The second volume of Rozen Maiden takes viewers through the first 2/3 of the first season and the show is picking up a bit.  The plot gets just a bit more intricate, and the actions of the main character, Jun, are a bit easier to understand.  It's still lacking that hook that gets viewers really interested, but the show is not bad by any means.

Series Background:

Jun Sakurada is an eighth grader who has withdrawn from society.  He hates school so he has stopped attending, doesn't have any friends, and spends all of his time locked in his room.  When he's not sleeping, Jun likes to surf the internet and buy strange and unusual items which he returns for a refund after he gets done laughing at them.

One day he finds an odd box in his room that contains a lifelike doll.  When he winds it up, the doll comes to life and starts talking to him.  She informs him, in a very proper manner, that her name is Shinku and that she is the 5th Rozen Maiden doll.  This means nothing to poor Jun, and things get even more bizarre when a doll in the shape of a clown crashes through his window and tries to kill him.  Shinku says that she will save him from the knife wielding puppet if Jun swears an oath to her, something he quickly does without asking what he's agreeing to.

Shinku animates a couple of stuffed animals laying around Jun's room and saves the lad, and then informs him that he's agreed to become her servant, and the rose-shaped ring on his finger is a symbol of that relationship.  Shinku can drain energy from Jun when she needs it, which sometimes leaves Jun weak.

Over the course of the first disc, Jun gets a couple of more Rozen Maiden dolls.  First is Hina, a child like doll who acts like a typical 4-year-old, and then Suiseiseki a spooky doll with different colored eyes who dislikes Jun.  These two are always fighting.

Hinted at in the introductory volume is the meaning behind the dolls.  There is something called the Alice game that the dolls play, basically a battle to the death using mystical powers.  The doll that manages to defeat all the others will become "Alice" and meet "Father."  Just why this is important hasn't been revealed.

This volume:

The disc starts off with a light episode that is both humorous and shows Jun bonding to the various dolls.  When Hina wants an extra strawberry for desert, Suiseiseki teases the juvenile doll and makes her run up to Jun's room and pout.  Nori, Jun's sister, goes out shopping for dinner and declares that if everyone hasn't made up with Hina by the time she gets back, she won't make 'flower covered hamburger' for dinner, a family favorite.  Jun goes upstairs to talk to Hina and soon finds himself drawn into a war.  It's Jun and Hina behind a wall of boxes at the top of the stairs against Shinku and Suiseiseki with comic results.

Next, the show's protagonist, Suigintou returns.  Suigintou is an evil doll who desperately wants to win the Alice game and meet "father".  To achieve her goal, Suigintou kidnaps Hina and lets Shinku know that she'll have to follow her back to her domain if she ever wants to see her young friend again.  Even thought they know it's a trap, the group follows Suigintou through a mirror and into a world of her own making, where her will is supreme.

After the battle with Suigintou, Shinku fails to wake up the next morning.  Jun tries to wind her, and Suiseiseki tries some hair-brained schemes that fail to work too, but do put Jun in harm's way.  Though he won't admit it, Jun's a bit worried and when he can't find any information about Rozen Maidens on the internet, he resorts to actually leaving the house and going to the library.  It is there that he discovers a book on the dolls in the card catalog.  Unfortuantly the library is undergoing restoration and the book that Jun needs has been moved to another location:  his school.  Can the boy get up the nerve to step foot on campus?

The disc wraps up with a more tender story.  This episode introduces Souseiseki, Suiseiseki's twin sister.  The twins have similar powers, they can both enter someone's dreams, but they have tools that compliment each other and the pair has to work together to get anything accomplished.  Souseiseki is owned by an old man who uses the doll as a substitute for his dead son.  A rather touching story that is a bit different from the rest of the series.

The show is picking up a bit.  The after the battle with Suigintou, it is easy to see that Jun has bonded with his doll, and is willing to make sacrifices for it.  The dolls personalities are starting to become a bit more developed too.  Hopefully this trend will continue in the last volume of the first season.

This disc contains the first four episodes of the series in a clear keepcase with a reversible cover.

Audio:

The stereo soundtracks, in the original Japanese and an English dub, both sounded fine.  I alternated audio tracks while screening this show and both languages sounded very good.  The dialog was clean and clear, and though there was little panning or use of the soundstage the soundtrack was suitable.  This is one of those discs that has little sonic impact but still fits the show well.

Video:

This is a recent show and the 1.78:1 anamorphically enhanced picture looked very good. The colors were bright and the lines were tight.  There was some aliasing present, especially when the camera was panning quickly.  Other digital flaws were not present.  This is a good liking disc.

Extras:

The only extras are a textless closing and a series of three previews.

Final Thoughts:

The show has started to pick up a bit.  The plot, while by no means complex, is starting to become a little more full and complete, as are the dolls personalities.  The interaction between Jun and the three dolls that are living with him is examined a bit more too, and it isn't as far fetched as it was in the first couple of episodes.  The show is still missing that vital hook to reel viewers in, but it's still worth watching.  Recommended.