Oh, my! Poor Souseiseki.

On the aerial battle versus Barasuishou:
- Barasuishou's main attack needs contact to the surface below
- As the crystals grow, higher altitude means more time to react
- Obviously, hiding between the houses does not work
- Flying above Barasuishou would probably mean getting her in the crystals' way

Thus it seems like a bad idea to me to fly way lower than Barasuishou.

Waaaaaaaah, Souseiseki was my favourite! Bring her back! Curse you, over-powered Yakult fiend!!

About Barasuishou's attacks - she also has the crystal shards, which she would presumably use on an opponent in mid-air with her. But let's face it, the main reason the chase sequence was done like that was for coolness's sake.

Agreed. I posted the majority of my episode 09 thoughts over at 4chan in /a/, but the thread didn't even make through the night before deletion :/. It's an imageboard after all. I'll try to remember and condense what I said. Episode 09 was exactly what I was hoping for in RM Traumend: battles, and the progression of the Alice Game. Those poignant scenes (when Sousei pushed Suisei away, that was wow!), the atmoshere, the emotions, the music...delivers it in spades in episode 09. Good show.

Is it just me, or did the episode 10 preview reveal a bit too much? Maybe it isn't really what it seems...

Well if they flew high or above Barasuishou, Barasuishou can still send fast torrents of shards of crystals at them. Either way, Shinku & Hina will have to do some dodging.

It seems to be hinted at that Hina Ichigo will be the next victim but I don't see how they can wrap everything up with so few episodes left. Either a lot of stuff is going to happen fast or else I think there might be a third season but that might depend on RMT's pouplarity.

Ugh, I hope not, I love Hina Ichigo, she's such a sweet character :( Also, I have to wonder if there won't be some Mai HiME style resurrection ending...

The one I feel bad for is Suiseiseki, who is my favorite along with Shinku (at least as of late). In her situation I'd knock one of my vines through both Barasuishou and Suigintou's chests :mad: . Though that might be going against all that she's fighting for :heh:

Having read the fourth German volume of the manga on the same day I watched episode 9, I saw Souseiseki "die" twice on one day. :(

(I wonder whether Suigintou will "eat" Souseiseki's Rosa Mystica, like in the manga... :twitch:)

Off to deduction or something:

In the manga version, I did get a better picture of her Rosa Mystica, as it extracted itself from her body (without those loads of shimmering like in the anime), and it looked somewhat familiar.

Going back to episode 1 of ~träumend~, in the flashback to Shinku's creation, some weird Actually-Not-Crystalline-But-Looking-A-Bit-That-Way-Structure (ANCBLABTWS from here on) is shown.

ANCBLABTWS: http://img387.imageshack.us/img387/9...atws5of.th.jpg
Rosa Mystica (manga): http://img359.imageshack.us/img359/3...anga8am.th.jpg
Rosa Mystica (anime): http://img517.imageshack.us/img517/1...nime5gg.th.jpg

Also, I saw something similar in another place. Enyu put something that looked like a piece of ANCBLABTWS into the oven he used to heat the parts of the doll that he made, while Jun was watching.

A piece of ANCBLABTWS? http://img503.imageshack.us/img503/6...btws7su.th.jpg

Now, unless it is common practice to put weird substances into the oven you heat porcelain with (which I know nothing of), it would seem to me, like he is trying to do something with that piece of ANCBLABTWS--wherever he may have gotten that from--like, for example, trying to imbue some quality of it into the doll he made, or even consciously trying to create a doll with a Rosa Mystica.

Assertions that are probably true:
- Rosa Mysticæ are made of ANCBLABTWS
- Father had a whole lot of ANCBLABTWS
- Enyu has ANCBLABTWS (either he got his hands on father's supply, or it is a more or less common substance that can be found in Europe and in Japan alike)
- Enyu tries to use the ANCBLABTWS in the process of creating dolls

Speculations on possible scenarios:
1) Assumption: Enyu is not father
1. a) He has found out that ANCBLABTWS might improve the quality of his dolls and is in the process of researching how to use it
1. b) He has found notes of father and tries to create new Rozen Maiden dolls using ANCBLABTWS (or some substitute)
2) Assumption: Enyu is a reincarnation of father
2. a) He has persistent memories (although maybe not quite clear) or found notes of his previous reincarnations and tries to build new Rozen Maiden dolls.
2. b) He has persistent memories (although maybe not quite clear) or found notes of his previous reincarnations and experiments with ANCBLABTWS for reasons unknown.
3) Assumption: Enyu is father
3. a) He tries to build new Rozen Maiden dolls, but for reasons unknown (variance in quality of ANCBLABTWS?) is not successful
3. b) He tries to build new Rozen Maiden dolls, but no longer has the skill to do it (right)
There are most probably more possible scenarios or combinations of those I listed.

...this post is longer than I thought it would. This overlength post was brought to you by forum downtime.

http://img387.imageshack.us/img387/5...chan8zq.th.jpg http://img381.imageshack.us/img381/6...chan6jb.th.jpg http://img359.imageshack.us/img359/3...chan5ow.th.jpg http://img457.imageshack.us/img457/3...chan0to.th.jpg http://img388.imageshack.us/img388/2...chan9nf.th.jpg

It's very sad to see that the preview that seems to be hinting Hina Ichigo's demise, she and Kanaria are the most innocent of the seven, to happen to her so early in the game... I guess it's better early than late, considering i don't want to see poor Hina crying too much...

Up until this point, we did not know what Suigintou was going to do in regards to the Alice Game, though we did suspect that after Barasuishou's manipulation, she would again try to defeat the other dolls.

The 9th Episode clearly established Suigintou's position as well as that of Souseiseki and Suiseiseki. We already knew Shinku's pacifist ideology and this knew what she would do in the fight.

What's is interesting to note is that Suigintou has clearly regained some sense of her original personality that was absent in the earlier episodes. Perhaps this reflects the time she has had to think over the Alice game and the other dolls. It is my guess that she was awake quite some time before Shinku woke up with Jun in the first season. Her focus on numbers and the Alice Game simply reflect how long she had to wait and how long she thought upon the subject until it drove her to take action, literally.

I'm not sure, but I think that Suigintou actually was questioning father's motives during her battle with Souseiseki. Although she didn't say it outright, certainly it would be logical for her to wonder about father despite her new situation. In many ways, that battle was between the two dolls that cared for father the most.

Originally I believed that with Shinku being a pacifist, Suiseiseki would take the spotlight with Hinaichigo in terms of battling. Shinku would only fight if Jun or the other dolls were in danger (and only if it was not possible to run away as we saw in episode 9). I have no doubt that Suiseiseki would be quite willing to fight to protect Jun and the others, though that might change with Souseiseki's death. It would either harder Suiseiseki's resolve to not fight, or make her determined to defeat her enemies, especially Suigintou who destroyed her twin. Episode 10 will be the indicator.

If Barasuishou and Suigintou continue to work together, I would say it would be pretty difficult to defeat their combination. When this season started, Barashuishou, Shinku, and Souseiseki were certainly the strongest three dolls. Of course, this has changed with Suigintou's rebirth, Kanaria's introduction, and Souseiseki's death. Now the only two I feel that could stand up two this axis of evil are Shinku and Suiseiseki (and only if Shinku uses her full force). Undoubtedly without Shinku, there will be definite need for Kanaria and Hinaichigo. Heh, poor Jun, he'll be quite spent after that battle.

As for Enju, I have very little doubt that he is the dollmaker, or the dollmaker in a different form. His own philosophy of smashing imperfect dolls fits so well with the Alice Game. Certainly he's mysterious enough and his connection with Barasuishou (who is trying to start the Alice Game), does support the link. Of course, Barashuishou may not know that is father.

The only unknown element in all of this is Jun, surprisingly enough. Jun possesses the rare talent to repair dolls, like father. Thus, even though Shinku should have been disabled at the end of season 1, she was in fact spared thanks to Jun. Jun is in fact the foil (the opposite) of father/Enju. He believes that the Alice Game is pointless and accepts all the dolls despite whatever imperfections they may have. It is Jun that will be the ultimate factor in the end with, if not the skill of father, the raw ability to make a difference and bring back those who are gone to help those who are still here.

I think sugintou also had start questioning the alice game and had already long lost the desire to be alice. Now all she wants is to save megu.

Poor Souseiseki! I hate to see you go. But you wanted to fight sugintou 1 on 1 and that is definitely courting the death you got and she didnt even use her medium powers.

Maybe from now on, every ep will have a doll death? Else how are they going to end this. MOre eps or third season?

Excuse me while I go cry of sadness. Ah man, they killed my favourite character! :upset: Now I hope at least another doll also dies. Otherwise I'll feel as though they killed off Souseiseki for the sake of having someone killed off. Ah I sound so selfish. :heh: But yeah, RIP Souseiseki.

Souseki's loss is unfortunate, but this raises a few questions:
1. Did Suiseiseki knew the outcome beforehand?
-Some might say this is obvious, since Gin was able to single-handedly take both Sousei and Suisei at once, even without a medium in season 1. Now, by Gin having a medium, she's literally unstoppable.

2. Do you think Sousei is regretting her actions?-Personally, I don't think she regret making the decision to fight in the Alice Game. Its like asking a patriot whether dying for their nation's cause is something of regret. Sousei probably knew that she might, (or most certainly,) lose against Gin.

3. What do you think happens to Gin (for that matter, the Roza Mystica)?-This raises a number of theories that are still not completly answered even in the manga.

A. Sousei's previous existence in the Mystica just "dissapears"
-This theory assumes that unlike the manga, Sousei's previous existence has no effect on Gin. In otherwords, Gin just gets more powerful. Personally, this would be very sad since Sousei's existence is just "erased.":(

B. "Merging"
-Unlike the manga, this hypothesis assumes that Gin's personality and Sousei's personality merges to form a new one. Although, this seems to be very unlikely in terms of set character personality, it makes total sense if Alice is the (combined elements of all dolls thus,) "perfect" girl.

C. Manga alternative (spoiler warning of manga)
-In the manga, Gin gets both the Roza Mystica and Sousei's artifical spirit. Although, Gin never used Sousei's scissors in the manga, my personal assumption is that she could if she wants to. Just like in season 1, Gin was able to gain the ability to go into people's dreams, probably she gains the ability to use the 'scissors'. However, Sousek's Roza Mystica is not completly obaying her.

4. So, does Gin get the Roza Mystica?
-It seems like it, since despite Sousei's wishes, Suisei is barred from being beside her. Obviously, Bara might come in to take it, but it seems like it automatically goes to the winner (which, would be an obvious contradiction to why Hina is still alive).

5. Isn't Gin already too powerfull?
-Unfortunatly, unless something very debilitating happens to Gin, she's the most likely at this moment to reach Alice. Although, Bara was able to take on multiple dolls at once, she had some difficulty against Suiseiseki, once she got a medium. Gin however, has a medium and even without one, she's strong enough as seen from season 1. Now, if she gains more power by absorbing Sousei's Roza Mystica, I don't see how even Shinku + Jun could defeat her.:heh:

6. Then, does the Roza Mystica go to Megu?
-I would hate to see Sousei's life be sacrificed for someone who's "ungrateful to be alive." Sousei's death deserves more than that. :sad: Meanwhile, do you guys think the Mystica is "consumed" by doing this?

7. Possibilities of what happens to Sousei later on?
-There are rumors saying that Sousei "will come back", since all her limbs are intact. Remember, Gin was burning but she came back alive.;) The obvious joke would be, to have her come back on ep6 of the 3rd season.:heh:
Nonetheless, I think its a waste of a character after "surviving" for some 20eps.

Btw, that Gin + Bara tag is too strong. :heh:
Bara dominates the earth, while Suigintou takes the skies. Too bad Sousei didn't join the "winning team".:joke:

Nice observation! I never noticed that. Although, I heard rumors about Jun being the "father" for the next era (rozen is known to take different forms), this is something new. As I said before in previous [lost] posts, "father" obviously had some intention of breaking the valuable Roza Mystica into 7 individual pieces. Now, the question becomes: If the Roza Mystica in the first place was that valuble, what is Enju actually putting in the furnace??

Yeah...after reading the manga, I must sadly say that Sousei was only "pre-destined" to die.:sad: Ever since that fight against Bara, I sort of knew, her days were num6ered...

http://img208.imageshack.us/img208/2...zen04842mw.jpg

BONDAGE IN RM!!!!
http://img384.imageshack.us/img384/1...9543bcc0ep.jpg

http://img396.imageshack.us/img396/2...49153516eo.jpg
http://img396.imageshack.us/img396/6...zen04387ya.jpg
http://img396.imageshack.us/img396/9...35666823kv.jpg

I wouldn't give a damn about Anime Gin in episode 6 if Megu is not here. The first season partically destroyed Gin's character from the manga which I hoped for. I'm more towards Manga Gin than Anime Gin.

Gin x Megu is the only reason I'm hoping to watch in Traumend and thankfully episode met my expectation.

-Gin asked Suiseiseki to hand over the Rozen Mystica peaceful, meaning that she still hoped for a peaceful resolve without any violence. (14:14)

-Gin could have cheap shot Souseiseki (and possibily Suiseiseki) when Suiseiseki tried to persuade her sister not to fight anymore (17:30), instead she just waited.

If Gin is what you called extremelly violent, everything would be over in (14:14)

In (13:54) Bara fires *golden nuggets* on Shinku, breaking Shinku's Barrier in the process. Although it's clear that this attack is secondary, she would use it if needed.

http://img384.imageshack.us/img384/1...26822821ug.png

The Souseiseki Known

My condolences go out to the Souseiseki fans, but that seemed justified to have happened to her. Her newly found rightousness to please Father and selfishness towards others namely her twin are the root of her demise. Personality is a factor here too, a reserved attitude that brims out as action-forth and please-driven in Träumend, I mean where is this all coming from? This sudden attitude towards action with such blatant acts as leading the first offensive on Barasuishou and then on Suigintou, the two axis powerhouses, was just insane and asking for the end.

R.I.P. Souseiseki. :sad:

http://img493.imageshack.us/img493/2...zen03282wc.jpg