Gosick

As Crunchyroll's winter line-up was unveiled this week, I felt nothing but despair as I didn't care for any of them. Except this one. This is the only show that I wanted to watch and having seen it, I wasn't disappointed. Why did I want to watch this show? Well, just from the promo poster I could tell this was a Sherlock Holmes re-imagining (right down to the pipe) and that's exactly what it is.

This time, Sherlock Holmes is a blond little girl called Victorique, who is pretty enough to be described as a living doll. Watson is an young man from Japan called Kazuya Kujo. Kujo and Victorique are classmates at a prestigious boarding school in the fictitious European country of Sauville. It's the year 1924 and that means that the environment surrounding Victorique also evokes to a degree the atmosphere of London that Sherlock Holmes inhabited with horse-drawn carriages and the likes. Indeed, Victorique also smokes a pipe! (Note: I here by would formally like to go on record as NOT endorsing smoking in any form by any age group)

The Inspector Lestrade of Gosick is one Grevil de Blois, who takes all the credit for the crimes Victorique solves and who, it is implied, controls almost all of Victorique's movements. This seems to be a integral part of Victorique's story, and the key difference between Sherlock and his blond, female and doll-like reincarnation, and you get some sense of her isolation and "imprisonment" (she calls her sanctuary in the library a prison) when Kujo blackmails Grevil to take him and Victorique sailing and has to explain what a ice cream cart is to Victorique and amazes Victorique with the simple act of calling a taxi-carriage.

Certainly Victorique is her own character, modeled though she clearly is after the great detective, and the story at this stage appears interesting and captivating. In the first episode, Victorique solved the first layer of what is turning out to be a deep mystery. The first layer was stupidly easy to solve and it took me less then a second to figure out "who did it" but then, it took Victorique about that long to solve it too - so the trivial mystery was treated as trivial and was only used as a spring board to launch into something bigger. I will certainly be tuning in next week to see if the new mystery is worthy of Victorique's time and see how long it amuses her - she, like Sherlock Holmes, is prone to getting bored easily.

Should you give it a go? Well, notice how many times I said "Sherlock Holmes"? That's pretty much your answer right there. O, there are aspects in this story that can only be present in an anime but at the heart of it, it's another story where the great detective (just to be clear, that's his official title and I am not being an uber fan here) is re-imagined and put in a new world to be bored in... until something happens that requires the employment, as Victorique put's it, the fountain of wisdom that lies within! I for one hope future episodes will involve a hound ^.^

View the original post w/ pictures on my blog http://animepantry.blogspot.com/2011/01/gosick-episode-1-reveiw.html

Viewed on crunchyroll


Episode 1 (NO SPOILERS)


Well, this was my first show of the new season, and I am happy to say that. From the get go, this show was what I was looking forward to the most based on my research prior to the season’s releases. It definitely gave me serious Kuroshitsuji vibes. Sadly to say, these were more or less unfounded. Despite that, I still think this show might have some hope of not ending up on my ever growing “anime on hold list”.

The beginning of the show was incredibly dark and morbid which, again, raised my hopes for a kuroshitsuji-esque show. Something about the shock value entertains me I guess. There was definitely plenty of blood present, albeit not human.


The opening has potential to grow on me, so I look forward to listening to it more often when I can download it. The actual art for the opening is very pretty. I’m quite fond of the color palette that they chose to go with. It’s a very peaceful, yet playful enough pastel based palette and I must say it matches the swatch like animation and easygoing song very well.





The actual animation for the show is very smooth, however, I feel the character designs are a tad weak. They give off a generic feel, particularly the main character. His design is such that it does not stand out with the other two characters who at this point seem to be the principles. Now in terms of the other characters, my favorite so far is Victorique because she has a very petite frail goth loli look, which I adore. I’ve always secretly wanted to try being a goth lolita, however the cost and stares don’t make it worth the effort for me personally. I very much admire people who do however.

Back to the point, I think her design gives the show a very nice spice and flavor. The other main(ish) character present is this giant unicorn of a man, who (apparently) is some sort of detective... I’m calling shenanigans on this one, guys. Well... He for sure has the most unique character design... However I fear that this might be the extent of his uniqueness.


The show takes a turn to be detective-like show and starts going places where I didn’t expect it to go.

Particularly a boat.


All in all though, this show has a very promising start, and I’ll definitely be catching it’s second episode next week. As far as an initial rating goes, I think I’ll give it an 8/10. Although I found it entertaining, in experience shows like this tend to go downhill. Fast. But this particular episode ended on a cliff hanger, so I think it’ll be worth checking out for the plot momentum.

I'm finding this very interesting.

Just from watching the introduction and the first episode, I want to know what will happen next. I would say that this anime is a supernatural mystery genre, which is exciting because you don't know what will happen next. :D
First episode and already a cliff hanger. haha. :P

I really like the music too. The ending song is sounds great! ^^

I would really recommend watching this if you're into all that supernatural/mystery kind of thing.
Plus, I think this is the best anime I've watched from the Winter 2011 Simulcasts.
I was disappointed with the winter anime and I originally thought I was doomed until spring but I'm glad I gave this anime a chance. I wasn't disappointed and this will probably the best anime I will watch for the next three months!

Gosick Review:
The story centers on Kazuya Kujo, a japanese boy dubed the name 'Dark Reaper' because of his ill-omened attitude, black hair and eyes. After just watching episode one I was amazed at how good the story was. The 'Dark Reaper' encounters a goth-lolicon type of girl. As far as character design goes she is definently a interesting one. Completely closed off from the world she reads books.
After the first episode I was already wanting more and eagerly await the next episode release. Worth every second of my life.

Storyline - Wonderfully put together, every second was interesting and had me glued to the computer screen.
Music - Wonderful songs that fit very well with the animations and drawings.
Characters - An interesting selection of different varieties.
Animations - Well drawn and well put together.

-Review by Mystery R-

It's a very interesting and epic anime.
They throw in a lot of different genres together, such as Romance, Comedy, Horror, and Mystery.
It's new to see all these different genres thrown in. I'm enjoying the anime a lot, but it kind of reminds me of Sherlock Holmes.
The animation overall is alright, but i could say i've seen better. The animation is very simple, not like the detailed ones i've seen.
This is a must watch anime if you like the mystery type.
Overall i give it an 8.5/10.

Not much I can say that the other reviewers haven't already said.

All that is new I can add is the reason this anime caught my eye. For good or bad, that Victorique looks so much like Evangeline A. K. McDowell from Negima is the only reason I even gave this show a second look. From her looks, to her manner, and even to her first line in episode one. All of it screams 'Eva' so much I would find it hard to believe the little goth-lolli vampire from Negima WASN'T at least a small influence in Victorique's creation.

That being said;

Like several of the other reviewers, I've been disappointed with the shows coming out of Japan of late. Since Strike Witches 2 and Asobi ni Ikkuyo last summer, I haven't seen anything I liked on CR, or any of the other sites I visit. Now, with Gosick, I have a reason to start visiting this site again!

I may watch because I liken it to seeing Eva and her life in the 1920's, (without her blood-sucking,) but if you like mystery and/or horror, (with a touch of comedy,) then Gosick is at least worth taking a look at.

A few things first before I begin the review.
I am relatively new to Anime/Japanese culture in general, but have read my fair share of fiction.
I have not read the source material for this show, and have been watching it with no previous knowledge.

Now, onto the review. I'm not going to summarize what the story is about, just what I feel about this show and how it compares to works in the same genre/other shows currently airing. Immediately, the "genre" Gosick belongs in is rather strange, it is a romance-mystery-drama-horror show. At first glance, this spells "Show with no plot and driving elements". However, the anime adaption team of Gosick have managed to combine the elements into something that is both visually and mentally appealing. The animation is light, bright, and has fantastic backgrounds. The music choices are the best this season, with the opening and ending themes fantastic in general, and the in-show music managing to both propel the plot and remain in the background. Of course, visual appeal doesn't make an anime (Fortune Arterial comes to mind...), and I am glad to report that Gosick does not suffer from a weak storyline. Of course, my expectations will differ from those who have read the source material, but it is clearly evident that this show was not derived from a game or likewise; the plot is at once fast-paced and in the moment. It lacks the "slice of life" pacing many romance shows utilize to drive character development, and I expect Kazuya's currently manslave personality to develop as the series progresses.

Compared to this season's offerings, Gosick stands out very well. With a healthy 24 episode season, ongoing source material (and the accompanying chance for a second season as a result), a powerful plot and refreshing animation, Gosick has become my show to watch this winter.

EPISODE 3 IMPRESSIONS UPDATE
I recently watched the third episode of Gosick, and the second one a couple days before. It seems that the individual mysteries will last 3-4 episodes, with some slice of life school episodes inbetween, as the fourth one seems to be. Along with individual mystery arcs, there might be a large overarching mystery linking all of the events together, this may not be the case but some of the illustrations in the opening seem to support this notion. Now onto the actual episode impressions. This series, for me, just seems to be getting better and better. They wrapped up the mystery rather well, no spoilers here but a very solid ending, loose ends all tied up. I appreciated the last few minutes of the episode that showed Victoria's much more human, and cutsey, lovable side. I really hope their relationship gets better, they seem to fit together very well, and Kazuya's personality is really starting to take shape. He is no longer a blubbering, indecisive shell, and his experiences with Victoria seem to be bringing many parts of him to light. I'm not 100% sure I will like the next episode, as it introduces a new female lead who has an interest in Kazuya, and I do not desire, AT ALL, for this show to even REMOTELY resemble a harem, nor do I want a love triangle to be anything even closely related to a plot device. I may be a bit frank, but this is one show that I would love to maintain the delicate balance between romance/drama and other plot drivers.
(I'm sorry if I'm rambling, I've only just begun writing anime reviews; any tips or pointers would be greatly appreciated)

Sorry guys but I'll write a final update when this season ends, watching too many shows to write an episodic impression for each show.
Review by Asteradragon

This series is quickly becoming one of my favourite and there's only 3 episodes so far. This was just the kind of anime I have been waiting for. The morbid and dark juxtaposed next to a cute and dolled up little girl was too much for me not to check it out. I was instantly hooked.

I immediately fell in love with Victorique. Her eccentric yet mysteriousness really played well into the mood of the story. Any anime that combines a cute little character with smarts, mystery, and oddness will always get bonus points from me.

Kujo's character brought tears to my eyes because I could identify with him. He is seen as the "outsider" and because of his dark hair and eyes and his general attitude. I found it very interesting that his personality and his dub "The Dark Reaper" were very different from each other.

The storyline really hooked me. I found myself guessing and reguessing a lot. The mystery wasn't too complex, but enough to keep me engaged.

Ultimately what really drew me in was the animation. It is absolutely breathtaking. The beautiful settings, the details to the dress, everything.

I am eager to see how this series progresses.

Japan was one of the Allies of WW I but still most of Europeans didn't have accurate knowledge about Japan, most of them were thinking Japan was a part of China. Also very small number of Japanese were able to come to Europe and very few Japanese were accepted to Universities, High Schools like him. I read diaries of Japanese who studied medics, physics, etc those days, they were lonely because other students treated that way in the anime. Kujo wanted friends who could understand him and to chat, play. So, I feel something warm in Victorique, in this Anime, Kujo calls her Victorica, but it would be Victorique. When she thinks deeply to solve mysteries, her face is so cute. I wonder this anime covers WWII or not. Oh, Anastasia showed up in episode 10, but it didn't refered to the Romanov which were killed in Russian Revolution.

Victorique was wearing dress in purple in episode 13. She looked cute in that dress too.

Ending was as I wished. Victorique and Kujo met each other again in Japan. Her grey hair was beautiful too. But what was that world war? In the story, there was WWI but this war broke out in 1923 or 24.

Gosick is one of the best anime ever. It has horror, pity, mystery and some shocking revelations.(that's what i like about it). You try to watch it because you'll be addicted to this anime---trust me guys. So if want more further information heres some:
Title: Gosick
Place: Sauville, year 1924
Total ep.: 24
Main character(s): Kujou Kazuya, Victorique de Blois

Hope that help you....thanks for reading my review!!!! :)
Source: http://myanimelist.net/anime/8425/Gosick