Back to Fafyy's Profile Fafyy's Profile

I will try to keep this review simple and concise. Please keep in mind that this is my first review and that it is not objective.

Story: 7/10
I initially went into Gosick expecting a Sherlock Holmes type mystery show set in the 1920s. Little did I know how far away from the truth I was. Gosick does have many detective style mystery solving arcs but they all make up a big political clusterfuck near the end. This was a very pleasant and unexpected turn of events that really makes Gosick stand out from your typical Scooby Doo type mystery anime. I can say with confidence that ... I believe this is Gosick's strongest selling point.
With that being said, there are several things that bothered me as well, notably the romance aspect of the show. I dont know how many people share this sentiment but I think this show would have been infinitely better without the romance, especially considering how cliché it was. I will further explain this point later on in the review

Art: 7/10
The art is pretty good but nothing to write home about either. For 2011, I would say it's normal and pleasant to look at. Aside from Victorique and Grevil though, most of the characters look like they could be pulled out of another anime.

Sound: 6/10
I don't really focus too much on extra elements like sound and art unless they really stand out so please bare with me. The soundtrack, especially the OP and ED, are pretty nice but that's about it. IMO, there was nothing really noteworthy about the soundtrack but that might be because I usually don't pay much attention to it. Either way, it wasn't great nor bad, it was fitting and decent.

Characters: 4/10
Now this is where, in my opinion, Gosick fails the most: the characters.
Let's start off with Kujo, a harem anime protagonist that somehow got placed into a political mystery anime. Just by looking at his appearance, you can tell that this guy will be your typical cheesy main character. He's basically just there to be the tolken Japanese guy with no personality that somehow manages to attract every relevant female character. He's generally useless expect for his role in helping Victorique grow as a character. Even then, one could argue that Victorique was more interesting before Kujo came along. At least before she wasn't a damsel in distress every other episode. One thing that really boggled my mind was how smart the guy supposedly is but how he is so hellbent on becoming a solider! What the hell is that about? Why even go to study abroad then. However the worst part of it all is how often he says "Victorique". This kid can't go 5 minutes without screeching "Victorique". I mean for god's sake he probably says "Victorique" more often than Yuno Gasai says "Yukki" and I'm not even exaggerating!
Next up is Victorique, the super smart loli that solves all these cases. Seriously, at the end of this anime there is a time skip and she's still a loli! I have no fucking idea why they decided to make her a loli, especially if they wanted to make a romance anime but fuck it. Anyways that's not what's important about her. Victorique, as a characters that was supposedly deprived from love and has the mind of a genius, was probably the most interesting. Nevertheless, she is a hardcore tsundere after Kujo comes and I personally despise tsunderes. For me, this made her insufferable at times.
Then we have the supporting cast like Avril, Grevil and Cecil. Aside from one case, Avril is irrelevant and is basically an annoying third wheel. Grevil is your typical eccentric weirdo with a hairstyle( if you can even call it that) that would put the 80s to shame. And Cecil is just the funny and nosy sensei.
Nothing is really remarkable about the main antagonist either except that some of his actions made no sense although that's going into spoiler territory.

Now considering the two MCs archetypes, one can see that this romance ends up being pretty generic. A tsundere and a cheesy naive male? Gee, I wonder how that will turn out! *cough*sarcasm*cough*

Enjoyment:7/10
Despite the shit I gave this anime for its characters, the main plot was pretty enjoyable and thrilling. It was especially satisfactory to see all the dots connected at the end. Yes the shitty romance and cliche ending did ruin some of it for me, but I tried ignoring it for the most part.

Overall: 7/10
This is a solid anime, despite the clichés. I would recommend this anime to anyone looking for an interesting political mystery anime, so long as they can endure the romance and cheesiness that is.

Thank you for reading my first review. I would appreciate any constructive criticism or tips.