Gosick | 24 Episodes | DUB | VRV
Final Verdict: I absolutely adored every second of this anime and it was a wonderful journey from beginning to end.
In case you missed my initial reaction to the first episode you should check that out first. I was worried at first that the rest of the show would have a hard time living up to the hype and engagement I felt during the first episode. This was wasted worry because each of the episodes after that were just as great in my opinion. The story has several layers to it, which I liked.
The first layer was the mystery. I watched Hyouka not too long ago and they solved “mysteries” in that show as well, but it was far less thought out and a bit more forced after the first big mystery was solved. Gosick is not like that at all. For one, Victorique uses clues which she calls the “fragments of chaos” and she deciphers them by using her “well-spring of knowledge”. Also, the mysteries in this show build off one another. They aren’t random, I-came-across-this-and-thought-I-must-know mysteries. These mysteries involve murders, “magic”, gruesome histories, rages of passion and more. The elements of chaos build from one mystery to the next and it’s amazing how Victorique is able to connect all the dots even when other things are seemingly unrelated. Victorique never came across a mystery she couldn’t solve. It was clear that these mysteries were detailed and planned out, and far more complicated than the average person would be able to deduce. I feel like they did a good job demonstrating her intelligence and how her deductive skills were better than those around her.
The second layer was the characters. While the character building wasn’t perfect, we get a pretty good understanding of Kujo and Victorique and the environements that shaped them. I wish there had been more time or hints to that, but we do get a clear understanding of where they come from. Kujo is from an oriental country (China or Japan I believe) and is the 3rd son of an imperial soldier. Being the 3rd son and a compassionate spirit, he’s struggled in his family dynamic and its one of the reasons he’s chosen to study abroad in Saubure. Even with that difficulty shaping him though, he writes and receives letters from his family abroad on regular intervals. Love is there, but it’s not easy being the youngest son.
The same kind of backstory is given to Victorique. She was conceived with a purpose, and her father discarded her mother and locked her away in a cold tower once she was born. He treats her horribly and has no love for her. She doesn’t interact with anyone other than him and her older brother which has led her to be extremely childish and rude, even with her well-spring of knowledge and unparalleled intellect. We see her grow and learn to care for Kujo and mature throughout the episodes. We learn that she gets embarassed and loves sweets and gets bored easily, but cares deeply about Kujo and would do pretty much anything to keep him safe, even if that means being a tool used by her father and the government.
The third layer is the relationships. Victorique’s relationship with her older brother, Grévil is interesting as well. Grévil isn’t much better than her father on how he treats her, but we see compassion at times from him, and I think that speaks volumes about him. We don’t get his back story, but we see his life through glimpses. We see that his father doesn’t treat him as much more than a lapdog, that he knows his wits will never match his younger sister’s, that his childhood friend and only woman he’s ever loved is married to another man, that he’s constantly treated as the fool even though he’s successful in his own right. In my opinion, Grévil is the most developed, multi-dimensional character we see. He’s shaped by a lot more than the other two are.
There’s also the relationship between Victorique and Kujo; Kujo and Averill; Victorique and Cordelia. I think this is one of the few things about this show that I didn’t just absolutely love. It’s clear from the beginning that Victorique and Kujo have a special relationship — they are each others first friends. Kujo has dark hair and eyes which is unusual in Saubure, and so he is called The Reaper Who Comes in Spring. Due to this, he has a hard time making friends with the other students. Victorique is very reserved and spends all her time in the conservatory at the top of the library, and is called the Golden Fairy of the Library and so is avoided as well. Kujo makes the promise to find her no matter where she’s at, and while this makes it easy to root for him and that they’ll always find their way back to each other, it felt forced in some situations. And that’s my caveat with all the relationships. They felt one dimensional and forced at certain points.
Averill is in love with Kujo, but he doesn’t know it because he’s in love with Victorique. I understand why she developed feelings for him, I just don’t follow why she would continue to pine after him and “fight” for him after a certain point. The same goes for Cordelia and Victorique. It is made clear the situation in which Victorique was conceived and delivered and raised was a nightmarish experience for Cordelia. It seems her mother has a deep love for her, despite having left her locked up in a tower after she escaped. I understand that mothers love their children, but there were a lot of things surrounding their relationship that I didn’t understand.
Overall, I thought this was a wonderful anime that had a very good story to tell and did so in an intriguing and engaging manner. There was mystery, friendship, awkward teenage emotions and blushing, history, and murder.
There was so much to enjoy in this anime, I would definitely recommend it. And, even though I didn’t understand the relationships entirely, I loved that Kujo and Victorique ended up together in the end. It made me feel like their promises to each other weren’t just empty words. If you’ve seen it, leave a comment down below telling us what you thought about it.
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