Violet Evergarden: Recollections

Violet Evergarden is one of the greatest anime ever made. It contains one season, two one-shots, and a movie. Recollections is designed to condense that first season into ninety-five minute recap film.

But Evergarden never needed a recap. It's not a long show, and there wasn't much (if any) fat to cut.

In the original, Violet ventures out each episode to help a different client express their true feelings in the form of a letter. The scenarios are creative, beautiful, and often touching, but what matters is how Violet learns from them. She gradually comes to understand the meaning of love by seeing it reflected in her ... clients, and that helps her reconcile her tragic past. Seeing Violet grow into a fully realised human is part of what makes the show so remarkable. Spread among the one-shots are episodes focused on Violet's relationship with her beloved Major Gilbert - these are the 'important' bits, but it's the one-shots that make them work.

Recollections cuts most of it. The two introductory episodes are crammed into thirty minutes, and then we watch three of Violet's most popular assignments, largely unchanged (though they are all shortened). Gilbert's storyline is edited down into a nine-minute sequence which will no-doubt confuse first-time watchers. The original show's two-episode finale is totally thrown out, and in order to avoid any inconsistencies, the character of Dietfried - Gilbert's brother - is thrown out too.

The result is a rushed and disjointed experience. None of the characters (especially Violet) feel well-rounded because all their quiet, contemplative moments were cut. None of the emotional beats are given the time they need to settle. Before you can process one heart-wrenching scene, you're whisked along to the next. Recollections is inferior to the original in every way. At best, it's a excuse for existing fans to revisit some of the show's best moments. But the idea of a first-timer choosing to watch this is all sorts of horrifying.

Please don't do that.

Just watch the original.

The movie is an excellent summary of the 12 chapters of the Violet Evergarden anime.

All relevant scenes appear in the film:
Introduction of the protagonist and the context in which it is located
Summary of flashbacks
The first job
The job that makes a turning point in the attitude of the protagonist
The best job of the anime, which makes the end.

The other jobs that don't appear in the film aren't as important to the plot, and the transition between the chapters that are depicted in the film is pretty consistent.
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Conclusion: The movie makes a good substitute for the anime. You can enjoy almost everything that the series can transmit to you in an hour and a half. Recommended for those who don't have much time to watch series and want to enjoy a good story.

The anime Violet Evergarden is easily one of my favorite animes of all time, it's fantastic in every sense. What this movie is is a 'recollection' of previous plot points from the anime, but recompiled into an hour and 30 minute production. It cuts out some of the best moments from the anime, while adding sporadic jump cuts in some very odd places. It's not a horrible watch by any means, but if you're trying to enjoy everything this series has to offer you need to start with the anime and skip this one altogether. Still watched it, still somewhat enjoyed it, but I would ... not recommend it when a superior product exists.