Maiden Rose

Not to be confused with Rozen Maiden.

Maiden Rose
Juné's cover for the US edition of Volume 1
百日の薔薇 (Hyakujitsu no Bara)
Genre	Drama, Romance, War, Yaoi, Action, Adventure
Manga
Written by	Inariya Fusanosuke
Published by	Oakla Publishing
English publisher	Digital Manga Publishing
Demographic	Josei
Original run	2005 – ongoing
Volumes	4
Original video animation
Studio	Prime Time
Released	May 29, 2009 – October 23, 2009
Runtime	30 minutes per episode
Episodes	2
Anime and Manga Portal

Maiden Rose (百日の薔薇, Hyakujitsu no Bara^?) is an ongoing fictional war romance manga written and illustrated by Inariya Fusanosuke. It is currently licensed in English by Digital Manga Publishing,^[1] but was previously licensed by DramaQueen.^[2] Digital Manga Publishing released vol. 1 on May 18, 2010.

A two-episode original video animation adaptation based on the first volume of the series was released on May 29, 2009^[3][4] and October 23, 2009.^[5]

Geneon released a Drama CD for the first volume on June 29, 2007.^[6]

The story takes place in a fictional world that has just begun a great world war. Klaus von Wolfstadt, from one of the nations of the “Western Alliance,” has left his duty as a soldier to his nation in order to be a knight to Taki Reizen, commander of the 15th division “Rozen Maiden” whose country has an alliance with “Eurote,” an enemy of the Western Alliance. The story follows their romance as it evolves from friendship, to love, and finally, to hatred.

Plot

Klaus von Wolfstadt met Taki Reizen in 1918. Klaus and his family (parents, brother and sister) visited the Far Eastern country to attend the coronation ceremony. After having gotten lost in the gardens surrounding the area, he stumbled upon a young Taki, who asked him to help him pick some flowers from one of the trees above them to place them on his ceremonial headgear. Klaus agreed, and after picking the flowers for Taki, Taki asked Klaus if he would give himself to him and be his knight.

Nine years later, Taki and Klaus met again at Luckenwalde Military Academy, where Taki had gone to learn how to operate tanks. Klaus was given orders to befriend Taki, and both observe and protect him. Through the course of the year, the two fell in love. When Eurote broke a treaty with the Western Alliance and invaded Dheedene, Taki was ordered to be deported back to his country. The night after he was ordered to be sent home, he and Klaus had their first romantic encounter.

A few days later, they met at Luckenwalde station, and rode on a train heading back to Taki's country. During the train ride home, Klaus nearly took Taki's purity, in a moment of passion. However, Taki, being a member of the Reizen family which is favored by the Gods, has the burden of remaining celibate until marriage. Considering the consequences on himself and on the people who believe in him, Taki ended his relationship with Klaus, but only after Klaus was sworn to him as his knight. This binds the two together for the rest of their lives.

Now the two have to fight in both the war between Taki’s country and the Western Alliance, and the war between each other.

Reception

Katherine Farmar of Comics Village felt that although she should object to some aspects of the manga, she was "swept along" by it instead, enjoying it immensely. She found the use of flashbacks added depth to the work, and praised the art and emotional complexity of the work.^[7] Michelle Smith of Pop Culture Shock found the manga "promising" and "confusing", cautioning that it is "not for the faint of heart".^[8]

References

1. ^ "Maiden Rose Vol. 1". Digital Manga Publishing. http://www.junemanga.com/books/660/. Retrieved December 22, 2009. 
2. ^ "Digital Manga Adds Maiden Rose Boys-Love Manga (Updated)". Anime News Network. 2010-09-21. http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2009-08-29/digital-manga-adds-maiden-rose-boys-love-manga. Retrieved 2010-09-25. 
3. ^ "Hyakujitu no Bara Vol.1- Limited Release". CD Japan. http://www.cdjapan.co.jp/detailview.html?KEY=ANDS-13001. Retrieved 2009-12-26. 
4. ^ "Maiden Rose Boys-Love Anime's 2nd Promo Movie Streamed (Updated)". Anime News Network. March 13. 2009. http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2009-05-12/maiden-rose-boys-love-anime-2nd-promo-movie-streamed. Retrieved December 22, 2009. 
5. ^ "Hyakujitu no Bara Vol.2- Limited Release". CD Japan. http://www.cdjapan.co.jp/detailview.html?KEY=ANDS-13002. Retrieved December 22, 2009. 
6. ^ "Dramatic CD Collection- Hyakujitsu no Bara". CD Japan. http://www.cdjapan.co.jp/detailview.html?KEY=MACY-2141. Retrieved 2009-12-22. 
7. ^ "Maiden Rose Volume 1". Comics Village. Archived from the original on 2010-08-20. http://web.archive.org/web/20100820050937/http://www.comicsvillage.com/review.aspx?reviewID=872. Retrieved 2010-09-25. 
8. ^ Smith, Michelle. "Manga Minis: Maiden Rose, Vol. 1". PopCultureShock. June 21, 2010. Retrieved September 24, 2010.