Subtitled A wholesome dessert for completing this amazing series. Eternity and the Auto Memory Doll explores the extrapolating impact of Violets presence in the lives of those who are lost either with self or with writing nonetheless the way back for her clients revolves entirely around feelings. What this followup does interestingly enough is strip away the element of ghostwriting during the first act displaying what Violet has learned about etiquette behavior from the show and carrying that over to a troubled ambivalent girl. To specify the extrapolating factor is helped when the structure goes beyond ghostwriting. Without spoiling anything this leads to a second act that is so sweet and tender in its craft that it will make audiences familiar with the show feel warm inside. And the fact that it doesnt rely on Violet to be in the spotlight drives the main idea of how her presence in the life of one person can indirectly affect or even help anothers. And the characters are as engaging to watch as before playing their parts with tremendous vocal performances that convey so much in the time they are given. The lack of complete focus on Violet however does become too apparent in the second act to a minor degree of disappointment but not a big detriment to the storys ability to be engaging. What does become noticeably inconsistent however is the frequent emphasis on changing times as a way to sound poignant. Yes the technology is changing but its only a repeated point to emphasize the threeyear timeskip. And the films somewhatcopout of an ending doesnt help given everything that was builtup prior. Mainly though what Eternity and the Auto Memory Doll lacks storywise is a balance between the important roots of the story through its characters and the new protagonists to subtly hint at how Violets development has come full circle see for yourself and youll know what I mean and while I greatly appreciate the idea of exploring that theme its execution pales in comparison to the rest of the story despite some solid surprising humor and worthy emotional beats revolving around the theme of family and separation. Regardless this film certainly wouldnt work as its own work context is everything as they say. But this must go without saying: Kyoto Animation deserves all the success this film brings and that despite its narrative and technical shortcomings this is a solid and worthy film in their canon following the horrifying attack on their studio a year prior a tragedy that makes me feel uncomfortable still thinking about it. And its an honor that their first released work since then is the one featuring such a special character. All you need to see are those iconic boots touch the ground and hear the introduction from that gentle voice Violet Evergarden at your service.