Review on Rozen Maiden...

After hearing a Lot of Good Comments about this anime, I thought i might give it a try. & It proved to be an Anime Worthy of Praise... =)

Info on Rozen Maiden from AnimeNFO.com...
Title : Rozen Maiden
Japanese Title : ローゼンメイデン
Total Episodes : 12 X 24 Minutes
Genres : Magic, Supernatural, Action, Romance, Comedy
Year Published : 2004
Studio : Nomad
Peach-Pit

What Rozen Maiden is About...
Sakurada Jun has dropped out of school because of some social problems. After he quit school, Jun refused to go out, and spent all his time at home shopping on the internet for 'weird' or 'cursed' items. One day, a mysterious box appeared in the middle of his room. When he opened the box, he found a sophisticated doll, which looked so real that it appeared to be alive. He winds up the doll and it starts to move. What is the Doll? What are Jun's Problems? Is this the only Doll? Or are there More of these Fascinating Dolls? What is going to Happen to Jun from here on?

Characters of Rozen Maiden...

Sakurada Jun, dropped out of school because he has some social problems. He is clever & has some hidden talents. Though he seems rude, and mean to his sister, he can actually be a nice person. He wound up the doll, Shinku, and sweared to be her medium. Now, what will happen to his life?


Sakurada Nori, Jun's elder sister, she is the kind of clumsy but easy-to-get-along-with girl. She cares a lot about Jun, but does not know how to help him, and Jun treats her like a maid. Will Nori ever be able to help Jun of his social problems & be worthy of Jun's respect?


Shinku, the 5th Doll of the Rozen Maiden. She was wound up by Jun & has made Jun her medium, while she's the master. What are her strange powers? & How can she move when she's meant to be a doll? & what is this strange talk about Alice & the Alice Game?

My Review on the Anime, Rozen Maiden...
To begin with, Rozen Maiden's animation was good. Worthy to be classified as an anime of 2004, It has smooth animation, & clear graphics. Action scenes are Great, & the magical powers are good. I also liked the Medieval Fashion Designs of the Doll's Dresses, Headwear & Footwear. The Character design was good as well. So No Complaints here...

The Sounds were Good as well. The OP theme had a nice, interesting tune, & the ED theme had a great melody as well. The Seiyuus did a Good Job as well. With Good Music, & Good Seiyuus, there's nothing to complain about... =)

The Story starts off cliche, suddenly a mysterious doll comes into a random person's life, & has some sort of magical power and will change that person's life. But then as the story start going deeper into Jun's life, his flashbacks and memories, explaining all of Jun's problems in an interesting way. Well, I have always been fascinated by super powers, & if you are into magical powers like me, you'd most probably enjoy trying to find out what kind of magical powers these Rozen Maiden Dolls have... =)

Rozen Maiden has a Very Balanced Share of Comic Relief, Magical Action & Drama. I find the pacing of the storyline great as well. The story doesn't feel rushed in any way, and things really feel as though they come by spontaneously. There were Some ReaLLy Funny Scenes which really Lifed up the Mood with the Characters, showing that, maybe the Rozen Maiden dolls aren't all thaat serious after all, & Love having fun as well...xD With a good balance of Great Comedy, Nice Action, & Good Drama, Rozen Maiden is Decent in all these aspects.

Although, one flaw might be, they don't show enough about the characters? There aren't enough flashbacks, or scenes that tell you about the other characters' past. Even at the end of the anime, you'd most probably find yourself still wondering, So how are the Rozen Maidens Made, & how did Shinku come from? I guess the anime somehow disappoints in this aspect, as the whole story isn't made clear. But i guess that is why there is a second season, "~traumend~" which will hopefully explain the story better and clearer. =)

The characters are well made as well. Though you would probably like em' or hate em'. As Shinku's personality is high-class and all royalty, some might get angry at her high-nosed personality, but then, she's probably more likable at the scenes where she's funny and when she's being sensitive and actually complimenting for a change. The other Rozen Maiden dolls may also be "annoying" in other ways, but then again, they are Funny & lovable, in my opinion, anyway. =)... Some might also hate Jun at first for being such an insensitive meanie, treating his sister like a maid, and thinking he's the best and all that. I personally disliked Jun at first. But then, i started to like him as the show goes on. Well, I Guess that IS how it's meant to be. Shinku trying to show the good personality points of Jun as time passes by, & letting a relationship between them develop... =) & Yes, we can see a lot of character development going on. We see how the annoying brat Jun changes to become a caring person, & Snobby high-class Shinku is really a nice, sensitive doll, & a lot of character development in the Other Characters as well. =)

It also have some good lessons on life. "To Live is to Fight". By living, we have to face and fight our problems. Rozen Maiden even showed what kind of actions come from having too much love & other interesting point of views. =)

With that, I don't really have much else to say, as Rozen Maiden is indeed an anime worth of praise, for its unique idea of medieval dolls and magical powers, fighting each other to win the Alice game. & with its nice storyline pace, and nice balance of Comedy, Action & Drama. The Rozen Maiden Dolls even have Nice Fashion Designs which really give it a High-class European feel. Overall, Rozen Maiden is a Really Decent Anime, but not exactly enough to shine like other great animes.

For some reason, Rozen Maiden just does not have enough to be a REALLY GOOD Anime? But nevertheless, Rozen Maiden is Still a Good Watch & Worth your Time watching anyway. Don't expect too much from it, & you might be surprised cause it might actually be a really Good anime. =)


My Rating...
9/10


Animation: 9
Comment: Good Animation, Smooth Action Scenes, & Smooth Clear Animation. Nice Designs of the Dresses & Nice Character Designs. =)

Music/Sounds: 9
Comment: Good OSTs, OP & ED Themes, I Liked them a Lot, & the Seiyuus were good & Fitting of the characters. =)

Story: 9
Comment: An Interesting Story of Rozen Maiden Dolls with Magical Powers. With A Nice Storyline Pace, Great Balance of Comedy, Drama, & Action. Definitely deserves a 9. =)

Characters: 9
Comment: Good Characters with Great Character Development. No Complaints here. =)


Tear Factor:

Comment: It wasn't exactly all that of a teary-anime. Since it's supposed to be more of a magical-action anime. But then, its dramatic scenes might make you touched and even shed a tear or two?

Comedy Factor:

Comment: Great Comedy~! Definitely~! The Great Characters with Such Interesting Personalities being Put Together, & Produce So Much Light-heartedness & Comedy. Definitely one of the Anime's Good Point. =)

Excitement/Suspense/Surprising Factor:

Comment: I Can't say it was all thaaat unpredictable. It can be quite cliche at times. But then again, it does have its times when the story or magical powers surprises you. =)

Meaningful Factor:

Comment: Ahhh Yes. Rozen Maiden has Some Meanings of Life in it. Showing that Living is to Fight. To face your problems, even when you think you are the worst, & you are flawed all over. Cause everyone else thinks like that as well. The Different Point of Views of the Characters in this anime were also Interesting to Learn about. So this is one of the aspects Rozen Maiden is good at.. .=)

Overall, Rozen Maiden is a Pretty Decent Anime. Not Exactly something that would be called "one of the best animes out there". But Definitely, a Good Decent anime that Deserves a Watch. =)

Click Here to See Legend...

Screenshots...
For the preview of Rozen Maiden's nice Animation, here are 3 screenshots. =)

What's in the Box?


Typical Scene of Person being Scared of the New "Thing" that starts to come alive.


Scene of the Magical Power of a Rozen Maiden Doll, Shinku...

& That's the End of my Review on Rozen Maiden. I Shall watch the Sequel ~Traumend~ & the OVA, Ouverture & review it some time. =)
JoeL Un... =)