Rozen Maiden ep.7

January 19, 2005 | 7 Comments

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.

Continuing from previous episode, this one begins with Jun trying to find a way to awaken the still unconscious Shinku. He ends up trying everything from putting his life in danger to tempting Shinku with Kun-Kun TV show. Unfortunately, none of the method works. This seems to worry Jun a lot especially after Suiseiseki informs him that Rozen Maiden dolls who remain in their sleep will fall into an endless dream state. A state where the dolls do nothing but relieving the memories that they've obtained ever since their creation. Thankfully, just when Jun hits a dead end, someone on the internet tells him of a book which might help him to know more about the dolls. The problem is, the book that he's looking for has been temporarily stored at his school's library. This presents a problem for Jun since the last place he wishes to visit is his own school. Having said that, Jun tries his best to overcome his phobia and walk towards the school.

However, before Jun can even pass the school's gate, he begins to remember the humiliation that he had to endure from his friends back then. In the end, Jun decides to go back to his room, believing that he's a useless loser. But after hearing from Nori that Shinku really did care for him, Jun manages to overcome his phobia and sneak into the school on his own. Once there, Tomoe spots him and decides to help him translating the book from its original German language. It seems that the solution to Shinku's problem lies with Holie, the artificial red soul that is often seen flying around Shinku. Thanks to Suiseiseki's help, Jun manages to summon Holie to go into the keyhole located in Shinku's back. After Holie comes out of the keyhole, Shinku becomes levitated and a piece of Suigintou's black feather comes out of the hole. Shinku then regains her consciousness and begins to smack Jun around for being slow in figuring things out.

Impression:

This is a nice episode but eww, does Jun has to be interested in Shinku? Poor Shinku. What did she do to deserve this? Shinku should slap him for having that kind of feelings towards her. I consider that a violation of her cool status. Anyway, kidding aside, it's nice to see Jun caring for someone else for a change. He must really care about Shinku if he's willing to go out of his way to overcome his phobia and find a way to help her. Having said that, if he really has problem with his school's friends, maybe he should start unleashing his anger on them instead of on the people who really care for him such as Nori. I have problem with this kind of behaviour because I had to endure it from someone when I was younger. Anyway, so far the series hasn't disappoint me at all in terms of charaacter development. I do wish that there will be more focus on the mystery of the Rozen Maiden in the future. I for one would like a more thorough explanation on Shinku's artifical red soul.

Posted by Garten

Comments

January 20, 2005 | KyoshiroM wrote:

Having watched the whole series, I personally was dissatisfied with the ending it has. I leaves loose ends unfortunately.From the 7th episode and so on it felt a little rushed and a few questions remained, troubling me. I liked the series a lot though, so I wish there was more :(

January 20, 2005 | Mentar wrote:

I think it had a reasonable ending. I liked it ;)

Which questions remained unanswered for your tastes?

January 21, 2005 | Garten wrote:

Guys, if you're planning to post spoilers in your future reply, please use spoiler warning. I haven't seen the ending and have no plan to get spoiled just yet :)

January 22, 2005 | Firah wrote:

This was a good episode, Shinku and Jun's true feelings are slowly being revealed. However, Shinku still believes in the old adage: Cruel to be kind.

I will also have to agree with KyoshiroM about the series as a whole. I�ve watched all 12 (I thought we were getting 13?) episodes myself and went into immediate Rozen Maiden withdrawal when I realized the series was over. I mean, they left a LOT of unanswered questions.

The show ended well, but it seemed to me like the entire series was only a prologue to an even more wonderful story. Unfortunately it's also a wonderful story that we'll never get to see.

Well I guess that�s what happens when you create an anime based on a manga that hasn�t ended yet, especially if the adaptation is only going to run for half a season.

SIGH

Anyway, I'm hoping for a Rozen Maiden OVA to come out someday and give us some closure, but I am not going to hold my breath.

In order to hold off the inevitable Rozen Maiden deprivation to come, I have ordered the first four books. I hope that it will be enough. On a side note, is it just me (or where I shop) but isn't the imported original manga starting to go up in price?

I envy you Garten. At least you have something to look forward to since you have not seen seen the rest of the series, unlike me.

I am currently looking for a new show to get into, but there's a hole in my heart right now where this one used to be.

January 22, 2005 | KyoshiroM wrote:

*** SPOILER STARTS ***

Well one of my biggest questions was how Souigin Tou, having no medium AND being an unfinished project herself, managed to gain so much power. Didn't the Rozen Maiden dolls suppose to draw their power from their mediums? And though Shinku kind of answers this (when she says Souigin Tou is so powerful because she may have the purest of purposes for seeing Father and she tries with all her heart to become an Alice and thus a whole), there are other questions too! Oh! And I would like a glimpse of that "Father" fella in the end! Boo hoo! :'(

*** SPOILER ENDS ***

As for you Firah, there are a lot of great shows featured in this site, I think one might suit you. If you like a funny one, try Gakuen Alice, a mystery drama, pick Monster (my personal favourite), oh and if you like sweet stuff and cool characters you can even search Air, or whacky characters, try Mahoraba Heartful Days (not featured here). I liked their first eps :)

January 22, 2005 | Firah wrote:

I'm hoping that the manga explains a lot of what was left out in the series. I don't think we�ll be seeing Rozen Maiden in animated form anytime soon.

And that is a shame because I thought that the seiyuu who worked on this series were perfect. I'll miss all of them because they sounded like the characters they portrayed. From Shinku�s strong, stern determination to Nori��s caringly sweet natured nervousness. Suiseisek�s bipolar swings from mischievousness to vulnerable from demanding to depression from anger to heartbreak. She could do all of this inside of an hour while still hitting all of the other emotions in between.

Jun and Hina Ichago going from very unlikable spoiled, frightened, emotionally scarred children who transformed before our very eyes and ears into happier, stronger people.

Well, its over now so I guess I better move on neh?

I've heard good things about Gakuen Alice....hmmm....Alice again? Rozen Maiden, now this series to?

I don't think since "The Journey West", has an imported piece of literature made such an impact on Japanese storytellers, from films to books, like Lewis Carol's "Alice in Wonderland".

How many anime/manga can you name that have been influenced in some way, shape or form by the Alice in Wonderland tale?

Let me stop and save that discussion for another time...

I did check out episode one of Air and it looks promising. I was also glad to hear that some of the Kanon girls are going to make an appearance

(SHREEEEEEIIIIK)

Can I say that I just LOVED Kanon? If Air is half as good as Kanon then I think I've found a new series to call my own.

I�ve always been aware of Monster, and from what I hear it's a great show, but isn�t this series going to stretch into the hundreds as far as episodes?
That's not the fault of the people who made the anime, it's because the manga is very long and still ongoing from what I hear.

At first, I didn�t know if I want to put that much of my mortality into a show. It�s back to the �so many shows, so little time� scenario. But after thinking about it, I�ve come to realize that I�ve been guilty of watching other series that were not even worth the effort of turning on my monitor. Since so many people, including the host of this blog, highly recommends this series I might just take a look.

Thanks for the feedback�.

January 22, 2005 | Garten wrote:

Firah, I'd recommend Monster and Gakuen Alice wholeheartedly. If you're looking for a mysterious, intriguing series, then Monster fits the bill. This is a slow burner series but the pay off totally worth it. The series will only be 70+ episodes and the manga is completed so I think the anime will stick closely to the manga series.

Gakuen Alice is interesting in its own way. So far it's quite light but the original manga features some dark moments in between. I hope the anime will eventually incorporate those elements. You probably won't find in-depth character analysis in this series though. It's just clean fun series with some light mystery about the school being scattered around the story.