Series Recommendation: Violet Evergarden

Violet Evergarden is one of the most captivating animes (if not shows) in the last few years, as it succeeds in presenting the human pathos in its true form – complex, bewildering and often destructive.

Written by Basilio Otto Suherman

When thinking about the genre of anime as a whole, most would tend to picture classics such as Naruto, Dragon Ball or Avatar – titular titles that are poster children of the entertainment form. These shows often follow the same formula: a story with a protagonist who has supernatural powers, more often than not with a confident, outspoken persona, and has a mission to bring an evil force to an end and bestow peace upon the world. This is not the case, however, for Violet Evergarden, as this show lacks the in-your-face action, drama or romance qualities that define most popular shounen (shows that are typically geared towards young male audiences). It instead opts for a more heartfelt, existential story that is bound to make most viewers question their own interpersonal relationships in life.

The anime takes places in a fantasy world resembling 19th-century Europe, in the kingdom of Leidenschaftlich that has just recently gone to war with its neighbouring countries, and follows the story of a girl named Violet Evergarden. She was born an orphan and found by the military, who trained her as a highly skilled soldier with extraordinary killing capabilities. She was treated as a mere tool and never considered to be an individual, and was therefore never educated in the same way other children were. Due to this, she never developed the ability to feel emotions in the way others do, and is often mistaken to be emotionless. Her life in the military changed when she was taken in by General Gilbert Bougainvillea who treated her like a normal girl and taught her how to read and write. She grew to trust General Gilbert over time, and is shown to have strong affection for him. Things take a turn for the worse during the war’s final leg, where both General Gilbert and Violet successfully captured the enemy’s headquarters. Gilbert, who is in a neardeath state, tells Violet to leave him behind and escape to give her a chance of surviving, which Violet stubbornly refuses to do despite having lost her arms. But after Gilbert's pleading for her to stop, she gives in. The moment before explosive artillery strikes them, Gilbert says his final words to Violet, “Live... and be free. From the bottom of my heart, I love you.”

Devastated by her general’s death and heavily injured after the war ends, Violet finds herself not knowing what to do with her life, but is quickly found by General Gilbert’s old friend, Lieutenant Claudia Hodgins, who offers her a job as an Auto Memory Doll (a ghostwriter who types for people who do not have means of typing printed text, or are illiterate). Violet takes the job in order to discern the general’s last words to her, “I love you”, which, to her emotionally deprived personality seems so bewildering. As the show goes on, Violet learns the complex and seemingly unfathomable thing that is human emotions, by jobs that involve her writing love letters, marriage proposals, or even plays.

This show is truly unique in that it features a very strong female lead who overcomes problems that most of us do not even realize we are battling everyday. Violet is not your typical depiction of a female character in the anime genre, usually portrayed as emotional and fragile and often highlighted by their over-exaggerated features. Violet is instead presented as a girl initially devoid of emotions, who is by no means physically fragile. Her struggles differ from the usual problems experienced by female characters, which mostly deal with falling for male protagonists and stopping at nothing in order for them to return their feelings. However, Violet’s conflicts are mostly internal and have to do with her learning how to feel emotions like normal individuals and coming to terms with the things she has done as a soldier in the war. Her character in essence is built on internal conflict, as she learns to write letters with emotions she lacks, and connect people through writing with hands that have taken many lives.

She struggles to do so due to her social ineptitude, and this is clearly shown by her adventures around the kingdom of Leidenschaftlich (appropriately named after the German term “Leidenschaft”, which means having strong feelings of passion for a person or something), that ironically have her writing pieces full of emotional involvement for her clients and not surprisingly, failing to do very good job at it initially. Through her struggles, Violet learns that emotions are things that are not easy to comprehend, as feelings like depression, longing and heartbreak storms her as she denies her general’s death and continues to look for him. This may reach out to the show’s viewers, as it highlights the importance of understanding emotions in relationships with friends, family or lovers, and reminds us that sometimes, we do not always perceive emotions the same way others do.

In short, Violet Evergarden is one of the most captivating animes (if not shows) in the last few years, as it succeeds in presenting the human pathos in its true form – complex, bewildering and often destructive. The impact that this show has on its viewers is intense, and most viewers will be left in awe after the seemingly brief thirteen episodes this series has to offer. This is not to say that Violet Evergarden leaves viewers hanging. On the contrary, this show ends almost perfectly, which is something that most series these days seem to lack in an effort to profit more from a second season, or even a third. Violet, a protagonist who is unique yet easy to take a liking to, truly takes this show a step further, as her struggles and revelations translates the morals that this show attempts to imprint on its viewers flawlessly, and blows a lot of the common stereotypes of female characters in animes out of the water. This anime does not only excel in terms of its story and concept, but also has stunning visuals, with almost every frame of its episodes worthy of being on your desktop wallpaper. It truly is hard to find something not to like about this show, and because of this, I’d really suggest everyone, anime fans or not, give this show the chance that it deserves. It isn’t only a good show, but a great learning experience for us all as well.