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Violet Evergarden: The Movie has always baffled me. I'm always so confused seeing the love behind this movie, and people calling it a "Worthy conclusion." Violet Evergarden is one of the best shows ever created. It is able to capture so much heart and love in just 13 episodes, with believable characters and an incredibly well written story. Violet Evergarden: The Movie feels like a slap in the face to everyone who has watched the show.

This is mainly due to one BIG problem that ruins this movie: The fact that Gilbert is still alive. I can't comprehend why this was a good decision by the ... writers. Violet Evergarden was all about Violet letting go of her love for Gilbert and moving on from his death. Throughout the show, Violet is constantly dealing with her trauma towards Gilbert's death, until she finally accepts it and moves on. The conclusion is one of the best in any anime, because it acknowledges and ties all loose ends towards her feelings with Gilbert, her ability to become "human," and learning to move on.

So I really want to understand why. Why did they bring Gilbert back, after the show told Violet (and us) to move on from him? As soon as Violet learns he's alive, she goes back to the same character at the beginning of the show, who just wants to find Gilbert, no matter the cost. This would be fine if the show's whole message wasn't about acknlowedging Gilbert's death. Having this miracle happen to Violet is just unsatisfying to the whole core idea of the show.

Another big thing: Why do they have to make Violet and Gilbert's story romantic? This is a problem I had with the show too, but this movie brings that pain back to me again. Gilbert was really her mentor, her protector, who always helped and took care of Violet. They can both deeply care for each other, but romanticizing it? I just find that to be really weird. Gilbert itself, isn't a very interesting character either. We see him quite often in the movie, but he is so basic and uninteresting. Someone who can never forgive himself for his past actions. A shell of his former self. I didn't think he was great in the show either, but that wasn't the point. The show was mainly centered around Violet, and creating letters for people to be human and to also let go of her past. In the movie, it really shows how bad of a character he is.

It sucks as well, because I really enjoy the side story of Violet helping an ill boy named Yuri. It felt like an episode from the show, and it was quite interesting, well written and emotional. Yuri's story could have been a seperate movie or episode, but its put right in the middle of a terrible reunion story. The animation and sound is also incredible, as always.

In my eyes, Violet Evergarden: The Movie is terrible. It felt like an uneccessary movie to such an incredible show that ended on such a beautiful note. The ending of the movie is awful and left me feeling annoyed. It was awful seeing Violet abandon everything just to be with Gilbert once they do make up with each other. This is not just a bad movie, its a movie that didn't need to exist. To me, the show and Eternity and The Auto Memory Doll is all you need to see. It hurt seeing such an incredible show being left on such a terrible ending thanks to this movie. I can't recommend any fans of Violet Evergarden watch this.

I don't get the love behind this show. Your Lie In April is a romance with a neat concept. A kid who used to play piano, not wishing to anymore, suddenly finding a girl that completely changes his view on piano and life in general. However, this show is poorly executed and a lot more plain than it looks. If you're watching this show for the art and soundtrack, then you'll come back completely satisfied, as those are the two things that Your Lie In April excels at. Other than that, this show fails in almost every other way.

Story And Pacing - Your Lie ... In April has a huge pacing problem. Despite being 22 episodes, it fails to develop the characters and ideas in any way than the typical 12 episodes of a romance/slice of life anime. The times where the piano competitions begin and end take forever, sometimes an entire episode or two, of characters and situations being constantly overdramatic. I can understand the show is trying to show the fear and difficulty that comes with getting on stage, but Your Lie In April strecthes that out for an absurd amount of time. Its like in a shounen anime when a character pauses to spend an hour to explain his or her move. Its fine if you do that. Do that over and over, and it just becomes annoying. The only good part that comes from Your Lie In April is its ending, which I actually liked and found it to be quite a surprise from the typical romance anime. However, building up to that ending was a mix of boredom and frustration.

Theres another thing about this show, and that it relies heavily on comedy. However, its not funny, and never is. Your Lie In April seems to believe that all a show needs to be funny is misunderstandings and the MC, Kousei, getting beaten up constantly. I'll admit, its funny the first time, but the show does this over and over and OVER again. After a while, I could not stand it. The show always subverts itself unexpectedly, from a goofy lighthearted romance, to a depressing and sad show about depression and anxiety. The pacing is all over the place, and it causes a lot of the more emotional moments to feel far less impactful. I really don't get why the comedy is a central part of what is overall, a pretty sad show.

Art and Sound - Like I said, this is where Your Lie In April excels at. The songs are beautiful, the art is gorgeous, and in terms of art and sound, its one of the best in the industry in my opinion. If theres anything thats annoying, its that when the show tries to be "funny," the animation and quality goes from Level 10 to Level 1. Its done on purpose, but I personally hate when shows do that, and Your Lie In April always does that when its trying to be "funny." Overall, nothing really wrong with the art and sound.

Characters: Oh boy, the characters. This is by far the worst part of Your Lie In April. I have never met such unlikable characters and terrible writing in my entire life. So without further ado, lets get straight into it...

Kaori Miyazono - Meet the most annoying and terrible female character in a romance anime. I hate Kaori so much, its unbelievable. For the whole show, Kaori seems to come off as a kind, loving and sweet character. However, I personally disagree with this. Kaori is trying to help Kousei get his love back for the piano, but she does this by bullying and hurting him until he feels like doing it. How Kousei ever fell in love with Kaori is beyond me. She is a brat, and very mean to Kousei, and she even expresses this through her letter at the end of the show. I get that she wants to help Kousei, but that doesn't mean its okay to hurt and beat him when he has essentially done nothing wrong. The show tries to make this bullying seem "funny," but its not. Its rude and careless of her, and makes her seem like a spoiled child who gets angry when things don't go her way. Even though she has an "illness," and you learn this very early on in the show, that doesn't make me feel bad for her. Being sick doesn't contribute to abusing and bullying someone. She is by far one of my least favorite characters in all of anime.

Tsubaki Sawabe - I hate Kaori a lot, but Tsubaki gets on my nerves. She's a terrible character. Through most of the show, she serves as nothing but Kousei's lover, jealous of him spending time with Kaori instead of her. The show tries potraying her losing a best friend she has known for years, but its hard to like a character that yells and screams at the main character constantly. Worst part, she barely changes. Even at the end, she's still a mean and horrible character just out for Kousei. Her change of heart is poorly written and doesn't make me like her still. At the end, she's still a terrible character, existing to give Kousei a dilemna about his love for Kaori, and thats it.

Kosei Arima - The only character in this show I actually like. His struggles of being a pianist, and how he grows to love it again is a very nice story. Its to bad that he is surronded by characters that are rude, disrespectful and arrogant. Kosei is an amazing main character, surronded by awful side characters.

Other Characters - None of them are any better. Either they're like Kaori, where they are rude, abusive and mean for no reason, or like Tsubaki, who have no depth other than they have a huge amount of respect for Kousei's piano skills. None of them are interesting, and they all fall flat.

Conclusion - This is one of the worst shows I've ever seen, saved by the amazing art and sound. The characters, except Kousei, are horrible and rude from start to finish, never redeeming themselves at all. Its not funny at all, and its a slog to get through. The ending was a surprise, but I disliked Kaori so much that it meant nothing to me.

As a pianist myself, this show offends me. Its poorly written and completely unrealistic. I cannot recommend this show to anyone, unless art and music is all you care about, and you don't care at all about a good story.