Introduction
As Jun Sakurada fights and lives alongside the Rozen Maidens, special lifelike dolls made to battle each other, he enjoys a rare break in which he is told a story during the events of Rozen Maiden: Träumend.
When Jun buys a brooch as a present for Shinku, the fifth doll, she refuses to accept it at any cost. Souseiseki, the fourth doll, then recounts the story of how Shinku and the first doll, Suigintou, first met. This tale tells of the cruel and heartbreaking circumstances surrounding Suigintou's birth, and how the many misunderstandings between her and Shinku shaped their longstanding rivalry fueled by Suigintou's unfettered hate towards Shinku.
The stage is set in Rozen Maiden: Ouvertüre in 19th century London as the story delves into the past of these one-time friends and the secrets that they hold.
[Written by MAL Rewrite]
Audience reviews
8 · Sample from the first available page, separate from the total number of ratings.
BurningCarnation
If you're a Suigintou fan, you're in luck. This OVA series cuts out almost all of the 'irrelevant' side-characters and focuses strictly on Shinku and Suigintou, their past, and the start of their mutual animosity. Despite Ouvertüre technically being a prequel, it's best to watch the previous two seasons to understand it in its entirety.
Shinku cannot stand imperfection, for to accept imperfection is to deny her purpose in life--to become the perfect doll, Alice. Suigintou is by design imperfect--for Shinku to deny imperfection, to deny the possibility of a defective doll like herself ever seeing their father again is to deny her very existence, and their friendship. It was all sweet lies: Shinku's kindness was one born of pity, and oh did she revel in the fact that her poor, inferior sist…
Read at the sourceangelsreview
I am not exactly sure when this series actually ends up starting as there are many characters from Traumend but yet there is also a lot more information about the Alice Game that Jun doesn’t seem to know at the end of the series. There is also a lot of information on Suigintou.
Because of the fact that most of the story revolves in a different era then the rest of the series, it makes it so the animation is a lot different as well. I believe the story is actually in Europe as well meaning a different look to the backgrounds. The personality of the only few human characters we see also show this different world well in how strict they are to their daughter in how she acts. The young girl, Sarah, who is Shinku’s medium in that time can’t seem to act like a child at all. She is always talke…
Read at the sourceMiaSkyler14
I loved overture!!! Anyone who reads this review and likes rozen maiden must watch it! The story was very good though I did think it would be a little longer, that's my only qualm. The relationship between Shinku and Suigintou is one everyone must know about. The art was pretty good too, the same as the other 2 seasons.
I loved the opening! One of my favorite anime openings right now! :) It's very...beautiful. Sadly I don't usually pay much attention to anime endings so I have nothing to say about the ending.
The characters were wonderful. As usual, I loved Shinku though she is different from how she is the other 2 seasons. More cold and harsh.
I had a love/hate thing for Suigintou, at first she seemed quite sweet and determined but towards the end overture I think she goes too far. You…
Read at the sourceHEAVYb51
I must say that i enjoyed the Rozen maiden series (including traumund), however, this 2 episode special is my favorite piece of rozen maiden out of the entire series.
While the original two seasons completed the story very well, it never goes into detail into suigintou's past. This special really helps the viewer understand the tragic turmoil that suigintou went through, at the hands of shinku. once i finished this special it is worth noting that the way i viewed both shinku and suigintou changed dramatically, and thats a good thing. deep psychological problems exist between the two, and this special really points it out well,
what else can i say, if you love rozen maiden then you will definately love this
Read at the sourceireneotaku
Out of the three Rozen Maiden's I think that this one has the darkest tone. Separating from the light tone of the first season and the beginning of the second season is something the show needed. Having this overture to the show added more effect to a certain character if you go, and watch the second episode. Overall it is amazing and for less than an hour to watch is something most anyone watching Rozen Maiden should watch. I think that it is even better than the first season, and on par with the second. The only thing is that if you watch this after the first seasons before the second the entire show makes more sense. So I think that for the one hour that it takes to watch it is definitely worth it.
Read at the sourcest_owly
Overture is basically a backstory explaining why Suigintou hates Shinku so much.
Story: I've pretty much summarised it up there. It is explained nicely in the 2 episodes, and you see the transition from when Suigintou and Shinku first meet, and they are friends, all the way to Suigintou explaning her hatred of Shinku at the end of episode 2. The events leading up to it make sense, and do actually fit together to form a coherent story, unlike some back stories which just appear to be totally random.
Art: I didn't think it was as good as the first series'. I haven't seen the 2nd yet so I can't comment on it. The colours weren't as good and it just seemed more amateurish.
Sound: Again, not as good as the first series. The theme song was again excellent. (though I am an Ali Project fan).…
Read at the sourceImperturbable
I'll let you know right off the bat I am extremely biased toward Rozen Maiden: Ouvertüre. One, as of this moment, this is the only thing on my anime list that I've rated a ten (not even Rozen Maiden or Rozen Maiden: Träumend gets this honour); two, I think Tanaka Rie (Suigintou's seiyuu) is spectacular; and three, my favourite doll is Suigintou.
Now, to the important stuff: Why do I like this so much?
Simply enough, it explains why Suigintou is the way she is. Haven't you watched or read enough things where there are incredibly evil antagonists, and you hate their guts, but you have no idea why they're doing what they're doing?
Suigintou starts to change in Träumend but as viewers we still don't understand where her attitude comes from. Those who have watched Rozen Maiden…
Read at the sourceVenneh
Title: Rozen Maiden Ouverture
Anime: Ouverture was animated by the same studio that did the other two seasons (Nomad), directed by the same guy (Kou Matsuo), and ran on Japanese TV from December 22nd to December 23rd, 2006. Again, this may or may not correspond to the manga; since I have yet to read it, I'll have to get back to you on that.
Story: Ouverture focuses on the first meeting between Shinku and Suigin Tou, mainly through a flashback as Sousei Seki tells the tale to Jun. The flashback part takes place back in Victorian England, and the modern day part takes place between episodes six and eight of Träumend.
Wow. It's amazing, seeing what a violent 180 everyone's personalities took to become what they are today. Well, everyone except the Sekis, really.
Still, I f…
Read at the source