Violet Evergarden / Characters

List of characters in Violet Evergarden.

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CH Postal Company

Violet Evergarden

Voiced by: Yui Ishikawa (Japanese), Erika Harlacher (English) ^{Foreign VAs}

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/violet_ln.png

The title character of the story. A former Child Soldier of Leidenschaftlich's Army who lost her arms in the recent war on the Telesis continent. During her time in the army, she grew intensely attached to Major Gilbert Bougainvillea, her commanding officer and most likely the closest thing she's ever had to a caretaker. She seeks to find the meaning of his last words to her after the war ended.

Abandoned War Child: She has this as her backstory, having been discovered in the middle of a war zone as a young girl by a group of soldiers fighting in an analogue to the first World War, and when they tried to rape her she tore them apart. The soldiers' commanding officer had her turned into a Child Soldier to take advantage of her superhuman combat abilities; and by the time she was fourteen she was desensitized to violence, almost completely emotionless, and saw herself as a living weapon — with the bulk of the series being about her breaking free of that conditioning after the war's end.
Action Girl: She's shown brawling with soldiers twice her height like it was a day job in a flashback. Even after months out of combat practice, she can take names like nobody's business.
Adaptational Angst Upgrade: The anime adds a great deal of inner turmoil to her character regarding her days as a soldier and the many men she has killed. This culminates in a serious suicide attempt in Episode 9 that was wholly anime original. The light novel's version of Violet shows no indication she regrets what she did during the war, and she fully acknowledges without discomfort that many (such as convicted war criminal Edward Jones) would view her as a Retired Monster, which doesn't bother her. This may be a case of the anime being a bit Lighter and Softer than the LN, as the LN's story shows that a good chunk of men she killed tried to rape or molest her, so she has plenty of reason to feel justified in those killings.
- The light novel's presentation of Violet learning that Gilbert is dead is much less dramatic. In the anime, Violet is accidentally told this by Tiffany Evergarden, which results in a minor Freak Out by her and she runs away and disappears for a time. In the LN, it is something she comes to accept while she's learning to read and write at the Evergarden mansion, and spends her days sending letters to Gilbert that go unanswered. One day on a social visit, Hodgins enters her room and finds her sitting on the floor among piles of unsent letters with a Thousand-Yard Stare, and she mournfully asks him if Gilbert is dead. She cries when he gives her an affirmative answer.
Age Lift: She is made younger in the anime adaptation, which shows her beginning her Auto-Memory Doll career at the age of 14 immediately after being discharged from the hospital. In the light novel, there is a period of time where she lives with the Evergarden family before working for CH Postal, which makes her closer to 17 years old when she begins her career. This change ends up making the anime version of Violet more innocent and almost child-like in her understanding of emotions and human relationships. One major difference is during the "Eternity and the Auto-Memory Doll" story arc, when she is tutoring Isabella York: the anime Violet is Oblivious to Love and doesn't seem to register Isabella's feelings for her, while the light novel Violet understands it from the get-go and is sure to shut her down, when Isabella gets a bit too forward with her.
- The anime actually zigzags this a bit: the anime-original 2nd half of the Eternity and the Auto-Memory Doll movie has a 3 year timeskip, and then the 2020 movie further takes place one year later after that, making Violet 18 years old by the time the anime's story ends. In the light novel continuity, she is closer to 20 years old by the time the final chapter of Ever After takes place.
All-Loving Hero: After having a better grasp of understanding others and the futility of damage that war causes, she becomes incredibly selfless and kind towards everyone she encounters and will do whatever it takes to help others if she can allow it. She also bears no ill will towards any enemies she encounters and prefers to resolve conflicts without any casualties.
Alternate Universe: There is one via Violet Evergarden - IF where she had the title of Leidenschaftlich's Undine and was more closely associated with Dietfried. Does't stop her from still developing feelings for Gilbert.
An Arm and a Leg: Lost both arms in her last mission. Then she loses both her mechanical arms in the final episode, but eventually gets them replaced.
Animal Motifs: Dogs, for her habit to bite things, loyalty, and work ethic.
Artificial Limbs: Violet lost both of her arms during the war, and by the time she woke up in the hospital, she already got replacements made in adamant silver. She has trouble writing with them, so she settles for typewriting.
The Atoner: In the anime, when she starts understanding and having emotions, she deeply regrets the fact she killed many men when she was a soldier, and vows not to kill anymore.
Attempted Rape: Violet was on the receiving end several times, back when she was serving her time as a soldier. There's a special emphasis on attempted as any of the soldiers who tried to do that was promptly killed by her, underestimating just how deadly Violet was.
Badass Adorable: Is considered a secret military weapon and is shown to be physically stronger than most people her size. However, her child-like behaviour and naïveté makes her a very endearing character.
Beauty Equals Goodness: She's definitely heroic, and very beautiful as well, despite having prosthetic arms.
Beauty Is Never Tarnished: Her prosthetic arms and the little scars she has certainly don't make her any less attractive. And also when she gets into fights, she always remains pretty.
Because You Were Nice to Me: Gilbert was the first person to show her care and compassion as a human being instead of treating her like a weapon. He also taught her how to speak, read and write. Violet wanted nothing but to be useful to Gilbert and protect him, although he wanted her to seek more to her life than that.
Beware the Nice Ones: She is incredibly compassionate, gentle, and more than willing to help her clients with their emotional baggage. She's also a former soldier who was raised to be a weapon since childhood and was Leidenschaftlich's most feared military personnel. And whoever has fought against Violet ends up on the losing side hard.
Big Damn Heroes: She pulls one off in the Light Novel in effort to save Lux Sibyl from being made as a sacrifice for the Utopian cult. she herself becomes the subject of rescue during the train hijacking, receiving help from Gilbert.
Big Damn Reunion: She has one with Gilbert, though it takes longer for the occasion to happen in the anime than in the light novels. Of course, Violet couldn't help but let the waterworks flow when she talks to and embraces Gilbert for the first time after so long.
Blue-and-Orange Morality: While Violet is incredibly kind and selfless, her past as a child soldier temporarily turned her into sort of a robot who blindly follows orders and is disconnected from human emotions. Of course, she grows out of this and turns into Incorruptible Pure Pureness.
Break the Cutie: Hoo boy. She loses the closest thing to a parental figure at the end of the war, which costs her her arms, which have to be replaced with mechanical ones. Being emotionally and socially stunted, she's not ready to learn and encounter the tragedies of several of her clients and loved ones, which end up affecting her far more than she expected. At one point, she became suicidal after a hallucination, the other times, she's a sobbing wreck. While she certainly learned a lot after becoming a mailwoman, she's also had to endure a series of heartbreaks.
Brutal Honesty: She has been known to be a bit too frank with her words in the early chapters/episodes. When she met the Evergarden family for the first time after her release from the hospital, Violet proclaims to their face that she doesn't know what a 'family' is, doesn't need one, and that she can't replace their own lost child. She gets better with her Character Development, when she comes more and more in contact with human emotions.
Bungled Suicide: She tries to commit suicide by asphyxiating herself with her mechanical arms after suffering a hallucination that Gilbert died because of her and that she will remain lonely and a monster. Fortunately, it doesn't take and Violet soon finds appreciation from others shortly after.
Byronic Heroine: An emotionally stunted former Child Soldier with a tragic past, whose Character Development makes her get in touch with human emotions, leading to despair.
By-the-Book Cop: At first, she'll follow her directives to the letter, no matter how anyone else would feel about it because that's what she's instructed to do. A good example is in Episode 4, where she sends an invitation to a man when Iris had previously told her not to because Iris isn't the customer she's ghostwriting for. Again, this changes through her Character Development.
Cathartic Crying: Post-Character Development, she'll keep a broad and professional demeanor whilst working with her clients and writing their messages. If she learns or endures a tragic event or outcome, she'll still maintain her professionalism right up until she completes her task, after which she tears up and sobs openly about what the clients had to go through. This is best shown after helping Clara write her 50 letters to Ann and taking care of Aidan until his death and then having to break the news to his family.
Character Development: In spades. Violet starts out as an young woman raised to be a weapon who's unable to understand human emotions thanks to her upbringing. Through being an Auto Memory Doll does she begin to learn about and start expressing emotions thanks to being exposed to and part of the emotional experiences of her clients'. It's through this that Violet begins to value human life and come to understand what Gilbert meant when he told her that he loves her.
Character Tics: Violet tends to touch things to her mouth, occasionally even biting them, as her prosthetic hands can't transmit sensations of touch.
Child Soldier: From her earliest years, Violet knew nothing except violence and warfare.
Comfort the Dying: She stayed beside Aiden in his dying moments after having finished writing the letters on his behalf, even going so far as to hold his hand and give him a light kiss on the forehead (on behalf of his Childhood Friend Maria) just as he succumbed to his wounds and the cold weather.
The Comically Serious: Due to Violet's stunted and delayed responses to emotional and social thoughts and reciprocations, she remains blunt and stoic, even if the situation surrounding her becomes comedic. Best shown when she casually tries to take off her shirt right in front of Benedict, who reacts in shock and dismay, whereas Violet doesn't quite grasp why he was freaking out.
Covered with Scars: Downplayed. Violet does have scars as a result of participating in the war (most evident being a small cut on her right cheek); however, she doesn't have a lot of them and it certainly doesn't make her any less attractive as Benedict and Isabella found out.
Cursed with Awesome: Her mechanical arms, in a way. While she's no longer capable of feeling via touch, her arms become insanely useful when she's in a fight, since she can use them to deflect bullets. Also, with her role as an Auto-Memory Doll, she is not that much perturbed about fatigue from continuous typing (though she does have to conduct recalibration of her arm's joints from time to time, as exhibited during her assignment with the Magnolia family.)
Cute Bruiser: She may look cute, but she can hit hard and fast in spite of her size.
Desperately Needs Orders: For a long time, Violet only knew how to live by following Major Gilbert's orders and she thought of herself as nothing but his "tool." When the war is over and Gilbert is no longer with her, Violet almost loses the ability to function without Gilbert telling her what to do.
Determinator: She'll travel anywhere to meet her clients, no matter where they are.
The Dreaded: Even after the war has ended, few would even dare go up against "The Battle Maiden of Leidenschaftlich", as was exemplified in Episode 11, where an enemy officer ordered his troops to stand down and retreat.
Driven to Suicide: Her hallucination of how she was responsible for Gilbert's death and her being irredeemable shocks her so much she goes into an emotional panic, which escalates when she tries to strangle herself. Thankfully, she doesn't carry on with it.
Dynamic Entry: Of the non-lethal variety in Chapter 3/Episode 11, where she para-dropped into an active war zone, weaved through incoming enemy fire, and disabled multiple enemy foot soldiers in rapid succession.
Earn Your Happy Ending: She eventually manages to persevere, in spite of all the hardships and heartbreaks that she had to endure. She reunites with Gilbert, opts to stay with him and reciprocate their love, and lead a happy life together, which is cemented by their marriage in the light novel. While she dies in the movie during the 50 year time skip, it's implied that she lived a fulfilling life, in addition to having cemented a notable reputation for herself during her days as a typewriter.
Emotionless Girl: Used to be this, having been trained as a Child Soldier.
Even the Girls Want Her: In the Eternity and the Auto Memory Doll Movie, she attracts the subtle attention of a lot of the girls at the school due to her feminine beauty and knightly qualities giving her a Bifauxnen appeal, with many of them complimenting her refined manners and skills and comparing her to a princess. And during her arrival and dance with Isabella at the grand ball, large swaths of women can be seen blatantly staring at her with blushes, open mouths or both.
- In the final chapter of Ever After, Leticia Aster also ends up bonding deeply with Violet as they stay together in their time in the city of Alfine thanks to her offering Violet a free place to stay while she raises money to pay her travel expenses back home to Leiden. Even though she knows Violet has a boyfriend, she still ends up making a futile request to ask Violet to stay with her forever before she leaves for Leiden, something they both know is not going to happen.
Expy: Of Saber/Artoria Pendragon from Fate/stay night and Rei Ayanami Expy from Neon Genesis Evangelion. She is nicknamed and called Fullmetal Saber by the Fandom, because her prosthetic arms resemble the Automail prosthetics from Fullmetal Alchemist.
Finger-Forced Smile: Because of her upbringing, Violet not only doesn't know how to smile, but what a smile even is. When told by what it is, she gives out her first attempt by physically forcing her cheeks upwards to humurous results. She eventually learns how to genuinely smile overtime though.
Floral Theme Naming: Well, duh! That said, her name isn't Violet in Violet Evergarden - IF, which is set in an alternate continuty. It's revealed in Dietfried Bougainvillea - IF that her name in said continuity is "Linaria Bougainvillea", which still keeps in line with characters generally being named after a genus of flower.
Four-Temperament Ensemble: Eclectic. She has a massive Character Development and goes from unemotional to emotional, and from cold and detached to kind and gentle; also, she's quite a Rounded Character with many sides to her personality.
Friend to All Children: Violet's interactions towards children have all been very kind and accepting on her perspective, though unlike most examples, she doesn't overtly express positive affection. She's very tolerant of whatever plights that children and young teenagers express as shown with Charlotte, Ann, and Yuris, and she even tries to help them out with her kindness and what she knows about struggling and moving on from it.
Ghostwriter: As a member of the Auto-Memory Doll Service, Violet's main purpose is to visit clients and formulate their thoughts into a message that she types before sending it to the client's loved ones. Claudia recommended this job to Violet in the hopes that it could help her understand emotions and integrate into society.
Good Is Not Nice: Sort of at the beginning. While she never was a jerk or rude by any means, she used to be a By-the-Book Cop and Innocently Insensitive, and, understandably, wasn't able to comprehend human feelings.
Good Is Not Soft: Violet becomes completely reluctant to kill when she truly comes in contact with human emotions. Still, this doesn't mean she's become a pushover, and Violet is indeed extremely skilled in self-defense and a very powerful fighter, even without weapons.
Good Wears White: Much of her default costume is a balanced shade of blue and white, and Violet is a kind, compassionate person who is willing to try helping others out.
Hair Intakes: The two "cat ears" in her hair.
Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: Fits this trope to a T, especially after her Character Development, when it's revealed how kind and beautiful she is inside.
Happily Married: Violet concludes her story by reuniting with Gilbert during the storyline and getting married years later. This is in the light novel, as the anime features the two reuniting on a later time period. It is assumed that they get married later on, given how Violet decides to retire from typewriting to live with Gilbert.
The Hero: The titular character, and definitely heroic. May not be so much of an Action Hero anymore, but she helps lots of people by her writing letters and has an incredibly good heart, as revealed when she understands that she's a human being, through and through.
Human Weapon: She was taken under Leidenschaftlich's army to be raised as a tool of destruction. Trusn out, Violet was an incredibly effective killer and almost immediately creaded a fearsome reputation for herself, though this ended up alienating everybody, sans Gilbert, who felt that she was unapproachable. This upbringing becomes Deconstructed the moment Violet is discharged from the war, where her upbringing to be a military asset deprived her of being able to function porperly in society nor understand a lot of basic emotional responses and social norms... at first.
Image Song: Violet gets a whopping thirteen image songs, all sung by her voice actress Yui Ishikawa, and chronicles her journey from the TV series and both movies.
Incorruptible Pure Pureness: Let's check how her understanding emotions make her grow; reluctant to kill, selfless, wouldn't do anything morally ambiguous, acts with compassion... And makes the world better. She wants to bring peace, she's horrified for what she did when she used to be an emotionless soldier and is very worried about the possibility of the beginning of another war.
Innocent Blue Eyes: Violet's eyes are a bright shade of blue, which further emphasizes her compassionate demeanor and desire to help others.
Innocent Fanservice Girl: When she is given a work uniform to wear she immediately begins stripping down, right in front of a (very flustered) Benedict.
Innocently Insensitive: During her early days as a typewriter. Violet genuinely means well and tries to understand her clients, but due to her severe inexperience and lack of properly understanding the needs and feelings of her clients, she ends up accidentally alienating or offending them, with Iris being a notable case, and she ends up having to be reprimanded for how she's doing things. She does learn her mistakes and becomes a lot better at understanding others over time.
Insecure Love Interest: In Ever After, she confesses in a letter to Gilbert that she fears she will be a total embarrassment to his family when it comes time to formally introduce her to them, and more seriously, she also confesses that she still feels torn between being his lover like a normal woman vs. being the living weapon who wants orders. In the final chapter, she also admits to Leticia that she feels that she lacks confidence when it comes to her relationship with him.
Kicking Ass in All Her Finery: Her fashionable and decorated dressing style does not deter her from still being able to decimate anybody in close-quarters combat and she's willing to fight if necessary, though she would try to solve these non-lethally. That said, she does sustain some Clothing Damage later on, especially during the train hijacking.
Kuudere: A different example, as it's not due to actual personality coldness, but rather her being completely emotionally stunted before her Character Development.
Literal-Minded: Violet is baffled when Hodgins tells her she's "on fire", not understanding his metaphor.
- This translates negatively to her early attempts at letter writing; she often interprets the client's words in the most straightforward manner possible, so that even something that's clearly meant to be sentimental and familiar reads like a formal report.
Lightning Bruiser: She notably can hit hard at incredible speeds despite her age.
Little Miss Badass: Violet is in her teens but possesses incredible fighting skills, having been bought up by Leidenschaftlich's military prior to becoming a typewriter..
Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane: Violet's Mysterious Past becomes subject to this in the light novels. At best they're only possibilities, but nothing is truly confirmed.
- For magic, a cult claims gods and demigods exist, the latter possessing certain traits that put them above regular humans. They claim that Violet looks exactly like the war goddess Garnet Spear, to the point where even Violet herself agrees. Other clues and features of Violet reinforce that this might be the case.
- On the mundane side, it's suggested that Benedict is her older brother and her abilities are the result of experimental enhancement drugs from a "military camp". Not only are Violet and Benedict similarly blond-haired and blue-eyed, but Benedict's story about escaping the camp by boat with his sister, only to wind up separated at sea might explain how Violet ended up on that island.
Meaningful Name: In-Universe. Gilbert named Violet after the mythological flower goddess named Garnet Spear.
Muscles Are Meaningless: A petite-looking girl who was capable of slaughtering adult soldiers even as a child and wield a gargantuan battle-axe. She still very much retains this strength as an adult whenever it's needed.
Mysterious Past: Doesn't know why she ended up all alone on an island before Dietfried picked her up. Dietfried suspects she was a victim of a shipwreck, but he doesn't know for sure, nor does he care to investigate the matter any further. The light novels do offer a couple of possibilities on who or what Violet is, but there's no definitive answer.
Mysterious Waif: She is presented as this throughout the first light novel. Unlike the anime, the novel slowly drip-feeds information about Violet in a gradual manner. It isn't until the fifth chapter that it is finally revealed that Violet is a war veteran, and the end of the novel for the reader to finally understand why Gilbert means so much to her. This is due to the novels always being written from the viewpoints of the clients and other characters as well as being out of chronological order. In contrast, since the anime puts Violet as the main character front and center, all this information about her past gets revealed in the beginning of the first episode.
Nice Girl: With her Character Development, The Stoic and expressionless Violet turns out to be a truly kind, beautiful soul, who's very selfless and compassionate towards others. When she starts understanding emotions, she understands she killed lots of people when she was a soldier, and genuinely regrets it, vowing not to kill anymore. That said, Good Is Not Soft.
No Social Skills: Violet lived her entire life as a Child Soldier, and thus has no knowledge at all about how to live in society when there isn't any war going on. She gets better, though.
Not So Stoic: Violet is generally stoic and unflappable, but anything related to Gilbert is guaranteed to make her lose her cool: this happened even when she was an emotionless soldier.
Not Used to Freedom: Having spend a good deal of her life in military services for Leidenschaftlich, Violet is confused and oblivious about how a normal life is like, to the point where she not only talks and responds like a soldier, but kind of gets lost without directing her to rules and obligations, not unlike a soldier following the commands of his superior. The reason Violet is suggested by Claudia to join the Auto-Memory Dolls service is to get a better grasp at how to understand and live a life where one can make their own choices, considering she is no longer a participant of war.
Oblivious to Love: Gilbert outright told her that he loved her, and all Violet could do in response was wonder what "love" is. She understands Gilbert was a person of prime importance to her, but she never knew why.
Oral Fixation: Is prone to nibbling on things she's given, like the brooch from Gilbert or the plush dog from Claudia. She also removes her gloves by holding a finger with her teeth. It makes sense; she can't feel anything with her hands, so she uses her mouth to actually get some sensation from things.
Pay Evil unto Evil: During her days as a soldier in Leidenschaftlich's Army, Violet wound up killing several soldiers from her own faction. Turns out, they were trying to rape her while she was sleeping, so it's not like they weren't asking to be killed.
Parasol of Prettiness: A powder blue one covered in frills and ribbons. It was a present from Oscar Webster.
Pint-Sized Powerhouse: A teenage girl who was shorter and smaller than all the men in the military but easily smacked them around with no problem.
Posthumous Character: She died in-between the 50 year time skip between Violet's reunion with Gilbert and Daisy's journey into finding out more about Violet in the 2020 film. Given how the present timeline's story is influenced by Clara's letters, which were written by Violet and she had become renowned by that point, she remained an influential driving force for Daisy and the plot.
Prim and Proper Bun: Violet's days as a typewriter are marked by her hair being neatly tied up in twin lower buns, which tends to further emphasize her kindly personality and her organized and determined nature.
Primary-Color Champion: In her Doll uniform, she's easily distinguishable as the main character by her blue dress jacket, red hair ribbons, and blonde hair.
Proper Lady: Her gentle and calm disposition as well as her prim and fashionable clothing evoke this archetype. It's furthered by Violet's nature to carry on with her determination to help her clients out as well as to atone for her acts as a soldier during her days in the military.
Rape as Backstory: More like Attempted Rape as Backstory; the main reason she ended up killing a good deal of soldiers on her side was that they tried to rape her while she was asleep, completely underestimating the fact that Violet was a Wild Child and a fearsome killer/survivor prior to being drafted into Leidenschaftlich's Army. It also establishes why Gilbert means a lot to Violet, being one of them, if not only, men in the military to treat her kindly and why Dietfried has a cynical outlook towards her.
Red Baron: Famously known as the "Battle Maiden of Leidenschaftlich" during and after the war. In the Violet Evergarden IF alternate universe story, she's instead called "Leidenschaftlich's Undine."
Rei Ayanami Expy: With the exception of long and blond instead of short blue hair, she has all the characteristics. Is she a Love Interest? Yes, to Gilbert. Does she have mysterious origins and a Dark and Troubled Past? Oh, definitely. Age between 10 and 20? Check. Pale skin? Check. Appears emotionless, quiet, stoic, or otherwise odd? Oh boy... Tendency towards talking in Spock Speak, monotone, Robo Speak, or a combination thereof? Check. Suffers a major injury or illness, or at least is frequently hospitalized? Yes, she's in hospital after being severely injured during war, and she even gets the Artificial Limbs after her hospitalization. Strong connection to a parental figure, boss and/or antagonist, displaying Undying Loyalty to them? Gilbert, who adopted her, though she then becomes his Love Interest, and he becomes hers as well when she starts understanding emotions. Eventually becomes more emotional? CHECK, PLEASE!
Retired Badass: She's a soldier finally allowed to live a normal life after the war is over. Unfortunately, Violet was a Child Soldier, so she doesn't know any lifestyle outside the military and isn't sure if she wants it at first. She chooses to work as an Auto Memory Doll to learn about others' emotions as well as her own.
Sacrificed Basic Skill for Awesome Training: Violet is adept in military duties, but knows next to nil about civilian life. When Gilbert first met her, she was practically feral. He had to teach her how to talk, and how to interpret human contact as more than threats.
Sarashi: Certain illustrations from the Light Novels reveal that she wore one during her early days in the Leidenschaftlich Army.
Shell-Shocked Veteran: Unconventionally so; life as a soldier and a weapon of war initially did not traumatize Violet because she never knew anything else. After living as a civilian and understanding her heart for a while, her bloody memories of war are seen in a new light and she struggles to cope with them.
Sick Captive Scam: In Ever After Chapter 2, she pretends to be a woman of ill health to fool the robbers who have seized the art gallery into letting her use the bathroom, and escape out the window.
Skilled, but Naive: She's a proficient and eloquent writer whose craft is nearly unmatched and she's a formidable fighter, but her stunted emotional development and not being raised in a proper social environment makes her aloof and unwillingly insensitive towards her clients, workmates, and close ones, which is a major struggle for Violet early in the series. Much of her Character Development involves overcoming this weakness and becoming more empathetic and understanding toward others.
The Soft-Hearted Warrior: A former Child Soldier, who now serves as an "Auto Memories Doll", someone who writes letters for someone else. Rather than dictation, her duty is to figure out the essence of what a client is truly trying to say, and express that in the letters she writes. So intuitive is Violet at this task that she becomes the most requested "Doll" of her agency. But when danger threatens, she demonstrates that she can still hold her own in a combat situation, although she now tries to adhere strictly to Thou Shall Not Kill.
Spock Speak: She has excellent grammar and typing skills, but initially speaks (and types) very formally, akin to giving a mission report. Her tone of voice is clipped and deadpan as well, and she is initially incapable of understanding figures of speech. She is called out for not being able to properly decipher emotions and convey them in her writing. Things change when she starts understanding what those letters mean to people.
The Stoic: Because her social and emotional development was severely hampered by her being used as a Living Weapon by Leidenschaftlich's military, Violet's general demeanor appears to be blunt and deadpan, with her responses even sounding rather uncanny towards others. As her experiences as a typewriter goes on, Violet becomes a lot more receptive and understanding of emotions and while she retains her composed appearance, it's not hard to get by emotional and traumatic circumstances without Violet reacting to those with visible distress and sadness.
Subordinate Excuse: She was originally given to Gilbert by his brother to basically be an attack dog. However, Gilbert looked after her and cared for her as a person. For this, Violet made it her entire life purpose to protect Gilbert and follow his orders.
Sugar-and-Ice Personality: She rarely displays emotions and seems to barely comprehend them, at first. She does get emotive when it comes to Gilbert, who meant the world to her. And then, this happens with people she gets involved with, such as Ann's ill mother, who is going to die, and Aiden, the soldier Violet takes care of until he succumbs in front of her.
Super-Strength: She is incredibly strong for her size, and it's even more obvious in the light novels whenever she wields the giant axe Witchcraft, a weapon bigger than she is, which she was already using as a young teenager during the war.
Supporting Protagonist: While the central character of the series, some chapters in the light novel as well as as a select few episodes in the anime focus more on Violet's clients than the title character. The emphasis on the clients and their circumstances help to introduce Violet to further emotional reactions and social norms that she would come to express in the future.
Tender Tears: After having a better grasp at emotions and social interactions, Violet weeping over her struggles and what her clients go through becomes a noticeable trait she exhibits. It highlights just how far she's come as a person, having become empathetic, selfless, caring, and determined in helping out others and making amends for her past acts.
These Hands Have Killed: In the anime, becoming more in touch with her emotions allows Violet to break out of her Human Weapon conditioning and realize in retrospect just how much War Is Hell. The resulting Heroic BSoD from the innumerable lives she's taken, combined with seeing her Auto Memory Doll work as hypocrisy, terrifies her so much in the anime that she contemplates suicide.
Thou Shalt Not Kill: In the anime, after learning empathy and realizing just how many lives she's taken during the war and the tragedies she may have caused, she resorts to being a Martial Pacifist. This doesn't bode well when she's dealing with the anti-peace faction, since while she's more than skilled enough to take them all on, her refusal to kill them eventually drives her into a corner; as they'll keep coming back up, and they're not as willing to return the favor by leaving her alive. Even Dietfried calls her out on this.
- In the light novel, during the job for Aiden Field when she neutralizes the enemy soldiers shooting him with her great axe "Witchcraft," Aiden is stunned to see that she only knocks out the enemies using the axe's handle, and only uses the oversized blade not as a weapon but as a shield to block bullets.
Tragic Heroine: It's not certain why Dietfried picked her up and she was found all alone, but all the events that happened to her are definitely tragic.
Tragic Keepsake: The brooch Gilbert got her becomes this after her recovery and his Uncertain Doom. It reminds her of his eyes.
Tranquil Fury: In the final chapter of the Gaiden Volume, Violet becomes frightfully furious upon finding out Hodgins and Lux have been kidnapped.
Her hand reached out to her brooch and gripped it tightly. "Who... and where... is the culprit?" she asked in a low voice, still gripping it and not letting go. "Who... and where?" Her tone was an absolute zero. It was so low and cold it went to the point of making whoever listened to it hallucinate that the temperature had dropped for a second. The air about her was bizarre, further enhanced by her usual robotic aspect.
True Blue Femininity: She's a girl with a gentle (if, at first glance, stiff) demeanor, and her Doll Uniform comes with a navy blue jacket. The feminine part is further accentuated by the powder blue parasol that Oscar Webster gives her.
Trying Not to Cry: Two confirmed instances in the anime adaptation:
- At the end of Episode 10, she admitted that she held back her tears for a whole week, while writing letters for Ann Magnolia, which the latter's ailing mother requested to be delivered on Ann's birthday one at a time for the next fifty years. She only managed to open the floodgates as she was contemplating the said letters with her workmates, especially with the fact that Ann would eventually be left orphaned once her mother succumbs to her sickness.
- The following episode, she held back her tears from the time her client Aiden passed away, up until the latter's mother gave her a hug as gratitude for the letters she wrote on his behalf.
Undying Loyalty: To Gilbert, her Living Emotional Crutch. It gets to the point that with both of her arms lost and both of them grievously injured, she still tries to keep him alive.
Unstoppable Mailman: If her assignment as an Auto-Memories Doll requires her to go to an active war zone, save the person who hired her from an ambush, write the letter he dictates and then escape said war zone to deliver it, then it's what she'll do.
Vague Age: Violet isn't certain how old she is, but when introducing herself to Princess Charlotte in the anime she estimates herself to be the same age as her, which is about 14. In the light novel version of this scene, Violet can't answer the question despite taking a moment to think about it, and tells Charlotte she doesn't know how old she is. Other characters throughout the series refer to her as a child or child-like, and the novels note that her body is not quite that of a fully developed adult so she most likely is still in her mid-teens.
- In the light novel versions of their stories, both Aidan Field and Isabella York assume Violet is close to their ages. In the latter case, Isabella outright asks Violet if they're both girls of similar age, and Violet simply answers "Yes."
Waif-Fu: Even more so during the war, when she was just a preteen taking out fully-grown men.
Walking Armory: The light novel shows that due to the nature of her job as an Auto-Memories Doll (being a beautiful young woman traveling and working alone for long periods of time), she takes self-defense seriously. Even while working a practically risk-free job with the Magnolia family, Ann notices that Violet keeps a handgun in her suitcase. For more dangerous jobs, she will bring more weapons, such as the job for Aiden Field which takes her to an active warzone, in which she brings her battle-ax Witchcraft (omitted from the anime), and in Chapter 5, which takes her to a prison for dangerous criminals, she has knives in her boots, another handgun in her sleeve, extra ammo and a ballistic knife in her garter belts, and her hair ribbon also hides two additional stilettos. In the Gaiden Volume's Chapter 3, Claudia lectures Violet not to bring too many weapons on her next job since it'll weigh down Benedict's motorcycle, and also mentions he knows she buys extra weapons with her salary. She then reveals her most recent purchase was a long-range rifle, and also expresses a desire to buy a mace as well.
What Is This Thing You Call "Love"?: The last words Gilbert spoke to her were "I love you". Since Violet has No Social Skills, she didn't understand the meaning behind them. She takes the job of an Auto Memory Doll to understand love better.
When She Smiles: Violet smiles rarely, if mainly because while she's managed to become accustomed to her new life as a typewriter in a war-free environment, she's still yet to overcome the psychological troubles she's gone through in the military. But anytime she makes a genuine smile, it's really heartwarming.
Wild Child: Until Dietfried found her, Violet apparently lived on an island with no human contact. Back then, Violet didn't know to do anything but attack anyone who got close to her. She didn't even know how to properly speak until Gilbert taught her. Since she showed some talent for killing, she was recruited in the military.
You Are Better Than You Think You Are: She's on the giving end of this trope when she confronts Ann after she becomes distraught and anguished over feeling neglected by her mother. Violet tries to affirm and pacify Ann by telling her that she's admirable and resilient. She doesn't take it well at first but eventually concedes whilst crying her eyes out.

Claudia Hodgins

Voiced by: Takehito Koyasu (Japanese), Kyle McCarley (English) ^{Foreign VAs}

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/hodgins_anime_design.png

A former officer and a good friend to Gilbert. He founded CH Postal Company after seeing that Leiden's government postal offices weren't meeting the needs of its citizens. He takes Violet under his care on Gilbert's 'request'.

The Alcoholic: Implied to be one under way to recovery, as seen in Episode 5 of the anime when he denies a drink from his army senior.
The Atoner: Takes Violet in partly at Gilbert's wishes, but also partly for doing nothing to help Violet during his time in the military, despite being disgusted by her treatment at the hands of the other soldiers.
Cannot Spit It Out: Seems to know what happened to Gilbert and constantly dodges questions about it.
Consummate Liar: Has been one since his military days, and often used it to sleep around, get cigarettes, and lie to Violet about Gilbert's true situation in the novel.
Gender-Blender Name: Claudia is usually a female name. He has such a name because his parents wanted a girl.
Hunk: He's handsome, muscular and manly, in contrast to Benedict, who is more of a Pretty Boy instead.
Nice Guy: Despite being a bit of a hustler in his professional and romantic life, Claudia is, essentially, a very kind man with strong paternal instincts.
Parental Substitute: After Gilbert's apparent death, he takes Violet in and becomes her second parental figure after the war. Appropriately, he's furious with Gilbert in the 2020 movie for pushing Violet away.
Really Gets Around: Sleeps with plenty of women around Leidenschaftlich. This was hinted at in the anime when Cattleya needles him about his name, and is confirmed in more detail in the light novel Gaiden volume: apparently he's out and about so often that Lux can tell when he's going to spend the night with a lady based on how early he clocks out, how carefully he cleans up his desk, and whether he waters his potted plants or not before leaving work.
Secret-Keeper: In the light novels, he is one of the few people who knows Gilbert is still alive, and maintains an act to keep Violet in the dark about it per Gilbert's instructions. It doesn't stop him from chewing Gilbert out over it on the phone whenever he calls him.
War Is Hell: The biggest lesson that Claudia took away from his experiences as a lieutenant colonel. He got out of the army the minute the war was over, and started the postal service so that he could help the people, especially veterans like him and Violet, recover from it.

Benedict Blue

Voiced by: Kōki Uchiyama (Japanese), Ben Pronsky (English) ^{Foreign VAs}

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ve_bb.png

An old friend of Claudia and a rather blunt man who took up postman duties in CH Postal Company.

Alliterative Name: Benedict Blue.
A Day in the Limelight: After spending the first part of Violet Evergarden: Eternity and the Auto Memory Doll as a relative background character, he spends the second part as an important psuedo Big Brother Mentor to Taylor, delivers her letter to her older sister by the end, and delivers the epilogue.
- He's the protagonist of Gaiden volume Chapter 3, which delves deep into his past.
Badass Bystander:
- He may only be a civilian mailman, but that doesn't prevent him from spearheading a rescue operation that involves blowing up a train station in the novel.
- In the anime, he helps Violet dispatch one of the two bombs taped to the bridge by drop-kicking it off, and is able to quickly maneuver around the bridge to save Violet in time from falling below. Bonus points for him doing all that while wearing heeled boots.
Big Brother Mentor: Becomes a non blood related one to Taylor in the second part of the first movie, with Taylor even insisting on calling him brother and teacher.
Butt-Monkey: Seems to take the brunt of most of the jokes in the anime.
Casanova Wannabe: Despite his good looks, none of his female co-workers seem to like him, occasional Slap-Slap-Kiss with Cattleya moments aside and the final episode revealing Erica's crush on him.
- In the light novels, he has major Belligerent Sexual Tension with Cattleya, and they get a full-on Relationship Upgrade in the Gaiden volume's 4th chapter.
Deadpan Snarker: Has shades of this in the anime.
Deuteragonist: Or maybe tritagonist, of the second half of the first movie, given his important role in aiding Taylor alongside Violet.
Impractically Fancy Outfit: Benedict, for some reason or another, wears high heeled boots. While fashionable, they're impractical for his job of walking around delivering letters. He defensively says they're cool when Cattleya makes fun of him for wearing them in the Gaiden volume.
Jerk with a Heart of Gold: He can be short-tempered and slightly rude, and tends to face people head-on, but despite this he's a genuinely kind-hearted young man, who is helpful and considerate towards those he cares about.
Like an Old Married Couple: Often gets into spats with Cattleya.
Like Brother and Sister: Grows into this role with Taylor as he mentors her, Taylor even insisting on calling him brother when she first seems him.
Long-Lost Relative: His younger sister in the light novel. His Gaiden chapter explains that he doesn't remember his past, or even what his sister looks like, but feels that he'll know her when he see's her. It's suggested that she might actually be Violet. Not only do the pair have similar blond hair and striking blue eyes, but aspects of Benedict's past neatly explains a few mysteries surrounding Violet. Namely, her enhanced fighting abilities - military drugs that enhance one's abilities but affects one's memory - and how she ended up on the island - escaping a "military camp" by boat and getting separated at sea.
Luminescent Blush: Sports one after he is caught off guard when Violet suddenly starts to change in front of him.
Reality Is Unrealistic: In real life, high heels were first worn by men as a way to hook the shoes to the stirrups when riding horses. The story takes place during the in-universe transition period between horse riding and motor vehicles, hence hinting at why a motorcycle rider like Benedict wears said footwear past his claims of making a fashion statement.
Twisted Ankle: Gets one in a later episode while delivering letters due to his boots.

Cattleya Baudelaire

Voiced by: Aya Endo (Japanese), Reba Buhr (English) ^{Foreign VAs}

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ve_cb.png

A beautiful and widely famous Auto Memory Doll, and a senior member of Violet's department.

Boxing Battler: The Gaiden volume's final chapter reveals she used to do boxing, and when she joins Violet and Benedict for their assault on Salvatore Postal Company, she takes a pair of brass knuckles as her weapon.
Cool Big Sis: Tries to be one to Violet in the novel. In the anime where the office dynamics of CH Postal get more of the spotlight, she's this to all of the Dolls, and Iris especially looks up to/envies her. She's also this to Lux in the light novel's Gaiden volume.
Four-Temperament Ensemble: Sanguine. She's outgoing, cheerful and friendly, has a teasing and sarcastic side and is very kind, helpful and empathetic.
The Gadfly: Teases Claudia by acting clingy with him knowing Benedict was watching.
Like an Old Married Couple: She and Benedict are bickering more often than not, but they do care for each other.
Ms. Fanservice: Most Auto Memory Dolls dress to appeal to some level. Cattleya however takes this trope to a tee with an absurdly low-cut dress that ends slightly past her pelvis. This also applies to her past as a dancer.
Navel-Deep Neckline: Her outfit includes an open bustier that reveals her cleavage.
Nice Girl: She's flirty, but also a very kind and helpful person. She's very compassionate and sweet towards Violet and others as well, although she can be a bit of a tsundere towards Claudia and Benedict.
The Runaway: Her origin, as she tells Violet in Volume 2 of the novel.
Shipper on Deck: In the 2020 movie, she is pretty supportive of the idea of Violet taking Dietfried as a romantic partner. When Hodgins recoils from the idea and reminds her that Dietfried was the one who most treated Violet as a living weapon during the war, she counters that having that kind of shared past as well as their shared grief over Gilbert is exactly why she thinks they would be good for each other.

Iris Cannary

Voiced by: Haruka Tomatsu (Japanese), Cherami Leigh (English) ^{Foreign VAs}

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/iris_anime_design.png

An outspoken woman from the country. Part of CH Postal's Auto Memory Dolls team.

Always Someone Better: She's a little irritated in the movie that CH Postal's customers constantly request for Violet to serve as their amaneunsis, although Cattleya reminds her she already gets quite a few customer requests.
Boyish Short Hair: Which contrasts well with Cattleya's long hair and Erica's bowl-cut.
Brutal Honesty: Rather straightforward in speaking her mind.
Canon Foreigner: An anime-original character.
Childhood Friend Romance: An unlucky version. She developed feelings for a boy she grew up with, who rejected her.
Country Mouse: Iris grew up in a rural village and moved to Leiden for a more glamorous life as a Doll. She's annoyed that exciting things seem to be avoiding her.
Dramatic Slip: While gloating about getting her first requested letter as she's going down the stairs, she trips from her inexperience in heels. Violet seems to help cushion her fall and keep her from seriously hurting herself, but she still hurts her wrist enough to not be able to write and needs to have Violet accompany her and do the ghostwriting for her.
Girliness Upgrade: In the 2020 movie, she's the one character who has changed most dramatically in appearance, now opting to wear a long dress, growing her hair out a bit longer, and also adding a neat hairband on top of it. Her personality is still the same though, and she's the #3 most requested Doll at CH Postal behind Violet & Cattleya.
Hopeless Suitor: She had feelings for her childhood friend who rejected her when she confessed.
Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Downplayed. She's short-tempered and can be touchy and slightly rude, but otherwise she's genuinely kind.
Tomboy and Girly Girl: She's the tomboy to Cattleya and Erica's girly girl. She wears pants instead of dresses and doesn't seem very used to walking in high-heels.
Tsundere: Not exactly open about her feelings, even coming across as somewhat dishonest, hiding them underneath a snarky attitude.

Erica Brown

Voiced by: Minori Chihara (Japanese), Christine Marie Cabanos (English) ^{Foreign VAs}

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/erica_anime_design.png

A newly hired ghost-writer of the Auto Memory Dolls team. She dreams of becoming a novelist.

Canon Foreigner: An anime-original character.
Demoted to Extra: Her appearances in the 2020 movie are few, as she has left the CH Postal Company in favor of pursuing an apprenticeship in theater with the playwright Oscar Webster.
Hopeless Suitor: The last episode reveals she's recently developed a crush on Benedict, who seems to be oblivious and uninterested.
Nice Girl: She's a shy yet gentle, kind and considerate girl, who is supportive of others.
Shrinking Violet: She's mousy, shy and sometimes has trouble standing up for herself, though it's ultimately shown she's fairly confident in her own opinions.

Military of Leidenschaftlich

Gilbert Bougainvillea

Voiced by: Daisuke Namikawa (Japanese), Tony Azzolino (English) ^{Foreign VAs}

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ve_gb.png

An army major and a steadfast son of the Bougainvillea family. Following his ancestors' long and well-known military tradition, he rose through the ranks of the army. He was entrusted with taking care of Violet, who fought and lived side by side with him all the way until the final moments of the war.

An Arm and a Leg: He lost his right arm in the bombardment of Intens Fortress that nearly killed him. In the light novel, he gets a prosthetic replacement since he stays in the army. In the anime's 2020 movie, he remains armless for the entire duration due to having abandoned Leidenschaftlich and living out his life on a tiny rural island in the former enemy country's territory.
Child Soldiers: In the light novel's sixth chapter, it mentions he first saw combat action when he was a 17-year old enlistee.
The Dutiful Son: He was raised to follow his father's footsteps in military career, becoming obedient to his family's demands and wishes, in contrast to his laid back elder brother Dietfried.
Dying Declaration of Love: After he gave his final order to Violet, he proclaimed his love for her before expiring. Though in the anime there's some debate on whether that love was paternal or romantic.
Eye Scream: Horrifically lost his right eye during the war when he and Violet recaptures a cathedral in Intense; In the light novel, an enemy soldier stabbed his eye with a bayonet in an attempt to kill him, or in the anime, an enemy soldier shot it there with a rifle. Afterwards when he reunites with Violet, he has to wear an eyepatch over where it remains.
Inappropriately Close Comrades: In Ever After Chapter 4, he confesses in a letter to his sister Julia that he was already falling in love with Violet during the war. Knowing full well how inappropriate this was due to both her being his subordinate and an underaged girl, he did his best to bury his feelings as hard as possible and to treat her only in a strictly professional manner. He was successful at keeping their relationship only as officer and subordinate until he really thought he was going to die in the Battle of Intens.
Line-of-Sight Name: When he first met Violet, she didn't have a name. As he thought of one to give her, a butterfly drew his attention to a pair of violets growing at the base of a tree which inspired her new name. Averted in the light novel, where he chooses the name "Violet" to refer to a goddess instead.
Living Emotional Crutch: He was the first person to treat Violet as a human and not a weapon, and she depended on him during the war. She isn't certain how to function in a world without him and goes off the rails when she thinks he's dead; in fact, Claudia suspected that this would happen, which is why he was reluctant to tell her about Gilbert's fate.
Nice Guy: In spite of being a hardened soldier, he's kind and compassionate who thinks of Violet as a human instead of an army's tool and is willing to nurture for her wellbeing by purchasing an emerald brooch for her to wear to a point it blossomed to love from his POV as he declares it to her as they were grievously wounded after recapturing a cathedral in Intense.
Uncertain Doom: The last time Violet saw him was during the same battle that cost Violet her own arms, and Gilbert was badly wounded at the time. Whether he survived or not is unknown. In the novels, it's immediately revealed to the reader that he survived, but wanted Violet to think he was dead so she could live a normal life. In the anime, while he's officially listed as M.I.A. and believed to be dead, Violet chooses to believe he may be alive somewhere, and her faith is rewarded in the 2020 movie when he does turn out to be alive.
What Beautiful Eyes!: Violet learns the word 'beautiful' when trying to describe the feeling she got when looking at Gilbert's eyes.
Wife Husbandry: Gilbert's relationship with Violet started out fairly paternal, especially because of their age difference. It's a lot more muddied in the anime, since Dietfried stated that Gilbert wanted to adopt Violet into the Bougainvillea family. Whether it meant taking her as a wife or as a daughter is left up in the air.

Dietfried Bougainvillea

Voiced by: Hidenobu Kiuchi (Japanese), Keith Silverstein (English) ^{Foreign VAs}

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/violet_dietfried.png

Gilbert's elder brother. Dietfried is a rebellious son who is notable for joining Leidenschaftlich's navy instead of the army like prior generations of Bougainvillea men.

Adaptational Badass: He is part of the security detail on the train hijacking incident in the anime and takes out several of the terrorists. In the light novel, he is not present on the train and his role in the incident is mostly offscreen preparing his naval battle group to set up an offshore blockade, in case the terrorists attempt to escape by sea after the train arrives at its destination.
Anti-Hero: He's rather unpleasant and selfish, and kinda amoral to an extent, since he can be ruthless and uncaring. He's not evil, however, and is ultimately redeemable.
The Captain: He's a well-respected naval captain, and Episode 12 of the anime reveals him to be a highly effective and ruthless marksman and hand-to-hand fighter.
Even Evil Has Loved Ones: He's not really evil as much as he's just unpleasant. He may be a Jerkass to Violet, but he sincerely cares about his brother, and is respectful towards his mother. His mother even noted that despite their differences, both brothers are on good terms with each other. His major beef was with his father, whose funeral he did not attend, but Chapter 6 reveals another reason he skipped the funeral was so that way, he wouldn't be eligible for the inheritance and it would all go to Gilbert instead.
Even Evil Has Standards: Again, evil is a stretch, but despite his morally grey qualities and jerkass behavior, he's the one who took Violet to Leidenschaftlich, deeming "it" to be a "weapon" of the state. But even so, he felt that Gilbert would handle her better than himself. This is explored more in the novel, where Dietfried comments that he found his former subordinates trying to rape Violet on an island just after they are shipwrecked to be quite distasteful, only to see the young girl kill those people then ceaselessly chase after him. It could be said that it's mostly fear that prompted Dietfried to give Violet to Gilbert.
Guile Hero: In his chapter in Ever After, he foils the robbery of the Artemisia art gallery by having Violet pretend to be an ill woman while he acts as her concerned caretaker, then has her alert his subordinates at his nearby hotel of the incident. He also manages to distract the robbers by talking at length to them about how he's figured out the escape route they were going to take will be by sea since the gallery is near the port and as a navy man, he knows the fastest way out of the country would be to take the ocean.
Hidden Depths: Ever After Chapter 2 reveals he has a secret hobby of painting which he has not told anyone in his family about. His work is good enough that it catches the attention of a local art patron named Artemisia, who requests to have one of his paintings publicly displayed at her art gallery in town.
Interservice Rivalry: Him joining the Navy instead of the Army was a really big deal for the Bougainvillea family, as he bucked 26 generations of tradition and made him out to be the black sheep of the family.
"It" Is Dehumanizing: He explicitly referred to Violet as an "it" when introducing her to Gilbert, and often speaks to or about her in a derisive manner, even outright calling her a tool.
Jerkass Has a Point: As much of a dick as he is, he felt that Gilbert is foolish for going on with what their family dictates instead of living his own life. Although Dietfried did take on a soldiering career, the circumstances were different as Dietfried joined the navy to fulfill his dream of captaining a ship (which shocked his family as the tradition was to join the army).
Long-Haired Pretty Boy: And his brother mentioned their father would have hated that style.
Pet the Dog: Despite his contemptuous treatment of Violet, he does help her retrieve her brooch back, and acknowledges by the end that she has become her own person.
Self-Made Man: Him joining the navy meant he had to work his way up the military hierarchy on his own, as he broke what had been an unbroken tradition of Bougainvillea men joining the army for 26 generations. This alienated him from his father and family, and he had no connections to call on during his training and subsequent career outside of what he made himself.
Took a Level in Kindness: He is much, much nicer to Violet in the 2020 movie, always speaking to her in a gentle tone and never once raising his voice towards her. Justified in that it has been over 4 years since the war ended and he's had time to come to grips with the loss of his brother and has seen Violet slowly develop as a person.
- Downplayed in the light novel continuity. He only meets Violet a handful of times after the war ends, once at the air show where he inadvertently reveals Gilbert is alive and again at the Artemisia Art Gallery where he has to work with her to stop an armed robbery. At the end of the day, much like in the anime, he does recognize that Violet has grown significantly as a person to the point that she and Gilbert can love each other as a romantic couple, but he still has enough lingering negative feelings towards her that he's still brusque and rude to her.
Wounded Gazelle Gambit: In the alternate universe story Violet Evergarden - IF, one of the tactics he uses is to put the Undine (a.k.a. "Violet") on a small boat near an enemy vessel. The crew, thinking Violet is just a lost little girl, brings her on board... at which point she slaughters them all and leaves the ship open for seizure by Dietfried's fleet. This is as much an attempt to get her killed as well when he is trying to get rid of her in their early days.
You Should Have Died Instead: Part of why he deeply resents Violet is because he blames her for Gilbert's death, and even outright tells her that she also should have died.

Clients

Oscar Webster

Voiced by: Satoshi Taki (Japanese), Joe Ochman (English) ^{Foreign VAs}

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/evergarden_oscar.png

A former renowned playwright who was struck with the death of his wife and more recently, his daughter Olivia.

Beard of Sorrow: Oscar is a despairing man with unkempt stubble. He is clean shaven in Episode 9's "Where Are They Now?" Epilogue to show he has come to terms with his grief.
The Bus Came Back: He reappears in the final chapter of Ever After when scouting out singers in Alfine for his next theatrical work, and decides Leticia Aster will be the one. He also ends up paying Violet's travel expenses so she can get back home to Leiden.
Cannot Spit It Out: Not Oscar but his wife, who hid her fatal illness for fear of Oscar abandoning her. He later learns this from a friend after her passing.
Despair Event Horizon: He's toeing it when Violet comes to ghostwrite for him, grieving his family and too drunk to type a script. Violet's care brings Oscar back from the edge.
Drowning My Sorrows: Watching his beloved wife and daughter die reduced him to an alcoholic recluse. Violet prohibits him from drinking while she's working for him, and thanks to her impression, he goes on to get sober.
Outliving One's Offspring: As if losing his wife to a terminal illness wasn't bad enough, he had to watch their young daughter waste away from the same disease.
Too Upset to Create: He was a renowned playwright, but the loss of his wife and daughter to terminal illness makes him unable to write, and it doesn't help that he deals with his sadness by drinking. He hires Violet to ghostwrite a script for him since he's too depressed and drunk to do it himself.
Tragic Keepsake: A parasol which was Olivia's prized possession. Oscar gives it to Violet as a token of gratitude.

Ann Magnolia

Voiced by: Sumire Morohoshi (Japanese), Cassandra Lee Morris (English) ^{Foreign VAs}

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/evergarden_ann.png

A 7-year old girl whose ailing mother hired Violet Evergarden to write letters for a week.

Children Are Innocent: Ann takes her mother's words literally and assumes Violet really is a life-size doll for the duration of her stay. That said, she is precocious enough to understand her mother will die soon.
Clingy Jealous Girl: Views anyone who approach her mother with hostilities, believing everybody always lies to one another.
Happy Ending Override: A downplayed example as she did live a long and fulfilling life, but the 2020 movie puts a more bitter spin on her later years when it is revealed her relationship with her daughter became estranged due to said daughter prioritizing work over family.
Parental Abandonment: In the novel, her father left her family with financial problems due to his gambling habits and alcoholism. In the anime, he died in the war. Then her mother dies when she's very young.
Write Back to the Future: The result of the letters her mother had written.

Clara Magnolia

Voiced by: Ayako Kawasumi (Japanese), Wendee Lee (English) ^{Foreign VAs}

Ann's mother, who serves as one of Violet's clients. By the time of their meeting, Clara is terminally ill and wants to write a letter before she passes, though the details surrounding it remain confiscated to Ann until Clara's death, which causes a wedge between their relationship for some time.

Your Days Are Numbered: She knows she has little time left to live because of her illness.

Aidan Field

Voiced by: Shintarō Asanuma (Japanese), Johnny Yong Bosch (English) ^{Foreign VAs}

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/evergarden_aidan.png

A young conscript of an unnamed nation stationed at Camp Menace.

Blood from the Mouth: Starts coughing blood into his handkerchief after Violet rescues him. It's a sign that he's not long for this world.
Childhood Friend Romance: He's been friends with a girl named Maria since childhood and they both have feelings for each other. Just after she confessed, he shipped out.
Determinator: He's determined to survive so he can return home and be with Maria, no matter what. He survives longer than the rest of his section but he dies.
Fatal Family Photo: Takes a peek at his almost-girlfriend Maria's photograph just as his unit ships out. He lives long enough to let Violet know of his feelings for the letters he commissioned.
I'm Cold... So Cold...: Remarks that he feels cold, despite being bundled up next to a fireplace just before he dies.
No One Gets Left Behind: He could have left behind his wounded friend but he kept on carrying him.
Reincarnation Romance: A nonsexual example. He wishes that if his parents reincarnate and fall in love again, he'll be their son again.
Stay with Me Until I Die: He explicitly asks Violet this during his dying moments, right after she had written down the letters he wanted to give to his parents, and to Maria.

Princess Charlotte Abelfreyja Drossel

Voiced by: Megumi Nakajima (Japanese), Stephanie Sheh (English) ^{Foreign VAs}

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/evergarden_charlotte.png

The young princess of the Kingdom of Drossel, soon to enter marriage with Prince Damian from the neighbouring country of Fluegel. CH Postal is appointed with writing their public love letters.

Altar Diplomacy: One offered by Fluegel, but she does make a lot of arrangements on her part as well after she received it.
Because You Were Nice to Me: She fell in love with Prince Damian when she first met him at her 10th birthday because he treated her like a person and not a potential wife.
Canon Foreigner: First appeared in the anime. In the light novels, her story is told in the first chapter of the Gaiden volume, which was published in March 2018, a month and a half after her episode aired.
Expository Hairstyle Change: Charlotte starts out childish and volatile, with messy, voluminous hair barely tamed by small braids. At the end of episode 5, her hair is contained in a Prim and Proper Bun for her wedding, showing she has become a mature young woman.
Flower Motifs: Charlotte and the Kingdom of Drossel are associated with the white camellia.
I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: Although Charlotte is in love with Damian, she realizes that he may not be keen on an arranged marriage to a girl ten years his junior. At Violet's encouragement, Charlotte personally writes the letters to the prince asking what he really wants with an offer to break off the engagement. He admits a desire to marry her, politics or not.
Missing Mom: Her short story Charlotte Abelfreya Fluegel and the Forest Kingdom reveals that her parents' marriage was a political one with no real emotion behind it, and her mother abandoned her after giving birth to her in favor of shutting herself up in a luxury palace built by her husband the king for her. While Charlotte's mother did attend her wedding to Prince Damian, she promptly disappeared again as soon as it was over and has never bothered to contact her daughter again ever since.
Perfectly Arranged Marriage: She fell in love with Prince Damian years before the marriage was planned by their countries. Episode 9 shows them to be Happily Married.
Politically-Active Princess: She has been studying politics by herself and acting on her nation's behalf from a young age. Part of the reason for her marriage is to foster post-war peace and unity between neighboring Northern and Southern nations. In her booklet Charlotte Abelfreya Fluegel and the Forest Kingdom she proposes to her husband Damian to construct an orphanage on the border between their two countries. The short story The Queen and the Auto-Memories Doll takes place some years later and shows the orphanage did indeed get built.

Edward Jones

A criminal jailed in a high-security cell in Altair Prison, and the client of Chapter 5.

13 Is Unlucky: The amount of time Violet is allocated to work with him is exactly 13 minutes.
Adapted Out: His chapter was not part of the anime.
Armor-Piercing Question: He's rather fond of this with Violet, asking her all kinds of questions about how she felt killing people during the war. It's not very effective at eliciting any kind of significant reactions from her, though, as she is still unfamiliar with emotions, and when he asks her if she thinks she's wicked, she flatly answers "Most likely."
Dark Messiah: Part of his extensive crime list involves founding a cult after the end of the war, persuading 400 of his followers into committing mass suicide by poison, and then building a tower out of their severed limbs.
Faux Affably Evil: Nobody suspected that the nice guy who willingly gives up his seat on a passsenger carriage for the young Auto-Memories Doll desperately trying to help save her friend was a war criminal fugitive on the run.
Karma Houdini: Despite being an incredibly violent and vile criminal who is chained to a chair and kept under constant surveillance, in a prison that is incredibly isolated and in a freezing environment, Chapter 13 shows that he has somehow escaped Altair Prison and is traveling incognito across Telsis. The last we see of him is him walking off into the countryside after he gives up his seat on a passenger carriage to Cattleya.
Kill the God: His letter is addressed to God, whom he desperately wishes to kill.
Rape, Pillage, and Burn: He's been convicted of all manner of war crimes, up to and including rape and murder.
Riddle for the Ages: What exactly he wished to write to God is unknown, as he only whispered the words in Violet's ear, and she refuses to violate client-employee confidentiality when the prison guide assigned to her asks what's in the letter.
Snow Means Death: Altair Prison is located in the extreme north of the continent in a perpetually snowy region, and is so isolated that it would take half a day of driving just to reach any other town.
White Void Room: The cell he is kept in. Even the furniture and wallpaper are completely white.

Irma Felice

Voiced by: Yōko Hikasa (Japanese), Miho Karasawa (singing voice), Cristina Vee (English)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/irma_fliech.png

A famous opera singer who hires Violet to write a love letter, which is actually meant to serve as the lyrics to the climax of her latest opera.

Canon Foreigner: Only appears in the OVA (titled "Violet Evergarden Special" on Netflix) and the beginning of the 2020 movie (in a voiceless cameo).
Her Heart Will Go On: She's still waiting for her lover Hugo to return from the war, but so much time has passed that even Hugo's father Aldo has given up hope. She hopes that her newest work can help people like her find closure for their lost loved ones.
Tears of Joy: She starts crying when Violet presents her final draft of the job's letter to her, finding it's exactly what she wanted to see.
Write What You Know: The heroine of her latest opera is based off of herself, a grieving woman who needs to come to terms with the loss of the man she loved.

Isabella York

Voiced by: Minako Kotobuki (Japanese), Colleen O'Shaughnessey (English)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/amy_gaiden_design.jpg

A young woman originally named Amy Bartlett, who was discovered the illegitimate daughter of a nobleman related to Drossel's royal family. Violet is hired to aid her progress at finishing school.

Ambiguously Bi: She falls into this, enamoured by Violet's feminine and knightly qualities, and gets really close to her, but this may be due to Situational Sexuality because of the lack of men around her and her fellows, who also admire Violet (though in perhaps a more platonic manner than Isabella). She also appears to not mind the fact that she is inevitably going to be married off to a man. Booklets 4 and 5 make it clear that while she is treated well as a duchess, she does not love her husband.
Arranged Marriage: Three years after her schooldays, Isabella marries a Duke Neville. While she appears comfortable in the marriage, it is as much of a Gilded Cage as the finishing school.
Deuteragonist: The first half of the first movie is centered on her background and development alongside Violet's journey.
Old Man Marrying a Child: It was implied, and then outright confirmed in Booklet 5, that Duke Neville is significantly older than her.
Penny Among Diamonds: Compared to all the Proper Ladies at her school, Isabella is blunt, sullen, slouches when she walks and stumbles with the Lessons in Sophistication. With Violet's emotional support, however, she improves.
Promotion to Parent: After discovering Taylor on the streets, Amy decided to raise her as a sister.
Rags to Riches: Amy lived in poverty until her Disappeared Dad showed up out of the blue and whisked her off to the world of nobility.

Yuris

Voiced by: Kaori Mizuhashi (Japanese), Anne Yatco (English)

A young boy who has since become deathly ill and is under the care of his friend, Lucas. He contacts Violet to be his typewriter, hoping that she can write a message to his family from Yuris's perspective before he passes away. He is the last client Violet has before she is reunited with Gilbert years after being separated from him.

Others

Tiffany Evergarden

Voiced by: Toshiko Sawada (Japanese) ^{Foreign VAs}

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/evergarden_tiffany.png

The matriarch of the Evergarden family who looks to adopt Violet.

Demoted to Extra: She and her husband play a very significant role in Violet's life in the light novel, as Violet ends up living with them for well over a year after being discharged from the hospital but before Hodgins hires her at CH Postal. It is the Evergardens who teach her to become truly literate and train her in etiquette on how to behave as a respectable, elegant woman. However, in the anime, Violet goes to work for CH Postal mere days after leaving the hospital, and the Evergardens are relegated to background characters.
Replacement Goldfish: What Violet is to the Evergarden family for her son who was killed in the war. Obviously ended up subverted, as both parties came to realize they cannot repair the emotional void of losing the son/Gilbert.
Saying Too Much: In the animated adaptation, she accidentally implies to Violet that Gilbert has died.
Tiffany: "I'm so thankful to see how far you have come. I am sure Gilbert can rest in peace too."

Luculia Marlborough

Voiced by: Azusa Tadokoro (Japanese), Kira Buckland (English) ^{Foreign VAs}

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/evergarden_luculia.png

A friend and classmate of Violet's from their shared Auto Memory Doll training course.

All-Loving Heroine: She is very selfless and kind to everyone she meets.
Canon Foreigner: An anime-original character.
Career Versus Man: Subverted. In Eternity and the Auto Memory Doll, Iris and Erica wonder if the man Violet saw her with is her fiancee & question if she's quitting being a Doll after she gets married. Erica, however, comments that Luculia said she was planning to keep working as a Doll after she gets married.
The Caretaker: To her brother Spencer, now a crippled alcoholic after the war.
Nice Girl: Exceedingly kind and friendly. She makes an effort to befriend Violet and show her around Lieden, confides in her about her family situation, and helps her graduate the training course. She's also her brother's gentle and considerate caretaker.
Parental Abandonment: She and her brother lost their parents in the war. The reason Spencer acts the way he does is that he feels guilty for not being able to protect them.
Significant Greeneyed Redhead: As a friend of Violet's and the deuteragonist of episode 3, she's got green eyes and red hair.

Leon Stephanotis

Voiced by: Yūto Uemura (Japanese) ^{Foreign VAs}

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/evergarden_leon_6.png

A brash, bitter young archivist at the Shahar Astronomical Observatory's Research Institute.

Adaptation Dye-Job: His sea-green hair is changed to black in the anime.
All Love Is Unrequited: Booklet 2 which was issued as part of the Japanese theatrical release of Eternity and the Auto Memory Doll movie tells the story of how he met Violet again during his travels years after the CH Postal job at the observatory. This time, he does manage to tell Violet he loves her, and they both know nothing will come of it because she has already been reunited with Gilbert and is in a relationship with him. In fact, Leon already immediately knew upon seeing her again that her more expressive facial expressions and lighter demeanor meant she had been reunited with the man she loved. It's even specified it's unlikely he'll ever get over these feelings.
Ambiguously Brown: The novel described him of having beautiful brown skin due to having mixed heritage. His complexion in the anime is fairly darker than everyone else's.
The Baby of the Bunch: Noted to be the youngest scholar in the manuscripts department at sixteen years old.
Bold Explorer: The "Where Are They Now?" Epilogue in episode nine of the anime shows Leon makes good on the dream Violet inspired in him and he travels the world, and he eventually does meet her again years later on one of his expeditions.
Bonding over Missing Parents: Bonds with Violet due to both of them having missing guardians, his missing mother for Leon and Gilbert for Violet.
Crush Blush: Blushes rather frequently whenever he is in the presence of Violet as noted by his male co-workers.
Deadpan Snarker: Being abandoned by his mother turned him into this.
Defrosting Ice King: Interestingly enough this applies to both him and Violet as by the end of the chapter both of them warm up to each other significantly than when they first met.
Dude Looks Like a Lady: Until it's not revealed who he is, you could easily mistake him for a girl, due to his androgynous look.
Good Is Not Nice: He's a genuinely good man, but he's rather cynical and grumpy because of his past.
He-Man Woman Hater: Became this over time due to his resentment towards his mother's abandonment of him.
Hopeless Suitor: Develops feelings for Violet that remain unreciprocated.
Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Is rude and grumpy most of the time towards other people but is actually quite kind and caring as discovered by Violet.
Jerkass Woobie: Downplayed. He's often pretty rude because of his sad backstory, but he's ultimately a kind guy deep down, as revealed in his dialogue with Violet.
Love Confession: He gives one to Violet in the novel, though is given a succinct but kind rejection from her.
Long-Haired Pretty Boy: He wears his hair long and has androgynous qualities.
Love at First Sight: Became enamoured with Violet the moment he laid eyes on her, though it took him a while to come to terms with it.
Parental Abandonment: Was left with his mother by his father who went off on an expedition and never returned and was then abandoned by his mother who went off in search for the former, leaving young Leon completely alone.
Pursuing Parental Perils: Decides to go on an expedition for ancient literary artefacts like his missing father at the end of the chapter, despite knowing its dangers.
Tsundere: Is bad with words and has a harsh disposition. However, he eventually shows Violet his caring side as their partnership develops. In the anime, he is a much milder example.

Lady Lux Sibyl

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ve_ls.png

A 14-year old girl and the "demigod" of the Utopia cult, who coincidentally meets Violet when the latter is forced to take shelter from the rain. She later begins working for CH Postal as Hodgins's secretary.

Adapted Out: Does not appear in the anime.
Damsel in Distress: Violet saves her from the Utopians right as they are leading her to her execution. In the Gaiden volume's final chapter, she is also taken hostage by Salvatore Postal Company to keep Hodgins in line.
Human Sacrifice: The Utopians ultimately intend to kill her, as they believe demigods should not interact with the human world.
Little Miss Snarker: She's more than capable of matching every one of Hodgins's jabs with comebacks of her own.
Mark of the Supernatural: Her most prominent feature is her heterochromia, which the Utopians take as proof of her demigod status.
Mystical White Hair: Has long silvery hair, which the Utopians also regard as proof of divine heritage.
Semi-Divine: Her unusual physical features make her the center of the Utopians' interest. She's not divine in the slightest, and it's all but said the Utopians' delusions have led them to murder a lot of innocent people over the years.
Sweet Tooth: She loves cake and apple pie, and the start of Chapter 4 of the Gaiden volume is her eating a three-level cake stand with Cattleya at Café Magnolia. Then she eats a scone for dessert, which she decides is better than the cake.
Wise Beyond Their Years: In Chapter 4 of the Gaiden volume, Cattleya is a little surprised when Lux is the one to comfort her regarding Benedict's sudden leave of absence from the company. She also has surprisingly mature insight into the relationships of the adults around her, as she knows full well the signs of when Hodgins is going to be out having yet another one-night stand with some woman, and is also aware of Violet & Gilbert's relationship, and the fact that Cattleya and Benedict Cannot Spit It Out around each other.

Taylor Bartlett

Voiced by: Aoi Yūki (Japanese), Sandy Fox (English)

A young girl who runs away from her orphanage to become a postman.

Cheerful Child: She's a bouncing ball full of enthusiasm.
Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: Becoming Violet's foster sister in the first movie doesn't prevent her from completely dropping off the map in the second.
Genki Girl: Always happy, upbeat and energetic.
Girls Love Stuffed Animals: The only possession Taylor has to her name is a cheap and ratty teddy bear, but she loves it because Amy made it for her.
Happily Adopted: At the end of The Movie, Taylor is adopted by Tiffany Evergarden, becoming Violet's foster sister.
Messy Hair: Very much so and it's clear she doesn't take the greatest care of it. When she asks Violet to style her hair, the hairbrush is audibly struggling against the tangles.
Non-Standard Character Design: Unlike other characters drawn with a Tooth Strip, Taylor's teeth are sectioned.
Sweet Polly Oliver: Apparently resembled a boy when attempting to travel to Leiden, although it's unclear if she was deliberately disguising herself as a boy or was just covering up while running away. It appeared to convince Erica and Iris though, the two expressing surprise when they see how much hair is hidden under her hat.

Lucas

Voiced by: Rina Sato (Japanese), Cassandra Lee Morris (English)

Yuris's best friend, who is forced to take care of him as Yuris's family is unavailable during his last days.

Daisy Magnolia

Voiced by: Sumire Morohoshi (Japanese), Brittany Cox (English)

The granddaughter of Ann, Daisy becomes intrigued by Violet's letters, which she finds after attending Ann's funeral and sets off to find her. She is the main viewpoint character in the time skip that takes around fifty years ahead of Violet's story.

Characters / Violet Evergarden aka: Violet Evergarden The Character

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