Violet Evergarden Gaiden: Eien to Jidou Shuki Ningyou

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.

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.

No Joke, I really thought this was the 2020 movie that came early but that doesn't matter, it was great that I finally got a proper chance to seeing this side story , thanks to it being uploaded on a particular site (can't say sorry or otherwise it'll be at a risk of site being taken down).

Anyways man...it just felt so good to see a Kyoani anime again, especially seeing Violet Evergarden . It still breaks my heart into millions of pieces when the Kyoani logo appeared at the beginning like seriously, it's just so tragic and heartbreaking that the animators who worked behind the scenes of this anime died during that tragedy.

Thank you Watanabe Mikiko for giving us Violet Evergarden with your amazing art direction 💓💓

The fact that the story of Taylor and Amy will make you cry too so get your tissues folks if you're planning to watch this charming powerful side story!

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.