This is a series about conveying emotions through words, and this episode did that brilliantly. I got totally sold on the sappy love and was so happy that the Princess was married to the man she loved.
And this is such a big step forward for Violet too. She read the situation, and arranged things to satisfaction of all parties involved. This was something that seemed out of reach just few months earlier.
I think it's because this ep was written and directed in a way that by the end of it, we believed in Charolette's dilemma. We spent a ton of time with her, saw the whole spectrum of her emotions, and she truly broke through an obstacle of self-worth. So by the end, when she has to say good-bye to the loving court maid who has literally known her since she was in the womb, it's SAD! ;_;
This week's episode is another stand-alone tale of meetings and partings. It feels like this is the kind of story this anime was meant to tell, honestly. It's subtle, just a story that's barely a story about a time two people spent with each other and how they influenced each other during their chance, once-in-a-lifetime meeting. There's an argument to be made that some of the individual details of the story arc are sparse - I'd liked to have seen more of Leon and Violet getting used to each other, more time around the Observatory, etc., but the conclusion it arrives at makes perfect sense. I'd just like to see more of how things got there.
Odd to see no further mention of the Captain from the stinger of last episode, and more confirmation that we're time-skipping fairly frequently. If I remember right and Violet learned to read while she was recuperating in hospital, it's already been several years, in fact. Hard to imagine that she hasn't pieced together anything about the Major yet, or that no one with reason to hurt her or Gilbert's memory has told her yet.
It's been fun.OR Kyo Ani is airing these out of order.
.......... their adaptation decisions are always WEIRD to me. In general.
So it seems this story is quite fond of timeskips. And that we left the setting of the city and the supporting cast of Violet co-workers mostly behind. A bit of shame, really.
Still, this was a charming, small scale story about a meeting of two people. Violet really is charming enough to make one fall in love at first sight.
I see.
Episode 7… an episode in two parts, sort of. The first 15-or-so minutes are the usual "customer of the week" plot, and the last 5 minutes are… let's just say that the cliffhanger of two episodes ago comes back with a vengeance. And it turns out they Never Found the Body, only the Major's dogtag. What a twist! Though it might have been better if Violet had had to deal with her grief. We'll see where they go with that.
It was my favorite episode so far, bar none. Especially the second half, but even the first half showcases the subtles ways in which Violet has evolved. The second half is like a dam breaking, and it's glorious. Violet previously learned how to smile, now she learns how to cry. And holy crap, Violet can jump. Ô.Ô
If we're only at the halfway point, then the rest of the series might turn out more engaging than I expected.
edited 22nd Feb '18 10:28:17 AM by Lyendith
The latest episode was very good, probably one of the most emotional episodes yet (I almost cried). It is also interesting/suspicious that they never found the Major's body.
Another interesting thing I read was that this episode was an adaption of the first chapter of the first light novel so this story would have been the first introduction to Violet and the setting.
^That almost feels like a waste - this was such an emotional episode, and brought so much of Violet's character development forward.
This anime continues to impress and inspire me. The music during the first writing scene, and the lines Oscar came up with for the parasol... Violet's jump... man. I got wrecked.
I really, really hope this quality continues. If it does, I'm pre-ordering the Blu-Rays and they're getting a place of honor.
It's been fun.…I didn't expect to learn that she could barely even talk at first. No wonder she had trouble with communication. But yeah, I really wonder whose idea it was to "raise" her like that…
By a way, I'm a bit baffled that some seem to interpret the Major's "I love you" as in "I want to marry you". It always seemed pretty obvious to me that it was meant in a father/daughter sense − even when we didn't know she was 13 at the time…
^We'll have to see - remember that the other big relationship we've seen come together in the show also has a big age gap, which could be indicative of Author Appeal. That said, that's also a distinct possibility.
One thing that I noticed about this episode is that line about the Major's "hypocrisy". I wonder if he's "responsible" for Violet somehow, or if his CO just meant that it was hypocritical to now care about people possibly being killed in war.
It's been fun.
Maybe his "hypocrisy" to care about the well-being of one soldier in particular? I don't know…
Episode 9… Pretty sweet overall. One might think Violet got over her depression "easily", but I wouldn't want this phase to last several episodes, so I'm just glad she found some meaning to her existence. It was nice to see all the people she met in the previous episodes at the end.
…It almost felt like a final episode actually. I'm not sure where the story can go from there.
Yeah, that was a really good episode. They continue to knock it out of the park - I think really the only thing I found a bit jarring was that the piece for Violet's nightmare didn't suit the feel 100%. It was an instant clue that something was wrong, but that piece has always been used for more 'something is afoot' than 'something is wrong'. I didn't really feel like Violet got over it too quickly, honestly. Even if it was a little convenient that everything came together at once, it was a sweet episode.
As for what else they can do - maybe some focus on Claudia and Cattleya? They seem to have their own fair share of secrets, as opposed to the younger members of CH; Cattleya in particular.
I'd also be surprised if this was the last we saw of that soldier with the scar across his nose. That's a very distinctive design, and given that he was responsible in the end for at least one of Violet's arms and certainly didn't help the Major's condition, it'd be interesting to see what happens if Violet saw him again. Personally, I'm not sure. I think so far this show has been better than a standard 'I forgive you' scene, and it would ruin everything if Violet snapped on him, so.
We'll see. I'm still very happy with this show.
edited 8th Mar '18 3:41:33 AM by RedSavant
It's been fun.

Yeah, that's a huge step forward. She actually managed to use empathy and not only read into what Charlotte was feeling, but consider and propose a solution from her own perspective.
...That said, it's apparently been months now and, well, I'm sure the Major still hasn't found the time to write, somehow... Claudia must be getting more and more strapped for excuses.
edited 8th Feb '18 8:57:40 AM by RedSavant
It's been fun.