Violet Evergarden skilfully uses hand gestures to show characters’ emotions and motivations, and tells an engaging story that’s easy to connect with.

SUMMARY

Violet Evergarden masterfully uses the art of hand gestures, which conveys subtle yet significant details about characters’ emotions and motivations.
This somewhat bears resemblance to the iconic hand-clenching scene of Mister Darcy in Pride and Prejudice, where a single gesture reveals the complexity of his emotions.
By all means, Violet Evergarden has developed a gripping narrative that people can relate to, beyond the traditional romantic stories.

Violet Evergarden is more than just your typical anime, it’s a heartfelt emotional journey that speaks straight to the soul. It’s a rollercoaster of emotions that doesn’t just make you force cry, by using some already familiar sad story tropes. Instead, it offers you the opportunity to connect with the characters that no other series has yet managed to do so well.

A still from episode 7 of Violet Evergarden | Credits: Kyoto Animation

In fact, if you are familiar with the classic Western novel Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, you may notice a catching similarity to the iconic hand-clenching scene of Mr. Darcy, with Violet Evergarden’s use of hand gestures, which is a rare yet masterclass storytelling approach. So how exactly does it get conveyed in Violet’s story?

The art of hand gestures in Violet Evergarden

CH Postal Company | Credits: Kyoto Animation

There are certain shots in Violet Evergarden that are deliberately framed like that just to add specific emotional queues with a special type of storytelling approach. For example, by solely focusing on using hand gestures, there are a few scenes that convey several underlying character emotions, without having anything said out loud.

This visual motif underlines the central theme of the series: the fact that hands are not only used to harm but can also heal.

This narrative technique has a bit of similarity with the iconic fist-clenching scene of Mister Darcy in Pride and Prejudice, where this little gesture has so much to say about him. Violet Evergarden similarly functions on two planes – the story that appears out there, through the thoughts of Violet, and a story that lies hidden under.

As Violet often fails to make sense of the world around her, the viewers are prompted to fill in the blanks, and there come visual cues, like those previously mentioned hand gestures, that give us an idea of what the characters might be thinking and feeling.

Violet Evergarden | Credits: Kyoto Animation

Even from the very start of the first episode, Violet’s artificial hands indicate her vulnerability and Claudia’s evasive hand gestures reveal the turmoil going on within him. The close-up shot of Claudia’s hands also underlines the underlying disparity between his own words and actions.

The core theme of Violet Evergarden

A still from episode 10 of Violet Evergarden | Credits: Kyoto Animation

The series has been very clear with its approach from the very beginning; Violet Evergarden‘s main focus has always been on the different forms of love, and not just romantic love! It shows the complexity of human emotions that comes along with the formation of genuine relationships with others. And by so doing, the series developed a gripping narrative that people can relate to, beyond your traditional romantic stories.

All of Violet’s character development in the series has been through experiences revolving around various kinds of love between other people, such as the love between parents and their children, the emotional connection between siblings, or the simply tragic story of two separated lovers.

Through all these interactions, Violet becomes a more humane character whose story really comes to shine brighter with each passing episode. By all means, studio Kyoto Animation focused on Violet’s personal journey, exploring the path she takes through life and its impact on future generations.