It's Day ? of shelter-in-place and honestly I've been pretty busy with remote classes and other things to do around the house. No matter how much I clean, there's always more. And I've been baking a lot too which has been rewarding in its own way. I know for some people they're getting pretty antsy at home, but I think that this is fine. When I was brushing my teeth this morning I even thought that I could live on a space ship. Obviously that was just a fleeting thought and tremendously fantastical and mildly unrealistic due to my motion sickness, but it's kind of an amusing thought. Also, since I'm in two science fiction English Lit courses this quarter, I've had some time to think about the world that Violet Evergarden lives in a little bit more.
As we all know, I couldn't stop gushing about the first season. It was so beautiful and heart-wrenching and a roller coaster all around. The movie didn't disappoint; visually it was absolutely stunning. KyoAni did an amazing job with all of the transitions and dreamy time lapses, but you don't need me to tell you that, you already know it was breath-taking.
In terms of plot, it tells the story of Violet working as a Doll, but in this strange new capacity. She's been assigned to be the tutor of Isabella York, the daughter of one of the aristocracy for the 3 months before her debut. Originally Isabella is stand-offish and seems to not fit in with the other girls that go to her all-girls private academy. Don't worry, there's no cat-fighting or anything shallow like that going on. In fact all of the girls are really wholesome and lift one another up which we love. Violet ends up as her companion and confidante during these 3 months and they become close friends. It's left pretty open-ended, so you could argue that they were more like lovers than friends, but really I'll leave that up to your interpretation. Truly in my heart of hearts I'm hoping that Gilbert somehow miraculously returns and that Violet and Gilbert can live happily ever after, but I'm not sure if that'll ever happen. :(
At the end of the 3 months Isabella has become a "proper lady" for her debut. But, before Violet leaves, Isabella reveals her past as a commoner before, living with Taylor, a little girl she adopted as her own sister, who we've been getting glimpses of all along. And then we see precious baby Taylor getting the letter from Benedict.
Three years later we meet a little more grown up Taylor who's come to Violet's workplace to become a mail deliverer and deliver happiness to the public. It's very wholesome and a real bittersweet happily ever after in the way of Taylor and Isabella's "reunion" of sorts.
Oh, and Benedict appears a lot during the movie. I know I was talking to my friend E about the show and she really liked him haha.
The movie as a whole evokes a sense of longing and nostalgia for simpler times. I mean they write and deliver letters and the world seems to move a bit more slowly than nowadays. I know that this is just a romanticization and I should be glad for how much the world has advanced, but it seems really beautiful, the way that they live in the movie. The whole world is rebuilding and there's an air of revival with the war over and everyone building and progressing as Benedict notices during his mail route. And you can see obvious signs of progress with elevators, wide-spread electricity, the radio tower (that looks a lot like the Eiffel Tower?) and more cars, but it also seems rather different and exciting.
Overall, I think the movie is really beautiful. It's touching and there's an intimately human quality about it. All of the characters seems so comfy and familiar, especially if you watched the show. But, even if you haven't, I think that you can empathize a lot with each of the characters and appreciate the storytelling that makes it seem like you're walking in step with Taylor on her mail route or you're right there crying with Benedict as he delivers Taylor's letter. The movie lets you into an intimately human realm that you can empathize a lot with in a world that's somewhat familiar to ours that helps you to immerse yourself in the world KyoAni has brought to life.
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