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Rozen Maiden (ローゼンメイデン, Rōzen Meiden?) is a manga by the group Peach-Pit, with an anime series of the same name.[1] The story centers around Sakurada Jun, a young hikikomori boy that finds himself indebted to a living doll by the name of Shinku. Jun's sometimes comedic, sometimes dramatic, experiences with Shinku--as well as the other six dolls of the Rozen Maiden--slowly bring him out of his depression and back into the world that he had abandoned.
In TV Asahi's "Top 100 Anime Ranking" polled in 2006, Rozen Maiden was ranked 9th on the list. [2]
Story
Jun Sakurada is a Junior High School student who refuses to go to school due to mental trauma from an embarrassing experience there (see Hikikomori). He has taken to locking himself in his room, never leaving the house, and spends the day ordering supernatural goods online. His older sister, Nori Sakurada, does everything she can to brighten Jun's dreary existence, but is unable to change his situation.
One day, Jun receives a letter mysteriously. This letter states to place it in the drawer on his desk and a liaison from the spirit world, Hollier, will take it to the spirit world. Jun only has to circle agree or not agree. He circles agree and following the instructions on the letter, he places the envelope in his drawer, and a richly detailed wood box appears in his room. The box contains a strangely lifelike doll dressed in French aristocratic attire. Jun, after a brief and somewhat crude examination of the doll, winds its included key carefully. The doll creaks a bit, stands up on its own, then proceeds to slap him for handling her so indelicately. She introduces herself as, "...Shinku, the fifth doll of the Rozen Maiden."
Shinku is a doll from the unique "Rozen Maiden" collection, and before Jun can fully realize just what he's got himself into, he is attacked by a knife-wielding plush toy that enters through the window. Jun finds himself pledging service to Shinku to save his life, and is thus endowed with the responsibility of protecting Shinku's "Rosa Mystica" whilst she is engaged in intense battles with the other Rozen Maiden...
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