After finishing "Violet Evergarden" in just three days, I felt a sense of loneliness when the last scene ended. I wanted to write something about it, but I didn't know where to start. In the next few days, I didn't immediately start the next drama, and after letting my mood settle, I felt that I could finally write.
The external beauty of "Violet Evergarden" does not need to be repeated. From the first stunning PV released to the later feature film, the beauty of the picture has been carried through. Among the hundreds of dramas I've watched, "Violet Evergarden" is definitely one of the best, and it will be a benchmark in the painting industry for some time to come. KyoAni has always been good at detailing, capturing the rich details of characters and environments as early as a few years ago in "Ice Fruit" and "Blowing Euphonium", and in "Violet Evergarden", this kind of The characterization has reached a new level. The European-style town design and passers-by's costumes in the film are full of age and very elegant. The natural scenery is also delicate and beautiful, and the light, shadow and water surface are even more amazing. Almost every episode has a short time-lapse animation that the production team uses to push the timeline, which can be said to be the highlight moment of the film's environmental details and light and shadow reflections. In addition, the details of facial expressions in "Violet Evergarden" are very delicate, which is also reflected in "Ice Fruit" and "Blowing Euphonium", but in "Violet Evergarden" with a more realistic style and proportions It's obviously not possible to use some of the exaggerated painting that appeared in the first two (especially Euphonium) to add drama, so this kind of close-to-real delicacy is even more valuable. As a love-themed animation, this adds a lot to the animation in terms of emotional drive, and sometimes the fleeting frowns of the characters have moved me.
Worth mentioning is the soundtrack. "Violet Evergarden" is far from the current Japanese industry in terms of the background of the story and the style of the work, so KyoAni chose American composer Evan Call. Evan Call, who majored in film scoring during his studies at Berklee College of Music, is well versed in Western symphony, and then worked in Japan for TV series and anime soundtracks, making his music more diverse. The soundtrack by Evan Call is in perfect harmony with Violet Evergarden, the daily life of the town, the portrayal of characters, and the drive to the climax of the plot are all perfectly integrated with the grand or melodious or sad or witty or solemn soundtrack , and then even if you listen to it separately, one or two corresponding plots and pictures will still flash in your mind, so it is inevitable that people will look forward to Evan Call's next cooperation with the industry.
All of the above, whether it is the picture or the soundtrack, are just the icing on the cake. They can sublimate the work but are not enough to support it. What impresses me the most and what I like the most is the purity of the story of "Violet Evergarden" itself. . Speaking of which, the story of "Violet Evergarden" is very simple, simple and complete. It may sound ordinary, but very few of the series of shows each season can really do both. On the contrary, the audience has seen too many highs and lows, the early stage is grand and fascinating, and the later foreshadowing can not be recovered. The ambition of the hasty ending is greater than the actual work. So in this kind of environment, works like "Violet Evergarden", where the production team is strong, but are comfortable with telling simple stories in a small format, are cute.
The core of "Violet Evergarden" is love. Through the perspective of a girl Violet, the work tells the story of her and the people around her, and records how a cold war machine gradually becomes flesh and blood and understands the warmth of humanity. The highlights and clues of the single episode lie in the interaction between Violet and the guests and the stories behind the guests, while the highlights and clues of the whole story lie in Violet's own growth and inner changes, in order to express the abstract and indescribable love. the concept of. This kind of unit drama-style plot is the most suitable presentation for the theme of the work in my opinion. Violet understands their stories and different forms of love through contact with different characters, and the audience can gain various kinds of love from different stories. All kinds of emotional feedback. Here I have to admire Jingani's storytelling skills. The story of each unit drama is simple and clear, without too many twists and turns, and some can even guess the end at the beginning, but the production team can just pass all kinds of skilled The technique, combined with the beautiful picture and music, push the ordinary story to a climax. Looking at the entire story line, the succession of the work is also just right: the first episode explains the background of the story, Violet appears, like a machine, he has no idea what love is; in the second episode, Violet starts a new life, but encounters setbacks. Give up; the third to seventh episodes begin to work and gradually get on the right track, and Violet becomes more emotional in each episode; the eighth and ninth episodes fall into a trough, and the tenth and eleventh episodes, who already know love, continue to work ; The twelfth and thirteenth episode took on the background of the war, and completed the comparison of different periods of the same person (Violet) at the end, and the journey of finding and understanding love became clear in front of us.
Among them, some of my favorite episodes happened in the ninth and ending episodes: in the eighth and the first half of the ninth episode, Violet, who learned about the death of the major, fell into despair and had no love for life, which made people worry for a time How to raise the tone again in the second half, and the production team's almost bland handling of the plot made people almost cry, in that part, the sad Violet reluctantly returned to work, seeing the joy of the people who received the letter, and meeting the people who were scolded. I helped the guests who changed the trajectory of their lives and received letters of concern from my friends. Only then did I reluctantly stand up and move on with the scars on my back. The work's understanding of love is vividly reflected in this passage. The so-called love, there is no such thing as complete enlightenment. Love is soft and silent. Violet was gradually warmed and melted by the contact with the guests. Finally, he discovered the pain caused by the war, and wanted to get rid of this pain. , and there is no opportunity for people to completely let go. Only a new life, a job, and spending time with the people around can be cured. This truth without any chicken soup is moving. At the end of the ninth episode, along with Evan Call's calm and melodious The Love That Binds Us, Violet finally understands: "What you did in the past cannot be erased, but what you do as an auto-memo doll can't be erased. will disappear", he has already loved and been loved.
Towards the end, the work deliberately let the flesh-and-blood Violet, who already knew love, return to the battlefield, so the audience saw that the war machine that killed without blinking would now accompany a dying soldier, listen to his final appeal, and dedicate it to him as a farewell. A kiss, even with the enemy, she would not kill anyone, take away any loved life. This strong contrast gives "Violet Evergarden" a warm humanitarian color. In fact, the whole film rarely has a positive description of the war, and it is more about the life and spiritual world of people after the war. Embody the cruelty of war. Peace and anti-war are another universal value that "Violet Evergarden" carries in addition to love.
I can't help but sigh when I write here. There are countless works that embody love and peace. This theme is even used a bit vulgar, but it is really timeless and even very appealing to me, even if it is presented in another extreme. The "Parasitic Beast" and "Devil Man" also touched me very much. Finally, having said that, "Violet Evergarden" may be controversial in other people's mouths, but in my case, it is perfect.
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