Story: On the trail of outstanding novels and merges them into a new touching story (9/10)
It may not be the first that comes to mind, but here the basic idea of the well-known fairy tale "Aschenbuttel" (aka Cinderella) has been adapted very beautiful and credibly. In contrast to the Brothers Grimm's collection of fairy tales, the protagonist here is called "Amy", but the inspiration from the story of Charles Perrault's "Cendrillon ou la Petite Pantoufle de verre" is still recognisable. The second world famous novel to be discovered here was written by Charles Dickens and is entitled "The Parish Boy's Progress" (aka Oliver Twist). Taylor is the little orphan girl who experiences warmth and security for the first time and is also given a chance. I really enjoyed how the two classic novels were woven together in a beautiful and heartfelt story. The pace of the narrative is good and the characters very believable for an earlier epoch.
Characters: admirable in expressing dynamic and credible emotions (10/10)
The cast, familiar from the TV series, has been enriched by two new protagonists. The feature film length allows for a very profound character portrayal, which was well realised.
York, Isabella (alias Bartlett, Amy):
She is the heiress of the prestigious York family, but as an illegitimate daughter she has grown up in very poor and hard circumstances. Amy is an attractive young woman with long burgundy hair and usually wears glasses. Her education at an elite girls' academy to become a lady of high society has so far been less than successful due to her previously disadvantaged background. To remedy this situation, Violet is hired as a private tutor, and in order not to jeopardise the young aristocrat, Violet poses as her maid. As in the classic original, Amy lacks something to be accepted in high society. Cinderella needed clothes, in Amy's case it is the lack of etiquette. This fact and the insecurity that comes with it, make her appearance seem brusque and dismissive at first. However, her personality changes in the course of the film. The portrayal of this change and the human bonds, the emotions of the characters, their thoughts and feelings is what makes this story so worth watching. The focus is not on a complex story or unforeseen plot twists, but rather on concentrating on understandable and tangible emotions without falling into kitsch.
(Trivia: Connection with the 5th episode of the TV series. Violet received the request from the Drossel family on the recommendation of Alberta. Alberta is the maid of Princess Charlotte (Kingdom of Drossel) who, with Violet's help, has send love letters to Prince Damian (Kingdom of Flügel).
Bartlett, Taylor:
Taylor is a young girl with medium-length orange-red hair tied in two braids with red ribbons. She is a bright and energetic girl with large, kind, sparkling brown eyes and a few freckles. Her character portrayal reminds me a lot of the novel Oliver Twist. An orphan wrapped in a blanket, huddled by the side of the road, trying to warm up. The way Taylor took Amy's hand was touching and Amy decided to make this foundling her sister and call her Taylor. Life was not easy, they rarely had enough to eat and lived in a one-room hut, but Taylor found human warmth and security.
Violet, Evergarden:
Violet is a very beautiful, attractive young woman with light blue eyes, waist-length golden hair, a fair complexion and a slender, feminine appearance. During the war, Violet lost her arms and was given manoeuvrable prosthetic arms made of adamant silver.
Violet's personality has changed a lot over the course of the TV series and this episode shows the result of that change in a very beautiful way. There is no sign in this episode of the former orphan who grew up as a child soldier in the army, was abused as a tool of war and whose behaviour therefore often seemed eccentric and tactless because she did not understand the feelings of other people, as well as emotions in general. By working as an Auto Memories Doll and meeting very different clients, she gained access to and understanding of the world of emotions and, through writing many letters, realised the deep significance of feelings in life and how precious and valuable each individual life is. Against this background, she approaches Amy (Isabella) with Violet's typical respectful, caring and gentle old-fashioned manner, which makes her appear more like a knight than a maid to all the other students.
The development of Violet is an important reason to point out that it is better to watch this episode after the first season!
Benedict, Blue:
Benedict had a little less screen time in the TV series, which doesn't do him justice considering the light novel. I'm glad he gets a little more attention in this episode. He is a slender, handsome young man with bright sky-blue eyes, sandy-blonde hair and fair skin. Visually, one could mistake him and Violet for siblings, but in terms of clothing and manners, that thought turns out to be a mistake. Benedict dresses rather flamboyantly, usually with a loose shirt and braces, military green tight leather trousers and black high-heeled boots laced tightly from the knee down, and as a supplement to motorcycling he also wears a pair of black fingertipless gloves.
He comes across as somewhat stubborn and quick-tempered. As he also tends to confront people directly with his thoughts without formulating them well beforehand, they can be hurtful or just seem a bit too direct. Nevertheless, at the bottom of his heart he is kind and gentle, considerate of those he cares about, and sometimes even chivalrous. These somewhat hidden qualities are wonderfully portrayed through his behaviour towards Taylor.
Visuals: Very high production standards, a pleasure for the eyes (9.5/10)
The art Kyoto Animation has created with this film impresses with a very beautiful colour palette that is not only extensive but also perfectly coordinated. The landscapes, the buildings as well as their furnishings and the people who play in them appear as one, despite the 2D and 3D techniques. Well, I'm not known for CG being my cup of tea. But in Violet Evergarden, it's very nice to see that CG-given details can also be rendered with drawn elements as a cohesive whole. Moreover, the play of light and shadow is well complemented.
The animation is in no way inferior to the art, the dynamic movements of the characters appear natural and fluid. The animation also impressively portrays the emotional world of the characters with good facial expressions and plausible gestures, thereby creating an overall coherent atmosphere with convincing characters in an artistically impressive setting. In my opinion, the production more than lives up to the very high expectations.
Sounds: Very nice music arrangements, great VA (8/10)
As in the series, the background music was composed by Evan Call. The music is both beautiful and fitting. Violet's train ride at the beginning is a good example. It is basically a simple scenario, but the viewer has to go through several time jumps and change of location within less than two minutes from the boat trip to Violet's arrival at the station. But if one listen carefully, the jumps are easily understood by the music. At the beginning there is a boat trip without music and only when the town comes into view does a familiar melody from the series set in and connects Violet with the child who arrives on the ship. The melody remains until Violet arrives at her destination. This connection, will explain itself until the end of the episode. The music reflects both the emotions of the characters and the meaning of the scene, thus preparing the viewer for the further action. This connection between music, character and the scenario is confirmed again immediately afterwards. The film jumps back to Violet's train ride to her destination, it's daytime and the music is different. Beautiful landscape, beautiful music with a chorus and yet a little melancholic touch showing that Violet is travelling into the unknown. Very nicely realised scene change and the continued music creates a connection between Violet and the next protagonist.
Incidentally, the scene in which Violet sits in the dark train compartment in front of the brightly lit window has a counterpart in the famous anime "Ghost in the Shell". Although the emotional message from Kusanagi Motoko, who looks outside from her darkened apartment through the brightly lit window, is much stronger, the basic mood fits here as well. The BGM is great and underscores the plot and the characters' emotions through the soulful orchestral soundtrack, which knows how to enhance both the hilarity as well as heartbreaking drama, and accompanies the anime's scenarios beautifully at all times.
The ED is called "Amy" and is sung by Chihara, Minori. A very beautiful and intricately arranged orchestral melody that highlights the piano in a very soulful way.
The dialogue direction is excellent, the conversations are coherent and plausible for an earlier era, as well as the distinguished way of speaking that belongs to that time. For the dubbing voices, this time I would like to mention the work of Yūki, Aoi. She did the voice of Taylor Bartlett. In her excellent performance, both the young girl's cheerful temperament and insecurity were portrayed very well. Endou, Aya as the voice of Cattleya Baudelaire is very feminine, tender and also has the aura of an experienced woman with a lot of temperament and a slightly lascivious note in the tempre. The great performance of Endou-san, I already noticed very positively in the TV series. I would also like to mention Uchiyama, Kouki as the voice of Benedict Blue, because his performance is also very successful. Uchiyama-san basically has a very pleasant baritone vocal range, but skillfully speaks a little rougher. I like the presentation and it goes well with the character.
The sound effects are stunning, which is noticeable right at the beginning with the screaming of the seagulls, the crashing of the waves and the sounds of the ship. Everything is appropriate, not too much and not too little and at the right time. But what pleases me most is that they maintain their standards in every respect until the end.
Violet Evergarden and the Bond of Friendship is technically and narratively a spectacular work with a clear, but emotionally sensitive message about the meaning of gentle words and the sheer power of human emotions. The natural but logical development of the characters, as well as the visual and acoustic aspects, combine to create a work that captivates the viewer. Kyoto Animation realised every scene with great care and attention to detail. The talent to convey to the viewer what the characters feel has been masterfully implemented to create an anime, emotionally moving, as very few studios can.
In memory of everyone at Kyoto Animation
Thank you so much for this beautiful and touching anime
