May 13, 2020
After the disappointment that was to me Violet Evergarden (TV), I'm pleased to afirm Gaiden is a nice step forward.
The original VE was overly melodramatic most of the time, which contrasted a lot with some over the top scenes where Violet ran like Naruto while kicking asses, making me chuckle and hurting my suspension of disbelief on the process. Besides, due to Violet being a plain doll as a character (literally), episodes focused on her were the worst by far. Because of that, most of the series episodes consisted on Violet entering and trying to understand others concerns, growing her as a character at the
...
same time because she can't sustain a full episode just by herself. Some of those episodes were good while others weren't that great.
That being said, Violet Evergarden Gaiden is the best episode so far.
This movie functions as a quite longer stand alone episode. It follows all steps of the formula but introducing some new narrative resources such as timeskip wich aren't possible in a regular lenght episode. On top of that, Violet has accumulated all the knowledge of previous episodes, being a bit closer to be considered a human, to the point this is the first time I enjoy watching her.
As I said, time skip is used here for the first time, converging past, present and future on the same story:
▸ Past: An encounter in poverty.
The weakest part, probably because the whole express adoption and Isabella being princess by surprise feels kinda rushed, but it could have been boring if it was longer so I don't know what I'm complaining about.
▸ Present: The doll is alive.
We can see Violet and Isabella, a woman sick of everything, having fun and developing a friendship, which again, is new to the series and a step forward for Violet and the likeability of her character. By far, the best part.
(Noticeable how KyoAni has taken advantage of few yuri hints present here, to suggest something on the promotional poster in order to appeal to certain audiencies... as me).
▸ Future: Closing the circle.
Taylor finally appears, attempting to make a living working as postwoman, thinking that will help her eventually find Isabella. We get attached to Taylor through her difficulties and the whole drama behind her and her sister. The movie reachs its conclusion, the bittersweet reunion, through a letter of course. in a thematically befitting way.
Violet Evergarden Gaiden, while solving some of the problems present on the original series, hasn't reached the full potential, but I'm satisfied with it and willing to see what KyoAni do next.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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