GOSICK Images

Original character design by Takeda Hinata
Manga character design by Amano Sakuya

Gosick (ゴシック – Goshikku) which is a title derived from the word Gothic which pertains to the main girl protagonist’s get up, was originally a Japanese light novel series written by Kazuki Sakuraba with illustrations done Hinata Takeda. A manga adaptation was later released with the series drawn by Sakuya Amano while a 24 episode anime was eventually produced by Bones studio and directed by Hitoshi Nanda with the first episode airing on January 7th, 2011 until July 2nd, 2011. A sequel of the light novel was eventually released on December 2013 entitled Gosick Red.

Plot:
The anime series takes place in the year 1924 in a small, French-speaking fictional European country that extends as far as Switzerland, going through the Alps between France and Italy, and then going to the Mediterranean Sea. This fictional European country was named “Sauville” (Though it was called Saubure in the anime).

The story revolves around Kazuya Kujo , the third son of a high-ranking officer of the Imperial Japanese Army who transferred to St. Marguerite Academy, a school where urban legends and horror stories are the current trend. As he was wandering in the academy’s library, he meets Victorique de Blois (Victorica in the anime), a mysterious but beautiful and brilliant, not to mention eccentric young lady who wears a gothic outfit.

Weirdly enough, this girl that Kujo Kazuya just met spends her days reading countless books in the library’s conservatory area as oppose to going to class and occasionally solving mysteries that not even detectives can solve. As the series progresses, Kujo Kazuya and Victorique finds themselves getting involved and struggling to solve various cases while being able to establish a close relationship with the people surrounding them.

Characters:
Kazuya Kujo (久城 一弥 Kujō Kazuya) – is the male main protagonist of the story. He is the youngest son of a soldier and growing up thinking that adults will never recognize him and would always have the impression that he is spoiled, he decided to leave his home and the military in Japan and went to study abroad in St.Marguerite. He is a good and sincere person and though he claims to be very smart like his older brothers, he can occasionally be slow and dense. He is also keen when it comes to minor details which is a special characteristic of him that he applies in various cases.

Victorique de Blois (ヴィクトリカ・ド・ブロワ Vikutorika do Burowa) – she is the main female protagonist of the story. She often spends her days just reading countless books in the conservatory located atop the school library. She is eccentric and has tsundere-qualities. She and Kazuya, Kujo tend to argue with one another due to Victorique’s difficult nature. Despite this, she has superior intellect and is often consulted by her older brother when it comes to crimes.

Similar Series:
Gosick is similar to a number of anime such as Detective Conan, Detective School Q and anime that involves solving crime scenes.

Source: Zerochan; written by l_i_z