List of Rozen Maiden characters
Encyclopedia
The following lists the characters from the anime series Rozen Maiden
.
, Mamiko Noto
(early drama CD)
Suigintou is the first Rozen Maiden doll. Her desire to win the Alice Game is the strongest of all the dolls, and is primarily driven because she wants the attention of their "Father", the dollmaker Rozen. Initially, Suigintou's will to exist was so strong that she was able to move even without a Rosa Mystica. She could also use her powers without a medium. Sadistic, spiteful, and arrogant (all due to her Inferiority complex
), she would stop at nothing to become Alice. Although she avoids talking with her sisters, she has a particularly bitter hatred for Shinku.
However, when she meets her medium Megu, Suigintou's attitude begins to shift; and she feels connected to Megu. Suigintou later wants to collect the Rosa Mystica to heal Megu's heart ailment instead rather than just become Alice. However, Suigintou fails in this endeavor, when she discovers that she used up Megu's energy.
Suigintou did not consciously make a contract with Megu; rather, Megu came upon Suigintou as she was reawakening. Suigintou's strong sense of independence and misanthropy blinded her to the perceived weakness of having a medium. She is also the only Rozen Maiden to have been defeated and revived three times in the anime.
Suigintou has a number of unique traits and flaws amongst the Rozen Maidens. In the anime, she is missing a part of her torso; Shinku explains at one point that, before Suigintou was completed, her design was erased, but she does not explain why or how. In Ouvertüre, it is shown that Rozen abandoned her half-completed form in two parts on his worktable. Although her clothing was completed, she was never assembled and, as such, not initially given a Rosa Mystica. It was her love for Rozen that brought her to life, and she crawled off of the table to look for him. Rozen does later provide her with a Rosa Mystica, but only after Souseiseki slices her in half and she disappears. However, after Shinku destroys Suigintou at the end of the first season, she is restored midway through Träumend.In the Träumend finale, she tells Shinku that "Father" had told her that even with her flawed body, she is also entitled to a part in the Alice Game and could become alice. Later, Rozen is seen lovingly fixing Suigintou's neck ribbon as she sleeps, and even grips her gently around the waist afterwards, implying that he has mended her incomplete body.
In the manga, her body isn't flawed. However, in her dream, she was seemed to be ragged black wings that have ravaged her back with cracks, by be refused by Souseiseki's Rosa Mystica. And she has an ability to be able to use a life energy of human without a ring. She is also the only Rozen Maiden with wings. Along with her artificial spirit, Meimei, the wings were her weapons. The spirit "Meimei," is named for the Japanese word "Mei", meaning "darkness". Megu and Suigintou also seem to have a stronger friendship than in the anime.
Her translated name the German word Mercury Lampe is a pseudo-anglicism
, since the word mercury is not used in German except for pseudo-scientific publications about red mercury
. The correct German name to be used would be Quecksilber-Lampe or Quecksilberdampflampe
.
The second Rozen Maiden doll, who is as adorable as she is eccentric. Not only does she constantly refer to herself in third person, but she also talks about taking her sisters' Rosen Mysticas, though she repeatedly fails in her attempts to do so. She fancies herself as quite the stealthy prowler, and makes a hobby of watching the exploits of her sisters, usually through binoculars. Kanaria's bright, somewhat arrogant disposition makes her the ideal subject for many of the comedic episodes. Despite this, she is a competent opponent and attacks with a violin that can emit particularly destructive sound waves. Her personality mostly complements that of Hinaichigo, who eventually becomes her good friend and rival; they often debate on whose medium is "better", i.e. prettier. In the manga, she visits the Sakurada home more often than in the anime, and even invites Mitsu, her medium, after Hinaichigo is taken by Kirakishou to fulfill the void left by Hinaichigo.
In Rozen Maiden: ouvertüre, the other dolls apparently forgot Kanaria's name most of the time, though in the manga, Hinaichigo admits to Kanaria that she was only kidding.
Kanaria has the unusual habit of ending her sentences with "kashira" ("I wonder?" or "maybe?"), which is likened to Hinaichigo's penchant for ending sentences with "na no" (meaning "Because"), and Suiseiseki's "desu". Kanaria's favorite food is tamagoyaki
, or Japanese thick omelet, which, more often than not, is snatched away from her by hungry birds before she can enjoy it. She is introduced in the second season and makes a brief appearance in Rozen Maiden: Ouvertüre, making yet another humorously over-the-top attempt to infiltrate Jun's home to steal her sisters' Rosae Mysticas.
Her artificial spirit, Pizzicato, is named after the technique
of playing orchestral instruments by plucking the strings, which she uses as a counterattack.
In the second manga series of Rozen Maiden, Kanaria stayed behind with Jun Sakurada in the N-Field while the other surviving dolls crossed over to the other Jun Sakurada's dimension. When the alternate Jun decides to go back to his world and save the Rozen Maidens, Kanaria follows along. As soon as she finds her other sisters trapped in Kirakishou's crystal cage, she uses the power of her violin to free them. Afterwards, she descends to find Jun in her own dimension. She finds Jun in Kirakishou's N-field just as he finds Shinku's lost body, and they arrive just in time to restore Shinku to her original state.
, Nana Mizuki
(early drama CD)
The third Rozen Maiden doll, and Souseiseki's older twin. She and Souseiseki are both referred to as "gardeners" for their ability to communicate and tend not only to regular plants, but also to the "soul trees" of humans.
Despite her attitude towards Jun, Suiseiseki does care a great deal for him, and her attempts to cover that up usually manifest in the form of more insults. In fact, she cares deeply for everyone in her life, even if she does not show it outwardly, a personality of a stereotypical tsundere
. In Rozen Maiden träumend, Suiseiseki stands out among the dolls in that she values her sisters' love more than the goal of becoming Alice. She is one of the few dolls who opposes the Alice Game, and has no intentions of becoming Alice if it means taking her fellow sisters' Rosa Mystica. Suiseiseki and Jun attempt, without much success, to convince the other Rozen Maidens that the Alice Game is a meaningless endeavor. In her brief appearance in the OVA, she makes the same appeal to her twin several times.
In the anime, Suiseiseki's first impression is different than that of the manga. She appears very shy and nervous, and is very distrustful of humans because one had kidnapped Souseiseki. Shinku once described Suiseiseki as being the most shy and timid of the Rozen Maidens. She also tends to end nearly every sentence with "desu", as a way of being polite. Some argue this has made her the most well-known characters in the series.
Suiseiseki tries to avoid participating in the Alice Game as much as possible, but she can use her watering can to make plants emerge from the ground and manipulate them. Her artificial spirit is named after the popular Anna Sui
perfume. Suiseiseki was also the winner of the Anime Saimoe Tournament in 2006.
In Rozen Maiden Träumend, Jun becomes her medium (after trying to find a medium on her own with no success). She is shown to be jealous of Shinku, because Jun's attention is always directed towards her. This means she also cares about Jun.
In the next-to-last episode of Rozen Maiden träumend, Suiseiseki attempts to protect Kanaria from Barasuishou's crystal stakes, and is crystallized for her trouble and her Rosa Mystica seized. Suiseiseki was revived by Rozen in the träumend finale and is last seen watching "Detective Kun Kun" along with Nori and the lifeless forms of Souseiseki and Hinaichigo.
In the latest chapters of the manga, Suiseiseki makes a return to the story as she travels to the alternate dimension where Shinku and Suigintou currently reside. Knowing that Kirakishou now has Souseiseki's body, Suiseiseki intends to protect Kirakishou from being destroyed, much to Shinku's and Suigintou's dismays. She has also actively (and somewhat forcibly) made Jun form a contract with her. However, she was actually making him form a contract using Souseiseki's ring, so that Souseiseki may be revived. Yet, though Souseiseki was able to break free of Kirakishou's control, she lacks her Rosa Mystica, which Suigintou currently has, and refuses to return. In the end, Suiseiseki gives her Rosa Mystica to Souseiseki. To return to their world, Souseiseki convinces Suigintou to return the Rosa Mystica to their rightful owners, Suigintou agrees, allowing Suiseiseki to come back to life. Together, they restore order to the worlds. She is even called "desu girl," because of the amount of times she says "desu" in the Japanese anime. Suiseiseki is a meme and an awesome one at that.
"boku" instead of gender neutral pronouns like "jibun" or "watashi." Souseiseki's presence is much more significant in the anime than in the manga. These all being stereotypical traits of a tomboy
.
In the manga, Souseiseki's master wanted to use her power to enter other people's dreams and exact revenge on his brother's lover, who he felt had stolen his brother from him. Since Souseiseki alone could not achieve this goal, she fights Suiseiseki to gather the two gardeners' tools, the shears (which is her primary weapon) and the watering can, which together can affect an individual's soul tree. She eventually realizes that it is her master's heart that needs to be freed and sacrifices herself to do so. The dolls present are shocked by Souseiseki's actions and Suigintou uses the confusion to snatch Souseiseki's Rosa Mystica, enraging both Shinku and Suiseseki. In the latest chapter, it is revealed that Souseiseki's body is currently manifested by Kirakishou.
In the anime, Souseiseki is devoted to a lonesome old man, who uses her as a substitute for his deceased son, Kazuki. Souseiseki apparently does not have a medium, because Motoharu Shibasaki was never shown to have a rose ring. She is shown to be slightly more eager, probably from a sense of duty, to participate in the Alice Game than her sisters. In the OVA, she is introduced in the flashback in mid-fight with Shinku and later does not hold back in attacking a then-harmless Suigintou. Throughout Rozen Maiden Träumend, she questions her idyllic lifestyle, and, much to Suiseiseki's disappointment, takes part in the Alice Game out of devotion to Rozen after being accosted by Barasuishou, who was believed to be the seventh Rozen Maiden doll to fulfill his wish of finding Alice and relieve his perceived grief. She battles Suigintou, but is defeated and loses her Rosa Mystica.
Even though the two versions progress differently, Souseiseki is still the first doll to lose her Rosa Mystica, and her Rosa Mystica transfers to Suigintou on both occasions. However, at the end of Rozen Maiden träumend, Laplace is seen dancing with two Rosae Mysticae, one of which is believed to be Souseiseki's. To add to the confusion, after Shinku is resurrected by "Father," she tells Jun that Souseiseki's and Hinaichigo's losing their Rosa Mysticae is her burden to bear. The most likely reason for this is that essentially they were under the care of her medium, which makes sense for Hinaichigo, but not so much for Souseiseki.
In the manga, Souseiseki has gone missing from her case, after Suiseiseki tells Souseiseki's master that she found her sister's hat in the N-field. Later, in the last volume of the manga, she is reunited with Suiseiseki. Souseiseki tells Suiseiseki that she didn't want to play the Alice Game anymore, because she didn't "want to go against the Suiseiseki that I love". Soon afterwards she dies once again, growing rose vines and a white rose out of her right eye. Though she is the first doll to lose her Rosa Mystica, Souseiseki is actually the second doll to lose in the Alice Game. In the latest chapter of Rozen Maiden Tale, it is revealed that while Suigintou has her Rosa Mystica, Kirakishou has her body. And, because Jun from the alternate dimension has inadvertently kissed the ring, it may grant Souseiseki the revival Suiseiseki wished for. This however was hindered by the fact that Suigintou currently has Souseiseki's Rosa Mystica and she refuses to release it. So in the end, Suiseiseki gives Souseiseki her Rosa Mystica, allowing Souseiseki to return to life. To restore the worlds to their orders, Souseiseki convinces Suigintou to temporarily restore her Rosa Mystica while she returns Suiseiseki's. As soon as Suiseiseki is restored, they combine their powers to restore the world orders. Afterward, she readies to return her Rosa Mystica as promised, but Suigintou breaks the agreement. The Jun from the other parallel dimension decides to turn Souseiseki to his younger counterpart's Rozen Maiden, as they are the same person. In " Rozen Maiden Overture " while Souseiseki is fighting Shinku, Shinku says " A lady who uses "boku" to refer to herself, what kind of taste is that?" and Souseiseki says she will defeat her, however later in anime they appear to be friends.
Her artificial spirit is named for a fragrance. Souseiseki was also the first runner-up for Saimoe 2005.
(early drama CD)
Shinku is the fifth Rozen Maiden doll and the first to appear in the series. Her name, in addition to its Japanese meaning, could be also a play on the Japanese pronunciation of the word "cinq" (French
for "five"). She embodies the traditional Victorian aristocrat. She is extremely demanding and can seem unappreciative of others. Her favorite words are "tea
", "servant" and "What?" She seems to enjoy lecturing, slapping, and generally abusing Jun, her medium, at every opportunity. She is very aware of her femininity, forever reminding others that she and the other Maidens are 'ladies'. Shinku is also perceived as being cold and angry, but she is actually very protective of, and cares deeply for, her sisters and for Jun. Shinku's presence at the Sakurada home has led to other Rozen Maidens appearing there. She hates cats because one almost swallowed her wind-up key in the past.
In the manga, Shinku is a pacifist from the beginning, saying the Alice Game must end. She doesn't like fighting her sisters, but attacks Suigintou when she is angry with her. She doesn't want any of her sisters to be lifeless, as shown when she takes Hinaichigo as her servant instead of absorbing her Rosa Mystica.
Shinku does not use honorific suffixes such as "-chan," "-san," or "-kun," except when she refers to "Father", Mitsu and once, Kun Kun. Shinku does have a cute side, which is evident in her intense, almost obsessive, admiration for the puppet detective Kun Kun, believing them to be connected by an invisible thread. In the anime, Shinku wins a human contest and receives a Kun Kun cosplay costume as her prize. Jun was once able to win her over during an argument by playing her with a Kun Kun doll.
In Rozen Maiden ouvertüre, Shinku was a lot colder and was more active in the Alice Game. She initially befriended the then broken and weak Suigintou out of pity and taught her many basic life skills, such as walking and brewing tea; However, Shinku never thought of Suigintou as a proper Rozen Maiden as the latter was incomplete; Suigintou took this remark personally later destroys Shinku's brooch [an elaborate brooch with the likeness of "Father"] out of spite, her prized possession from "Father," which opens wide the intense enmity between the two.
In combat, Shinku fights with rose
petal-based attacks. The rose petals are extremely versatile; Shinku can direct them to spread out for wide-ranging attacks, or group them together to use as a shield. Her other weapon is a cane, which she skillfully wields like a sword. Shinku has other special powers, such as restoring broken objects, typically Jun's bedroom windows after Suigintou's bear/clown jumps in, and when Suiseiseki (and Souseiseki in the anime) show up, with a form of time-reversing magic. Shinku was the second runner-up for both Saimoe 2006 and 2007.
(early drama CD)
The sixth Rozen Maiden doll. Although she can be ridiculously naïve and selfish, she has nothing but the best intentions for those that she cares about. Her disposition is also a mismatch for her power, which is a series of attacks based on strawberry vines, which she mostly uses to restrain opponents and can also tell her what is happening. She loses to Shinku in the Alice Game, becoming the first doll to lose the right to become Alice. Shinku does not beat Hinaichigo outright; the younger doll simply exhausted the energy of her medium, Tomoe, and she becomes, in Shinku's opinion, another servant. Shinku then warned Hinaichigo that continuing the fight would kill Tomoe, whereupon Hinaichigo renounced the tie that made Tomoe her medium. Despite being the victor, Shinku does not take Hinaichigo's Rosa Mystica. Instead, Shinku lets herself be an inter-medium so that Hinaichigo can tap into Jun's energy. In the latter half of Rozen Maiden träumend, with the Alice Game apparently having begun in earnest, "Father" cuts off this link, so when Hinaichigo uses up what little energy she has, she loses her Rosa Mystica to Shinku. She is the second doll to lose her Rosa Mystica.
In the manga, Hinaichigo is taken from Jun after Odille Fosset, granddaughter of a previous owner of Hinaichigo, arrives at the Sakurada home and displays a ring, thought to be from Hinaichigo, on her finger. Though Jun tells Hinaichigo that she may choose who she wishes to stay with, Hinaichigo apparently does not consciously decide to go with Odille; after awakening from sleep, Hinaichigo is confused to find herself in Odille's room, which she recognizes as that of Odille's grandmother, Corinne. Shortly afterwards, Hinaichigo is ruthlessly destroyed by Kirakishou; after being shown a montage of her loved ones saying goodbye to her and made to feel unloved and alone, Hinaichigo is consumed from the inside out by Kirakishou's rose vines as the seventh doll watches in gleeful anticipation of taking control of her sister's body. Hinaichigo sends her Rosa Mystica to Shinku through Berrybell, her artificial spirit, asking Shinku to use the Rosa Mystica to end the Alice Game. Shinku commends Hinaichigo for her courage to face Kirakishou despite her disadvantage, considering Hinaichigo as a true Rozen Maiden.
Though Shinku loses her body afterward, Hinaichigo's Rosa Mystica continues to look after it until Jun comes to pick it up.
Hinaichigo's favorite foods are strawberry daifuku
, and Nori's "Hanamaru Hamburger," which is a hamburger patty topped with a fried egg in the shape of a flower. She adores the puppet detective Kun Kun, though her fandom is not as avid as Shinku's. She also loves to draw, as shown often in both seasons of the anime and the OVA, however rarely on paper (walls, model cars, floors, etc.). She usually ends her sentences in "na no" (meaning "that's why" or "because" in Japanese), complimentary to Kanaria's "kashira" (meaning "I wonder" or "maybe?"). She also says "uunyuu" out of curiosity.
In the anime, Hinaichigo's singing, as well as most of her quarreling with Suiseiseki, are actually ad-libbed by her seiyū, Sakura Nogawa (with Natsuko Kuwatani in the quarreling scenes).
The true seventh Rozen Maiden doll. Both her hair and her ornately ruffled dress are white, as indicated by Shinku's description of her in volume 6 of the manga, and by the remodeled version of the original manga. However, she has been shown with a pale pink dress (anime), pale pink hair (Rozen Maiden AliBat, a fan-created fighting game), or both (the cover of volume 6 of the manga). Kirakishou's right eye is missing. In the anime, a layer of tissue covers the right eye socket and a single white rose grows from it, but in the manga, she simply has a rose growing out of the empty eye socket, as described by Shinku: "Her left eye can see everything, but reflects nothing, while her right eye is an empty hole, with a white rose growing out of it." In the anime, Kirakishou's shoulders are not ball jointed
as the other dolls' are, presumably because she is an entity that only exists in the N-Field.
Kirakishou's first appearance in the manga is in volume 6, but is not properly introduced until volume 7. In the anime, however, she has not been formally introduced. Her only anime appearance was towards the end of the finale of Rozen Maiden Träumend; she is shown for only a few seconds.
In the manga, Kirakishou claims that the seventh doll lacked a physical body and could only exist in the N-Field. Because of this, she destroys and consumes Hinaichigo so that she can use the sixth doll's body to materialize outside of the N-Field. Even though Kirakishou could not initially exist in the real world, she could still affect real world events; she gives a rose ring to Odille Fosset, the granddaughter of Corinne Fosset, Hinaichigo's former mistress.
Kirakishou offers her Rosa Mystica to Suigintou in volume 7, in order to trick her "big sister" and take Megu. Suigintou, however, refuses to accept the Rosa Mystica, saying that she would take it later on her own terms. During her first encounter with Shinku, in volume 6, Kirakishou parrots whatever Shinku says, much like Barasuishou does in the anime.
Kirakishou's fleeting appearance in the anime revealed nothing of her abilities, but in the manga she controls white rose vines, manipulating them to restrain or whip her opponents. She also uses the vines to create a spider web-like structure on which she crawls, appropriately enough, like a spider to get around the N-Field. The rose vines are also used to foreshadow Kirakishou's impending appearance, especially when wrapped around some unsuspecting character. Finally, Kirakishou can trap people's consciousnesses into the N-Field, sealing them into white crystals. As seen with Odille, one of her victims, people whose souls have been trapped fall into a deep slumber in the real world, trapped in a scenario of Kirakishou's choosing. This helps to fuel Kirakishou's desire for a tremendous amount of power, something which a single medium would not be able to provide.
Kirakishou first appeared towards the end of the first manga series, when she devoured Hinaichigo from the inside out to gain physical substance. Off-panel, she managed to corner and trap almost every other doll and medium. By masking herself as Jun, she also sent parts of Souseiseki's lifeless body to the Jun of an alternate reality where he never wound up Shinku nor encountered any Rozen Maiden, where she appeared as a true doll for the first time. It is explained that Kirakishou was voluntarily left without a body by Rozen himself; he wondered if leaving her as a disembodied spirit would grant her superiority over the other Rozen Maidens and achieve greater perfection. Indeed, inside the N-Field, Kirakishou is almost omnipresent and far exceeds her sisters in terms of power, but being nothing more than a ghost apparently took a toll on her mind; she is depicted as almost insane, polite yet ruthless, and often creepily grinning. In one instance, she flails at Shinku and Suigintou as she desperately begs them to "hold me more." Driven by extreme jealousy of the qualities that her sisters have because of their physical bodies, she believes that by obtaining a physical body donned with the unique aspects of every other Rozen Maiden would make her truly perfect.
Since Jun is the one who assembled her, Kirakishou addresses him as master and wants to form a contract with him. She displays her disturbed mindset by asking him to choose which Rozen Maiden he would like to form a contract with, but not letting him fulfill said choice if it is not her. She also offered him the power to change his past if he would form a contract with her, though Shinku claimed this to be only a ruse. After Jun kissed Souseiseki's ring, Kirakishou's features started to waste away, given that she was using Souseiseki's body.
In her last desperate act, Kirakishou asked in vain for Jun's help and later traps her four sisters in a crystal cage inside her N-field, intending to devour them later. Before she can, however, the combined powers from her older sisters restore order to the worlds. She tries to intervene, saying that she did it all for the grown-up Jun. Jun, however, denies her actions, and she tearfully fades out.
Barasuishou false-starts the Alice Game when she and Souseiseki come across an image of "Father" in a state of misery. Barasuishou tells Souseiseki that "Father" is grieving because he cannot find Alice, so they must conclude the fight once and for all to fulfill his wish to see Alice. Shinku is unaware that Barasuishou is not the true seventh Rozen Maiden, so she believes that Barasuishou's appearance marks the "true" start of the Alice Game. Barasuishou's "Father" is Enju, who was initially believed to be Rozen himself, but is revealed to merely be Rozen's jealous apprentice.
Barasuishou's true origin is revealed in the final episode of Rozen Maiden träumend. Enju was obsessed with surpassing Rozen as the greatest dollmaker; to achieve that end, he created Barasuishou to oppose the Rozen Maidens, take their Rosae Mysticae, and finish as the last doll standing. The elements of Barasuishou's attire and overall appearance suggest that Enju had seen Rozen's design for Kirakishou and created Barasuishou from his recollection of it. Barasuishou is presumed dead after being overwhelmed by the six Rosae Mysticae she absorbed; despite Enju's plea for her to release the Rosae Mysticae once he discovers that Barasuishou cannot contain their energy, she continued to cry out to "Father" and crumbled to pieces in Enju's hands.
Barasuishou appears only in Rozen Maiden träumend and in one scene of the OVA; she does not ever appear in the manga.
(early drama CD)
is a traumatized boy who lives a hermit's existence in his room and does not go to school after cracking under the pressure of entrance exams. He suffers from what is known as tōkō kyohi, or a refusal to go to school, as well as hikikomori
, the phenomenon of isolating oneself from society. At the beginning he even appeared to suffer from agoraphobia
, panicking just at the thought of opening the front door.
He spends a lot of time in front of his computer, and has a hobby of ordering things from the Internet — mostly fake magical or occultic implements— and then returning them before he has to pay, for the thrill of receiving something ridiculously stupid. He is also interested in cars and collects miniature versions of them. When he comes into possession of Shinku and winds her up, he is unwittingly and unwillingly caught in the crossfire of the Alice Game — Shinku declares him to be her "servant" and demands that he obey her at all times. Jun is extremely skilled at crafts and at sewing. Although he is arrogant, and occasionally cold and rude, he cares for others but typically refuses to let his feelings show. He is especially friendly with Hinaichigo, and at times, blushes around Shinku, which portrays that he cares deeply for her(As seen in the last anime episode of the 1st season).
In Rozen Maiden träumend, Jun's personality has changed, thanks to the Rozen Maidens who have taken up residence in the Sakurada home. No longer afraid of his classmates or of going out in public, he goes to the library frequently to catch up with his school studies and is more sociable and kind. He even becomes friends with Tomoe, Hinaichigo's former medium, as she helps him catch up with his studies. Jun also helps Suiseiseki (becoming her medium) try to convince the other Rozen Maidens that the Alice Game was a futile endeavor. He strongly believes that because Shinku and the other Rozen Maidens are sisters, they should not fight or keep secrets from one other.
Shinku states that when Jun sews, it is like watching magic. Jun is the only or one of the few people in the world who can bring a doll's 'soul' back,
doing so in the first volume with an old doll. Also in the last episode of the 1st season, it is implied that Jun is extremely similar to Rozen in his abilities, possibly able to become the next Rozen. Jun is able to be the master of two dolls (Shinku and Suiseiseki) at once and have them take his energy in battle with little problem. This is unusual because most people have a hard time with just one doll taking their energy. The reason why he is able to do this is unknown and might have something to do with the fact he is similar to Rozen.
(early drama CD)
is Jun's older sister. An avid lacrosse player, who had to give up many of her other hobbies when she assumed parental care of Jun while their parents are out of the country on business. While initially resistant to the responsibility, Nori became kind and gentle towards Jun. Nori is quick to find, get and resort to books for cures, treatments and copings with Jun's hikikomori-ism. Early in manga volume 1, when she hears Jun and Shinku arguing in his bedroom she leaps to the conclusion that he has developed schizophrenia
and gets a book on that. She unfortunately takes the brunt of Jun's abuse and criticism. Shinku constantly provides Nori with advice on everything from the proper way to brew tea
to taking care of Jun. Nori is very fond of the dolls who live and play in her house. A running gag throughout the series is the fact she is completely oblivious to the fact her classmate has feelings for her.
(early drama CD)
is an honor student at Jun's school. She is quiet, and kind-hearted, although her speech and style tend to be very dry, and she often hides her true feelings. Tomoe was originally Hinaichigo's medium, but the bond between them was broken when Hinaichigo relied too much on Tomoe's energy and was defeated by Shinku. Currently, Tomoe helps Jun in his dealings with the Rozen Maidens and also assists him with his make-up work for school. In the manga, Tomoe would occasionally visit Jun to check on Hinaichigo. Before it was severed, Tomoe's bond with Hinaichigo was about as close as siblings. In Rozen Maiden träumend, before Hinaichigo loses her Rosa Mystica, Tomoe reflects on all of the good times and memories they shared and thanks Hinaichigo for being there. She is mistaken by Shirosaki as Jun's girlfriend.
Tomoe learned kendo
from her father from an early age and is a member of the kendo club at school. She is often seen carrying her shinai
when class is over. She is also a member of the school committee, seemingly reluctantly.
, which shows in both her room's decor and her frequent doting on Kanaria; she has shelves upon shelves crammed full of dolls, and makes frequent trips to the doll shop to purchase gifts for Kanaria. Although her work attire is that of an office lady, she is introduced as a professional photographer by Kanaria to the other dolls. In the manga, Micchan reveals that she has quit her old, comfortable job and becomes a pattern make for doll's dresses, selling her products on her personal website called "Angels Cage", despite the increased workload and the minor success. Micchan is generally regarded as being just as harmless and eccentric as Kanaria. She only appears in Rozen Maiden Träumend and the manga. In the manga, she has freckles, whereas her anime counterpart lacks this trait.
She never actually meets Jun in the anime, but in the manga, Kanaria brings her to the Sakurada residence, where Micchan shortly after nicknames Jun as "Junjun." She recognizes Jun's natural talent in designing and making dresses and offered a form of partnership, though Jun refuses.
of Death
" to take her away. She sees herself as a burden upon her parents, who she claims are "guilty" of having her. She initially believes that Suigintou is the "Angel of Death" she has hoped for and requests that Suigintou kill her by draining away her energy. Despite her apathy (and, at times, contempt) towards life in general, she is quite needy, and increasingly desires Suigintou's company, even throwing tantrums when Suigintou is away. Megu's blatant disrespect towards her father is shocking to Suigintou, who would never consider such an attitude toward her own "Father." In addition to her manga appearances, Megu appears in Rozen Maiden träumend and briefly in Rozen Maiden öuverture.
She has a stronger bond with Suigintou in the manga, and is the only human Suigintou has strong feelings for, other than Father. In the anime, Megu was the last person Suigintou thought about before collapsing in Shinku's arms. In the manga, it was after Suigintou's witness of Megu driving her father away in a fit of rage that evoked sympathy from the doll, thereby agreeing to take Megu as her medium. However, she was unable to do so as Kirakishou took Megu away into the N-field.
, and was forced to go by many aliases throughout time, such as the Count of St. Germain or Alessandro Cagliostro
. In the anime, he has spoken to Shinku various times and indicated that besides battling, there is another way to end the Alice Game. The dolls refer to him as 'Father' (in Japanese
as "Otō-sama", a highly respectful way to address one's father). In the anime, it is apparent that he had an apprentice named Enju.
white rabbit in a tuxedo and a top hat. He is neither sinister nor kind, and tends to speak in riddles. His brief appearances in the N-Field leave the Rozen Maidens with nothing more than poetic and seemingly nonsensical advice. In the anime Laplace is Shirosaki's true form. In the manga nothing is known about Laplace's Demon beyond what he says and Shinku says. Despite seeming to support Barasuishou against the Rozen Maidens, and is seen dancing with a seemingly smiling Kirakishou (he also has what looks like two Rosae Mysticae with him, most likely those of Souseiseki and Hinaichigo) at the end of Rozen Maiden träumend, Laplace no Ma's true motives remain a mystery. Laplace is a very clear reference to Rozen Maiden's inspiration taken from "Alice in Wonderland," with appearance and personality deriving from both the white rabbit and the Cheshire cat. In addition to appearing in Rozen Maiden träumend, he also appears in the manga and at the end of Rozen Maiden öuverture. In the manga, it would appear that when Jun was at a much younger age, the two have crossed paths with Laplace masquerading as a puppet master showing Jun a brief look into the various incarnations of Rozen, although debatably, that might have happened instead in Jun's dream.
TV show, which is a parody of other detective anime (most noticeably Detective Conan). That is, the Detective Kun Kun show is an example of fiction within fiction
. The Rozen Maidens, especially Shinku, and, humorously, Souseiseki, are fans of the show, and even Jun points out the ridiculousness of doll
s watching a show starring a puppet
.
Kun Kun's name is derived from the Japanese onomatopoeia for sniffing
and is fitting for his character, an anthropomorphic dog
detective, as well as a play on the Japanese honorific -kun, used for boys. Kun Kun is also seen as a toy in another of Peach-Pit
's works, DearS
.
is Souseiseki's medium in the anime. He is an elderly watchmaker who became delusional after his young son died in an accident. Motoharu's wife, Matsu, fell into a deep coma from the shock not long after, causing him to eventually become lonely and believe that Souseiseki was his son reborn.
is Motoharu Shibasaki's wife. After the death of her son, she fell into a long dream-like sleep state from the shock. Souseiseki and Suiseiseki were initially unable to wake her up, but they are successful after assistance from the spirit of her son.
is Shibasakis' deceased son. After Kazuki's death, he exists only in his mother's dreams. When Suiseiseki and Souseiseki enter Shibasaki Matsu's respective dream world, Kazuki asks them to wake his mother up, and let her know that it is time for her to move on and not dream about him anymore.
Rozen Maiden
is a manga series created by Peach-Pit. The story centers on Jun Sakurada, a young hikikomori boy that forms a bond with Shinku, a living doll of the "Rozen Maiden" series, who was created by the mysterious dollmaker Rozen hundreds of years ago...
.
Suigintou
(Spelled Suigintoh, and then later changed to, Suigintou in the TokyoPop translated manga.), Mamiko Noto
Mamiko Noto
is a Japanese voice actress working under Office Osawa. She was born in the city of Kanazawa, Ishikawa, and graduated from Hokuriku Gakuen Senior High School.-Voice:...
(early drama CD)
Suigintou is the first Rozen Maiden doll. Her desire to win the Alice Game is the strongest of all the dolls, and is primarily driven because she wants the attention of their "Father", the dollmaker Rozen. Initially, Suigintou's will to exist was so strong that she was able to move even without a Rosa Mystica. She could also use her powers without a medium. Sadistic, spiteful, and arrogant (all due to her Inferiority complex
Inferiority complex
An inferiority complex, in the fields of psychology and psychoanalysis, is a feeling that one is inferior to others in some way. Such feelings can arise from an imagined or actual inferiority in the afflicted person...
), she would stop at nothing to become Alice. Although she avoids talking with her sisters, she has a particularly bitter hatred for Shinku.
However, when she meets her medium Megu, Suigintou's attitude begins to shift; and she feels connected to Megu. Suigintou later wants to collect the Rosa Mystica to heal Megu's heart ailment instead rather than just become Alice. However, Suigintou fails in this endeavor, when she discovers that she used up Megu's energy.
Suigintou did not consciously make a contract with Megu; rather, Megu came upon Suigintou as she was reawakening. Suigintou's strong sense of independence and misanthropy blinded her to the perceived weakness of having a medium. She is also the only Rozen Maiden to have been defeated and revived three times in the anime.
Suigintou has a number of unique traits and flaws amongst the Rozen Maidens. In the anime, she is missing a part of her torso; Shinku explains at one point that, before Suigintou was completed, her design was erased, but she does not explain why or how. In Ouvertüre, it is shown that Rozen abandoned her half-completed form in two parts on his worktable. Although her clothing was completed, she was never assembled and, as such, not initially given a Rosa Mystica. It was her love for Rozen that brought her to life, and she crawled off of the table to look for him. Rozen does later provide her with a Rosa Mystica, but only after Souseiseki slices her in half and she disappears. However, after Shinku destroys Suigintou at the end of the first season, she is restored midway through Träumend.In the Träumend finale, she tells Shinku that "Father" had told her that even with her flawed body, she is also entitled to a part in the Alice Game and could become alice. Later, Rozen is seen lovingly fixing Suigintou's neck ribbon as she sleeps, and even grips her gently around the waist afterwards, implying that he has mended her incomplete body.
In the manga, her body isn't flawed. However, in her dream, she was seemed to be ragged black wings that have ravaged her back with cracks, by be refused by Souseiseki's Rosa Mystica. And she has an ability to be able to use a life energy of human without a ring. She is also the only Rozen Maiden with wings. Along with her artificial spirit, Meimei, the wings were her weapons. The spirit "Meimei," is named for the Japanese word "Mei", meaning "darkness". Megu and Suigintou also seem to have a stronger friendship than in the anime.
Her translated name the German word Mercury Lampe is a pseudo-anglicism
Anglicism
An Anglicism, as most often defined, is a word borrowed from English into another language. "Anglicism" also describes English syntax, grammar, meaning, and structure used in another language with varying degrees of corruption.-Anglicisms in Chinese:...
, since the word mercury is not used in German except for pseudo-scientific publications about red mercury
Red mercury
Red mercury is a 19th-century term for protiodide or iodide of mercury. It was commonly recommended for use as an antisyphilitic as late as 1913, most notably during the early years of the Tuskegee Syphilis Experiments. Taken orally, it caused hematemesis...
. The correct German name to be used would be Quecksilber-Lampe or Quecksilberdampflampe
Mercury-vapor lamp
A mercury-vapor lamp is a gas discharge lamp that uses an electric arc through vaporized mercury to produce light. The arc discharge is generally confined to a small fused quartz arc tube mounted within a larger borosilicate glass bulb...
.
- Medium: Megu
- Artificial Spirit:'
Kanaria
(spelled Canaria in the Tokyopop translated manga)The second Rozen Maiden doll, who is as adorable as she is eccentric. Not only does she constantly refer to herself in third person, but she also talks about taking her sisters' Rosen Mysticas, though she repeatedly fails in her attempts to do so. She fancies herself as quite the stealthy prowler, and makes a hobby of watching the exploits of her sisters, usually through binoculars. Kanaria's bright, somewhat arrogant disposition makes her the ideal subject for many of the comedic episodes. Despite this, she is a competent opponent and attacks with a violin that can emit particularly destructive sound waves. Her personality mostly complements that of Hinaichigo, who eventually becomes her good friend and rival; they often debate on whose medium is "better", i.e. prettier. In the manga, she visits the Sakurada home more often than in the anime, and even invites Mitsu, her medium, after Hinaichigo is taken by Kirakishou to fulfill the void left by Hinaichigo.
In Rozen Maiden: ouvertüre, the other dolls apparently forgot Kanaria's name most of the time, though in the manga, Hinaichigo admits to Kanaria that she was only kidding.
Kanaria has the unusual habit of ending her sentences with "kashira" ("I wonder?" or "maybe?"), which is likened to Hinaichigo's penchant for ending sentences with "na no" (meaning "Because"), and Suiseiseki's "desu". Kanaria's favorite food is tamagoyaki
Tamagoyaki
This article is about a meal. For the Merzbow album, see Tamago .Tamagoyaki 卵焼き is a type of Japanese omelette, which is made by rolling together several layers of cooked egg...
, or Japanese thick omelet, which, more often than not, is snatched away from her by hungry birds before she can enjoy it. She is introduced in the second season and makes a brief appearance in Rozen Maiden: Ouvertüre, making yet another humorously over-the-top attempt to infiltrate Jun's home to steal her sisters' Rosae Mysticas.
Her artificial spirit, Pizzicato, is named after the technique
Pizzicato
Pizzicato is a playing technique that involves plucking the strings of a string instrument. The exact technique varies somewhat depending on the type of stringed instrument....
of playing orchestral instruments by plucking the strings, which she uses as a counterattack.
In the second manga series of Rozen Maiden, Kanaria stayed behind with Jun Sakurada in the N-Field while the other surviving dolls crossed over to the other Jun Sakurada's dimension. When the alternate Jun decides to go back to his world and save the Rozen Maidens, Kanaria follows along. As soon as she finds her other sisters trapped in Kirakishou's crystal cage, she uses the power of her violin to free them. Afterwards, she descends to find Jun in her own dimension. She finds Jun in Kirakishou's N-field just as he finds Shinku's lost body, and they arrive just in time to restore Shinku to her original state.
- Medium: Mitsu
- Artificial Spirit:
Suiseiseki
Desu, Nana Mizuki
Nana Mizuki
is a popular Japanese singer-songwriter and voice actress. She was born and raised in Niihama, Ehime, Japan, Mizuki was trained as an enka singer. She made her debut as a voice actress in 1998; however, she released her debut single "Omoi", under the King Records label on December 6, 2000...
(early drama CD)
The third Rozen Maiden doll, and Souseiseki's older twin. She and Souseiseki are both referred to as "gardeners" for their ability to communicate and tend not only to regular plants, but also to the "soul trees" of humans.
Despite her attitude towards Jun, Suiseiseki does care a great deal for him, and her attempts to cover that up usually manifest in the form of more insults. In fact, she cares deeply for everyone in her life, even if she does not show it outwardly, a personality of a stereotypical tsundere
Tsundere
is a Japanese character development process that describes a person who is initially cold and even hostile towards another person before gradually showing their warm side over time. The word is derived from the terms , meaning to turn away in disgust, and meaning to become 'lovey dovey'...
. In Rozen Maiden träumend, Suiseiseki stands out among the dolls in that she values her sisters' love more than the goal of becoming Alice. She is one of the few dolls who opposes the Alice Game, and has no intentions of becoming Alice if it means taking her fellow sisters' Rosa Mystica. Suiseiseki and Jun attempt, without much success, to convince the other Rozen Maidens that the Alice Game is a meaningless endeavor. In her brief appearance in the OVA, she makes the same appeal to her twin several times.
In the anime, Suiseiseki's first impression is different than that of the manga. She appears very shy and nervous, and is very distrustful of humans because one had kidnapped Souseiseki. Shinku once described Suiseiseki as being the most shy and timid of the Rozen Maidens. She also tends to end nearly every sentence with "desu", as a way of being polite. Some argue this has made her the most well-known characters in the series.
Suiseiseki tries to avoid participating in the Alice Game as much as possible, but she can use her watering can to make plants emerge from the ground and manipulate them. Her artificial spirit is named after the popular Anna Sui
Anna Sui
Anna Sui is an American fashion designer. Her luxury brand retails globally in the Americas, Europe, Asia and the Middle East. Her clothing, fragrance, cosmetic, and accessories lines sell at Anna Sui stores in over 50 countries and are also widely distributed at leading department stores...
perfume. Suiseiseki was also the winner of the Anime Saimoe Tournament in 2006.
In Rozen Maiden Träumend, Jun becomes her medium (after trying to find a medium on her own with no success). She is shown to be jealous of Shinku, because Jun's attention is always directed towards her. This means she also cares about Jun.
In the next-to-last episode of Rozen Maiden träumend, Suiseiseki attempts to protect Kanaria from Barasuishou's crystal stakes, and is crystallized for her trouble and her Rosa Mystica seized. Suiseiseki was revived by Rozen in the träumend finale and is last seen watching "Detective Kun Kun" along with Nori and the lifeless forms of Souseiseki and Hinaichigo.
In the latest chapters of the manga, Suiseiseki makes a return to the story as she travels to the alternate dimension where Shinku and Suigintou currently reside. Knowing that Kirakishou now has Souseiseki's body, Suiseiseki intends to protect Kirakishou from being destroyed, much to Shinku's and Suigintou's dismays. She has also actively (and somewhat forcibly) made Jun form a contract with her. However, she was actually making him form a contract using Souseiseki's ring, so that Souseiseki may be revived. Yet, though Souseiseki was able to break free of Kirakishou's control, she lacks her Rosa Mystica, which Suigintou currently has, and refuses to return. In the end, Suiseiseki gives her Rosa Mystica to Souseiseki. To return to their world, Souseiseki convinces Suigintou to return the Rosa Mystica to their rightful owners, Suigintou agrees, allowing Suiseiseki to come back to life. Together, they restore order to the worlds. She is even called "desu girl," because of the amount of times she says "desu" in the Japanese anime. Suiseiseki is a meme and an awesome one at that.
- Medium: Jun
- Artificial Spirit: (Also called "Jade Dream" before she takes a medium and "Sui Dream" after in the anime, and "Sweet Dream" in the Tokyopop translated manga)
Souseiseki
The fourth doll of the Rozen Maiden collection and Suiseiseki's twin, Souseiseki possesses a sharpness in her speech that is similar to Shinku's, attacks ruthlessly in combat, and does not tolerate sub-par actions. She is also quite stubborn and very devoted to her masters. Her appearance is not only the most masculine of the dolls, but her speech is also noted to be of the masculine form, using the first person pronounJapanese pronouns
Pronouns are used less frequently in the Japanese language than in many other languages, mainly because there is no grammatical requirement to include the subject in a sentence. So, pronouns can seldomly be translated from English to Japanese on a one-on-one basis.The common, English pronouns, such...
"boku" instead of gender neutral pronouns like "jibun" or "watashi." Souseiseki's presence is much more significant in the anime than in the manga. These all being stereotypical traits of a tomboy
Tomboy
A tomboy is a girl who exhibits characteristics or behaviors considered typical of the gender role of a boy, including the wearing of typically masculine-oriented clothes and engaging in games and activities that are often physical in nature, and which are considered in many cultures to be the...
.
In the manga, Souseiseki's master wanted to use her power to enter other people's dreams and exact revenge on his brother's lover, who he felt had stolen his brother from him. Since Souseiseki alone could not achieve this goal, she fights Suiseiseki to gather the two gardeners' tools, the shears (which is her primary weapon) and the watering can, which together can affect an individual's soul tree. She eventually realizes that it is her master's heart that needs to be freed and sacrifices herself to do so. The dolls present are shocked by Souseiseki's actions and Suigintou uses the confusion to snatch Souseiseki's Rosa Mystica, enraging both Shinku and Suiseseki. In the latest chapter, it is revealed that Souseiseki's body is currently manifested by Kirakishou.
In the anime, Souseiseki is devoted to a lonesome old man, who uses her as a substitute for his deceased son, Kazuki. Souseiseki apparently does not have a medium, because Motoharu Shibasaki was never shown to have a rose ring. She is shown to be slightly more eager, probably from a sense of duty, to participate in the Alice Game than her sisters. In the OVA, she is introduced in the flashback in mid-fight with Shinku and later does not hold back in attacking a then-harmless Suigintou. Throughout Rozen Maiden Träumend, she questions her idyllic lifestyle, and, much to Suiseiseki's disappointment, takes part in the Alice Game out of devotion to Rozen after being accosted by Barasuishou, who was believed to be the seventh Rozen Maiden doll to fulfill his wish of finding Alice and relieve his perceived grief. She battles Suigintou, but is defeated and loses her Rosa Mystica.
Even though the two versions progress differently, Souseiseki is still the first doll to lose her Rosa Mystica, and her Rosa Mystica transfers to Suigintou on both occasions. However, at the end of Rozen Maiden träumend, Laplace is seen dancing with two Rosae Mysticae, one of which is believed to be Souseiseki's. To add to the confusion, after Shinku is resurrected by "Father," she tells Jun that Souseiseki's and Hinaichigo's losing their Rosa Mysticae is her burden to bear. The most likely reason for this is that essentially they were under the care of her medium, which makes sense for Hinaichigo, but not so much for Souseiseki.
In the manga, Souseiseki has gone missing from her case, after Suiseiseki tells Souseiseki's master that she found her sister's hat in the N-field. Later, in the last volume of the manga, she is reunited with Suiseiseki. Souseiseki tells Suiseiseki that she didn't want to play the Alice Game anymore, because she didn't "want to go against the Suiseiseki that I love". Soon afterwards she dies once again, growing rose vines and a white rose out of her right eye. Though she is the first doll to lose her Rosa Mystica, Souseiseki is actually the second doll to lose in the Alice Game. In the latest chapter of Rozen Maiden Tale, it is revealed that while Suigintou has her Rosa Mystica, Kirakishou has her body. And, because Jun from the alternate dimension has inadvertently kissed the ring, it may grant Souseiseki the revival Suiseiseki wished for. This however was hindered by the fact that Suigintou currently has Souseiseki's Rosa Mystica and she refuses to release it. So in the end, Suiseiseki gives Souseiseki her Rosa Mystica, allowing Souseiseki to return to life. To restore the worlds to their orders, Souseiseki convinces Suigintou to temporarily restore her Rosa Mystica while she returns Suiseiseki's. As soon as Suiseiseki is restored, they combine their powers to restore the world orders. Afterward, she readies to return her Rosa Mystica as promised, but Suigintou breaks the agreement. The Jun from the other parallel dimension decides to turn Souseiseki to his younger counterpart's Rozen Maiden, as they are the same person. In " Rozen Maiden Overture " while Souseiseki is fighting Shinku, Shinku says " A lady who uses "boku" to refer to herself, what kind of taste is that?" and Souseiseki says she will defeat her, however later in anime they appear to be friends.
Her artificial spirit is named for a fragrance. Souseiseki was also the first runner-up for Saimoe 2005.
- Medium: Motoharu Shibasaki (Anime) / Kazuha Yuibishi (Manga) / Jun Sakurada (alternate dimension, manga) / Jun Sakurada (Manga)
- Artificial Spirit:
Shinku
, Yui HorieYui Horie
is a popular Japanese singer and voice actress. She is sometimes affectionately nicknamed by her Japanese fans.She hosts a radio show called and is the founding member of the singing group, Aice5. She is also a member of the band Kurobara Hozonkai, with the name YUIEL...
(early drama CD)
Shinku is the fifth Rozen Maiden doll and the first to appear in the series. Her name, in addition to its Japanese meaning, could be also a play on the Japanese pronunciation of the word "cinq" (French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
for "five"). She embodies the traditional Victorian aristocrat. She is extremely demanding and can seem unappreciative of others. Her favorite words are "tea
Tea
Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by adding cured leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant to hot water. The term also refers to the plant itself. After water, tea is the most widely consumed beverage in the world...
", "servant" and "What?" She seems to enjoy lecturing, slapping, and generally abusing Jun, her medium, at every opportunity. She is very aware of her femininity, forever reminding others that she and the other Maidens are 'ladies'. Shinku is also perceived as being cold and angry, but she is actually very protective of, and cares deeply for, her sisters and for Jun. Shinku's presence at the Sakurada home has led to other Rozen Maidens appearing there. She hates cats because one almost swallowed her wind-up key in the past.
In the manga, Shinku is a pacifist from the beginning, saying the Alice Game must end. She doesn't like fighting her sisters, but attacks Suigintou when she is angry with her. She doesn't want any of her sisters to be lifeless, as shown when she takes Hinaichigo as her servant instead of absorbing her Rosa Mystica.
Shinku does not use honorific suffixes such as "-chan," "-san," or "-kun," except when she refers to "Father", Mitsu and once, Kun Kun. Shinku does have a cute side, which is evident in her intense, almost obsessive, admiration for the puppet detective Kun Kun, believing them to be connected by an invisible thread. In the anime, Shinku wins a human contest and receives a Kun Kun cosplay costume as her prize. Jun was once able to win her over during an argument by playing her with a Kun Kun doll.
In Rozen Maiden ouvertüre, Shinku was a lot colder and was more active in the Alice Game. She initially befriended the then broken and weak Suigintou out of pity and taught her many basic life skills, such as walking and brewing tea; However, Shinku never thought of Suigintou as a proper Rozen Maiden as the latter was incomplete; Suigintou took this remark personally later destroys Shinku's brooch [an elaborate brooch with the likeness of "Father"] out of spite, her prized possession from "Father," which opens wide the intense enmity between the two.
In combat, Shinku fights with rose
Rose
A rose is a woody perennial of the genus Rosa, within the family Rosaceae. There are over 100 species. They form a group of erect shrubs, and climbing or trailing plants, with stems that are often armed with sharp prickles. Flowers are large and showy, in colours ranging from white through yellows...
petal-based attacks. The rose petals are extremely versatile; Shinku can direct them to spread out for wide-ranging attacks, or group them together to use as a shield. Her other weapon is a cane, which she skillfully wields like a sword. Shinku has other special powers, such as restoring broken objects, typically Jun's bedroom windows after Suigintou's bear/clown jumps in, and when Suiseiseki (and Souseiseki in the anime) show up, with a form of time-reversing magic. Shinku was the second runner-up for both Saimoe 2006 and 2007.
- Medium: Jun (anime/manga) / Sara (Ouvertüre OVA)
- Artificial Spirit: (Also called Hollier (Tokyopop translation))
Hinaichigo
, Tomoko KanedaTomoko Kaneda
is a Japanese voice actress, J-Pop singer, and radio personality who was born in Yokohama, Japan. She had worked at Aoni Production for 11 years, and had worked at freelance since April 2011, and it was announced to belong to Across Entertainment in August 2011. She graduated from Department of...
(early drama CD)
The sixth Rozen Maiden doll. Although she can be ridiculously naïve and selfish, she has nothing but the best intentions for those that she cares about. Her disposition is also a mismatch for her power, which is a series of attacks based on strawberry vines, which she mostly uses to restrain opponents and can also tell her what is happening. She loses to Shinku in the Alice Game, becoming the first doll to lose the right to become Alice. Shinku does not beat Hinaichigo outright; the younger doll simply exhausted the energy of her medium, Tomoe, and she becomes, in Shinku's opinion, another servant. Shinku then warned Hinaichigo that continuing the fight would kill Tomoe, whereupon Hinaichigo renounced the tie that made Tomoe her medium. Despite being the victor, Shinku does not take Hinaichigo's Rosa Mystica. Instead, Shinku lets herself be an inter-medium so that Hinaichigo can tap into Jun's energy. In the latter half of Rozen Maiden träumend, with the Alice Game apparently having begun in earnest, "Father" cuts off this link, so when Hinaichigo uses up what little energy she has, she loses her Rosa Mystica to Shinku. She is the second doll to lose her Rosa Mystica.
In the manga, Hinaichigo is taken from Jun after Odille Fosset, granddaughter of a previous owner of Hinaichigo, arrives at the Sakurada home and displays a ring, thought to be from Hinaichigo, on her finger. Though Jun tells Hinaichigo that she may choose who she wishes to stay with, Hinaichigo apparently does not consciously decide to go with Odille; after awakening from sleep, Hinaichigo is confused to find herself in Odille's room, which she recognizes as that of Odille's grandmother, Corinne. Shortly afterwards, Hinaichigo is ruthlessly destroyed by Kirakishou; after being shown a montage of her loved ones saying goodbye to her and made to feel unloved and alone, Hinaichigo is consumed from the inside out by Kirakishou's rose vines as the seventh doll watches in gleeful anticipation of taking control of her sister's body. Hinaichigo sends her Rosa Mystica to Shinku through Berrybell, her artificial spirit, asking Shinku to use the Rosa Mystica to end the Alice Game. Shinku commends Hinaichigo for her courage to face Kirakishou despite her disadvantage, considering Hinaichigo as a true Rozen Maiden.
Though Shinku loses her body afterward, Hinaichigo's Rosa Mystica continues to look after it until Jun comes to pick it up.
Hinaichigo's favorite foods are strawberry daifuku
Daifuku
', or ' , is a Japanese confection consisting of a small round mochi stuffed with sweet filling, most commonly anko, sweetened red bean paste made from azuki beans....
, and Nori's "Hanamaru Hamburger," which is a hamburger patty topped with a fried egg in the shape of a flower. She adores the puppet detective Kun Kun, though her fandom is not as avid as Shinku's. She also loves to draw, as shown often in both seasons of the anime and the OVA, however rarely on paper (walls, model cars, floors, etc.). She usually ends her sentences in "na no" (meaning "that's why" or "because" in Japanese), complimentary to Kanaria's "kashira" (meaning "I wonder" or "maybe?"). She also says "uunyuu" out of curiosity.
In the anime, Hinaichigo's singing, as well as most of her quarreling with Suiseiseki, are actually ad-libbed by her seiyū, Sakura Nogawa (with Natsuko Kuwatani in the quarreling scenes).
- Medium: Corrine (manga) / Tomoe / Jun (Indirectly)
- Artificial Spirit:
Kirakishou
(spelled Kirakisho in the Tokyopop translated manga)The true seventh Rozen Maiden doll. Both her hair and her ornately ruffled dress are white, as indicated by Shinku's description of her in volume 6 of the manga, and by the remodeled version of the original manga. However, she has been shown with a pale pink dress (anime), pale pink hair (Rozen Maiden AliBat, a fan-created fighting game), or both (the cover of volume 6 of the manga). Kirakishou's right eye is missing. In the anime, a layer of tissue covers the right eye socket and a single white rose grows from it, but in the manga, she simply has a rose growing out of the empty eye socket, as described by Shinku: "Her left eye can see everything, but reflects nothing, while her right eye is an empty hole, with a white rose growing out of it." In the anime, Kirakishou's shoulders are not ball jointed
Ball-jointed doll
A ball-jointed doll is any doll that is articulated with ball and socket joints. In contemporary usage when referring to modern dolls, and particularly when using the acronyms BJD or ABJD, it usually refers to modern Asian ball-jointed dolls. These are cast in polyurethane synthetic resin, a hard,...
as the other dolls' are, presumably because she is an entity that only exists in the N-Field.
Kirakishou's first appearance in the manga is in volume 6, but is not properly introduced until volume 7. In the anime, however, she has not been formally introduced. Her only anime appearance was towards the end of the finale of Rozen Maiden Träumend; she is shown for only a few seconds.
In the manga, Kirakishou claims that the seventh doll lacked a physical body and could only exist in the N-Field. Because of this, she destroys and consumes Hinaichigo so that she can use the sixth doll's body to materialize outside of the N-Field. Even though Kirakishou could not initially exist in the real world, she could still affect real world events; she gives a rose ring to Odille Fosset, the granddaughter of Corinne Fosset, Hinaichigo's former mistress.
Kirakishou offers her Rosa Mystica to Suigintou in volume 7, in order to trick her "big sister" and take Megu. Suigintou, however, refuses to accept the Rosa Mystica, saying that she would take it later on her own terms. During her first encounter with Shinku, in volume 6, Kirakishou parrots whatever Shinku says, much like Barasuishou does in the anime.
Kirakishou's fleeting appearance in the anime revealed nothing of her abilities, but in the manga she controls white rose vines, manipulating them to restrain or whip her opponents. She also uses the vines to create a spider web-like structure on which she crawls, appropriately enough, like a spider to get around the N-Field. The rose vines are also used to foreshadow Kirakishou's impending appearance, especially when wrapped around some unsuspecting character. Finally, Kirakishou can trap people's consciousnesses into the N-Field, sealing them into white crystals. As seen with Odille, one of her victims, people whose souls have been trapped fall into a deep slumber in the real world, trapped in a scenario of Kirakishou's choosing. This helps to fuel Kirakishou's desire for a tremendous amount of power, something which a single medium would not be able to provide.
Kirakishou first appeared towards the end of the first manga series, when she devoured Hinaichigo from the inside out to gain physical substance. Off-panel, she managed to corner and trap almost every other doll and medium. By masking herself as Jun, she also sent parts of Souseiseki's lifeless body to the Jun of an alternate reality where he never wound up Shinku nor encountered any Rozen Maiden, where she appeared as a true doll for the first time. It is explained that Kirakishou was voluntarily left without a body by Rozen himself; he wondered if leaving her as a disembodied spirit would grant her superiority over the other Rozen Maidens and achieve greater perfection. Indeed, inside the N-Field, Kirakishou is almost omnipresent and far exceeds her sisters in terms of power, but being nothing more than a ghost apparently took a toll on her mind; she is depicted as almost insane, polite yet ruthless, and often creepily grinning. In one instance, she flails at Shinku and Suigintou as she desperately begs them to "hold me more." Driven by extreme jealousy of the qualities that her sisters have because of their physical bodies, she believes that by obtaining a physical body donned with the unique aspects of every other Rozen Maiden would make her truly perfect.
Since Jun is the one who assembled her, Kirakishou addresses him as master and wants to form a contract with him. She displays her disturbed mindset by asking him to choose which Rozen Maiden he would like to form a contract with, but not letting him fulfill said choice if it is not her. She also offered him the power to change his past if he would form a contract with her, though Shinku claimed this to be only a ruse. After Jun kissed Souseiseki's ring, Kirakishou's features started to waste away, given that she was using Souseiseki's body.
In her last desperate act, Kirakishou asked in vain for Jun's help and later traps her four sisters in a crystal cage inside her N-field, intending to devour them later. Before she can, however, the combined powers from her older sisters restore order to the worlds. She tries to intervene, saying that she did it all for the grown-up Jun. Jun, however, denies her actions, and she tearfully fades out.
- Medium: Odille Fosset (manga)
- Artificial Spirit:
Barasuishou
Barasuishou is a doll created by Enju, Rozen's apprentice. She introduces herself as the seventh Rozen Maiden doll, though this is a lie; she simply intends to dupe the other six Rozen Maidens into entering the Alice Game so that she may obtain their Rosae Mysticae and become the strongest doll. Barasuishou has silvery-white hair, is clad entirely in lavender, and wears an eyepatch over her left eye, though she is revealed to not be missing an eye at all. In the first and last episodes of Rozen Maiden träumend, she taunts Shinku by repeating whatever Shinku says to her. Barasuishou is unnaturally calm most of the time, showing little, if any, emotion. She is also hinted to be mad; when Shinku has her pinned to the floor towards the end of their battle, Barasuishou simply giggles and smiles disarmingly. She has the ability to manipulate all sorts of crystalline elements and uses it in many of her attacks, which include blasting her opponents with a barrage of sharp crystal rocks and creating a purple crystalline sword.Barasuishou false-starts the Alice Game when she and Souseiseki come across an image of "Father" in a state of misery. Barasuishou tells Souseiseki that "Father" is grieving because he cannot find Alice, so they must conclude the fight once and for all to fulfill his wish to see Alice. Shinku is unaware that Barasuishou is not the true seventh Rozen Maiden, so she believes that Barasuishou's appearance marks the "true" start of the Alice Game. Barasuishou's "Father" is Enju, who was initially believed to be Rozen himself, but is revealed to merely be Rozen's jealous apprentice.
Barasuishou's true origin is revealed in the final episode of Rozen Maiden träumend. Enju was obsessed with surpassing Rozen as the greatest dollmaker; to achieve that end, he created Barasuishou to oppose the Rozen Maidens, take their Rosae Mysticae, and finish as the last doll standing. The elements of Barasuishou's attire and overall appearance suggest that Enju had seen Rozen's design for Kirakishou and created Barasuishou from his recollection of it. Barasuishou is presumed dead after being overwhelmed by the six Rosae Mysticae she absorbed; despite Enju's plea for her to release the Rosae Mysticae once he discovers that Barasuishou cannot contain their energy, she continued to cry out to "Father" and crumbled to pieces in Enju's hands.
Barasuishou appears only in Rozen Maiden träumend and in one scene of the OVA; she does not ever appear in the manga.
- Medium: None
- Artificial Spirit: None. Because only the dolls made by Rozen had an artificial spirit, Barasuishou, created by Enju, did not have one.
Jun Sakurada
, Sanae KobayashiSanae Kobayashi
is a voice actress who was born in Shizuoka Prefecture. She is affiliated with Production Baobab.-Television Animation:*.hack//Liminality as Mai Minase*.hack//Roots as Ender*.hack//Roots as Pi...
(early drama CD)
is a traumatized boy who lives a hermit's existence in his room and does not go to school after cracking under the pressure of entrance exams. He suffers from what is known as tōkō kyohi, or a refusal to go to school, as well as hikikomori
Hikikomori
is a Japanese term to refer to the phenomenon of reclusive people who have chosen to withdraw from social life, often seeking extreme degrees of isolation and confinement because of various personal and social factors in their lives...
, the phenomenon of isolating oneself from society. At the beginning he even appeared to suffer from agoraphobia
Agoraphobia
Agoraphobia is an anxiety disorder defined as a morbid fear of having a panic attack or panic-like symptoms in a situation from which it is perceived to be difficult to escape. These situations can include, but are not limited to, wide-open spaces, crowds, or uncontrolled social conditions...
, panicking just at the thought of opening the front door.
He spends a lot of time in front of his computer, and has a hobby of ordering things from the Internet — mostly fake magical or occultic implements— and then returning them before he has to pay, for the thrill of receiving something ridiculously stupid. He is also interested in cars and collects miniature versions of them. When he comes into possession of Shinku and winds her up, he is unwittingly and unwillingly caught in the crossfire of the Alice Game — Shinku declares him to be her "servant" and demands that he obey her at all times. Jun is extremely skilled at crafts and at sewing. Although he is arrogant, and occasionally cold and rude, he cares for others but typically refuses to let his feelings show. He is especially friendly with Hinaichigo, and at times, blushes around Shinku, which portrays that he cares deeply for her(As seen in the last anime episode of the 1st season).
In Rozen Maiden träumend, Jun's personality has changed, thanks to the Rozen Maidens who have taken up residence in the Sakurada home. No longer afraid of his classmates or of going out in public, he goes to the library frequently to catch up with his school studies and is more sociable and kind. He even becomes friends with Tomoe, Hinaichigo's former medium, as she helps him catch up with his studies. Jun also helps Suiseiseki (becoming her medium) try to convince the other Rozen Maidens that the Alice Game was a futile endeavor. He strongly believes that because Shinku and the other Rozen Maidens are sisters, they should not fight or keep secrets from one other.
Shinku states that when Jun sews, it is like watching magic. Jun is the only or one of the few people in the world who can bring a doll's 'soul' back,
doing so in the first volume with an old doll. Also in the last episode of the 1st season, it is implied that Jun is extremely similar to Rozen in his abilities, possibly able to become the next Rozen. Jun is able to be the master of two dolls (Shinku and Suiseiseki) at once and have them take his energy in battle with little problem. This is unusual because most people have a hard time with just one doll taking their energy. The reason why he is able to do this is unknown and might have something to do with the fact he is similar to Rozen.
Nori Sakurada
, Aya HisakawaAya Hisakawa
is a Japanese voice actress and J-pop singer born in Kaizuka, Osaka. In addition to releasing various solo CDs, she is well known for her anime voice roles, and has also done some work in video games. She is best known for her role of Sailor Mercury of the Sailor Moon fame and also Cerberus from...
(early drama CD)
is Jun's older sister. An avid lacrosse player, who had to give up many of her other hobbies when she assumed parental care of Jun while their parents are out of the country on business. While initially resistant to the responsibility, Nori became kind and gentle towards Jun. Nori is quick to find, get and resort to books for cures, treatments and copings with Jun's hikikomori-ism. Early in manga volume 1, when she hears Jun and Shinku arguing in his bedroom she leaps to the conclusion that he has developed schizophrenia
Schizophrenia
Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by a disintegration of thought processes and of emotional responsiveness. It most commonly manifests itself as auditory hallucinations, paranoid or bizarre delusions, or disorganized speech and thinking, and it is accompanied by significant social...
and gets a book on that. She unfortunately takes the brunt of Jun's abuse and criticism. Shinku constantly provides Nori with advice on everything from the proper way to brew tea
Tea
Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by adding cured leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant to hot water. The term also refers to the plant itself. After water, tea is the most widely consumed beverage in the world...
to taking care of Jun. Nori is very fond of the dolls who live and play in her house. A running gag throughout the series is the fact she is completely oblivious to the fact her classmate has feelings for her.
Tomoe Kashiwaba
, Ayako KawasumiAyako Kawasumi
is a Japanese voice actress and J-pop singer. She is affectionately referred to by her fellow voice actors and fans as "", "" and "". She is a skilled pianist, having practiced the piano since childhood....
(early drama CD)
is an honor student at Jun's school. She is quiet, and kind-hearted, although her speech and style tend to be very dry, and she often hides her true feelings. Tomoe was originally Hinaichigo's medium, but the bond between them was broken when Hinaichigo relied too much on Tomoe's energy and was defeated by Shinku. Currently, Tomoe helps Jun in his dealings with the Rozen Maidens and also assists him with his make-up work for school. In the manga, Tomoe would occasionally visit Jun to check on Hinaichigo. Before it was severed, Tomoe's bond with Hinaichigo was about as close as siblings. In Rozen Maiden träumend, before Hinaichigo loses her Rosa Mystica, Tomoe reflects on all of the good times and memories they shared and thanks Hinaichigo for being there. She is mistaken by Shirosaki as Jun's girlfriend.
Tomoe learned kendo
Kendo
, meaning "Way of The Sword", is a modern Japanese martial art of sword-fighting based on traditional Japanese swordsmanship, or kenjutsu.Kendo is a physically and mentally challenging activity that combines strong martial arts values with sport-like physical elements.-Practitioners:Practitioners...
from her father from an early age and is a member of the kendo club at school. She is often seen carrying her shinai
Shinai
is a weapon used for practice and competition in kendo representing a Japanese sword. Shinai are also used in other martial arts, but may be styled differently from kendo shinai, and represented with different characters....
when class is over. She is also a member of the school committee, seemingly reluctantly.
Mitsu "Micchan" Kusabue
(Mit-chan in the Tokyopop translated manga) is Kanaria's medium. She loves dolls to the point of obsessionFixation (psychology)
Fixation: 'concept originated by Sigmund Freud to denote the persistence of anachronistic sexual traits'. Subsequently '"Fixation" acquired a broader connotation...
, which shows in both her room's decor and her frequent doting on Kanaria; she has shelves upon shelves crammed full of dolls, and makes frequent trips to the doll shop to purchase gifts for Kanaria. Although her work attire is that of an office lady, she is introduced as a professional photographer by Kanaria to the other dolls. In the manga, Micchan reveals that she has quit her old, comfortable job and becomes a pattern make for doll's dresses, selling her products on her personal website called "Angels Cage", despite the increased workload and the minor success. Micchan is generally regarded as being just as harmless and eccentric as Kanaria. She only appears in Rozen Maiden Träumend and the manga. In the manga, she has freckles, whereas her anime counterpart lacks this trait.
She never actually meets Jun in the anime, but in the manga, Kanaria brings her to the Sakurada residence, where Micchan shortly after nicknames Jun as "Junjun." She recognizes Jun's natural talent in designing and making dresses and offered a form of partnership, though Jun refuses.
Megu Kakizaki
is a sickly girl (she has congenital heart disease in the anime, but the disease is not specified in the manga) who is Suigintou's medium. She lives in a hospital room, under constant care from nurses. Megu has a very bleak outlook on life and often prays for an "AngelAngel
Angels are mythical beings often depicted as messengers of God in the Hebrew and Christian Bibles along with the Quran. The English word angel is derived from the Greek ἄγγελος, a translation of in the Hebrew Bible ; a similar term, ملائكة , is used in the Qur'an...
of Death
Death
Death is the permanent termination of the biological functions that sustain a living organism. Phenomena which commonly bring about death include old age, predation, malnutrition, disease, and accidents or trauma resulting in terminal injury....
" to take her away. She sees herself as a burden upon her parents, who she claims are "guilty" of having her. She initially believes that Suigintou is the "Angel of Death" she has hoped for and requests that Suigintou kill her by draining away her energy. Despite her apathy (and, at times, contempt) towards life in general, she is quite needy, and increasingly desires Suigintou's company, even throwing tantrums when Suigintou is away. Megu's blatant disrespect towards her father is shocking to Suigintou, who would never consider such an attitude toward her own "Father." In addition to her manga appearances, Megu appears in Rozen Maiden träumend and briefly in Rozen Maiden öuverture.
She has a stronger bond with Suigintou in the manga, and is the only human Suigintou has strong feelings for, other than Father. In the anime, Megu was the last person Suigintou thought about before collapsing in Shinku's arms. In the manga, it was after Suigintou's witness of Megu driving her father away in a fit of rage that evoked sympathy from the doll, thereby agreeing to take Megu as her medium. However, she was unable to do so as Kirakishou took Megu away into the N-field.
Rozen
is the one who made the Rozen Maidens, he seeks for Alice, he was never heard, or seen his entire face in the anime, nor in the manga. Father appears to have acquired immortality through alchemyAlchemy
Alchemy is an influential philosophical tradition whose early practitioners’ claims to profound powers were known from antiquity. The defining objectives of alchemy are varied; these include the creation of the fabled philosopher's stone possessing powers including the capability of turning base...
, and was forced to go by many aliases throughout time, such as the Count of St. Germain or Alessandro Cagliostro
Alessandro Cagliostro
Count Alessandro di Cagliostro was the alias of the occultist Giuseppe Balsamo , an Italian adventurer.-Origin:The history of Cagliostro is shrouded in rumour, propaganda and mysticism...
. In the anime, he has spoken to Shinku various times and indicated that besides battling, there is another way to end the Alice Game. The dolls refer to him as 'Father' (in Japanese
Japanese language
is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...
as "Otō-sama", a highly respectful way to address one's father). In the anime, it is apparent that he had an apprentice named Enju.
Laplace no Ma
is an anthropomorphousAnthropomorphism
Anthropomorphism is any attribution of human characteristics to animals, non-living things, phenomena, material states, objects or abstract concepts, such as organizations, governments, spirits or deities. The term was coined in the mid 1700s...
white rabbit in a tuxedo and a top hat. He is neither sinister nor kind, and tends to speak in riddles. His brief appearances in the N-Field leave the Rozen Maidens with nothing more than poetic and seemingly nonsensical advice. In the anime Laplace is Shirosaki's true form. In the manga nothing is known about Laplace's Demon beyond what he says and Shinku says. Despite seeming to support Barasuishou against the Rozen Maidens, and is seen dancing with a seemingly smiling Kirakishou (he also has what looks like two Rosae Mysticae with him, most likely those of Souseiseki and Hinaichigo) at the end of Rozen Maiden träumend, Laplace no Ma's true motives remain a mystery. Laplace is a very clear reference to Rozen Maiden's inspiration taken from "Alice in Wonderland," with appearance and personality deriving from both the white rabbit and the Cheshire cat. In addition to appearing in Rozen Maiden träumend, he also appears in the manga and at the end of Rozen Maiden öuverture. In the manga, it would appear that when Jun was at a much younger age, the two have crossed paths with Laplace masquerading as a puppet master showing Jun a brief look into the various incarnations of Rozen, although debatably, that might have happened instead in Jun's dream.
Detective Kun Kun
is a fictional doll character who stars in his own detectiveDetective
A detective is an investigator, either a member of a police agency or a private person. The latter may be known as private investigators or "private eyes"...
TV show, which is a parody of other detective anime (most noticeably Detective Conan). That is, the Detective Kun Kun show is an example of fiction within fiction
Story within a story
A story within a story, also rendered story-within-a-story, is a literary device in which one narrative is presented during the action of another narrative. Mise en abyme is the French term for a similar literary device...
. The Rozen Maidens, especially Shinku, and, humorously, Souseiseki, are fans of the show, and even Jun points out the ridiculousness of doll
Doll
A doll is a model of a human being, often used as a toy for children. Dolls have traditionally been used in magic and religious rituals throughout the world, and traditional dolls made of materials like clay and wood are found in the Americas, Asia, Africa and Europe. The earliest documented dolls...
s watching a show starring a puppet
Puppet
A puppet is an inanimate object or representational figure animated or manipulated by an entertainer, who is called a puppeteer. It is used in puppetry, a play or a presentation that is a very ancient form of theatre....
.
Kun Kun's name is derived from the Japanese onomatopoeia for sniffing
Inhalation
Inhalation is the movement of air from the external environment, through the air ways, and into the alveoli....
and is fitting for his character, an anthropomorphic dog
Dog
The domestic dog is a domesticated form of the gray wolf, a member of the Canidae family of the order Carnivora. The term is used for both feral and pet varieties. The dog may have been the first animal to be domesticated, and has been the most widely kept working, hunting, and companion animal in...
detective, as well as a play on the Japanese honorific -kun, used for boys. Kun Kun is also seen as a toy in another of Peach-Pit
PEACH-PIT
is a female manga artist duo in Japan, made up of and . Their group name derives from the diner hangout Peach-Pit from the TV show Beverly Hills, 90210. Although both have similar styles, with some artwork it is possible to identify which artist drew it. Both are known for their bishōjo styled works...
's works, DearS
DearS
is a manga series co-written and illustrated by Banri Sendo and Shibuko Ebara, credited under their pen name Peach-Pit. It was serialized monthly by MediaWorks in their magazine Dengeki Comic Gao! from March 2002 to December 17, 2005 and was later published into a ten volume set by the company. The...
.
Anime-only characters
The following characters appeared only in the anime, and neither they nor their storylines appear in the manga.Enju
is the young doll craftsman who runs the doll shop with Shirosaki. He leaves the customer service duties to Shirosaki and spends his time creating dolls in the workshop. Though occasionally bitter, Enju takes his art very seriously; he even gives brief words of reassurance to halfway finished creations. During the second to last episode of Rozen Maiden träumend, he expresses a seeming admiration of Shinku, commenting on her beauty and ferocity despite his support for Barasuishou. Though he bears a resemblance to Rozen, Enju is nothing more than a jealous apprentice of the dollmaker. When Barasuishou crumbled in Enju's hands, he disappeared in a glow of light, leaving his final fate unknown.Shirosaki
is the salesperson at the doll shop in the anime. He has a genuine passion for the dolls, even explaining dolls' feelings to Jun and Tomoe, but there is a sinister air about him. He is actually Laplace no Ma, the demon of Laplace. In Rozen Maiden öuverture, it is revealed that he has been in Enju's company since before Shinku and Suigintou's rivalry began, and was searching for Rozen Maidens even then, though it is not said why.Motoharu Shibasaki
is Souseiseki's medium in the anime. He is an elderly watchmaker who became delusional after his young son died in an accident. Motoharu's wife, Matsu, fell into a deep coma from the shock not long after, causing him to eventually become lonely and believe that Souseiseki was his son reborn.
Matsu Shibasaki
is Motoharu Shibasaki's wife. After the death of her son, she fell into a long dream-like sleep state from the shock. Souseiseki and Suiseiseki were initially unable to wake her up, but they are successful after assistance from the spirit of her son.
Kazuki Shibasaki
is Shibasakis' deceased son. After Kazuki's death, he exists only in his mother's dreams. When Suiseiseki and Souseiseki enter Shibasaki Matsu's respective dream world, Kazuki asks them to wake his mother up, and let her know that it is time for her to move on and not dream about him anymore.
Yamamoto-kun
is a boy in Nori's class who is continually trying to confess his love to her, only to be interrupted by wild coincidences or unfortunate happenings, many of which are unintentionally caused by the dolls, and most often by Suiseiseki. He possibly only serves as a comic relief. Nori is blissfully unaware of his romantic interest, where even in one instance he tried to give her a new lacrosse racket as a gift, only for her to mistake him as a door-to-door salesrep.Sarah
is Shinku's previous medium, who only appears in Rozen Maiden öuverture. She lives in 19th-century London and is aware of the Alice Game. Despite living in a high-class society, Sarah is very dependent and spunky, against her parents' wishes. Her parents are unaware of Shinku and the other Rozen Maidens, she hides Shinku in her armoire in Rozen Maiden öuverture with her cat to which Shinku is displeased. Sarah questions Shinku's choice to keep the broken Suigintou around, since Shinku would need to defeat her as well to win the Alice Game. Although Sarah never appears in the manga, Shinku hints her when explaining that she once had a medium with a cat.Manga-only characters
The following characters appeared only in the manga, and neither they nor their storylines appear in any season of the anime.First series
- is Jun's teacher. He visits the Sakurada home to provide encouragement to Jun and persuade him to return to school. His visits actually cause Jun to more steadfastly refuse to return to school.
- is voted the beauty of Jun's class. Jun secretly designs a princess dress for her. He had not intended to make his design public, but he accidentally turns it into his teacher with his homework. The design is eventually displayed to the whole school and Jun is revealed as the designer. Despite Umeoka's praises, this instead caused Jun such severe embarrassment that he vomits in front of everyone at the assembly where this occurs. This is the event that causes Jun's withdrawal from school and society.
Yuibishis
- is Souseiseki's wealthy Master, and he lives in a place called Barayashiki (薔薇屋敷), whose name translated into English means "The House of Rose." He had planned to use Souseiseki to cut down the life tree of the woman his brother fell in love with, until he later realizes that he actually does not wish her to suffer like he had. Later, in volume 7, he and Suiseiseki reconcile and she visits him periodically to have tea with him.
- is Kazuha's younger twin brother. He died in a shipwreck in 1957 while eloping.
Fossets
- is a former mistress of Hinaichigo's, before Tomoe. Corinne unwillingly left Hinaichigo behind in her case when her family was forced to flee their home to avoid getting caught up in a war and was crushed to find that the family home had been destroyed (and Hinaichigo seemingly with it) after they returned later. Her dying wish was for her granddaughter, Odille, to find Hinaichigo and bring her back to France.
- is Corinne's granddaughter. She moved from France to Japan to fulfill her grandmother's dying wish to find Hinaichigo. Odille came to the Sakurada home claiming to be Hinaichigo's mistress, since she received a rose ring from a white-clothed doll in a dream, believing it to be her grandmother's old contract ring to Hinaichigo. In Volume 7, Odille's physical body is shown to be in a vegetative state, her mind trapped by Kirakishou in a dream world similar to the one in which Hinaichigo had previously trapped Tomoe. There, Odille is accompanied by an illusion of Hinaichigo asking her to stay and play with her forever. Kirakishou addresses the unconscious Odille as "Master," and in Volume 8, it is confirmed that the ring Odille wears is indeed a contract with Kirakishou, making her the seventh Rozen Maiden's mistress.
Second series
- is the same identity with the main character Jun Sakurada but in a parallel dimension, who chose not to have bond with Rozen Maidens. After that, he now is a college student and works in a bookstore, although he is still afraid of facing people. Eventually Jun agrees, with the trust from the junior high school student, to take care of Shinku and therefore is also involved in the Alice Game. Shinku refers to him as the 'Jun-who-did-not-wind' or the 'unwound-Jun'.
- is the college student Jun's colleague in the bookstore, also a to-be actress in a theatrical company. She very appreciates Jun's help in many times and his talent in sewing, which made her want to convince Jun go along with her dream in drama.
- The leader of a theatrical company.