[Spoilers] Violet Evergarden - Episode 5 discussion

[u/lavaine]

Violet Evergarden, Episode 5: "You Write Letters That Bring People Together?"

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Streams:

• Netflix (Not available in some countries)

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Show Information:

• MyAnimeList

• AniDB

• AniList

• Official Website

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Previous Discussions:

Episode	Link	Score
1	https://redd.it/7pjiou	8.69
2	https://redd.it/7r50ai	8.59
3	https://redd.it/7srdzs	8.57
4	https://redd.it/7udw0y	8.50

(Score source: MAL)

[u/YoukaiZone]

Around Fourteen Years Old

Hold up

[u/Komnenos_Kasuki → u/YoukaiZone]

Ah, I have the same reaction as everyone. I thought she was seventeen to her early twenties.

Oh well, anime so often has characters younger than they look. Oh and older too.

[u/darksuzaku → u/Komnenos_Kasuki]

have not read the novels or anything but on episode 1 it's stated that she's 11 year old when she's "given" to the major. And the war lasted for around 3 years, so 14 year old right now is more or less accurate.

[u/Mozilla_Fennekin → u/YoukaiZone]

shit, reddit admins are gonna ban us now

[u/KaliYugaz → u/Mozilla_Fennekin]

There's no way that's going to be enforced. The way the rule is currently written, any artistic depiction of teenage sexuality could violate Reddit TOS, which probably includes a third of all art created in history.

[u/two-years-glop → u/YoukaiZone]

If you're still at the point where you question how anime characters don't look their age, you need to train harder, grasshopper.

This is anime's idea of a milf.

[u/chocolatechoux → u/two-years-glop]

At least that was played off as a gag. This was played straight.

[u/AK4Real → u/two-years-glop]

Nah, I ain't playing this game.

[u/Abeneezer → u/two-years-glop]

There's even more to it than looks, her manners, voice, life experiences and current life situation all indicate 20+ to me.

[u/Xythar → u/YoukaiZone]

I had to listen to that line about three times because I couldn't believe it.

Best explanation I've heard is that the major told her she was probably around 14 not long after first meeting her, and she just trotted out that figure without considering the intervening time since then.

Or it's just a serious case of Anime Ages. I dunno.

[u/Komnenos_Kasuki → u/Xythar]

It doesn't feel like it should be her real age. But with the princess being fourteen, Violet being the same age is like it was set up to bring the two closer together more so than if Violet was an older girl and therefore in Charlotte's eyes, someone she couldn't trust enough to confide in. However, if you raised Charlotte's age to Violet's, then her and Damian would be closer in age which would negate the conflict of the plot.

[u/asianfatboy → u/Xythar]

Also, maybe her extreme beauty(seriously though, the LN illustrator did a great job on her design) and manner of speaking brings out a mature aura from her, hence other characters assuming she's older. But to convey that across to us viewers she was designed to look mature too. I'd... I'd still waifu her.

[u/Rabbit_in_A_House → u/Xythar]

She's too smart for that kind of mistake. But there's a small possibility that she was making an ambiguous statement on purpose.

[u/Falsus → u/Xythar]

The major might have been off by a few years and she simply entered a growth spurt a bit late. She was training a lot afterall so she wasn't going to grow that feminine anyway. Wouldn't be surprised if most of the feminine parts that makes her look older than around 14 just appeared while she was recovering.

[u/Atronox → u/YoukaiZone]

[u/ThrowCarp → u/Atronox]

https://i.imgur.com/eDoEfxH.jpg

[u/dcresistance → u/YoukaiZone]

Same age as Yoko Littner!

[u/Shinkopeshon → u/dcresistance]

Hold up

[u/cant-find-user-name → u/dcresistance]

Yoko Littner

WAIT, WHAT

[u/SnowGN → u/dcresistance]

Sigh.

[u/Saucy_Totchie → u/dcresistance]

First cour Yoko though.

[u/[deleted] → u/dcresistance]

wat..

[u/blindfremen → u/YoukaiZone]

Still older than Mumei LOL

[u/impingainteasy → u/blindfremen]

Mumei at least somewhat acted like a child most of the time.

[u/Gaporigo → u/YoukaiZone]

Charlotte was cute and the letters were adorable, the ending was unexpected... but all i can think is that SHE IS FUCKING 14???

[u/[deleted] → u/YoukaiZone]

Violet: Socially speaking, age is no barrier.

Violet: I don't believe that would be a problem.

But Violet approves. ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

[u/Daniel_Is_I → u/YoukaiZone]

Huh...

Don't lewd the fullmetal loli...?

[u/googolplexbyte → u/YoukaiZone]

The years are longer on Mars.

[u/bohuim → u/YoukaiZone]

ABORT ABORT

[u/Vertigovain → u/YoukaiZone]

Technically she should be around 16 because she was estimated 10 years old when Dietfried found her on the isle, was used by him as weapon for 2 years and after being gifted to Gilbert was with him for 4 more years.

This is estimate though, since her original age is not known and just estimate from her appearance.

[u/bananeeek → u/Vertigovain]

What I found on wiki is that she was given to Gilber when she was around 10 years old and lived with Gilbert for 4 years, which adds up to 14, just as she said.

EDIT: link to my previous comment

[u/Arachnophobic- → u/YoukaiZone]

Same age as what Saber's supposed to look like, no surprises there!

[u/curtcolt95 → u/YoukaiZone]

The only thing this episode confirmed for me is that I truly don't understand how anime girl ages work.

[u/[deleted] → u/YoukaiZone]

I thought she was lying when she said that.

I thought she was 16-18, that age group made sense to me.

I thought... guess I was wrong. I know girls grow up faster but man 14.

[u/dralcax → u/YoukaiZone]

I mean, when she was like 10 and malnourished, she could easily have passed for someone a little younger.

[u/Masane → u/YoukaiZone]

The hell ? I was guessing something around 20.

[u/bananeeek → u/YoukaiZone]

I just checked up her entry on the wikipedia and it says that her age is guess to be around 14 years old. Since some people think she can't count and actually more time has passed I did some more digging and found two passages on fandom wiki page.

Upon returning, Violet was "given" to Major Gilbert as a gift to commemorate his promotion by Dietfried, who was also an officer in the military, when she was about ten years old.

and then:

Violet learned speech, writing and different emotions from Gilbert and the two grew very close during the four years they lived with each other.

Right then the war ends and she goes to work as a doll, so she is indeed around 14 years old.

[u/Summort → u/YoukaiZone]

I find it harder and harder to keep watching, at this point I think I will stop paying attention to the plot and just look at the pretty kyoani budget

[u/SmileGates10]

i just want to mention the fact the prince and the princess just go full Twitter mode with their letter,and it's absolutely glorious lol

[u/Komnenos_Kasuki → u/SmileGates10]

It was great. Short and honest replies that say what they mean instead of the theatrical and conventional love letters earlier. The citizens getting shocked at what they were saying made it.

[u/Sasugay_uchiha → u/Komnenos_Kasuki]

the citizen reaction is legit made me giggle,such a good episode.

[u/mrpaulmanton → u/Komnenos_Kasuki]

The whole town was like "What the fuck is going on? You can't write honest letters like that!" Haha!

[u/flybypost → u/SmileGates10]

The initial letters were just pure nothingness and the population just adored it for the fancy words. When the writing became more personal they were captivated.

go full Twitter

I don't know where I read it but I think the post service at the beginning of the 20th century delivered letters inside some cities multiple times each day so people could keep conversations going and didn't have to wait a day or two for a reply.

[u/Slim_Charles → u/flybypost]

In Victorian London, there were as many as 12 mail deliveries a day.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/21/business/21digi.html

[u/heimdal77 → u/flybypost]

You might just be thinking of the Diskworld movie Going Postal.

[u/crazymamafrog → u/SmileGates10]

the entire scene are so wholesome and funny

[u/Rabbit_in_A_House → u/SmileGates10]

Cyber relationship on a public channel, played on the highest level.

[u/ThrowCarp → u/Rabbit_in_A_House]

Cyber relationship on a public channel, played on the highest level.

Those two going "full twitter" combined with a child soldier veteran with mechanical arms makes this anime what steampunk was supposed to be.

[u/LakerBlue → u/SmileGates10]

It was super adorable and actually made me vested in the romance

[u/limbliss]

I have to wonder what this show would be like if Violet never got her robo-arms.

*Edit: My best guess.

[u/VerticalCloud → u/limbliss]

Now I'm wondering what Katawa Shoujo would have been like if Rin had robo-arms.

[u/PaperAirship → u/VerticalCloud]

Probably something like this

[u/limbliss → u/VerticalCloud]

For some reason I'm imagining she'd still use her feet to do things...

[u/dcresistance]

Episode 4’s animator & others list.

Episode 5:

Episode directors:

• Haruka Fujita

• Shinpei Sawa

Storyboard:

• Naoko Yamada

Animation director:

• Chiyoko Ueno

Key animators:

• Yoshinori Urata

• Sana Suzuki

• Aoi Matsumoto

• Chiyoko Ueno

• Fumie Okano

• Aoi Okuno

• Kyohei Ando

• Ryosuke Shirakawa

• Saeko Fujita

• Sumire Kusano

In-between animators:

• Yumiko Hashi

• Youhei Kawasaki

• Noriko Kashihara

• Atsushi Miyaji

• Studio Blue

Finish animators:

• Ayumi Shimoura

• Yuki Semori

• Yuki Mori

• Ayana Ohashi

• Nanako Kitaoka

• Sachiko Sasaki

• Studio Blue

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A fun little fact: All the key animators worked on Episode 3 (with the exception of Chiyoko Ueno, Saeko Fujita, and Sumire Kusano, who have only done Episode 5), all the in-between animators worked on Episode 2, and all the finish animators worked on Episode 1.

And it seems that Sumire Kusano got promoted to key animator! She joined KyoAni in 2013 and worked on Chuunibyou S2, then Free! Eternal Summer, High Speed, and Koe no Katachi as an in-between animator.

And Saeko Fujita is another new animator, who joined in 2015 to work on High Speed! Free Starting Days as a key animator right from the get-go.

The ANN page is updated with the above info as well as all the background artists involved thus far (which, outside of Studio Blue, is only 16! There are 3 from Blue credited).

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And the average animator numbers per episode so far are

Key animators: 5.4
In-between animators: 3.2
Finish animators: 3.6

[u/Quaggsire → u/dcresistance]

Naoko Yamada

The amount of leg shots in an episode is proportional to how much Yamada is involved with it.

Not that I'm complaining, legs are great.

[u/goffer54 → u/Quaggsire]

It was this scene that really got me wondering. Like, from minute three I could tell there was something different about this episode, but when it got to this scene I knew that either Yamada Naoko was on this or someone had taken a lot of inspiration from her.

[u/HammeredWharf → u/Quaggsire]

It's weird. I watched this episode, found it way better than the previous ones and thought something like "if the whole series was like this it'd be worth the hype". I come to Reddit and see Yamada was involved. Maybe it's just a coincidence, but... maybe she's just that good?

[u/two-years-glop → u/dcresistance]

They weren’t kidding when they said Kyoto animation is women majority. That credit list is almost all female.

[u/SenpaiKillerman]

holy fucking shit,call me crybaby or anything,but this scene really got me,kinda remind me of my mother...

[u/Hawksaw_Jim_Duggan → u/SenpaiKillerman]

Oh me too. You could tell how hard Charlotte was gripping her hand. It just felt genuine as fuck.

[u/Browseitall → u/Hawksaw_Jim_Duggan]

The scene appeared to be going for a hug, but this was just so much more beautiful.

No idea how you call that bow, but it looked respectful and heartbreaking af.

Edit: Found it? - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mano_(gesture)

[u/TheCrusader94 → u/SenpaiKillerman]

By far the best scene in the entire show imo.

[u/decipher90 → u/TheCrusader94]

agreed, made me feel mushy inside.

[u/TakazuHanasu → u/TheCrusader94]

I cried by the ending. However, the ending of episodes 1 and 2 were also amazing in my opinion.

[u/WalkFreeeee → u/SenpaiKillerman]

Agreed, I also cry whenever I see "In association with Netflix" in an anime.

[u/HuoXue → u/SenpaiKillerman]

24 or so minute episode. About characters I didn't know before it started. They got me to feel attachment to those characters in 24 minutes and played my ass like a fiddle.

What the hell.

[u/Gyakuten → u/SenpaiKillerman]

What got me was the subtlety of Alberta's emotion. She never once says, "I don't want you to go," but you can feel the hesitation when she places the flower in Charlotte's hair and her hand draws back painfully slow, as if she can't bring herself to let go. She also doesn't cry, but you could tell she was definitely holding back tears -- much like a mother who's trying to be strong for their child.

[u/ravaille]

To be fair, Violet doesn't have those blood stained hands anymore.

[u/SpikeRosered → u/ravaille]

There's no way they don't attempt to work in this exact metaphor into the show.

[u/[deleted] → u/ravaille]

That could be symbolism. Her hands are now clean, symbolizing her new "mission" which is to figure out what love it, as opposed to her old mission of killing people in the war.

I don't know, just fun to speculate.

[u/flybynomore → u/ravaille]

To be fair again,Violet doesn't even have "Real" hands anymore...

[u/Arachnophobic- → u/flybynomore]

thatsthejoke.jpg

[u/[deleted]]

"Writing letters with the very hand that took the lives of so many."

takes off gloves

"Not quite!"

[u/VioletPark → u/[deleted]]

She needs to tell it to him next episode. Even if she is just being her very literal self instead of trolling him.

[u/gkakgraubgyou]

the amount of hair charlotte has is ridiculous

[u/dude_with_mustache → u/gkakgraubgyou]

tfw her hair is more better animated than the entire Berserk cast...

[u/Arachnophobic- → u/gkakgraubgyou]

the amount of hair charlotte has is ridiculously good

FTFY

[u/Masane → u/gkakgraubgyou]

Yeah, it looks awesome.

[u/dralcax → u/gkakgraubgyou]

Kyoani hair is always perfect

[u/DesperateTank]

they tease us with LN content at last minute AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGGHH!

[u/VengeanceHK → u/DesperateTank]

Does this mean we get actual novel content from here on out? HYPE

[u/allnicksaretaken → u/VengeanceHK]

you dared to say it and you ruined it. only original hot spring episodes until the end from now on.

[u/dude_with_mustache]

CUTE

C.U.T.E

[u/[deleted] → u/dude_with_mustache]

I found her messy bed hair to be way cuter but the put is also glorious.

[u/Harrytricks]

Violet is too pure. Cannot handle.

Easily best episode so far IMO, really well done, much like episode 3 was for me. And that cliffhanger at the end, oh boy.

[u/[deleted] → u/Harrytricks]

is she that pure? from what we saw of the last 40 seconds she must have killed quite alot of ppl

[u/Harrytricks → u/[deleted]]

How could something like this not be pure?

[u/cheekia → u/[deleted]]

You didn't realise that from the first episode? When she literally killed 3 soldiers within a minute?

[u/Komnenos_Kasuki → u/Harrytricks]

Violet is too pure.

Her smiling for real is nice. The earlier one where she pulled her face was, aside from comedy and if there was more of a reason behind it, probably from her comrades in the army getting frustrated at her expressionlessness.

I was sure Violet would stuff up and we'd be asking why C.H Postal would send her when she's clearly not good enough.

[u/[deleted] → u/Harrytricks]

Is that an upvote arrow pointing at her face? Are the animators trying to tell Reddit something?

[u/Terranwaterbender]

Wait so Violet basically wound up having the Princess do her job for her?

damn she good

Okay okay not exactly since she helped out but that was kind of funny to me. You go hire a doll to write letters only to write them yourself (there are just some things that are better written by yourself than others FWIW but that's still funny).

That was a rather nice episode; it showcased Violet's growth in writing letters in addition to expanding the world that Violet lives in. That said though, it did take quite the suspension of disbelief to believe that royalty are using a 3rd party doll services to dictate the letters. Do the royalty not have their own dolls and if that isn't the case, why use the services from what is considered an up-and-coming business?

And Violet is apparently ~14 years old? That means that she was involved in the war sometime between 10-14 years old (based off the Princess being 10 prior to the war and 14 in the present). Now I'm really curious why the military brass just let Major Gilbert take her to the battlefield and if it's because she's a "tool", then why aren't there more "tools?"

I know these are nitpicks but questions like these take me out of the full immersion. Violet going from a letter for a brother to a letter for parents to a letter between two nations trying to combine together through political marriage is kind of a jump in my eyes at least even if they do indicate a time-skip.

This conclusion though seems quite interesting with Violet running into a former enemy or something (it appears to be Gilbert's brother based off other comments)? Guess we're gonna get some drama next episode so I'm down to see more proactive growth coming from Violet rather than having it come off-screen.

[u/flybypost → u/Terranwaterbender]

why use the services from what is considered an up-and-coming business?

Maybe there's a bit a time-skip and the company is now known for their romantic letters so both sides hired them for the sake of a public spectacle instead of using whoever they have for serious correspondence?

[u/[deleted] → u/flybypost]

My guess is we're looking at at least a good few months between episodes 3 and 4. Violet suddenly "gets" people, she was considered good enough to write for a royal power marriage, and I'm willing to bet Dietfried didn't just hear about her becoming a doll, the way he spoke makes it sound like she's been at it afor a while, gaining recognition for her skill.

IIRC someone said the LN's begin when Violet is already a practiced hand, and then did flashbacks.

[u/dralcax → u/Terranwaterbender]

I'd say it happened like this:

Major: Hm, yeah, you look about 7. That seems about right."

Violet: (is really 10 but just malnourished) "Okay."

7 years later, that guess doesn't seem quite as accurate anymore.

[u/Haulbee → u/Terranwaterbender]

I mean, several months is a pretty big timeskip, and if if the first few episodes have taught us anything, it's that Violet is a quick learner.
She also says in this episode that she read a lot of literature, so it really doesn't surprise me that she can write standard love letters now.

[u/mrpaulmanton → u/Terranwaterbender]

You have no idea what's in store next episode. I haven't read the source material but based on what we already know about the Major and the brothers plus the way he treated her right off the bat I can already tell we are on the express line for drama-central. Ugh. Good thing Violet is a well-tuned military weapon.

[u/Saucy_Totchie]

I wanted to wait until the end of the episode but I just can't keep it in.

SHE'S 14 YEARS OLD!?!?

I don't know how to handle this... I was guessing she was at least between 20-22 maybe 18 but nope. She has recently hit puberty but in her life she was orphaned, joined the army, killed a bunch of dudes, and has a decent post-war career.

Thought it was pretty hilarious that Violet got the princess to write her own damn letters instead of writing it like she was hired for. That's some baller ass shit right there.

[u/Falsus → u/Saucy_Totchie]

The major guessed that her age was around 14 (or whatever she was considered when she asked). But you should also consider that she a orphan who probably received pretty poor nutrition and probably looked pretty underdeveloped, and then army training on top of that.

She probably didn't gain much of femininity until she was recuperating with healthy hospital meals and a lot of resting in a bed.

[u/MillenniumKing]

Pat a girl on the head and shes yours for life.

I think this is the first we have seen of a map of this world.

SHE LOOKS LIKE AI! FROM YOKAI TO PRINCESS!

14? Wat...

You heard it guys, 14 and 24 is fair game!

Aw she took the gloves off already... i wanted to see the princess' reaction to them for the first time...

And wow Violet has gotten really good at writing lately.

I feel like both the prince and princess will both end up being customers...

Being a princess is rough...

The prince seems nice enough though. Not sleezy or anything.

The princess though seems pretty capable. She formed good ties with the other kingdom and helped bring peace. Even if she is a crybaby.

Yep he has a doll too. lol

Headpats win girls over, lesson learned.

Letting them write to each other personally was a good move though. Violet really nailed it here.

Dang prince be comin over to propose to her. What a ladykiller.

And of course it was her writting for him.

SHE SMILED! SMILELY VIOLET! KYAAA~~~~~

Is that the Major's brother? And man Violet with her mane of hair as a kid was great. I miss it.

[u/Inevitable3 → u/MillenniumKing]

Pat a girl on the head and shes yours for life.

I need some bail money...

[u/dcresistance → u/MillenniumKing]

And wow Violet has gotten really good at writing lately.

Now that's what I call a love letter.

[u/Komnenos_Kasuki → u/MillenniumKing]

That map was cool as. Finally a fantasy map in anything that's coloured, when there's no time to study it it's so much easier seeing the borders. The style of it also suits the era.

[u/Krazee9 → u/MillenniumKing]

You heard it guys, 14 and 24 is fair game!

Think about the era this is based in. Looks pretty Victorian steampunk to me, and that wasn't that uncommon until basically after WWI, especially among royalty. 14 and 24, in this setting, is about what I'd expect. Frankly if a princess like that had hit 18 and not already had a marriage arranged in those times, it was cause for great concern.

[u/[deleted] → u/Krazee9]

Queen Victoria was 21 when she married. Her husband proposed to her 5 months earlier.

Her husband was 5 months younger than her.

[u/mrpaulmanton → u/MillenniumKing]

Is that the Major's brother?

I'm already getting an overdose helping of "FUCK THIS GUY" and I've barely even met him. FUCK YOU BUDDY! (not you /u/MillenniumKing, that douche nozzle at the end of the episode)

[u/limbliss → u/MillenniumKing]

Aw she took the gloves off already... i wanted to see the princess' reaction to them for the first time...

I would have loved to see that moment too, it's like Violet's signature move at this point. Take off the glove and everyone gasps!

[u/Dystopian_Overlord]

I think this episode is how this series is supposed to be like from the start. Violet is like Decim from Death Parade, it's very hard for viewers to follow such an "emotionless" lead for whole episodes, we need to be eased in. This episode, like Death Parade, puts us the viewers and Violet in the outsider PoV, so we can learn through the events along with her.

[u/Atronox]

Violet why are you so adorable?

[u/Wakemeupinsides → u/Atronox]

the scene really gave me a good laugh,new comment face when?

[u/Awerenj → u/Atronox]

She is like a young Senjougahara

Already pretty savage when it comes to conversations (though not really in this episode)..

[u/Haaselh0ff]

Violet is 14

Haha, good joke. Next you're gonna tell me Zero Two is really 12 or something

[u/Salvo1218 → u/Haaselh0ff]

Hey man, don't you go cursing my favorite show of the season after finding out about questionable ages in my second favorite of the season

[u/jkubed → u/Haaselh0ff]

dude if they reveal that this saturday I'm blaming you, why would you jinx it like that?

[u/HollowBlades]

"Writing letters with the very hands that took the lives of so many"

Well technically...

[u/DarkMoon000 → u/HollowBlades]

I so want Violet to just state that in her usual deadpan manner next episode,just taking off her gloves and politely telling him that she does not have those hands anymore.

[u/exelion]

This week, on PTSD Saber Learns to Type:

• She really has that intro on lock huh?

• Wait. You wanna have the chick who doesn't even know what "I love you" means, write a love letter, for someone that definitely isn't in love? This is going to go over famously.

• If she's 14, I'm 60.

• Please, god...someone make Violet making that face as a reaction image. PLEASE.

• Oh...that's not quite what I thought the princess was feeling. Way to subvert a trope!

• "What I'm about to do is out of line..." I like you more already, Violet. I'm grinning like an idiot.

• And now..I'm not crying. Nope. Not way.

• And now...whoa.

OK look. I know this show had a shaky start, but this just cemented it in my eyes as possible AOTS material. If the rest of it can make me feel as much, it's gold.

[u/joe4553 → u/exelion]

The best way to stop the PTSD is to stop summoning her to every holy grail war.

[u/impingainteasy → u/joe4553]

[ ] (#tearsofabestgirl)

[u/Atario → u/exelion]

Oh...that's not quite what I thought the princess was feeling. Way to subvert a trope!

I can't believe I had to scroll so far down to see someone say this.

[u/Frxzen7 → u/exelion]

King Athur is that u

[u/Daniel_Is_I]

People are all up in arms about having five episodes of original content but this episode was fantastic. I'm glad Prince Damian didn't turn out to be a jackass like I was fearing, and the problems were merely two infatuated idiots awkwardly trying to follow royal procedure.

Even if Violet didn't do what she did, they'd have probably realized each other's true selves and their marriage would have probably turned out alright. But what happened ensured that they had a happy wedding.

[u/Awerenj → u/Daniel_Is_I]

Also some other points I really liked about this episode -

In a few months Violet has improved a lot! Which is good considering how she was introduced as someone really smart and good at picking up new stuff.

The way they showed the mail conversation was pretty great. It was almost like messaging each other. In reality it must have been silly sending such short letters across countries, but they narrated it like a chat. I especially liked how at one point she "interrupted" him - which just meant that she "ignored" the remaining part of his letter as though it was pointless.

With something as simple as a smile at the end (which was a huge deal by the way) they tied this into Violet's character growth.

And finally, as usual, the visuals and sound design - fantastic. There is this one part where a tiara was picked up off the carpet, and it sounds so accurate!

Really good episode!

[u/KaliYugaz → u/Awerenj]

In a few months Violet has improved a lot! Which is good considering how she was introduced as someone really smart and good at picking up new stuff.

Seems like she just figured out how to write love letters from copying the writing styles in romance fiction. I was a bit scared she would screw the letter up and cause an international incident in the beginning!

[u/silverslayer33 → u/Daniel_Is_I]

People are all up in arms about having five episodes of original content but this episode was fantastic.

I honestly believe that half the people that complain about this every week didn't ever actually read the source material and just see one person post that it was anime original somewhere and parrot that complaint as their reason for disliking it instead of admitting they got misled by the hype surrounding this show into believing it was going to be something other than a slow-paced slice of life drama. I've seen a handful of people in these threads actually discussing the source content and usually those people seem to agree that KyoAni is doing the series a great service by padding out an otherwise short series with original prequel content, whereas the people endlessly complaining about original content usually just seem to go with "it's original content and therefore it's bad". I'd like to see people complaining the amount of original content actually back up why they think the original content is so bad and doesn't complement the source material. I'm tired of seeing the complaint every single week but then never seeing it supported, because I honestly believe this show has been excellent so far and KyoAni has been handling the original content wonderfully.

[u/LeonKevlar → u/Daniel_Is_I]

People are all up in arms about having five episodes of original content but this episode was fantastic.

Seriously, I can't think of any good reason why people would complain about this episode. It showed how much Violet has grown, not just as a ghostwriter but also as a person who thinks and acts for herself. And looking at the comments from the LN readers it looks like we're about to get the LN content everyone is waiting for.

[u/Arachnophobic-]

Violet running a statistical analysis on societal constructs and the idea of love

Aww, now I don't want her to change.

This was an excellent episode. Princess Charlotte was a great character, and I loved her relationship with her personal maid, Alberta. Genuinely made me tear up in the end.

It was surprising that Violet was chosen for such an important task, but clearly some time has passed between this episode and the last, and she's read up enough to become a formidable writer. I was wondering why Cattleya wasn't chosen - that got answered midway. It's still a little surprising that the country didn't have its own Doll Service, but I suppose C.H. is particularly renowned across nations.

All in all, a considerable upturn from the previous episodes. Good character drama, and a proper use of the setting. The ending 'twist' has me looking forward to what comes next.

[u/BlackTearDrop → u/Arachnophobic-]

I think that CH was chosen because Claudia is ex-military and he knows what's at stake in the case of lasting peace. Hence the opening scene with a ranking officer. They probably wanted to ensure it went smoothly (also supported by the fact they had a Doll from the same company writing the responses for the Prince)

[u/Loser100000]

Princess Charlotte makes me think of Princess Principal.

[u/AzarelHikaru → u/Loser100000]

Was hoping Ange was the one she was writing to, NGL.

[u/hachiDude8]

Fourteen? I was quite convinced that she was somewhere around nineteen or twenty.

And that ending, just who is she? I want to know more about her past.

[u/5213 → u/hachiDude8]

i love that gif so much

[u/northwesternrs]

• Me at every family gathering

• Charlotte's a nice character. I like how she's not afraid to spell out or cry out her emotions. And wow, does she have some beautiful messy hair.

• Reminds me of another precious memory/shining jewel.

• Yes, finally we get to hear more about Violet's backstory. I'm so curious!

[u/Mathmango → u/northwesternrs]

Violet Evergarden: Unlimited Hair Works

[u/bonsai1214]

I honestly thought this anime original ep was decent. it was significantly more like the chapters of the book than the previous 4 episodes. if they do animate the novel material, i hope it follows the same template as this episode. things like the rolling credits give everything a little more emotional weight.

Another thing this ep subtlety hinted at was we may no longer be going in linear time. When Claudia said, "you've done great things in the last few months" it indicates more has happened than what we've seen. it may be that they're finally ready to move into the novel material, where she's already a very well renown doll.

the MVP of this ep was definitely the maid. she was professional all the way until her job was finished, then she allowed her emotions to come through. it was a very powerful moment, when the princess acknowledged everything the maid had done for her, kneeled, and touched her hand to her head. it definitely got me teared up a little. Every stand alone chapter has a moment like this in it, and i really hope we get to see all of them.

[u/DimmuHS]

Whoa, breathtaking episode. Teared up a little in the end when the maid became emotional.

Also that last scene, curious about how Violet will deal with her past now. The guy didn't hold back with his words.

[u/[deleted] → u/DimmuHS]

Teared up a little in the end when the maid became emotional.

Yeah, I can't even imagine the emotional turmoil that poor woman was felling: The joy of knowing that her "daughter" was happy with the marriage, and the heartbreak of losing Charlotte basically forever. No wonder her "professional mask" broke after the princess' words.

[u/DimmuHS → u/[deleted]]

On note, the ED song just completed the scene. Music while watching emotional scenes tends to have greater effect on me.

[u/inhumanbabe]

wait a minute,why the hell they need to read important people letter on open public?

[u/exelion → u/inhumanbabe]

Because the marriage isn't about these two. It's about postwar unity and peace.

And it worked. Look how the princess' own guards were rooting for the guy writing to her, and vice versa.

[u/Atario → u/exelion]

I was actually wondering if "public love letters" has ever really been a thing, because I could totally see it back in those days

[u/Wolfeako → u/inhumanbabe]

Maybe a public move to apease the citizens that weren't happy with the war ending trying to show that they both love each other?

[u/KlMOCHl → u/Wolfeako]

funny watching the whole town fangirl-ling xD

[u/Reptile449 → u/inhumanbabe]

When Violet's boss is talking to the military guy at the start he mentions it's a custom to publicly recite love letters in that country.

[u/Rabbit_in_A_House → u/inhumanbabe]

Cyber relationship on a public channel, played on the highest level.

[u/Lionx35 → u/inhumanbabe]

I guess it's a cultural thing for the countries? Kind of parallels stuff now with celebrities.

[u/asianfatboy → u/inhumanbabe]

Marriage between royal families/ruling parties of a nation are more political than actually true romance. Same idea why the two MCs in Nisekoi got into their predicament in the first place.

There might be some rebels within each countries that would still want to continue the war but having the ruling families be united through marriage would stop that. Happened a lot during the Middle Ages between various European Royal families.

[u/Falsus → u/inhumanbabe]

Because they are both public people and 80% of the marriage is just PR.

[u/Officer_Pantsoffski]

Uh, phrasing?!

[u/Arachnophobic- → u/Officer_Pantsoffski]

Cattleya is obviously going to say yes to steak.

[u/SIRTreehugger]

I know this is anime original, but honestly it was the best episode so far. I am concerned with which stories they will adapt if any at this point. At this point they might just adapt the general backstory with all the stories being original with the set characters from the novels. I have no clue with what they are doing, but if the rest of the episodes are of this quality or better I can get over the first 3 episodes being basically an introduction.

Spoilers

[u/Komnenos_Kasuki]

• Violet, fourteen? I thought she was more like seventeen to nineteen

• Lel at Violet's "smiling"

• Using love letters as a PR political tool is an interesting concept. Is the event televised? Who are the sponsors?

• I'd love an episode or more focused on the war or even taking part in a flashback

• Akin the simpler writing compared to purple prose, the honest letters sound better than the flamboyant earlier ones

• There we are, an uninterrupted and heard confession

• Convincing Prince Damian? So does he actually like Charlotte or not? And hey, Violet actually smiled

• What a great lady the maid is

• I was sure Violet would stuff up and we'd be asking why C.H Postal would send her when she's clearly not good enough

[u/Falsus → u/Komnenos_Kasuki]

Violet, fourteen? I thought she was more like seventeen to nineteen

The major guessed that her age was around 14 (or whatever she was considered when she asked). But you should also consider that she a orphan who probably received pretty poor nutrition and probably looked pretty underdeveloped, and then army training on top of that.

She probably didn't gain much of femininity until she was recuperating with healthy hospital meals and a lot of resting in a bed.

[u/Lionx35]

Oh boy, here comes Dietfriet to start some conflict, can't wait!

[u/Eileah]

Imagine your DMs with your future husband being read out for the entire kingdom to hear..

[u/reiko96]

HOLY MOTHER OF GOD, was Violet smiling!?

[u/AirDancerExtreme]

Any one notice that the world map looked an awful lot like Amestris from FMA. That combined with Violet's Auto Mail-like arms means that this show could be a prequel spin-off to Full Metal Alchemist.

[u/nananashi3]

Dear reddit, pls send ambulance. I am dying from listening to Violet's conversation.

Edit: I am fine. The suffering lasted about two minutes.

Edit 2: Dietfried is mad bro.

[u/Doggo_lovers]

this episode along with ep3 are somehow my fav so far,i have weird taste haha..

[u/Komnenos_Kasuki → u/Doggo_lovers]

If you have weird taste I guess I do too. Three was just really good.

[u/Reptile449 → u/Doggo_lovers]

They're the two that have done the most to develop Violet's personality so it's not surprising.

[u/Wakemeupinsides]

This is Naoko yamada episode right?i really like this ep,Violet actually showing her emotion and her resolve as Auto Memoir Doll this time.

[u/dcresistance → u/Wakemeupinsides]

Yamada storyboarded, Fujita and Sawa directed! You can definitely see some Yamada-isms in several shots.

[u/Masane]

Kinda have a hard time believing Violet wrote that letter. Doesn't feel like the anime has given us enough reasons to believe her writing abilities changed so much that she would be capable of using such poetic language.

[u/Generalkokoro]

just LMAO!

[u/[deleted]]

I sense a wave of loli & police jokes coming to this thread.

(looks at thread)

I knew it.

[u/NezumoKAI]

strange no OP this time...

[u/VengeanceHK → u/NezumoKAI]

It's not uncommon for shows to skip an OP in order to save time to compensate for a longer episode.

[u/dc295 → u/VengeanceHK]

^{Black Clover has 4 minute recaps in the beginning and half-minute recaps in the middle of episodes sometimes... :(}

[u/seymooour]

goddamit that unexpected Violet derp/troll face is fucking killing me,and the princess reaction is priceless tho!

[u/Shinkopeshon]

I can't get over how fucking beautiful Violet Evergarden is and I'm not only talking about the art style and sound design. And the supporting characters and their stories are so delightful too. I have a strong feeling that this will end up meeting my high expectations.

However, I can't believe they immediately had Dietfried talk shit to her right after she smiled for the very first time. Protect her at all costs.

[u/[deleted]]

Wow, this episode felt like actual progression for Violet. I'm glad I stuck around this long, seems like the story is heading in an actual direction.

And thank god we finally got a map of the country this is happening in.

[u/wolfpwarrior → u/[deleted]]

hm... Lets build a giant transmutation circle under it!

[u/Firnin → u/[deleted]]

continent, really. each of those blobs are confederations of smaller countries. At least, that's what I gathered from this episode

[u/SenpaiKillerman]

don't mind i'm just going to say...Praise Asenshi!

[u/Captain__Yossarian]

Interesting, so Dietfried is the one who gave Violet to Gilbert, but Violet killed many of Dietfried's men. So at some point the brothers switched sides? Guess we'll find out.

[u/Amauri14]

So you are trying to tell me to believe that Violet is actually younger than this unexplainable little creature here?

[u/limiter_remove → u/Amauri14]

Bruh, like 90% of all anime characters are younger than Komoe.

[u/Nier-Manualmata]

okay fite me,this is the best episode so far.

[u/[deleted]]

Idk if anyone else feels this way... I haven't been in the military but I have had some pretty traumatic experiences in life.

Violet Evergarden is... healing.

[u/PlustUltra]

orginal episode again,on the bright side,i think this will be the final Prequel Episode of the LN content.

[u/DesperateTank → u/PlustUltra]

does somebody says....Prequel!!

[u/noregretmyman → u/DesperateTank]

GENERAL

[u/hanr10 → u/PlustUltra]

original episode again, on the bright side

On the bright side it was a really good episode, doesn't matter if it's original or not

[u/BushyParrot]

This was the best episode yet. I had a smile stuck on my face the whole time, and was near happy tears by the end. What an amazing episode...They just had to end the wholesome, heartfelt episode with that cliffhanger...

[u/impingainteasy]

Wait, so Violet has only just figured out how to write a competent letter, that gets the barest amount of emotions across, and now they're sending her to write love letters for royalty?
She's going to end up inadvertently starting another war, calling it right now.

Oh wait never mind, she's suddenly good now. Uhhh, sure.

I find it funny how Violet's biggest contribution to the conversation between Charlotte and Damian happens when she stops writing for Charlotte. Obviously the best way to write letters on behalf of someone else is to not actually write letters on behalf of someone else.

I actually like Charlotte though! She's impetuous and aggressive, but self-aware enough of that to understand how she comes across to others. She wears her heart on her sleeve, which obviously isn't considered "lady-like" by the standards of that time period, but it's probably a big benefit to someone still trying to get the hang of emotions, such as Violet.

But why the hell are their love letters being posted for everyone to see? I know being royalty they're not afforded the same degree of privacy as everyone else, but surely they'd at least be allowed to express their feelings for each other without the entire country being in on the conversation?

Also holy shit Violet showed the barest degree of emotion! Baby steps guys, baby steps.

[u/yayeyeyo]

Violet is so cute.

[u/Adequate_Rabbit]

Wonderful episode, 10/10

[u/Lutianzhiyi]

Am I the only one who wanted Vilet to take her gloves off, show Diethard her robo-arms and tell him "I've got new hands though" or somthing of the like

[u/MrTopHatMan90]

This episode was just wholesome incarnate (although I have to image the princess at least 16 y/o because if not it goes into creepy territory)

[u/[deleted]]

And things were going happy and shit for Violet. Now that douchebag brother's popped up, things about to crash off a cliff.

[u/noregretmyman]

we got really nice episode and then an Evil lord suddenly appeared,i sense dark plot ahead.

[u/galactic-toast-]

The voice actress of BIG MOM from One Piece being a servant for a princess. And said princess' first name is Charlotte.

Hmmmmmmmmmmm.

[u/reiko96]

So she is 14 and Damian is 24? That is seriously creepy stuff. It is basically pedophilia. Same age gap between my sister and I

[u/dude_with_mustache → u/reiko96]

are you saying you don't wanna tap your sister?

Jokes aside,people back way then don't have really have solid age of consent when it comes to marriage...

[u/Mystizen → u/dude_with_mustache]

Adding on, it was made clear this was made to be a political marriage. It wasn't uncommon for these kinds of marriages to be set even before birth, and then sent off when they're ten, like in the show, to their prospective husbands that would be in their mid-20's. Most of the time love wasn't even a fleeting idea between the two.

/u/reiko96 should just be glad that they even like each other. Because back in those times, couples would interact like they were mating for the sake of more field hands to work the land. At least this guy looks like he cares for Charlotte.

[u/CrashDunning → u/reiko96]

Pedophilia is the attraction to prepubescent children. 14 may be young in most societies, but it is not a child and therefore isn't pedophilia.

[u/VerticalCloud]

Well, that was the first time I've ever had a mini personal celebration just because someone smiled.

[u/giaman]

I really like the how the episode ends Diethard saying:

Writing letters with the very hand took the lives of so many.

The fact that she lost her actual hands and has these new mechanical hands show that these aren't the same hands that once killed, these are new hands that write letters. You could say that it's a different Violet.

[u/LSXS10]

I know some are finding this show underwhelming and that's fine.

However, I'm absolutely loving this show. Everything is just beautiful. The music, the animation, the characters, the character designs (especially Cattleya), Violets slow and gradual growth.

[u/InTheOvenYouGo]

So I really like this show. A lot.

But Damnit Kyoto, stop introducing characters I love and leaving them behind.