The 7th and final part of our epic Kyoto Vacation is titled“Through Rain or Shine: The Life and Times of Violet Evergarden,” which means we finally get to dive into an anime we’ve wanted to review for years: Violet Evergarden, the 2018 series based on the acclaimed novels by Akiko Takase. It is, as you’ve probably heard, a masterpiece, a departure in setting and storytelling from many KyoAni works, but tonally and emotionally something a return to their early Key adaptations like Air and Clannad. A mix of anthological storytelling about different characters in need of letter-writing and a serialized narrative about the eponymous child soldier turned auto-memory doll, Violet Evergarden is a powerful, profound, and stupendously beautiful triumph that leads to one of our longest episodes ever – but if any series deserves this much discussion, it’s this one.

Enjoy, and come back next week for our review of the first Violet Evergarden movie, Eternity and the Auto-Memory Doll!

Time Chart:

Theme Song: 0:00:00 – 0:01:30

Intro & History: 0:01:30 – 1:26:03

Eyecatch Break: 1:26:03 – 1:26:41

Violet Evergarden Review: 1:26:41 – 4:17:08

End Theme: 4:17:08 – 4:18:39

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“re:CAPTURE” and “ice” – Original Music & Lyrics by Thomas Lack, featuring Hatsune Miku & Megurine Luka. https://www.thomaslack.com