Recap: Guided by his younger self, Jun continues to work on rebuilding Shinku before Kirakishou comes to claim him.

Zigg’s Thoughts: Rozen Maiden this week continues the trend it began last episode of being narratively limited but thematically interesting. The major issue I continue to have with it is it’s still something of a clunker story-wise, and delivering your exposition through constant voiceovers is simply not a very effective way to command my attention. Old Jun is not really interacting with a character as much as he is just following a set of instructions, and that doesn’t really make for decent character development nor entertaining scenes.

On the other hand, we do get a meaty flashback that does add some depth to his character. School trauma is not a super original story to fall back on, but this is a well presented and executed example. There’s a nice believable reaction from the schoolkids and it’s neat that the authors chose a social stigma that actually makes a bit of sense given the circumstances, while simultaneously giving a justification for the fact a teenage boy can sew up a doll’s outfit at a moment’s notice. This entire sequence was directed well too, and I particularly liked the black lace ‘borders’ which accompany the first part of the flashback.

In fact, improved direction and artwork give a great boost to this episode overall, especially the climax. This is the first time I feel that the show’s consciously darker, more psychological tone has really triumphed compared to the glossy gothic fantasy of the original. The entire sequence in the ‘doll graveyard’ is excellently creepy, well shot and features some very striking artwork – the shot where Jun is framed in the bottom right corner against an all black screen is a very effective example. Shinku’s rebirth is also a visually exciting bit that stays jsut on the right side of magical girl self-parody, and the slap at the end is a good little way to break the tension. This was definitely and improvement for Rozen Maiden and hopefully now Shinku has arrived the plot can begin in earnest, and we can get a bit more character time in.

Random Observations:

• Anyone else find the revelation Nori became a ground-down office drone sort of depressing?
• The more I hear it the more I like the very subdued ending theme, and the creedit visuals.
• Nice little cameo for Tomoe as the class rep.