Gosick

I really love the Gosick series. It has little titbits of all of my favourite elements when it comes to the mystery genre–characters that feel real, suspense, intellectual stimulation, etc. The characters are all very interesting people. Some of them are a bit dryer and more boring than others, but still worthwhile contributors to the story. The protagonists, Victorique and Kujō, have very natural chemistry that is quite pleasant. Nothing is ever forced, overwhelming, or seemingly out of place when they interact with one another. Characters that are written with such genuine grace are my ultimate weakness. The art is positively beautiful and simple in nature, yetit reveals so much. It’s very clean and crisp, leaving a lot of little details in the background that add an interactive touch to the reading experience. Certain panels, depending on the case the duo are working on, can seem overpopulated with either expression or environment, making your eyes work harder to grasp what’s going on, but overall it’s quite lovely. There are “cases” in the serial, or mysteries essentially, that Victorique and Kujō work on together to solve. A lot of them are complex in nature and what I love about this is that it keeps you guessing the entire time. When everything is unravelled and laid out at its finales, you can’t help but wonder how you didn’t find all of the clues yourself. In a lot of the situations, the clues are as evident to the reader as they are to the characters. This creates a rather intellectually stimulating and wonderfully invigorating feeling. Above all of the other fantastic qualities that Gosick has, this is my absolute favourite. On the whole, Gosick was a great reading experience for me and it is a manga that I’ll always recommend, especially if you’re into mysteries. 8 cupcakes outta 10!