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ファイト／ステイナイト 
February 3, 2005 | 
27 Comments
That was awesome. Okay, so there are many mysteries that the series never got to address but I'm quite happy with the resolution that the series offers in this episode. In fact, I think I've been really happy with the series overall. I don't think it strikes too many wrong notes except probably some weird moments in episode 10. I also think that the series has one of those rare Anime OST that I won't hesitate to purchase right away because I love the majority of the songs in it. I think the composer, Mitsumune Shinkichi, has came up with some of the best BGM I've ever had the pleasure to hear. I even like the OP song by the 'Wailing Siren' (TM Ender) :P.
With that in mind, here are some of my favourite song/BGM from this show (not necessarily in this order). I'm interested to know if some of you like some of these or other songs in the series:
Shukuteki - Awesome BGM that appears at the start of episode 12.
Battle of the Rose - This is Shinku's battle BGM. It appears when she comes out to fight one of the dolls, especially Suigintou.
Kinjirareta Asobi (full version) - Ha ha, yes, the wailing banshee's song. But I think the series won't be as good without this song.
Atatakana Kokoro - a soft BGM that usually appears when Shinku tries to give advice to Jun.
Awai Omoide - A rather sad BGM that accompanies many of the sad moments in the series.
Bara no Jubai - I think this is one of the Alice Game BGMs. It always appear whenever Alice Game is mentioned or when two dolls are engaged in fights because of the game.
And while we're at it, let me know how do you rank your favourite Rozen Maiden characters. My preference can be seen below. I'm actually quite surprised with this myself since I never expected number 1 and 3 to be filled by those characters until this episode.
Suiseiseki - Yes, the evil witch gets the Ichi-ban position. I think she's the best thing on this show, even eclipsing Shinku. *ducks from bricks thrown by Shinku's fans*
Shinku - Another awesome doll from this series. I like her upper-class act especially when she bosses Jun around.
Suigintou - She rocketed to my top three list after this episode for reason that is obvious to those who have seen the episode.
Jun - Yes, he was an annoying brat but he's got a reason for it. Plus he makes a progress every episode so that has to be commended.
Souseiseki - I don't actually like her that much but I like that humongous scissors weapon of hers.
Hinaichigo - Unfortunately, I find her to be rather annoying and useless until this episode so amongst other main characters, she is at the bottom of the list.
Anyway, the official site has something similar, voted by Japanese viewers. Here are the results
Well, as I suspected, the series definitely shows signs of wrapping up some parts of its storyline, particularly the ones that deal with Jun's problem. But at the same time, these two episodes actually creates additional mysteries that I don't think will be neatly wrapped up by the last episode in the series. I guess this is to be expected since the manga is still running inside Birz. But at the same time, I can't help but thinking that this series should not have been made until the manga was completed. I really like what I've seen so far but I'm dreading the possibility that the ending may not be as good as it could have been. Oh well, I guess I'll find out soon enough when I watch the last episode.
I'm sorry for the lack of update lately. I've had a rather lousy week. First, there was the bandwidth thing, and then yesterday, I lost my house+office keys. I spent at least one day searching for it. :( Thankfully the security at my office found it. Anyway, I figure, I should just catch up with an older title first before I do any recap of new episodes. So I'll start with this series' two-parts arc involving a new doll. Unfortunately, the new doll is rather bland, personality-wise. So what could have been a spotlight on the character ends up becoming something else entirely. It's not a complete lost though because that 'something else' turns out to be good character development for both Jun and Suiseiseki.
Yeah, I know it's relatively late review but I don't feel like switching to the non-widescreen version and the widescreen version has just became available very recently. Besides, some people have only started to watch this recently so I hope it's not completely late to write this now. Anyway, there's not much story in this episode but the episode gives further glimpse into the source of Jun's Hikikomori problem. So far it seems Jun has been getting a rather good character development. It's unfortunate, however, that this is only a 12 episode series because while Jun's problem can probably be solved by the end of the series, I doubt other mysteries within the show can be completely dealt with in a satisfactory manner. Oh well, as long as it has a decent conclusion, I think I'll be happy with this series as a whole.
December 16, 2004 | 2 Comments
Another great character development for both Shinku and Jun here. Despite being an ass at the beginning of the series, Jun has certainly improved himself over the past couple of episodes. Barring any weird stuff happening in the series, such as...oh say, the end of the world or killing his own sister, I think he'll end up being a rather pleasant boy who is finally able to care for others. Similarly, the series finally gives a bit more info on Shinku and her reason to participate in 'Alice game'. Anyway, these two 'arcs' along with the occassional comedy have sustained the series quite well thus far so I hope they'll keep it up right to the end.
Well, I'm out of the self-imposed Internet isolation and the nightmare that was JLPT. But now it seems there are so many anime that I need to catch up with, so I figure I'll start with this insane episode. I really like to know what kind of crack that the writers/animators were on at the time they created this because it takes a good one to create something like this. It looks to me that at least 50% of this episode consists of mostly super-deformed character design. It's a shame though that except for few scenes, most of the time Shinku is mostly drawn in normal styles. I guess they need to maintain her cool, authoritative persona as much as possible even in this kind of episode. Having said that, it was a pleasure to see her obsession with Kun-Kun, the doggie doll.
November 11, 2004 | 1 Comments
For a series where the majority of its characters are comprised of dolls, this series certainly turns out to be darker than its surface appearance. From these two episodes, several dark themes such as the fear of others, feeling of isolation, and hatred for mankind are explored or hinted at in details and at a reasonable pace. For example, Jun seems to be modelled after children who suffer from psychological sickness called Hikikomori. People who suffer from this problem has fear of getting out of one's comfort zone/area due to bullying or family and societal pressure. A quick googling using the keyword reveals some interesting articles regarding the problem. If you're interested, check out the one from BBC Online and the one from Time Asia. The articles help to shed lights on some of Jun's behaviour as well as what this series tries to show in episode four.
Rozen Maiden OP Theme
Performed by Ali Project
Kana/Kanji version
薔薇の首輪つなげて 銀の鎖くわえて
今宵もひとり果てる あなたが憎らしい
跪いてお嘗めよ 苦い愛の雫を
天使に施す青いドレサージュ
自分という柩の中 魂はまだ動いてる
千切れた羽は月光に 生き返り 潤むわ
闇よりも 怖いのは孤独
ふたりの証 十字架の元で 貪りませう
薔薇の手錠はずして 白い手首かさねて
触れ合うことの奇跡 あなたが愛しい
跪いて捧げよ 痛い愛の言葉は
包帯に滲んだ赤いアラベスク
罪でもいい 好きと言って 禁断のくちびるを
世界は聳え建つお城 門を開けるのは神
そんなふうに導きつづけて
そしてわたしの目を 塞いだら
誰よりやさしく 名前を呼んで
その時知るでしょう 永遠の意味を
薔薇の指輪まじえて 革のリボンむすんで
鏡の間の舞踏会 すべてが狂おしい
迷い込んで悟れよ 巡る愛の歴史を
涙で飾ろう黒いマリアージュ
嘘では嫌 好きと言って 純潔のくちびるで
薔薇の首輪つなげて 銀の鎖くわえて
今宵もひとり果てる あなたが憎らしい
跪いてお嘗めよ 苦い愛の雫を
天使に施す青いドレサージュ
薔薇の手錠はずして 白い手首かさねて
触れ合うことの奇跡 あなたが愛しい
跪いて捧げよ 痛い愛の言葉は
包帯に滲んだ赤いアラベスク
心から 好きと言うわ 穢れ泣きくちづけを
It's a relief to know that the first episode wasn't a fluke although I wished Shinku had decapitated Hinaichigo's inflated head for being such a bipolar rag doll. I personally can't stand her one minute cutesy act and another minute psychotic rampage. Apart from that, however, this is another good installment to the series. I like how the episode manages to balance the comedy and the creepy scenes. And to top it off, it turns out that this series was shot as a Widescreen series. And I must say the difference is astounding, especially during the fight scenes between Shinku and Hinaichigo. Just look at this comparison pictures. The Widescreen definitely shows the perception of scale and space that was lost in the 4:3 format. If you look at one of the pictures, it's obvious that the room where the two dolls fight is actually very large but you can hardly tell that if you just look at the 4:3 format.
Well this one turns out to be one of those 'don't judge the book by its cover' series. I honestly didn't expect to like this, because on a glance, the series looks a bit sugary. But it seems the first episode is actually quite good in a twisted kind of way, which is right up my alley. The opening theme itself is actually a good indicator of its twisted sense of humor because the lyric is kind of....kinky, for the lack of a better word. I think there is 'collar', 'chains', and 'climaxed' :O in the first one or two lines of the song. Having said that, I originally thought that the song itself, Kinjirareta Asobi, doesn't fit the series well because the melody is a bit Arabian and therefore clashes with the gothic European feel the series supposed to have. Upon repeats, however, it actually does sound a little bit like European gothic music, or at least European gothic according to anime/video games (ie. Shadow Hearts, Clock Tower).
September 24, 2004 | 2 Comments
This turns out to be a rather nice European Gothic Lolita series. Created by Peach Pit and serialised in BIRZ magazine, the series is actually still on-going with only 3 tankoubans released thus far. I haven't read the manga so it was a pleasant surprise to know that the series is not as sugary as I thought it'll be. This is mostly because Shinku's presence brings a rather creepy element into the series. The series is only planned for 12 episodes for now so it's not known yet if it'll continue down to season 2 or if it'll make up its own ending.
