If you were ardently waiting for Violet Evergarden Season 2 based on Kyoto Animations’ vague statement of working on a “project”, you’re in for a pleasant surprise.
On its official Twitter page, Kyoto Animation stated that there’ll be a worldwide release of the Violet Evergarden movie in January 2020. Thanks to this, Indian fans don’t have to worry about signing petitions like they already did for the upcoming movie “Weathering with You.”
Here’s the teaser for Violet Evergarden The Movie
Although the teaser is very short, it was impactful and ended in another cliffhanger. The movie is set in an era where letters gave way to telephones and electric poles. Violet is still in love with Gilbert and one day, she receives a mysterious letter out of nowhere. What happens next? We’ll have to watch the movie to find out.
However, it wasn’t the cliffhanger that was intriguing but the final poster that stole the thunder. Violet is seen sitting next to a man who looks unmistakably like Gilbert or is Gilbert himself. Does this mean he’s alive and well?
Again, we’d have to watch the movie to find out. A simpler way to break the mystery (and give out a spoiler) would be to read the light novels written by Kana Akatsuki and illustrated by Akiko Takase. The series won the fifth Kyoto Animation award under the novel category.
The teaser also says that there’d be also be a backstory preceding the movie release. Violet Evergarden Side-Story: Eternity and the Auto Memories Doll will be screened only in Japan between September 6th and September 19th. This is more of an OVA episode as opposed to a Violet Evergarden Season 2 episode.
Violet Evergarden Season 1: Synopsis and Review
Violet Evergarden’s popularity gained traction among otakus because of its storyline and subtle character transformation. The story begins with Violet, a girl trained by the military to only be used as a weapon. She’s seen recovering from serious injuries after the war. Later, a man by the name of Claudia Hodgins picks her up from the hospital and takes her to C.H. Postal Service where she is initially made to sort letters.
Throughout the series, we see Violet referring to Major Gilbert’s last words to her. She becomes an Auto Memory Doll in order to “learn about feelings” and understand what the Major meant by, “From the bottom of my heart, I love you.”
In the beginning of the series, Violet has immense trouble snapping out of the military’s “perpetual obedience” mode. She chooses a dog when Claudia offers her soft toys and says that she chose it because she was referred to as the “Major’s dog.” One could even say that she was as cold and lifeless as the mechanical hands she had.
However, as the series progresses, she evolves into an empathetic person who is completely dedicated to the craft of conveying feelings as words on a letter. She even undertakes a perilous journey to be able to write a letter for a soldier. When he passes away and Violet goes to his town to deliver the letter, she bursts into tears.
It is this transition that is portrayed as subtly and realistically as possible.
Towards the very end of the series, Violet tells Gilbert’s elder brother that she no longer needed orders to survive. The series ends in a cliffhanger as Violet is seen smiling at someone who fans think might be Gilbert himself.
You can catch the full set of episodes along with the OVA on Netflix. If you’re left wanting for more, it seems you’ll have to be content with “The Violet Evergarden movie” instead of a “Violet Evergarden Season 2” for now.