(Now that the semester is winding down, I’m going to try to get back into regularly writing. I’ve marathoned a few series so that seems like a good place to start.)
Nestled in the European Alps, “Gosick” follows the tale of superstitions, folk tales, and legends surrounding the country of Sabure, and it’s foreign exchange student, Kazuya Kujou. Alienated for his strange appearance, dark eyes and hair, he happens across “the golden fairy of the library”, Victorique. Victorique de Blois, the daughter of a powerful Sabure nobleman, and the half-sister of one of Sabure’s most noteworthy (and fake) detectives, spends her days in solitude, reading and handily solving the mysteries her older brother can’t wrap his head around. Little does she know the weight of history that has been placed on her shoulders through the deviousness of her unloving father.
With Kujou in tow, Victorique makes easy work of many of Sabure’s legendary myths, including a fantastic tale of a runaway African turned queen’s alchemist. While also retracing her dark past, she comes to the forefront of a new war that’s set to overshadow the Great War, the ashes of which Europe is just beginning to rise from. With help of friends, faculty, and Victorique’s ever watchful mother, Kujou rescues Victorique from her dismal fate, only to be torn away by new tides of war.
A continually progressive plot set in a very superstitious country, Gosick manages to blend clean logic with impressive character sets to cut through mystery and lay truth bare. No back-handed scheme is too much for these two who defy prophets’ visions and historical epics in search for one another. I may sound like I’m gushing or being emphatic, but Gosick really does weave an intriguing story that was a joy to experience. No spoilers, but the final episode left me speechless and very satisfied with this series.
Coupled with visual detail I wish was the standard, Gosick is a series I wish I’d watched earlier.
Final rating: 9.3
If anything, and this may sound greedy, Gosick needs more stories, maybe not with Victorique or Kujou, but the rest of the cast surely has more to tell.
(In retrospect, this is just the sin of a greedy fan. Even though the series has a solid ending, I enjoy the ride so much that I dare suggest augmenting it for more content. How selfish…)
Well, here we are. 6 months and 22 episodes later, Hyouka has finished its story. What originally began as a quirky attraction to everyday mysteries with uncommon explanations has turned into a full-fledged dual-personality trait shared between Houtatrou and Eru. It seems a day can’t go by without them delving into the unseen and uncontemplated to over explain the mundane events that lead to the otherwise unnoticed minutia surrounding us all the time. And Satoshi was there too, along with Mayaka.
Together, the four consist of the once-fledgling Classics Club, though they’re soon better known for Houtarou’s uncanny ability to logically work around any conundrum or puzzle. But the solutions become more complicated as it’s not just the clues Houtarou has to deal with. Also taking in the feelings and impressions of his friends, especially Eru, he has to continually break his edict of “energy conservation” to meet the compelling demands of Eru’s curiosity, while preserving her air of innocence and purity in what’s he’s found to be a newly interesting world.
Hyouka’s entire premise seems to throw many off, as a “mystery” series devoid of any actual consequence of action. All the “disappearances” are of easily replaceable items, such as tarot cards, kitchen utensils, or a copy, amongst hundreds, of the yearly anthology. Even the ghastly turn into stories of minor cover-ups under the cloak of night. Though Eru’s own past wove a story of grim victimization tied into the history of the Classics Club itself, the message behind each of Houtarou’s cases proved to be that there’s always more than meets the eye and connections always exist whether or not they’re seen.
You can spin “mystery” around Hyouka until Houtarou is blue in the face, but the real motive behind the story is the character development between Houtarou and Chitanda, and Satoshi and Mayaka. Though the latter seems to at least set itself up in the final episodes (I feel like Mayaka would understand if Satoshi would be honest with her about how scared he feels), Eru and Houtarou’s relationship seems to only begin to blossom in the final moments. My heart skipped a beat when he made the offer to Eru, and then it stopped altogether when it was merely his imagination. As much as I’d love to see the two continue to grow closer, I feel like Hyouka was wrapped up nicely. Enough to give me a taste of the what the characters will become, but not enough to feel like the story is entirely finished.
Not surprisingly, Oreki had it figured out like 2 episodes ago and blackmailed the criminal to help sell anthologies. Satoshi seemed upset, but went along with the final act to help Tanabe Jirou, AKA “Juumonji”, pull off the “ko” theft even with so many spectators waiting for him show himself. A little chemistry latter and Jirou burns the theft in front of everyone, completing his prank/message and clearing out all but four remaining anthologies.
Juumoji continues to strike in an order outlined similarly in 
It’s a bit far-fetched that she’d be behind it all, but I can’t really reach another conclusion. But that may just mean the plot is doing a good job not hinting the conclusion. If it were so simple, it wouldn’t be fun, right? I just wish this wasn’t such a convoluted situation. Why would someone start the thefts to begin with? Why would they adhere to a pattern? Why would they break the pattern (or have they actually followed it but not how Houtarou thinks)? They skipped “ku” and went straight to a theft from “ke” (the Light Music Club). I do think there’s already been a “ku” theft, but it’s as-of-yet unrealized. The thefts are definitely set up so the thief can be caught, almost like he/she wants to be caught. If they were just randomly stealing items, why leave a note? Why leave a name that reveals your pattern? And with the school whipped up into a frenzy, why continue? This is definitely a crime spree with a purpose in mind, and the purpose seems to revolve around the Classics Club…or at least that’s what the general theory seems to be.
Though the pressing mystery is a big plot point, I can’t let it overshadow the, admittedly, confusing tensions running through the Manga Society. Mayaka is at odds with other club members, and the rivalry takes an ugly turn when a small dab of brush water becomes a soaking in the middle of a busy festival booth. If the mystery ties back into the stress in the manga club, I certainly can’t see it coming. But I really want whatever these girls have against Mayaka to be resolved, it’s hard to watch sometimes…
