Gosick – 05

Predictable ending to a boring arc. Spoilers, if that’s even possible here.

None of you probably know this, but I’m one of those types who always wear earphones and listens to music. You know those people whose attention you can never get because they’re too busy listening to something more important than you on their iPod? Yeah, that’s me. Anyway, the point is I spent a lot of time this week between classes listening to albums like hide and seek, Metamerism, Railgun Archives, and even a few Shugo Chara songs even though I have nothing to do with that anime. That’s right, I’m trying to get my Itou Kanae fix because she’s nowhere to be found this season! Actually, she’s in that Kyou, Koi whatever OVA and that Time Paladin thing, but did anyone actually watch those? Arghh she’ll be back in April for things like Kami Nomi II and Hana-Saku Iroha, but that’s two months from now, and the time before I snap is starting to dwindle! Someone help me!

So I’m turning to my new backup in the meantime, Hanazawa Kana, to help me keep my sanity. Unfortunately, she’s in Infinite Stratos and .hack//Quantum, neither of which I have or plan to pick up, so it’s time to catch up on Fractale when I have time (ie. never).

Now that’s enough of my personal predicament, so let’s have a look at Kujo’s problems, which, while things like his annoying personality and fail IQ are very serious, are nothing compared to my Itou Kanae withdrawal.

Episode 4 ended with Victorique dashing down the stairs to, as you should have been able to deduce, find the notebook that Avril planted in the forest of books. As expected of any mystery, the random detail of Avril’s ramblings of various ghost stories from the previous episode drives the solution. The notebook is found on the 13th step, revealing a postcard addressed to Avril Bradley from her late grandfather.

After getting kicked out of the library by Victorique, Kujo fatefully runs into Grevil, revealing the clue that probably should have come in the last episode: Kaito Kid Kuiaran (so freaking weird to pronounce) was rumored to have been targeting this town. Hey guys, I wonder who Kuiaran could be? But seriously, by now all kinds alarms should be going off in your head. I know I said I expected that certain character to end up good, but that was before this clue was revealed. The fact is, there’s now a possible antagonist introduced, and there’s only one suspicious character in town.

And this is further reinforced by Kujo getting knocked out upon inspecting the abandoned storehouse and waking up in the presence of you-know-who. Who, by the way, is totally not acting suspicious at all. Right, let’s just watch the rest of the episode for giggles.

In case you still had any doubts left.

Ah, sexy Cecile shows up again. Not gonna lie, Kujo x Cecile is the best pairing in this anime. They go to the abandoned storehouse to make out or something when they hear the sound of a SCARY GHOST asking for help and run like cowards. Cowards, I say! I don’t know about you, but I would totally want to investigate a ghost voice. Anyway, Avril is acting suspicious again, and apparently she went through puberty because she now sounds like a feminine man.

Victorique finally explains the whole story. Maxim (the dead knight) was the first Kuiaran, Avril is the second Kuiaran, and she came to collect Maxim’s last articles. Okay, nothing surprising here, two suspicious characters turn out to be thieves. Oh yeah, and the real Avril is locked in the storehouse. Ehhhh?

For those of you that liked MM!…

It’s true! What the hell.

Kujo has nothing on Kyousuke, the manliest man in the maniverse.

So Kujo has a showdown with Kuiaran where Kuiaran plays mind tricks with Kujo insisting that Victorique is just an illusion and, in a stunning display of strength, Kujo takes a heavy beating before Victorique saves the day. Good job, Kujo!

At the end, Kujo gets a new girlfriend, the real Avril Bradley. She’s basically the same as the old one except less creepy. Also, Victorique can fit in a box.

MORE PICS

“Don’t worry, I brought protection.”

Help save water!

What is… art?

END THOUGHTS

Okay, I’ll start with the most glaring failure of this arc: Avril was portrayed as the suspicious character with hidden, likely evil, motives from the very beginning. Everything was practically screaming that Avril was the culprit, even before we even knew what the freaking crime was. And tada! She turned out to be the culprit in the end, surprising nobody. This is just the wrong way to develop a mystery. To reinforce these, we didn’t even have other suspects, unless you want to count Grevil or Cecile. Or Victorique.

By the way, I mentioned a crime, but was there actually a crime in this arc? Yes, there was. A motorcyclist was decapitated last episode, and I was certain that this would have some relevance. It didn’t. There was a second crime, the murder of Maxim. Relatively irrelevant. The third crime, the impersonation of Avril Bradley, wasn’t even revealed until the very end. That’s right, the dramatic conclusion to this arc was the discovery of the crime. The first two cases introduced the crime first, but Victorique solved them before you even had a chance to collect your thoughts. The last case was indeed the climax, but there was a noticeable lack of information about what was even going on. I don’t think there was any significant reason for anyone to think that Avril was being impersonated until the revelation about Kuiaran’s existence, which happened in the same episode. Maybe I’m just being picky, but it just feels like improper mystery writing to me.

And for the love of god, the real Avril had better be Kujo’s love interest. She’s like a billion times better, and cuter, than Victorique. I absolutely hate gothic lolitas (Kuroneko included, Neighbor Girl Manami all the way), plus Victorique has that stupid attitude. I don’t think I can stomach anything between Kujo and Victorique. Better yet, Kujo should just stop getting close to any girls and we can focus on the mysteries.

In conclusion, this episode pisses me off. Your mileage may vary.

PREVIEW

Pretty sure I saw this scene earlier with a different blond girl.

I spy Avril. That red haired guy in the OP makes his appearance, so I bet he’s the next culprit. Har har I’m a genius.

About sassy

Follower of both dark and mysterious horrors and funny and pointless comedies. Fascinated with ghosts and the supernatural. Friendly and talkative, but I will kill you if you get between me and Itou Kanae.