Everything draws to a close, but will everyone survive the end of Gosick?
What They Say:
Victorique, along with Roscoe, continue to escape from the agents of the Marquis de Blois. When Roscoe, who also sees Cordelia when he looks at Victorique, finally gets everything off his chest as he quietly begins to speak of his past. Meanwhile, Kazuya is at war, on the front line as a soldier, but even though he’s thousands of miles away from Victorique, he continues to think about her. The two have been pulled apart by the unyielding current of history. But in the end, spring comes to the age…
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
The past has come into the present easily in Gosick now that events are spiraling out of control for Victorique. With her desire to help Kazuya after all that has happened and all that she herself has been through, she’s at the point where she’ll beg Brian with all her heart in order to survive and do what she can. This isn’t hard for her in a way, but what it does is create a scary situation as Brian only sees Cordelia in her through his intensity, because she acted much the same way in the past and the bond she shares with her mother is powerful, and carries across generations. It’s a brief but powerful moment as the two struggle, but it says a lot more about Victorique in the long run with how it unfolds and how she helps him more so afterwards.
It’s definitely interesting to see Victorique and Brian on the run together after all that has happened, and how she’s taking care of him now with a very amusing nod from Grevil. Setting all of it against the backdrop of the war that’s unfolding gives it an almost surreal feeling, especially with Kazuya caught up hard in all of it. But the past is key in all of this, especially as Brian finally does reveal more about his past with Cordelia, the way he and his brother were exiled from the village and the real reasons why they were so protective of her, to the point where he’d even kill Victorique in order to save what he felt was the right thing. It’s all very good defining material for him, but it also brings us full circle with a look at who Victorique is, both perceived because of her lineage but also because she simply is a lot like her mother in so many ways.
The episode spends a good bit of time with Victorique in this setting, but it also spends time with Kazuya as he struggles with being swept up into this world war that’s going on. It’s a particularly brutal thing for him as he goes on no matter what comes his way or the challenges he faces. It’s been a staple of who Kazuya is from the start of the series, never backing away from such challenges, and what he goes through here is beyond rough and cruel, but is simply a part of the reality of the time as well. The story of Kazuya and Victorique has been the central part of the series, and it’s had a very mixed approach to it overall in how it wanted to deal with it, but it always worked better when the two were together rather than apart. And sadly, they spent too much time apart from each other, even though it gave it a classic lost love feeling of romance.
In Summary:
The end of Gosick deals with a lot of things going on and covers it across a bit of time, allowing for some closure to be had for most of the key points, though it’s not exactly trying to do everything since there are plenty of novels and manga, both of which are still ongoing. What it’s trying to do here is to bring the anime audience a sense of closure and it does it very well through the early credits and epilogue scene that deals with the core of the series. Gosick has been a frustrating experience at times, beautifully animated but structured in a way that kept me from really connecting with the character or the stories as it went along, but it kept drawing me back to see more of it. The change of the ages here marks the larger storyline that’s ongoing, with the Gray Wolves, the ministry of the occult and so forth, but they always kept it down to the human element and the bond shared by Kazuya and Victorique. With this ending, you are definitely left with a good sense of closure and while you may want more, you will feel satisfied as well.
Grade: B
Simulcast By: Crunchyroll
Review Equipment:
Sony KDS-R70XBR2 70″ LCoS 1080P HDTV, Dell 10.1 Netbook via HDMI set to 1080p, Onkyo TX-SR605 Receiver and Panasonic SB-TP20S Multi-Channel Speaker System With 100-Watt Subwoofer.
