Rozen Maiden: Träumend

As the story of Rozen Maiden closes, a new chapter begins in Rozen Maiden: Träumend. Shinku and the other sentient dolls of the Rozen Maiden collection are living life as usual at Jun Sakurada's house. Having settled into his role as Shinku's partner in the deadly Alice Game, Jun overcomes his former fears and prepares to return to school. And although Shinku and the other dolls idly pass the days by in the comfort of Jun's home, dark times lie ahead as a new foe presents herself: Barasuishou, the seventh Rozen Maiden.

But Barasuishou is a mystery even to her sisters, none of whom have ever laid eyes on her until now. Shinku considers this a sign that the Alice Game is coming to an end, meaning the dolls will soon be forced to fight one another. Haunted by the upcoming battle and nightmares concerning another doll, Shinku begins distancing herself from the others. If she wishes to claim victory, it will come at a high cost—the lives of her sisters.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Suigintou Main

Tanaka, Rie Japanese

Suiseiseki Main

Kuwatani, Natsuko Japanese

Shinku Main

Sawashiro, Miyuki Japanese

Souseiseki Main

Morinaga, Rika Japanese

Hinaichigo Main

Nogawa, Sakura Japanese

Barasuishou Main

Gotou, Saori Japanese

Kanaria Main

Shimura, Yumi Japanese

Sakurada, Jun Main

Sanada, Asami Japanese

Detective Kun-Kun Supporting

Tsukui, Kyousei Japanese

Laplace no Ma Supporting

Tsukui, Kyousei Japanese

Yamamoto, Sayo Co-Director, Storyboard, 2nd Key Animation

Nakamura, Shinichi Producer

Kananiwa, Kozue Producer

Tanaka, Junichirou Assistant Producer

Reviews

Sep 24, 2007

Venneh

Recommended

Anime: Träumend was animated by the same stuido as the first season (Studio Nomad), directed by the same director (Kou Matsuo), and ran on Japanese TV from October 5th, 2005 to January 5th, 2006. Probably corresponds to some point in the Rozen Maiden manga, not sure which, though.

Story: Träumend picks up an unspecified amount of time after the first season. All the dolls are still living at Jun's house, and he's definitely better than he was, but still not going to school (though there's good reason for it ' he's playing catch-up). Shinku is having guilt-related nightmares, and after one of these, ... she and Jun end up being drawn back into the mirror in his attic (why haven't they gotten rid of that yet?!) and meeting the seventh doll, whose appearance basically means that Father wants them to get on with the Alice Game, already.

This season is everything I wanted last season to be, and more. There's not so much filler as there was before ' and when there is, it actually advances the plot! --, and there's actually an overarching plot/urgency that wasn't there last season. And moreover, we get to see the darker tones that were only hinted at in the last season. There are so many more standout episodes, and the writers really show their talent by making you feel for characters you might not have necessarily liked last season.

However, it's not perfect. There is a character who turns into a bad running joke for most of the series. And it looked like it was going to resolve things up till the last minute, but in the second half of the last episode, there's a nasty plot twist that leaves things open for a third season and several mysteries in its wake.

Art: I don't know why, but the colors seem richer this season. Maybe it's because there are so many scenes where they can use certain color schemes/tones. Either way, it looks like it did last season, but better.

Music: Again, about the same as last season. The background music has its instantly recognizable songs (some that carry over from last season, too, which is really nice). Didn't like the OP as much as last season's (ALI Project, again), but it grew on me. Liked the ED instantly, though, as it's done by the same group who did Nishi no Yoki Majo: Astraea Testament's OP, which is one of my favorites (kukui).

Length: No real issues with length, this time. Length is the same as last season's (twelve episodes), but it definitely goes by quicker. When there was filler, as I said before, it ended up advancing the plot, so that was good, and there was an overarching plot/urgency to drive things forward. However, the eleventh-hour plot twist in the episode, while it leaves things open for a second season, leaves a bit of a bitter aftertaste, because they were this close to resolving things, and they've only bought up more mysteries.

Seiyuu: I recognize Enju's seiyuu from TmoHS (Koizumi) and Kashimashi ~Girl Meets Girl~ (Asuta), and Suigin Tou's seiyuu continues to rawq (Leandra from Nishi no Yoki Majo ' Astraea Testament and Lula from Red Garden!), but no other standout roles. Decent seiyuu all around.

Dub: N/A, has not been licensed as of yet.

Overall: A definite improvement on the first season, but still has its flaws. The ending leaves things more than open and ready for a third season, so Nomad should follow up on the implied promise and fix what few problems there are, kthnxbye.

Story: 8/10
Art: 8/10
Music: 7/10
Length: 8/10
Seiyuu: 8/10

Overall: 39/50; 78% (C)

Reviewer’s Rating: 7

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Apr 19, 2009

HinataPal55

Recommended

alright so here is my thoughts on this anime Rozen Maiden Traumend, full of comedy, action , and a little love

The Story line of this anime was very good showing not only the beauty of the dolls outfits and personalities, but adding the final touch with intense fighting scenes. Although I do not want to give out alot of info this series is about a young boy named jun who is locked up in his room because of cracking under pressure on entrance exams, we do not find out about that until later on in the series, so as a result he is a ... hermit in his own home refusing to go to school and buying "stupid" mystical items off his computer. Then he gets possesion of Shinku, a wind up doll in search of Alice (the perfect doll) for his creator or "Father" to be happy, and for that to happen she has to defeat all the other dolls known as "Rozen Maidens" and take there life which is called a "Rozen Mystica" Now as the story goes on you see the characters unique personalities and powers. I believe that this series is a great recommendation to people who are interested in mystical and almost sci-fi'sh anime. The story was overall good and had me wondering what would happen next although I thought that the ending was a little weak because it doesn't explain what happened to everyone else but gives an idea.

The Art in this Anime is absolutely amazing. For the most part when I watched this I felt like there was a normal feel (as in the regular japanese home and life) with a little class into it. there is detail in every background although the characters do stick out more. There is one scene I absolutely adored the art and that was when one of the Rozen Maidens (Suigin Tou) goes to her world and it is snowing with Crystals all around. I really did love that the backgrounds fit the characters nature and personalilty for the fighting scenes and the comedy scenes.

now the music was great, I loved the opening for this anime so much, it was creepy and yet energetic and was so well done. I love that the ending was great too because it was classy and modern at the same time , with a fast beat but still had that classy feel. I also loved the background music for this anime. the Orchestra was great for the serious scenes and the not so serious scenes. I really did enjoy the music

Now I know in this review I talk alot about the characters but I cannot help it they were great. The way they acted was amazing to the outfits they wore. As a person who thought I'd never watch this anime due to the fact that I am personally afraid of dolls, felt like these characters were real with every step they took. Each personality was different in there own way and that is why I fell so in love with them. I especially fell head over heels for Shinku. She may act serious at times, but there have been times I felt that she was funny and overall the most beautiful of the Rozen maidens. the costumes fit each of the personalities with different colors on everyone's costume, and the fact that each is very unique made my heart jump. I also loved the supporting characters too as they were very great at there personalities and expressions, plus their designs fit their personalities greatly.

my overall enjoyment for this anime is splendid. The only problem I had with it was probably the design of barasusishou because the other designs of all the characters were amazing and detailed while her design felt like it did not belong, though I did enjoy this character repeating what everyone said, I did not like how she look because she stood out too much. I also as I said earlier did not really like the ending because I wanted to see what happened to the other characters in the story that got there Rozen Mystica's taken away, but it was an overall 9.5 out of 10

Reviewer’s Rating: 9

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Dec 22, 2019

Terrible_Ivan

Mixed Feelings

Rozen Maiden: Traumend differs significantly from its predecessor. Where the first season followed an agoraphobic boy as he learned to overcome his fears and demons in order to help those he loved, the second gives center stage to the Rozen maidens and their enigmatic Father. Where once Jun broke the Alice Game and repaired what was thought to be beyond repair, he is now swept to the side offering little more than moral support. This shift in narrative focus had potential. After all, Jun’s story arc was neatly completed by the end of the first season while the dolls were ripe for development. How long ... have they existed, who is Father, must they obey the rules of the Alice Game, should they even want to?

These latter two questions become especially pertinent as the commencement of the game threatens the harmony of the sisters living with Jun. As the show progresses, so too do the characters: Shinku struggles to deal with the consequences of the first season, the twin sisters find their intentions drifting apart, even the (mostly insufferable) comic relief character Hina-Ichigo concludes a surprisingly emotional character arc. Several new characters are introduced, such as the (completely insufferable) comic relief character Kanaria and the fabled seventh Rozen maiden, Barasuishou, as well as an inscrutable trickster rabbit and a mysterious dollmaker. Far and away, however, the breakout character is Suigintou, who develops into an equal parts sympathetic and badass anti-hero as she and some of the other maidens seek out mediums in order to attain an edge in the Game.

The stakes continue to rise and a series of frustrating, yet justifiable decisions are made, investing one emotionally as the plot starts to heat up. Philosophies regarding the Game and the dolls’ involvement in it clash as characters arrive at different conclusions concerning what is right. I, for one, was rivetted to the screen by the later episodes as they steamed ahead towards their uncertain conclusion.

And then episode 12 hits.

I have never seen a more abortive climax than the one that waits in episode 12. The momentum the show has built collapses in just a few minutes as the ending is rewritten, live, before your very eyes! The writers make a bold statement about the futility of resisting fate and the insignificance of our main character in the grand scheme, and then change their minds 30 seconds later as one is left to weep over the corpse of the last several wasted hours. It isn’t a bitter, sweet, or bittersweet ending, it’s just junk.

It is difficult to get further into this review without spoilers, so I will leave you with this: Rozen Maiden Traumend is a lot of buildup for very little payoff. There are other flaws, such as Jun’s consistent inaction in the face of major events and Kanaria’s entire existence, but these pale in comparison to the ending. If a bad ending spoils a show for you, don’t bother watching, or maybe just watch up to episode 11 and imagine your own ending under the influence of whatever drug/drugs you have on hand.

Reviewer’s Rating: 6

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	Poll: Rozen Maiden: Träumend Episode 12 Discussion ( 1 2 ) cyruz - Jun 26, 2008	72 replies	by Pentagonion »» Aug 31, 2:29 PM
	Poll: Rozen Maiden: Träumend Episode 11 Discussion cyruz - Jun 26, 2008	27 replies	by Pentagonion »» Aug 31, 2:13 PM
	Poll: Rozen Maiden: Träumend Episode 10 Discussion cyruz - Jun 25, 2008	37 replies	by Pentagonion »» Aug 29, 7:48 PM
	Poll: Rozen Maiden: Träumend Episode 8 Discussion cyruz - Jun 24, 2008	21 replies	by Pentagonion »» Aug 23, 7:50 PM
	Poll: Rozen Maiden: Träumend Episode 7 Discussion cyruz - Jun 23, 2008	23 replies	by Pentagonion »» Aug 19, 6:57 PM