Rozen Maiden
Duration: ~24min each episode
Episodes: 2 Seasons each 12 episodes
OVA has 2 episodes
(and 8 volumes manga)
Licensed status: Geneon Entertainment (DVD version only)
Licensed date: 29th May 2007
Genre: Action, Shoujo, Drama
Official Homepage
Promo (official, youtube)
Trailer Rozen Maiden (fanmade, veoh)
For more resources check below, a DDL for the first ep is also available, you can also watch the entire series, both seasons and OVA online in good quality. Please read on.
General Information
The first volume of the manga was published in Japan 25th March 2003. In 7th October, 2004 the new anime series ‘Rozen Maiden’ aired, which was a success. A year later, on 21th October 2005, the second season named ‘Rozen Maiden Traumend‘ was aired and nearing the ending of the show an OVA was introduced. Traumend is German for Dreaming.
The OVA is called Ouverture and aired on 23th December 2006. There is also an OVA about Detective Kunkun, the Duell Walzer OVA, but that’s more like a joke or bonus I think. It’s about the detective Kunkun, the series the Rozen Maiden watch at TV (in the anime at least, I didn’t read the manga).
News about a ‘renewal’ of the manga? Please read it all at moetron blog Rozen Maiden Manga Renewal. However it’s not renewing, it’s another story! The title isn’t true, so uh be warned. You must ofcourse be familiar to notice. I think you should just browse the moetron blog to find the differences. In short it’s an alternate story what would happen if Jun had choosen not to wind the doll.
Next I blog a first impression, without spoiling about Rozen Maiden. Well, ok, I spoil the first episode. Please be warned. As usual the first episode is to get you to the story, so telling about Rozen Maiden without it spoiled is a bit nasty. So, Warning Spoiler, Episode 1 if you read on.
Screenshots, images are from various wallpapers, episodes, seasons, ova and/ or fanarts …
Plot description
Looking to the Rozen Maiden DVD cover you might figured out a rozen maiden isn’t tall. A rozen maiden is a doll and there are seven of them to complete your collection, having Shinku as number 5. They are playing the game ‘ALICE’ to find their father, who every rozen maiden beloves. The desire to meet father, however is depended of the doll.
Shinku, the rozen maiden dressed in red having something todo with roses is the first rozen maiden we met. I can say without spoilers, so, well our ‘hero’ Sakurada Jun orders Shinku as he loves mysterious, cursed items. Ofcourse they all suppose to be fake and safe.
The fact I quoted hero is that Sakurada Jun is a failing member of the society. He dropped out of school without notifying his parents who works overseas. He lacks socializing and even avoids any conversation, regardless whether taking to his own sister.
So at a fated day our student receives a mail questioning him whether he would wind the doll or not. He chooses to wind the doll and put it in his second drawer of the desk as it is instructed to send the order to Holie who will take it to the spirit world.
After a small argue with his sister he returns to his dormitory and struggles over a beautiful suitcase, which had appeared suddenly in his room. Astonished of the craftsmanship and care he opens the case, finding a beautifull doll inside. The doll is soft and the clothes are more than gentle. After finding the wind key Jun bents the doll over his knee and winds the doll up from her back.
Suddenly the doll starts shaking, not a motion Jun expected from being winded up. Then, off all in sudden the doll is alive. Shocked Jun realizes who she is and tries checking his order which he left in his drawer, but the order is done, complete. Then he starts thinking she’s just a trick to get to him, but she’s not. At top she’s quite the boss around and sees Jun as her personal slave.
She spotted Jun’s socialize problem and starts getting Jun into some socializing again. Suddenly another doll appears. It seems the game starts as soon as she had been activated. Soon her sisters will emerge, assemble and play the game to find their father.
My opinion
The first episode is an eye catcher and it get even more interesting on the way. Please mind this is truly a drama. I see anidb.net not listening as a drama, but it’s a mean and a sad story. A wish, a will and longing is fighting the rozen maidens mind. The wish of become the one and only Alice, the long for their father, the will the survive and be ‘real’ sisters. These feelings are targeted and it’s very clear they can’t fulfill them all. Which one do they drop, which is stronger, the wish, the will or just longing to be with father.
The ending is splendid and for 12 episodes, watch! It’s probably like 5 hours but it’s great. You see these rozen maidens fighting, philosophizing and being a sisters of each other. Their pain and hatred are well done. Though you must love the ’so-cute’ and chibi genre’s too. Regarding the first comments I find at Rozen Maiden blogs, sites, videos, reviews etc…
The game
There are several games of Rozen Maiden, created as doujin game.
The best I think was Rozen Maiden Alibat (v1.5), promo vid. This game is created as a C71 doujin game. Which should sound familiar to an anime fan.
The second game is a Playstation 2 game, named Rozen Maiden Gebetgarten created by 5game/ Taito Corporation, promo vid. Alibat is cool ’cause you have the typical rozen maiden attacks, speed and a lot of action. This game however lacks to put the atmosphere. The attacks are slow and repeating.
Watching online, Download, Torrents
Searching at veoh I found a pack of channels of the series Rozen Maiden.
meluvblue (Season 1, Good Quality, Recommend)
abbas25 (Season 1)
SyntheticDarkness6 (Season 1)
AtariIce (Season 1,2 + OVA)
And mind you can always check the veoh site yourselves and search for the channels you love.
Download
The Veoh client btw is trustable, you only need to check out, ’start at windows’. Since you probably won’t veoh each time you start you pc. It’s a good client which makes it able to download the episodes to your pc. Most of the time this is flv, but you find avi (xvid/ divx), wmv, mov too. So there isn’t just one pinned codec. So, if you download and doesn’t like the codec, just try another channel.
A DDL is located in the at uploadr (a free file service), this is the first episode of the first season, ‘Fraulein Rose’.
Torrents
Boxtorrents is great. They aim at good sharing, which keeps the torrents alive. Please get your torrent over there. Mind you need to be registered to fully benefits from the private tracker. … Well I like the community, the people are nice and discuss able.
A figurine of mine, I brought back a while ago from Thailand is Barasuishou from the Manga ‘Rozen Maiden’.
Information and blog
I have found Kurogane’s blog about the second season.
!The wiki at wikipedia has a good summary and general info.
Be warned! Wikipedia contains spoilers, a lot actually!
Prefer check the AniDB entry which also has reviews, rating and is a dedicated anime fan-based info site.
Purchasing? The manga, anime series and a Shinku PVC is available at archonia. I have no clue were to get the other figurines of therozen maidens. Let me know if you do.
On the end some resources having a lot of wallpapers like minitokio(also contains reviews, community) and a site devoted to Suigintou.
Please also watch an awesome Superdolfie of Shinku (youtube).
If you are unfamiliar with super dolfies you really need to look into. Check google for instance. Super dolfies are like masterpieces of action models. Action models, again in short, are like PVC model’s only they have joints to move parts into your own position.
I hope you like this entry, it took me several hours to get all information around. Rozen Maiden is getting huge it’s a pity the story ends… In a couple of days I write a very detailed first episode summary.
