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"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome back to our seasonal show "generic isekais are great". Please welcome Tensei shitara Ken Deshita."
A lot of people cannot watch most isekai in modern time and the reason is obvious: In many ways, they are all the same. This show is a prime example.

Animation: It hurts. We are talking "only necessary movements are drawn"-style of anime. Using that style in modern time is what I call "insufficient". Will there be blood when the sword slashes through a goblin? More often than not there isn´t, especially on the sword. That would be difficult to animate, wouldn´t it.

Sound: The Opening is standard but ... quite good, I liked it. The ending feels average. The sound is far below average. It is just there and nothing happens. Anything remotely creative or interesting? Nah.

Story: This is a generic isekai story. There really is not much to talk about. Does it stand out that the main character is a sword? Yes. In the first episode, while we watch his journey of levelling up. Practically speaking, we then get a new main character. A little girl, young and unexperienced with a dire past. We will watch her coming-of-age-story within the limits of the genre. The "level-up-metaphor" is used as it usually is and the sword then becomes her companion while simultaneously becoming a narrator because of his inner monologues.

Characters: Well we have our sword - quite energetic and what our society would call "a good man". After episode one, he supports our adorable Catgirl Fran. They then become good friends and a great team. Other than that, most characters are bland and just "exist".

Preliminary reviews are interesting, you know. Because everything can change. Many anime shows put a lot of effort in the first few episodes of the show and it can go downhill very fast. Or vice versa, where the story builds up slowly over time. Or there are a lot of plot twists coming in the future. Or you can watch a generic isekai.

People of the anime world, don´t get me wrong. If you want to shut off your brain after a workday or so and just watch something to distract yourself, go for it. This is the reason why this genre exists. You don´t think, you just watch. Accept what happens and feel good while watching a cute character. Is this anime bad? That depends on you: Do you enjoy this style of anime? Then go for it!

Welcome to the tutorial of "How to kill a show just by making a sequel-movie." You will find a few reviews which express my opinion on the movie. I am going to go a little bit further, not only into looking into „What happened“ but also into „What could have been“. This review is directed towards people who watched the movie. If you have some free time, I invite you an a journey. Please take my remarks with a grain of salt, as I really loved the series itself. Please do not be offended, this is just my personal opinion.

Let me start with the ... most obvious part: The sound and art of the movie are superb. This is masterclass, first above all. Maybe you are used to movies which share these characteristics, but in the end fail to tell a unique and inspiring story. More often than not, the stories are a bit above average. For me, that would be something like „Kimi no na wa.“ or „Tenki no ko.“ These are good movies, worth a watch because of different reasons even besides sound and art (like worldbuilding, solid groundwork, working main characters, etc.) but fall off due to mediocre storywriting and several other reasons (the story feels fabricated and has big plot holes, etc.). Well in the end these are feel-good-movies for the mainstream audience, so I guess it´s fine. But what about „Violet Evergarden: The movie“? Arrgh. In a vacuum, this movie resembles the aforementioned example. It looks and sound amazing, it´s story is fairly average, it has a happy ending and everyone is happy woop woop. But this completely fails if you take into consideration that this is based on a series called „Violet Evergarden“.

Why? To answer that question, we need to ask ourselves: What is Violet Evergarden about? Obvious answer in 3, 2, 1…It is about Violet Evergarden. Duh. It is about her evolution from an unindependent, emotionless „Robot“ used in a big war as a tool towards a more and more „normal human being“. The series depicts her slow growth and the circumstances under which they happen. Does this story need tension or action? No. Does it need a real antagonist? No. Does it have one? Interesting question. As a friend of mine formulated: Violet´s dependency on Gilbert is pretty much the antagonist of the series. He is kind of like a drug which Violet fights to get away from to be able to live an independent life. The series mostly stays true to this idea and while it may not perfect due to a few reasons, is a movie capable of destroying that? Let´s see what happened.

Ripping the movie apart, it consists of three parts:
- A framework story many years in the future. A genuinely brilliant idea to start and end the movie with, but that´s about it.
- A side-story about a young man who is terminally ill. It is pretty good when taken out of context. But it drives the runtime to 2:20 h which is frankly too long. It also creates unnecessary tension and would´ve been a good special. Did you ask yourself what happened inbetween the end of the series and the movie? There is still much to be explored. This, for example, is how the side story could have been used. As a link between past and present.
- The main story. What happens? Three or four years after the end of the anime series, Violet finds out that the major may still be alive. Violet and the lieutnant find him on an island and after some heavily exaggerated back and forth (and the most fabricated finale of modern time) Violet and the major come together and live happily ever after. The end. Why is this a problem? Pretty easy to explain, honestly. The movie takes the developements of the main series, lights them on fire and happily watches them burn. The moment Violet hears of the possibility that her major may just be alive, she is on heels like a drug addict who did not do drugs for a day. Metaphorically, she runs wild like a dog in anticipation of her master coming home. Barf barf. Watched from this perspective, does this movie have a happy ending? No. This is frankly painful. What happens after the finale? Violet stays with her major on the island for the rest of her life. Does she go to theatre with her friends? No. We can only guess, but maybe she does not leave the island ever again. And to be completely honest, this is not a believable outcome. This is not the evolved version of her character at the end of the series.

If you are still reading: Thanks. But you might say something in the likes of „Well of course she would be happy to see the major again.“ And I agree. This part is not unrealistic. If the movie so wishes, Gilbert is brought back. And then, her longing is very understandable. Now I will ask you: What if the movie uses up to an hour of its runtime to show them find each other? This opens up a whole lot of possibilities we still have time for. We learn about them finding together. We learn more about the major and his personality. We see their relationship unfold, two people who now are on the same level. Violet being a more independent person and the major not as her superior but as her friend. We see her introducing the friends she made, showing her work and influence and so on. We might just revisit a lot of people from the series again. What kind of relationship will they have? That´s not for me to decide. He might be 29 and she might be 18, but whatever. Love is love. Just some of these aspects would keep at least some of her character. These are just some of oh so many possible directions the movie could have taken, but it did not. It wasted its runtime on the two of them finding together. A story which can be told in an hour at most. After the movie, we are left with more questions than in the end of the series. And with myself, crying inside for what could have been.

[Note from the author: The light novel ended the TV series with Gilbert rescuing Violet instead of his brother, since he watched her all the time from the sidelines. Meaning: The three years between the series and the movie do not follow the light novel. And for that reason, it seems legitimate to explore the options the movie had.]

So I asked myself: What is the purpose of the movie? Why did the filmmakers make these decisions? The most likely answer left me dead inside – and this is a throwback to the beginning of the review: mainstream oriented fanservice with a cliché ending. Fanservice in the sense of „delivering what fans [in the eyes of the producers] want to see.“ Did that work? Yes. I am in every sense of the word part of a minority. Just take look at the average rating of the movie. Or most other reviews.

Conclusion: The movie can be watched for three different reasons:
- What are modern possibilities of sound and art? Apparently the only reasons besides the side story I can give this movie credit for.
- How does the anime of Violet Evergarden really end? You should probably just read the light novel.
- Can you show me an example on how not to make a sequel-movie? Yes, we can!

Violet Evergarden is an anime I watched on a train ride back home. And honestly, this location is not even that unfitting.
As a viewer, you have to understand how Violet works. It is a slow paced slice of life anime set in a different but world in a past where telephones do not yet exist. Shortly after a war, the viewer is able to slowly get to know especially our main character and accompany her on a journey of evolution. From an unemotional tool of war to a person which is capable of living on her own two feet. This is done partly episodic ... and partly not. And it does really rely on its visual storytelling. Which is why the following two points are of utter importance for the anime to even work properly:
- Sound: The Sound of this show is incredible. Violet is accompanied by an orchestra OST which is very well done and it just fits perfectly. The opening and ending are great and both have a place on the top of all anime ops end eds. This, for me, is perfect.
- Animation: The animation is breathtaking. The additional eye candy of the sequel-movie would make it a masterpiece.
Without these two buddies, the show just would not work!

What else does it need to work? Well, characters, of course. And my gosh it does.
The characters writing is something you rarely see: Well built all over the board, while of course the focus being on Violet and her development. You have to understand that the show does not need a story in the classic sense. It needs Violet. Which is why I have to criticize the last few episodes, where the rebellion is brought up. I understand that this also is how the show wants to tell of her journey in evolution, how much she has grown until then and how this shows on her actions and thoughts. But without knowing much about the backround of these rebellion people and a further dive into their motivations and into the details of the war, they just seem so antagonized where it just could have been more that bit more I know the show is certainly capable of. They could have woven this plot into various parts of the story, for example.

Which leads us to the story. Oh didn´t I tell you that Violet herself is the story? What happens around her is just working towards her evolution. The show does not need a story besides that, really. Not going through everything, but this "environment" is portrayed ingenious.

In summary, I really enjoyed the anime. It felt great and it was an honor that I was able to watch this show in my lifetime. Violet Evergarden is a great show from an audiovisual standpoint and it does need them for the slow paced story of the evolution of Violet Evergarden to work out which lives from its visual storytelling. The sidecharacters, which I did not really dive into, were great. The story, being Violet, was brilliant. Admittably, the show can become a bit tedious, especially in the beginning of the show. You have to like Drama to a certain degree, because it slowly builds a staircase to walk on. Remember: if a show wants to present well-written-characters, this usually takes its time.

Josee to Tora to Sakana-tachi may not be what you expect. At least, for me it wasn´t. Praised very high, I needed some time to accept that not everything went as I wanted it to. It is no bad movie, but it fails at many points.

What about the Storyline?
It has it´s strong points. No doubt in my mind about that. What hindered me was:
1. The story feels fabricated, you can almost see the producers saying "Character A, we need you here, now!" far too often. The word "fateful" used in the movies synopsis is really meant to be stated there.
2. I heard people say ... "beware of the movies fast pacing" - really??! But then again, I may just have been annoyed that there are so many unneccesary things happening, mostly because of our characters decisions and sometimes because of how the story is told.
3. Some decisions from our characters are just…weird. Adds to point 1.
In the end, I would say slightly above average. The last arc is the best, but still failing at point 1. It may have been so much more. Which is partly due to the next topic.

What about the Characters?
- Chizu (grandmother): I did not feel anything when she died. What does that tell me? I wasn´t invested in her, like at all. Why? Because she was mostly portrayed as a hindrance for Josee. And I could not emotionally sympathize, although she was genuinely a person which cared for her grandchild. And it often seemed like Josee did not (yes I know, Josee and showing what she feels on the inside. I KNOW). In the end, the character was thrown away like garbage. As a plot device, which lost its necessity to exist. Sadly, there are rarely scenes where you can get a look behind her curtain.
- Kana (bookstore girl): A character which would be kind of worth investing more time into (especially the relationship between Josee and her could be so much more…). She is there so that Josee can develop and "have a friend" which helps her - like a lot – in many ways. Again, "fated encounter", but whatever it felt real this time. All in all, good addition to the movie.
- Hayato (the girlfriend-chasing-character): Being portrayed as an unreliable, women hunting fuckboy (a nuisance at first) - he may just be more than that, meaning a good friend and such. But that, we never really get to see. It is hinted, though. Can this movie please go deeper into these side characters, my gosh.
- Mai (the girl that exists because she has a crush on Tsuneo): Seemingly pretty one-dimensional at first, we can see her actually being a reasonable person with her mistakes and all. A great character if you really think about it. And yes, I know it hurts. Good thinking, but then again please invest more time in the literal friends of our main character. Do less
- Tsuneo, oh dear Tsuneo. His character is defined by "he has an aspiration and does pretty much everything do reach it". Is it a bad idea? NO! His life in the beginning of the movie is portrayed well. But then he acts like a masochist to a certain degree. He seems to not care how other people see, react and use him. Quite fascinating. Or annoying, I should say. I know the pay is good, but when you are freed from this utter shithole: Why come back like a dog? There is no reason. At all. And moreso not to apologize. The "he-looses-hope-and-Josee-can-spark-his-light-of-hope-again arc" is admittably good and more or less realistic.
-Josee aka a feels-like-15-year-old with a wheelchair problem. Sounds harsh at first, and I get it. She is frustrated and wants Tsuneo to feel like as she does. She does not have social contacts and feelings like envy (yes this one scene) are strangers to her. She wants to see and explore the outside world, not be alone anymore and has dreams that seem unreachable. She has not matured tot he age of 24 up until a point people usually do. But this does not justify her behavior, especially towards others. But then, it feels like the movie wants to us to accept her as is and that here actions are right, because she can´t walk since she was little. I did not like her as much as I could have. Sadge, I liked the idea.

What about the animation?
The movie uses a simplistic artstyle. Meaning: the art in this movie is average at best - for a movie in comparison to the other stars of the universe. Is this a bad thing? Yes kind of - who would not like to see graphics out of this word. Unreachable, you could say, to even give it a meaning. But: while being mediocre, it supports the plot to a point where it works.

What about the sound?
The opening song Take Me Far Away by Evan Call is neat, the ending song Ao no Waltz by Eve is a great fit. In the end, you can't really criticize the movie for it´s soundwork. This is not where it markedly fails, at all. And it is not the focus of the movie to deliver a groundbreaking innovative Soundtrack (as in a movie with more fantasy passages).

Did I enjoy?
Yes and no. Because the last arc was pretty good, it left an overall positive impression on me. But more often than not, I felt annoyed by what I was seeing on my screen. Story, Characters and Art could definitely been better. Interesting ideas exist and I consider it watchable. Go and watch if you like your Drama Romance shows.

Angel Beats! is kind of strange. I was personally told that "yea this is just fking sad, you´re gonna cry". But honestly, this does not resemble the whole truth. The show mixes dumb comedy with a serious story. And to my surprise, it works much better than most animes which try to implement this. The reason being that they are complete opposites from each other. This becomes a hindrance when you take into consideration that people don`t die when they should. It partially leaves the viewer behind with the question: Should I care? At least, until disappearing people and the reason why are explored. Towards ... the end, the story feels a forced and rushed, but it has a well rounded, remarkable ending. It´s just that there rarely are genius moments. More than that, nowadays the show feels overshadowed, if you look at Violet Evergarden for example, because you then realise that the show needs story because the characters are not good enough to carry it on it´s own. They often feel very bland.

Up and downs in story, some ok to good and mostly just comedy-characters - what about audiovisuals? To be honest, the graphics get an "OK" pass whilst nothing except maybe the concert scenes have a good animation. It feels average. Sound is quite good. The OP is good. It fits very well, and except the Main Theme of the show (which grows on you, more and more) nothing so far out of the ordinary that you would feel amazed.

What would it need to be a better show?
1. The characters, as described, are in my humble opinion not good enough. Shrink them down, tell (more) stories. Make them so that the viewer can emphasize more (poor Yuri...). Tell their perspectives. Or just go and do comedy only, who knows.
2. Art - as said, quite average.
3. The comedy-serious mix works if watched from the comedy-perspective, but doesn´t from the serious story-perspective. The viewer is not sure wheter he should laugh - or not. How do you fix that? I do not know, but I don´t write stories. I´m just a critic.

So what is there in the end?
An above average anime which is worth a watch if you
a) are interested in drama shows and
b) want to know what happened in the pretty famous show called "Angel Beats!
It´s not like it´s bad. Just not as good as it could´ve been, sadly.