Violet Evergarden is one of the most mesmerizing anime out there. The animation is above and beyond and the story is something that leaves an impression unlike any other. It is a story of a girl who learns to read her own emotions. Words are always just random scrambled letters if their meaning is unknown. Without semantics, no language would be worth the trouble.
English is just a jumbled group of words if no one can understand it. In the perspective of language, the world is also an unknown adventure waiting to be understood. Without meaning, it is a place. With meaning, it is a home. That is also the journey Violet takes, understanding the importance of life and why hers holds so much value. Whether reading it in a novel format or watching its anime, Violet Evergarden always has the same impact.
Violet Evergarden’s Changes Were Necessary
Violet Evergarden has always been about self-discovery. It takes its time but slowly sets up the growth of not only its titular character but also all those around her. Originally written as a novel by Akatsuki Kana, it follows the heart and mind of Violet Evergarden. Specifically, it follows how out of touch they are with each other. Slowly but steadily, she learns to coordinate them and understand herself. Once an anime adaptation was announced, things started changing for the author.
The ground to be fought on and the number of chiefs are different. This is the result of people worrying over what they should do in order to convey my worldview to many more spectators, so those who read the original work might be at loss regarding it. Surely, once it all comes to an end, I think they will be able to understand that both are ‘Violet Evergarden.’
When asked about how she feels with regard to the changes that were being made in the Violet Evergarden anime, the author talked in the Kyoto Animation Special Interview (via Tumblr). She exclaimed that it was only inevitable for there to be changes when it came to an adaptation. From a novel to an anime and then a movie, certain elements can make it onto the screen while others can’t.
Although she admitted that it would be nice for her fans to view both of those as the same work, there were certain changes that were mostly unavoidable. The process of writing a novel and making an anime is starkly different, something she understood perfectly.
Akatsuki Kana Understood Her Limitations
Writing is an immersive art. It takes you from one world to another and gives you the liberty as well as control to navigate the story at your own whims and fancies. One person’s mind is primarily involved in the entire process. Only later do the editor and illustrator come into play. However, before it all, it is only the author who is in charge. It is a powerful task, of course, but it is also lonely.
A novel is a world in which the amount of information is overwhelmingly large, and the author is the sole leader. Of course, the worldview is also modeled from the editors’ advice and the marvelous illustrations, but basically, it is a lonely work. In opposition, an anime is an integrated work of art that interweaves professionals from all kinds of fields.
Akatsuki Kana, Violet Evergarden’s writer sees it all through her own eyes. She understands the differences there are in writing and making an anime. There are limitations that come with only one mind. These can easily be looked over and improved upon when other people are also involved.
Changes are bad, but not always. Some are for the better. What the anime did in revising elements from the original work was used only to improve it for the better. That is why when an artist is lonely, only another can give them the hug of understanding.
Violet Evergarden is available to watch on Netflix.
