Finally is the word. Finally is the only word that can describe this week’s Violet Evergarden. After more than half a season of very little actual story facts, we are finally given a glimpse of who Violet is and what her life is about. Enjoy!
The episode starts with Violet heading to confront captain Dietfried, Gilbert’s brother, about her beloved major’s death. To his surprise, Violet didn’t know about him being dead. To his knowledge, Gilbert has been missing in action, his body not found along his army tags. Violet then leaves to visit Gilbert’s home, hoping he is hiding there, but all she finds is his empty memorial grave, and yet another report of him missing in action.
During the progression of this episode, we are finally allowed to see how Violet and Gilbert met, what their relationship began as, how it developed, and why they got separated. After several pretty pointless episodes, we can at last understand Violet’s obsession towards Gilbert: he was the only one who treated her as a person, while everyone else would treat her like a soulless weapon. Gilbert was ordered to take Violet into battle, where thanks to her skills, his battalion earn several victories and helped bring the war closer to an end. During their last battle, the major got shot in the eye, despite the victorious advances of his squad. Violet was not impressed.
That battle scene: When Violet pushes through the bodies of fighting soldiers to attack the cathedral, the framing and setup of her fighting reminded me of the legendary Korean Old Boy fighting scene – that sort of flat view of the battle with one fictional perspective on what is going on.
Kerkoporta: In 1453, the walls of Constantinople, the capital of the Byzantine empire, were breached by Ottoman soldiers sneaking in through a tiny underground door and raising their banner on the inner wall, signalling their troops to come in as they took down the defendants. The door was called ‘kerkoporta’ and this historical anecdote has inspired tons of popular media when it comes to breaching city walls.
Finally, this episode was interesting. There was still not very much explanation on the origins and actual nature of Violet – it is NOT specifically explained whether she is something other than human. It was so refreshing to see the major’s story – the eye-brooch thing and the fact that he got shot in the eye really got to me – but also prepared me for a finale that goes something like this: the major is alive (his body has not been found after all), amnesiac or hiding, and Violet eventually finds him, looks into his remaining green eye and knows it’s him right away. And this is just speculating.
I’m hoping the rest of the show –whatever few episodes are left- are going to focus on the main story rather than Violet’s ghostwriting adventures. It was about time.
What did you think of Episode 8 of Violet Evergarden? Let us know in the comment section! And don’t forget to check the rest of the Winter 2018 anime reviews on MANGA.TOKYO.
The summer anime season is over. We had a few refreshing titles that kept us company through the hot months, but fall is bringing so many new titles and a few sequels we’ve been waiting for a long time.
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