to: people obsessed with everything Victorian, fans of Chiung Yao and the most corny K-dramas. People looking for the most meticulous Kyo-Ani visuals.

Not recommended to: people who prioritize coherence, worldbuilding and characters over shiny art. People looking for extra depth in an anime's themes and narratives.

Pros and Cons: (Spoiler-alert)

+ meticulous art and soothing visuals throughout the movie. The water effects at the end probably need Unreal Engine 6 to render, but the animators manually drew them frame by frame, I suppose. Respect.
+ Some artistic camera work.
+ the orchestral OST works most of the time.
+ People who ship the Major and Violet would be satisfied (duh).
+ The beginning and the end frame VE's story in a nostalgic fashion with historic impacts in mind. It's corny but a nice touch nonetheless.

- Way too long for its simplistic story. 40% of the movie is the series' recap with a little extra background story regarding Major and his brother. In a charitable light, let's just agree with one of my friends and say that VE the series is one of the best "celebration of humanity", well how about a celebration of the "celebration of humanity"? That is how the movie feels like to me. If you can celebrate that, maybe the movie is for you. Unfortunately it did not work for me.

- The movie tried too hard to sell Violet's achievements as an Auto-memory Doll, but I still had a hard time buying them. Throughout the series and the gaiden movie, I always found Violet to be more believable as an assassin par excellence/action heroine rather than a legendary ghost writer. She's learned from her experience and good memory, but surpassing all her colleagues in such a short time is a hard sell. There are other gaps between what the writer wants the audience to take at face value and what it actually feels like. Those are issues rooted in poor and haphazard worldbuilding I already mentioned in my series review.

- Violet's ending feels like a betrayal of what her arc represents in the series and the gaiden movie. Funny enough, in the gaiden movie Violet's co-workers had a discussion about the goal of a woman after their auto-memory doll career. So I guess Violet's a pioneer for wanting to continue to work regardless of her marriage status, but blam! The movie had her marry Gilbert and quit her job immediately.

- Redundant and repetitive characterization/melodrama. Many reviewers already mentioned this issue, so I will be brief with this one. In short, VE's character arc of reconciliation with her self is already complete at the end of the series. Through the salvation arc in the final 3 episodes of the series, she's come to terms with her loss and past atrocities, gaining the courage to live on. What she failed to save in the 1st episode drove her to successfully save millions of lives in a heroic sacrifice. It's not the most original idea but at least solid enough to prop up the show for me. However, the movie with its wishy-washy ending threw that quality out of the window. Major Gilbert, in a more charitable interpretation, was basically going through the same process VE did in the series. However when the movie goes overboard by dumping 40 minutes into him being a crybaby in denial, it doe not only hurt his characterization, but also making the movie extra artificial and tiresome for me. I'd rather watch VE dramatically rushing back to the little boy for his last letter.

- In my VE series review, I commented that those episodic stories centering on dying parents/lovers/siblings are essentially ripped from H.C. Andersen books. Moreover, Violet did not need to be part of those stories to make them work or moving. The same problem permeates the movie. A dying kid writing letters to his parents and baby brother? It's difficult not to be moved by this type of story in nature. In a more charitable interpretation, the kid came to term with his emotions towards his family due to his interaction with VE, but again you can easily swap VE with a nurse or another ghost writer and the story could still work. The movie, in this regard, is basically EP10 from the series but 140 minutes long.

- Major Gilbert's reason for shunning Violet had me roll my eyes so hard I could see my own brain. He also spends way too long repeating those same cringing words in the last half of the movie.

- Over half of the movie is characters crying their eyes out without much significance to the story. Violet's crying a lot. The Major cries non-stop. Major's tough bully brother also cries. The dying kid and his family cries. I'd imagine the entire audience in theater also crying with these characters. And you'd better cry too or else you're a heartless monster. Duh. At this point, this franchise has been abusing the formula of "dying characters telling VE their true emotion in tears before kicking the bucket" so much that it becomes a parody on itself. I was half-expecting the little boy to actually survive so that the narrative would not be completely monotonous. Guess I was asking too much from the writer. I had dejavu of watching the most infamously sensationalist Chiung-Yao shows or K-dramas during the movie . (For those unfamiliar with Ms. Chiung Yao and her works, she's the most influential modern romantic writer in Mandarin. Her signature characters are often either Mary Sues or young women idealizing romance to the point of idiocy.) To be fair all emotional shows try to evoke certain emotions from the audience. However, I appreciate it when a show does that with sincerity, coherence and consistence with the worldbuilding. Violet Evergarden the movie has a ton of crying and emotional moments but they barely add to the characters.

In the end I would say the story of this movie does not deserve its animators, who on the contrast deserve the highest respect. But what do I know? Take my review with a whole pack of salt.

I cried. Certainly. Witnessing such a love, how could I hold back my tear? Violet Evergarden the Television is one that made me do something like that, and for better or worse, the letters sent to the future self of someone is one of the most remarkable moments in anime history. No need to cry for silly plastic memories, you know?

Anyway, let's get into the work for real.

The Opening & The Point of View of Those Living

I really like the idea of bringing those side characters onto the show. Violet Evergarden told the story within, with or behind those letters, and the opening of the ... movie did stay true to its nature. The purpose of letters is not only to communicate, but also to connect people, and how great that the living people were connected with those gone before through the memories laid within those pages. Even though the main storyline did got interrupted with what happened in that present, it was not that bad to significantly impact the enjoyment. What a pleasure to be able to see how people got connected, and what a creative way to end what had been started. Nevertheless, the point of view of the living people should have only been the opening and the conclusion of the work, instead of disrupting the progress of its major content.


The Main Events

I’ve always had myself satisfied with how things concluded in the TV series. The end there brought wishful and bright colours to the work, and there was that hopeful feeling that Violet Evergarden would definitely move on, in order to find her happiness, as well as you-know-what-she-is-seeking-for. However, the movie discarded them all. Once again, the disturbance was stirred up.

Gilbert Bougainvillea’s survival was nothing strange, as it was shown in the original work. Nonetheless, as the prequel had managed to draw an even better final ceremony, while the special episode resonated the final notes of Let It Be, there was no need to bring him back to life. Two miracles in the same place just dissonate themselves, but well, the execution could salvage it… Hell no, as Gilbert Bougainvillea played an important part in this work, he should have had more screen time, not in the recollection of others, but for his actual actions, thoughts, as well as his resolution. I couldn’t see any clear development from the character, but let’s return to it later.

The reenactment of a great episode from the TV series was certainly overshadowed by the opening and therefore became filler. Time, guys, for Major Bougainvillea.

In cocnclusion, the movie should have been more focused on Gilbert Bougainvillea, since Violet Evergarden had shown her potential in the TV series and her necessity in the movie was only to discover the fact.


The Characters

Gilbert Bougainvillea was also a victim of war. That was certainly a fact and explained the reason behind his actions. However, I always respect how Captain Ben Affleck in Pearl Habour had the will to apologise his loved one, Kate Beckinsale, for having left her, for having put her into sorrow, and spoke out how she had been his urge of surviving, as well as his resolution to repay her and his best friend, also a comrade in arms. That is to say, our Major Bougainvillea here was just a loser, and it ascertained what follows. She is out of your league, Former Major. Executive Squad, ready. Aim. Fire.

As for what happened to Violet Evergarden, isn’t it a pain to see her once again agonise, and isn’t it a shame that she had to endure it for the sake of the mere like Dear Sir Major there? He was the first to show her affection, but certainly not the worthy one for hers. She deserved more for what she had been through. That’s why I have to say the movie was just something totally unnecessary, since the TV version had worked out an absolute satisfying epilogue for the greater good. Isn’t it a pity then?


The Sounding and The Art

It is too repetitive to say, but in short, the same staff behind the stage.

There are reasons explaining why the movie was considered a success, but to me, the scriptwriter gave off the vibe of Makoto Shinkai in disguise. It was not that bad, but kinda stretching too far from what had previously been. Not approved. Sometimes love just has to die.

Alternative Conclusion: I now wish they had instead used the original end of the novel in the movie. Even though it would be contradicting to the pacifist Violet Evergarden had become, at least Major Bougainvillea could really do something, and there would be more commotion than what was actually done.

The cast of Violet Evergarden: the movie spend roughly twenty-five percent of the film's runtime crying. Which is good for them, given that there's a lot going on and a lot to be upset/happy/overwhelmed about, and good for us, because KyoAni animates some ridiculously beautiful tears. Nonetheless, this is something you should keep in mind going forward.

There are three narratives running at the same time in this film. We have the framing device-narrative, which makes use of a character with a one-time appearance in the original tv series; we have the narrative that follows one of Violet's clients; and then we have whatever is going ... on with Gilbert, who has come back from the dead (this is shown in the trailer so don't come after me). There are three narratives running in this film and they're all pretty sad. The framing device story and the girl it follows is so far removed from the main cast of the show (she's a returnee from one of the episodic stories in the anime) that despite what it accomplishes at the end, I fail to see why it took up as much time and space as it did. On the other hand, Violet's client of the day and his circumstances are textbook Violet Evergarden. She even acknowledges herself in the film that she has received a similar request before, whose trajectory we already saw unfold in the anime in full technicolor glory. It hits the same emotional note that almost all of the show's episodes have up until now, which, if you can guess, involve clear communication, treasuring your loved ones, and crying a lot, all of which are valid points, but have been hit so many times by now that it left me feeling like I'd just drank a lot of water and then gone for a run and then drank some more. Like: why'd I drink all this water. Who gave this to me? Why is there so much damn water in this house???

All of which is to say that if you've seen the PV and read the synopsis you know what you're here for and you're going to get it, but you're also going to get a bunch of other stuff which takes up roughly a third to half of the film's runtime and serves to add very little in terms of texture, flavor, or depth. What I mean is: the mouthfeel is disappointing. The above paragraphs are my thoughts on the story.

As for everything else- KyoAni films are well-known for being beautiful to the point of unhinging jaws and breaking windows, and this is no exception. The level of attention paid to the smallest of actions like pulling a heavy door shut, shuffling one's feet nervously, or inserting a key into a keyhole immerses, or should I say quite literally submerges the viewer in Violet's world. It's incredible and fantastical and something I think anyone who appreciates 1) Things and 2) Liquid Things should see at least once. The use of color and lighting were incredibly evocative as well, with subdued grays being contrasted with the blue of the sky, the vivid colors of Leiden, and so on. This is one hell of a film. It's an audiovisual achievement. The soundtrack speaks to that as well, with new tracks being introduced which add a layer of emotion which I can only describe as 'crunchy'. It's a wonderful soundtrack. Even if you don't watch the film, you should look it up somewhere and give it a listen.

Anyway, I'm a fan of all of the recurring characters. I think Hodgins is a funny dad figure and Benedict's heels are kickass. Above all, Violet's growth throughout the series is astronomical and a feat of voice-acting, writing, and animation, and she's a strong protagonist who carries the show gracefully even in its weaker narrative moments, which is why for my final trick I will be laying out my gripes with the main Thing this film revolves around: Gilbert (alive). Several, if not most of the episodes of the tv series revolve around accepting death, celebrating life, and moving on. Violet walks a similar path herself, slowly coming to terms with Gilbert's death until she's (presumably) able to stand on her own two feet and live for herself.

Gilbert (alive) invalidates all of this. Gilbert (alive) says that it's okay to stay unhealthily attached to a dead person for four years and let them consume you because they might, in an act of god (KyoAni), come back to life one day. I mean, yeah, I'm not going to lie, it was satisfying as hell for them to finally meet and I might have strangled a pillow or two, but what was the point of making Violet go through all of that growth, suffering, and sadness in the first place? What is this film trying to say? What about everyone else who's lost someone, both in the anime, in the movie, and in life itself? Do they get an UNO reverse card? For all intents and purposes, we do not. That's Life as we know it, and the show acknowledges it too, which is why I find it ironic that our protagonist's story is the one that gets to rewrite fate. Gilbert (alive) cheapens her suffering. He also makes her happy. Great. I guess it'll just be like this forever.

But those are personal gripes. I think this movie is pretty cool. I just don't know what it's trying to achieve other than 1) making its viewers cry a lot and 2) making its viewers cry even more, which is valid, just to be clear, just not my cup of tea. I don't drink tea. I'm more of a Gatorade kinda guy. If you've got time to kill, check it out, or don't do that, take a walk along the beach, run your bathroom faucet and watch the droplets go down the sink. That's also a kind of living. That's something that Violet Evergarden would call beautiful.

What an absolute disgrace
This movie throws away absolutely everything that made Violet beautiful.
The entire season 1 was about Violet developing herself, only for in the for everything to be in vain
Her obsession with Major who hardly did anything to achieve that grew to the point of being annoying
She was supposed to have been developed but if anything, this was a regression
She simply threw away all the bonds which she had build and developed her to live on an island alone with a weird man who was old enough to be her father
There relationship was supposed to resemble that of a father and daughter, not ... romantic. Violet was much much younger than him
And oh well, let's not forget about the pointless Yuris and the spoiled girl nonsense who contributed absolutely nothing.
Overall, an exceedingly crap movie that destroyed everything I loved about the show and the fact that so many ppl like this crap saddens me to no end
Ppl really will like literally anything as long it tries to be a tearjerker
Probably why they decided to not a gaf and made this movie.
Disappointing..

My review may contain spoilers

I am the only one who enjoyed watching the movie and after it ended my brain started shouting at me while rating it on MAL
and for some reason, I watched the first season and movie again and find that TV series and movie are contradicting each other in the character development of violet and started questioning myself like did I really enjoyed watching a 30-year-old adult dude proposing a 16 or 17-year-old girl?
I thought Gilbert and Violet had a father-daughter relationship and out of nowhere they fall in love .this movie has USAGI DROP vibes everywhere and I ... literally enjoyed this for the first time. holy shit.
people who defend Gilbert and Violet ship don't bring Charlette here. Charlette and her husband have introduced themselves as couples and I didn't mind the age gap between them. but Gilbert raised Violet from the time she was 10 years old, only to confess to having feelings for her when she was 14 and married her when she is in her late teens. the ending of this movie is just Gross. This Movie is an Usagi Drop with a good animation sound and solid artwork

Violet Evergarden the series is very good and enjoyable, I gave it an 8/10. Some of its best elements such as the amazing music score, its characters, beautiful illustrations and visual designs are still present in this movie. The problem is that this movie adds very little to what, in my view, the series was about, and even undermines the investment made in the series.

This movie, which is long and doesn't really feel like a proper movie, is more like a 6 episode arc that recycles themes from some of its best episodes to deliver a very predictable, drawn-out, and unnecessary fanservice conclusion.

- Spoiler Free -

I am new to anime and I recently watched the show Violet Evergarden. I consider it to be a remarkable 10/10 show because of the emotional impact it had on me, and a lot of that came from seeing Violet's journey and development - overall I was very happy with the conclusion the anime show provided for Violet.

Of course we always want to see more of a great thing, that is only human nature, but we should only see more if it remains respectful to what came before...

VE: The Movie is beautifully animated, in fact I can safely say this movie ... showcases the best animation and art that I have ever seen in an animated show or movie. The voice acting is also passionate and expertly performed, I watched with English dubs, and the music is beautiful. There are of course some beautiful moments throughout the movie, but overall the main story did not work for me.

I want to keep this review spoiler free so I will simply say that in my opinion (and I believe many others) the plot of the movie greatly detracts from the character growth of Violet. I felt almost guilty in being disappointed by this movie as the anime might be my favourite media ever, and I truly cherish the character of Violet, but I must go with my feeling on it, therefore I plan to move forward trying to forget that this movie exists.

I am rating 4/10 because I think going any lower would be unfair given the merits that do exist here. I gave points for the animation / art direction, voice acting, music and also for the reason that I think the creators did care about this movie, it unfortunately just didn't end up working for some like myself.

Crippling Disappointment
Story: 6/10 B
Animation/Art: 10/10 A+
Sound: 9/10 A-
Characters: 7/10 B-
Acting(dubbed): 8/10 B
Enjoyment: 7/10 B
Overall: 7/10

Story:
What happened here? The story in this movie is not good. There are 2 big problems with the story in this movie. One, the pacing is horrid, the entire first half of the movie is unbearably slow and the second half, despite strong improvements, does not do enough to compensate. The second problem is that too much of the movie diverts attention from the main story focus toward side plots revolving around one of Violets' clients and another side plot in modern times. The plots themselves are mostly mediocre. The plot ... during modern times is completely unnecessary and does nothing except waste time. The main plot is mediocre and certainly does not live up to the incredible story of the show. The story with Violet's client is easily the best part of the movie and is comparable to some of the best parts of the actual show. In fact, it’s good enough that it singlehandedly saved the entire movie from just being bad to being ok. Overall, while it’s still at least entertaining as a whole and a satisfying conclusion to the show, it is nowhere near as good as the show and ends up being a disappointment.

Animation/Art:
It’s good. Really good. It’s extremely beautiful and on par with some of the most beautifully animated movies and shows in all of anime. The way the characters look now that they are older is done very well. Can’t really say anything more about it, if animation quality is a big part of a movie for you then you won’t be disappointed in this category.

Sound:
Actually really good. Better than the show and has a very memorable and emotional soundtrack. The music enhances the scene it plays well and immerses you in the movie without getting distracted. It’s a massive improvement over the already good soundtrack of the show.

Characters:
I am sad. The best part of the show was by far the characters with each having incredible development and emotionally moving stories revolving around them. This movie is not that. Violet's character seems to have backpedaled from the show, with her ending up as serious and emotionless as the beginning of the show for most of the movie. Other characters have practically no development at all. One character that does (can’t say name bc spoilers) have development has it happen way too fast and they aren’t well done for most of their screen time. Overall in comparison to other movies it’s still good, but when compared to the show… I’m really upset.

Acting(dubbed):
I watched this with my family so I had to watch it dubbed for them. It’s pretty good acting. All the actors are just as good as they are in the show. The president in particular does a very good job in his acting, conveying incredible emotion and power during some specific parts of the movie. On top of that, having seen some of the subbed versions, the dub improves on the sub in many scenes. As dubbed it is a viable alternative to watching sub.

Enjoyment and Overall:
Now I love the show. The show is easily my favorite, completely surpassing anything that came before it. But this movie. I just didn’t like it that much. I did like it but not thaaaaaat much. It was closer to mediocre than it is to great. I really can’t say anything else other than that this movie was such a disappointment. It was good but still so disappointing. The story of the movie makes me feel that the creators were merely trying to pad the runtime, something that the movie could have done without. The side plot with Violet's client could have and should have been its own episode in the show or at least an OVA. There wasn’t enough focus on the main story for it to be compelling. The characters are done way worse than the show. The two best parts of the show are done absolutely terrible in this movie. While other strong points of the show remain, such as the animation, the movie for the most part is the show but worse. I just feel so conflicted, the movie is genuinely good but compared to the show disappointment is all I can feel.

Another Kyoani Masterpiece
 
The anime is really good. The visual is a step up from the anime, and here we can see how Leiden develops in technology, as seen by the motorcycle that Benedict rides, the radio tower, and many more. I really liked Michishirube playing again, which gave me goosebumps. Many of the songs were recomposed and fit perfectly with the scene. Let's not forget the voice acting of Violet and Hodgins. Seeing the atmosphere and scenery at the cinema. would look very cool.
 
The problem with this movie is just that it ruined the character development of the anime . The movie is a complete ... rewrite, and they tried to repeat the scene from episode 10 with the sick kid. Sure, it made me cry, but I can't help but feel disappointed, not to mention the length of the movie, which is mostly full of unnecessary flashbacks. They reused so many scenes from the anime, notably episodes 1, 10, and 9. They didn't even bother to create a new visual or something; they just copied and pasted the reused scene.
 
Though we can't blame the studio, most of the flaws were probably caused by the arson attack back then. Rest in peace for the victim.
Overall, this movie concluded Violet Journey. There will be no new movie or season. I would have rated it an 8, but I'm biased about this, so I'm giving it a 9.
 
Also, listen to the ending song 

Spoiler free article: A short description that's just a bit longer than normal synopsis to give you rough idea what to expect from this anime. Conclusion for TL;DR at the end of the articles.

Review:
The story starts promising, looks like it will be on par with the first season of the anime. But it flopped in many ways 30 minutes in, cliched story line, totally altered goal of the anime, it's like a different scriptwriter suddenly takeover the project then change what the message they wanted to convey to the viewer, this is exactly that. For 140 minutes movie, this is a solid story wise, but ... for the 2nd season of Violet Evergarden, it couldn't be worse than this. They made Violet regress to the first Violet we've met in the first episode of first season.

Visual wise, it's KyoAni quality, characters that's drawn beautifully, beautiful landscape here and there. Unfortunately the stability of the storyline didn't transfer over to this department, some landscape did get drawn beautifully, but some didn't get the same treatment, even worse it's on the important scenes, so somehow I miraculously get pulled out from my immersion, in KyoAni anime, something that I never expected to happen.

The songs are good, but that's about it, they either reused some of the song from the first one, or just made something resembling the first OST. I get the idea of "don't fix something that's not broken", but anime of this class should be brave to explore new things instead of using the same thing over and over again, because it will be a bit "boring".

Reasons to watch:
-A beautiful anime, surely will please you eyes throughout the movie
-Great songs to accompany it

Reasons NOT to watch:
-A let down compared to the previous installment story wise