In 2018, when Kana Akatsuki’s light novel series, Violet Evergarden, finally released its anime adaptation, fans were happy to finally find a new story that shows a new side of the coming-of-age genre through the life of Violet Evergarden, an ex-army soldier who later becomes an auto memories doll to write letters for other people.
But the story took a new turn when a sequel movie, Violet Evergarden: The Movie, was released in 2020. The plot of the movie finally brought Violet Evergarden and her former Major Gilbert Bougainvillea together and focused on the romance element between the two characters, which was a nice surprise for fans.
However, Taichi Ishidate, the director of Violet Evergarden and Violet Evergarden: The Movie, did not want to make a sequel film because of the same romantic element, and he had some pretty valid reasons for it.
Taichi Ishidate Never Wanted to Make The Sequel Film
After the release of the film, Taichi Ishidate and producer Shinichirō Hatta were interviewed by Anime News Network, where they discussed the movie and its concept. While explaining his vision of Violet Evergarden’s journey, Ishidate revealed that he didn’t care much for Gilbert but only wanted to tell the story of Violet.
Ishidate stated:
In the TV series, whether Gilbert lives or dies isn’t shown, but even if Violet were to never meet him again, she would live on. Personally speaking, that’s the entirety of the story I intended to tell. So when talks of a sequel came up, I actually said that there was nothing else I wanted to do.
When he finally read the plot of the movie, Ishidate had a different reaction:
But when I read the plot that the scriptwriter Reiko Yoshida wrote, it was so believable that I was spurred to action. I came to think that it was fine for Gilbert to live. This was a little less than two years ago.
According to the director, the sole focus of the entire Violet Evergarden anime series was to show the growth that the protagonist goes through while searching for answers. And when he later read the script of the movie, he understood that although the movie puts a little focus on Gilbert, the central plot revolves around Violet.
Taichi Ishidate Hated The Romantic Element in Violet Evergarden
While talking about the movie, Ishidate explained that if the movie had solely focused on Violet and Gilbert’s love, then he would not have proceeded with the movie because that was not the intent of the entire anime, to begin with. But the producer convinced him that the story really was about Violet’s journey.
Ishidate revealed:
However, if the focus was just on Violet and Gilbert then it would become a love story. I did not create the TV series with that intent. As I was wondering about what to do, Hatta told me, ‘This is really a story about Violet’s road.’
Ishidate wanted to keep the story simple, and this is why he kept all the climaxes for the conclusion. This would help the story flow smoothly and give the audience a audience a surprise in the end.
All of this worked in favor of the movie, as Violet Evergarden: The Movie became a huge success and received a lot of appreciation from the fans and the critics.
You can watch Violet Evergarden on Netflix.
