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EP. REVIEW: Violet Evergarden


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Gina Szanboti



Joined: 03 Aug 2008
Posts: 11306
PostPosted: Fri Jan 19, 2018 3:09 am Reply with quote
^
Well, that certainly changes things. I was thinking something was going on in that scene I wasn't getting. I didn't figure it would be the dialog. :/ I was also about to ask why in the world the author named him Claudia, but I guess I don't have to now.

@ meiam: They can't proofread the letters because they can't read or write. If they could, they wouldn't need the Dolls. Still, it was odd that no one read her letter back to the woman before sending it out (they obviously did that for the man).
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Dian Z





PostPosted: Fri Jan 19, 2018 3:25 am Reply with quote
I have a bit of disagreement with Kim's review regarding episode 2.

I think the second episode is just as well-written as the first, only more patiently dedicating the attention to each and every character's character, how they see the world, as well as how they see Violet. You can see how the characters responded to how Violet acted or how she did and decided to do things. But especially Erica, the one that you called Violet's coworker.

I enjoyed seeing her facial expression and body language, every detail shown of her character from the very first of her appearance, wondering what she kept hidden in her heart. Although thanks to the show's subtle writing and depiction of her personality and problem, that we may see to a degree what she'd actually been through without being too obvious. And that her scene defending Violet seems to be just an appropriate climax for the episode, which I see to be more of her episode.

The one scene that defines my liking to the episode, though, is her coming to her resolve beginning with the monologue about the history of the Auto Memory Doll that we finally heard her voicing her heart out, after throughout the episode we only get to subtly observe her every move and decision. Well, I think she's the star of the second episode.

The story surely develops more in episode 1, but I actually enjoyed episode 2 more for its more character-driven narrative.
We also get to see some interaction between the other characters, or between those characters and Violet. It felt slow regarding the story progress, but I think it is necessary for us to know and comprehend who these characters are, how they got to be the way they are now, or what they accept and expect from their world.
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Yazu13



Joined: 19 Jul 2017
Posts: 129
PostPosted: Fri Jan 19, 2018 3:50 am Reply with quote
Yuck, those are some god awful subs. I might not even like the show if I thought that's how the dialogue went.
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Cam0



Joined: 13 Dec 2009
Posts: 4884
PostPosted: Fri Jan 19, 2018 4:08 am Reply with quote
Yeah, I was a bit confused by that scene (I was thinking something entirely different). Good thing to know that was Netflix's fault and not just me being me.
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Blood-
Bargain Hunter



Joined: 07 Mar 2009
Posts: 23669
PostPosted: Fri Jan 19, 2018 5:28 am Reply with quote
I'm loving this show so far, but the thing with Gilbert does bug me. I agree with Kim's supposition that Violet's discovery of what love means will probably dovetail with finding out about Gilbert's death which means we can look forward to several episodes of Violet continuing to ask about him and Claudia making shit up. Among other things this makes Violet look a bit dumb. It's one thing not to have an emotional intelligence (i.e. what does love mean), it's quite another not to be able to extrapolate the state she last saw him in and the fact that there has been absolutely no contact from him. Unless the idea is that on some level she knows he's dead, but can't bring herself to admit it. Also, I guess it is possible that he's not actually dead, but perhaps in a coma...
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Niello



Joined: 22 Dec 2013
Posts: 302
PostPosted: Fri Jan 19, 2018 7:17 am Reply with quote
Yazu13 wrote:
Merida wrote:
Yeah, the show looks great and the, the characters are interesting enough, but i'm already starting to find the forced drama pretty irritating...is there any reason for keeping Violet in the dark about Gilbert's fate, other than for maximum drama's sake? She's been a soldier, so death should be familiar to her, still she's being treated like this delicate little flower who can't handle the truth... and even if that would be true, she still deserves to know? If it was me i'd sure be pissed if i found out people had been lying to me all that time about something so important...


Nobody wants to be the first one to break a death to someone, and Violet was obviously especially attached to Gilbert. She literally has no one, no one who ever treated her even remotely human before Gilbert, and Claudia is still only an acquaintance of hers through his friendship with Gilbert.


And yet it should be obvious that it's much kinder to tell her now and lying. Not to mention that Violet outright told him that she want to know what love is. If he's an actual character who think about the conversation he had afterward and ponder about whether he should tell her, it's pretty clear that the option is either tell her now when it hurt less, or tell her later when she knows what love is and make it hurt more. Yes, this is forced drama and this show is full of it.
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Niello



Joined: 22 Dec 2013
Posts: 302
PostPosted: Fri Jan 19, 2018 7:20 am Reply with quote
Gina Szanboti wrote:

@ meiam: They can't proofread the letters because they can't read or write. If they could, they wouldn't need the Dolls. Still, it was odd that no one read her letter back to the woman before sending it out (they obviously did that for the man).


Having the writers read the letters aloud is an option.
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Gina Szanboti



Joined: 03 Aug 2008
Posts: 11306
PostPosted: Fri Jan 19, 2018 8:06 am Reply with quote
Niello wrote:
Gina Szanboti wrote:

@ meiam: They can't proofread the letters because they can't read or write. If they could, they wouldn't need the Dolls. Still, it was odd that no one read her letter back to the woman before sending it out (they obviously did that for the man).

Having the writers read the letters aloud is an option.
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Yazu13



Joined: 19 Jul 2017
Posts: 129
PostPosted: Fri Jan 19, 2018 5:58 pm Reply with quote
@Niello - You didn't quote my entire point. Claudia didn't want to say that Gilbert is dead out loud because he also hasn't dealt with it himself. If he admitted Gilbert's death to Violet, it would also be like making it real, and Claudia hasn't yet come to terms with that fact. That's why he hasn't told anyone about it yet, and almost breaks down when he finally has to talk about it with Cattleya at the end of the episode. He can't even use the word "dead", but instead says Gilbert is "never coming back". It's obviously still a very raw subject and it was easier to lie to Violet than to crush her and himself at the same time.
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BlueBeast33



Joined: 09 Jul 2015
Posts: 151
PostPosted: Fri Jan 19, 2018 6:53 pm Reply with quote
MJKS wrote:
So, uh, I have no desire to be that guy that stands up for fansubs over official releases, but... quality control, Netflix, please.



If this is what we can expect from Netflix subs then maybe it's best that they don't simulcast shows after all. At least not until they get better translators. Definitely glad I watched the fansub version.
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grooven



Joined: 16 Aug 2006
Posts: 1424
Location: Canada
PostPosted: Sat Jan 20, 2018 10:39 pm Reply with quote
I have to say I'm really enjoying this anime. After seeing the premiere at AX, it left such a profound impact withe overall beauty, story and touching character moments, especially with Violet and Gilbert.

I'm enjoying this slow pace, since as I recall their idea was to make her evolve with each episode, like if she were an infant at 0 and will grow from there. I feel the pacing suits what is happening and I hope I will notice more subtle changes to her emotional state.

I feel they are withholding the death from her because they assume she won't be able to process it well and become further regressed. Or they don't know how she would handle it, I guess. Though, hope they will reveal their intentions out loud so we have a greater understanding, rather than guessing. It just feels like such a huge secret to keep, but now that Cattleya knows, I hope this discussion will be brought out for the audience.

As some stated, I do wonder about the proof reading that goes on during the letter process. I feel that may have been looked over unless they didn't expect Violet to be that rash, but the second time it happened with the love letter does seem a bit odd.

I do feel like they might try for a romantic angle with Baudelaire, but I guess we'll see what they might do.
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yuna49



Joined: 27 Aug 2008
Posts: 3804
PostPosted: Sun Jan 21, 2018 2:22 am Reply with quote
MJKS wrote:
So, uh, I have no desire to be that guy that stands up for fansubs over official releases, but... quality control, Netflix, please.

Differences in the translation of that exchange have occasioned quite a bit of comment elsewhere as well.

Not only does it make no sense that they don't read every letter back to the clients before they are sent, the design of the office itself is implausible. Why carry on these private and personal conversations in an open room with just dividers? Wouldn't many clients want to dictate their letters in an office with the door closed? Claudia could even offer such privacy as a premium upgrade. I hope he's already charging extra for Cattelya and for house calls.

At the outset I was expecting a more military show, not literary musings on the meanings of words. I'm happy things have gone that way, though I do share some of meiam's criticisms of the writing.
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Angel M Cazares



Joined: 23 Sep 2010
Posts: 5406
Location: Iscandar
PostPosted: Thu Jan 25, 2018 1:55 pm Reply with quote
Episode 3 was not as good as the first two, but I was still engrossed by it and enjoyed it. I would love to see more development in a potential friendship between Violet and Luculia, but I suspect Luculia will not be an important part of the story. I hope episode 4 shows more about Gilbert and Violet's past.
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Cam0



Joined: 13 Dec 2009
Posts: 4884
PostPosted: Thu Jan 25, 2018 2:38 pm Reply with quote
I also really enjoyed this episode. I hope Luculia will be a recurring character because I like. There's something oddly mesmerizing about her red hair. I'm glad things worked out with her brother.
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Joshua Zarate



Joined: 12 Jan 2017
Posts: 2061
PostPosted: Thu Jan 25, 2018 3:02 pm Reply with quote
Count me in as well for those who really liked episode 3. The pacing could have been better, but it was still a very solid episode with an engaging story between Luculia and her brother. It’s interesting to me that every episode so far has somewhat of a different perspective on Violet Evergarden and the characters she interacts with. I personally suspect that would be what this series is going to be like for the majority of the series. If it doesn’t, then I’ll be wrong and we will see what else the show has up its’ sleeve besides the interesting setting, characters, and extraordinary animation.
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