This site is designed for accessibility. Content is obtainable and functional to any browser or Internet device. This site's full visual experience is available in a modern browser that supports web standards. Please consider upgrading your browser.
ローゼンメイデン 
OP Theme: 「暗黒天国」(Ankoku Tengoku) by Ali Project - AVI version (22.8MB) | PSP version (15.6MB)
I am not sure I should be watching something like this but I am just a bit surprised at the production quality. The character design and animation are pretty good. Plus the story is actually kind of interesting with a little dose of sadness and a good dose of humour. I am just not sure if I can tolerate all of the cuteness abound. I also don't like the character design for the main male character, who looks a bit like a girl. Apart from that, however, the series does look good. If I have to compare it with another series, I get the impression that this series is trying to emulate Card Captor Sakura and to a degree it does look as good as that series if not more so. The OP theme by ALI PROJECT is also not bad and gives the series a slight dark theme to what is otherwise a cute little series. If you have read the manga and know more about the series, I'd appreciate it if you can let me know if the series stays good throughout.
The episode begins with Hanazono Karin finding the location of what she calls "The Seeds of Chaos". Upon spotting the place, the little boy who tags along with her suggests that they destroy the seeds as soon as possible. All of a sudden an explosion of power emerges out of the vegetation and attacks Karin and the little boy. Before the power can get to them, however, a blonde boy comes over to the rescue and manages to subdue the power. Karin wants to thank the boy, whose name is Kazune, but another boy in black shirt appears and kicks Kazune out of frame before kissing Karin's hand. Kazune is pissed off to see this and tries to choke the other boy. Their quarrel, however, comes to an end when a red-haired boy appear and remind them that they need to destroy the seeds. Because of this the three boys have magical transformation using the ring in their hand. After a very cheesy mahou shounen transformation, the boys go off to fight the seeds.
The three then send their combined attacks to destroy the plant but despite this, their attack is repelled quiet easily. From inside the plant, there is a picture of a girl. The girl can now be seen speaking to her elder sister saying that the growing plant can't be destroyed using the boys powers. The older sister then uses her power to open 'the door' and unleashes attack on the boys. Not wanting to be outdone, Karin transform herself into a mahou shoujo and performs a combination attack with Kazane. Before they manage to do this, however, Karin's staff gets hit by the enemy's power. All of a sudden, branches with thorns surround the staff and Karin is either got sent to the past or is forced to relieve her past. All of a sudden Karin finds herself in front of a grave. At first she doesn't know what she's doing but eventually remembers that she's in front of her cat's grave. Apparently after Karin's parents died, she lives with her strict aunt.
Because Karin is not doing well with her study, she constantly gets scolded by her aunt. The only thing that made her happy was her pet, a cat she calls Shi-chan. Unfortunately for Karin, Shi-chan also passed away and now she's in front of the cat's grave, feeling that she's all alone in the world. While crying in front of the grave, a blonde boy (Kazune) asks her what she's doing. Karin is surprised upon seeing the boy because she thinks he looks cool and prince-like. Unfortunately, the boy's behaviour is anything but prince-like. He instantly calls Karin an idiot because she tells him that she's bidding farewell to her dead pet. An upset Karin punches the boy and calls him a chauvinist. After the boy left, Karin laments the fact that she's alone again. The next day at school, her classmates suggest that Karin gets a new pet to replace her dead cat. Karin also tries to cheer herself up by thinking that Shi-chan is watching her from heaven.
With this in mind, Karin tries to do her best at school but fails miserably in both her test and her PE class. She's depressed about this because if she shows her aunt her test score, she'll get scolded again and this time Shi-chan won't be around to make her feel better. While feeling sad and calling after her parents and Shi-chan, Karin is reminded of Kazune's nasty remark and becomes pissed off again. While promising to do something to him the next time they meet, Karin accidentally bumps into another girl and spills the content of the girl's bag. Karin immediately apologises and notices that the girl is very cute. The two end up apologising to each other and Karin also helps the girl to put back the spilled contents back into the bag. Upon seeing the tears in Karin's eyes, the girl asks her if she just cried. After handing the bag back to the girl, Karin asks her where she bought her accessories. The girl giggles and asks Karin if she'd like to use them.
Karin becomes embarassed and tells the girl that's not what she meant. The girl, however, tells her that a crying face is not nice to look at especially when Karin is so cute. Karin becomes even more embarassed upon hearing this. Despite this, the girl moves closer and places the olive accessory on Karin's hair. The girl then introduces herself as Kujou Himeka so Karin also introduces herself. Karin explains that this is the first time she receives this kind of thing since she doesn't have her father or mother anymore. She then shows Himeka a ring on her finger. Karin explains that ever since Shi-chan died, the only thing that she has is this ring, which was a memento from her mother. Karin is surprised when Himeka also reveals that she doesn't have her parents anymore either. This is why Himeka now stays at her cousin's house. Upon hearing this Karin realises that although Himeka is in the same situation as her, Himeka remains cheerful and kind.
Their conversation comes to a halt when Himeka recognises a boy coming their way. Karin is shocked to see him because the boy is none other than Kazune. Himeka then cheerfully introduces Karin to Kazune, referring him as the cousin that she mentioned before. At first Karin tries to be polite but her impulse suddenly takes control and she proceeds to punch Kazune in the face again. Kazune finally recognises Karin as the girl from yesterday. He tells her that it's not good for girl to use violence like her, simply causing Karin to be even more pissed off. Upon seeing the two, Himeka wonders if they are acquintance. She then asks Kazune if Karin is the 'Kami-sama' that Kazune has been looking for. Kazune thinks Himeka is an idiot for thinking that way. He thinks there's no way Karin could be that. A confused Karin wants to know what the two are talking about but Kazune refuses to let her know, telling the girl that this is none of her business.
Kazune also calls Karin a thick-skinned girl, pissing Karin off again. All of a sudden, however, Karin apologises to Kazune and admits that she over-reacted. Having said that, she thinks there is nothing wrong with expressing her opinion and with that he calls Kazune a chauvinist boy and tries to punch him in the face again. Kazune, however, notices the ring that Karin has on her finger and quickly uses his hand to capture her hand. He then asks Karin about the ring but Karin simply tells him that this is the memento that her mother left her. She also won't allow Kazune to take a look at it even when he asks her to see it just for a short while. As Karin refuses the request, a bright purple light suddenly shines out of the ring. Eventually the light subsides and Kazune asks Karin if she's okay. Karin, however, is beyond angry at him and throws her bag at the boy before running away from the park. As Karin runs through the wood, she wonders why Kazune wants her ring.
Karin suddenly realises that she's been running at unbelievable speed. In addition to this, she somehow feels really good about things. When Karin returns to the class, she's an entirely different person. She suddenly looks a lot more mature, shocking her classmates. They wonder if it's her hair but they think that's not it. Karin claims that she hasn't done anything different although she admits that she feels that something different flows within her. Later on, her classmates and herself are shocked when she gets her test paper back and receives a score of 100. Karin suddenly is an excellent Piano player (she can play while acting like a gymnast). During lab experiment, Karin somehow manages to create a rainbow. Karin realises that right now she's filled with power, confidence, and wisdom, which is quite unusual. Karin tells Shi-chan that it seems God hasn't forsaken her.
On a second thought, it feels as if God is within her. She, however, wonders why things go so well for her and thinks that it may have something to do with the fact that the ring shined yesterday. Her classmates then come and tell her that their next class is PE. Upon seeing the hot weather outside, Karin doesn't feel like going and wishes to herself that it would rain now. A few minutes later, the clouds start to cover the sun and suddenly the weather goes from sunny to rainy. Karin's classmates are shocked to see this because just a few minutes ago, the weather was sunny. One of them think that God must have made it happen for them. Later on when she's back at home, Karin wonders why things suddenly turn this way. She tries to put a stop to the rain but strangely this time around nothing happens. As she lies on her bed, Karin remembers that she used to tell Shi-chan about these things. Cue flashback of Karin telling Shi-chan her school days.
This causes Karin to miss Shi-chan again. When she laments how she's alone as usual, however, she tries to cheer herself up with the thought that she just gained new friend. Speaking of the new friend, Himeka has now showed up in front of Karin's house to bring the bag taht Karin threw at Kazune earlier. Karin apologises that Himeka has to go out of her way to do this but Himeka doesn't mind because they are friends. Karin then invites Himeka to play because she'd like to show Himeka the kimono that she owns. Himeka, however, apologises because she can't do it. Apparently she and Kazune had come to this city for 'business' but since it's all over now, they are going to leave soon. Karin feels sad about this but offers to give her a farewell. Because of this the two walk to the bridge where Kazune is waiting for Himeka. Kazune immediately asks Karin if strange things have happened ever since her ring got activated like strange people coming to her.
Karin denies this and even if that's the true, it's none of Kazune's business. Kazune assumes that this means something did happen. Because of this, he tells Karin that if 'those people' come or if something else happens, he wants Karin to look for her. Karin, however, becomes angry because Kazune always uses a rude version of "You" to address her instead of her name. Kazune apologises for this and puts his own jacket to cover Karin's head because her umbrella was flown by the wind. He then tells Karin that it's okay for her to forget about him since he doesn't want to disturb her life anymore. Having said that, he's happy to have met her. Kazune then tells Karin to take care of the ring. With that, Kazune and Himeka bid goodbye to Karin. Karin feels lonely again after the two left and laments this fact to Shi-chan's grave. She, however, is startled when a man with glasses tells her that he's been looking for her, 'Kami-sama' (God).
Impression:
I was mostly drawn to this episode because of the OP theme by ALI PROJECT and the fact that the anime boasts a rather pleasant-looking background/character design. I've read that the character design is not as good as the manga but we should now by now that it's impossible to follow a manga style closely. Besides, I think the style is far better than other anime offering the same kind of storyline. Speaking of the storyline, I can't help but feeling sorry for Karin. I know that it seems as if she complains a lot but I think she's entitled to it. Her life seems miserable and it doesn't look as if she has that many close friends. Hopefully things will be better for her. I think Nakahara Mai does a good job in this role. From time to time I actually thought that she's Horie Yui, who voices Ayu in Kanon. I suspect this is because Nakahara Mai uses her cute Rena (Higurashi no Naku Koro ni) voice for this particular character.
Despite this, I'm not sure if I want to commit to the series. I just think there are too much cuteness abound. I usually don't mind them when it's not excessive but I get the impression that cuteness is the first order of business here. If the series is a lot more like Rozen Maiden, where it's more dark and sinister than cute, then maybe I could have tolerate it better. I guess I'll see what happen in the next episodes but at this point, I'm not committing to anything. The OP theme by ALI PROJECT was okay but not as good as I hope it would be. I think the group tries hard to project both cute and sinister and it's not working well. ALI PROJECT's songs work well when they are outright sinister and mysterious like their works for Rozen Maiden. The ED theme by Nakahara Mai is okay but it's nothing outstanding either. It's definitely not something I'd like to put on my playlist. Anyway, let me know what you think once the sub is available.
ED Theme: 「アネモネ」(Anemone) by Nakahara Mai - AVI version (48.7MB) | PSP version (17MB)
Preview
Hmm...that's interesting. I think they started the episode with a scene from Kamichama Karin Chu (I could be wrong though, I've only read one chapter of the second manga) Thanks anyways, Garten :D!
Garten,
This is from Koge Donbo's manga, Kamichama Karin. Basically if you did not like Pita-ten, you might not be able to like this series. I own 2 volumes and I think it's a good manga (I should catch up on it soon though). Then again, you can say I'm a bit bias since I am a fan of the mangaka.
Here is the thing that does worry me. I'm wondering if it will follow the manga or not. In Pita-ten, it slowly moved away from the manga, which kinda upset hardcore fans since the manga was really really dark in the later chapters. The anime ended up being lovey dovey instead of being dark and realistic as it was in the manga.
I don't know if it's the same case with this anime. I have yet to watch it so I wouldn't know. However, based on your summary, they are starting out well since they are following the manga a bit.
I guess in your case, I could say it's a toss up. You could give it a couple of episodes before making a decision to whether blog it or not.
omgosh omgosh omgosh!! its out yay! hehe X.x
flou: Yeah, that first scene is from Kamichama Karin Chu. Surprised me a bit, surely confused those who haven't read the manga (^^;;)
Anyways, yes, it's good, Garten :) Hopefully Satelight will be able to keep the animation quality decent, though I'm not exactly holding my hopes up given how this first episode went.
I didn't enjoy Pita-Ten much, but I really like Kamichama Karin. The humour and romance is greatly done.
The manga has many twists and secrets, interesting characters indeed. I don't think the plot is complicated or something to analyse too deeply, if I remember correctly, but it may be more focused on the characters.
I'm the type that likes different types of anime, so it's all in your taste. I would give it a try, especially if you like either comedy or, especially, romance.
Okay, I'm so disapointed with the series this season. All little kids as main charcters? What the hell happened to the mature high school\college students fighting evil. Thats my kind os show. XD Not little kids running rounding wanting to be heroes. Theres a whole list of shows this season who have big eyed little kids, but there no way I'm going to list them all. Anyways just keeping Darker than Black and others.
OMG!!!
kamichama karin!!!
too bad the characters design not so good
i like the characters design at manga than anime
how do you watch it because i can`t find where to watch it!!!
I can't stop laughing everytime when I see the tranforming(the guys) xD You'll never imagine this to happen when u have read the manga (still reading)
I'm definitely a Kamichama Karin fan but some character designs are just awful, especially Kazune's.
Kazune in the manga is love
There's a cute 'transforming stance' pic(wallpaper) from Koge donbo in her blog xD
Haa? I must admit I was surprised when I saw the screenshots of this episode on your blog--it's not a series I'd expected.
I'm not sure what to make of the series so far. It's...a bit strange? Although this part is gold: "The three boys have magical transformation and go off to fight the seed of chaos."
I adore the reversal of cheesy themes (e.g. magical girl transformations)--it's quite amusing.
Actually, some of the character design reminded me of Kirarin Revolution. This is like a superior anime for a similar audience. I watched over 20 episodes of that before the attraction wore off.
They did start in what seemed like a strange place, but the timewarp then worked, and they clearly wanted some mahou shoujo action right at the beginning. Get that stuff over over with, is what I say, lol. I kind of enjoyed it being guys.
Nice first ep, anyway, as you say: chara-des, animation, backgrounds, story with a mix of joy and sorrow.
I think I saw (young) Lelouch ^ ^
Third row, Third Column
So this is where he will be while waiting for the end of this summer.
Z..omg! It's out! =D! Read only two volumes coz the library only has those two >_> and im' too lazy to buy em, but i like the manga, so funny. and the chibi/cute parts, ahaha crack me up! Can't wait till this is subbed ;3
The ribbon on her back is so freaking huuuuuuge! I loved Card Captor Sakura and Sailor Moon, but this is just too much. I don't think I'll be able to watch this.
hm.. I have read the manga up to volume 5 was it. All I can say is that this manga is too bright xD. As the series or manga goes on, It'll feel like you are in a fairy tale land. I can't wait to see the trap XD
I own all English volumes of Kamichama Karin and I really love it. Maybe it's because I'm a big fan of Koge Donbo in general =P I must admit, I like the dark storyline of Pita Ten better but KK is also very enjoyable. I'm waiting for the sub right now and I'm sure this Anime is going on my list!
There is one aspect of the character design that is better... THE RINGS!!! In the manga they are blobs. In the anime they are.... well.... rings!
And Kazune gets a staff upgrade.
eh...it's more SM than it is CCS.
But for the matter, Clamp is Koge's favorite artist.
Well, if they're no good Spring Series, you could always finish Monster. ^_^
I will definitely be keeping tabs with this series. I am a cutiephile and anything cute deserves just another look just to see anything good about it ^^
Anyone felt that the command "I am God" is downright hilarious?
Please! Give it a try! At least to the second episode!
I was expecting this show since I found out it was going to be aired. And actually wasn't waiting for such quality as it turned out. So it has in fact, pleased me a lot :)
I started reading the manga, but the beggining of the anime I personally didn't like it. If you want to see a High School anime try watching Lovely Complex.
I must say I wasn't too impressed by the cute little main character with a typical "unintelligent but honest" personality. The character design and general animation was impressive. What interested my the most was the story. Because the events jumped around a little without much explanation, I think that the plot has a shot at being pretty interesting. Give the show a couple of episodes to unwrap the story, and then judge.
I think I second DrLight's suggestion. XD
Pony Canyon actually improved O.O or maybe is it some other studios helped out >.>
This show definitely should be made into a parody regarding rejected transformation. It's NOT like I hate the series or anything, but the uniqueness this anime have with transformation....HAHAHAHAHA.... I split and almost choked on lemonade when I watched it...damn funny...my god...
Anyway, the series is cute but the songs don't match...that's the first thing that ran in my mind. The opening was eye opening and I thought it would be quite a nice series to pick up...until waiting for nearly 15 minutes of any decent action.
Just cute and adorable things...with those little sad past...the typical anime.
Most outstanding part: The eyes...oh how I love their eyes. *.* Nothing else.
Since we had a dicussion this morning about anime with our teacher. Their anime character eyes are big becaus in reality it's small...it's just a discussion...nothing personal and all...
I as quite dispointed by the OP theme ..... I love ALI project but it just didnt seem to match the anime's theme ........ It was quite good when the song started off but when it got to the cut transformation parts ...it just ........BAM !
I've read the manga up to volume six, (all that's out in America). In general, it's a nice series.
I agree with an earlier statement, that you have to enjoy Pita-Ten's cuteness to enjoy Kamichama Karin. It DOES get a lot better though, but the cute-ness...it stays there. Some darker moments, yes, but the cute remains...However, it does stay good throughout, at least in my opinion.
I have to say that it's a a good series with a nice plot and enjoyable art. It's much better than Pita-Ten, although some of the characters seem to similar to those in Pita-Ten.
(Misha=Karin, Shia/Koboshi=Himeka, Kotarou/Takashi=Kizune...)
However, I'm disapppointed in Kazune's appearence... he looks girlier than the manga! D:
Otherwise, I liked the mangaaa. But somehow, I stopped reading it around the 4th book though.. :[
Its a pretty good series with nice art. But seems abit on the generic Mahou Shoujo series type which i hope will not be so.
Garten, You're not gonna do Claymore? Its probably one of the best series this season and certainly looks like a series that you would like to review. It'd be a waste if u didn't review it.
Wow.
I was waiting for this Anime since the beginning of this year and I'm really happy to see some screeshots before I can watch it myself.
The manga it's based on divided into two series. KCK and KCK CHU. (First 7 vol2, second ongoing 3 vols so far)
I have all volumes exept KCK Chu 3 in a big mix of various languages (german, chinese, japanese)
The beginning is interesting. The costumes and this guy (http://www.designchronicle.com/memento/images/kamichamakarin/01/kamichamakarin0103LG.jpg) are character from the second manga. Besides, on a side note that guys name is Jin Kouga.
In my opinion KCK Chu can't match with KCK. It all becomes a little bit of a lovey dovey story. (Well, my japanese is not too good, I didnÄt found time yet to read it through with my dictonaries so I didn't really understood it yet)
According to the review the anime follows the manga very close so far. It's not bad.
if it doesn't I hope, the cat'll have more appearances.
As for the sinister part. Actually the plot allows it. But the manga made kind of a mistake to have set the priority on the main characters relationsships, whose structure is in some way similiar to CCS.
But the end turns around a bit, it satisfied me.
As for the cuteness...
The manga is by far more cute. I don't mind these animations, the look similiar to Winter Garden.
What confuses me through is the mahou thing, it's actually gods....
But I like it how they've put up the hint. Especially that photo is an important key object of the plot.
All in one, i think that's gonna be a lot better than the Pita ten Anime. (Alone the animation speaks for that)
I can't wait to see it myself. I really want to hear Shinku's voice as Kazune!
ZOMG!!!!!!!!!!!! im so happy, I haven't seen this, and boy let me tell, you i have not ben any more happy then i ever have U made My day, cause this had not been my day, THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!
WOW cute episode of Kamichama Karin! ^_^
Garten ! are you going to post Kamichama Karin ep 2 ? ^^;
IMO now's not a good time to decide if you want to drop this series or not. I've read the manga and from what I've read, the ending is a very nice surprise. The story is more like a cute-shoujo-magical-girl kind of story. So if you're an action fan I don't think you'll really like it.
But hey, we all need to try something different. >_>
Kazune is supposed to look like a girl. XD In fact, he doesn't look girly enough in the anime! There are a lot of in-jokes in the manga about it, and he's reluctantly sported in a dress a few times if my memory serves me right. The manga is actually quite angsty in a few parts, and involves sick/dieing characters and weird pasts, so if the anime follows the manga closely it shouldn't be ALL cutesy-cutesy-love. ^^;
This story is actually quite good, but it doesn't really go dark. Not at all like Pita-Ten (that one made me cry). I do admit, the cuteness of the anime is a bit much. I think the manga lowers it down a little, but not much.
Black Haired Boy: Jin
Blonde Haired Boy: Kazune
Red Haired Boy: Michiru
Yeah, Michiru appears in vol. 3 in the Kamichama Karin manga and Jin appears in Kamichama Karin -Chu-.
I love it su! but the only thing i hate is the anime hasent come out in the u.s yet! it gets me really mad! oh do you know when its coming out here su? (I never seen them in anime version there so cool waaah! i wanna see the anime!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)tell me when its coming out please!
Oh my goodness... I have read almost the entire manga series and then I find out about this? Nyaa~? This is so exciting! Oh, I really hope the didn't screw it up, nyaa!
I love Kamichama Karin. But not as much as Rozen Maiden. I need to watch this.
I've currently got 5 volumes of the manga and I've been loving the series so far. It has a lot more depth than most other series of the same genre, and takes quite a few twists and turns. I think it's almost a parody of the mahou shoujo genre (in later chapters, Karin and Kazune get into a weird but hilarious costume-swap).
I haven't seen the anime yet myself, but the manga has been going pretty good so perhaps it's worth a bit more of a look. :)
I can't wait to see it i have read all the book so i can't wait to see the anime
I REALLY want this to come out in America ASAP!!!! I have up to Volume 6 in the manga. However, due to Tokyopops slow translation and my little free time to go to the library/bookstore, I doubt I'll read them anytime soon. ARGH! It's so suspenseful! I saw Episode 1 on YouTube but I want to finish the manga before seeing anymore. (Plus, Only episodes 1-3 are subbed.) Phooey :(
So.......how do you watch the video?
if your the one who made the video episodes the cartoon ones pleas continue it because i love them and i like to finish watching them
is kamichama karin a t.v. show or movie?
I love Kamichama Karin!
I want to start reading the manga....even though I have not even finished the anime. xD
Oh, can anyone tell me if the anime finishes at Episode 26? Or if there's going to be a Kamichama Karin Chu in the future?
:[ I hope it doesn't....that's way to short.
Well, please someone tell me ASAP, I've been trying to look all over the internet if it is....but I can't find anything. :[
I'd give it another try if I were you. The anime is nothing compared to the manga, but it is pretty good. The storyline is somewhat different, and there is some pretty cheesy stuff (like the transformations) but it's a good story mixed with humor, drama, and romance.
do u know if there's going to be a Kamichama Karin Chu (second season right?) anime? please respond!!!!!!
do u know if there's going to be a Kamichama Karin Chu (second season right?) anime? please respond!!!!!!
Man! I can't find Kamichama Karin Chu anywhere,
I LOVE KAMICHAMA KARIN!!!!i can totally tell karin and kazun will make a great couple! but i really wish that they would have kamichama karin episodes would be in english. BUT I STILL LOVE THE BOOKS!!!!!!!!!
i am OBSESSED with Kamichama Karin!! i really want the anime,but am not sure if they sell it in Canada(they certainly dont wherever i shop.)so if you please,could you tell me?!
Note:
Please be aware that the following type of comments will be deleted from now on: spams, comments containing l33t talk or rudeness. Check Animesuki, Tokyo Toshokan, or D-Addicts before asking where to find a series. If you want to post spoiler, please use <spoiler>write your spoiler here</spoiler> tags.
The comment area allows post without email address. However, all posters have to fill out the name field. If you have a question unrelated to the particular entry, please email: designchronicle@NOSPAMgmail.com. Make sure you remove the NOSPAM part of the email.