Violet Evergarden: Eternity and the Auto Memory Doll

Subtitled

A wholesome dessert for completing this amazing series. Eternity and the Auto Memory Doll explores the extrapolating impact of Violet’s presence in the lives of those who are lost, either with self or with writing - nonetheless, the way back for her clients revolves entirely around feelings. What this follow-up does interestingly enough is strip away the element of ghostwriting during the first act, displaying what Violet has learned about etiquette behavior from the show and carrying that over to a troubled, ambivalent girl. To specify, the extrapolating factor is helped when the structure goes beyond ghostwriting. Without spoiling anything, this leads to a second act that is so sweet and tender in its craft that it will make audiences familiar with the show feel warm inside. And the fact that it doesn’t rely on Violet to be in the spotlight drives the main idea of how her presence in the life of one person can indirectly affect - or even help - another’s. And the characters are as engaging to watch as before, playing their parts with tremendous vocal performances that convey so much in the time they are given.

The lack of complete focus on Violet, however, does become too apparent in the second act to a minor degree of disappointment, but not a big detriment to the story’s ability to be engaging. What does become noticeably inconsistent, however, is the frequent emphasis on “changing times” as a way to sound poignant. Yes, the technology is changing, but it’s only a repeated point to emphasize the three-year time-skip. And the film’s somewhat-cop-out of an ending doesn’t help, given everything that was built-up prior. Mainly though, what Eternity and the Auto Memory Doll lacks story-wise is a balance between the important roots of the story through its characters and the new protagonists to subtly hint at how Violet’s development has come full circle (see for yourself and you’ll know what I mean), and while I greatly appreciate the idea of exploring that theme, its execution pales in comparison to the rest of the story despite some solid surprising humor and worthy emotional beats revolving around the theme of family and separation. Regardless, this film certainly wouldn’t work as its own work - context is everything, as they say.

But this must go without saying: Kyoto Animation deserves all the success this film brings, and that despite its narrative and technical shortcomings, this is a solid and worthy film in their canon following the horrifying attack on their studio a year prior - a tragedy that makes me feel uncomfortable still thinking about it. And it’s an honor that their first released work since then is the one featuring such a special character. All you need to see are those iconic boots touch the ground, and hear the introduction from that gentle voice;

“Violet Evergarden, at your service.”