Violet Evergarden: Eternity and the Auto Memory Doll was beautiful. That is quite literally the best way to describe this movie. It gives us a look at the world of Violet Evergarden free from war and in a time of peace. A look at Leidenschaft without turmoil or discord. It gives us a glimpse into the human mind like only these directors can do. Yet with all this beauty and all the of this grandeur, I cannot help but feel there was something missing from Violet Evergarden: Eternity and the Auto Memory Doll. It brings into question, can the world of Violet Evergarden be as serene as depicted in the movie, and still play with the audience’s heartstrings like the original series did? Was Violet Evergarden: Eternity and the Auto Memory Doll too beautiful?
Eternity and the Auto Memory doll is a testament to how strong human emotions can ring throughout time. It does this extraordinarily well. As well as the original series without a doubt. The movie uses its excellent world building, and incredible soundtrack, and gorgeous animation to truly tell a story. A story not about Violet Evergarden, but rather of Violet’s dear friend. First and foremost, the movie holds up the original series extremely well. It tells the story of someone, at first, outside of Violet’s circle. As time goes on and Violet gets more and more well acquainted with the person she is supposed to help, Violet starts to grasp another part of her emotions that she now understands was missing. Kyoto Animation and Evan Call do an amazing part to help tell the story of Violet Evergarden. The soundtrack, although largely unchanged from the original series, is as brilliant as ever. The sound design (although I don’t know much about sound design in general) does an amazing job to aid in the storytelling of this universe. The instrumentation of the soundtrack is fitting for the time and plays at times that move the audience more than they already have, leading to more of the emotional Violet Evergarden animation we have to know and love. And of course, Kyoto Animation put amazing amounts of intricate detail into each to each of the frames of this movie. The slight movements that the characters make to express the subtle traits of human beings that sometimes- even we- have trouble picking up on and the lush and vibrant nature scenes show us that Kyoto Animation truly poured their heart and soul into this animating each and every frame of this movie. The directors once again show us that they truly understand human emotions and once again ask the same question of what does “I love you mean?”, albeit in a new and fascinating take.
You might have noticed I compared the new movie a lot to the original series. Of course, that is only logical, what else should I compare it to? There is another reason however, probably the reason I decided to write this in the first place. The reason goes back to the same question I posed at the beginning of this writing: Is Violet Evergarden: Eternity and the Auto Memory Doll too beautiful? It would be understandable to wonder what I mean by this. In the end, the question I pose is, can Violet Evergarden, as an animation, still thrive in an environment where Violet isn’t directly put in harm’s way? Where she, mentally or physically, is not putting herself on the line? The answer is yes, in fact this movie demonstrates this point quite well. The main reason I keep comparing Violet Evergarden: Eternity and the Auto Memory Doll to Violet Evergarden is because in the end, they are the same. Now, we reach my main complaint of this movie. Violet Evergarden: Eternity and the Auto Memory Doll, is in some cases, unbefitting of being a movie. Let me remind you again, I really did enjoy this movie. However, multiple times throughout the movie, it did not occur to me that I was watching Violet Evergarden: the movie, but rather Violet Evergarden: The series, extended. To put it straight, I feel that Violet Evergarden: Eternity and the Auto Memory Doll was not to the scale that I expected it to be. And again, this is fine. The movie more or less, serves as an extension of the Anime. Another medium of telling a Violet Evergarden story arc. If you refer to my second paragraph again, you honestly could’ve said that about the anime as well. My problem might well be a personal gripe but it is my belief that this movie honestly played it too safe in terms of story and didn’t really give enough to the name of the character, Violet Evergarden. It’s not as if the story requires immense development on the part of Violet, a fine movie could be made without that. What I feel was lacking was just a feeling of something new, something shiny. It would’ve been nice to see something that didn’t feel like the same Violet Evergarden formula, for the most part.
Regardless, Violet Evergarden: Eternity and the Auto Memory Doll is an extremely well done and well written story. It tells another story of love in a new and interesting fashion. In the end what was I felt was missing was something brand new. A new Violet Evergarden story that does not resemble the original series. Violet Evergarden: Eternity and the Auto Memory Doll is still beautiful, and maybe that’s all it needs to be.