I recently finished watching the main series and wanted to give my thoughts on how I feel about the series and so on. Might be a long read, thanks!
Usually when an anime or any media in general influences me in such a way I tend to like to get it down in writing. Violet Evergarden was a such piece of animation. I tend to write these in a format similar to how a traditional essay is written, with multiple points to support why I love what I do so much. Violet Evergarden was different. As much as I could talk about the beautiful animation, the incredible (Incredible!) soundtrack, or the amazing character designs and personalities, in the end I feel like these are all supporting roles to a larger and more impactful element- the director’s understanding of human emotion.
I started watching anime recently and I have slowly begun to grasp that the people who make these phenomenal pieces of work have insight to the human psyche that few others can manage. I was simply awe struck at how the people who delicately crafted this work, called Violet Evergarden, were able to understand human emotions at its most pure form. Simply put, I have never seen a more real and complex form of how humans express themselves and how they think. Every single story arc in this series was able to tell a very real side of how we, as humans, are able to feel. All, of course, tying in to the concept of what do we understand to be love? What does “I love you.” Mean? Being in love while being frustrated with someone else, being in love when that person doesn’t love you back, being in love and knowing that the other person reciprocates the feeling- being in love when that person is not alive anymore. This concept of what is love is conveyed so incredibly well, because it is told through a medium that, sadly, does not understand what love or feelings are. I think this is one of the most brilliant things that this show experimented with. The idea of telling a message through a character that wouldn’t be able to comprehend that message. The idea of telling a message that the character slowly grows to understand overtime through helping other people deal with that message that is not yet able to be understood. It is a type of character development that is unconventional in every way. She is a character that is unconventional in every way.
It is beautiful.
To see a character understand what something is by helping others is an idea that, in and of itself, is old and rings true. But the directors asked, what if the main character absolutely no idea what this concept is and was raised in an environment so cruel as to take away the one thing that we as humans are supposed to be born with? Emotion.
In the end, what ties this brilliant little package up is its supporting elements. As I said earlier, the soundtrack, character design, and animation are all what help convey such a bold and incredible narrative; they are what makes the story as impactful as it is.
Thank you for reading, I would love to hear your thoughts as well!