First Impressions / GOSICK

「人食いデパートに青薔薇(ばら)は咲く」 (Hito-kui Depāto ni Ao Bara wa Saku)
“Blue Roses Bloom in the Cannibal Department Store”

By the power of plot, Kujou is conveniently turned into a magnet for mysteries, getting involved with strange cases that remind me of Dr. Who episodes.

I suppose the unique trait of this arc is that Victorique isn’t directly involved, so we don’t get much of the “chaos well of knowledge.” We did get some Avril time, but not nearly enough, and I suspect that won’t change anytime soon. Instead, we’re treated to Victorique maximum moe mode, sick version. I don’t need to describe any of it because I know you’ll all do it again in the comments, so I’ll just say I enjoyed it as usual. Without being completely pointless, the scenes do flesh out her personality, such as having an adoration for nice fabric or fearing shots. But oh man, her singing about kimonos to her dollhouse, and the preview chanting of hating shots; Yuuki Aoi..too..many..heart attacks..

Not knowing Kujou even had a sister, apparently she wants him to buy some stuff for her, leading him to go into town to walk into a building of mystery. Naturally, the workers there are all weird in the head, and Kujou manages to get himself tangled by finding the lost cousin of Rose, setting off suspicious alarms that he must tell Grevil. Evidence is of course, completely erased by the time they get back, and Kujou hangs his head in incompetent shame. What to do but to call Victorique? Now, since he knows more than he should, kidnapping follows. It’s all very by the book so far.

Victorique returned to her less affectionate wall of stubbornness towards Kujou, because normal relationships in anime is never possible for some reason, even after development. The situation at hand does strain the relationship between the two further, especially with Kujou kidnapped to tug at Victorique’s emotional side. As for the mystery itself, there’s certainly a lot of “stuff” going on, but with a minor annoyance of Kujou reading “about” the mystery the night before. It’s probably just a result of rushing the storyline though. Kujou is also constantly pushed around like a sack of worthless meat, powerless to everyone, making the episode a tad more frustrating to watch. Supposedly, he’s much manlier in the novels? He needs some time to shine on his own, so maybe this arc is the way to do it.

 

Preview

46 Comments

  3. Kujo needs to be more composed like back in the Queen Berry arc… It is a bit dumb for the doorman to send anyone Asian to the secret floor, isnt it suppose to be top secret??!! Well love Vic’s hair standing needle 😛

    Flappy
    Reply

    1. why would he? because the Blue Rose in that room is supposed to be sold to a person where in Kujo fits in description. Kujo is looking for the Blue Rose as he spoke about it upon entering the store, and the doorman thinks he is the person he is told to be sent on the third floor. In their country it is rather rare to find Asians roaming around so they really can’t which is who and just by a certain description Kujo is mistaken for that person along with the fact that he is looking for the Blue Rose. ^^

      Zwei
      Reply

  6. That homeless kid is good with money. He counted all of Kujo’s change before it even hit the ground. SUS!

    I laughed pretty good when the hobo lady grabbed Kujo. Funny story.. My friend was walking in Manhattan and wasn’t paying to much attention. Next thing y’know was that a hobo guy was all over him, talkin’ bout “Whaaddya doooin’ maaann??! Waatch where y’goin maaaaan~!”, in a dirty raspy voice. It was hilarious because my friend’s known to have walked into a tree a few years back also. xD Talk about bad luck. (For Kujo mostly, though.)

    Shirt
    Reply

      2. The Dragon Crisis reference is pretty easy to notice if you have watched that one. Rose was also found in a box in that series, similar to how Kujo found a girl in a box this episode.

        znail
        Reply

  9. Victorique returned to her less affectionate wall of stubbornness towards Kujou, because normal relationships in anime is never possible for some reason, even after development.

    She has had a life of being mistreated by her own family because she is illegitimate and because of the unfair branding of her mother as a murderer. Her real nature is such that she is vulnerable so she has built a shell to protect herself. Even with her affection towards Kujo she is scared of showing her true self because of a lifetime of being hurt. It’s become a habit that will be hard to break.

    I’m also convinced that Victorique is the great-grandmother of Tiaga Aisaka.

    bear
    Reply

  12. “Kimono~! Kimono~! Kujo gave me a Kimono~!”

    This episode won on so many levels. =D

    I will say, if something bad ends up happening to box-girl, I am going to be rightly pissed.

    Kujo! Get off your wimpy Asian ass and rescue her right the hell now!

    Darth
    Reply

  14. I’ve stopped coming for the detective mystery (there is none really). Instead, I watch Gosick for episodes like these. Victorique was all kinds of cuteness. I mean, I am sure we all lost a good decade off our lifespan from the sheer amount of artery-clogging sweetness this episode had.

    And why has no one mentioned how cute that poor kid was? I don’t know what it is about smart-alecky poor kids but they are just great. I’m praying to the Gosick gods that he becomes Kujo’s sidekick while Victorique’s slowly killing us with her cuteness.

    Seithecs
    Reply

  17. I’m not sure I recognize the Doctor Who parts of this episode. Maybe the animate mannequins remind you of The Autons ( old and new )?

    I was a bit disturbed by Kujo being so easily dismissed as well. From past shows I can not see how he would take being pushed around so easily, or how the inspector could ignore his bravery and integrity from several past cases. I suspect the writers decided to toss out whatever they thought was necessary of past character development for the sake of their new story.

    tudza
    Reply

  18. You would think that Grevil would realize that something was going on at the department store… but then again, he is Grevil. The only reason he has succeeded is probably due to Victorique. Avril once again is under utilized. The teacher has more screen time than her.

    bertman4
    Reply

    1. Not bad. I’m not huge into Techno but after my recent fascination with all of Index II’s music, it’s grown on me. That person had a lot of fun making that one. It had a nice break down in the middle too. :] Thanks for sharing.

      Shirt
      Reply

  22. Stop it, Victorique, it’s just too cute!

    Anyone besides me expect Kujo to turn into a Werewolf at some point lol? Everytime they say his name I keep thinking about that dog Stephen King created.

    anishuma
    Reply

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