Putting Thoughts and Emotions in a Letter with Violet Evergarden

I am one of those people who is not a frequent letter-sender. I had no pen pal when I was young and sending letters became passé when I grew up. In fact, I can't recall sending a letter during the years when me and my girlfriend, who is now My Beloved Wife, were in a long distance relationship. We just communicated through SMS during that time when Nokia 3310 is the king of phones.

Thinking about it now made me realize that I should've send her a letter or two during those LDR years. Our SMS message were gone now when our old phones conked out. The letter would've last longer and will be a tangible artifact of our memories.

The only time that I used the post office is when I sent a letter and gift to my girlfriend while I was in Thailand.

I was talking about the old-fashioned letter writing because I finally watched the end of the story of Violet Evergarden.

For those who don't know her, Violet is a doll and her job is to put into written words the feelings and thoughts of her client.

Violet Evergarden was once child soldier and was treated as a mere tool of war. All of that changed when she met Gilbert Bougainvillea, who is the person she fondly called "Major". Gilbert is first person who cared for Violet. He taught her how to read, how to appreciate the beautiful things - in short, Gilbert taught her how to be human.

Unfortunately, tragedy struck during the last military mission of Violet and Gilbert. Violet lost her two arms while Gilbert “died”. The major managed to say "I love you" to Violet before he “perished”.

Violet woke up in a hospital armless and without the man she looks up to. She was given two mechanical arms and Claudia Hodgins, who is Gilbert's friend and owner of a postal company, took her under his wings.

Violet regained her purpose in life by becoming a doll, which is a professional who writes letters using a typewriter. Her job is to put into written words the feelings and thoughts of her clients.

What I enjoyed in the anime is how Violet slowly recovered through the letters that she wrote and the relationship that she forged with her clients and the people around her.

From a girl who doesn't know how to read and write, Violet blossomed into a famous doll who wrote letters for a princess, playwright, opera singer and many more. She who hated herself because of what she did during the war was loved by many.

I said earlier that I finally watched the movie of Violet Evergarden and it brought tears to my eyes. The tearjerker part is the death of her Violet's client Ulysse, who is a child/teen with a grave illness. Violet helped her put into the letters her thoughts and feelings. The letter can only be given to her parents and brother when she died.

I am really a softie whenever I see a death of a child in anime or any show. I guess this is the side effect of being a father.

Violet Evergarden is one of those animes that warmed my heart. I was a fan and I even watched the series and additional episodes. This is why I was also saddened to watch the final movie with a scene that shows the world moving on technologically with the sending of letters becoming obsolete and the dolls becoming irrelevant. I don't know why this anime caught my heart. Maybe I identify with Violet as she struggled through a new life. I felt that Violet is my co-sojourner in this world of crosses.

Of the many anime that I watched in 2021, I can say that Violet Evergarden takes the top spot.

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