# Violet Evergarden: The Movie (劇場版 ヴァイオレット・エヴァーガーデン)
**Violet Evergarden: The Movie** (劇場版 ヴァイオレット・エヴァーガーデン) is a 2020 Japanese animated film produced by [Kyoto Animation](https://www.edgepedia.org/kyoto-animation), directed by Taichi Ishidate and written by Reiko Yoshida, based on Kana Akatsuki's novel *Violet Evergarden*. It is an all-new theatrical continuation of the 2018 television anime series, distributed by Shochiku, with a running time of 140 minutes.[1](https://www.kinenote.com/main/public/cinema/detail.aspx?cinema_id=90727) • [2](https://www.kyotoanimation.co.jp/works/violetM/) • [3](https://eiga.com/movie/89431/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Japanese release | September 18, 2020, distributed by Shochiku; 140 minutes, CinemaScope (1:2.35)[1](https://www.kinenote.com/main/public/cinema/detail.aspx?cinema_id=90727) |
| Production | Kyoto Animation; Violet Evergarden Production Committee (Kyoto Animation, Pony Canyon, ABC Animation, Lantis, Gakushusha)[1](https://www.kinenote.com/main/public/cinema/detail.aspx?cinema_id=90727) |
| Staff | Director Taichi Ishidate; screenplay Reiko Yoshida; original story Kana Akatsuki; character design and chief animation direction Akiko Takase; music Evan Call[2](https://www.kyotoanimation.co.jp/works/violetM/) |
| Main cast | Yui Ishikawa as Violet Evergarden; Daisuke Namikawa as Gilbert Bougainvillea[2](https://www.kyotoanimation.co.jp/works/violetM/) |
| Release history | Announced for January 10, 2020, rescheduled to April 24, 2020, then to September 18, 2020[1](https://www.kinenote.com/main/public/cinema/detail.aspx?cinema_id=90727) • [4](https://tv.violet-evergarden.jp/news/?id=82) |
| Awards | Excellent Animation Work Award at the 44th Japan Academy Prize (2021); Excellence Prize, Animation Division, 24th Japan Media Arts Festival; Anime of the Year (theatrical film) at Tokyo Anime Award Festival 2021[5](https://violet-evergarden.jp/news/?id=167) • [6](https://www.bunka.go.jp/j-mediaarts-festival/award/single/violet-evergarden-the-movie/index.html) • [7](https://violet-evergarden.jp/) |
| Home viewing | Streaming on Netflix; available to buy or rent on Apple TV Store, Amazon Video, and Fandango At Home[8](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/violet-evergarden-the-movie) |
## Spoilers
### Story
The film is set several years after a war that left deep wounds has ended, as the world moves forward and technology changes daily life. [Violet Evergarden](https://www.edgepedia.org/violet-evergarden), who works as a professional letter writer, spent her childhood as a soldier and was given no chance to nurture her heart. She could not understand the words "I love you" left by her beloved superior officer, Gilbert Bougainvillea, who is missing. Believing Gilbert is alive somewhere, she spends her days thinking of him. Then a request arrives by telephone from a boy named Yuri, and the president of the postal company, a friend of Gilbert's, discovers a letter of unknown destination in a warehouse.[6](https://www.bunka.go.jp/j-mediaarts-festival/award/single/violet-evergarden-the-movie/index.html) • [1](https://www.kinenote.com/main/public/cinema/detail.aspx?cinema_id=90727)
The film presents itself as the finale of the series, depicting the whole of Violet's life. Its promotional material describes it as the story of a woman's life that continues to move many hearts, asking where the letters she writes and the feelings she holds will finally reach.[7](https://violet-evergarden.jp/)
## Structure and visual approach
The Japan Media Arts Festival jury, which gave the film its Excellence Prize in the Animation Division, singled out its narrative structure. Because the film is a sequel, first-time viewers were expected to be at a disadvantage; the jury noted that this difficulty is resolved through a double structure in which Daisy, a character in the story's present, looks back over Violet's past. The jury also praised the camera work in Violet's past storyline: long shots, third-person viewpoints from behind the characters, and frequent slightly high-angle shots keep the audience at a distance rather than locking them into a character's perspective. It described the ending, in which a love that words cannot express is carried across time into Daisy's heart, as outstanding.[6](https://www.bunka.go.jp/j-mediaarts-festival/award/single/violet-evergarden-the-movie/index.html)
The jury citation also credited the film with delicate depiction of the townscape, scenery, and acting, building a solid sense of world, and with deepening the television series' story while bringing Violet's life to completion.[6](https://www.bunka.go.jp/j-mediaarts-festival/award/single/violet-evergarden-the-movie/index.html)
## Production
Taichi Ishidate, who had directed episodes of the television series and *Beyond the Boundary*, directed the film and drew all of its storyboards himself.[2](https://www.kyotoanimation.co.jp/works/violetM/) • [9](https://violet-evergarden.jp/special/making/) The official production notes describe the standard pipeline: scenario meetings with the director, screenwriter, world-setting designer, and producers fixing the story's direction and dialogue, followed by storyboards that record every cut's movement, expression, acting, and camera instructions for the whole staff.[9](https://violet-evergarden.jp/special/making/)
In his greeting on the official site, Ishidate said that as a production period it was probably the most time-consuming work Kyoto Animation had ever made. He also recalled sound director Yota Tsuruoka describing Violet during production as "white" rather than "transparent" as a color, and asked viewers to notice the fine details of the acting drawn by the animation staff.[10](https://violet-evergarden.jp/special/greeting/)
The film's music is by Evan Call, and its theme and insert songs are by TRUE (Miho Karasawa).[2](https://www.kyotoanimation.co.jp/works/violetM/) • [11](https://filmarks.com/movies/80013)
## Release history
The film was announced in 2018 as an all-new theatrical work, with a planned simultaneous worldwide release window around January 2020.[12](https://tv.violet-evergarden.jp/news/?id=52) The January 10, 2020 date was later adjusted "for various reasons," and April 24, 2020 was announced as the new date.[4](https://tv.violet-evergarden.jp/news/?id=82) It was then moved again, opening in Japanese theaters on September 18, 2020.[1](https://www.kinenote.com/main/public/cinema/detail.aspx?cinema_id=90727) *The Japan Times* reviewed the film in October 2020 as "a film about survival and healing, made by people who know much about both," noting that the film was delayed but not canceled, as the studio and its staff dedicated themselves to its production.[13](https://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2020/10/01/films/film-reviews/violet-evergarden-the-movie-anime/)
After release, the film ran in theaters for four months, and screenings including a Dolby Cinema version at Marunouchi Piccadilly resumed in February 2021.[5](https://violet-evergarden.jp/news/?id=167)
## Reception and awards
The film won the Excellent Animation Work Award at the 44th Japan Academy Prize in 2021.[5](https://violet-evergarden.jp/news/?id=167) • [3](https://eiga.com/movie/89431/) It received the Excellence Prize in the Animation Division of the 24th Japan Media Arts Festival, where jury member Akiko Sugawa's citation praised its double narrative structure and camera work.[6](https://www.bunka.go.jp/j-mediaarts-festival/award/single/violet-evergarden-the-movie/index.html) It also won the Anime of the Year award in the theatrical film category at Tokyo Anime Award Festival 2021, announced in February 2021.[7](https://violet-evergarden.jp/)
Audience ratings have been high on Japanese review aggregators: Filmarks records an average of 4.3 out of 5 from 56,811 reviews, and Eiga.com records 4.2 from 514 reviews.[11](https://filmarks.com/movies/80013) • [3](https://eiga.com/movie/89431/) Common viewer comments praise the beauty of the animation, the music, and the voice performances, and the way the story shows Violet coming to understand human feelings through letters.[11](https://filmarks.com/movies/80013) • [3](https://eiga.com/movie/89431/) Some viewers found the 140-minute running time long, citing repeated flashbacks and heavy explanation.[11](https://filmarks.com/movies/80013)
In English-language coverage, GamesRadar listed the film among the best anime movies, describing it as the sequel that rounds out the story of Violet, an ex-soldier who becomes an Auto Memory Doll, and noting that it lets her finally discover the meaning of the words "I love you," with a framing device that pays tribute to the preceding episodes and one of anime's great reunions.[14](https://www.gamesradar.com/entertainment/best-anime-movies/) A later GamesRadar commentary cited the film's "wonderful final bow" among the canon anime films that helped shift industry practice toward theatrical continuations of television series.[15](https://www.gamesradar.com/entertainment/anime-movies/demon-slayer-and-chainsaw-man-has-convinced-me-that-anime-can-never-return-to-the-bad-old-days-of-non-canon-movies/)
The film is currently available to stream on Netflix, and can be bought or rented digitally on Apple TV Store, Amazon Video, and Fandango At Home.[8](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/violet-evergarden-the-movie)
## References
1. [劇場版 ヴァイオレット・エヴァーガーデン - 作品情報・映画レビュー, KINENOTE](https://www.kinenote.com/main/public/cinema/detail.aspx?cinema_id=90727)
2. [劇場版 ヴァイオレット・エヴァーガーデン - 作品情報, 京都アニメーション](https://www.kyotoanimation.co.jp/works/violetM/)
3. [劇場版 ヴァイオレット・エヴァーガーデン : 作品情報, 映画.com](https://eiga.com/movie/89431/)
4. [「劇場版 ヴァイオレット・エヴァーガーデン」2020年4月24日(金)公開決定！, 公式ニュース](https://tv.violet-evergarden.jp/news/?id=82)
5. [『劇場版 ヴァイオレット・エヴァーガーデン』日本アカデミー賞 優秀アニメーション作品賞を受賞！, 公式サイト](https://violet-evergarden.jp/news/?id=167)
6. [劇場版 ヴァイオレット・エヴァーガーデン - 第24回文化庁メディア芸術祭](https://www.bunka.go.jp/j-mediaarts-festival/award/single/violet-evergarden-the-movie/index.html)
7. [『劇場版 ヴァイオレット・エヴァーガーデン』公式サイト](https://violet-evergarden.jp/)
8. [Violet Evergarden: The Movie streaming online, JustWatch](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/violet-evergarden-the-movie)
9. [Making | 『劇場版 ヴァイオレット・エヴァーガーデン』公式サイト](https://violet-evergarden.jp/special/making/)
10. [Greeting | 『劇場版 ヴァイオレット・エヴァーガーデン』公式サイト](https://violet-evergarden.jp/special/greeting/)
11. [劇場版 ヴァイオレット・エヴァーガーデン, Filmarks映画](https://filmarks.com/movies/80013)
12. [アニメ『ヴァイオレット・エヴァーガーデン』完全新作劇場版 2020年1月 世界同時期公開決定！, 公式ニュース](https://tv.violet-evergarden.jp/news/?id=52)
13. ['Violet Evergarden: The Movie': A small miracle in the making, The Japan Times](https://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2020/10/01/films/film-reviews/violet-evergarden-the-movie-anime/)
14. [The 30 best anime movies to watch right now, GamesRadar](https://www.gamesradar.com/entertainment/best-anime-movies/)
15. [Demon Slayer and Chainsaw Man has convinced me that anime can never return to the bad old days of non-canon movies, GamesRadar](https://www.gamesradar.com/entertainment/anime-movies/demon-slayer-and-chainsaw-man-has-convinced-me-that-anime-can-never-return-to-the-bad-old-days-of-non-canon-movies/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Films by genre, form, and subject › Animated and short films › Japanese anime features › Released 2014 to 2026*
*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license