Understanding the emotional journey of Violet Evergarden
Hey guys long time no see, I have been away for a while due to work and personal matters. Just taking a week break till lockdown is over I started watching Violet Evergarden. At first I didn't believe that Netflix premieres anime shows and secondly I hear people telling the TV series were not at point, but when I saw it. I picturize myself in the story and brought in emotions and feelings about the show. Never seen a story that good before. Me been an author and a content writer I have never seen such a great Anime before. I really admire the script and the music.
The story brings light about the main character as she journeys herself to bring out the meaning of love. As a quote says,
"The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched. They must be felt with the heart."
- Helen Keller
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Violet Evergarden is something you don’t see anywhere. Violet Evergarden gives a message in every episode giving us hopes and expectations.
Taking place on the continent of Telesis where a civil war was fought for years. There is practically no one that you will meet in this series who wasn't impacted by the war in some way or another. It begins in a quiet hospital where a blonde girl is recuperating from injuries she sustained in one of the final battles of the war. She expects her direct commander to be waiting for her when she is finally discharged but instead she is greeted by a different officer.
Here, the story is about a protagonist named Violet Evergarden, an orphan who was in the middle of a widespread war. She was given to military officer Gilbert Bougainvillea by his elder brother who respected her with no care. When she was given to Major Gilbert Bougainvillea, she was respected by him, learned to live her life according to his orders, and Major treated her as if she were his own.
During the war, Major dies an unfortunate death, and devastated Violet cannot get over him. She was used to getting his orders and obeying them but she couldn't anymore. She decided to take up being an auto memory doll to one day hopefully find the meaning of the words "I love you", which were the last words said by major.
This new officer takes her to his business and that's where Violet first sees the Auto Memories Dolls whose job it is to take the feelings of ordinary people and convert them into letters which are then delivered. Thinking that this would be a good place to figure out the meaning behind the final words that the major spoke to her, Violet becomes an auto memories doll and attempts to figure out different feelings based on the people who request her services
Violet Evergarden is arguably one of the most beautiful series that Kyoto Animation has ever produced. And I'm not just talking about the animation but also the character designs, the backgrounds, the music . Everything about this series projects an aura of beauty that you can't help but be drawn into the series and become so very attached to the main character.
A lot of people thought that the main heroine would be a robot because of the word dollor whoever seen the pics or the trailer. Violet is not a robot but she does have robotic tendencies and because of that we see her often struggle to understand how humans actually work. Throughout her journey to understand human emotion: we get to see how important the truth actually is and the power of words.
One of the struggles that Violet faces is that she is not afraid and because of this she often is just blatantly honest. Violet does not understand the fact that people are more careful with the truth because they are scared. Violet is right in a sense that the truth has to be spoken. This is her role throughout the show, but she has to learn how to be careful in saying the truth
As a doll, it is important to know one’s words. Most dolls are very poetic in their letters but Violet having a military background her words are quite limited. Sometimes it might feel like there are too many words but sometimes it can feel like there aren’t enough words to describe how you actually feel. Violet might not have the largest lexicon in the show but she does know that words are for communication.
Language’s main purpose is to convey our own thoughts to one another, it doesn’t matter how you do it as long as the other person understands what you are trying to say. This is why words are powerful, it is a way for us to say how we really feel, like in one episode, Luculia can’t say how she really feels to her brother who is wallowing in sadness because he blames himself for the death of their parents.
Violet writes a letter for Luculia to her brother, she wrote: “Dear Brother, I’m glad you’re here for me”. This one phrase was enough to save Luculia’s brother from the depths of sorrow. Through these words, Luculia was able to convey how much she appreciates her brother.
However, the storytelling does run into problems in the final third as the last four episodes feel very disjointed. Without giving away too much about what actually happens, I will say that the conclusion to the major romantic storyline was wrapped up way too quickly.
When I saw the ending to this story happening at the end of episode nine, I was instantly confused and checked to see if that was the end of the series. Nope! Instead, we get that incredibly emotional and powerful climax only for it to be followed by a one-off story about a dying mother which is followed by a mini story arc which is filled with lots of fight scenes. It felt very out of order and took away from what had up to that point been a very sweet and emotional series.
The movie
After the events of the TV series, takes place a movie, The movie has taken up a symbolic role, given that the series is about moving on from tragedy. As fans may remember from the TV series, the eponymous Violet Evergarden is a war veteran who has lost someone very dear to her. Through working as a doll who writes and delivers letters for others, she learns to understand the emotions that can be expressed through words and comes to terms with her own feelings of loss. This side story film is set at an indefinite point after the TV series, as the results of Violet's character development can be seen in how she carries herself and empathizes with others throughout the story.
The film is divided into two parts. The first focuses on a young heiress who can't let go of her origins in poverty, and it's the stronger story overall. It's atmospheric and melancholy, which is Violet Evergarden at its best. The second story, which focuses on a young orphan girl who wants to become a postman despite never having learned to read or write, is more straightforward and saccharine. Taken together, the two stories are representative of the series' strengths and flaws.
Violet Evergarden has a strong directorial hand but a tendency to overplay its emotional scenes. As a film, it's disjointed, especially due to the weak transition between the two stories, but in true Violet Evergarden fashion, the payoff is worth the frustrations.
The first part talks about the relationship between Violet and Isabella, where a girl enjoys intimacy with another girl during the liminal period of her adolescence. Isabella initially takes time to warm up to Violet as her tutor in the ways of being a lady, perceiving the conventions of ladyhood as a prison. But when Violet shows empathy for her when she cries at night for her lost past, Isabella finds herself drawn to Violet. They bathe together and play with each other's hair, and at one point Isabella muses to herself, "I wish we could just run away." But eventually, Violet has to leave for her next assignment. Although she says, like she always does, that if her client so wishes, she'll come running anywhere, Violet Evergarden has always struck me as a story about treasuring ephemeral experiences.
The second story drops by focusing on Taylor, the young orphan girl who Isabella parted ways with in the past. Taylor forms a bond with Violet's coworker Benedict and decides that she wants to work at the postal company too. This story is definitely lighter and more cheerful than the first, but it eventually circles back to the themes expressed in the first story: moving on from a lost past that can never be reclaimed, and the power of letters in affirming bonds.
Honestly, while it's fitting for the anime's tone, it's saddening that these stories touch on societal problems like classism and heteronormativity in such a resigned way, as if they are obstacles that can never be overcome. What good are letters to people who can't read them? The class divide between Isabella and Taylor is the source of the film's most heartbreaking scenes. Yet even when the world is unfair, people can still find peace with themselves through words or art.
Conclusion
The opening and closing themes aren't nearly as memorable, sadly, but the soundtrack will stick with you for days after you're done with this series and should be added to your portable music device of choice just for good measure.
Violet Evergarden is a series that is best taken in something that would equal a bit more than a bite full at a time. Any less than that and you won't be satisfied but any more than that and you risk being overwhelmed by everything that this series attempts to deliver into your brain.
As I stated before, the series does suffer a bit in the final third so be wary of that hiccup but other than that this is a series that is going to be talked about towards the end of the year when it’s time to discuss which series was the best of the best. Fans of beautiful production quality and slice of life programs should go out of their way to watch this one.
