Is it Rozen, or Rosen? Make up your mind Japan!
Not wanting to review another 2007 anime anytime soon, I give you a review of a slightly older anime in the form of all 2 seasons of Rozen Rosen Maiden, plus the OVA too. Maybe I will give a 2007 anime a chance later this month, and it is not that I cannot do it next month year.
Story:-
A middle-school kid who likes to skip school a lot inadvertently ordered the Pandora Box, and when he opened it, the harbingers of doom started to descend down to the Earth his house and make it their own. Getting rid of them is the main event for our school-ditching hero.
The story is surprisingly good, unlike some titles that are similar like Shakugan no Shana or to a lesser extent, Zero no Tsukaima. At least the main male protagonist is not a jack*ss like the one in Shakugan no Shana. It does character developments very well without overdoing it, and also endings for both seasons are not that bad. Generally, there are nothing negative to be said here, with the possible exception that the story itself is not exactly original, and has been rehashed by many other anime/manga out there.
Even I will ditch school for long periods if I were to be forced to play this lacrosse sport.
Character Design:-
Awesome is the only word that can be used to describe the character designs in this anime. Mostly applies to the dolls though, especially Suigintou. Hmmm… Suigintou. Humans’ design is decent too, as if you care about how that main male protagonist looks like when you can gawk at Suigintou.
Voice Acting:-
Just like the character design, voice acting is also a positive point of this anime. Overtall, the voices here are excellent, and those who really stand out are Shinku, Hina Ichigo and Suiseiseki. Please note that others that not that bad either.
Music:-
Not as stellar as the 2 above; only the OST and the OP themes for the TV seasons are great.
A perfect picture for a cat macro image. What should I write onto this pic?
Animation/Direction:-
The animation is good, and becomes better as it enters second season and OVA. None of the fast-paced scenes suffered in any way. Choreography of fighting scenes is average though, and you will not want to watch this anime if you expect good fighting scenes. Directing is done very well; fine choices in camera angles and presentation of the storyline.
Conclusion:-
9 out of 10. It has been quite some time since I last watched a good shounen anime like this one.
A screen cap I made to make sure there are plenty of pictures in this blog entry.
