Rozen Maiden’s new series is weird. Really weird. The first episode was this vague recap that wasn’t a recap. And now the second episode pretty much contained the best transition into an alternative retelling that I’ve ever seen. Seriously, as a Rozen Maiden fan, this just blew me away.
I just expected something that started similar with the original Rozen Maiden story that then diverged a different way. I totally did not expect this episode to show what would have happened if Jun didn’t order Shinku’s suitase. They skipped like eight years or something! He’s an adult now! We just got to see how he grew up!
I love this, he actually managed to escape being a hikkikomori, and now he’s in this state in which he needs to deal with the fact that he basically threw a very important part of his life away. You can really see that on one hand, he’s bright, but on the other hand he just stopped learning for so long. I love how he struggles in his life like that, showing some of the conseuqneces of his actions in the first seasons that didn’t involve the dolls. The biting reality of that one manager also really help. Yeah, he’s a jerk, but damn that guy raised some good points.
The thing is also: I totally have no clue whatsoever what to expect from this series. In every other series, I can at least suspect the directio they’re going in. Here, I’m blank and my best guess is that they need to get rid of that seventh doll. But beyond that, I have no bloody clue. This episode really surprised me many times here!
Rating: 6/8 (Awesome)
Looks like parallel universe or time travel, anyways all seems well, this would have been a better opening episode imo. It’s quite interesting I’d say.
I just finished marathoning the first series, up to these two episodes. I kinda miss the old art, but the new style also has its charms. The main character being an adult is also a huge selling point.
Watching the two back to back really underlined the unique stylistic identity the 2010s have and the 2000s had. These days we have flatter characters, but with more focus on details and movement, less plastic and more paper in a way.
You’re probably the only other person which has stated that they liked the original artwork for RM =) I actually liked it more than the current one… not that it’s bad – it’s just a preference. I find that it was sharper and more crisp with dark outlines and “edges”. The current series is more washed out and faded, but very smooth and gentle looking (if that makes sense? o_O). I just think the older artwork fits the story more but I still love the series ^^
I watched Rozen Maiden after hearing the comments and chatting on the shoutbox, I’m glad I did. The second episode was great, I like that he’s now and adult, and that it’s an alternate story line. I hope it carries on being this good!