I’m a bit hesitant to wade back into the wasp’s nest of Violet Evergarden, to be honest, because the comments section got pretty heated after the first episode (and I’m already dealing with another ragefest with Koi wa Ameagari). But it’s clear that this show is of considerable interest to anime fans worldwide, and it wouldn’t be right to ignore it as a result of unruly fan behavior. People getting disrespectful in discussions about Violet Evergarden isn’t the series’ (or the studio’s) fault.
The funny thing about all this is that I quite literally couldn’t see what the all the fuss was about – if this series was produced by anyone but Kyoto Animation. Frankly, Violet Evergarden is to me a pretty innocuous, safe and vey milquetoast sort of show – hardly one that should inspire such heated disagreements under normal circumstances. But when it comes to KyoAni normal doesn’t really enter into it – hype trains run out of control and viewer opinions about the studio itself tend to color their views of what the studio outputs.
Because I saw the first two episodes at Anime Expo, I feel I need to give Violet Evergarden at least 3-4 total episodes before I make a decision about it. But to be honest if that weren’t the case I think I might just have dropped it after this week, because apart from the lush visuals I don’t see a whole lot here that sets is apart from boilerplate KyoAni light novel material. Frankly I was bored by this episode more than anything else – the insistent sad strings, the closeups of Violet’s eyes (shouldn’t they be more, you know – violet?) – it just feels very calculated and purposeful. I don’t feel any emotional connection to these characters or their situation, and with a show like this it’s hard to see much hope for success without that.
In fact, my notepad is empty because in watching this episode I just couldn’t find anything notable to write down about it. Nothing annoyed or offended me, especially, but none of it seemed to have any real significance. It seems like the point about Violet’s character was made in the first episode, and what comes after is pretty standard stuff. Things are fairly restrained by KyoAni standards – Chuunibyou this isn’t – but they might just be too restrained. Violet Evergarden is really trying too hard to be moving and powerful without wanting to do any of the heavy lifting required to get there. What I’m feeling more than anything is indifference – ironic given the contentious fan reaction, but then that’s probably the most interesting thing about the series.
Gabriel
January 19, 2018 at 5:49 pmI’m enjoying it, and that’s all you need to know.
Panino Manino
January 19, 2018 at 7:13 pm“The funny thing about all this is that I quite literally couldn’t see what the all the fuss was about”
There’s nothing special here, just “hype and memes”, really. Doesn’t mean that couln’t be good.
In my case, I’m “cynical” about KyoAni shows for a time now, I have a feeling that they’re lacking something, I wish they had better/newer writers… I already said and explained what I think about this in detail in another places, so I’ll not delve into this.
I need to watch more of this to understand if I like it or not, there’s not much to discuss yet.
This episode left me confused about Erica, what her dream is, where it came from, and what’s her deal now. What in Violet inspires her and how.
And talking about Erica, it’s a original character, right? Another original addition is Iris, a type of character that annoys me greatly. They should stop making this type of character.
Another thing that I discovered is that the original LN is not in chronological order, so I want to see how they can improve telling the story in chronological order.
UndeadCalamari
January 19, 2018 at 7:39 pmI’m gonna keep watching it for now, but can’t say I really care about it that much. It really does feel very calculated and fake. Manipulative even. But without anything that actually engages me so it all falls flat.
Dein
January 19, 2018 at 8:02 pmYeah, that all sounds about right. It’s predictable and just dull. Quite frankly I’m amazed so many people are reading so much from it. There is subtext to be explored when the a story leaves place for it, not when it spends every frame hammering you over the head with it’s themes and goals. More than bored, by the end of the episode I felt exhausted. Violet Evergarden (and amusingly, a large chunk of the KyoAni fanbase) is like a person who is only ever interested in talking and not listening, without having a lot to say. It leaves no breathing room, no time to ponder the ideas it tries to present. Robots. But humans. But robots. Very pretty. But robots. But like humans. Robots. Sigh.
Supposedly this episode was anime-original, and I’m gonna soldier on for a few more episodes, but it doesn’t look promising.
Quite
HoTaRu
January 19, 2018 at 8:12 pmI agree with you about this being a fairly boring episode. I feel that Violet’s backstory is far more interesting than her current one and wish the studio had focused more on that aspect of the story since those are the moments when I feel truly drawn in by the material. Despite that, I really don’t get the amount of negative commentary over this show. Overall there really isn’t anything here that I think of as particularly offensive. I would say that for the most part I am a fan of KyoAni shows, but other than Kobayashi-san Chi no Maid Dragon I haven’t seen one since Hyouka that I would say was great. They all definitely have their issues, just like most shows from every other studio out there do. Still, everyone is entitled to their own opinions of course, and I’m not saying that all of the criticism is off-base or anything like that. I even agree with some of it. I’m just surprised at the backlash this has gotten considering how it ranked as the most anticipated anime of the season. Expectations were too high I suppose.
sonicsenryaku
January 19, 2018 at 8:33 pmI’m down for heated discussions so as long as they don’t get out of hand. I’m also a big believer in people substantiating precarious claims. It’s so easy to just make boilerplate arguments and toss them into the sea of discussion as if they had any actual thought put into them. Critical thinking; it’s what separates the boys from the men. I hate discussions that devolve into vitriol, but ones that are intense yet grounded in respect have always been fun to me.
Anyway, what i find most interesting about people’s reactions to Kyo ani shows is how much of their reaction is based on the fact that the product came from the studio rather than the writers or directors at hand. I think it’s important to be a bit more considerate about these factors when evaluating a piece of work rather basing one’s entire opinion on the stamp of the studio. Sure the name behind any piece of work whether a production company, an author, a director, will inherently prime an expectation from us, but i think it’s important to learn how to curb those expectations and be more pragmatic about how we evaluate the art we consume.
For example, the way studio shaft go about producing their anime annoys me; mostly because a good portion of the time, they smother their style over the material of a show without considering how the style elevates the material or if it’s appropriate. While that annoys me, I don’t instantly judge a shaft-produced anime just because it has a shaft on title and make assumptions about the genuineness of the craft. I see whether the visual and writing choices have a vision, whether the marriage of visuals and material lead to something compelling, and whether i can see the vision of the artist. If i don’t like what i see, I’m not just going to blame it on the production or insinuate how their business decisions affect their storytelling prowess, especially if i dont understand how those factors play into the overall product.I think shafts approach to anime has its merits, I just don’t like how it’s utilized sometimes.
With Kyo ani, more often than not, people refuse to let themselves see past the print, or rather, the judge the print itself (there’s a subtle but significant difference between those two things). How are we for certain there is no creative desire to the people working on the show to push themselves artistically? How can one know when a show is being produced just to sell a buck and nothing more; or because they think that’s how they will illicit a reaction out of people? To me, the show should be judged by the creative vision behind it, if there is any, of the writer, the director, and the staff at work. The label here is not as important. If violet evergarden was bothering me or it felt calculated, I wouldn’t put that on some preconceived notion of the studio, but rather just the writing/directing team and then move on. Hyouka, one of kyo ani’s most seemingly beloved works, panders to its audience with the same kyo ani attributes that can be found in their other shows. What moved people into liking that show as much as they did, ultimately came down to whether they were invested in what they were watching; whether the directing and writing pulled them in along with the visuals and that ultimately, the storytelling overshadowed the pandering by a large degree. The title of being a Kyo ani show as a production company has little hand here; rather, it’s the creative team who put it together the series. I don’t go to people and say that i love yuyu hakusho because it’s a studio perriot production; i judge that shit by the merits of its writing, directing, and the great animation staff that painstakingly worked on it.
hiro
January 20, 2018 at 6:52 amWhat’s wrong with having expectations because of KyoAni name when the blogger here has prejudice because this is light novel based?
sonicsenryaku
January 20, 2018 at 11:36 amI don’t think there’s anything particularly wrong with having expectations because of a brand. No matter what we do, there will always be an inherent, knee-jerk level of expectation or bias he have when we hear an author, or director, or producer’s name; that’s what makes us such variable human beings. All I’m saying is that we should also be able to look past those expectations as viewers. It would be irresponsible of me to say that the label doesn’t really matter, because it does; however, we need to be able to parse the extent that label has an effect on the art we are consuming; that’s all I’m saying.
Dop
January 20, 2018 at 3:10 amWhile the show looks gorgeous I find there’s a certain vacuity – a kind of soullessness to it all.
I’m giving it a third episode but so far it’s just not engaged with me at all.