Rozen Maiden watch order
Shut-in Jun Sakurada answers a strange letter and winds up Shinku, one of seven living antique dolls made to fight each other in the Alice Game. Peach-Pit's manga became a 2004–06 anime by Nomad, with two seasons and a special, and a separate 2013 series by Studio Deen that adapts the manga's second part.
First time? Watch Rozen Maiden (2004) and Träumend, then the two-part Ouvertüre special. Zurückspulen (2013) is a separate retelling that follows the manga, so treat it as its own story afterwards.
First-timer order
The Nomad anime as it came out, with Ouvertüre straight after Träumend because it assumes you've seen the season. Then Zurückspulen as a separate take that follows the manga. The Kun-Kun short is an extra for whenever you like.
- Rozen Maiden
The first season by studio Nomad. Jun meets Shinku and her sisters Hinaichigo, Suiseiseki and Souseiseki, and the Alice Game begins with Shinku's clash with the eldest doll, Suigintou.
- Rozen Maiden: Träumend (episodes 1–5)
The second season picks up in the summer after season 1. Shinku is haunted by nightmares about Suigintou, the mysterious seventh doll Barasuishou appears, Kanaria joins in and Jun makes a second contract with Suiseiseki.
- Rozen Maiden: Träumend (episodes 6–12)
Suigintou returns with a new medium, Megu, Souseiseki turns on her sisters, and the Alice Game comes to a head against Barasuishou. Barasuishou and this ending are anime-only, which is why the 2013 series doesn't follow on from here.
- Rozen Maiden: Ouvertüre
A two-part special set in the middle of Träumend: when Shinku refuses a brooch from Jun, Souseiseki tells him the story of Shinku and Suigintou's past in Victorian London and how their friendship turned into a rivalry. It sits about here in the timeline (AniList puts it after episode 5, the fan wiki after episode 6), but it was made a year later and leans on Träumend, so watch it after the season.
- Rozen Maiden: Zurückspulen
A new series by Studio Deen that ignores the Nomad anime and adapts the second manga (Rozen Maiden, 2008–14). Episode 1 races through the first manga's story; the rest follows an adult, college-age Jun from the world where he chose not to wind Shinku. He starts getting messages from his younger self and is pulled into the Alice Game.
- Rozen Maiden: Detective Kun-Kun (optional)
A seven-minute comedy short packed with the 2006 PS2 game Rozen Maiden Duellwalzer, in which the puppet detective Kun-Kun solves the case of a stolen tiara at a party. Standalone and skippable.
Story order
The 2004–06 anime in timeline order, with Ouvertüre's framing story slotted into the middle of Träumend. Zurückspulen is a different continuity based on the manga, so it comes last on its own rather than after Träumend's ending.
- Rozen Maiden
The first season by studio Nomad. Jun meets Shinku and her sisters Hinaichigo, Suiseiseki and Souseiseki, and the Alice Game begins with Shinku's clash with the eldest doll, Suigintou.
- Rozen Maiden: Träumend (episodes 1–5)
The second season picks up in the summer after season 1. Shinku is haunted by nightmares about Suigintou, the mysterious seventh doll Barasuishou appears, Kanaria joins in and Jun makes a second contract with Suiseiseki.
- Rozen Maiden: Ouvertüre
A two-part special set in the middle of Träumend: when Shinku refuses a brooch from Jun, Souseiseki tells him the story of Shinku and Suigintou's past in Victorian London and how their friendship turned into a rivalry. It sits about here in the timeline (AniList puts it after episode 5, the fan wiki after episode 6), but it was made a year later and leans on Träumend, so watch it after the season.
- Rozen Maiden: Träumend (episodes 6–12)
Suigintou returns with a new medium, Megu, Souseiseki turns on her sisters, and the Alice Game comes to a head against Barasuishou. Barasuishou and this ending are anime-only, which is why the 2013 series doesn't follow on from here.
- Rozen Maiden: Detective Kun-Kun (optional)
A seven-minute comedy short packed with the 2006 PS2 game Rozen Maiden Duellwalzer, in which the puppet detective Kun-Kun solves the case of a stolen tiara at a party. Standalone and skippable.
- Rozen Maiden: Zurückspulen
A new series by Studio Deen that ignores the Nomad anime and adapts the second manga (Rozen Maiden, 2008–14). Episode 1 races through the first manga's story; the rest follows an adult, college-age Jun from the world where he chose not to wind Shinku. He starts getting messages from his younger self and is pulled into the Alice Game.
Release order
Everything in the order it came out. The Kun-Kun short came with a PS2 game in April 2006, and Ouvertüre aired that December.
- Rozen Maiden
The first season by studio Nomad. Jun meets Shinku and her sisters Hinaichigo, Suiseiseki and Souseiseki, and the Alice Game begins with Shinku's clash with the eldest doll, Suigintou.
- Rozen Maiden: Träumend (episodes 1–5)
The second season picks up in the summer after season 1. Shinku is haunted by nightmares about Suigintou, the mysterious seventh doll Barasuishou appears, Kanaria joins in and Jun makes a second contract with Suiseiseki.
- Rozen Maiden: Träumend (episodes 6–12)
Suigintou returns with a new medium, Megu, Souseiseki turns on her sisters, and the Alice Game comes to a head against Barasuishou. Barasuishou and this ending are anime-only, which is why the 2013 series doesn't follow on from here.
- Rozen Maiden: Detective Kun-Kun (optional)
A seven-minute comedy short packed with the 2006 PS2 game Rozen Maiden Duellwalzer, in which the puppet detective Kun-Kun solves the case of a stolen tiara at a party. Standalone and skippable.
- Rozen Maiden: Ouvertüre
A two-part special set in the middle of Träumend: when Shinku refuses a brooch from Jun, Souseiseki tells him the story of Shinku and Suigintou's past in Victorian London and how their friendship turned into a rivalry. It sits about here in the timeline (AniList puts it after episode 5, the fan wiki after episode 6), but it was made a year later and leans on Träumend, so watch it after the season.
- Rozen Maiden: Zurückspulen
A new series by Studio Deen that ignores the Nomad anime and adapts the second manga (Rozen Maiden, 2008–14). Episode 1 races through the first manga's story; the rest follows an adult, college-age Jun from the world where he chose not to wind Shinku. He starts getting messages from his younger self and is pulled into the Alice Game.
Explained
Why are there two versions of the story?
The 2004 series, Träumend and Ouvertüre were made by studio Nomad while the original manga was still running, and Träumend went its own way with an anime-only seventh doll, Barasuishou, and its own ending to the Alice Game. The 2013 series, Zurückspulen, comes from a different studio and adapts Peach-Pit's second manga instead, so it doesn't continue from Träumend at all.
Is Träumend canon?
It's canon to the Nomad anime but not to the manga. Barasuishou doesn't appear in the manga (the manga's seventh doll is Kirakishou, who shows up in Zurückspulen), and Träumend's final battle is the anime's own. It's still the natural follow-up to season 1, which it continues directly.
Where does Ouvertüre fit, and do I need it?
Its framing scenes take place partway through Träumend, but most of it is a flashback to Shinku and Suigintou's past. It came out a year after Träumend and assumes you know that season, so watch it afterwards. It's optional, but it explains where the anime's Suigintou–Shinku rivalry comes from.
Can I start with the 2013 series?
You can, since episode 1 summarizes the first manga's story before the new material starts. It moves very fast, though, and the later episodes count on you caring about the dolls and Jun's past. Watching the 2004 series first gives those introductions room, even though some details differ between the two versions.
Is there more after Zurückspulen?
No further anime has been made since 2013. The second manga it adapts ended in 2014 after 10 volumes, and the anime doesn't reach that ending, so the manga is the place to finish the story; Seven Seas publishes it in English. A prequel manga, Rozen Maiden 0 (2016–19), has no anime.