Summary
This side story from the main series maintains the same delicate approach to grief and tragedy while exploring a new corner of the fan-favourite world.
The first Violet Evergarden film comes with a boatload of added significance. Arriving over a year after the conclusion of the first series with an OVA special, it’s also the first major film released by the legendary Kyoto Animation since the tragic arson attack on the studio that killed 36 people in July this year.
So, it’s appropriate that VIOLET EVERGARDEN: ETERNITY AND THE AUTO MEMORY DOLL (ヴァイオレット・エヴァーガーデン 外伝 – 永遠と自動手記人形) carries on in their best understated fashion. After all, the series has always been about dealing with grief and other complex emotions in the wake of monumental tragedy.
A side story to the anime series, the brief film almost feels like a couple of longer episodes strung together. Violet (voiced by Yui Ishikawa of course) arrives at an exclusive girls’ academy with the unusual task of being a ‘tutor’ to Isabella York (Minako Kotobuki), who is effectively a prisoner there based on a contract of sorts with her father.
In the first half of the film, we watch as Violet steadfastly breaks down Isabella’s defences and learns her backstory. As the truth about her past emerges, we are introduced (via a brief time jump) to Taylor Bartlett (Aoi Yūki) and an emotional journey that series writers Reiko Yoshida, Takaaki Suzuki and Tatsuhiko Urahata do so well.
Punctuated by the same titles that graced the end of episodes, this really does follow the style of the series to the (wait for it) letter. Which will suit series fans just fine: it doesn’t so much continue the story as extend the world a little bit, focusing just as much on the emotional arc between new characters Isabella and Taylor as it does on Violet and her fellow Dolls.
Which doesn’t mean that the animation isn’t gorgeous. Director Haruka Fujita doesn’t have quite as many non-sequitur cutaways to feet or the backs of heads, but there are long sequences where he lets the visuals tell the story. There’s a beautiful moments during a waltz where the frame lingers on a painted ceiling of a bird. Later, the stunning painted background give life to a wintery village.
While there’s an argument to be made that this was the kind of thing that could have been included on a home release, as last year’s OVA was, the opportunity to see Violet Evergarden on the big screen is delightful. As we look forward to the main story feature film in 2020, this ‘side’ story is a testament to Kyoto Animation’s ability to tell stories of all sizes and a sign that they will endure beyond their own grief.
2019 | Japan| DIRECTOR: Haruka Fujita | WRITERS: Reiko Yoshida, Takaaki Suzuki, Tatsuhiko Urahata | CAST: Yui Ishikawa,Minako Kotobuki,Aoi Yūki | DISTRIBUTOR: Madman Films (AUS) | RUNNING TIME: 90 minutes | RELEASE DATE: 5 December 2019 (AUS)
