 One of this year's stranger ideas (although playing again to the master / servant thing that seems to be 'in' this year), Rozen Maiden is a show about dolls. Very manly.
1 - Rose Maiden
Jun's a loner by anyone's definition of the word, keeping himself
locked up in his room all day with nothing but the 'net to keep him
company and not even leaving the room for meals or school, despite the
efforts of his sister, Nori. Wouldn't be so bad if he didn't spend most
of that internet time shopping. His latest 'acquisition' is an
intricate doll, which turns out to be alive - her name is Shinku, and
she's decided to make Jun her servant - if he refuses, he'll be killed
(by the cutest little clown doll you ever did see)...
2 - Petite Starwberry
Seems Jun not the only person who has a Rozen Maiden - young schoolgirl
Tomoe also has one, Hina. Tomoe's a classmate of Nori's, and while
she's visiting one day Shinku realises she's a servant of a Rozen
Maiden. Problem is, Hina has an obsession with not being left alone,
and in an effort to make sure Tomoe can't abandon her, draws her into a
mirror world. Realising what's happened, Shinku sets out to save her...
Ali Project songs are definitely getting worse - the OP song
here was a classic case of "Please! Make it stop!!", and was almost
enough to make me stop watching right there. It's fortunate for this
show that I'm familiar with the 'fast forward' button - all I can say
is thank the Maker I wasn't watching this as a live broadcast...
Rozen Maiden is from Peach Pit, the same people who brought you DearS
- although they seem to have lost the plot as far as character designs
are concerned here. They also seem to be obsessed with this master /
servant theme, as well. At least it's not on the "I'm Your Slave"
scale. Here, instead of blinding you with fanservice (even if DearS' service wasn't great), they bludgeon you with cuteness instead, as Shinku and others like her are very cute - in an obviously slightly-psychopathic kind of way. Shame the human characters aren't as lovingly realised.
The show makes its story pitch fairly early on - there are a number
of dolls like Shinku, destined to play the 'Alice game' against each
other until only one remains. It's like Highlander, only
without the messy decapitations. Mix that idea with a 'cute' theme, and
you get a very strange mix that works surprisingly well.
I'm still not overly convinced that Rozen Maiden will be a
show for me over the long term, but it's done enough with these two
episodes to catch my attention for now. Curious enough to be worth
giving a try. |
