Gosick - Episode 24 (Completed)

Thanks to her mother Cordelia's borderline coup as Saubure finds itself drawn into the midst of war, Victorique finds herself freed of the shackles of the Ministry of the Occult only to be faced with yet more danger in the face of "evil" Brian Roscoe, who seeks to kill her for the effect she has inadvertently had on the woman he loves.

In the ensuing struggle Victorique somehow comes up trumps, gravely injuring "evil" Brian Roscoe in the process - despite this however, Victorique's determination to see no further deaths on her account (it's fair to say that "good" Brian Roscoe and Cordelia don't exactly fare well) lead to her saving her would-be killer at least temporarily, while Victorique also finds her brother willing to let her go about her own business.

With our favourite gothic lolita set loose and sporting a new hair colour thanks to the necessity of events around her, the rest of the episode from here largely concerns whether or not she will ever be reunited with Kujo, who finds himself plunged into the midst of war as a front-line solider with the constant threat of death which that brings.  As Saubure gets itself back on track thanks to Jupiter Roget, so we also eventually see a happy ending for our main character pairing as everything works out well sooner or later and those involved come to live happily ever after.  Awww....

Despite the latent emotional power in its closing scenes, this finale to Gosick felt a little disjointed and uneven as it went about tying up its loose endings and resolving everything - certain items still weren't given much attention (why we didn't know about the Roscoe twins earlier and Victorique's hair colour change were both thrown into proceedings arbitrarily), and there was never any real feeling of urgency in this finale as you might have expected.  It's the kind of problem that has plagued Gosick throughout, yet despite that the series as a whole has managed to be entertaining largely off the back of its Kujo-Victorique dynamic, which worked marvellously and ultimately added an extra frisson to these closing episodes which otherwise would have been missing.  I still can't help but feel that Gosick could have offered us much more than it eventually did, but by the same token it wasn't a bad series either that, at times, really showed what it could do in making for an impressively impactful offering.  Had it been a little more consistent, we might have been talking about the show in the kind of glowing terms we were hoping to use for it, but such is the nature of the beast that this is a series which didn't quite cut the mustard despite making a brave effort at times.

Gosick - Episode 23

With Victorique under the control of the Ministry of the Occult and Kujo held hostage to ensure Victorique remains compliant to their wishes, could things get any worse?  Oh yeah, there's the outbreak of a world war on the horizon so yes, I suppose they could.

While it initially looks as though Saubreme has once again positioned itself to avoid any hostilities itself, de Blois and the Ministry of the Occult soon put paid to that by outing the architect of peace, Jupiter Roget, as a Grey Wolf himself to effectively remove him from power and destroy any confidence in him.

With this achieved, the Marquis is perfectly placed to have the King's ear, and soon persuades (or rather, blackmails) him into agreeing that war is the only way forward for the country, signing an agreement allying itself with Germany in the process.  Thus, de Blois continues to grow his power using Victorique's status as a supposed "Monstre Charmant", while Kujo finds himself forced into the army up north which needless to say isn't the most pleasant of sojourns.  With the Marquis promoted to President, he intends to use Victorique's reputation to further strengthen his hand... a decision which could well prove to be a fatal mistake.

After spending much of its episode pushing the pieces of its proverbial (and literal) chess board around into position in a slightly dull fashion that isn't quite as powerful as it perhaps should have been, it all proves to be worthwhile thanks to a quite literally explosive pay-off come the end of the instalment, turning things on their head multiple times in a volley of surprises and plot twists.  No, I'm still not sure why there are two Brian Roscoes (ohh, the doujinshi I can imagine coming from this...), so I'm hoping they at least resolve that in the final episode, but things are certainly set up for a compelling finale even if we did have to sit through some tedious stuff to get to those rip-roaring final few minutes.

Gosick - Episode 22

It's Christmas time!  Okay, well it isn't actually Christmas time obviously, but it is in the world of Gosick as of episode twenty-two, so bear with me here.

Of course, this particular time of year means celebrations and silliness aplenty, both of which are on show at the academy with a Christmas party in full swing and all and sundry dressed up in various costumes.... except for Kujo that is, upon whom these customs are somewhat lost.  Thankfully, Cecile has a spare rabbit costume on hand, which leads to a recounting of an old folk tale about a creature known as Monstre Charmant and its rabbit protector - a story which is a very obvious match to Kujo and Victorique's relationship and situation.

If all of this sounds like filler, then think again, as dark forces are at work in the background here as the world slides ever closer to war.  For Kujo, this means that he finds himself marched away by "men in black" as all foreigners in the country are slated to be sent home - something which Kujo doesn't want to do for obvious reasons, meaning that he manages to clip away from his captors at an opportune moment so that he can find his way back to Victorique.  To do this, he employs the help of Grevil - little does he know however that in doing so he's just become a hostage for the Ministry of the Occult to ensure that the otherwise stubborn Victorique does their bidding.


It's been foreshadowed throughout much of the series (quite clumsily in the case of the prophecy that has been replayed over and over), but at last we reach Gosick's big finale... and it looks decidedly promising.  From a beginning that felt a little like "Christmas special" filler, we ended up getting down to the heart of the matter - what seem to be the dual destinies of Kujo and Victorique, and an absolutely heart-rending finale to this instalment that puts its weight on everything that the show has built up in terms of the relationship between the two main characters from the very start.  It's a smart move too, as it works excellently on a deep, emotional level that the series has sometimes forgotten to mine - on this occasion however, I'm left with what has actually been quite a rare feeling for this show - a desperate desire to see what happens next.

Gosick - Episode 21

Although she now has some freedom to roam in her investigation, the pressure is still on for Victorique as the expectations upon her to prove her worth as a Grey Wolf remain very much at the fore, with the Marquis expecting a solution to the Coco Rose murder case in short order.

Thanks to Kujo's help, another piece of the puzzle is now in place, and as episode twenty-one begins that element is explore further as the grave of Nicole Lulu is exhumed to reveal a perfectly preserved but headless corpse... a corpse complete with a locket, within which is a trump card that Victorique hides away for her own ends later on.

After this, it's off to the theatre for a performance of The Blue Rose of Saubreme... although I say theatre it seemed more like a pantomime given the amount of shouting from the audience, I was almost waiting for someone to yell "he's behind you" at some point.  Anyway, I digress - as the performance goes on, so Victorique adds the fruits of her own labours to the story that unfolds before them, explaining that Coco Rose's death in fact occurred over a decade before it was officially registered as having taken place, with a lookalike (Nicole, of course) taking the queen's place for that duration.  However, Victorique claims that she can't identify the murderer of Coco Rose, for reasons we only learn at the end of the episode, while a meeting with a fellow Grey Wolf in the form of Science Academy head Jupiter Roget reveals some further revelations about the life and so-called death of Coco Rose.

Overall, this made for a smart and satisfying end to this story arc, although I'm still not quite sure why the Marquis let Victorique off without actually naming a killer for Coco Rose so easily, while I feel a bit unsure as to just what Jupiter Roget's importance is in the grand scheme of things (although I get the feel that part is just me being a bit dim).  Still, those minor loose ends aside this felt more like a proper piece of murder-mystery storytelling, and it's for that reason that I enjoyed it more than some previous arcs that have been in too much of a hurry to spout the solutions to their mysteries without giving the audience a chance to think of themselves.  Now the big question is exactly how the series plans to end, and with something a little filler-esque seemingly filling next week's instalment it looks as though it'll only have a couple of episodes to really sink its teeth into whatever kind of finale it has in store for us.

Gosick - Episode 20

With Victorique pulled away from the academy at her father's will once again as he looks to her to solve the long-standing Coco Rose murder case, is there anything Kujo can do this time around to help his diminutive companion?

As it happens, Kujo is perfectly placed to do his part, as he runs into teacher Cecile who has made it to Saubreme out of her own concern for Victorique - after filling him in on the details, Kujo sets out to find Victorique and manages to make contact with her briefly before she's squirreled away to do her father's bidding - an almost impossible task given the lack of information presented to Victorique to assist her in solving the case.

Thus, it's up to Kujo to assemble the "fragments of chaos" in her stead - something which he succeeds in doing with almost disappointing ease as a portrait hanging in the very building Victorique is held sets him off on a tangent of investigation which seems to suggest that the stranger aspects of Coco Rose's murder were pulled off using a lookalike.  With at least this additional information in tow, and with some help from Brian Roscoe, Kujo manages to reach Victorique as the pressure upon her to solve the case is ramped up, giving her the reprieve she needs to do what she needs to survive.  Is this going to be enough to solve the case however?  Well, that looks like a question for next week's instalment.

Although this episode is somewhat shorn of too much screen time for its gothic lolita star, the instalment as a whole does exactly what I've hoped for Gosick to do from the start, and something that it's often failed in earlier in the series - presented a case where the viewer has a decent shout at piecing together the clues.  With Kujo doing the digging for evidence and the basic story laid out before us, for once we can ponder over things for ourselves without having to rely on Victorique's genius, and it makes for a much more satisfying viewing experience.  Of course, this might all go out the window next week as elements are pulled out of nowhere to make Victorique seem smart, but regardless of that this was still a sufficiently interesting and entertaining episode that seemed to get the balance of its elements just about right.

Gosick - Episode 19

It's Christmas time in Saubreme - but never mind, Christmas Day also happens to be Victorique's birthday, making for a double dose of celebrations for Kujo.

As he muses over what kind of presents he should get for his friend, he ends up being waylaid by Sophie on a trip to buy some tickets for a forthcoming production of a play - "The Blue Rose of Saubreme".  It's against the backdrop of this event that the remainder of the episode plays out, acting ostensibly as an opportunity to flesh out the back story of Cordelia and (to a lesser extent) Brian Roscoe.

Needless to say, this isn't a particularly wholesome tale to tell, consisting as it does of Cordelia being kidnapped, forced to bare a child against her will and then cast out into a mental institution.  Despite all of this, her relationship with Roscoe persists, and it is this which leads to her eventually making that fateful first meeting with her daughter, who she now watches from afar once again as Victorique finds herself tasked with solving an age-old mystery as events threaten to tear herself and Kujo apart once again.

Essentially, this particular instalment is really just all about setting up the final required elements of the story before letting it gallop out of the gate to its finale - something it does in a suitably moody and depressing way, but via story telling that was never really going to set the series alight.  Still, we're now most definitely stood at the precipice of everything Gosick has been building up to, so this is the moment where it will either prove itself or fall flat on its face like Victorique trying to run in a frilly dress.  Let's just hope it's the former.

Gosick - Episode 18

Following the chaotic ending to events at Beelzebub's Skull, Victorique and Kujo seem to have made good on their escape via the waiting train and are now well and truly back on their way to safety and the familiar surroundings of their school.  Oh, who am I kidding, of course their journey home isn't that simple...

In the packed carriages of the train, our dynamic duo soon find themselves keeping some interesting company within their compartment - a mysterious orphan, and some other individuals who refer to themselves only as the "scarecrow", "knight" and "woodcutter".  Clearly, these are all people who were involved with the Phantasmagoria at Beelzebub's Skull, and furthermore they all seem to have some kind of agenda - a point that Victorique quickly picks up on, although not before our female "scarecrow" has been stabbed and thrown from the train in a scuffle with the "knight".

Things soon get decidedly crazy from here, with poisonings, shootings, stabbings and the threat of a bomb blowing up and/or derailing the train to contend with as the truth about the individuals involved all reveals itself.  The object of all of their interest also happens to be something of importance to Victorique's current quest - a memento box which seems to be the first step down the path which will allow our diminutive heroine to save herself.

I'm not sure what I can say about this instalment of Gosick other than to simply point out the obvious - that it was a cracking episode, and probably the best the series has offered yet.  It might have been jumbled at times but even this served to the episode's advantage, while it wasted little time in ramping things up and making things hugely interesting as it threw its various elements together in a blur of action, mystery and against the clock danger that somehow ended up turning Victorique into an extra from Gunslinger Girl.  Sure, its a bit of a stretch to call its events believable, but then again that has never been Gosick's plan anyhow and when it's this entertaining, quite frankly who cares?

Gosick - Episode 17

Seemingly everything is at stake for Victorique and Kujo judging by the opening to its latest story arc, with our dimiutive genius squirreled away by the Marquis who "owns" her while Brian Roscoe and her mother are also involved in a plot which sends magic and science crashing against one another.

First things first however, and having found Victorique it's time for Kujo to help her escape - something which comes via a meeting with the supposed watch-maker Kujo met on the train to Beelzebub's Skull before taking in some of the magic on show at the unfolding event taking place.  Said magic is, of course, little more than simple trickery, but nonetheless our watch-maker Hunt's attempts to debunk one particular trick ends his death, just as the everything threatens to go to Hell in a handbasket via an accident involving the hallucinogenic gas used to fool visitors before the dam attached to the complex bursts in a cataclysmic "accident".

Before these final events take place and lead to a quick evacuation of the nunnery to a waiting train, we witness a triumvirate of important meetings - one between Victorique and Brian Roscoe where the former debunks the latter's part in the "miracle" which earned the location its reputation in World War One, and two for Kujo; the first of which sees him bump into Victorique's mother Cordelia as she gives him some important messages for her daughter, while the second sees our "Reaper" come face to face with the Marquis himself.

It's actually almost impossible to make a full evaluation of this particular episode of Gosick, simply because it appears as though it will be leaning heavily on the instalments to come to fill in the gaping holes currently open within its story.  Indeed, these gaps feel unsatisfyingly large against the backdrop of an episode which gave away little and felt almost rushed at times in its execution - what seemed likely to be an offering full of answers only opened up even more questions.  Hopefully (and it certainly seems that way) this is the entire point of the episode, and all will be revealed to my impatience mind in due course.  If this week's instalment isn't simply more preparation for the important plot points to come however, this series is in big trouble right now... thank goodness that my confidence in the series of late is pointing me towards the former.

Gosick - Episode 16

Crazed nuns and a battle between science and magic?  No, I haven't started watching To Aru Majutsu no Index again by mistake, but these are both elements that introduce us to Gosick's latest story arc, beginning with a depiction of a strange First World War happening involving a church which doubled as a hospital, the aforementioned nuns and a giant virgin Mary that could almost have been an extra from End of Evangelion.

Returning to the present day (as this series would have it, anyhow), Kujo soon finds himself presented with some shocking news - that Victorique has been taken away under her father's care to a convent at short notice, leaving only a single word message for her friend.  After mooching around at the loss of Victorique for a day, Kujo eventually vows to go off in search with her - lucky then that Grevil has just the introduction and excuse required to locate and rescue her.

So, off Kujo heads to the convent known as "Beelzebub's Skull" (not what you'd normally call a convent, but hey ho), where a festival of magic and merriment is about to take place - a perfect foil for Kujo's entry and a chance for him to find Victorique.  This he does with little difficulty, but it seems that there's going to be much more for this reunited duo to worry about shortly, with both Brian Roscoe and Victorique's mother Cordelia also present at the convent - players in a game that could take some decidedly strange directions, knowing this series.

Also Gosick without much input from Victorique is always going to struggle to truly entertain and keep ticking along, on this occasion it's all in the name of a greater good - or rather, a greater plot (we hope), and one that marries up plenty of snippets and pieces of information from previous story arcs into the bargain.  As the episode itself says at its climax, everything is now in place - so, let's see just what Gosick can do with what should (on paper) be its best story arc yet.

Gosick - Episode 15

Having done perhaps a better job than any other previous story arc in building up its plot and the mysteries surrounding it, it's time for Gosick to close out its latest story arc... and hopefully with a bang, rather than a whimper.

For starters, Victorique continues to get to grips with Leviathan's story, as we follow in a little more detail his supposed exploits as they pertained to alchemy and the service of the country's royal family - a story which ended in the murder of the king's son and the eventual mysterious disappearance of Leviathan himself.  Meanwhile, Kujo confronts Brian Roscoe within the clock tower, via a conversation that ties Mr. Roscoe to Victorique in an interesting fashion, while a brief flashback gives away even more about his origins and his true place in matters.

In the end though, this story is all about Victorique's explanation of the deaths in the clock tower and everything else surrounding it, as Leviathan's true identity ties in to the songs still sung by children in the area, and with his ability to produce gold explained away without the need for flights of fancy such as alchemy.  Indeed, the whole story slots in between the first and second World War tidily, while also shedding even more light on Victorique's father and how he came to sire a so-called Grey Wolf.

Overall, this wraps up what is easily the best story arc of the series so far - it kept its proverbial powder dry throughout (even if it didn't offer much opportunity for the viewer to try and solve everything themselves, as per usual for this series), and the fact that it ties into so many other major elements of the series as a whole, and doubtless forthcoming story lines, is very satisfying indeed given the possibilities it opens up.  If only the series had its head on straight and packaged up more of its tales like this from the off this could have been a classic series, but as it is it only just seems to be hitting is stride.  Still, better late than never I suppose.

Gosick - Episode 14

The opening to Gosick's second half certainly put us back on track as far as the show's murder-mystery focus is concerned, with a story involving alchemy, death and kidnapping... indeed, just who is it than was all set to snatch Victorique at the end of the previous instalment?

In fact, we can actually write that kidnapping off as something of a false alarm, as it's actually the result of Cecile seeing Victorique out and about and deciding that it's time she introduce herself to her classmates... something that Victorique is none too happy about, incidentally.  So, after some awkward introductions, Victorique is seated in front of a jealous Avril next to Kujo - a position which leads to Avril winding up her new classmate to the point where she practically has a table thrown at her.

With this raucous seemingly putting an end to the class for the two girls and Kujo, thoughts turn once again to the mysterious death in the clock tower last episode, as we discover that this isn't the first such death by any stretch of the imagination.  After a falling out between Victorique and Kujo on account of the former's refusal to apologise to Avril, these three characters set out down their own investigative tracks to try and get to the bottom of things - a trail which brings Victorique into contact with Brian Roscoe for the first time as he continues to hang around the area.  While Victorique is convinced that alchemist Leviathan is a fraud, there are still plenty of unanswered questions as this instalment ends.

As per my comments last week, it's nice to see Gosick taking a little more time with its mysterious elements, letting them bubble under the surface to give them more potency while adding some more fuel to the fires of the unknown.  While this episode doesn't exactly douse these mysteries in proverbial gasoline, it does keep things ticking over while having some fun with the new-found love rivalry between Avril and Victorique while also finding time to progress things somewhat.  If nothing else, the increased prominence of Mr. Roscoe lends some credence to the fact that things are getting more interesting within the confines of the series, but we shall have to wait and see how the remainder of this story arc pans out to really get a handle on it.  So far, so interesting however for Gosick's second half.

Gosick - Episode 13

After a couple of episodes of dallying to some degree, Gosick kicks off its second half by drawing us into a longer and more convoluted story arc... a story which looks set to finally bring another important character into proceedings to boot.

First things first though, as this instalment opens with Avril and Kujo going on a "date" (as far as the former is concerned anyhow) which involves taking in a horror movie - a film which reminds Avril of a story she'd heard about a clock tower close by.  This memory also serves as a handy excuse to drag Kujo around a little longer as she ensures he tags along to investigate the tower, relating the story of a supposed alchemist named Leviathan who lived there before the pair of them are chased out of the building by their teacher.

Elsewhere, Victorique too finds herself taking an interest in Leviathan as she literally bumps into a copy of his memoirs in the library (fashioned as a pop-up book rather wonderfully - definitely something on my "to do" list were I ever to write an autobiography).  Said tome even contains a challenge within it to get Victorique really fired up, leading to her enthusiasm bubbling over in the wake of Kujo having an encounter with an oriental man who wanders into the clock tower in question before dropping dead - just the kind of mystery which suits her down to the ground.

Despite some rather convenient elements to get this story arc going, and ignoring the fact that I couldn't help imagining some kind of Fullmetal Alchemist crossover in the midst of all this talk of alchemy and a Philosopher's Stone (even the dead guy looked a bit like Greed...), this was a pretty good opening to the latest arc and a lesson to the wider series about exactly how you should go about building up a little intrigue, mystery and suspense.  This episode asks plenty of questions without answering anything or giving away too much information, and traversing that path has already made me far more impatient for the next episode than I usually would be - I just hope the show isn't going to blurt everything out in the first two minutes of episode fourteen and instead concentrate on running with what it's managed to build thus far.

Gosick - Episode 12

As Gosick reaches its halfway point, so it also takes a break from solving or relating to any real mysteries of any note, instead choosing to luxuriate in its summer setting for a little while as vacation time hits Kujo's school.

While it initially appears that Kujo is all set for an exotic holiday in the Mediterranean with Avril, his guilt about leaving Victorique on her own (despite her chewing him out necessarily on his last visit to her) leaves him to forgo said holiday in order to spend time with his diminutive friend.  The good news for us is that this offers ample opportunity for the enjoyable character dynamic between the two to spark up as they laze around in the sun reading, sharing candy and cakes (well, trying to) and climbing trees with varying degrees of success.  We also get a little more insight into Kujo's character, although to be honest that aspect of the episode was hardly anything to write home about - unless you're Kujo of course, who seems to be doing rather a lot of writing home about things in this episode.

This light-hearted episode actually works surprisingly well, probably only because Victorique is such an eminently watchable character no matter what she does and even when she is only given the most simple of problems to solve.  That said, I hope we're returning to more serious fare next week, as it feels a little like we've had a couple of episodes that have been light on the show's key tenets now, so we're overdue a bit of proper mystery and suspense... assuming that is that Gosick manages to deliver such things in a more compelling manner than it frequently managed during its first half.

Gosick - Episode 11

After solving its latest case last episode, this eleventh instalment of Gosickserves primarily as a one-shot episode delving a little more closely into the relationship between Grevil and Victorique, as coloured through the case of Jacqueline, who we were introduced to last time around.

Following an introduction that sees Grevil warned to keep a close eye on his "Grey Wolf" of a sister, the story of Jacqueline (or Jacqueline de Signore to give her full name) is brought into the equation via her travelling to donate some books to the library in which Victorique resides - a journey which includes a good old-fashioned accidental case swap, meaning that those books are somehow switched for a bunch of cosmetics.

Still, Jacqueline's journey and subsequent meeting with Victorique leads to the former recounting a tale, not only of her friendship with Grevil but also how she ended up being framed for a murder she didn't commit in a story that switches from pet chipmunks to death and "ghostly" inscriptions on the dead man's arm.  Of course, this was the kind of case that would be easy for Victorique to de-construct, and so it proves that she was actually the one to solve it, a solution she devised in return for Grevil taking on his current ridiculous hairstyle.  Come the end of the episode, and with Grevil visiting the library to deliver the donated books which ended up in his possession, Victorique is left in tears by Grevil's perceived misunderstanding of her current state - a concern which asks far more questions than it answers, truth be told.

As so often seems to be the case with Gosick, I'm left feeling a little torn by this episode - its focus on Grevil and Victorique's relationship is both necessary and much-welcomed, and I'm more than happy to see the show fill in its backstory as it pertains to Jacqueline, yet at the same time once again we have an episode that seems content to rush through its murder-mystery portion without too much murder and with even less mystery, revealing all before we'd even had time to digest the story and plot ourselves.  Although Victorique's revelations are fascinating and reasonably well-thought out themselves, I'd still like to be given more time to ponder things over myself rather than have the circumstances laid out like someone telling you the synopsis of the TV show they saw last night.  Then again, maybe that's just me projecting my own expectations for how this series would go about doing things upon Gosick unfairly...

Gosick - Episode 10

Kidnappings, missing gems, and now Kujo snatched away just as he was about to ask for a bed-ridden Victorique's help... what's the connection between all of these events?  To be honest, even after watching this episode as it brings its particular story arc to an end I'm not entirely sure.

Anyway, first thing's first it seems that the kidnapping of Kujo isn't as malicious as first thought, as it appears that this is in fact down to the frightening girl he previously found in a department store basement - a girl named Anastasia who relates her tale of how she was kidnapped by the store staff before being subjected to some kind of demonic ritual.  Kujo tells her to go to the police, and more specifically Grevil, to relate her story, before finding the young street urchin with a sharp memory to further request his help.  With his agreement, it's off to the police station so that the link between recent disappearances and goings-on at the Jiantan store.

As the evidence begins to mount, it's up to Kujo to make the inevitable phone call to Victorique so that she can dot the "i"s and cross the "t"s, which she duly does, using a rather smart little bit of cunning to reveal the department stores hidden room and thus lift the lid on a world of child abduction and the black market selling of priceless, ill-gotten pieces of art.  Thus, another mystery is solved, and all is well.... at least, it is if you ignore Victorique's nightmares.

Whilst all of this is well and good, the biggest problem with Gosick's story arc this time around is that so much is left unexplained.  Although I fancy that some of this is deliberate to pave the way for future episodes (particularly in the case of the magician who reappears in this episode and looks set to become central to developments going forward), other omitted aspects simply feel a little lazy - we never really get to the bottom of why this department store was kidnapping kids alongside its sales of stolen artworks, and "because they could" seems like a rather lame reason to do so.  This kind of hole in the plot makes for a slightly less than satisfactory end to what was otherwise a pretty decent story arc that didn't blow me away but entertained me well enough regardless - it still leaves me feeling like it needs to flesh out its concepts a little more however, which seems to be my recurring criticism of Gosick thus far.

Gosick - Episode 9

Having solved the mysteries of Horowitz and, more importantly, cleared the name of Victorique's mother, normal service is renewed as this next story arc of Gosick begins, with Avril obsessing over ghost stories and VIctorique desperate for some way of staving off boredom.

Enter Kujo, who has at least one item of interest for Victorique - a kimono, sent for her from Kujo's sister.  While Victorique's staunch refusal to be instructed on how to wear said garment comes back to bite her in the form of her catching a cold, Kujo himself heads off on what looks set to be a jolly shopping trip to the capital of Saubreme despite Victorique's absence and the misfortune of meeting Grevil on the train ride.

This being Gosick however, it goes without saying that Kujo manages to find himself entwined in a mystery and some less than innocent goings-on, as a case of mistaken identity against him leads to him being sent first to the lavish top floor of a department store where this mistake comes to light (albeit not before Kujo gets a glimpse of what he assumes is a replica "blue rose" diamond, and then to the basement where he finds a real, live girl inside a box in the midst of numerous mannequins.  Under the girls instructions Kujo looks to get the police involved, calling up Grevil to check out the scene only to find that nothing is as he remembered it.  Is he going crazy or is something more malicious at work?  Methinks we don't need a wellspring of wisdom to figure that one out...

As the beginnings of another mystery goes this is a pretty solid start to the latest story arc - it feels a little forced in places (namely in getting Kujo injected into whatever nefarious deeds are going on), but it has an interesting enough little set-up behind it thus far.  Even when Kujo and Victorique are separated it's their dynamic that stands tall over everything else within the series (although arguably it's Victorique's sneeze that wins the day on this occasion), but as the previous arc proved it works best when paired with an interesting story in the first place; let's just hope that's what we're building up to here.

Gosick - Episode 8

The second half of Gosick's previous episode saw the body count starting to stack up, with a couple of murders amongst those visiting Horovitz - but to what end, and where is the killing going to stop?

Where?  In pretty short order within episode eight in fact, with that second killing sending Victorique's little grey cells into over-drive and pointing her towards the solution to the two mysterious murders in no time at all.  Essentially, there's no honour amongst thieves, and in-fighting between those after the town's treasures is revealed as the eventual culprit, despite some clever ruses to make it look as though it was all an internal conspiracy against those very same visitors.

With any immediate danger out of the way, Victorique is now free to concentrate on her real aim - clearing her mother Cordelia's name by discovering the true killer in the events for which she took the blame.  Again, it seems as if our heroine already has a very good idea of the culprit, and all it takes is a simple piece of deception for the murderer to reveal herself by her own admittance.  The fact that the finger of blame is pointed at crazy maid Harminia isn't a huge surprise, but after learning of just how she went about her sinful task and why, Harminia grabs an opportunity to escape and does so, setting fire to pretty much the entire town in the process (this girl moves fast, I have to say that about her).  This leaves us with a final set piece atop the drawbridge which joins Horovitz to its surrounding lands, with a crazed Harminia setting about trying to kill Victorique while Kujo protects her before a frantic race to depart the collapsing bridge before it's too late - a scene which turns the table on who is protecting who, although you have to wonder why the other people who were supposedly present decided to vanish at that critical, life-saving moment!

So, this story arc comes to a close whilst proving it to be head and shoulders the best story arc to come from this series yet - it wasn't flawless and it still didn't get its pacing decisions right at times but overall it provided a compelling story from beginning to end to back up some of its top-notch character dynamics.  If Gosick can continue in this vein then I have renewed hope for it; I've actually really rather enjoyed the last couple of episodes despite it having to fill those awkward post-Madoka Magica moments, so let's hope it doesn't fall back into old habits from this point forth.

Gosick - Episode 7

With the so-called "Grey Wolves" assembled in their rather isolated town of Horovitz and with the story about Victorique's mother now out in the open, it's perhaps understandable why our diminutive detective isn't exactly warmly welcomed upon her arrival.

Still, although some parties (not least the head elder's maid) are far from thrilled to see Victorique given her resemblance to her mother Cordelia, the elder himself seems quite content to have her around, giving Victorique the possibility of investigating and attempting to discover the true perpetrator of the crime she believes her mother didn't commit.

Indeed, the evidence to back up her belief comes relatively thick and fast throughout this episode as she investigates Cordelia's home and the grave of the man she was supposed to have killed, although her investigation runs the risk of becoming of only secondary importance against a backdrop of hungry wolves, attempts to force Victorique to leave and, most importantly, a couple of murders of other visitors to the town at the time of its summer festival.

Certainly, this mixture of elements continues to leave this particular story arc of Gosick looking like the best we've been presented so far - yes, it's still a bit hammy and overbearing at times but it has a solid feeling of mystery surrounding it which hasn't been unnecessarily ruined, and the usual wonderful interplay between Kujo and Victorique serves to complement this rather than having to take over and carry the show alone.  In short, it's a little more traditional in its murder mystery story-telling, and on this occasion sticking to some of the traditions of the genre's formula seem to be standing it in good stead.  Let's just hope this arc finishes with a suitable bang rather than a starved wolves' whimper.

Gosick - Episode 6

Now that the imposter Avril is displaced and the real deal is put back in her rightful place, Kujo has himself a new blonde-haired friend to hang out with - something which leads us into the first mystery of this new story arc, as a plate on sale at a market goes missing in the midst of what appears to be magical goings-on.

Of course, as per usual Victorique seems to fathom out exactly what has happened in no time at all when Kujo relates the scenario to her even though she wasn't there, although this time something is rather different, as Grevil neither captures the culprit nor discovers the stolen plate.  However, this oddity is soon forgotten as Kujo find himself more concerned with Victorique's odd behaviour, as her reactions to him and in particular a prank he pulls on her turns into an outright falling out between the pair of them, all of which happens after Victorique spots a classified advert looking to assemble so-called "Grey Wolves" at a place called Horovitz.

Needless to say, next thing we know Kujo has been dragged along by the still angry Victorique despite her continued refusal to speak to him, and off they had on the train to Horovitz... a journey which sees Kujo once again meet the nun who was believed to be responsible for that missing plate, and one which also reveals yet more about Victorique's back story, in particular the circumstances surrounding her mother.  All of this ties into both the Grey Wolves advertisement in the paper as well as local legend, bringing Kujo, Victorique and a handful of others into what could well be a decidedly dangerous situation...

This sixth episode of Gosick is notable in that, compared to the instalments that have gone before, it does remarkably well at keeping its proverbial powder dry.  Rather than solve its opening mystery in a flash it's still left open to question, while the remainder of the episode has a more measured build up towards an admittedly predictable but nonetheless effective cliffhanger.  Add in the usual stubborn charm which oozes from Victorique and her dealings with Kujo, and you have arguably the best episode of Gosick yet.  How it proceeds from here remains to be seen, but at least this series feels as though it's finally beginning to understand the potential of the show's material and how it should best be utilised.

Gosick - Episode 5

After leaving us with a couple of mysteries still to deal with at the end of its previous episode, this fifth instalment of Gosick certainly wastes no time in getting to the bottom of them; a process which admittedly only throws up further questions still.

Of course, it's up to Victorique to do all of the problem solving around these parts, and this she does by pulling out the book which was hidden by Avril in the library previously, perusing its contents and finding a postcard addressed to Avril but never posted in the process.  With Victorique holding onto this postcard and leaving Kujo to ponder over the contents of the book itself, the latter soon finds himself whacked over the head and knocked out, coming to to find himself being looked after by Avril but with the book gone.

In the midst of all this, rumours of a successor to a much-feted thief abound, as do tales of a ghost in the academy's store house - a story which seems to hold some truth in Kujo's eyes as both himself and his teach hear some ghostly pleas for help coming from said location.  Again, it's up to Victorique to reveal the truth, including the true occupant of the store house and thus the truth about Avril and what this suspicious transfer student is actually looking for.  Cue a tense stand-off involving Kujo and his assailant, and a threat dispersed when Victorique uses a pile of books... it's super effective!

Anyhow, part of me does seem to be warming to Gosick a little now - on the down-side, it still isn't the show I really wanted it to be and it continues to be wasteful with its mystery elements which gives it little opportunity for suspense or to allow the viewer to guess what's happening (it's either blatantly obvious immediately or impossible to fathom based upon the information given).  But, on the other hand it is quite a fun viewing experience and it makes pretty good use of its characters most of the time, with Victorique in particular easing every episode along effortlessly, although even she runs the risk of becoming tiresome on occasion.  This series certainly isn't going to be any kind of classic, but as popcorn entertainment goes its doing okay for the time being.