Review: Rozen Maiden
Warning: May Contain Spoilers
A boy and his dolls. No, it's not hentai, and the boy isn't gay. It's Rozen Maiden.
Rozen Maiden takes place in a suburb or town somewhere in Japan. Sakurada Jun is a hardcore computer geek. His one passion in life is ordering fake supernatural goods, and returning them for a refund. That's all. He's a bit addicted just to the thrill of it, once he has the goods, they're worthless to him. Weird kid. His big sister Nori worries about him, urging him to go back to school, or at least go outside and see the world. Our heroic shut-in abuses her in return. Guess he feels he can get away with it because she's a girl and their parents are overseas on business. One day when checking through the day's mail, he finds a letter, saying he's the lucky winner or something, and with two options at the top: accept or decline. He circles accept, and according to the letter's instructions, puts the letter and envelope in a desk drawer. Minutes later, a suitcase flies through his window. Opening it, he finds a beautiful doll, dressed in a red gothic lolita/Victorian dress. He winds the doll up, and she awakens, only to slap him across the face. So enters the fifth doll of Rozen Maiden, Shinku.
Rozen Maiden comes from PEACH-PIT, the same studio that gave us DearS and DigiCharat, and more recently, Shugo-Chara. Luckily, it was announced at the end of March that there will be a second season of this show, which will hopefully clear up many questions left at the end of the series. There is very little fanservice here; the dolls have high standards of dignity, and are seen in their undergarments in only one episode, when their clothes are washed. Their personalities are interesting and diverse; Jun has two sides to him, one side being rude to his sister, and the other side filled with misery and loneliness at his voluntary imprisonment. Suigin Tou is a very interesting villian; cruel and calculating, she wishes to destroy all the other dolls and win the mysterious Alice Game, but is not content with merely defeat; she strives to turn them all into "junk". This show has many similarities with other shows; Chobits, for example, also had a "doll" (human-shaped computer) that could walk, speak, and interact with people. Other people can see Shinku and the others walk around and speak, and Jun is not the only one touched by the Rozen Maidens.
The soundtrack is excellent; "Kinjirareta Asobi" is catchy and upbeat, and the ending was also pretty. As there are only twelve episodes, the same op and end are kept throughout the series.
Rozen Maiden is still unlicensed, and can be found on AnimeSuki.
9/10 - Short, sweet, adorable as all getout, and refreshing. Very few rough spots. Eagerly awaiting the second season of this.
A boy and his dolls. No, it's not hentai, and the boy isn't gay. It's Rozen Maiden.
Rozen Maiden takes place in a suburb or town somewhere in Japan. Sakurada Jun is a hardcore computer geek. His one passion in life is ordering fake supernatural goods, and returning them for a refund. That's all. He's a bit addicted just to the thrill of it, once he has the goods, they're worthless to him. Weird kid. His big sister Nori worries about him, urging him to go back to school, or at least go outside and see the world. Our heroic shut-in abuses her in return. Guess he feels he can get away with it because she's a girl and their parents are overseas on business. One day when checking through the day's mail, he finds a letter, saying he's the lucky winner or something, and with two options at the top: accept or decline. He circles accept, and according to the letter's instructions, puts the letter and envelope in a desk drawer. Minutes later, a suitcase flies through his window. Opening it, he finds a beautiful doll, dressed in a red gothic lolita/Victorian dress. He winds the doll up, and she awakens, only to slap him across the face. So enters the fifth doll of Rozen Maiden, Shinku.
Rozen Maiden comes from PEACH-PIT, the same studio that gave us DearS and DigiCharat, and more recently, Shugo-Chara. Luckily, it was announced at the end of March that there will be a second season of this show, which will hopefully clear up many questions left at the end of the series. There is very little fanservice here; the dolls have high standards of dignity, and are seen in their undergarments in only one episode, when their clothes are washed. Their personalities are interesting and diverse; Jun has two sides to him, one side being rude to his sister, and the other side filled with misery and loneliness at his voluntary imprisonment. Suigin Tou is a very interesting villian; cruel and calculating, she wishes to destroy all the other dolls and win the mysterious Alice Game, but is not content with merely defeat; she strives to turn them all into "junk". This show has many similarities with other shows; Chobits, for example, also had a "doll" (human-shaped computer) that could walk, speak, and interact with people. Other people can see Shinku and the others walk around and speak, and Jun is not the only one touched by the Rozen Maidens.
The soundtrack is excellent; "Kinjirareta Asobi" is catchy and upbeat, and the ending was also pretty. As there are only twelve episodes, the same op and end are kept throughout the series.
Rozen Maiden is still unlicensed, and can be found on AnimeSuki.
9/10 - Short, sweet, adorable as all getout, and refreshing. Very few rough spots. Eagerly awaiting the second season of this.