Violet Evergarden anime's watch order, explained

Violet Evergarden anime was released back in the Winter 2018 anime season. Nevertheless, the anime is still widely acclaimed in the industry, especially due to the beautiful work done by Kyoto Animation. However, several fans are confused by the chronological order of the series, given that the studio has released multiple other anime, including OVAs and movies.

Violet Evergarden, written by Kana Akatsuki and illustrated by Akiko Takase, is a Japanese light novel series. It was published by Kyoto Animation's KA Esuma Bunko imprint between December 2015 to March 2020. The series has released several anime since its television anime's premiere in 2018.

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What is the watch order for Violet Evergarden anime?

Violet Evergarden as seen in the Violet Evergarden anime series (Image via Kyoto Animation)

Violet Evergarden anime has released four installments in total, consisting of one television anime series, one original video animation, and two movies. The unique part about this is that there are two orders for watching the same. One can watch the series following the order of the release dates. Otherwise, they could also watch it according to the chronological order of the events that take place.

The watch order by the date of the anime's release is as follows:

1. Violet Evergarden (January - April 2018) - TV Anime
2. Violet Evergarden: The Day You Understand "I Love You" Will Surely Come (July 2018) - Original Video Animation
3. Violet Evergarden: Eternity and the Auto Memory Doll (September 2019) - Sidestory Movie
4. Violet Evergarden: The Movie (September 2020) - Movie

Violet Evergarden and Major Gilbert as seen in the anime movie (Image via Kyoto Animation)

Viewers can opt to watch the anime in this order and easily grasp the unfolding events without facing any issues. The same holds true for either of the watch orders.

The watch order by the series of chronological order of events is as follows:

1. Violet Evergarden episodes 1 - 4 (TV Anime)
2. Violet Evergarden: The Day You Understand "I Love You" Will Surely Come (Original Video Animation)
3. Violet Evergarden episodes 5 - 13 (TV Anime)
4. Violet Evergarden: Eternity and the Auto Memory Doll (Sidestory Movie)
5. Violet Evergarden: The Movie (Finale Movie)

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What is Violet Evergarden anime about?

Violet Evergarden anime follows the journey of the titular character as she starts working as an Auto-Memory Doll in an effort to reintegrate into society. Violet Evergarden was caught up in the war as she was raised for the sole purpose of decimating enemies on the battlefield. Unfortunately for her, she lost her arms during the war, following which she received new prosthetics.

Violet Evergarden and Major Gilbert as seen in the anime movie (Image via Kyoto Animation)

After the war, Violet began a new life at CH Postal Services. There, she began working as an Auto Memory Doll, i.e., a ghostwriter. During that age, people struggled to articulate their emotions on paper. Hence, it was an Auto Memory Doll's responsibility to convey their client's emotions properly and help reshape their lives.

However, while she was working at the Postal Services, her main objective was to understand the meaning of the last words her mentor and guardian, Major Gilbert, had said to her: "I love you." Given that she was raised solely for bloodshed, she had a tough time understanding the true meaning behind certain words.