Its focus is split between making violet grow as a character from her traumatic experience in the war and the people she meets who help her in becoming an actual person. The problem is, it doesn't do enough of either to make you invested in the world or its characters. Everyone in the story is forgettable and doesn't have enough screen time since it keeps adding in new characters every episode. The post war setting is an interesting take as it's not heavily action focused and more on how it affects people thereafter. This could have been used as a great opportunity to focus on the economic side effects this has on the people but alas its attention lies elsewhere with nobles and artists whom you can't develop an attachment to.
The story is always moving and you'll be left wondering how months or seemingly years have passed with violet writing letters and she'll have suddenly developed to be more empathetic between episodes. This creates a pacing problem and disconnect between the viewer and violet's character. It's especially hard to latch on to violet as a compelling character since we're treated to such an agonizing first 3 episodes, that if you follow the 3 episode rule, you'll have dropped immediately. This is by far the weakest part of the show and makes enjoying the rest all the more difficult.
It finally starts to pick up in episode 4 and this is where the show for me, instantly became more enjoyable, comparing what we had before to now just made me happy we were getting somewhere. Unfortunately all the progress the middle half of the show makes, goes down the drain towards the end. It all falls apart again with it now wanting to be an action driven show once Violet has matured. This creates a jarring plot that is conflicted on what it wants to be. The soldier's fighting the rebels was what I would have liked the show to focus on earlier. If it was gonna do it at all and not half ass it to make a more action driven climax that it didn't need. This also leads me to believe the author doesn't have enough faith in his work to carry it all the way to the end. To top it all off, the "big reveal" that completely goes against the point of Violet Evergarden and shows once again, this author understands their work as little as the fans do.
The soundtrack is also forgettable, it sounds like your typical drama soundtrack. it has emotion but unless you feel a deep attachment to the show, it won't stick with you. kinda like how fate is full of generic "epic" music. The art is the only standout thing in the show and is probably what caught your attention in the first place if you watched it. Being produced by Kyoto animation, this comes as no surprise.
Wrapping up, I'll admit i went in to the show with very high expectations, (no thanks to its fanbase who will swear up and down that its the greatest drama/character piece) and reacted as passionately with disdain for the show as the people who loved it. If there's any lesson to learn from Violet Evergarden, it's that hype can CERTAINLY be a bad thing and make you enjoy it even less than if you went in with no expectations at all.
