Maiden Rose

Maiden Rose (百日の薔薇) is an ongoing fictional war romance manga written and illustrated by Inariya Fusanosuke. It is currently licensed in English by Digital Manga Publishing, but was previously licensed by DramaQueen. 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 and October 23, 2009.

Geneon released a Drama CD for the first volume on June 29, 2007.

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.

Klaus, confused and angered, became very abusive to Taki, and began to sexually harass him consistently afterwards. 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 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. Michelle Smith found the manga "promising" and "confusing", cautioning that it is "not for the faint of heart".