If you’ve heard of Rozen Maiden it’s probably because of (or at least, indirectly) A Certain Website’s love, back in the day, of one particular character with one red eye, one green eye, and a habit of ending most sentences in a distinctively pronounced “desu”. If you’ve watched the first two Rozen Maiden series you may have come to the same conclusion I did that, while they’re far from bad, they’re lacking in certain ways. Aside from the poor production values, it could never really settle on whether it was an action/drama series about the so-called ‘Alice Game’ along with Jun’s social anxiety, or slapstick, character-driven comedy about Jun having to take care of a bunch of supernatural dolls. Unable to choose one or effectively pair the two, along with some weak writing in general, the earlier Rozen Maiden entries were ones I did enjoy, but not as much as I could have and wanted to. I was still pretty satisfied by the end, but was left wanting a bit.
This is where I would say how excited I was then when Rozen Maiden: Zurückspulen was announced, but like many people I only watched the originals after the announcement, being generally aware that it was a Big Deal and I should probably look into it. Watching them actually filled me more with trepidation than anything else; a franchise coming back after several years of nothing hasn’t historically been great, and Studio DEEN was going to be handling that. Further, this wouldn’t be a straight sequel, instead adapting the mangaka’s second go at telling Rozen Maiden. So basically, I had no idea what to expect going in.
First thing’s first, I should really clarify where this series – and the previous series of Rozen Maiden – stand in regards to canon, relations to each other, and so forth. First, there was the manga, which had its earlier chapters adapted as Rozen Maiden. Rozen Maiden: Träumend continued the manga adaptation for a little bit, before diverging into anime original territory. Rozen Maiden: Ouvertüre continues this divergence for a couple of OVA episodes. The manga ending on a cliffhanger and went on hiatus, but after a while the mangaka started a new version of Rozen Maiden that partially retells the original story, and partially tells the story of a Jun in a parallel world, who chose “No” when asked whether he’ll wind.
Rozen Maiden: Zurückspulen is the adaptation of this second manga, albeit focusing more or less entirely on the Jun from the unwound world. So it’s neither a sequel nor a ‘true’ alternate version. A recap episode starts off the series, but even with that it still assumes that you’ve seen the previous entries. Irritiatingly, even though Rozen Maiden: Träumend is largely anime original, it retains just enough plot elements from the original manga that weren’t included in the first series, and are relevant to Rozen Maiden: Zurückspulen. So basically, if you want to watch this (spoiler alert: I think you should) you’re gonna want to watch the earlier series first.
Whew! With all that out of the way, let’s actually get on with the actual review!
The story of Rozen Maiden: Zurückspulen is a very different beast from what you may have expected at first. As mentioned above, it follows the Jun from the unwound world (i.e the timeline where he answered “No” to the question “Will you wind it?”) and thanks to his actions the Rozen Maiden don’t exist. At all. His decision to not wind fundamentally altered (or failed to alter) the very history of the world and, as a result, the dolls were never made. The Jun we see is something of a failure. He managed to stop being a hikikimori through his own will eventually, but never really developed the positive mental state Wound Jun did. He didn’t attend high school, getting into a third-rate university by exam. As a result, his university life – where we see him now – is largely defined by self-imposed isolationism, a sense of alienation from his peers in class, a shitty part-time job where he gets abused by his lazy manager, and sheer boredom.
In a word: depression. He moved out but never moved on. Life never really got better for Unwound Jun. And it looked set to stay that way for the foreseeable future, until an unexpected package arrives at the bookstore he works at – containing a DIY magazine for making dolls, the contents of which detailed the Rozen Maiden and asked him once again whether he will wind it. It was never ordered, so his manager tells him to return to sender, but a strange feeling compels Jun to keep it for himself. When he returns home, he has received a package – the second volume of the series. From there, he starts assembling the doll and despite a small hitch where the series was cancelled, forcing him to find parts himself, he eventually completes the doll. He winds it. Shinku has entered the Unwound World.
This is where the plot really kicks off, but it’s also the first demonstration of something far more important, something that for me at least is the best part about this entire series: it’s the real start of Jun’s character development. And damn is it well executed. Just in this early bit alone we see the unmotivated and generally apathetic Jun – a personality which was elegantly and thoroughly built in a very brief amount of time – become interested in something that’s creative, that actually requires some effort on his part. And while it starts off as a curiosity, as a case of “well I’ve got nothing better to do”, he quickly gets heavily into it, rushing home from work to keep assembling the doll, forsaking classes and sleep, and getting frustrated at his job when he’s asked to stay for longer. But it’s not just that he suddenly cares about something and that’s the big deal – having something occupy his mind, to stave off the boredom and let him do something meaningful to him, it leaves him with a more positive and less insular disposition and has allowed him to take his first steps towards becoming a genuinely happy person.
It’s a small step. It’s always a small step at first, but it gives him the initial momentum to keep taking steps. When he received news that the magazine series was cancelled, instead of giving up there and then he felt compelled to finish it himself, going so far as to buy doll parts. And then when Shinku arrived – an embodiment of all the effort he put in – he was pushed to become more responsible, to socialize in a weird way, and to think of others as Shinku made all of her selfish demands. And then he just keeps going from there – other dolls arrive and he deals with them quite maturely, he joins his co-worker’s theatre troupe and helps make props and costumes for them, he acts selflessly when Kirakishou’s actions puts the dolls and others in danger, and so many other, smaller, acts that depict a man mentally recovering. It’s never forced down your throat, it never feels forced, there’s just a subtle, steady change in Jun that brings him from despondency to some measure of happiness by the end.
So once again, the Rozen Maiden act as a catalyst for change in Jun’s life – despite the difference in worlds. But the problem in the earlier series was that it wasn’t all that well executed. Jun generally remained insular and belligerent, and the small amount of meaningful progress made could feel rather contrived at times. But here it feels genuine, it feels meaningful, it feels real. It’s given a lot of time, a lot of weight, and is all excellently written. It’s hard to write a depressed character convincingly. It’s harder still to have them make progress towards happiness in a realistic way, and end up in a believable position. That a Rozen Maiden series managed to achieve all that is incredibly surprising, and I have nothing but praise for what it accomplished. It’s intelligent. It’s powerful. It’s nuanced. It’s simply the best characterization and character development I’ve seen in a long time.
The dolls, by comparison, are relatively static in characterization. If you’ve seen the previous series (which, as mentioned before, I would recommend before checking this out) very little they do would come as a surprise. Not that that’s an inherently bad thing – Shinku and Suigintou’s personalities are explored in some interesting ways thanks to the new environment they are thrust into, and it’s not like Kanaria needs a complex character arc. The real success of Rozen Maiden: Zurückspulen in regards to the dolls is how it managed to make them less annoying and more relatable.
The wacky, slapstick hijinks between the dolls at Jun’s house in the earlier series were really a hit-and-miss affair, sometimes being pretty funny, sometimes just being obnoxious and kind of a waste of time. The nature of this series means that those are basically not possible, at least not to the same scale. It does mean that Rozen Maiden: Zurückspulen feels more dramatic and serious than its forebears, but this definitely works in its favour. More plot, more characterization, less nuisances! On that note, Hina-Ichigo – the loud, obnoxious, forced-attempt-at-cute doll with the mind of a toddler – is basically not present at all this time around. The antagonist – Kirakishou – consumes her body prior to the series beginning (it’s all in the recap!), meaning we don’t have to put up with her at all. This helps the series so much. But she nonetheless posthumously helps a ton in the story, giving her great importance and making her rather likable as a result. And we don’t have to watch her! The perfect balance!
Shinku and Suigintou, as alluded to already, are given the spotlight a fair bit and are made more relatable than they previously were, and their plight is made more evocative. With Suigintou it boils down to her master’s sickliness (again), but Suigintou’s discomfort and distaste at hearing her medium wish for death is conveyed far more strongly than before, and the fact the she does care for her medium a lot is so much clearer. Their relationship is really quite heartbreaking, which is not how I really felt in the previous series. And Shinku is noticeably more interesting and balanced as a character after Unwound Jun just doesn’t really take her shit from the get go. He still listens to her, but it’s more out of choice than being pushed around. This mellows Shinku out a lot, giving us a great chance to see a quieter, more contemplative side to her while still remaining true to her established personality.
As for the doll’s side of the story (or rather, the other half of the plot that isn’t about Unwound Jun’s growth), it’s quite interesting. While Unwound Jun starts to build the doll that will become (or rather, house) Shinku, he starts receiving some strange emails that are quickly revealed to be from the Wound Jun. Turns out he’s been trapped by Kirakishou in the N-Field, to prevent him from interfering while she hunts down the other dolls. Unwound Jun was the only person he could find to contact, and so of course he attempts to orchestrate things so that they have a chance against Kirakishou. Shinku is trying to stop Kirakishou and rescue Wound Jun, and Suigintou is trying to find her medium after Kirakishou stole her away into the N-Field.
This side of the narrative initially revolves around them waiting to hear from Wound Jun after their communication is cut off, with none of them willing to make a move while what Kirakishou is up to remains unknown. There are some minor altercations, Kirakishou makes her move, Suiseiseki and Souseiseki are eventually brought back in, and a load of shit goes down in the N-Field. Not exactly a flattering description, but in execution it’s quite good fun, managing to capture a good amount of tension and investment in the outcome. It helps that Kirakishou really comes across as unhinged and sinister, and makes for a great antagonist. I do have a few issues though. The pace really slows down over the last third, and the plotting is rather weak. The conclusive, much built-up fight between the 7th doll and the rest of them is somewhat anticlimactic, and the way that Wound Jun escapes from his prison is hilariously badly rushed and sudden (and bullshit). The sequel-hook end is also a bit naff. It’s a disappointing ending, but as a means to provide a cathartic, meaningful conclusion to Unwound Jun’s development and story, it works very well and gives him good closure.
One other thing I have nothing to complain about here is the presentation. Just about everything about it is basically perfect. Visually, Rozen Maiden: Zurückspulen has a more subdued and muted palette, with lighter, less-contrasting line-work and backgrounds that resembled a painting of some kind. It suits the ‘gothic’ nature of the dolls and their appearance, and reflects the more sombre and serious tone of the series. It works perfectly in tandem with the fantastic direction, as well. Certain scenes play out in quite a stylised manner, making fantastic use of ornate aesthetic ornamentation reflecting the details on the dolls clothing and some imaginative and abstract backgrounds. It never goes full SHAFT or anything, being rather reserved about the usage of those moments, but when they are used it more often than not adds to the emotion and mood of the scene. Rozen Maiden: Zurückspulen really has a nice style and visual flair about it, one that’s simply perfect for the subject matter – far more than the generic visuals of the earlier series.
It’s a shame that the doll side of the second half was rather weak, because I can’t help but be super impressed by everything else on display. I can’t praise Unwound Jun’s character arc enough – it’s just incredible – and all the other small changes or additions made to what had been the standard approach for a Rozen Maiden series add up to something fantastic. The dolls are less annoying, less wacky and actually manage to elicit emotion; the tone, atmosphere and presentation match the magical, bittersweet and vaguely gothic nature of the dolls; and the troubles of Jun are actually explored in a smart and detailed way. In other words, Rozen Maiden: Zurückspulen is everything I’ve felt Rozen Maiden should have been the entire time. It is just so much more accomplished than the previous series in basically every way that counts. I mean, I enjoyed the earlier series, but I always found myself wanting to like them more than I necessarily did. I enjoyed them, but always with reservations. I have no reservation in saying that Rozen Maiden: Zurückspulen is absolutely great. Lacking in a couple of areas that makes me hesitate to call it amazing, but definitely great.
8/10
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