This show really needs a prequel

I love war/milltary series, but I wouldn't say Violet Evergarden needs one.

Firstly, that's not the point of Violet Evergarden.

Secondly, We already saw the important stuff from her milltary days.

I think it could be nice as more action packed Gilbert-Violet Dynamic, but definitely not needed as said before.

I don't think I would enjoy a 14 year old girl doing John Woo style gun fu on a fairly grounded and serious steampunk inspired war setting.
>b-b-but Arcane did that and it worked
Arcane's setting and theme permitted that without being jarring

I know that, but the point has already been told, and I've cried over it multiple times.
Seeing the two just casually interact would be nice, and as I said, it could be the best war anime out there.

If you write a story with such a clear rejection of war and its impact on humans, and then decide to go back and make and make a le ebic war action show with the same IP, you only spoil both sides. This show is a medium for delivering a message, and there's really nothing to do with it once the message has been conveyed to the author's satisfaction.

I want an alternate universe sequel, where the movie events don't happen. The ending felt bleak for the character.

@Laplace_kun The ending is literally "they lived happily ever after" though?

Without Kyoani, it would not have the same essence

What can I say? Some "happy endings" feel morbid and melancholic. To me, it felt like the titular character fading as she goes back to status quo; the final shot is lowkey haunting.

Don't you know?
On July 18, 2019, Aoba bought 40 liters of gasoline, after which he entered the Kyoto Animation studio, splashed gasoline on six workers while shouting “Go to hell!” and set the building on fire with a lighter. The fire engulfed the building, killing 36 people and leaving another 32 injured.

And hence Kyoani has been shut down since then.

I feel like it won't add anything, the character archetype Violet is based on is already a staple of the mecha genre and the series was good at portraying the aftereffect of war, a prequel would have hard time replicating the emotions, it would have no reason to be better than a war show that isn't related to it, the only thing going for it is the brand recognition

@Guilmon1 If you go by that standard, every story has already been told. There are too many literary works, it's impossible to be original anymore.

@JaniSIr every story has been told, but everything has something to differentiate it, even if it's small, and what makes violet unique won't be able to thrive in a war anime

Hell yea, gimme little Violet slaughtering the enemies.

Ironic considering Violet literally witnessed the coming of a new age in her own eyes. In what way succumbing to social norms a happy ending for a living legend?

The movie spends its time building up suspense, then Violet reverts to crybaby, the fading relevance of her job is an icing to the cake. Meanwhile the major, an enigma so far, is a guilt-stricken man who cannot come to terms with his own feelings. The fact that the novels allegedly do proper buildup before confirmation regarding his survival adds to the tonal whiplash of the movie. At the end, their reunion has no catharsis. It's a "closure" for Violet, when she had every story resource to have more. Nearly no chemistry between them was shown to develop, adding to the dour nature of Violet's new life. The major too, a victim of war and family duty, finds meaning in his life only in Violet.

Both people have been emotionally chained to each other, and that is set up like a reward for their past suffering and hardwork. The TV series rewatch value goes to virtually zero, despite Violet being explicitly known primarily for her work in the modern era. The movie feels as an unsuccessful rendition of the achievement of small big joys in life (like, love) for both a successful person and a broken one.

Didn't mean to write much, just thought it's a better reply than just saying that the ending of a piece of media cannot satisfy everyone.

I never really thought about how a prequel would look like, but I kind of like the idea.

No idea how much we learn about it in the books, but a prequel would give the chance to explore what made Violet into the obedient child supersoldier she was, her relationship with Gilbert and his brother Dietfried during that time, how she was regarded as a monster by both enemies and allies and the political situation behind the war. Having an explaination why she has superhuman abilities probably wouldn't add much, but I would be interested what made her close up her own emotions and desires ever since she was a small child.

On the other hand, part of me just wants to keep the series as it is. As much as I love the energy from the war flashbacks, it probably wouldn't come close to the impact the original series had on me. I wouldn't want it to change the characters in a way that stands at odds with what I liked about them in the original.



My main problem with the movie is that having Gilbert miraculously survive waters down Violet's developement in the original series. My favorite part about the show was Violet's grieving process. Knowing that he somehow survived removes the need for Violet to come to terms with Gilbert's death, the man she loved even though she never realized until it was too late. Also the way the two got back together felt a bit like she reverted back to her old self, losing the independence she struggled so hard to build up.

@Zarutaku It'd be interesting to see a prequel movie or series focusing on that massive military conflict. Violet going on a killing spree is one thing to be excited about, but I'd be more hyped about anime with high quality battlegrounds with WW1-stylized troops fighting with each other.

Also, Violet could get more depth as a character. Wasn't she a sort of supersoldier in the LN? I haven't read it myself, but I heard that Violet's strength and skills were partially the effect of extremely harsh training and partially the result of her genetics improved in an artificial way.

@JaniSIr Well, even that feels awkward as Violet showed deep empathy and understanding in 1st season itself, especially with the dying soldier. She just has a different way of expressing itself. The only emotion she struggled to grasp fully is love, but that is on a conceptual not performance basis. She actually succeeded in settling herself as a productive member in the society rather than some eccentric. The way she bonded with multiple children is another demonstration.

Yes, it's more of a transition problem. Her new life might have color, but we barely get to see the colorful part.

Violet with battle axe episode please.

@Vaturna I would start the prequel around the time when Dietfried finds Violet. Her exact origins are better left a mystery imo.
And she didn't regress, she wasn't asking for orders or anything. This kind of sounds like you imply marriage is an overall bad thing.

@JaniSIr I didn't want to imply that marriage as a whole is bad, just that the connection between Violet and Gilbert might be bad.
Gilbert always wished that Violet would forget about him so that she could move on. It's impossible to say if he was right about that or not, but I always thought that he had a point. The affection Violet developed for him came from a time that was very traumatic where she couldn't trust anyone else except for him. Her love was deeply linked to her loyalty as a soldier to a superior and her life as a weapon of war.

Both Violet and Gilbert have changed a lot since the last time they saw each other. My problem is that the movie didn't give me enough scenes between the two to convince me that Violet's decision to jump off the ship had anything to do with what she saw inside the new Gilbert instead of her old image of him she developed during the war. To me, it's a sign that she's still chained to her past with everything that comes with it, unable to let go.
To be fair, the movie shows that Violet and Gilbert manage to make it work regardless, but I didn't like Violet's decision and the way it reframed the story for me.