Some slight spoilers; including some for the movie (movie spoilers are under a spoiler warning.)

The animation is absolutely breathtaking, no surprise coming from Kyoto Animation who always have their visuals on point. The animation adds to the flow of the story and aids in the storytelling, not a case of “put a pretty cover over a lackluster story.” Some say eyes are the windows to the soul and I feel the details in them hone that home extra in this story; the bitter-sweetness is balanced in how Violet’s still shine with despite the trauma she’s wrestling with. (I understand they’re just shiny anime eyes, but I thought giving some deeper meaning to it would be nice.)

I loved when we got to see a new person/people who hired Violet for the writing service and getting to learn about their little window in this world and their different personal struggles/personalities. Seeing Violet share moments and bond with these people while helping bring them relief was probably my favorite part of this series.

This may be my own projecting into the story here, but I appreciate how Violet as a character could be taken as a metaphor for an autistic person. Pointedly, in episode 6 when she and another character have a bonding moment over their “flat” facial expressions. I picked up on the similarities before this scene, but regardless, it made me remember one of the many reasons why I find Violet so relatable.

More explicitly in the story as far as mental health is Violet’s symptoms of early life trauma and post traumatic stress disorder after serving in the war; survivors guilt and not knowing if she should be allowed to live on after everybody else didn’t make it out as she did. Trying to live on in a world without a secure safety net to fall back into when it all gets too much is rough. She’s lost the first person who treated her like a person, the person who taught her basic skills, someone who loved and cherished her like his own child.

Violet being told she was loved by somebody for the first time in her life makes her seek out a way to understand just what it means. This journey she takes is heartwarming as she learns about other people’s stories via her new job; finding out what these strangers hold dear to them and beginning to feel empathy for them through listening. A touching story about grief, learning how to live on and the struggle of figuring out how to find your own independence. Beautiful mix of tragic and hopeful.

~~Spare hand in marriage, Cattleya?~~