Sea Slugs! Anime Blog

In the wake of Suigin Tou’s assault, Jun’s ring miraculously shields Shinku from the blast. While Suigin Tou is distracted, Suisei Seki and Sousei Seki steal back their glowy things and with Hina Ichigo’s help, they cover Jun’s retreat. Jun takes Shinku to this impressive cloth house he built in elementary school, but Shinku is really distraught over the loss of her arm. Tearfully, Shinku cries that she has lost something that Father bestowed upon her and that now she is junk. Jun, however, tells Shinku that she is very important to him and so he goes off to look for her arm. As Shinku looks outside, she discovers that Jun’s world is becoming sunnier and grassier. Jun quickly finds the arm, but as he attempts to cross the river (wow, so Oregon Trail) he finds himself sinking and hearing whispers about his embarassing past. Suigin Tou shows up just in time to taunt Jun, but Jun continues on for Shinku and breaks through Suigin Tou’s attack. Jun tells Suigin Tou that he used to be like her in mocking the selfless, and Shinku conveniently appears from the forest. In an amazing development, Jun’s ring allows Shinku’s arm to be reattached seamlessly. Suigin Tou is really in shock now, as only Father should be able to fix a Rozen Maiden in the absence of a maestro (whatever that means).

Literally armed and ready to go, Shinku takes on Suigin Tou and blasts her with a powerful Shinku Hadoken (^^d) and a heavy punch to the face. Suigin Tou refuses to admit defeat, however, and suddenly her feathers erupt in blue flames. Jun is able to shield Shinku, and the blue flames turn back on Suigin Tou, burning her. As Suigin Tou’s clothing burns, we discover that Suigin Tou is empty in the middle; she is an incomplete doll! Even without a medium, Suigin Tou’s love for Father was so strong that she tried desparately to become Alice, but in the end, it looks like she was completel defeated. In the aftermath of the battle, Jun fixes Shinku’s clothing and brushes her hair, while everyone else decides to let Jun’s crappy tree grow on its own. Unfortunately, when Jun finishes his duties, Shinku bids him farewell and disappears. Jun jolts awake to find himself alone and ringless (he has a tanline, though). He’s clearly changed now, and willingly goes out for a walk without avoiding any ex-classmates. When he gets back, he is surprised to find Shinku and Hina Ichigo back in the room. Shinku explains that they used too much power, but thanks to Jun’s growing abilities as a medium, they were able to return. As everyone goes down to watch their favorite show, we see that Jun has gotten his school uniform ready.

I can’t believe I forgot to make an entry for the final episode of Rozen Maiden for so long, but at least my review of it can incorporate some recent knowledge. I really loved Rozen Maiden, and I found the art and music to be spectacular (except for the OP and ED, strangely). The characters are where the series really shines, however, and even the villain was dear to my heart by episode 12. The one weakness in the first season was the story, as not very much was explained. Now that a second season (Rozen Maiden ~träumend~) has been announced, however, this can no longer be considered a fault. I really look forward to seeing the story continued, and hopefully Suigin Tou can get fixed and Suisei Seki can get some more airtime. I think the anime staff deserves some props for doing an excellent job of adapting the manga. If I hadn’t known about the second season, I would give Rozen Maiden a 4.5/5, but since we have the promise of more details, I give the first season a 5/5.