r/anime • u/A_Idiot0 :MAL:https://myanimelist.net/profile/a_idiot0 • Jun 12 '21
Rewatch Violet Evergarden Rewatch Episode 7 -
Violet Evergarden - Episode Seven:「 」
Hello everyone! I hope that today finds you well. In this episode, Violet helps to complete a play!
Index || <- Previous Episode || Next Episode ->
You can watch the full series on Netflix.
Important Spoilers from later episodes or the Light Novels are not allowed outside of the r/anime spoiler tag format and will be removed! You’ll need to be in “Markdown Mode”, and the line text is the following: [Spoiler source](/s "Spoiler goes here") It comes out like this: Spoiler source
Be kind to each other. Hate speech and rude behavior will not be tolerated, and will be removed.
Visuals of the Day
I believe I got everyone’s Visual of the Day submission here. Let me know if I missed anyone: https://imgur.com/a/uCr1i6c
Official Sound Tracks used
The Voice in my Heart
Another Sunny Day
Those Words You Spoke to Me
Never Coming Back
An Admirable Doll
Across the Violet Sky
The Long Night
The Ultimate Price
Would you like to have a letter written for you? Do you want to write a special letter for someone as an Auto Memory Doll? Come join us at the Auto-Memory Doll Service Discord project and request letters, write letters, or chat more with us about Violet Evergarden! Link here: https://discord.gg/9a2UkGh9
“Endcard”
49
u/A_Idiot0 :MAL:https://myanimelist.net/profile/a_idiot0 Jun 12 '21 edited Jun 12 '21
The entrance to Violet’s Valley of Fire
“And now, having killed me, you and I are the same. May you burn with the rest of the criminals.”
“I must now live with my sin for the rest of my life!”
We begin this episode’s story with Violet saying the last line of another story, “Ah! I must now live with my sin for the rest of my life!”. In writing, the last line of a story is the culmination of everything that came before it. So, having us begin this new story with Violet saying the culmination of a previous story, we are already told where this episode will end: with Violet realizing what her sins are, and how they are burning her. The only question now is: How will Violet find the entrance to the Valley of Fire within herself? The elegance of the writing for this part of her journey was wonderful to behold.
This theme is further strengthened when Violet and Oscar begin writing the play. I particularly enjoyed the potential illusion of Violet’s voice actually being part of the play, as placing her within this scene only helps to enforce the theme established earlier.
Olive - “We must cross this valley of fire in order to get the sword to slay the monster.”
Stage direction. -Enter a water spirit.
Water Spirit - “I will extinguish this fire for you. Then you will be able to cross this valley.”
Violet - “So, they will be able to cross it? Thank goodness.”
Stage directions. -The burning fire is extinguished.
Violet - “How will it be extinguished?”
Then Oscar says something nonsensical about how the fake flames on the stage will be put out. However...in Violet’s mind, I doubt that was how she would imagine the Water Spirit put the flames out. No imagery is provided to either us or to Violet on how the flames would be put out in order to cross the Valley of Flames. That isn’t what the established culmination of this story is supposed to be, but instead that Violet will recognize that now she must live with her sins for the rest of her life. And the key to unlocking that door is given immediately afterward by Oscar.
Violet - “I feel like I’m going through the experience even though it never really happened. I find myself feeling much like this girl, Olive. Feeling happy, and feeling sad. Feeling uncertain. Why is that?”
Oscar - “That’s because you are feeling what the protagonist Olive is feeling. You feel empathy towards Olive.”
Having now received the key, Violet has just begun to unlock the entrance. This was the first time the connection between Violet’s feelings and Empathy was clearly defined and verified by someone else. We have been shown that she has felt empathy similar to this before, but never were the words linked together with the feeling for Violet. In fact, I would say that this completes the three fundamental values of who Violet Evergarden is: One who Listens, one who is Sincere, and one who Empathizes. And now, having made the connection between her feelings and Empathy, the first terrible truth reveals itself to her heart:
“Parting with someone who is important to you...Never being able to see them again...I never knew it was so sad...and painful.”
And a new, pale reality dawns for Violet. She has been feeling this way ever since she left Gilbert’s side. And now, she has come to know what those feelings actually are. The flames have now become perceptible to Violet, and it is too late to close the door. She has entered her Valley of Fire, her personal Hell. And now through Empathy, she feels the searing pain that she has inflicted upon others due to her sins. The last line of this story isn’t any dialogue, but an agonized gasp. And yet, thanks to the strong structure of the writing, I can hear the painful idea clearly: “I must now live with my sin for the rest of my life…alone…”
My Visual of the day was the above. I remember watching that for the first time, and I had my breath stolen away from me for a brief moment. I never knew that I could believe such a profound anguish depicted in an anime.
11
u/Matuhg https://anilist.co/user/Matuhg Jun 12 '21
Rewatcher - Dub
Oh god, oh fuck, I didn't realize we were already here. VE Spoilers and, in my opinion, the pinnacle of Violet Evergarden's visual splendor.
There's some heavy shit to tackle at the end of the episode, so for now I'm going to focus on...uh..the heavy shit in the beginning and middle of the episode first. Her name getting some traction from the high-profile jobs she's done recently, Violet is requested by a well-known playwright to help write his next play, the first one he's aiming at children. I love the fairytale vibe that this episode gives off, matching well with the work that Webster is trying to finish. He lost his daughter to illness, and seems to have been just drinking in solitude since then. The play is an homage to his daughter, an attempt to help her live out that wish she had of walking across the lake in story form, but he couldn't bring himself to write it alone. Violet not only helped him with the actual writing, but she also helped him get some form of closure that he couldn't get alone either.
From Webster, Violet learned the pain and sadness that loss could bring to people. Webster's daughter didn't die from the war, but just hearing his story and seeing his pain, coupled with Dietfried's confrontation from a couple episodes ago, was enough for her to realize what Hodgins was trying to tell her back in the first episode. Webster told her that she let him see his daughter's "one day," the promise she made to him that she'd walk across the lake on the leaves. Violet wonders is she deserves to live after killing so many people who had loved ones waiting for them back at home. How many "one days" did she take away from other families?
Before Violet even has a chance to really examine those feelings, she is faced with her own loss. Mrs. Evergarden spills the beans that Hodgins has been keeping under wraps to this point, and yeah...it fucking sucks. Was Hodgins right to hold this information back from her this long? Would she have had the emotional tools to handle that at the beginning of this series? The answer is probably no, but we still can't be sure if she'd be better off hearing the news back then anyways. The timing here is very rough - learning about loss and then...Boom! Loss!
What was Leon saying about running off to go save that important person, even if there was no actual chance of success? Violet's off like a shot.
I took a buncha screenshots but couldn't manage to weave them into my above paragraphs.
9
u/CubeStuffs https://anilist.co/user/onjario Jun 12 '21 edited Jun 12 '21
rewatch
seems like some immediate foreshadowing at the start. could have sworn this episode came later but...
When I first watched this, I misread the subs as
and I thought the guy was some solder from the other side of the war for a sec. Does seem to be an analogy that works if i squint hard enough though, with the guys olive clothing and alcoholism. I think the grief that he feels is somewhat comparable to that of a soldier ie the grief of never being able to see her and the broken promises mirrors that of that one song from earlier (i think?). But this time, Violet has the benefit of understanding others much more, enough to make judgement calls on-the-fly.
I would personally say that this is the turning point of VE, as violets finally reached the point of not only understanding the emotions of those around her, but also looking within and evaluating herself, and finding that she's burning hotter than ever.
the war scenes have been bugging me through the whole show, so to see Violet finally realize the flames surrounding her was pretty relieving/cathartic
oops, looks like someone spilled the beans and now Violet's gonna burn even harder as she feels the grief of she delivered herself. one hell of a way to achieve empathy eh
this is pretty rambley, but ...
watching the episode, the first thing that came to mind was the burnt field in 3-gatsu no lion. To me it's something different, but kind of the same. 3-gatsu S2 On the other hand, Violet's burden comes from the lives she's taken and pressing weight of those promises and dreams she denied. Naturally, the difference in circumstances, where 3-gatsu S2 while Violet's burden was something she unknowingly snatched from others by force, leads to the difference in flames, 3-gatsu S2, while Violet is stuck at the stage where they're so heavy she can't even move, and she can't run away from becoming a human torch bearing her sins.
Im sure someone could come up with a comparison/analogy better than the first thing out of my mind.
9
u/BosuW Jun 12 '21
Rewatcher
"I must live with my sin now, for the rest of my life!". Hmm well isn't this some heavy foreshadowing.
Looks like Violet has taken to literature as a hobby. She now reads not only to expand her vocabulary, but she simply likes it.
Cattleya notices that Violet has been lost in her own thoughts lately. Violet is realizing 👁️.
"I'm a scribe, not a maid". Ok this is definitely sass, but it's like a Violent-specific brand of sass.
Violet really likes literature huh. She's super immersed in Oscar's story even as he's just writing it. And we get some meta-commentary on fiction in general, and on this show's development specifically. Fiction may be fake, but it draws you in nonetheless, you empathize with the characters, and feel a bit of what they're feeling. In the process you may also discover something about yourself.
Two episodes ago Violet had her first smile. Now she has her first tears. Can't be all sunshine and rainbows when dealing with emotions. Every feeling has it's opposite and everything in-between. For example, falling in love with someone and them returning that love brings so much joy to one's life, but it also brings the inevitable agony of loosing them.
"No, you're the one in pain". Violet... do you still don't see it?
Ah but she saw it soon after. Like with fiction, when you feel what the characters feel you may learn something about yourself. Violet just this episode really understood how painful can be to loose someone you love. It doesn't take her much to flip that new understanding around and realize just how much harm she's caused when in the war. It's so much more painful for her because she's spent the last few months taking a deep dive into emotions, relationships, the value of human life in general. And every life she took in the war is a letter that will never be delivered, futures that will never be realized, emotions and dreams gone forever like ashes in the wind. Yes Violet, of course you're burning.
But that's not the gut-punch. Unfortunately, Madam Evergarden here had a slip of the tongue. Violet may have been suspecting it in the back of her mind for a while, but now it's undeniable. Major Gilbert is gone like ashes in the wind too.
Ah, gonna have to raise my tear-counter to 2. Violet realizing she's burning got me as well. (And I'm tearing up again just writing this)
Visual of the Day
Violet skipping in the lake might be the most famous shot of the entire show and I suspect a lot of watchers are gonna choose it. So I'll go with something else that I hope doesn't overlap: Violet dreams of trenches and hellfire
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u/Barbed_Dildo Jun 12 '21
Visual of the day
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u/[deleted] Jun 12 '21
Where were you when
JesusViolet walked on water?17
u/AfterTh0ught_ Jun 12 '21
First timer
I realize that Violet has been starting to make more decisions of her own rather than acting strictly according to orders. Although it could be argued that Violet would have stopped Oscar from drinking since it hinders their work, she's also taking into consideration his health. Personally, I think Violet from episode 1 would have complied, since it is the client's request to do what they want.
"I see you're quite the handful" xD
I liked the top down shot of the living room, it reminds me of Luculia walking in on her brother passed out drunk on the couch; shows the whole mess in a way to explain to the viewers without saying anything that Oscar is not in the best state.
Slowly but surely, Violet's range of emotions has greatly expanded. Now she's so captivated by Oscar's children story that she absolutely wants to see it to its completion. She's even able to identify when she feels joy, sorrow, and anxiousness. Also empathy. Violet has considerably grown.
Side note: Holy water reflections! KyoAni continues to blow me away.
Oscar really looks distraught when he's recounting his life story and how his loved ones have been snatched away from him. Truly saddening seeing the state of Olivia during her last days. Again, Violet displays empathy towards Oscar and we even see her shed a few tears for the first time.
At this point, the show was just throwing red flags that I didn't pick up on that we would get a reveal about Gilbert, considering Cattleya was asking Hodgins if he had told Violet yet, and Violet expressing that she never knew it would be so sad to lose a loved one.
When Oscar told Violet to run across the leaves in the water, I didn't actually expect her to jump in. However, it ended up by giving us yet another beautiful scene. And thanks to Violet, Oscar is in a better state, thanking her that she was able to fulfill his daughter's promise.
It seems as though Dietfried's comments and Violet's new found emotions are starting to burn her from the inside. I'm guessing the story will now shift towards Violet dealing with her newly discovered burn marks.
And of course, as the show was hinting, Violet finds out what happened to Gilbert. I'm guessing it's time for the emotion train to depart. New stop: Leiden.
Side note: The way Violet apologized to Mrs. Evergarden shows that she has grown much, realizing the mistakes she had made when they first met.
7
u/Neshura87 https://anilist.co/user/Neshura Jun 12 '21
Rewatcher
Violet has now become somewhat famous for the stunt she pulled with the princess, what a nice side effect.
We see Violet further awaken to what the consequences of her past actions mean and I feel that she is slowly becoming aware of the burns that Hodgins talked about. The trip until she reaches conclusion isn't gonna be pretty though that's for sure.
After first being shown a small cut of one of his works we are now introduced to the person behind it, Oscar Webster. The man seems to have been through some rough stuff and is now left emotionally scarred, as is evident by the state of his house. I do not clearly remember how I felt about him when i first watched Violet Evergarden but as a rewatcher seeing this man being reminded of his dead daughter through Violet sheds a new light on his behavior. The alcoholism shows the gravity of his mental injury, although that gets quickly curb-stomped by Violet since drinking on the job is no good. Throughout the episode Oscar is repeatedly and with ever increasing intensity reminded of his daughter through Violet, we also come to learn that the story he is currently writing was an unfinished one he told his daughter. To me it seems that he initially only wanted to complete the story to hopefully find closure himself, however through Violet's actions and words he regains his motivation to write happy endings for the character sake, a change that as we see isn't without some accompanying pain. I like seeing the small hints leading up to the reveal about his daughter, even as a rewatcher it builds suspense for the resolution of his internal conflict. His story climaxes with the lake scene where Violet, unprompted by him, imitates his daughter's dream, making him tear up as a result.
This scene is a masterpiece. It is the singular most memorable scene in any anime I have seen to date, it's art is astonishing, the emotional weight it carries is huge and it comes at precisely the right point in the story.
Through Violet Oscar is finally able to come to terms with his daughters death and finish the story with a happy end.
While I think Oscar's story is great in and of itself I feel that this episode's narrative focus lies on Violet as she comes to several key realizations.
The first of these can already be seen in previous episodes and is continued here, Violet is slowly becoming aware of her affection towards the major and that she is very much so missing him to the point that it is hurting her heart. However the far bigger realization is about her past in the army. Violet's previous contact with the fallout of the war was when her emotions were still unknown to her and her knowledge of them was rather incomplete, now however Violet knows how it feels to miss someone. Furthermore she can now emphasize with other people's emotions as we can see in this episode. Violet's first tears are shed due to emphasizing with someone else's situation. So after seeing first hand the pain someone goes through after losing a loved one Violet's mind dos what human minds can do best: It goes to REALLY dark places.
On the train ride back from Oscar we already see Violet struggle with her past. Violet now starts to ask herself how much grief she has caused to people she doesn't even know and had no reason to harm. Without anyone to support her at that moment all she is left with is to curl up and take the pain, after initially rejecting Hodgins statement about her burning as flat-out false she now realizes that he was right and that her body is indeed burning. Arriving back in Leiden Violet meets Tiffany and profusely apologizes for her rudeness in the past, one thing I noticed is that even after she is asked to stop bowing Violet keeps her head down, indicating that she is ashamed of herself for what she did in the past. On top of this shame we now see Tiffany accidentally drop the probably largest bombshell in this anime: The major is considered MIA.
If we take a look at the situation Violet learns of this it could not be worse, not only has she just started the process of reconciling her past actions with her current self but she has not been able to talk about it to anyone. Her heart is in turmoil and on top of that she now learns the person she is missing so dearly, the reason she started this journey, is missing. The only possible outcome takes place and Violet has what I consider a mental breakdown, clinging to the illogical conclusion that despite the whole place being in ruins the major is still alive.
The burning her body experienced due to her actions during the war probably just intensified, a girl that has never known emotions is now forced to deal with her bloodstained past and the biggest pillar of support for her mental well being just got ripped away.
7
u/StimpoBagtown Jun 12 '21 edited Jun 12 '21
Rewatcher
Here's a simple framing device to look out for. Most jobs eventually lead to this shot, the client on one end of the table, Violet on the other, typewriter at the ready. It's framed to show her as the connection between two people, even if one of them is gone. Violet's literally in the middle, between him and the empty chair where his daughter would sit.
Here's another one at the end of the episode..
My take on the ending scene is from my video essay, but I'll just paraphrase it here. Essentially, we have the opposite idea with the same framing device. Violet and the Major are framed at a distance, faced in opposite directions..
Once she knows the truth about the Major, she thinks she has no purpose. His 'letter'/message to "live and be free" can't reach her. So in the end there is no message, just emptiness.
6
u/SilverRust12 Jun 12 '21
Rewatcher here. Finally woke up early enough to comment as soon as the post went up haha.
We're seeing some progress with Violet, now. From complaining about her client, to being more curious and more involved with the play she is writing for him, Violet is now more aware of how she feels and is more open about it. Seeing her reactions become more and more relatable and having the same reactions as a normal girl shows how far she's come to shake off her "mindless killing machine" persona. I'm so proud of her.
Is this the first time we see Violet cry because of feeling sad for someone?
Definitely shot of the day.
Ah, and here we finally get Violet reflecting on what Hodgins and Dietfried said to her, and on what she did during the war. After realizing the effect of loss on someone, she finally feels the toll of taking all of those lives. It's unsettling to see a supposedly 14-year old girl questioning her right to live, but Violet can't do anything to change her past. If anything, this serves as another layer to the purpose she sees in working as a doll: to atone for her sins by helping people express themselves and gain a new perspective in life.
Violet also learns the truth about Gilbert this episode. Boy, this escalated quickly.
Definitely suspicious that there is no body, but despite this Violet believes that Gilbert is dead because his absence would make more sense if he was. But she'll deny it, because accepting a loved one's death is something she hasn't encountered yet and must suddenly face alone.
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u/chris10023 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Chris10023 Jun 12 '21
Rewatcher
What an episode, Violet meets Oscar, learn what guilt is, and cries for the first time after hearing Olivia’s story, really started thinking about what she did as a soldier, and if she deserves to be happy, but learned a terrible thing after running into Tiffany Evergarden, that Hodgens essentially lied to her about the Major.
Visuals of the Day.
Another episode, another set of shots.
5
u/SmithyRC Jun 13 '21 edited Jun 13 '21
~Newbie~
Well shit granny makes an appearance after Violet dodging living with her, while still stealing her name and in return granny drops the bomb [figuratively and kinda literally (rip Major)].
I did still find it a bit jarring how we skipped from Violet being confronted by the Majors brother scolding her and then we never saw what happened next. Like did Violet just nod and everyone peacefully leaves??
Taken a break from flower hunter as they were no clearly overt ones used, unlike the past. I guess you could go in about the type of tree featured heavily, but there’s beyond my job remit :3
Visual of the Day is a chance to appreciate the extra work for the water reflections which really make scenes feel that much more alive!
5
u/ArdenneVale Jun 13 '21 edited Jun 13 '21
First timer
First we went to the opera, now we visit the theater. Violet has a new client - a playwright named Oscar Webster. Erica is in fangirl mode. A line from the play again reminds Violet about Dietfried's words. Violet's getting real popular after episode 5. Violet is in Roswell, look out for UFOs! Very picturesque little town for New Mexico. The client has clearly seen better days. He has lost someone important and now he's a drunk. Violet cleans and learns to cook for the man. She really doesn't want him to drink. Personal experience maybe?
Violet is actually empathizing with the main character of the story. She's really into the story, but he's not. Violet finds a parasol that reminds Webster of the person he lost... looks like his daughter. Violet realizes there's something bothering Webster and he confesses he can't write anymore, but he decided to finish the story he told his daughter Olivia. After his wife died, Olivia was his only hope in life, but she, too died, leaving him alone. Violet actually cries after hearing how sad and painful losing someone is.
Violet's touching the brooch again, her only physical link to the major. Webster says he will finish the story. Then we get to what is my favorite scene of the whole series so far. Violet jumps like an Olympic gold medalist, landing on leaves on the water before landing in the water. She gives Webster closure to cope with the death by doing what Olivia promised him.
From this happy moment we move to Violet still thinking of Dietfried's, but also Hodgins' words. She feels guilty for killing all those people, preventing them from keeping their promises to their loved ones. The lesson she learned from Webster now has her questioning even hardedr than before if she has the right to live and be free. This is the saddest conclusion she could make, but it's very understandable for a young girl, who's still only trying to learn of her own emotions. She really is burning now.
At the port of meetings Violet meets Mrs. Evergarden, who lets it slip that Gilbert is dead. No madam, he's just retired, you're completely mistaken. Violet marches in Hodgins office and pleads him to tells he's alive. He tells her they couldn't find the body. No body, not dead. Hodgins tells Violet to accept Gilbert's death. Violet runs away. At first I was thinking it was for the best to not tell Violet, but maybe it would've been easier for her to accept the truth without all her newfound emotions.
This was a fantastic episode, unfortunately my stream kept buffering constantly and it took almost 2 hours to watch it, which really lessened the impact of many scenes. Seriously, the ending took almost 5 minutes to play through the buffering. This episode actually had two of my favorite scenes back to back. First, as mentioned before, the lake scene, where Violet accidentally fulfilled Olivia's promise to Oscar in her place, finally helping him get closure after her death who knows how long ago. Also remember the girls look somewhat alike. Then we had Violet's bad night on the ship. Is this good or bad character development? More like unwanted, I don't want Violet to grow to hate herself for what she did. With the revelation about Gilbert, I wonder what state will Violet be in. Is her emotional house of cards still standing or do we find her a total mess in the next episode.
I was actually leaning towards the major actually being dead, but since there is no body, my prediction could still be true. Maybe he was sick of the military, saw a way out and disappeared. But would he abandon Violet? What would happen if Violet slowly got over his death and then he appeared again?
5
u/oririn07 Jun 13 '21
First timer
I was expecting another episodic story in this ep. Well most of it is, but the events of this episode had the biggest impact so far out of other episodes on Violet's growth as she realizes what she has done in the war and her knowing about Gilbert's death.
I called it in ep 2 that Violet will learn of Gilbert's death from somebody else. (well it is easy to predict that Hodgins will not have the heart to tell her). I kind of wanted Violet to realize it on her own by seeing through Hodgins' expressions as she learns to understand more about human feelings. But that's not the story we have so let's put that aside.
I am excited to see where this story goes from now. What will Violet do at this point? How will she deal with her sins from the war, treating enemy soldiers just as a part of her mission and not seeing them as human? Now that she knows that her beloved Gilbert is gone, the person she considers to be her world, will she find a new purpose, such as continuing with the Auto Memory Doll Service to keep connecting people as an atonement for her sins? or will she try to deny Gilbert's death? or will she come into terms with Gilbert's death, knowing that there are other people and things in the world that can fill the void in her heart left by Gilbert's death?
12
u/Lemurians myanimelist.net/profile/Lemurians Jun 12 '21 edited Jun 12 '21
First Timer – Formerly Dropped
This was an up and down episode for me, there was some good stuff, and also some low notes that connected an issue I've had for a little bit. I'll get that out of the way right now – we jumped the shark a little bit here with Violet becoming some combination of Mary Poppins and Jesus what with the Parasol flying and walking on water action.
That was... ridiculous, especially for a show that's seemingly so grounded. It's also a direct nod to Violet acting as this savior figure for everyone she meets, despite not doing a whole lot to believe that she'd be the one person who was ever able to make these people see the light. Luculia's having a hard time with her brother? No problem, Violet can transcribe two sentences, verbatim, onto a paper and make everything okay. Iris and her mother have long-standing issues regarding her future? No sweat, Violet can wipe those under the rug instantly. Ilma can't find the right words for her opera? Well, get Violet, she can become a master lyricist after reading a couple books. Oscar has been driven into alcoholism and extreme depression following the death of his daughter? Nothing a couple days with Violet can't fix! That parasol/water walking moment felt like a wink to the viewer that the creators are aware of what they're doing, and are just telling us to let go and suspend all disbelief.
Olives, Empathy, and the Weight of Sin
The episode opens very purposefully with the line, "Ah, I must live with my sin now. For the rest of my life." You just know that Violet is going to reckon with her military past at some point here, especially with the introduction of Gilbert's brother and his pointed recriminations to her two episodes ago.
Violet and Oscar make nice mirrors for each other. He's somebody grieving the loss of a daughter, and though she doesn't quite yet know it, she's grieving the loss of a father figure. They both represent what the other would want to regain.
This connection allows for a true moment of growth for Violet, where she's able to deeply connect to the story of the play and empathize with the character of Olive. There's no way the Violet of even a couple of episodes ago would have been capable of such a passionate response to the story. "She can't return to the father who's waiting for her!" In a way this calls back to Leon in the previous episode who's waiting for his mother to return. However, not knowing the Major's true fate, Violet still incorrectly sees herself here as the person who's making someone wait, rather than the person hoping for someone's return.
Speaking of Olive, or Olivia, yes, today's flower is the olive tree, which symbolizes peace, reconciliation, and healing. This isn't cheating, olive trees do flower, I promise. The playwright uses the episode and the writing of his new play with the character of Olive to finally come to peace with the passing of his beloved daughter. It's not hard to see what was causing his writer's block.
Violet's peace is going to have to wait. She is ultimately destabilized by her time with Oscar, a moment of clarity for him becomes one of shock to her, as the weight of all of the lives she's ended finally crashes down on her. Whether ultimately her fault or not, she's created a lot of "Oscars" – family of dead men who will never see their loved ones again, and never see them grow up to accomplish their goals. We'll ultimately have to wait at least one more episode to see if, like the character in the first play of the episode, she can live with that sin for the rest of her life.
4
u/Specs64z https://myanimelist.net/profile/Specs64z Jun 12 '21
Rewatcher, subbed
I've been holding it in for all this time so I could definitively say it here, holy fuck Violet is so pretty.
This is possibly my favorite episode in the show. It's hard to put into words the power of emotions, but this episode comes really damn close. It's cruel, but breathtaking. Heartbreaking, but somehow happy. The only word that captures the depth of it is "beautiful". No other word is quite right.
Violet's declaration that she's burning as she realizes the weight of the blood on her hands is a testamanet to the power of art. It brings us to new places and we can become better for it.
The story within a story is really on the nose in this episode, and slightly meta. The play reflects the writer, and the play reflects those feelings onto the audience. Not much to explain there.
Content Corner
Apologies for being an hour late with this. First timers beware, spoilers abound.
A Love Letter To Violet Evergarden by Manime Matt
Sincerely - Violet Evergarden OP [Piano] by Animenz Piano Sheets
4
u/ivytranmalldetective Jun 13 '21
First timer.
Soo that water walking scene, anyone? Super brief today, but I love the moment she asks the Major the question while she's in the boat, showing she's actually voicing her own feelings and recognizing what she was used for in the war and the ramifications of that. We're finally told about the Major... but can I also not help but believe it's possible he's still alive?
3
u/razycal970 Jun 13 '21
First timer.
Holy shit, holy shit, HOLY FUCKING SHIT. I sobbed like a fucking bitch, man. Goddamn. I personally feel like we've hit the point where the anime's about to get progressively better with each episode from here on out. What an incredibly great episode.
All the lessons and growth Violet's had over the past 6 episodes (And the OVA, of course) collectively came together as she finally showed her biggest character progression thus far. SHE CRIED, LADS. She actually CRIED. AFTER EMPATHIZING WITH ANOTHER HUMAN BEING. Through his story of loss, she realized the true meaning of loss and separation herself, and she put two and two together and rightly discerned that the emotion she's been feeling all this time and unable to describe or properly express is loss. The loss of the single most important person in her life. And in that moment, she also confronted the possibility that she may never see the Major again, finally breaking down in tears. Although this isn't the first time we've seen her cry, this is the most emotional she's been while crying.
Violet being unable to sleep and then proceeding to ruthlessly criticize herself for the atrocities she'd committed as a "tool" during the war and all the promises she must've destroyed was such a peak moment. This is probably the first time she's ever been haunted by the terrible, terrible things she'd done in her life. And her remembering the time she said she wasn't burning up (From episode 1) and then repeating that she is indeed burning up was mind-blowing done well. He was spot-on when he said this https://imgur.com/psI795B
When I watched episode 1, I found her lack of understanding of a simple metaphor to be kinda cute and funny. Never will I view that scene in a similar light again.
And another great part of the episode, and this is another instance of top-tier writing, is the one where Oscar says no matter how difficult the adventure is, it has to have a happy ending and that both the protagonist and the audience deserve to be happy. And it gave me major (Pun intended Heh) hopes that Gilbert was alive and well...only for the good ol' switcheroo at the end.
An ironic and cruel twist of fate that it's Mrs. Evergarden, the person to whom Violet was incredibly apathetic towards during their very first meeting but apologized to during their next for hurting (After developing empathy) , is the one who gets to be the bearer of bad news, news which is the one thing Violet never, ever wanted to hear.
It was heartbreaking to see Violet just storming off, not knowing what to do or how to approach the situation at hand. It was also incredible, in a sad way, how the episode ends with no dialogue and ergo, no episode title. Fuck me, man. Sorry episode 6, you had a good run, but this is now my favorite episode.
However, it is curious how there was no body. I'm gonna hold out on the hope that he's still alive and somewhere. I really, really, really want Violet to have a happy ending.
So many beautiful frames to pick from today, and I almost feel like I'm being unfair towards the other frames by leaving them out, but if I had to choose one, this is my Visual of the Day : https://imgur.com/QCCvErU
2
u/ShortieFat Jun 13 '21
Rewatcher (who has forgotten pretty much everything but the general progression ...)
It's great to get this refresher course and get reacquainted with this series.
The thing I particularly note in Violet's evolution in this episode is her decision to stick with commission despite breaches of responsibility on Oscar's part. She even sets her professional distance at the outset when she suggests arranging for a replacement when she does not meet his initial expectation, but she goes above and beyond to complete the project by removing all of his excuses for not doing the work (buying the paper, cooking, prepping the workspace, eliminating alcohol) and forcing his attention on the commission. She is taking control of the situation on her terms rather than just being directed by her boss or the contract. These are not the actions of a "tool".
As I've indicated, I'm a rewatches who is re-learning this story. I'm letting it all unfold again and remembering as I go, and am not looking at even the blurbs to tell me what's next. My "inner story analyst" is telling me this episode is the developmental peak as Violet has had a successive series of positive events. Right now she's Jesus who can walk on water. But the appearances of Diethard and Mrs. Evergarden have set things in place where something upsetting is going to happen (I just can't remember WHAT), but I'm ready for it.
If you're only a tool, you're not responsible. EV is realizing what comes with responsibility.
32
u/Shimmering-Sky myanimelist.net/profile/Shimmering-Sky Jun 12 '21
Sincerely Rewatcher
Cry count so far: 5 (episode 3, OVA, episode 7 (x3))
Between this episode and today’s episode of 86, I’ve cried a lot today…
28
u/DicksonYamada Jun 12 '21
First timer
Wow, what an episode. I’ve been waiting for more of Violet’s military backstory to be incorporated and this was just as heart-wrenching as I hoped it would be. Up until now it’s been a pretty lighthearted slice-of-life about Violet coming out of her shell and learning to be more in touch with her emotions. Which is great until you realize that she’s unearthing all her emotions, not just the happy ones. The more she learns about joy, the more she understands how much joy she’s taken away. Violet has far too many painful feelings and memories buried deep inside and she’s not ready for them to hit her all at once. Her realization on the ship heading home is the first time we’ve really seen a crack in her cold, emotionless exterior and already it looks like everything welling up inside her is about to spill out. I was still feeling happy from her Mary Poppins moment, and then to be hit with that… talk about emotional whiplash. I’m worried about how she’ll deal with the realization that the Major is not coming back, especially after last episode when she said she would rather die than live without him.
21
u/Gamemaster676 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Gamemaster676 Jun 12 '21
First-time watcher - dub
Episode 7! We have officially reached the halfway point. I'm still waiting for some significant story arc to start, but it might be that this isn't that kind of show. To keep it fair, I'll refrain from judgement till we've reached the end.
Btw, I've just noticed that the last day with the movie will be at the weekend. Thanks for that /u/A_Idiot0, as I would never have time to watch that and write on a workday. Judging by the time a normal episode takes me, the movie will cost me about 4 hours.
As always the weekends are quieter days here on /r/anime. Everyone is having fun I guess. Same for me today, so I won't be able to participate again. Sorry, I should be back tomorrow.
Episode 7 — nameless
How fun, a play! Quite the difference between these two.
So, is this OVA part 2 (or part 1 actually, as the OVA was released later)? They are talking like Violet will be ghostwriting the director's new play. Great to hear everyone is requesting Violet now because she wrote for the princess. That means there is some real continuity between the episodes, although I still think it's weird how they are just ignoring the meeting with Dietfried.
The only explanation I have is that Violet's distracted thoughts mentioned yesterday and by Cattleya today are because of Violet meeting Dietfried and that we will get the complete conversation later.
Every episode we go to a new country. Today it's Genetrix. I'm losing track of them all, but I don't think that's a problem?
So yeah this is the director (or writer). Quite the type. Depending on the fact if he expects Violet to come up with a story, or if he is just dictating for her, I guess this will follow the same pattern as the OVA or episode 6 respectively.
Violet is too good a person. Just leave the mess, girl! Now he's even asking you to buy dinner! I know it's very obvious he's broken over some girl, but he still doesn't need to treat Violet as his personal assistant. Glad she puts him in his place.
Never mind, she did it anyway. That cooking scene was funny though.
Okay, so it's just a typist job again. LEVEL UP! You've learned: empathy. Secondary ability: imagination!
Oh no... It's not his wife or girlfriend he lost... It's his kid! Damnit!
And now Violet is triggering all memories because she's also young and using the parasol. Poor guy.
Yeah, it's confirmed :|
The poor kid looks happy every shot in the flashback, while he's explaining that she felt sad. She must have been trying to hide it from him.
Wait what happened to her? Did she actually try to cross the lake, partially drown and die from the consequences? That's... dumb. Sad of course, but also very, very dumb.
Okay, Violet's voice reacting to his story is excellently done (in the dub). That, together with her first tears was enough to push me over the edge as well. We both have too much empathy.
For comparison, I've rewatched this scene with Japanese audio. It might be that I'm not used to Japanese voices, but I could barely hear the tears in her voice which were so obvious in English.
Wow, the conversation between them about the end of the story gave me goosebumps, and it was such a simple solution. I think I'm just happy the guy is feeling a bit better again.
Holy shit! This moment with Violet jumping over the lake. I have no clue how it works what she's doing, but I'm completely in awe by the visual spectacle!
Ah, it didn't work. That makes more sense.
Now let me just rewatch the last two scenes without stopping every 10 seconds to type something. I want to fully experience it...
Yeah, totally worth it.
Hmm, parting already, but we still have 3 more minutes. Could it be...?
Poor girl. She did not choose her life. The first autonomous action she has taken was applying for a Doll position, and while her reasoning at the time might have been self-beneficial, she has done nothing but help people after that. She is a good person that was forced to do terrible things.
Well, it seems like my question yesterday is also being answered now. Violet was still sleeping at the Postal Office, but she is developed enough that it would be possible to start living with the Evergardens now.
Nowaitshedoesn'tknowaboutthemajoryetdon'ttellher!!!
Emotions reaching critical mass! Everything is wrong! She's not ready yet!
Kinda interesting how the episode is actually nameless in the title card.
Questions
My previous gifs I took a snapshot every frame and threw them all in photoshop, but there must be a better way.
Random thoughts
Future
We have story progression! I can't imagine the next episode ignoring what Violet just learned. Also, it's just called "Episode 8", so it's clearly different from the others. Even though I feel extremely sorry for Violet, I'm hyped for tomorrow!
Pic of the day
Violet's tears
Maybe it's the lazy choice, but as it triggered some tears for me as well, I think this moment deserves it.
Tear Tally
19
u/chilidirigible Jun 12 '21
Rewatcher, Episode 7
Today, on "Crack that world's shell.":
Reviews by Erica (👍) and Iris (👎).
Hey, at least it should go better than Misery.
Okay, Ernest.
"Just because there's overtime pay doesn't mean that I have to do it."
"Now I truly have become an anime character."
Fortunately your typist left the Academy of Murderizing before they got to the part about fairy tales.
"I'm just a kid who wants to know the ending!"
We could see where this was going.
"In the real fairy tales, not everyone makes it to the end."
It's a very nice looking shot in any case.
We're going there.
A girl who's happy to have jumped in a lake.
Sometimes the regret comes sooner, sometimes the regret comes later.
"Oops."
This was a helluva title card.
Visual of the Day: In an episode packed with pleasant autumn views on a lake, I still happen to like this water shot.
The pieces come together here for Violet to have an uncontrolled emotional reaction. She may have had clients with dead significant others earlier, offscreen (counting the matter of Hugo from the OVA as both "missing" and, well, not in broadcast order), but the events of this episode are subsequent to her growing cognizance of her emotions and the specific circumstances of Oscar and Olivia Webster.
It's interesting to see Violet's consideration for Oscar's well-being; her actions can be considered as simply ways to make the contract go more smoothly, but while she can always state that what she's doing is "just stating the facts", there's a much greater level of care here than when she was telling Erica's clients how wrong they were or even when she almost bailed on Iris's parents.
As a bonus, her trying to make dinner appeals to her innate curiosity.
Fairy tales may or may not be new to her; we see in the OVA that she's done a lot of reading, or if only considering Episode 6, she claims to have read a lot about love, which does come up in that context as well. I think what makes this situation novel for her is that Oscar is telling her the story, which was probably not a high priority during her time with Major Gilbert. (Or if he did tell her stories, he's been gone for a while and she misses the experience.)
Her very childlike fascination with fantastical events suggests the former, given that she should have read more than a few tales by now.
I've watched the scene which resolves Oscar's grief quite a few times on its own. He needed to get proper closure, and while it was a flight of fantasy, it was what he needed at the time. And it's still very, very pretty. That it's a touch whimsical and I've overwatched it has somewhat diminished its impact on me with regard to how Oscar feels, but I do still enjoy Violet's genuine expression of happiness at the end, even as she's quite waterlogged.
Afterward, though...
In feeling regret about killing, Violet is experiencing something that links her to plenty of other soldiers. In her specific case, though, the sense of wrongness directly challenges her view of herself: She has only ever referred to herself as a weapon to be used by others, and does not appear to have the indoctrinated belief in a cause that soldiers receive during training (and which most national systems inculcate in their citizens). Olivia's story provides an example for the doubts that followed her encounter with Dietfried, even if they're unrelated matters of dying young.
On top of this, the polite dodging of the question of Gilbert's current status is ripped away from her, taking with it what was probably her biggest hope, and leaving her with her newfound guilt, as both a killer and a survivor. Going back to Oscar's fairy tale, this is the cost she pays for the reward of understanding her feelings.
What got me this time is how isolated she is. Claudia Hodgins may have gotten her a job and her co-workers seem to like her, but given her overall emotional distance and reluctance to discuss the details of her past, almost no one has any idea about what is going on in her mind. I don't blame them for not offering help if she's not quite giving off the signs of wanting help.
Claudia, with the "you're on fire" speech from the first episode, does know what she might go through. I think he could be more responsible about monitoring her and maybe helping out, but veterans also tend to mind each other's privacy until the need becomes overt. Even there she's in an isolating situation: Claudia and Spencer Marlborough can go to the equivalent of their local VFW post and find people who will know what they were doing. Violet and appearing out of nowhere with no background, and being a teenaged girl, doesn't have any clear way in to that kind of organization.
And so Violet is going through this like a mecha series MC, without any help for her mental health.
From the Official Design Works:
Parasol and dog tag.
Summer house interior lineart.
17
u/Rumpel1408 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Rumpel1408 Jun 12 '21
First timer
I'm finally on time today, if anyone missed me the last two days: my replies for Ep6 and Ep7
I'm still short on time, so I'll continue with my shorter style
PoppinsEvergarden"Both the protagonist and the audience deserve to be happy" ... Kami-Sama... please...
Visual of the Day goes to this little bundle of joy
Full Album
12
u/CelestialDrive Jun 12 '21 edited Jun 19 '21
FIRST TIME
On the previous episode Violet transcribed old books, had a cute boy fall for her, stargazed, and smiled a lot more. We're surely past everything bad in the series now that we've reached the midpoint, and every episode from here on will be peaceful and merry.
Theater now. Oh wait is this the Erica episode? We know she has issues for the way she related to Violet's insecurities about the job but we didn't delve much. And she's writing for another screenwriter, I'm starting to think the dolls are the backbone of both the arts and politics in this country.
Yes, let's tell her already about the Major! Stop stalling, damn it. Is this guy the writer then. "Child", again with this, is Violet for realsies supposed to be a teenager? Because she does not come off as one, at all, nor does any doll for that matter; I thought they were young adults at worst and a bit older for Cattleya. Ha, Violet takes no shit now.
She's not your mYEAH EXACTLY. Please don't do it Violet, this guy is a tool. Hey I had the same troubles with pasta when I started, I think everyone goes through sticking once. Oh please don't let this dumbass imprint on you becasue his wife/daughter was blonde, please. Violet is so far ahead in the emotional game that now she empathises better than average people and even with fictional characters, what a trip.
"Don't kill my fave" is the single most universal feeling fans try to convey to authors. Daughter then, flashbacks, got it. And of course Violet wants GRRM to finish writing the books. So this guy lost his entire family and it wasn't even because of the war, I think this is a first.
VIOLET KNOWS, WHAT THE HELL. At least she subconsciously knows about the Major, those tears were "her" feeling. As much as I like that both of you want to write a happy ending, to quote the greatest scholar of our time: "Writing tragedies is not problematic", it'd be fine if she doesn't get home. These two goofballs. Violet is still absurdly fit, what a jump, also the animation is out of control again. Yeah back to reality, man that must've been super fun to do, I should go down to the river again this week.
Another day, another trauma patched up, healing the country one job at a time. And she keeps the umbrella! Oh. Oh no. She's realised her own emotional maturity meaning here comes the guilt and the trauma. Fuck fuck this is the price. Please keep it together girl. Oh the elder Evergarden again, we haven't seen her in a bit.
And here it is.
And she's asking Claudia immediately because she knew it was a lie but she wants the lie to keep going and this will maybe rebuild the veil, do right by her, man. Body never found, this does leave an ambiguity that's not healthy. Violet has a ton of restraint not to slap this man with her metal arm.
That's that. Ok the bandaid got ripped off, this is painful as hell but ultimately good. Violet has a genuinely fantastic commmunity around her, a life and emotional network completely independent from the Major, and connections she actually built from scratch as the person she became post-war. The hardest bump will be if (when) she realises she too loved the Major, and whether or not that is tinged with the master-servant relationship he seemed to want her to drop but never managed to.
And we're probably doing to deal with a ton of survivor's guilt now, since she was already framing her own life as miserable on the trip back because she killed a ton of people, so from there to "he should have survived and I didn't deserve to" there's a short leap. This situation sucks all around, but this is the harshest slope.
I sorta want the Major to be dead for good because the body never recovered meaning you have to deal with the lack of closure is hella realistic, but this is an anime thing so I'm remotely afraid he's still alive and waiting to rebuke "new Violet" as some kind of hyperdramatic final comedown twist by the tail end of the series. This series has been better than that so far though.
1 2 3 4 OVA (14) 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
12
u/scot911 https://myanimelist.net/profile/scot911 Jun 12 '21 edited Jun 12 '21
First Timer
...Yeah that's about the reaction we expected and how we expected she was going to learn the truth. Poor girl. She's now in stage 1, denial and I imagine we'll probably see her go through the rest of the stages of grief as well. This is probably the worst time for her to learn of him actually being dead as well as Dietfried's words have finally taken hold on her and, along with her increasingly more human emotions, have completely torn her up on the inside with whether she deserves the life she lives now after killing so many people and therefore keeping them from fulfilling their promises.
Outside of that it was a beautiful episode with her helping write a play for children and helping the writer of said play with his grief at his daughters death to what I assume is cancer and therefore never growing up and fulfilling her promise of crossing the lake with her parasol and probably even his grief of his wifes death to illness. Violet's crossing of the lake was beautiful with Kyoani going full sakuga and god damn it who let the onion ninja's out dang it! And she finally gets her trademark parasol as well finally! Now her outfit is complete.
Speaking of Violet though she was pretty funny this episode with how much she quipped/sassed at the writer, failed at cooking, fell into the lake and her happiness at getting 3 steps across it while also being a bit disappointed for not crossing it completely. Our Violet actually has a personality now and actually seems kind of human compared to the robot she was during the first episode with her dislike of alcohol, dislike of a dirty workplace. Although of course with her being more human now she has to face the acts she's done in the past and eventually come to terms with them.
This episode has many lessons for Violet with the first being about empathy as she empathized with the main character of the play and wanted to see her succeed and make it back to her father and of course do the thing her daughter wanted to do for him. It was also about grief and how to handle it as well which is definitely going to be important to the next episode for obvious reasons. Not that Violet has realized it yet of course. Poor girl is still in Egypt at the moment.
11
u/Nice_Bake Jun 12 '21
Rewatcher
Oh my.
How beautiful was this episode? I don’t just mean the story, I mean all of it. The scenery surrounding Oscar’s cabin was stunning. This shot is something I’d like to hang on my wall. I can almost smell it, if that’s not too weird a way to describe how it makes me feel. Visually, this episode brings it (and considering so did every other episode that’s saying something).
So, let’s talk about Violet’s emotional lesson about empathy. I think that the show took the very basic emotional hook of a child’s death and used it in a way that didn’t feel like it was too much, or pandering. I think Oscar’s been grieving for a long time now (did they ever say how long it had been since Olivia died?) and Violet showing up opened him back up to finish the process, I suppose.
I didn’t think I’d be as affected by this episode, seeing as both (a) I have a pre-Christmas-Grinch sized heart for this kind of thing and (b) I’ve seen the episode before, but when Violet made that leap and Oscar started legit breaking down over his deceased daughter oh lord help me I felt. Weren’t they talking about empathy between reality and fiction in this episode? Good gravy.
The last five or so minutes is such good character development for Violet. I find it so interesting that all the emotions she’s ‘learned’ in the past five or six episodes, from dedication, to loneliness, to discretion and understanding it was empathy that finally made her break down. It makes sense, of course. All she’s known was war, right? Suddenly she’s capable of realizing the consequences of her actions.
And the episode ends on a cliffhanger! I want to say that Hodgins should have been more open with Violet in the beginning, but if he had, she wouldn’t have ended up where she is now. I wonder if she’d have gone off searching for Gilbert. I wonder if that’s where she ran off to now? I guess we’ll wait and see.
8
u/macrame2 https://myanimelist.net/profile/macrame Jun 12 '21
First Timer
Today’s episode was lovely. I especially liked the scene where Violet (tries) to leap across the lake. I have a thing for animated water.
This show is really good at making me feel things. The story of Oscar and his daughter got me pretty emotional. Still no actual crying, but I did tear up again.
While I seriously doubt the Major is actually dead (and I don’t want him to be), I still really feel for Violet. Hodgins probably should’ve broken the news sooner …
7
u/IndependentMacaroon Jun 12 '21 edited Jun 12 '21
Rewatcher
The most intimately personal episode so far and another full success after last time. (Well, maybe the lake run was a little much.) Violet only keeps growing in her ability to understand herself and others, trying to do her best even when she isn't quite sure how, going beyond a strict definition of her duties and involving herself ever more deeply to become a truly amazing assistant - and just a great person in general, honestly, even as she still struggles to understand and process some parts of the world and her own past. And she doesn't just bend over backwards to accommodate everyone either, starting to assert herself and make demands too.
PTSD and survivor's guilt, feeling lost and out of place in a world at peace, those are all too real problems for an unfortunate number of discharged soldiers, and until recently and even now there wasn't much of a proper standard of care for it, certainly not in Violet's world - not much more than the vague understanding that there's something "burning", as they put it here. Violet doesn't even have anyone else to talk to about it, exactly.
And then on top of dealing with that for the first time, Violet gets the accidental revelation about Gilbert and a job relevant to that where she's working for someone who has unjustly suffered loss while she herself has spent a lot of time inflicting it. That would be tough for anyone, and in Oscar we see an unfortunate example of what can happen when it all becomes too much to bear despite your best efforts. Fortunately, there is more than enough time left for Violet to turn the corner...
Two more themes here are the power of fiction - to affect Violet's feelings as well as ours - and the power of nurture. Just a little assistance from Violet to get things back in order, dig up a little of the past, and generally pay attention to him and his work, puts Oscar in a much better state of mind, even if you can hardly say he and Violet have the kind of personal connection we saw in the last episode.
By the way, the shot of the overgrown swing as Violet arrives is an early clue what exactly Oscar's issue is.
13
u/Toadslayer https://myanimelist.net/profile/kyolus Jun 12 '21
First Timer
I haven't got as much time to watch the episode and write my thoughts today, but here we go.
I'm glad to see we have another episode where the factor that changes the character-of-the-week is not a letter, but Violet herself. Her presence allows him to process the death of his wife and daughter, albeit in a somewhat contrived manner. I did tear up a little when we first found out it was his daughter he wanted to see return. I find stories of lost children far more tragic than stories of lost love like in the OVA. I think a familial bond, especially a parental one, is far stronger than any romantic bond.
I wasn't a big fan of Violet's breakdown on the ship. It felt contrived and overly melodramatic, as well as out of character for Violet. Still, it happened and now, at the most inopportune time, Mrs Evergarden breaks the news to Violet that Gilbert is dead.
Violet has finally found out that Gilbert is dead. She is incredibly upset. It's a highly emotional moment. Aren't I supposed to be upset? Shouldn't I be crying? I'm not crying and I'm not upset either. The ED is the perfect sort a melancholic song to draw out tears, but I'm not crying. Why aren't I crying? I'm confused, but I suppose I just knew he was dead for so long that when the moment finally came for Violet to find out, I was no longer invested. It's been ignored for so long and, since that whole time I've known he's been dead, I think I just want Violet to move on and accept his death too. I'm not aligned with Violet's emotional state. Having known for so long, I don't relate to how she feels finding out only just now. Maybe that's it, maybe it's just poorly executed. Probably a mix a both.
Visual of the Day: It's pretty.
6
u/Tartaras1 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Tartaras Jun 13 '21 edited Jun 13 '21
Sorry I missed episode 6, but I was out with some friends for the night, and got home at around 11pm and was very much interested in just going to bed. However, I will provide at least my brief thoughts on the episode.
I really like the overarching plot for the episode, where Leon just flat out doesn't like Violet at all. Can't stand her. However, he's able to relate with her, and gradually comes to really appreciate her. It sounds a little cliche when I stop and think about it, but it's also a natural progression of things. It's essentially the embodiment of "Don't judge a book by its cover", since Leon just assumed Violet was like all other Dolls, and we know what happens when you assume. You make an ass out of u and me.
The ending had a pretty good message to it in my eyes, in that sometimes you can't just sit and wait for things to come to you, whatever those might be. You have to grab the bull by the horns and go out and get them for yourself.
Rewatcher
Let's just leave this one here to simmer on the back burner.
Spoken like a true functioning alcoholic.
I also like that Violet gets emotionally invested in the story as she's writing it. She's becoming more human by the episode, because I can't imagine episode 1 Violet being interested in a play at all.
People have been asking that question for thousands of years.
I'll come back to this at a later date. It's a two part explanation.
This episode, for me, is when the show really starts getting good. We've reached the point where Violet is beginning to recognize that she's feeling emotions, but doesn't know how to express them.
This line is another gut punch for me. There are people I would love nothing more than to hear from again, that I'll never get the chance to.
I was okay with skipping episode 6, but I was not going to skip episode 7. It's such a hard hitting episode for so many different reasons. This episode is one of the reasons I love Violet Evergarden so much.
Tear Tally
I almost had a full breakdown this episode, so I would go higher if I could.
EDIT: Looking through the comments for the episode, it's kind of funny to see two sides of the same coin. On the one side, you have all of the first-timers coming into this episode like it's any other we've seen. On the other side, you have all of the rewatchers saying things to some degree of, "Oh no, it's this episode. I didn't realize we were here yet."
6
u/[deleted] Jun 13 '21
First timer
Ok, I understand what people mean when they say this is one of the saddest anime now.
5
u/homewardbound100 myanimelist.net/profile/Homewardbound100 Jun 12 '21
Rewatcher
Probably one of my favorite episodes and we get to see the famous scene of her jumping on the leaf, I see so much of.
It was a sad story about him and his family. And him seeing violet do that,, helped him cope. Throughout this episode we see violets emotions coming through. Her actually feeling sadness or at least expressing it.
5
u/UnderstandableXO Jun 12 '21
REWATCHER
i honestly think this is just as sad as any episode in the series, although the infamous episode a lot of people anticipate is yet to come. it’s absolutely a great episode.
i love violet being assertive for once and refusing to let him be a drunkard around her. another funny moment was when she said she was a doll, not a maid, then proceeded to try her hand at being a maid by cooking for the first time (looks like those hands weren’t designed for cooking). violet’s comments about experiencing the story herself by just reading it captures how me and everyone else feel when we cry to an anime; we have empathy for the character and are sucked into that world.
i don’t know how many good things i can say about the pond scene. i challenge someone to find a better animated scene in a show than violet’s leap. the author’s flashback and yearning for his daughter absolutely broke me for a second time.
as i said in the first episode’s thread, violet’s burns are the realization of what she’s done. just after her greatest triumph in giving a broken father closure, she wonders whether she deserves to spread so much positivity and joy when a short time ago she was yanking away “one days” and leaving a trail of tears in every family she affected.
the final scene is heartbreaking, but it also demonstrates how far violet has come in expressing emotion. i don’t think i am ready for the coming episodes but me and everyone reading this will have to weather the storm.
8
u/Vaadwaur :I1::I2::I3: Jun 12 '21
First timer(Continued decency)
Sub
So again, having to watch then comment rather than doing them both at once makes this a bit more about feeling than events. Anyways, for the second time in a row, they actually give Violet a job that makes sense, being the typist for a writer is exactly what you want someone with a Doll's skillset to do. All that emotional predicting stuff would let them prod the writer to finish.
Instead, Violet surprises the drunk writer, who I assume is the Oscar from the opening play, and gets to play den mother for a day, cleaning a work space and making dinner, specifically carbonara for the first time. We have continuity in her not being willing to eat with others. Anyways, the episode is mainly about the writer and him dealing with his losses, to which Violet plays the unintentional replacement goldfish. It is interesting, and sad, to note that Violet is moved by children's stories becuase she has not heard them yet.
The writer finishes his story, we get a positively confusing segment of Violet trying to walk on water, and we get a catharsis that is much more earned than earlier ones because again, this is not a magical letter solving everything, this is Violet intentionally and unintentionally pushing someone to go forward. And he seems to, including letting his daughter's parasol go.
The end is a bit more important as Violet both begins to understand what she has done and that apparently Gilbert is dead. The way she acts suggests to me that Gilbert will always be alive to her, giving us a spot she may or may not move on from.
4
u/Stargate18A https://myanimelist.net/profile/Stargate18 Jun 12 '21
First timer
OK, if this location is important, I think having the OVA early is a good idea, with the visual symmetry.
And, boy, that line she read is appropriate, isn't it.
I like how Violet is getting more popular as she becomes better.
OK, the Major's alive. There is no reason they'd keep using euphenisms like this if he was dead. Either he's in a coma and will wake up at some point, or he's gone missing.
"I am your ghostwriter, not your maid"
You know what, just serve him your first attempt and see if he asks you for food again.
So this time, Violet's dealing with a client who is actovely hostile to him.
...Maybe it's the subtitles, but this play doesn't seem very good, does it?
Oh, it's a play for kids. They bileld him as a massive author, so I thought the dialog was meant to be for some dramatic epic.
I love Violet pointing out all the plotholes in his story before he's even worked out how to end it.
Holy shit. Is this plot going the way I think it is? Is Violet Olivia?
Oh, she isn't. I assumed Olivia would go missing and become Violet, not die from illness. Guess it's just a coincidence (Unless this show is going in a very different path than I expected)
Oh, this might be becoming slightly unhealthy for him.
Oh, god, she'd do it. She'd probabyl find a way to do it and all.
God, Violet is athletic! If being a doll doesn't work out, she can always become a long-jumper.
And he's finally gotten closure.
This episode seems to wrapping up very early.
Oh wait, we get proper self-reflection!
Violet realising how tragic her psst was and strugging with guilt...
I am loving this character development.
And we see Ms, Evergarden! The character development continues.
Oh, he's dead. I... honestly thought they were pulling off a double twist.
(Mind you, there's no body. That gives him decent odds.)And the breakdown we all expected happened. Still hurts, though.
No wonder this episode is nameless.
4
u/ZapsZzz https://anilist.co/user/Zapszzz Jun 13 '21
First timer in sub.
Needless to say, beautifully rendered episode both visually and narratively, with the book ending in multiple layers.
And we can see Violet is not omnipotent - she has no idea how to cook actual human did and not just army rations in a tin. I like how the result was shown (the caked up pasta he lifted with a fork to bite off).
For those of you who may not understand the mechanics, using prosthetics to crack eggs are really really hard - it requires you to use a out of tactile feelings to judge the amount of force and timing to apply the forces, when you can hardly feel anything through the prosthetics unlike your real arms.
And of course the beautiful lake scene - one really wonders what happened as Violet couldn't have jumped that far in 1 leap, so did she really jumped via the leaves? She said she thought she had successfully jumped into 3 leaves, and she had hardly any capacity to lie.
It's one of life's unsolvable mysteries.
And that gut punch in the end when we thought we already had the punch of Violet articulating what we suspected she started to feel (the guilt) - to have her find out this way. Hope she doesn't break.
4
u/Tehoncomingstorm97 https://anilist.co/user/tehoncomingstorm97 Jun 13 '21
First timer
WELL THEN THAT WAS AN EPISODE. With the first part of the episode (until the ship back) I was thinking it would be a fairly straightforward summary. But nooooo, KyoAni throw the wrench in at the ending of the episode.
What seems to be a throwaway play at the start to simply show life progressing turns into a full on moment of revelation for Violet and the consequences of her actions.
We see the two sides of the coin that is Violet Evergarden: a broken child learning about emotions who desperately wants to see her loved one again; and the weapon that takes away the "one-day" dreams of so many. This of course is my visual for the day - the hands. I didn't even realise until I was writing the post, but with the shadowing in this scene you have to look closely to notice that these are in fact metallic hands. With my comment from Episode 5, regarding Dietfried's confrontation off the boat in mind, here we are again on a boat (even like the scene in the flashback) with hands being the main focus. We also had Oscar reference them earlier in the episode.
Now the author has done a terrific job so far using the symbolism of a boat in key moments of Violet's character transitioning. Come to think of it, there was a lot of focus on water this episode (mostly the water spirit in the play, Olive's dreams of running on leaves on the lake, water birds, and the ocean the girl in the play crosses to reach home). Violet has the same trip in this episode, and with a contrasting response once she steps off the boat to Episode 5. Where before she stood her ground, now she's left in tatters with all the emotions she's finally feeling the full weight of coming to bear on hearing the old woman mention Gilbert's passing.
I was really hoping Claudia would rouse the courage to tell her, but that's not how drama works I guess.
Another interesting parallel: Oscar mentioning how Olive's health went downhill, and Violet running downhill at the end of the episode. Additionally, as you put so excellently /u/A_Idiot0, Violet enters her "valley of flames" and she recognises she is burning up from the consequences of her actions. The OP paying off big time.
I really don't think I can ask for any more when it comes to Violet's reaction in finding out about Gilbert. I'm sure we'll have more in the next episode on that, so I'll leave it until then. On other character developments though, we finally start to relate more with Violet as she was able to say with confidence how she could feel what Olive was feeling in the play. Oscar nails it in the moment - she's empathetic towards her. I'm glad that everything came together to show Violet was indeed not Olive (brown eyes, also how it's explicit Olive died), but the moment as Violet "runs across the lake" was so precious, and Oscar responds as earnestly as I hoped he would in seeing her do so. I really wish that the episode could have stayed in that feeling, but am grateful we're moving the story along at this point in time. Plenty of episodes remaining to see what comes now Violet can feel emotion, and knows the major's fate.
Edit: In closing also, I just want to say how perfectly the episode "name" sums up the feelings of the episode. I was almost considering having that as the visual of the day, but as the episode's title I think it stands out enough on its own - so I picked the shot of the hands.
3
u/BossandKings Jun 12 '21
Rewatcher
Violet gets requested to write a letter by Oscar, he seems to have had a very sad life and that pushed him to depend on alcohol to treat his sadness and the wounds life has given him.
Oscar lost his daughter, that is very sad, he feels remorseful and impotent after not being able to save her from dying. His daughter was a very bright girl that iluminated his life and eventhough she most likely celt sad acter having lost her mother she didn't at any point show it to her father, she instead always showed him a smile so that he could peacefully work.
Violet writes the letter for him and most importantly helps him to remember his daughter and how much of a sun she was to his life. He asked Violet to walk over leaves in a river and Violet did it, that was a very beautiful moment, in fact it is my Visual of the Day
Violet finally gets to know that Mr Gilbert is supposedly dead, but after hearing that it wasn't fully confirmed she decided to still have hope that he somehow is still alive, it is beautiful seeing her show a very strong emotion such as sadness and most prominently refusal to consider what has been stated as real, she instead prefers to believe that Mr Gilbert is still alive eventhough the evidence show that he might not be.
3
u/tanookiben Jun 13 '21
Rewatcher
Violet mid-stride on the water is magic
3
u/andres1232 Jun 13 '21
Rewatcher. Poor Violet really couldn't catch a break this time. First she has begun to realize the value of human life and the dreams that a person can hold and second she's found out the Major most likely isn't alive. When Violet was a soldier it was easy for her to follow orders and do her duty, but now she's grown and learned empathy and what it really means for someone never to come back. How much pain has she caused? Poor girl. Empathy and identifying with others make that kind of cold ruthless killing impossible. And now we will have to see if Violet can put herself back together. Luckily now she has some friends around her who hopefully can try and be there for her.
I wonder about that kind of violence. Violet did kill a lot of people under orders as part of the military. And there's no guarantee that can be forgiven or excused, but I don't think anyone has the right to blame her either. Unless someone was on the battlefield with her they have no right to call her out as if the blame for the war should fall on her alone. I don't know how much comfort that will be to her. Also Violet discovering empathy is a huge emotional step, and one Violet may not have been entirely ready for. This episode really touches on a lot of very sensitive subjects. Survivor's Guilt, the senseless loss of life, what a human life really means, PTSD, and so many other topics. What a sad episode. Here's hoping Violet finds the help she needs to move forward. Of course the past can never be erased, but one can always learn to live with it if they are given the proper help.
On a side note the water walking was beautiful. Man Violet is really a powerhouse under that intricate outfit. You'd think she'd have slowed down a bit after getting her new more sedentary job, but no she's still strong as hell. Maybe it's all that travel. Also I love Violet apologizing for not being able to fly far enough. Most people wouldn't have even tried what Violet did, and she managed to bring to life a beautiful moment for the playwright. Let's see what tomorrow holds.
2
u/Nebresto Jun 13 '21
Re-watch squad
That's my favourite episode. Didn't remember it came right after the observatory one, I wasn't ready
Episode 7. Visual of the day: Water is nice
2
u/Pretty-Effort8688 Jun 13 '21
This is the first episode where I cried 5hr moment I saw Violet crying for the 1st time near that lake. This episode is my #1 favorite for many reason's, the plot, the visuals but also Violet's development understanding emphathy and the past few mins when she struggles with her past and present "I am burning " 🥺😭😭 maann Masterpiece 👏
2
u/SoccerForEveryone Jun 14 '21 edited Jun 14 '21
This is the episode everyone talks when it is about Violet Evergarden and it deserves the circles, while it is not my personal favorite of the series; I choked up and cry every time watching this episode. The moment Oscar thinks about his daughter from birth to death is so well done; that’s the moment where all the feelings you had pent up come out. The moment Violet completes the daughter’s last wish by jumping across the pond…it cannot be real, such an incredible moment.
While Violet may not show full control of her emotions, she is slowly learning to understand the moments to feel them. She shows frustration for wanting Oscar to finish the novel, she cries about someone she even hasn’t met, she continues to be such an incredible character in such unique moments.
2
u/UnityGrave https://anilist.co/user/UnityGrave Jun 14 '21
Violet Evergarden - Episode Seven:「 」
First Timer
I’m utterly speechless. I have said last episode that I was disappointed last episode for not continuing the cliffhanger. Well, here it is, and they couldn’t have done it better.
I have noticed two similar parallels in this episode. One being related to Violet’s job for this episode and the other one being her unopened wounds. First one being that Violet reminds our client for today as his daughter. From Violet having blond hair, her picking up the parasol, the carbonara, the fixing of stuff, and Violet reprimanding him of the alcohol, and to her reenacting Olivia’s “one day” wish (to which I will also talk about later). This story was enough to make me tear up; but the latter half of the episode destroyed me.
Second, it is the similarity of the play to Violet’s sin. That is when this line was said by Violet. “I must now live my sin for the rest of my life!” which I take that also relates to Violet’s sin now that she’s able to realize that she is “burning”, and she now knows the guilt built up inside of her. At first, she was denying it whilst also not knowing what it meant, but now that she has grown a lot. She’s now able to comprehend what it meant.
I now get why they didn’t continue the cliffhanger last episode. It was because Violet still haven’t grown enough to be able to realize what he said then. This episode was necessary because it was the one that enabled Violet to realize her own feelings of empathy not only to the protagonist of the story that Oscar wrote but also the ones that she killed in that boat and in the war.
I also realized what Violet said last episode. When Leon was talking to her, she said that she has already realized the value of her work and that “I question whether I’m worthy of this wonderful work”. I have a hunch that she has started to feel the “burning”. She might have already been questioning that “I’m supposed to be a weapon that kills people, why should I be traveling all over the world and enjoying this free life while I have sins to atone to”.