Remember Izetta: The Last Witch, from Summer 2017? A witch prevents the (not-)Nazis from taking over the world in (not-)WWI/II, with the help of her definitely platonic princess friend and opposed by her secret clone?
This feels like a thematic sequel to that.
Violet Evergarden is a survivor of this world's WWI equivalent, in which she participated as a child soldier, being surprisingly effective at murdering everyone until her arms suddenly stopped being attached to her. Unfortunately, her superior officer, Major Gilbert, basically Army Dad, at this point found himself very dead.
Invalided out of the military, and with a slight case of sociopathy, Violet is taken under the wing of Claudia Hodgins, another army officer who decided to look after Violet after his old friend, the Major, died. (Before you say anything, Claudia is a perfectly reasonable name for a man.) She must now adapt to a world in which the right way to meet people is not "with a bullet", and make do with mechanical arms.
Which results in her new job as a "Doll". These are people who serve partly as secretaries, typing up correspondence for those who can't write, but also have a more psychological aspect, in that they are expected to take the fumbling words of someone struggling to convey their emotion and turn it into an anguished declaration of love. (Not in all cases. It'd be a weird way to send in your tax return.) This means you can expect a lot of dramatic typing.
The animation is absolutely beautiful. It's wonderfully detailed, very smooth and attractive to the eye. It puts the Girl in mind of The Ancient Magus' Bride, another one of which she's fond. It's had a lot of careful work put into it, which allows the story to be played out in a fully-fleshed world, with a fair amount of background characters and a pretty version of the 1920s/30s London it's vaguely set in.
Plotting is gentle, mostly, and it's not looking likely to turn into a high-octane thrill ride, but that's not the point of it. It's very much an exploration of a post-war world, with the effects of being involved in war from an early age being carefully worked through.
Violet is a very believable character, acting as the serious pivot about which the show spins. It allows the rest of the cast to play a little lighter, meaning it never drifts into too depressing waters. Though apparently her costume is a Fate/Stay Night ripoff, of which the Girl fiercely disapproves.
Rather delightful, will be watching the rest of it.
Highly recommended.
Tagged: Anime Drama Workplace/Employment Writers and artists Slice of life Netflix Subbed