No.6 starts out captivating enough, with a boy running through what appears to be sewers, with two other men chasing him and bullets flying past his head.  Suddenly, after he reaches a dead end, the scene changes completely.  Now, a high-rise classroom and a brown haired boy stare back at us.  As the teacher drones on, his attention wanders to the window, and the forest outside. Suddenly, he's suspended in air- floating, with leaves being whipped passed him, and the wind's force growing.  As the clouds grey over, in preparation for a storm, his body begins to dissolve. His arms and legs rapidly turn to sakura blossoms.

And then the dream is shattered. The classroom returns, two students are fighting with another student who has been in the middle of a presentation. They had apparently been talking, and she became annoyed. The shouting match progresses to a physical assault until two teachers arrive to restore order.

Later, on a ferry, the girl, Safu,  and the brown haired boy, whose name we discover is Shion, discuss the incident. This is the 1st time the truly thought provoking side of this anime comes into focus, as Shion goes into a very brief discussion of mankind's limitations and those we impose on ourself-

 Mankind only recognizes itself as such by the conception of self placed upon it by society.

And so he continues, until the boat reaches it's moorings. From there the two briefly talk about a typhoon that passed through sector six that day.

Safu and Shion go and visit their grandmother, who presents Shion with a birthday present- a sweater that matches the one Safu wears but with introverted colors.  After a small party, as Shion is leaving, he and Safu are outside, when the "Moondrop Cries".  The Moondrop seems to be a large building with a net like framework around it and antenna.

Then, after a quick flashback to the boy being shot at (when are we going to find out why?!), we change to Shion's house.  Shion throws open the windows, and along with rain and wind, comes the Moondrop's cry.  Then something inside the house rings, and Shion goes in to answer. Using a bracelet that seems to control most everything in their world, he turns the alarm off. When he turns back around, the boy, gunshot wound and all, is standing in his open doorway.

Immediately, he attempts to strangle Shion, warning him not to move. Shion is only released after offering to help him treat the wound on his left arm. The strangle hold returns when the phone rings again. Using the bracelet to answer, Shion begins a conversation with his mother. Using a report as his excuse, Shion hangs up.

While he is treating the wound, their topic of conversation turns to Shion's education. At age 2, Shion apparently passed his IQ tests with astounding scores, entered a prestigious academy, and now, at age twelve, he will be entering a Special Course class.

Nedzumi, or Rat as it translates, reveals that he had been shot as part of a "hunting club". There's a catch; this club hunts humans. As Rat is changing, we see that he has something like burns on his back.

Later that day, an escaped prisoner report comes in. The subject escaped in the Lost Town area while being transferred. It is thought he fled toward Chronos. And of course, our dear friend Rat is the same escaped prisoner.

 

Rat has a VC chip inside him, it's basically a tracker, so the search system should be easily able to track him down.  Rat tenses to fight when he is confronted with his true identity, VC103221, but instead, Shion hands him some soup and cherry cake.  Shion asks him about the VC chip, which Rat claims has long since stopped working. He equates all of Sector No. 6 to a toy.  Rat tells him most of what he heard in the safety report was a lie, and then warns him of the dangers of housing a criminal.

So naturally a police car shows up at their house the next morning. And that's where the episode cuts off. Even though No.6 had a slow start, things seem to be picking up. The next episode will be worth watching, I think.

Picking up where the last episode ended, Inspector de Blois, (not to be  confused with his father the Marquis de Blois), and Victorique arrive outside of the theater where the performance of the Rose of Sauburne is to be held. Where upon, as they enter the building, Kujo, missing them by moments, finds Cecile and several stunned policemen. Cecile, as a teacher concerned for the safety of her students, had apparently stowed away in one of the Inspector's traveling cases, and has just now freed herself.

After hearing Cecile's disturbing report on Victorique's state of mind, Kujo races inside the theater in search of her. In voice-over, and while still conducting his frantic search, Kujo promises her that no matter what storm may come, he'll always be there.

When Kujo finally finds her, deep within the building, Victorique rejects him, telling him, with a pain and determination clear in her eyes, that this is as far as they will go. Kujo is then captured by two very annoyed doormen.

After they part, Victorique goes on alone to face the Marquis Albert de Blois, her father. She is lead to an old stage, the room filled with microphones, paper screens, and loud speakers.  Victorique  goes into an explanation as to why they want her to solve the Coco Rose case now.
The Inspector then launches into an overview of the Coco Rose Case for Kujo:

After Coco Rose (Queen of Sauburne)  had been moved to a country house, a French emissary came to visit her. She was then summoned to the royal palace to meet the aforementioned emissary.  Then, a headless corpse was found in the queen's chambers. The only person who had gone in or out of the room at the time was his Majesty, the King of Sauburne. Since there was no evidence pointing to him, he did not come under suspicion.  At the same time, the head fell into a room in the Queen's home, and then spontaneously caught on fire.  The case was never solved. 

He also states that if she cannot solve this case, she will probably not be allowed to return to the academy with Kujo. Upon learning that Victorique only has access to already public information Kujo sets out to find her what she'll really need. On his way out of the building, Kujo, hesitating for a moment because he sees a picture of Victorique, or rather it's really Cordelia, he meets one of Cordelia's old friends, who tells him about Cordelia's strange disappearance. (See our review on episode 19.) Just as he's leaving, he is startled by thew next picture, that of a girl named Nicole Le Roux, a woman who, nicknamed the Downtown Blue Rose, was not only a dead ringer for Queen Coco, but also disappeared somewhere near the theater.

After that, you see Brian Roscoe hiding in the shadow, looking out at the theater, and Cordelia, up on the roof of a nearby building looking down on her old workplace.

Then, Victorique tells her father she does not have enough Chaos fragments yet, and the guards surround her.  Kujo, in the meantime, discovers that the girl Nicole applied for a very specific job as a secretary immediately before her disappearance.  Their search leads them to the grave of Nicole, which lists her death as in the year 1900 the year of her disappearance, while sources remember seeing her alive 10 years after she abruptly left the stage.

 Then we pan back to Victorique, her hands bound behind her, as she sits in the middles of a magic circle, guards stand around her with bells ringing in their hands.  The Inspector begs his father to stop, but the Marquis tells him to watch and see the power of his younger sister. Critical to the end, Victorique sits and mocks the Ministry of the Occult' attempts to heighten her senses.

Cecile and Kujo are waiting outside for the Inspector to tell him what they know, when as he doesn't appear, Kujo sees Brian Roscoe, and chases him down a side street.  When he gets to the alley, naturally Brian is gone, but there is a rope hanging down out of an open window. Up the rope goes Kujo. While attempting to figure out how to get passed the guards, Roscoe again appears, and demands of Kujo where his fight and spirit went.  Flying past Kujo, Brian breaks down the door, and running quick enough to blow out the candles, grabs Victorique out from under her guards, and runs with her onto the stage.

        Now this is where it gets confusing, so pay attention:

Brian  lets Kujo in, telling him that the "Wolf Cub" is past the inner door, but when Kujo reaches Victorique, another, different Brian, the same one who apparently rescued her, is there, and with a swish of his cape, sends a gust of air through the room, and when the haze clears, only the Inspector, Kujo and Victorique are left in the room.

Kujo runs to her, and when Victorique realizes who's now holding her, she begins to panic, telling him she can't solve this case. But the touching moment is ruined when, of all things, the guards return. As it becomes clear the Inspector cannot hold the guard off any longer, Victorique rises and say she can solve the case.

After commending Kujo on his ingenuity in thinking to look closer at the Nicole Le Roux case, she goes to the cemetery to dig up Nicole's grave.         

                                            And so naturally, the episode ends here.                                                     

As Christmas time approaches in Sauburne, episode 19 plunges you into the dark past of Cordelia, Victorique's mother, and her connection to Brian Roscoe.

As she is preforming on stage, as part of a dance troupe preforming Rose Colored Life, Cordelia is confronted by the Marquis de Blois.  After the show, she goes out a back entrance, and on her way to meet Roscoe, is kidnapped by the same Marquis de Blois.While attempting to save her, Brian is knocked unconscious, and Cordelia disappears for a year,taken to the Marquis castle fortress, is raped and gives birth to her daughter, the Gray Wolf, Victorique, on Christmas Day. When she recovers she finds herself in a psychiatric facility, with a precious locket, containing a picture of Cordelia and Victorique.

She is rescued by Brian Roscoe, and begins to preform on the stage again, this time inside a wooden mannequin doll, not a frilled skirt.  She and Brian go and visit Victorique, but what Cordelia finds is not what she expected. She sees a younger version of herself, trapped and helpless inside a tower. There she gives her daughter an pendant, not unlike her own, but with a different image inside, and tells her that if she(Victorique) ever needs help, it doesn't matter where, she'll come running.

All these memories are brought on because the Marquis has ordered the "The Blue Rose of Sauburne" to be preformed on Christmas Day. This time though, the story has been altered slightly-it now revolves around Coco Rose, the Queen of Sauburne.  Brian Roscoe's bitterness shines through "Is this a sick joke? Still how much does this contemptible man have to hurt you before he's sated?".

Cordelia sends Victorique a message-  

"The Second Storm will come soon. Now is the time to show your power."

Toward the very end of this episode, Kujo and Victorique are reminded of the words of the elder in the Village of the Gray Wolves (Episodes 6-8). That while a gale will blow the world and themselves apart, they will always be together in their hearts.  It appears the storm has come.

                                                      Seventeen Review:

In this episode, we're almost at the point of ending Shiori's story, in case you don't know, by now, we've finished Makoto, and Mai, ending with Mai in the hospital and Makoto dead...  With Makoto, he could help find what was missing, and Mai, he could help her fight her daemons, but, what could you do for a girl who has a week at the most to live?In this case, there is nothing he can do for Shiori, which leaves him feeling helpless.

One night, he goes to Shiori's fountain, and finds her just staring at the water. While they talk, she tells him she's so sorry, that she wasn't supposed to fall in love, and that she's very thankful for what he's given her, and she has a lot to apologize for. But she has a request, she wants to be treated like a normal girl, one who isn't dying. She has him pretend to be her big brother, someone who will take her back to the times when she wasn't to sick to have fun. As they part, he begs Shiori to tell him if there is a way for her to make it. And rather to happily she tells him that a miracle would save her, but miracles never happen so why wish? And then she is gone.

For the  last few days of her Life, Shiori comes to school, and for the most part, seems pretty upbeat, and happy. One of the worst parts of these episodes (16/17/18) is that Kaori doesn't even want to show she has a sister, because the pain of watching her die is too much for her.
             

    

Ending theme:

Gosick is most certainly not for the faint of heart, with it's grotesque dead bodies and it's ghost story violence, it is enough to make many people wary to watch it. Gosick however, is a great anime with a good plot- Victorique is a doll-like genius who often helps the police solve crimes. She truly looks like a female Sherlock Holmes, with her long blond hair and porcelain pipe. Kujo on the other hand is just the opposite- tall and dark, he is a Japanese boy sent over to the made-up European country of Sauville, and then to the St. Marguerite Academy, known for it's hauntings, and ghost tales. 

On his 1st day, he is immediately shied away from by his fellow students, who call him the Springtime Reaper. While in the library, he notices a golden garden at the very top of the tower. Climbing up, he meets Victorique and the inspector of the police, Grevil de Blois, an obnoxious man who has the most ridiculous pomade. He charges Victorique with solving the murder of a fortune teller, Roxanne, shot through the left eye, with the entire household outside the door, and no weapon found in the room when the door is opened. She quickly solves the case, saying that the when Arabic-speaking maid called out, she did not in fact try to see if her mistress would open the door, but instead told her that her life was in danger and to move away from the window near the door. She then went into the next room and got out a pistol-kept for defensive reasons-and shot the door lock and her mistress at the same time.

When the inspector takes credit for Victorique's work, Kujo is angry and goes to tell off the inspector, but instead, winds up making plans to take a cruise with the inspector and Victorique.  But when the maid escapes, and the inspector has to rush off, Victorique finds a invitation addressed to the dead Roxanne. They use the invitation, and wind up on an exact replica of  Queen Berry, a boat that sunk 10 years ago after 11 children, referred to as the hares,  murdered each other inside.  One by one, the dinner guests die, until there are just four left-Victorique, Kujo and two others. Trying to free themselves from the sinking ship, Ned-san one of the remaining four is killed. The three run for the nearest room and start to look for weapons. They are too late however, because the "hunting dog" has entered the room holding a large scythe. He grabs up Victorique, but Kujo saves her by hitting the man in the face with brass knuckles. They continue to fight, and instead of leaving, Victorique searches for her most treasured possession, a locket that fell of during the struggle.  They then run up on deck, leaving the man unconscious in the room.


They then ask her how she knew Ned (the man in the room) wasn't dead. She tells them about a tennis ball used to temporarily stop his pulse, but is interrupted by Ned emerging from the lower flowers and attacking.  Julie, the third lady, stabs Ned in the back with his own scythe, as he is about to kill Kujo.

Julie, however, turns out to be the culprit behind the whole thing. Upon being pressed, she reveals what truly happened 10 years ago.(Different colors represent different voices, Julie is denoted by Green, the others are nameless):

                 " We were all orphans. Ten years ago, I was put on a big black iron-barred carriage. I lost consciousness and woke up on that cursed ship.Our nationalities were different, so even our conversations were faltering. But because our circumstances were the same, we were able to communicate.And yet.... (FLASHBACK- hey, who killed him? What do you mean who? We are the only ones on this ship.One of us is the killer! END FLASHBACK) His death was the catalyst that made us suspect each other, and then murder each other.But even so,(FLASH BACK- Hey, your bleeding, wait here, while I...(girl hands Julie heart pendant) You're giving that to me? But you said it was precious to you! END FLASHBACK) Even amongst the bloodshed,I found a modicum of friendship. (FLASHBACK-I'm not leaving you here! ( Julie lifts girl onto shoulders) We're going together!We're Escaping together!-END) My mind was on the verge of snapping, but I held it at bay, and we finally arrived. (FLASHBACK-(other group=There it is! The Radio Room! Julie-Help will be here soon! (they are greeted by a line of men, one is standing and says- Welcome Courageous Hares! The men begin applauding. One asks-Where is my ally? Another-Tell us your nationalities, which rabbits survived? The hunting dog speaks- France, Italy, America,and Saubure. Julie- You! One man begins to explain- Oh-He's England, the hunting dog.He preformed his role splendidly. That is, he threw you hares into a state of chaos, and drove you into a corner. Roxanne wheels forward and announces that a young man will die soon.THE RUNNING OF THE HARES WILL END HERE!Sink the box immediately and fulfill the revelation! Then Fatten up the hares!-End) -Julie,GOSICK

Then, Victorique begins discussing the reasons behind the events that Julie had just described. Apparently, Roxanne would release hares among her hunting dogs, and predict the future from the hares that survived. She used this particular incident to predict what would happen during the Great War. The maid, the one that shot Roxanne, was one of the survivors of the Queen Berry, and killed Roxanne for her part in the tragic events.

Again enraged, Kujo runs all the way up the stairs back at school, to show Victorique that Inspector Blois has used her logic AGAIN! She is not phased, merely saying her brother is an egomaniac. It turns out that Victorique and Grevil are half-siblings, her mother was his fathers mistress and, according to her, a dangerous woman.

GOSICK started as a light novel series, then became a manga and an anime. The anime currently has four episodes out, and the 5th is slated to come out February 4th.

Sources;
http://www.watchanimeon.com/anime/gosick/  (picture of Victorique only)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gosick  (Light Novel Cover)
Video from:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MsxyWP0en04&feature=related
Watch GOSICK at Watchanimeon.com/anime/gosick

  Tragedy after tragedy befall the girls of Kanon. One of their number, Makoto dies in Yuuichi's arms, then Mai-chan injures both herself and her only real friend, Sayuri rather badly. Shiori is still ill and something seems to be bothering Nayuki. The only one not in pain at the moment seems to be Ayu-chan.

  But that too is temporary. Akiko-san falls ill and Ayu is reminded of her mother as she died. However, Akiko's protests that she merely has a cold do not fully convince Yuuichi, Ayu or Nayuki. But after a little trouble involving rice porridge and medicine, Ayu succeeds in helping Akiko to recover.

  One of the happier happenings this episode was Shiori's date with Yuuichi. They go to an arcade, and then to the place that Shiori 1st met Ayu and Yuuichi. From there, they go on to having a snowball fight, and build a snowman, and finally, Shiori draws Yuuichi's picture... Even this happy day ends bitterly, for she asks Yuuichi to take her to their school, and there, she tells him about her collapse, and her inability to return to school afterword. One's suspicions about Shiori's health are confirmed, and she tells him that she has been very sick since her birth.

  After that, Shiori's sister's identity is confessed- Kaori.Kaori gives Yuuichi some hard news, Shiori's birthday is in a week and that week will probably be her last. Her doctors say that Shiori will not live to see her birthday this year. Kaori breaks down crying, and tells him that she ignored her sister, pretended she didn't exist because it was to painful to watch her grow weak and die. Wishes she had never had a sister, and demands of Yuuichi why her sister was born, only to die so soon.

  Was it the intention of the author to drive watchers to the verge of tears every episode? If so than they succeeded. Kanon is a masterpiece that will bring watchers to their knees. There is nothing out there in the world of anime that could possibly equal it.

 Season News:

The last episode of the season, episode 12, was released on the 22nd, and there is a second season coming in April, 2011.

Episode Summary:

There is NO real girl for Keima to conquer in this episode, just like in an earlier episode.  This is because most of the episodes where human girls are conquered require an additional episode to complete.

  Frustrated by the lack of time he spends gaming, and the "shameful backlog" of new games, Keima  enters  God of Conquest mode, wherein, Keima battles 6 games at once, on a large screen, while Elci looks on in amazement. *This is the 1st time Keima's room is shown. While in the middle of this mode, replaying multiple Princess Derby games at once, there is a loud bang and his consoles fuses blow. When Elci comes to check on him, he is hovering in the air, in some sort of relaxation pose. Keima is awakened from his sleep to the persistent buzzing of one of his games, and continues to play.

  Keima ups his game to 24 games at a time, since 6 will no longer due. When he collapses from exhaustion, Elci makes him leave his room and take a walk. Of course, he brings along some handhelds too. Elci begins to berate him about how sad and pathetic his life is, locked away playing games, and Keima, instead of giving her a long monologue as before, explains to her why he loves the games, and how they provide him with all the company he needs.

  With only one game left to play, Keima almost falls asleep from pure exhaustion, only to begin to hallucinate that all the characters he's conquered leave their screens to give him encouragement.   It's kinda creepy to be perfectly honest. At the end, all the characters take Keima into their world, and then a new ending song rolls. Which is REALLY bad.. painful to listen to. However you need to suffer trough it, because, at the end, there are some hints for season 2. For instance: A game version of Elci appears to challenge Keima.

Season Recap:

After signing a contract with daemons and hell, Keima is forced to hunt down loose souls or lose his head. Elci ( the daemon) buys her way into Keima's house by telling his mother that she is the bastard child of Keima's father.  By the end of the season, they've defeated 4 loose souls.

My Other Article:

http://mangacatonline.blogspot.com/2010/10/world-only-god-knows.html