Violet Evergarden is set in a post-war world where the protagonist, Violet, is a former child soldier who has now become an Auto Memory Doll. These dolls are ghostwriters who assist people in expressing their emotions and thoughts through letters.
As Violet begins her work as an Auto Memory Doll, she encounters various clients with their own unique stories and struggles. Through her interactions, she gradually learns about emotions, empathy, and the power of words. Along the way, she also searches for the meaning behind the words “I love you,” which were spoken to her by her commanding officer, Major Gilbert before he disappeared during the war.
Top episodes in Violet Evergarden That Made Us Cry
3. Episode 9: “Violet Evergarden”
In a flashback to the war, Violet attempts to carry a wounded Gilbert to safety but is shot and hit with a grenade in the process, resulting in the loss of both of her arms. Gilbert tells Violet to leave without him and finally tells her that he loves her, but she doesn’t understand his words. Defeated, the enemy army bombs their own headquarters, and Gilbert sacrifices his life to push Violet to safety.
- In her grief, Violet attempts to commit suicide but cannot go through with it. After helping Benedict deliver letters and reading a letter sent to her by Erica and Iris, Violet comes to realize that the act of receiving a letter can bring someone joy. She returns to work, starting with ghostwriting a letter for Spencer, Luculia’s brother.
- Violet returns to the post office and asks Hodgins if it is okay for a person like her life. Hodgins responds that what she had done in the war can never be undone, but that also applies to all of the good deeds she has done as an Auto Memories Doll.
2. Episode 10: “A Loved One Will Always Watch Over You”
Violet arrives at a mansion where a young girl named Anne lives with her wealthy but sickly mother. Anne’s mother has hired Violet for seven days to write letters, but Anne is not told what the letters are about or who they are for. In addition, Anne is both mistrustful and fascinated by Violet, as she mistakenly believes her to be an actual living doll due to her prosthetic arms.
The letters written, Violet leaves and eventually, the mother dies. Afterward, Anne begins receiving letters from her mother written by Violet and grows up to start a family of her own. Back at the post office, Violet reveals to her co-workers that the letters would be delivered to Anne on her birthdays for the next fifty years and is overcome with emotion at the thought of Anne having to live alone after her mother’s death.
1. Episode 11: “I Don’t Want Anybody Else to Die”
- Aldan, a soldier from a battlefield to the north has requested a doll to write letters for him. Claudia, obviously unwilling to send any of his employees to actual war, decides to ignore the letter.
- Violet grabs the opportunity to steal it and sets off to the north to find the soldier who needs her services. Violet manages to convince a local postman to fly her over a deserted mountain and let her jump down from the airplane there.
The moment she is about to jump, her client’s battalion has just been attacked, but initiated retreat realizing they are encountered by the girl soldier which is Violet.
With Aldan seriously wounded, Violet carries him to a safe house. Violet memorized Aldan’s message to her parents and Maria, a long-time friend of his but turns out to have mutual feelings of love, by typing in the air since she wasn’t able to bring her typewriter.
Violet holds his hand as he dies, then visits his hometown to deliver his letters along with the handkerchief Maria gave to her with Aldan’s blood stained on it. Everyone cries, and Violet finally breaks down and cries along with them.
Rewatching Violet Evergarden because being sad is fun I guess pic.twitter.com/zrgIALGuZL
— Koroto (@KorotoMS) September 6, 2022
In conclusion, Violet Evergarden is a surprise bag of emotions, where you try to pick an emotion, not knowing which one you’ll end up picking. It shows the harsh reality of the world broken by war and recovering by scraps and pieces, as well as the effects of tyrannical rulers. We don’t know the exact person who sold the lives of millions of innocents, but we know who ended up paying the price. Violet Evergarden spins a tale so emotionally powerful that it’s hard to hold back tears with every scene. Get your Kleenex ready and watch the episodes here.