GOSICK - Review

Art (8/10)
Good and consistent art throughout the series. Background scenery along with extras had a decent amount of work put into them. Characters were well-drawn. Nothing extraordinary but certainly not horrible.

Characters (10/10)
Here's where the series really shines. From the start of the show to it's end, it was obvious that the two main characters Kazuya Kujō and Victorique de Blois were developed extremely well. For Victorique, her view of Kujō changed dramatically, from "I can do anything myself and I don't need your help" to "I am helpless without you", because of the time they spent together - proving that, through time, even the most unlikely of friendships can happen. As for Kujō, he slowly grew closer and closer to Victorique throughout the episodes, with his desire to protect her growing alongside the time he spends with her. Although both have felt left out and lonely in their life, all their troubles are put aside when they are together. Just seeing their happy faces when they are with each other is enough to put a smile on anyone's faces. Through them, it is evident that a great friendship allows the hearts of those involved to be never separated; not by wars, other people's schemes or physical distance. In just a few years, the lonely Golden Fairy and Springtime Reaper create an unbreakable bond; a heartwarming outcome that is not seen as often. Masterfully developed characters.

Sound (8/10)
First of all, I would like to say that the OP and two EDs were spectacular. Even after the 24 episodes, I would not mind listening to them once more. During the endings of the last few episodes, I found that the ED fit in extremely well, with the lyrics "Whenever, Wherever" really adding the extra impact to the physical separation between many of the characters. The BGM, however, didn't impress me as much. Though it wasn't out of place, I personally didn't really care if the BGM was there or not in some scenes. The dialogue alone was enough to drive the story. As for voice acting, rising star, Yuuki Aoi, did an excellent job voicing Victorique. At only 19 years of age (18 when she started voicing Victorique), it's amazing how she already does voice acting at a professional level. Fantastic OP/EDs and excellent voice acting balanced with mediocre BGM earns this category an 8.

Story (9/10)
When I first started watching GOSICK, it was all about the gruesome mysteries to me. The first half was actually disappointing. While the character development was there, the mysteries seemed quite lame, especially with Victorique being able to solve them so quickly. However, as the second half of this show started, the story began to pick up steam. Now I don't want to spoil anything, but let's just say that it wasn't good mysteries that got this a 9, it's the problems surrounding the characters themselves. With lots of questions surrounding many of the side characters slowly being answered, the "fragments of Chaos", as Victorique says, started coming together. With the climax of the series at the Episode 23, the last episode wrapped everything up quite well. Overall, the story, aside from the crappy mysteries in the first half, proved to exceed my expectations.

Overall (9/10)
With it being the first mystery genre anime I have watched, GOSICK really helped me open my eyes. I enjoyed watching it for the most part and look forward to anything similar in the future. I hope that those of you who are questioning whether to watch it because of the genre will give it a try. I can almost guarantee that you will enjoy it, no matter if you are craving for some mysteries or you are looking for a solid story. Definitely one of the best shows of the Winter/Spring 2011 season. Highly recommended.