Violet Evergarden Episode 10 Review: Loved Ones Will Always Watch Over You

Only two episodes to go before Violet Evergarden comes to an end, and we are back to the show’s previous format, that of Violet traveling the world to write letters. In this particular episode, prepare to cry your eyes out.

Japanese Original Episode Title: 「愛する人はずっと見守っている」

Plot

Violet is hired to work for seven days in a row, her first long trip in a while. She is staying over at the house of a severely ill mother and is writing several letters for her every day. The daughter, Ann, is upset because her mother spends time with guests and writing letters with Violet, rather than with her. In the course of the seven days, Violet is writing the letters, Ann gets an opportunity to ask her to play along with her, and Violet, being unable to say no to basically anything, tags along in the most docile way (which I found pretty hilarious). Ann does, however, mention to Violet that the only reason why she’s playing with her is that her mom is ignoring her and she blames Violet for that. One day, when she sees her mother almost collapsing, Ann throws a huge fit at her mother for lying about getting better and not spending enough time with her, then runs away. Violet finds and consoles her. After her departure, Ann’s mother soon passes away. She has, however, made sure to write 50 letters to her daughter, one to be delivered to each of her following birthdays.

Themes & Trivia

Letters from the dead: If you’ve been alive more than 10 years, it is very unlikely that you have dodged watching the romantic movie hit P.S. I love you, where the dead boyfriend/husband/whatever is scheduling letters to his not-yet-dead partner. I have to say, if I hadn’t watched that, this episode of Violet Evergarden would have been far more enjoyable.

Interacting with children: Violet hasn’t really come across kids so far; even the princess she was writing letters for was not as young as Ann is in this episode. Socializing with kids, and children’s behaviour overall, is an interesting challenge for even the most socially apt people, so I was intrigued to see how the writers would handle that. I believe that there was an undertone of Violet (being more or less a child herself and having been deprived of her childhood) secretly enjoying her time with Ann, even though they kept it very dry on the screen. I found the part where she asked Ann to prioritize her playtime particularly hilarious.

A delicate metaphor: The tea Violet consumes ‘will be expelled from her body and return to the earth’. I don’t think anyone had ever referred to human bowel movements in a more elegant way.

Comments

Yet another episode where I found myself a bit confused as to the nature of Violet’s existence – I’m trying to give up on that effort but it just keeps coming back. I was a bit disappointed that the show returned to its previous format of intense letter writing, but at least this episode was pretty good: well-structured, emotional and slightly playful at the same time. I cried like, A LOT. Then again, I do cry at literally everything.

But what about Gilbert though

Did I say that I’m pretty sure he’s still alive? THEN WHERE IS HE AND IS HE COMING OUT BY THE END OF THIS SEASON? Find out next time in Violet Evergarden’s Season 1 penultimate episode.

What did you think of the Violet Evergarden’s tenth episode? Let us know in the comment section! And don’t forget to check the rest of the Winter 2018 anime reviews on MANGA.TOKYO!