bbernier - 2014-01-23 04:18:29

phew, this is my first review and I may do one more depending on time. Lets get this started!

After watching the first episode, I will admit. I got pretty lost on the series. Having not watched the first two series of Rozen Maiden. However, rest assured, you do not need to watch the first two series in order to understand the anime. It gets pretty self explanatory as the show goes on. The story is about Jun; however, the Jun in the world that choose not to "wind (to turn or coil)." The story uses a parallel universe idea creating two of the same character, but one is a lot older than the original Jun we all know from previous series. As the story unfolds, we see the older (parallel Universe) Jun unsatisfied with life in general making him a character derived of any kind of motivation/passion due to an event that happened in middle school. This self image he creates also effects the people around him and create an outsider feeling to it. During work, he later runs into "How to make girls" book and starts the construction of the doll named Shinku. As the story evolves, his younger self (using Steins;Gate technology) sends the parallel Jun a text message asking for help and explaining the Alice game. To sum it up, 7 dolls battle each other to obtain their Rosa Mystica to become the perfect girl, Alice. Parallel Jun decides to help out and thus an epic tale starts to unfold.

While the Alice Game sounds really cool, it's not a priority. Studio Deen makes sure to develop Older Jun and the other characters as a priority. In my opinion, this is why the anime truly shines; however, one can argue how the pacing of the story went slow due to this approach, which is up to the viewers taste.

Characters

The characters and how they evolve is incredible. Since the introduction to parallel Jun, all we see is character growth till the end. The way how all the characters (Young Jun, the dolls, Saito, and the theatre club) all change his mentality to becoming something inspiring becomes a epic tale of fantasy.

Suigintou was also amazing. We see a lot of development on her case and she truley knows how to complicate things. The development comes in which we see a flashback between Suigintou and a girl that was ready to accept her death by forming a pact with Suigintou. This easy acceptance makes the gothic loli to think totally different and we see that she may a caring individual after all.

Animation and Sound

The animation was mesmerizing. The character designs were my favorite of the season. Especially, the use of the colors. Studio Deen did it right and got the job done. This is perhaps my favorite from them in terms of aesthetics, The ost was spot on in making creepy moments creepy and epic moments epic.

Enjoyment

Overall enjoyed
-Story was easy and consistent
-The visuals were amazing
-The characters were stunning to watch as they grow

It was a 8/10 then my personal enjoyment for this show bumped it up to a 9/10.

harry35 - 2013-10-04 14:21:52

Rozen Maiden: Zuruckspulen is a continuation of the Rozen Maiden series. The series begins where it left off: Jun Sakurada still finds himself in the Alice Game, a battle between the Rozen Maiden dolls in which the last one standing is turned into the perfect doll. The seventh Rozen Maiden doll Kirakishou appears, defeats all the dolls, and captures Jun Sakurada. Jun seeks the help of a Jun in a parallel universe (the universe where Jun did not wind his doll, Shinku) to stop Kirakishou from taking over his world.

Story: 7/10

The story is unforgiving to Rozen Maiden newcomers. Fans of the series will still enjoy it, but there are a couple of discrepancies. One, the first episode was an over-rushed recap episode of the first series to get the newcomers of Rozen Maiden on board. I understand why the director had to do it and it was an awkward situation. Nevertheless, the show had to go on. Second, it is a little slow with not that much action. By action I mean movement; the plot is stale at times. However, the story picks up more steam as it progresses in each episode. The story is still interesting and suspenseful. The viewer isn't really aware of Kirakishou's plot, but is constantly aware of the threat that she poses.

Animation: 7/10

The animation was finely tuned and a nice update to the series. It seemed much more light without too much heavy colors. Rozen Maiden: Suruckspulen doesn't provide anything ground breaking, but it still is pleasant to look at.

Sound: 7/10

The same thing for the animation can be said for the sound. The music is nice, the sound effects are good. Nothing to really complain here.

Character: 8/10

Veterans of Rozen Maiden have already seen most of the dolls and were familiar with the characters of the wound world. However, the characters of the unwound world and the new doll Kirakishou provided an interesting take on the series as a whole. It constantly asked the question, "where do you think we are going with this?" and made the characters more unpredictable.

Adult Jun was pretty much the same as young Jun in the beginning of Rozen Maiden. He is kind, smart, and cares about others, but unmotivated at times, extremely introverted, and insecure. This makes him very likable because he grows into the hero viewers know he can be.

Enjoyment: 7/10

Rozen Maiden: Zuruckspulen isn't too heavy, but not that light. Viewers new and old will enjoy this anime to a certain degree.

Overall: 7/10

Overall, I believe Rozen Maiden: Zuruckspulen is a solid anime. It stands out more than some of the anime this season, but doesn't stand out too much. Veterans and newcomes alike will enjoy this. However, I will say if you are new to Rozen Maiden you should look up a plot synopsis if you are interested in the series.