Violet Evergarden (anime)

It is a pleasure to meet you. If it is your wish, I will travel anywhere to meet your request. I am auto memories doll, Violet Evergarden.

—Violet, Episode thirteen "Auto Memoir Doll and `I Love You`"

Violet Evergarden (Japanese ヴァイオレット・エヴァーガーデン, Hepburn Vaioretto Evāgāden) is a Thirteen-Episode Anime series adapted from a series of light novels. The light novels were initially released in 2015. The adaptation was animated by Kyoto Animation, and was released in early 2018. An OVA that takes place between episodes three and four was released in July. Two feature length films accompany the series: the spin-off Violet Evergarden: Eternity and the Auto Memory Doll (2019) and the follow-up Violet Evergarden: The Movie (2020), its release delayed after the arson attack at the studio.

The series follows the titular Violet Evergarden as she seeks to become an Auto Memory Doll after a war. Auto Memory Dolls write down, on letters, what others cannot put into words. They must be attuned to the emotions of others, and be a fast typer. Unfortunately for Violet, being a Child Soldier has many downsides, one of them is how she has No Social Skills and doesn't know how to feel, resulting in overly formal letters. She's got the second part nailed, but the first part? There's a lot to learn there...

To remedy this, she attends an academy for Auto Memory Dolls. She writes a seminal letter for a fellow pupil, bringing her and her brother close together, kickstarting her journey as a Auto Memory Doll. Violet journeys around, travelling to meet other clients and offering them service. These clients include an ill mother, and an alcoholic playwright recovering from grief. As the series progresses, the focus on impacts of the war and Violet's time in the military grows. But what is thing thing they call "love"?

The series is focused on evoking an emotional response, and is stuffed to the brim with Tear Jerker moments. Ensure you have tissues near you.

Tropes used in Violet Evergarden (anime) include:

An Aesop: War Is Hell, slowly explored over the course of the series.
Body Horror: One of the tools used in the arsenal to deliver War Is Hell messages. Both of Violet's arms are shot off while trying to save Major Gilbert. The Major is shot in an eye, with blood splatters and screams.
Cast Full of Pretty Boys: Every boy that Violet helps out is handsome.
Cast of Snowflakes: Every face is unique in some way or another, regardless of whether a character is the protagonist or a background extra who disappears after eight frames.
- In episode three, the Auto Memory Dolls training school Violet attends has every trainee having a unique face.
Central Theme: Letters and writing can bring people together, no matter how far apart they are.
Cerebus Syndrome: The beginning of the series is by no means light-hearted, but they are mild when compared to latter episodes tackling themes of war, grief, and loss, even containing an attempted suicide. The beginning mostly focuses on Violet's internal struggles trying to understand emotions and leaving behind her war stricken self, whereas episodes eight and nine deal with bloody decapitation and people getting shot. Episodes eleven through thirteen bring back themes of military and war, but in the present rather than a flashback.
Character Title: Guess who the main character of the show is! You'll never guess it, not in a million years nor a lifetime!
Cliff Hanger: Episode twelve and eight. They both end with someone getting shot. In episode eight, it's Major Gilbert; in episode twelve, it's Violet's prosthetic arms. Episode seven also qualifies, where the news of Major Gilbert's death has just been announced to both Violet and the audience.
Close on Title: Most of the episodes ends with the episode name. Some episodes don't, and are never given an official name.
Creative Closing Credits: The ending sequence, where the credits are played, have better animation than most shows, depicting Violet under a starry sky, and in a forest. It's filled with original animation, created specifically for the sequence itself. The Ending Theme "Michishirube" also helps.
Credits Running Sequence: One shot in the credits sequence is of a silhouette of Violet walking in place against a black background, holding up an umbrella, while seasons change around her.
Cue the Rain: In episode nine, when Violet mourns over Major Gilbert's death.
Do-It-Yourself Theme Tune: In the original Japanese track, Minori Chihara, who plays Erica, also sings the Ending Theme "Michishirube".
Ending Theme: "Mitchishirube", a slower song than the Anime Theme Song "Sincerely" used to open the series. It doesn't aim to show off anything, and its translated lyrics aren't reflective of the show's themes. As usual, the images in the sequence are slower with less action to make way for the ending credits.
False Camera Effects: Yet another Kyoto Animation staple. Commonly used effects include Lens Flare and depth of field, despite it being a fully animated production. Post processing effects such as bloom, blur, and desaturation are also common.
Flashback: In the early episodes, leading up to the Whole-Episode Flashback in episode eight. In these flashbacks, the audience is shown Violet's experience in the war, but these bits of information are vague and difficult to piece together. The series begins with a flashback of Major Gilbert buying Violet her brooch, and also include scenes in a dark and bloodied room. We later learn that it's Major Gilbert after being shot, with Violet refusing to leave him.
Floral Theme Naming: This is a common theme among the main cast as the majority of them are named after flowers, as such Violet, Iris, Erica, and Cattleya. We also have Anne Magnolia and Gilbert and Dietfred Bougainvillea.
Foreshadowing: Near the beginning of episode seven, Claudia and Cattleya have a conversation, where Cattleya asks if Claudia has talked to Violet "about the major". This foreshadows his death, revealed at the end of the episode.
Ghibli Hills: In episode four, when Violet and Iris visit Iris's home town of Kazaly, a small mountain village primarily focused on agriculture. Due to its isolation, it is surrounded by greenery and Ghibli Hills. They are drawn with enough detail to make the actual Studio Ghibli proud. They also feature in episode seven.
Ghibli Plains: The opening features Violet standing in vast, sprawling plains with way too much False Camera Effects. The first shot after the title sequence is of Ghibli Plains. The second shot is still of Ghibli Plains, only it's zoomed in on Violet.
Great Offscreen War: The war sweeping across the continent of Telsis that Violet participated in before recovering, ending before the series starts. Aspects of it are shown in flashbacks, and takes center stage in episode eight. Remnants of the war plays a part in the story in the last three episodes, which focuses on an anti-peace faction which wants to return to the state of war.
Hidden Depths: Almost every single character; new traits are gradually revealed as episodes progress. Some characters lost their mother, and thus are secluded from society. Others lost loved ones in the recent war, and seeks help overcoming their grief.
In Medias Res: The series opens with Violet saying that a brooch is the same colour as Major Gilbert's eyes, before cutting to the present day. Context to that scene is later given in episode eight.
Impossible Task: In the OVA, other Auto Memory Dolls in the CH postal company describe Irma's task — writing a letter which can win over any man's heart and any woman would sympathise with — as this. That's when she (and us) discover that she was actually commissioned to write song lyrics, which is a tall order for a ghost writer.
It Works Better with Bullets: In episode nine, Violet shoots soldiers who have shot Major Gilbert. A soldier was hit, but when Violet goes to shoot another, nothing happens when the trigger is pulled and he runs away.
Lens Flare: Occurs in almost every episode. It's a sign that you're watching a Kyoto Animation production.
Long Title: Episodes like "You Won't Be a Tool, But a Person Worthy of That Name" and "May You Be an Exemplary Auto Memoir Doll" have long titles, although other episodes like "Never Coming Back" are of the length expected for a title. Some episodes don't have titles at all.
Memento MacGuffin: The brooch that Major Gilbert buys Violet.
Men Are the Expendable Gender: Every single soldier killed in combat, either by Violet or any other soldier, are men. Females in the series die of natural causes such as illness, while men are conscripted and sent to the battlefield.
- Partially Averted with Major Gilbert's death, the single most meaningful death in the series. He is by no means an expendable character.
Mooks: The male soldiers that Violet kills in war flashbacks, as well as the soldiers who hijacked the train in episodes twelve and thirteen.
- Deconstructed in episode eleven, which focuses on the life of the Mook Aiden after being sniped. It focuses on his interactions with his lover, and how they are left behind once Aiden is shot and later dies.
Nice Girl: Almost every single mother in the show falls under this trope.
No Antagonist: Many of the episodic, self-contained stories uses character driven conflicts. For example, episode 4 focuses on the interactions between Iris and her family, episode 7 on the playwright Oscar dealing with grief, and episode 10 focuses on a loving mother about to part from the world. Part of these conflicts' emotional power comes from a lack of antagonistic forces, meaning conflicts flow naturally and are more representative of dramatic moments in the real world.
- This is averted in the overarching Myth Arc. The last 3 episodes introduces the antagonistic anti-peace faction.
No Title: Episodes seven is called 「」. Seriously. It's just a space. Episode eight doesn't even Close on Title, and thus is never given an official name.
Recurring Character: The other members of the CH Postal company, namely Iris Cannary, Erica Brown, and Cattleya Baudelaire. They don't show up in every episode; they are missing in the standalone ones in which Violet helps other clients, but each plays a role in the overarching plot of the series.
Say My Name: In the Cliff Hanger in episode eight, right after Major Gilbert is shot in the eyes.

Violet: Major! MAJOR!

Scenery Gorn: During Violet's war flashbacks, animated with stunning detail. Colours are darker and desaturated to reflect the dangers of war.
- Scenery Porn: In the present time, Leiden looks stunning with the bright colours and aforementioned false camera effects used.
Schizo-Tech: The world at first glance appears like early 20th century (possibly post-World War I), with the main form of communication being letters as telephones haven't been invented, and transportation being as vintage as they get. Typewriters are used instead of computer keyboards, but fully functional prosthetic limbs far beyond our current technological level exist.
Serious Business: There are entire companies and people trained just to write letters for others. The series goes out of its way to states that letters bring people together. The Hero is a character dedicated to writing letters. Her coworkers are also people who writes letters for a living. There's a school training people to write letters. Contrast with how letters are treated in real life: you write them yourself without hiring an Auto Memory Doll, and drop them off at the post office.
Seventh-Episode Twist: Episode seven, which ends with a Cliff Hanger, sets the overarching war plot into motion. Although parts of the plot are sprinkled throughout the series--the show opens with a scene from the past--they are vague. These scenes don't give much of the plot away, only teasing that something isn't right regarding Violet's backstory. It marks the start of serialisation of what was a fairly episodic show. The storyline kickstarted in episode seven requires the rest of the series--excluding episode ten--and the 2020 film to resolve.
Show Within a Show: Episode seven opens with the stage play The Red Demon, written by Oscar Webster. The episode revolves around Violet helping him write his next play. Also occurs with the opera led by Irma in the OVA.
The Song Remains the Same: In the English dub, the ending song "Michishirube", as well as the opening theme "Sincerely", remains in Japanese.
- Irma's aria at the end of the special episode also remains in Japanese, and is the only vocal song with English subtitles.
Stern Teacher: The teacher of the Auto Memory Doll training course that Violet and Luculia attends. She is described as strict, but ultimately fair, and graduation from the course is considered an honour and great achievement.
Thematic Theme Tune: The opening "Sincerely", whose translated lyrics deals with themes of learning new words (needed for writing), saying goodbye and emotions (which Violet slowly does throughout the series).
Time Skip: In episode ten, where we are shown Anne growing up, and receiving the letters her mother wrote her.
Title Theme Drop: In episode 10, "Loved Ones Will Always Watch Over You", the ending theme "Michishirube" plays over a Montage. The montage is of Anne growing up, and receiving letters from her mother. In the credits, a third of the theme is used. In the montage, the other two thirds play.
Voiceover Letter: In episode ten, the letters Anne receives from her mother are read in her mother's voice.
War Is Hell: The war sequences in flashbacks, often focusing on violence and death. Many bloody decapitation scenes are visible, along with screaming and suffering. Overall, the series state that war is pointless, brutal, and only tears apart existing relationships. In episode eleven, this is focused on as an anti-peace faction shoots one of Violet's clients.
- In fact, the entire overarching narrative deals with themes of war. The flashbacks in episodes eight and nine, as well as the story in episode eleven gets up close and personal, depicting how a single person can be affected by war. Episodes twelve and thirteen partially deals with consequences on civilians of war.
- While the war does allow Violet to meet Major Gilbert, it is also the thing that takes him away.
- In the OVA, Irma's lover Hugo was conscripted into the war and never came back.
- Some parents of Violet's clients are dead because of the war.
Whole-Episode Flashback: Episode eight focuses on Violet's time in the military, with only a couple of minutes set in the present day. The flashback lasts to episode nine.
Write Back to the Future: Unusually, the example does not involve time travel. In episode ten, Anne's dying mother writes letters to her which will be delivered on her birthday for the next fifty years. The episode never reveals who the letters were addressed to before Anne receives them, maximising the emotional power of the episode.