Gilbert understood that Violet would again dedicate everything to her old master if he returned to her life, and that's why he hid out in the middle of nowhere all this time. Forgive me if I sound harsh, but I think I've spend way too much time with Violet on her journey, looking on as if I was growing and maturing with an old friend, to simply be given an "and they lived happily ever after" ending, with no strings attached, complete with the "dash to the port/airport" cliche and the "jump off the boat to rush to shore and embrace lover" cliche.Įven if it is implied that Violet has grown as a person and changed from the Violet who fought under Gilbert out of dependency to a Violet who chooses to be with Gilbert out of love, it still makes her character completely revolve around one person, and boils her storyline down to "girl reunites with boy after being separated after war." Nothing more to say.īut thinking back on the TV series, I can't help but question, "Really, is that all it was this whole time? A long, roundabout romance story?" Because if that's all this was, then I must say that I've given more credit to the emotional maturity of this series than I should have. And those people will find this fairy tale ending perfectly satisfying - the ship is complete. Now, some people may argue that this was all leading up to Violet reuniting with Gilbert, telling him "I love you," and living happily ever after with her former commanding officer-turned-lover. Throughout her encounters across the land writing letters for various clients, each with their own story arc, and interacting with the supporting cast at her workplace, Violets learns to think for herself, to act on her own desires, and, slowly but surely, understand what it means to feel "love." Violet started out as a robotic, emotionally damaged literal doll who could not function without orders from a superior officer. Throughout the anime series, Violet learns through her chosen profession what it means to be independent, what it means to feel, what it means to love. Well, now that I've outlined my big complaint without spoilers, I'll get into the meat of it. I found myself thinking, "oh god, they're not going in that direction, are they?" right before the climax of the film, but lo and behold, they went in that direction. Not only was it wholly predictable, leaning on some of the most cliche tropes used in media, but it also (in my personal opinion) betrayed a lot of the character development and buildup for Violet throughout the anime series. Now I can't go into the details without spoilers, but suffice it to say that, speaking for myself, I saw it as a disappointing end to Violet's character arc. The last 20 minutes of the film were extremely underwhelming for me, try as the film did to make me emotionally satisfied with the conclusion to Violet's story. So, if all those elements were perfect or near-perfect, what kept the movie from the perfect 10/10, or even a 9 or 8 for me? 2 words: "the ending" - arguably the most important part of any story that seeks to be emotionally satisfying. The orchestra works well as it has done in the TV series and previous "Gaiden" movie, and the ending song from True fits very well within the film's atmosphere and emotions. The animation was the usual golden standard from Kyoto Animation - breathtaking at parts, and exactly what we've come to expect over the years. No complaints whatsoever about any of the performances. on-point, not just from Violet's actress, but also her boss Hodgins, and even side characters they introduce as one-offs in the movie. I am simply giving my thoughts on the story progression and why I was so let down.įirst, let me start off by saying that I loved a lot about this movie. I will state my reasons below, first in a spoiler-free section and then in a spoiler section.īefore I begin, full disclaimer that I have NOT read the novel, and so the source of my complaint is not "it is different from the original so it sux0rZ!!1!". It's still far better than average, but the ending misses the mark entirely for me. I have to personally give this film a 7/10.
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