Violet Evergarden: The Movie (2020)

[劇場版 ヴァイオレット・エヴァーガーデン]

Director: Taichi Ishidate
Starring: Yui Ishikawa, Daisuke Namikawa, Takehito Koyasu

Synopsis:
Violet travels to a remote island following a lead about the Major's survival.

Impressions:
Had the world not been blighted by Corona-chan, I almost certainly would've seen this in the theaters, as I was quite a big fan of the main series. This story serves to tie a ribbon on Violet's story. Now, there's no way to avoid talking about the movie without spoiling this point, but it's revealed early on (and it's in the trailers), so let's get right to it. The Major is still alive and main conflict is Violet wanting to reconnect with him and him wanting to keep her at a distance for what he feels is her own good. A strong argument can and has been made that the Major's survival undercuts Violet's character arc, that her outgrowing her dependence on him was one of the main points of the story, but this is the hand we've been dealt. (Honestly, it would've been more interesting to focus on Violet and Dietfried bonding over their mutual mourning of Gilbert. The pieces are all there, after all.) The B plot of the dying child Violet is initially working with pretty well fits the pattern of the main series. If you're particularly fond of such sad little vignettes, then it should play fairly well for you. Naturally, this being KyoAni, you won't be disappointed in the slightest in terms of production values. Even if you disagree with the direction of the story, any fan of the series will want to see this. However, I feel dissatisfaction with the plot, not just by me but by a large segment of the fandom, keeps it from achieving greater heights. It's a pity, but we've still got a pretty good movie out of it, so give it a watch.

Rating:
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