*Note - A tad bit long
I have seen a lot of posts and comments about how there are inconsistencies in the anime and the film and how Gilbert coming back and Violet joining him was unsatisfying. Here is an explanation for why I don't think so -
The anime was never about moving on from the past. It is rather about getting closer to the past. It is not about getting over Gilbert, but getting nearer to him. Throughout the show, there are many points at which we see Violet wondering about the bad things she has done by killing all of these people. But at the same time, she would not have met Gilbert if she wasn't a part of the war.
The past is important because it has made Violet into the person she is. If she had just left and become a normal girl after Gilbert took her in, then she would be vastly different, and rather uninteresting character. It helps her become much more humble, and gives her the perfect motivation to better herself after the war ends. And these are Gilbert's final words to her.
To understand what those words meant, she becomes an Auto Memory Doll and starts writing letters. In the process, she begins to have a basic understanding of human emotions and feelings. And even after learning about his death, she keeps going, in the hopes of understanding his final words, which are even more important to her now.
If the story was about moving on, it would have an ending close to, "Sure, Gilbert was a very close person to me, but now he is dead and what matters is that I am a better person because of him.". But rather, the ending is more along the lines of, "Now I finally understand human emotions and can understand what Gilbert told me all that time ago."
It is about becoming a better human to appreciate your past and present and not about moving on from the past. That is more Cowboy Bebop's thing. And if you compare, these are very different shows with very different themes. In VE, it all ends up with the simple situation of Violet having a better understanding of human emotions. That is what the show was about.
The movie has a very realistic and bittersweet approach to this theme. Gilbert being alive is like Violet's final exam. It is like studying the entire year to finally pass this test. That is what the movie is, Violet's final exam. She has spent years as an AMD now and with all her new learnings, she can finally face the person she lost so long ago and show him that she can be the person he wanted to see for so long. In short, it's like your teacher giving you full marks for the final test.
As for the fact that Violet still ends up calling him Major all the time instead of using his name is simple. And that once more reinforces the fact that the anime is not about moving on. Human emotions are complex and layered. You have them since birth, and your childhood helps them grow. Violet never had those. So it would be laughable if she was able to understand all of them in a matter of a few years. She still only understands a little bit of what it all means.
She still has a part of her old self inside her mind. And Gilbert is still her Major to her, no matter what. To just go ahead and call him Gilbert probably would not happen for another five or six years after the movie ends.
TL;DR - The anime is about learning from the present to better appreciate your past and present. The movie is about using these learnings to finally get closure and self-satisfaction in the fact that the person who wanted you to be like this, approves of your current self. Violet has always done what she did for Gilbert. And if it doesn't end with her getting appreciation from him for growing so much, it is kinda pointless from her perspective. |