Rozen Maiden Traumed Review

 Rozen Maiden Traumed

Story: 8
This anime is a sequel to Rozen Maiden and I recommend you watch that one first, if you haven’t done so, or else it will be easy to get lost plot wise.
Rozen Maiden Traumed picks things up where Rozen Maiden left them so it is easy to follow along if you have seen the first series, unless it has been a while, like me.
There are some new characters introduced and some old ones re-introduces. With a complete set of Rozen Maiden dolls continuing the Alice game is unavoidable and that is where the sequel will be all about. The story seems pretty predictable at first but manages to deliver some unexpected twists nearing then end which left me with a sad feeling inside. The ending is bitter-sweet and leaves things open still. It’s neither happy, nor sad, it is just life.

Animation: 8
Like Rozen Maiden, the animation of the dolls is very cute and sometimes wicked. The dolls are animated like their personalities, for example; pink for Hina-Ichigo, the childlike hyper active doll. The costumes of the dolls are detailed which adds to their unique designs. The action scenes are fluent and intense, like they should be. The designs of the human characters on the other hand are plain and simple; I think this is done to lay the accent on the beauty of the dolls. Shading is done well. There is nothing really to complain about here.

Sound: 8
The voice acting of this show is simply brilliant. There wasn’t one moment where I thought things were off. They have chosen the voice actors well for each character and this makes it a really intense watch since the actors managed to get the emotions of the dolls across in such a splendid way.
The scenes are accompanied with beautiful orchestral music, to stress the situation the characters are in. The only think I really disliked was the opening theme of the series. It really doesn’t do the series any justice. The ending theme on the other hand is very beautiful and I wouldn’t mind listening to it on its own.

Character development: 9
It’s clear that each doll has its own personality. From quiet to hyper active from smart to mischievous, it is all there. It makes it fun to see all the dolls interact with each other. The interaction between the cuter dolls and the more wicked dolls is interesting. All dolls have their own motives for competing or not competing in the Alice game. And some of them make choices that you would expect them to make or have parts of their personalities they keep well hidden and only come across on rare occasions.
As the situation gets tenser in the last few episodes the dolls change and some unexpected events happen, this makes them develop in certain ways as they have to make choices.

There wasn’t a single character that didn’t develop and that is rare for a series. It is even rarer to see the characters all develop well, as with most series who have this many characters will leave things open or get things half done. It didn’t feel like that with this series. I think that all characters have developed to the fullest they could in their situations.

Overall: 8.5
This series delivers a mix of comedy, sadness, action and cuteness all in one and manages to combine this with a deep and heart touching story. I think this anime will be liked by a broad audience but I strongly recommend watching Rozen Maiden first.
As for people who have already done so: This is a sequel you must watch since it really will add something to your Rozen Maiden experience.

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March 2, 2008 :: Action, Drama, Fantasy, Reviews ::