Well that was confusing as heck.
I have a feeling that being new to
Rozen Maiden severely skewed my perception on this premiere, but even so, I don't think this was exactly a good sign for a first episode. There were a lot of
production issues going on here, but I have no clue if that's due to the fact that this is a reboot, an adaptation, or simply trying to do too much. I've heard that the second episode is a significant improvement, but nevertheless I don't think I will be able to blog past this point, if only because it's become clear to me that watching the original series first is probably the best course of action before even attempting
Zurückspulen. I'm still not sure what any of this is about, and nothing in this episode particularly makes me like the characters or story yet, so it would probably be best to start there and work forward chronologically.
As such, I can only provide an outsider perspective on this premiere. Objectively, there's really nothing that stood out here. The characters are far too quickly introduced (all seven
Maidens in one go? No character attachment or development yet as a result), the atmosphere nothing particularly special, the action only alright, and a lot of potential that isn't really played on so well. Personally I found some of the
dolls grating since I know next to nothing about any of them, and only Shinku (
Sawashiro Miyuki) manages to establish herself at all, more so than our lead Sakurada Jun (currently portrayed by
Sanada Asami and set to be replaced by a personal favorite,
Ohsaka Ryouta). The premise itself is also completely confusing to me; nine dolls who must fight to become one? So why are most of them friendly toward one another, and just why is becoming Alice so important? What about this manservant/ring business? Is this all something I would understand if I were more familiar with the
RM universe in general?
Needless to say, I'm not particularly impressed by this premiere, and I really think it would be unwise to try to continue at this point, even if future episodes are far better than this one. This is a pretty well known franchise, and it seems as though joining in at this point will be more problematic than not. Perhaps the lack of character depth is made up for in earlier incarnations of the story, but as of right now not even that,
nor atmosphere, have done a good job of convincing me to keep watching. Unfortunately that means I won't get to see how much improvement there is, so hopefully those who are more familiar or persistent will be pleasantly rewarded.
N.B.: A huge thanks to Ivan for the caps!
OP "Watashi no Bara wo Kuuminasai (私の薔薇を喰みなさい)" by ALI PROJECT
Episode 1 Screencaps: "Tale 1"
ED "Alternative" by Annabel
As far as I can tell, the first episode was supposed to be a recap of the old series, and the plot will move at a more understandable pace from now on.
ReplyDeleteIts more to remind old viewers what happened instead of catering to new viewers.
Which is unfortunate,as many viewers(myself included) will not want to watch a seemingly mediocre show(under 8 MAL rating) from 9 years ago just to be able to watch this one
Yeah, this is what I've heard too, which really is a shame because honestly they've alienated any new viewers who aren't really willing to go and watch the original. Oh well, that's the industry for you.
DeleteIt's not that McElroy hasn't crafted an interesting-enough storyline (in some respects, it's quite an OK plot) but more that he doesn't know how to engage his audience
ReplyDelete