Review: Gosick 3

Gosick started out surprisingly strong on its run so far. The mystery style of anime is one that comes almost once in a blue moon, so I thought I'd give this one a run. Despite some of its momentum being lost as it introduced the main characters and overall plot, the introduction of the "Queen Berry" case caught my attention. Gosick pulled me in with the cliffhanger introduced at the end of its second episode, so, naturally, I was persuaded to dive in deeper. I was equally as eager to see what would happen this episode, and hoped that this subplot would be resolved.

More sleuthing after the break!

Since there are no reviews for Gosick as of yet, I'll give you the basics. This anime takes place in the early eighteenth century in a fictional country called Saubure. Kazuya Kujo, the third son of an imperial soldier, begins classes at St. Marguerite Academy as a transfer student. Due to his supposed reputation as the "Dark Reaper", many of the other students are hesitant to even approach him. Despite this, he is determined to "find things in common" with them. This leads him to an encounter with a mysterious girl, Victorique, who is known for frequently not coming to class. Despite this, she is very intelligent and can solve mysteries easily and efficiently. Her "brother", the resident detective, takes the credit for her accomplishments, though she doesn't seem to mind.

The third episode of Gosick, as previously mentioned, serves as the conclusion to the "Queen Berry" case introduced in the first few episodes. As such, this is where everything is revealed: the culprit behind the mysterious occurrence within the ship Queen Berry, the Wild Hares incident that took place a decade ago, and how these two events are related to each other. It also solidifies the fact that Victorique considers Kujo a friend, and we even get to know why Victorique is confined to the academy's tower and never attends class.

I really liked the action in particular. It didn't seem to pick up until about this point in the series. Now that it has, I have to say, it's a welcome addition to this anime. In addition to the action, the mystery that it offers is also great. The conclusion to the "Queen Berry" case certainly made me more aware of the finer details in the story, and even made me check to see if it was indeed logical. Animation-wise, it's generally well-polished. The background has as much importance and work done into it as the foreground, and I generally didn't see any errors or discontinuities.

On the other hand, though, this episode of Gosick didn't seem to advance the main plot as much as I had liked it to. Sure, it gave us the conclusion to a fairly important subplot, and it helped strengthen the relationship between the two main characters, but I felt that not as much attention was given to its overall plot. Will we see an improvement in plot advancement within the following episode? Maybe. But as it stands, I didn't find this episode to advance the plot so much as it just add to it.

In short, this episode of Gosick was exceptional as the previous two episodes in terms of quality and mystery. Sure, the plot was a bit quirky, but I think that can be easily overlooked. I don't plan on dropping this series at all, because it masters what it's trying to be and doesn't take too many risks. It's not perfect, but I'm certain it will only get better from here. After all, who wouldn't love to solve mysteries with a gothic lolita-fashioned girl by their side?

Gosick 3

Plot Advancement: 2.5/5

Mystery, Horror: 5/5

Characters: 3.5/5

Episode Plot: 4/5

Animation Quality: 5/5

Overall: 4.5/5