Character of the Month: Violet Evergarden

Greetings, fabulous people of the Internet!  The end of September is upon us, and that means it’s time to unveil September’s (aka, KyoAni Month) Character of the Month!  This month’s pick was actually a no-brainer here as the other character I had in mind really couldn’t compare, but then again, if you watched my video review on Sound! Euphonium, I think you’d know why I didn’t pick that certain character.  Anyway, let’s talk about this month’s Character of the Month of September, Violet Evergarden from Violet Evergarden! 

Since I just recently reviewed Violet Evergarden, I’ll keep the synopsis here brief.  Following the end of a war, Violet Evergarden, a former child soldier, pursues work as an automated memories doll (DO NOT INSERT SMART DOLL PHOTOS HERE!) in order to understand the last words spoken to her by her commanding officer.  Those words being, “I love you.”  In learning the meaning of those words, Violet takes us on an emotional journey that not only helps her learn what those words mean, but also helps her to grow into an amazing person and one of the best protagonists KyoAni has put out. 

So, I think based on that last statement there, I think you can assume why Violet Evergarden got picked as this month’s Character.  She is, in fact, a great character.  She’s three-dimensional and full of depth, we learn most of her backstory, and she goes through some serious development as the series progresses.  My philosophy on what makes any story or character good is that you can discuss them well after their initial release.  Why do you think you’re English Lit. teachers made you read Shakespeare?  Those plays say a lot about certain themes and views of the time and have great characters that people could follow.  While Violet is no Hamlet or Macbeth, there is a lot about her character and what she goes through that people can take away and talk about later.  For me, among one of the aforementioned reasons, one reason why I really liked her character is that we watch her grow as a character.  When she starts out in the beginning, she comes off as very cold and lifeless, but that’s mostly attributed to her life as soldier.  But as the show progresses and as she learns more about the world around her, she starts to soften up and become this emotional human being.  This to me, is what good character development looks like; we watch the character grow and change as their show moves forward.  And while there are good characters out there that don’t get this much development (in fact, Violet goes through a very dramatic change in personality by the show’s end), what each of these characters have in common is that through their growth they establish a relationship with the audience that allows those watching to cheer for them.  Violet establishes this connection and pulls us into her journey in learning how to truly live as a person.  And through that connection, we laugh and cry with her from beginning to end.  Again, this to me is what makes for good character development, and what makes for a great pick for Character of the Month.  So learn what it means to live and love, Violet Evergarden, cause you’re Hanime on Anime’s Character of KyoAni Month (aka September)! 

Thanks to all of you who saw both of my video reviews for KyoAni Month and be sure to stay tuned for October when I begrudgingly take a look at what everyone thought was 2018’s best show…again…when will it be November? 

-Hanime on Anime