Rozen Maiden

In the 20th century, a legendary doll maker named Rozen created seven bisque dolls which were powered and given sentience with a gem called Rosa Mystica.Phase 2 Since then, Rozen sent the dolls away to find masters and to battle among themselves to gather each other's Rosa Mysticas; this competition is referred to as the Alice Game. When a doll obtains all seven, they are to become a perfect doll dubbed as Alice and will be reunited with Rozen.Phase 5 By order of creation, the seven Rozen Maidens are named Suigintou, Kanaria, Suiseiseki, Souseiseki, Shinku, Hinaichigo, and Kirakisho.

Rozen Maiden follows Jun Sakurada, a middle school student who has withdrawn from society after suffering persecution by his classmates. He is chosen to become Shinku's master and joins the Alice Game along with the other dolls masters.Prologue 2 As the series progresses, Jun also becomes the master to Hinaichigo and Suiseiseki. After Souseiseki's Rosa Mystica is taken by Suigintou, Jun's Rozen Maidens resolve to revive her and to end the Alice Game peacefully;Phase 21 they later befriend Kanaria who shares their sentiments. However, the group is attacked by Kirakisho who absorbs Hinaichigo and traps Shinku and Suiseiseki in the N-field, a plane of consciousness which connects the universe. Rozen Maiden concludes with Jun preparing to enter the N-field to save the dolls.Phase 43

Tokyopop's localized volumes appeared on ICv2's monthly top one-hundred selling graphic novels. The Rozen Maiden manga has received generally positive reviews. Anime News Network praised Peach-Pit's works as always being able to evoke excitement or laughter from its readers but was critical about Rozen Maiden's lack of plot and criticized how the dialogue or layout can be vague. Comic Book Bin wrote that while Rozen Maiden was not a splendid manga, its emphasis on psychology and emotion was something American comics should follow to expand their readership.

Active Anime praised several aspects of the series: the combination of mystery, comedy, and cuteness with a balance of fantasy and drama; the visual aesthetics of the images and characters; and a broadness that extends towards teens and adults. Initially, Anime Land praised the balance between comedic daily life and the underlying dark side of the plot. In later volumes though, Anime Land criticized the story's pacing and the abrupt ending. In their review of the sequel, Anime Land wrote they were surprised by the dark tone and how the plot was confusing even with knowledge from the first series.