Thursday, September 19, 2013

Rozen Maiden Zuruckspulen: A little too fast?

Last Seen: Episode 10

I liked the original Rozen Maiden. It wasn't a spectacular epic of a piece, but it gets my recommendation. It was an interesting story, with interesting characters, and a good plot. It also, was incomplete. That's where Zuruckspulen steps in. Zuruckspulen, (that's the last time I'm typing that, from now on its RM2013), is not a remake of the original, or a side story. It's the continuation of the first, and the first episode was just a very fast recap, possibly with some rewritten points...it has been a noticeably long time since it, and my memory is addled over the highly disappointing ending. Disappointing because it was a shows ending, not a story's ending.

So far, after the recap episode, I've been content with this new season. We're somewhere completely different, but the story makes sure we're aware that this is still irrevocably the same place from before, the same story-world, just a new place in that world: The 'Will not wind'-universe.
We've just been given a good amount of instruction on what Kirakisho is, and is about, which is good because Kirakisho was a 'from out of the dark' blindshot in the first season, and not at all explained or introduced well enough in the first season. RM2013: +1 point. The new characters introduced are also interesting, RM2013: 2 points. The story has been moving at a steady pace, not too fast or too slow for me, RM2013: 3 points.
The most recent story eruption: -3 points pending. The show is starting to smell like a 12-13 episode termination season...which will royally piss me off because they just set up an entire load of plot points, and if they don't tie them together fast enough, they will decay into plot HOLES.

This just in: plot holes are bad.

Now, I'm happy to say that the last episode I've seen has the foundations for them to resolve things within the potential time limit they're under, but as always;
High hopes, Low expectations.  

[SPOILER WARNING]
My biggest complaint right now is that I don't feel the whole 'wound vrs unwound' world has gotten enough explanation. Certainly, the most recent explanation that when Shinku(replica) and others leaves, the last traces of the Rozen Maidens intrusion into the world where they never arrived, the 'unwound world', will reverse itself as if they were never there, indicates that it was just a place Shinku escaped to, to hide for a time, and all of this can just be explained away with something involving N-fields, the Rozen Maiden worlds special plot magic, but...
[SPOILER WARNING END]

The part that's tripping me up, is something that may just be a personal problem:
I don't fully understand why Shinku is here in the replica body in the first place. I understand the reasons given for why she's there, but I don't understand the need for those reasons in the first place. I don't remember the last episode of the first season well enough to recall what kind of, if any, compromising position Shinku and Jun(original) were in that this all would be necessary. As stated, maybe if I just go watch the last few old episodes again, this would quickly be resolved, but my point is this: I have an immense capacity to retain Story plots. Example: I could have you pull one of my Novels (notice: plural), off my shelves, any of them, and if it's one I've read, I could look at it and its title, or the brief description on the back, and immediately recite all the plot highlights of the entire story without having to open it. Let me just take a quick headcount...53 that's just on this particular shelf. That's 53 novels (300 page minimum books). That's a moderately impressive talent, that not everyone has. The key point though, is that this applies to anime as well as my books. I retain story plots immensely well. I couldn't give you all the details, but if I know the title, I know the story plot. If the old ending was so vague to me after this much time...How completely non-existent is it going to be in the memories of most people? Not everyone will be able, or willing, to go back and rewatch the previous season to be filled in. Whether or not the last episodes have my missing information, it's going to be a negative for the latest season:
A) Either their recap missed something, or
B) it's currently ungiven information.
If it's missing information, it stinks of an excuse to start a new season that may not be consistent with the original story, wherever the original story may be from. If it's a lack of recap, anyone picking up from this season, which would be the whole point of having a recap(to fill in the new people), has been inadequate.
...
Or maybe my lack of detailed memory has robbed me of the recaps details, since I wasn't paying very close attention to it as soon as I figured out it was a recap. Just mentally skimming the episode to look for any potential rewrites of past information, which I didn't see. (Could just be that I don't remember, though so...
)

Summary:
Overall, I'm having concerns that if this proves to be a short season anime, things are going awfully fast to have an adequate resolution. There will undoubtedly be an end, but I'm getting the first few feelings that maybe it will be less than I'd hoped. Just on what has been though, this has been a good show to watch, provided you watched the first season and wanted a second.

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