I will begin by saying Violet Evergarden is one of the prettiest, most deep-down emotional shows I have seen in ages, arguably ever. As I'm sure anyone can tell, the art and animation is stunning. Any single frame of the show can be made into a wallpaper, and I'm geniunely not joking. A summary of the show is as follows: A woman known only for violence, Violet Evergarden, awakens after the war to find her general and caretaker has passed. Now she must learn emotion, and what the sentence 'I Love You' means. The story is WONDERFUL at portraying this. I'm not one to cry over anime - and this story had me tearing up every episode.
Let me begin by saying Violet starting out the show as essentially a doll, holding no emotions, not caring for herself whatsoever, and just trying to find out what happened was entirely purposeful and essential to the story. Her progression from what we see in the beginning to the wonderful, caring, and dedicated woman we see further into the series is what makes the show so fufilling - along with the supporting cast, and their respective individual stories, of course. I've rewatched this anime three times, both of the second times to show my friends, and although they have never been an anime fan - they all were silent and attentive to this show. I've never met someone who has disliked Violet Evergarden. If the two supporting movies that came out a year after, or the multiple 100s on the reviews do not give enough evidence of how wonderful a show this is, give it a try nonetheless for the art and the soundtrack. My favorite episode, personally, was episode ten. Episode ten is of a sick mother and her young daughter. The mother hires Violet to write letters for her in the garden, and does not let the young daughter anywhere nearby during. The daughter knows her mother is getting sicker and weaker by the day, and begins to get more and more emotional over being separated from her mother. When the episode cuts to the mother passing away, and the daughter opening the first letter on her birthday - that was where the tears began. As the years went by, and the woman got older, I knew Violet Evergarden would be one of the best animes in the media. Not only does each supporting cast member get their own dedicated storyline, complete with plot points and personality, but the art and sound design in this show is top tier. Of course, the animation itself is beautiful, but the show is normally very refined, very green, very soft and colorful tones. In contrast to this - when we flashback to the war memories, the memories are animated very egregiously and very red, very aggressive and anxiety inducing. I believe this is on purpose, to compare what Violet was raised into to what she is now learning to become. When she finally learns that her general is not missing, but is rather dead, and learns how he truly felt about her - including how she truly felt about him, its heartbreaking. I believe Violet Evergarden is truly a wonderful piece of art, and one that fans will enjoy for years to come. Thank you, Kyoto animations. ♡
"Dead people receive more flowers than living ones because regret is stronger than gratitude."
