Based on the Japanese light novel series by Kana Akatsuki, Violet Evergarden revolves around the life of a hardworking young soldier who formerly represented herself in war and worked under Major Gilbert. At first, she obeyed all the orders of Dietfried Bougainvillea. Later, he sold her to Major Gilbert, but that was one of the best things Violet could ever ask for. Gilbert treated her with the utmost respect, and with his help, Violet managed to learn a large number of things about the world. Well, Gilbert taught her to live her life like a human, and because of her gratitude, Violet always followed his commands and made sure he was saved from all the dangers. The film “Violet Evergarden: Recollections” begins with Violet’s vague memory of Major Gilbert and their time together. As soon as she wakes up, Violet figures out that she is critically injured and has been admitted to a hospital. The first few days at the hospital were difficult, but she still managed to write a report to Major Gilbert. Her hands would often lose control, and her letters were left incomplete. But Violet never gave up. Violet’s existence was kept hidden from the outside world, but those who knew about her often referred to her as a tool without a heart.
Well, one fine day, a man arrived at the hospital looking for Violet, and he went by the name of Lieutenant Hodgins. The moment she met him, Violet asked him numerous questions about Major Gilbert’s injuries. But for some reason, Hodgins couldn’t respond to her questions. Violet interpreted that things went wrong in some way or another, but she had no other way to find out any information on Major Gilbert’s whereabouts. Hodgins went forward with the formalities and ordered her to travel with him since all the orders came from Major Gilbert directly. Without any hesitation, she chose to travel alongside Hodgins. He took her to the Evergarden manor, where she met the lady of Evergarden’s household, Tiffany, in Leiden. In reality, Violet was supposed to live with her for the time being. The folks of Evergarden’s family were one of the most trusted relatives of Major Gilbert, and he wanted Violet to spend her future with them.
Tiffany offered them tea, but Violet could not handle the weight; the cup fell, and the tea spilled over her hands. Tiffany began panicking and decided to redress her hands, but Violet lost her hands in the war while saving Major Gilbert. Her hands were replaced with adamant silver. It was a critical situation as the war lasted for more than four years, causing the whole nation to be in huge chaos. But things took a different turn when she realized that Hodgins was going to leave her alone at Evergarden. Violet geared up her confidence and asked him to take her along. She had dedicated her entire being to the safety of Major Gilbert, and Violet was even ready to sacrifice her life for him. Looking at her condition, Hodgins decided to take her along to his company. Soon, Violet was assigned the responsibilities of a postman. She began working under Benedict, who was an old acquaintance of Hodgins.
Benedict explained all the work to her, and with his help, Violet adapted herself to all the changes around her. Within a single day, Violet started delivering mail around the town. One day, a random man approached Violet to help him with the letter, and while he elaborated on his words, Violet went through a streak of memories that held all her moments with Major Gilbert. So, she decided to work as an Auto Memories Doll who specialized in writing letters for illiterate people. Everyone said that Violet didn’t have a heart, but she was desperately waiting to know the meaning behind the words “I love you,” which was Gilbert’s final message to her on the battlefield before they lost consciousness. Yet again, viewers will be taken through her memories, where Gilbert and Violet were severely injured in the war, and despite all the pain, she chose to save him instead. But Gilbert demanded her to stop.
Gilbert advised her to live freely and conveyed that he had always loved her. Days passed, and Violet began her training as the Auto Memories Doll under all the other workers. Even though it was difficult, Violet adapted to all the changes and instantly typed around 200 characters per minute. Soon, Violet’s work attracted many people, including a famous writer named Oscar Webster. She traveled to his house in Genetrix, Roswell Region. Together they wrote a story about a girl named Olive, and with every chapter, Violet began sympathizing with Olive’s character. Violet reminded him of Olive, and Oscar was deeply hurt as Olivia had been his daughter. Oscar lost her to an illness but couldn’t save her. All these years, Oscar’s heart has been filled with pain and sorrow as God has taken away people who were precious to him. Both of them found peace in each other’s pain, as Gilbert’s absence felt the same for Violet as well.
Together, they finished the play with a beautiful message attached to it. Well, Olivia’s story caused a great deal of pain to Violet, and she demanded an answer from Hodgins. No one ever told her about Gilbert’s whereabouts, and she prayed for him to be alive. Finally, Hodgins broke his silence and apologized for misleading her. After the war ended, Violet was found alone on the ground under a church. There were chances that Gilbert pushed her away before the church collapsed. The entire team couldn’t find his body, but they managed to find his ID tag under the debris. So he was deemed missing in action. Violet couldn’t handle this news well and lost all control over her emotions. Violet ran away from Hodgins’ company and visited Major Gilbert’s house, where his maid informed her that Gilbert was no more. The maid took Violet to his grave, and she decided to kill herself. But Violet gained back her strength and decided to stay strong after reading letters that were addressed to her as other dolls from Hodgins’ company were extremely worried about her. She chose to live, and despite all the scars she had, Violet made everyone happy with her talent to write letters as a doll.
