ROZEN MAIDEN

Plot

The plot revolves around Jun Sakurada, a junior high school student who refuses to go back to school after being traumatized by an embarrassing experience. Since then, he avoids leaving his house and spends the day ordering goods online and returning them before the grace period ends. When Jun receives a letter asking "yes or no", he becomes skeptical, but circles "yes". Soon after, the letter vanishes and a wood case appears in his room. Inside the box is a very realistic doll which, after being wound, starts moving on its own and introduces herself as Shinku, the fifth doll of the Rozen Maiden series.

In the following, Jun becomes Shinku's "medium", a human host that provides the doll with his own life energy, allowing her to walk and use magic. This bond is symbolized by a ring worn by both parties. Now, Jun and Shinku must participate in the "Alice Game", a competition between the Rozen Maiden dolls to capture each other's "Rosa Mystica", their primary life source. Once a doll is defeated in combat, she loses her Rosa Mystica to the opponent, and becomes an inanimate doll. The last doll who remains standing wins the Alice Game, will become a girl of utmost beauty and purity named "Alice", just as their creator Rozen wanted.

In the first season of the anime, the main antagonist was Suigintou but was destroyed by a team effort led by Shinku. In the second season of the anime Rozen Maiden: Träumend, Shinku, Jun, and the other dolls, meet two additional Rozen Maidens: Barasuishou and Kanaria. Suigintou reappears, as she is resurrected by Rozen himself, and this time she has a "medium", an ill girl named Megu. With all the seven dolls awoken, the "Alice Game" grows near to its conclusion. Adding to the mystery of Rozen, there is also Enju and Shirosaki, who operate their own doll shop, and the strange Laplace's Demon, who appears during battles talking in riddles. In the last episode, Barasuishou successfully defeats the other dolls. However, she was revealed to be Enju's creation and not a true Rozen Maiden. She was destroyed when she was unable to contain the "Rosa Mystica" of the other dolls.^[1] The series ends unresolved as Rozen appears at the last minute, restoring the life of his dolls, except for Hinaichigo and Souseiseki and with Kirakishou, the real seventh Rozen Maiden, making a brief appearance.^[1]

Characters

Jun Sakurada

The protagonist, Jun is at first a secluded boy, who refuses to go back to school because of a traumatic experience (hikikomori): After living with Shinku and the other Rozen Maidens, and experiencing their own struggles, he has a change of attitude and starts understanding the importance of friendship.

Nori Sakurada

She is Jun's older sister. In the absence of both of their parents, who work abroad, Nori takes care of the household. She cooks, does the laundry, and in general tends to Jun and the Rozen Maidens living with them, without getting too involved in their affairs and battles.

Suigintou

The first Rozen Maiden, she had a flaw in her design in the anime. Despite this, her love for their father and will to live are so strong that she can walk and use her powers without a human "medium". She holds a special hatred towards Shinku because of events in their past. In the anime, Suigintou was the primary antagonist of the first season. Her abilities involve using the feathers of her wings as weapons.

Kanaria

The second Rozen Maiden, she is childish and eccentric, becoming a perfect complement for Hinaichigo. In the anime, Kanaria was introduced only in the second season, Träumend. Her powers come from her skills with the violin.

Suiseiseki

The third Rozen Maiden, and Souseiseki's twin. She and Souseiseki are both referred to as "gardeners" for their ability to communicate and tend to plants, but also to the "soul trees" of humans. Notable in the original Japanese language, Suiseiseki ends every sentence with the word desu, making her a well-known character for this trait. In addition, she is depicted with heterochromia, her right eye red, and her left eye green, with the same colors but on opposite eyes for Souseiseki. She has the power to enter people's dreams and create vines and trees with her water can.

Souseiseki

The fourth Rozen Maiden, and Suiseiseki's twin. Souseiseki is sharp in her speech and a good fighter, much like Shinku. Unlike Shinku, however, Souseiseki has short hair, wears not a dress but trousers, and uses masculine forms in her speech (notable in the original Japanese language), making her more of a tomboy. In addition, her left eye is red and her right eye is green. She can enter people's dreams and cut through solid objects with her scissors. At the end of Träumend, Souseiseki is defeated by Suigintou and falls from the Alice Game.

Shinku

The fifth Rozen Maiden, she is the main protagonist of the dolls. Shinku first makes a bond with Jun when he is attacked by a possessed doll. Then, Shinku is perceived as bossy and cold, but she is actually very protective of Jun and the other dolls. After living long enough, Shinku has become a pacifist and doesn't like fighting her sisters. Nevertheless, she is a good fighter, being able to fight back the ruthless Suigintou when she needs to. Her powers manifest by releasing rose petals out of her hands.

Hinaichigo

The sixth Rozen Maiden, she is quite childish and naïve, and is not much of a fighter. Hinaichigo has the best intentions for those that she cares about, and she is specially fond of Nori, and her cooking. Her powers work by creating strawberry vines from the ground. In the manga, her body is consumed by the seventh doll, Kirakishou. In the anime, she loses the power link that Jun provides her and falls from the Alice Game.

Kirakishou

The seventh Rozen Maiden, she does not possess a physical body and only exists in the "N-Field"^{[clarification needed]}. Because of this, she consumes Hinaichigo and uses her body to step into the real world, becoming a major threat to the other dolls. In the anime, she was only shown briefly at the very end of the second season, Träumend, and she was not even called by name. In Träumend, which follows a story different from the manga, another doll, Barasuishou, poses as the seventh doll, and is the main antagonist.