Violet Evergarden is a slice-of-life drama focusing on the title character’s time as a professional letter writer. Orphaned Violet was raised to be a child soldier and ended up losing both her arms on the battlefield; the show catalogues her journey to recovery after the war is over, both physically and mentally.
This show definitely has a slow start. The first couple episodes are a bit uneventful, and you won’t immediately have a connection to any of the characters, least of all Violet who is clearly suffering from emotional trauma and has difficulty communicating with others. But once you learn Violet’s backstory and she starts going on more emotional/serious letter writing errands, you will be captivated.
I don’t think I have ever cried as hard and as often as I did when watching Violet Evergarden, and I cry pretty often at anime already. It’s absolutely heart wrenchingly sad at times. But it is ultimately a story about recovery and reconciliation with one’s past, as well as learning how to love.
The worldbuilding in this show is pretty well done; at first glance it seems like just another fantasy world with made up pseudo-European town names, but the backgrounds and characters are incredibly detailed to the point where visualizing different parts of the country becomes easier as you’re exposed to more information and new characters. And of course, the entire show is beautifully animated. I’m a huge fan of Kyoto Animation, and they never fail to impress when it comes to visuals.
The worldbuilding in this show is pretty well done; at first glance it seems like just another fantasy world with made up pseudo-European town names, but the backgrounds and characters are incredibly detailed to the point where visualizing different parts of the country becomes easier as you’re exposed to more information and new characters. And of course, the entire show is beautifully animated. I’m a huge fan of Kyoto Animation, and they never fail to impress when it comes to visuals.
Violet herself is such a great character and one you will definitely grow to love, despite her shortcomings in the beginning. She clearly suffers from PTSD (Posttraumatic stress disorder), as well as extreme feelings of guilt for all the harm and destruction she caused as a soldier. Her hardships in life have affected her to the point where she has to completely restructure how she conducts herself after the war, and everyone who cares about her tries so hard to help her out, which is incredibly heartwarming.
Despite its heartbreaking and sometimes downright depressing episodes, Violet Evergarden is a story about hope and love. I highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys the drama or slice of life genre.
