Violet Evergarden is a strange thing. At its heart, it boasts a classical trope whose roots trace back to an otaku wet-dream: an emotionless girl with absolute obedience to whoever becomes her master. Here, however, this idea is used in a completely different setting. Instead of a japanese high-school with a nerdy boy as her master, this is a fictional post war european country and her master is a businessman that is only a secondary character. This mixture offers a multitude of experiences, from being bored with the protagonists typical “I don’t human” behavior to teary eyes as the small tales of love, friendship, and loss are presented as part of this charming and stunning world.

Violet Evergarden is an ordinary cute young girl at first glance. She, however, was raised to kill and obey, a war machine used in the recent battles won by the nation of Leiden. Her master is now dead though, the war is over, and her purpose seems finished. She, however, ends up working as an Auto Memory Doll, a person who writes letters in behalf of others, from illiterate commoners reaching their distant families to flirting nobles trying to win a profitable marriage.

A girl knows nothing

Violet is a boring girl. She obeys, she has no emotions, she does not know what it is the basics of being human. Although the show tries to cover that saying she was raised as a killing machine, it gets hard to accept how absurdly artificial she is, as if she was a simple robot instead of a broken human. Her lack of emotions, however, is what triggers her quest to become an Auto Memory Doll, hoping to understand the last words of her former master: a declaration of his love for her. She is a blank template, absurdly blank to be human, but the starting point of the show nonetheless.

A girl must learn

Violet Evergarden is a collection of short stories, post-war tales the young Violet meets as she travels the country to write letters. These are the key points of the show, and the most charming and emotional force of it. While working, Violet meets a sweet princess in love, co-workers trying to prove their worth to their loved ones, children who have lost their parents in the war, parents whose children are no longer with them, and many many others. This is the core of the journey, a multitude of sweet, touching tales trying to turn Violet from a robotic girl into human.

A girl must face the truth

Although these short stories have nothing with each other, there is an overarching tale around Violet, which lies in her hope that her former master yet lives and in her conflict in understanding all the horrors she did as a murdering machine during the war. Slowly this tale is presented, intertwined with the short tales and a charming progression as she becomes more and more human. The contrast in this part can also be found in its approach, which is far more thrilling and filled with combats, gunfire, and a show-off of how powerful and deadly Violet can be.

A girl understands feelings

Violet’s romance with her last master becomes more vivid as she journeys across the country. These touching stories of loss and love can evoke powerful feelings, especially when aided by such stunning and charming expressions by the cast and aided by an excellent soundtrack and voice-acting. Although many characters are presented only during one or two episodes, their sweet tales are filled with realistic happenings and detailed in ways you can relate, giving each of these side characters much more impact in their short appearances. There is hardly a better show around in terms of providing these touching short tales in these last few years.

A girl is visually stunned

It is no secret that Kyoto Animation is a behemoth of animation quality. It seems, however, that they can achieve even greater glory by simply ditching the overused high-school setting. Here in Violet Evergarden we have an amazingly presented fictional world inspired in european locales. Each shot is a piece of art, from the stunning sunsets and landscapes where mediterranean cities are formed, to the intricate details of the character’s clothing, hairs, and accessories. Animation-wise this is also a massive job, giving us a quality typically only reserved to movies and short stories. If this is not KyoAni‘s very best work, it certainly is one of their best ever made.

Violet Evergarden ends up being one of the best shows of its season by far. The touching tales and the otherworldly production are unlike anything we’ve seen recently and there is a decent progression for the protagonist, a girl starting as an annoying and boring android but growing up as a charming dedicated woman.

Initially, I though this would be a trainwreck. Violet’s robotic behavior itched my rusted maid-servant ecchi sensors and provided nothing interesting in her. Yet, as the sweet tales unfolded one after the next it was charming to see how the robotic girl was affected by them, evolving with each episode and becoming a protagonist that I could like even if her premise would always be based on a boring trope. Anyway, the show grew on me a lot and by the end I can only say this is not only one of the best shows of this season, but also the most amazing visual experience I had in the last few years.

Watch it. It lacks high-school lolis and that is a great thing for a KyoAni show.