Introduction:
2 years of waiting, initially aired in Japan in September, all I can do is wait patiently for December to come. After months of anticipation, I was able to enjoy yet again another masterpiece by Kyoto Animation. For a person who's finished the TV series, the 1st movie and the additional special episode, This movie had provided a fantastic closure for the series. For those of you who’ve watched the show, make sure to grab your popcorn, a can of soda, and a box of tissues because you might need to brace yourself for this 2 hours and 20 minutes emotional rollercoaster. For the final movie, you don’t have to watch the special episode and the 1st movie but I do recommend rewatching episode 10 as the movie does surround a small part of it.
Story (9/10):
The story starts off by showing us the initial cast of characters after the first movie. Years after the war, Violet can’t let go of Gilbert and deny to believe that he’s gone forever even though everyone does. We get to dive straight into the story immediately. From the TV series to this movie, its progressive world building and character development were extremely cohesive, making us viewers to be fully immersed. You get what you essentially wanted from the movie, a conclusion answering all of the previous questions from the TV series. The movie, like most Kyoto Animation’s previous works, slowly builds up the story to make the final moments to its highest. I find this as not a big issue as each part of the story is trying to achieve something instead of being just shoved randomly. The extra time was worth it as it manages to convey its message for the viewer while keeping you emotionally engaged. When the movie gets to its peak, you will certainly be the main source of freshwater for years to come as you can’t stop yourself from crying throughout its final sequences.
Other than the complaint of the movie being extremely long, there weren't any issues that were major that ruined the story. The story is simple but still packs itself with an emotional punch, a symbolic message, and a satisfying ending for the fans of the series.
Animation (9/10):
2 words:
Just.....Beautiful......
My eyes were blessed from every single frame of the movie. I have to praise Kyoto Animation for being this consistent at delivering excellent animations every single time. I can sense the amount of passion going throughout the movie through animation alone. It’s almost as if I can take a snapshot from every single moment of the movie and put a frame on it. The environment of Leiden is great but I think what really shines were the close up shots for some of the characters. The violet color scheme and background foreshadowing had been cleverly put inside the movie that it took me my 4th time at the cinema to notice. It’s been used to convey Violet’s emotions, difficulties, and hidden messages in certain situations. Sometimes, it shows that Major Gilbert is trying to push Violet away from him. Such small details had made the movie turn into an entirely new experience. The scene transitions were fantastic and its pacing for the length of each scene were flawless. The scenery for certain parts of the movie had been heavily escalated for its excellent use of lighting.
Eventhough the animations were great, I would say that there was some inconsistency in terms of animation quality from the beginning (I totally understand behind the reason why). It could be tuned a little bit before the final cut.
Nonetheless, the animations will turn you away from such insignificant problems as you will continue to awe throughout the rest of the movie with its beautifully designed settings, characters, and lighting with well executed scene transitions.
There will be small easter eggs spreading out the entire movie for those of you who watched the 1st movie and the original series. So you should definitely keep an eye on the smaller details.
Sound (10/10):
Evan Call, if you are reading this, I wanted to say I freaking love you. You’ve popped off hard in this film. The background music tracks were mesmerizing. It gives life to the movie. There were scenes that have been amplified to an extent that could never be thought of. To call it better than the previous soundtrack is an understatement, these tracks were straight out masterpieces. It made the scenes inside the movie become more memorable as you can recite every scene from the movie just hearing the OST alone. The implementation of these tracks were excellent and coherent. An example of this was the track “The Voice in My Heart” being remastered for the movie called “Another Voice Calls Out”. “The Voice in My Heart” was used previously where Violet usually introduced herself and wrote letters based on the voice in their hearts. “Another Voice Calls Out” was used once again showing that she’s going to meet another customer calling out for her to write the letters. Each of these tracks mark the beginning of a change for Violet. "Another Voice Calls Out" is composed differently to show a major shift in her character.
Sound FX were good but what made it great was the volume control of each scene. Sometimes it can be the wind, other times it can be the knocking of a door. They amplify the scene’s atmosphere more and make you emerge inside of the world. The insert and ending songs were the perfect way to end this series and to begin another chapter in Violet's life. Overall, the sound was fantastic and cleverly arranged and seemingly flawless.
Characters (10/10)
The main story continued to focus on Violet and Major Gilbert alongside the other characters extremely well. Each side characters alongside with the additional casts have a specific goal on their own which adds further development into Violet’s and Major Gilbert’s character from beginning to end. Each member of the cast managed to stay in characters, making their decisions rational and real. Throughout the series, viewers get to see her character development accumulated from a blank sheet of paper to an independent woman who’s loyal and affectionate. Because of this natural progression, viewers will definitely feel her emotions unfold through a series of events in the second half of the movie. Although the series didn’t give Major Gilbert much screen time, the movie definitely made up all of the gaps that were missing.
Characters cannot be completed with the people who give life to their characters. I have to give credits to Yui Ishikawa as Violet, Koyasu Takehito as Hodgins, and Daisuke Namikawa as Major Gilbert. They have managed to convey the characters emotions through their voice as if the characters were alive. The Seiyuus gave me a spectacular performance especially from Yui Ishikawa. I could never have imagined that she could be an amazing Seiyuu despite most of her career playing minor & insignificant roles. She had managed to escalate Violet’s emotions through every single part of the series and the movie. Thus, I can’t stop myself from being moved as the movie continued to stack climaxes after climaxes on top of each other. These Seiyuus’ performances alone had convinced me to return to the cinemas once again and the characters wouldn’t be completed without them.
The characters managed to stay in characters, each of them serves a purpose to the narrative. The voice acting was great. I don’t see any reason to not put a 10.
Enjoyment (11/10):
Probably from just seeing the score I gave to each part of the movie, you can probably tell that I loved this movie. I really do enjoy this anime. It allowed me to value the emotions through our ways we communicate with each other that is often hidden away from us. The movie has reignited my love for anime once again. A quote from Benedict, the mail carrier from the last movie “We deliver happiness”. Each anime is a letter packed with emotions being sent to the viewer. Eventhough some letters can be horrible, boring, or scruffy, each of them are delivering each of us happiness and invoke our emotions.
For 2 years of waiting, this movie had changed my life once again like the initial series.
Overall (10/10):
You will like this movie if you:
+ want closure for the series
+ enjoy a beautifully made animations, soundtrack, and stories
+ want to make a home-based tsunami from your tears.
You won’t probably like this movie if you:
- Don't like the TV series.
- Have a physics or an engineering degree.
I will definitely hit the cinemas again and again until I empty my pocket. The story was fantastic. The art was beautiful. The sounds were perfect. The characters were great. The movie will give you a satisfying end. I can’t express my love for this movie and the series with such simple words alone so I decided to write this review as a letter to express my love towards such an amazing journey.
To Kyoto Animations,
“From the bottom of my heart,
I love you”
Edit: I have now watched the movie for the 6th time in the cinemas due to how enjoyable the movie was. I will definitely recommend this movie for those who watched the original series.
