Both Rozen and the Millenium Earl are based off of Count de Saint Germaine or Count di Caligostro. It would be likely that the Millenium Earl is using the Rozen Maidens as his backup plan. The Maidens are obviously more complex and more powerful than the typical Akuma, so they probably have some important role in this backup plan, which the Earl initiated even as he was coming into conflict with the Black Order. The claim that the Alice Game is to find Rozen's perfect daughter is a half-truth—his perfect daughter will serve as the new CPU to his most recent Ark, a CPU loyal to only him. To keep the Exorcists from noticing, he moved the next Alice Game to Japan. There, one of the dolls, Shinku, was found by Jun. The Rosa Mystica and the Artifical Spirits are powered by Dark Matter. The cross-dimensional nature of the dolls and the Ark created the intersecting universes of the first and second manga series.
- Very possible in the anime, but not in the manga canon, where Enju and Barasuishou don't exist.
- Jossed. Kirakishou was indeed seen in the very end of Traumend, but she apparented wanted to sit back and wait for someone else to deal with Barasuishou.
- This fits in with the idea that Rozen is clearly Zepia Eltnam Oberon, also known as the Night of Wallachia, who was, in fact, an alchemist.
- One could argue that Jun's getting over himself as an attempt by Lilith/Rei to keep Asuka in the nightmare instrumentality world Lotus-Eater Machine style and to keep things from getting too good (Rei remembers that slap Asuka gave her prior to the second to last angel, thank you very much) horrid things start happening and get reversed with small removals of the nicer things (Hinaichigo) to keep it in a sort of balance whilst semi tormenting Asuka over it.
Also, she saw and felt Hinaichigo's manga death, created in part by her memories of her own death in End of Eva.
- Let's not forget that she herself could be Shinku, you know.
- Alternately, Asuka could be Suigintou and someone else (possibly Rei) is Shinku. If Rei is mostly keeping this world intact to punish Asuka, it would make sense for her to make Asuka the broken doll who's considered "junk", the one that is obviously imperfect and doesn't stand a chance in the battles to become "a perfect girl". Perfection has been one of Asuka's driving motivations as well as self-loathing, after all.
- Except for one thing: The dolls were all manufactured in pairs; if you look at the main six, there are hints in their costumes that show how the pairs work; Souseiseki and Suiseiseki both have pilgrim-inspired costumes, Hinaichigo and Kanaria both have more 'childish' and frilly costumes, and Shinku and Suigintou's costumes are both a) more Victorian and b) feature a prominent rose motif. Suigintou's rosa mystica went to Shinku just because their dresses match. (Either that or even in death, she wanted to be the one to reduce Barasuishou to a fine powder, and so figured that by lending her prodigious skills to Shinku, combined with Shinku's unladylike skills at fisticuffs, would therefore win.) OR, it could be that perversely, Suigintou believed that she would be 'taking' Shinku's Rosa Mystica by merging with it. Since Suigintou appears to have the willpower of a monastary of Buddhist monks, it's highly likely that she could actually subvert Shinku's will...WHY IS THERE NO THIRD SEASON TO TEST THESE THEORIES?!!
- The problem with that is the numbers (when they were started) don't match. Suiginto is #1, Hina-Ichigo is #2, the twins are #3 & #4, Shinku is #5, Kanaria is #6 and Barasuishou is #7. Suiseiseki and Souseiseki were the only ones made as a pair.
- The opening to Träumend does show Hina Ichigo and Kanaria together, exchanging roses, right after the twins are seen touching palm to palm and embracing.
- You've actually got Kanaria and Hinaichigo's numbers switched there, but same dif.
- Can I thank the original poster for not taking this WMG where I thought it would go.
- The problem with that is the numbers (when they were started) don't match. Suiginto is #1, Hina-Ichigo is #2, the twins are #3 & #4, Shinku is #5, Kanaria is #6 and Barasuishou is #7. Suiseiseki and Souseiseki were the only ones made as a pair.
- Actually, building on the OP's hypothesis: the dolls are representations of the different types of love, and they come in pairs, with the one obvious exception. Kanaria and Hinaichigo are "philos" or friendship, Suiseiseki and Souseiseki are "storge" (familial or parental love), and, yes, Shinku and Suigintou are "eros." Romantic love. Very, very gay for one another as well. As to agape, or philosophical/universal love? Kirakishou. And she was never finished. What this means is up to interpretation.
- Alternately, Rozen had a wife (named Alice) who died before he made the dolls, so in order to "bring her back", he decided to make a doll that was perfectly like her. He tried 7 times, but could never quite succeed. So he gave up and created the alice game to let the dolls fight amongst themselves until only one was left and could at least claim that they were Alice.
- Alternatively, she fell down the rabbit hole into Makai and was adopted by the local goddess. Yet she still can't replicate Rozen's crowning achievement.
- It would make perfect sense: Rozen lost his daughter Alice, perhaps she wandered into the woods or something, when she was just a little girl, and created the Maidens as Replacement Goldfish. Only he didn't make them perfect; perhaps he couldn't, or perhaps he realized that they each needed their own imperfection in order to develop as Alice eventually would have. So they all needed to compete in a tournament named after Alice in order . Alice, meanwhile, fell "down the rabbit hole" into Makai and ended up living in Gensokyo's Forest of Magic, eventually showing doll-making skills inherited from her father.
- Seven Rosa Mystica merge to create the Seven-Colored Puppeteer. Her new body resembles Rozen phenotypically, but her eyes change color when a different Maiden becomes the basis for her personality. This is why fanon depicts her inconsistently as a tsundere (Suiseiseki), a kuudere (Shinku), or a yandere (Suigintou).
- There's a red Alice (Shinku), who manages to be pretty aggressive as well.
- There are twin Alices (Souseiseki and Suiseiseki), despite of them being blue and green instead of yellow. Their personalities match Rin and Len's Alice, with Suisei being the stubborn one, and Sousei being the smart one.
- There's a pure madness Alice (Suigintou, sorta).
- There are children-like Alices (Hina Ichigo and Kanaria).
- There's a charming but rotten Alice (Kirakishou).
I couldn't define who'd be the proper singing Alice (I don't really think Kanaria could sing evil songs), but since Suigintou already filled (not really well, though) the "pure madness" side of the Diamonds' Alice, it's okay for now. And Barasuishou is a fake, so, she doesn't count.
- There's actually a Rozen Maiden" version of Alice Human Sacrifice'' on Youtube. In it, Suigintou is Meiko (aggressive and bloodthristy knight), Hinaichigo is Kaito (singing madman), Shinku is Miku (beautiful, vain, pig-tail wearing queen) and Suiseiseki and Soseiseki are Rin and Len (the twins).
- There is some serious allegorism behind the series, but it goes hand in hand with the clockwork symbology. Laplace's Demon is a concept that functions only in Newtonian clockwork universe where each component is perfectly set into place, and everything is predetermined from the start. Hence his presence in a series revolving around magical clockwork dolls. Alchemy is also present in the background, and one of the principle rules of alchemy is "as above, so below", meaning that the same patterns repeat themselves on all the levels of the universe. Hence, Rozen's and Enju's conflict's parallel to the conflict of the religious mythology above them. In this system, Rozen is basically a miniature God.
- Rozen in the beginning wanted to do a perfect girl himself. He got to the conclusion he's not capable to do it afterall. He created Rozen Maidens as he could, and left them a task, so they would improve themself. He didn't finish Suigintou, because he was making her with perection in mind he could not reach.
- In one opening when we see the hypothetical birth of Alice from some kind of world-egg, her only clear features are long hair and wings.