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Violet Evergarden (the series) is unlike any anime I've watched so far in that it aspires to be something other than entertainment. Rather than being pulp entertainment aimed at teenagers, it aspires to be Art. It aspires to be high literature. And as such it has to be judged by a different standard than you would apply to a Gintama or a Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid.

The series is nothing less than an artistic examination of what it means to be human. Sometimes it succeeds. Sometimes the series is a bit ham-handed in its attempts. It is an attempt worth watching. It is one of ... about four series that I go out of my way to catch every episode.

It conducts its examination through the eyes of the title character. Part of the confusion comes from the nature of Violet (the character) who is somewhere on the cyborg to full robot scale. She may be mostly human with a set of sophisticated prosthetic arms or she may be a robot. That she is relatively emotionless indicates she is further toward the fully robotic end of the scale. The technology that the character embodies is well wildly ahead with the mid 1800's - early 1900's Europe in which the story happens so it is possible that the character isn't even from the story's place and time. But that is irrelevant. What does matter is that Violet (the character) doesn't understand what it means to be human at all.

The fictional character that most reminds me of Violet, is Data from Star Trek the Next Generation. Data and Violet both want to be human. Neither fully understands what that means. And the audience gets to explore what it means through the experiences of these two innocents.

This is not to say that it isn't entertaining. The humor stems from the ineptness of the character and the slightly warped view of society. There is enough eye-candy for anyone interested in that.

Where will it all go? Will Violet fall in love as she comes to better understand what it means? Will we see more of what she actually is and where she comes from? I look forward to finding out.

Cute girls doing cute things, specifically talking about and going camping. Make no mistake: this is a very pleasant but not great series. There are no explosions, chase scenes or giant robots. There is a lot of beautiful scenery on about the level you would expect for a medium budget anime series. The artwork is adequate.

The story, such as it is through four episodes, revolves the four girls and only two of them are developed at all. Rin, the experienced camper, prefers camping alone in the winter (fewer people) and Nadeshiko, the novice camper, develop their friendship with the common bond of their love of ... camping. The other two friends could be anyone at all and it wouldn't make any difference to the story. The "story" is almost more about the joys of camping than it is about the characters.

This is a series that will sooth your nerves and leave you with a peaceful, easy feeling. And a few recipes appropriate for camping.

We have a new candidate for most polarizing anime of all time. There appears to be no middle ground on this one. You will either absolutely love this or your reaction will be that there is a special place in hell for whoever dreamed this one up.

I have devised a fool-proof test for whether you'll like this show or not. The results are based on your reaction to this joke:

Question: Why did Salvador Dali's chicken cross the road? Answer: A fish, m*therf**ker.

If you found that joke to be funny, you'll enjoy this show and I am happy for you. For everyone else I'm reminded of ... the description of the Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster. Watching this show is like having your brains smashed out by a slice of lemon wrapped round a large gold brick. If only I knew some voluntary organizations exist to help you rehabilitate afterward. Note that your enjoyment of this show has nothing whatever to do with your intelligence; only with what you find funny. If you are one of those folks who finds train wrecks mind-numbingly funny, then this is the show for you. For everyone else, you'll be better spending your time elsewhere.

The art is intentionally poor. There is no story; just seemingly random, and I use the term loosely, gags.

I set a new personal record for time spent before dropping a series. I did force myself to suffer through additional episodes just to get this review accepted.

Apparently there is a subculture of Anime fans who love descriptions of food. This series is fine if that's what you like. If you want characters or story-line, you should probably look elsewhere. I've made it through five episodes of this series and I'm bored purple by it. Each of the last three episodes has been exactly the same.

Part 1: Strange Creature/Fantasy Being/Whatever discovers the restaurant door in some expected location and, having nothing better to do, goes through the door. Cute waitress with horns that could easily be mistaken for different colored hair, seats them, gives them a menu and a glass of ... water. After some agonizing, the creature/being/whatever, selects a dish. Then we get detailed description of how the sweetness of this mixes with the touch of bitterness of that blending together to create an exquisite taste delight completely unknown on Strange Creature/Fantasy Being/Whatever's world.

Part 2: Second Strange Creature/Fantasy Being/Whatever discovers the restaurant door in some expected location and, having nothing better to do, goes through the door. Cute waitress with horns that could easily be mistaken for different colored hair, seats them, gives them a menu and a glass of water. After some agonizing, the second creature/being/whatever, selects a dish that isn't the same as the first creature/being/whatever. Then we get detailed description of how the sweetness of this mixes with the touch of bitterness of that blending together to create an exquisite taste delight completely unknown on Second Strange Creature/Fantasy Being/Whatever's world.

The End. Cue the closing song and the credits.

A couple times through this cycle and not a hint of character development of any sort... you get to see exactly how interchangeable the customers are and it wouldn't make an iota's worth of difference if the chef and the waitress were switched out every half episode... no tension, no conflict, no anything that makes a story... has been enough for me.