Summary
Souseiseki serves as the fourth Rozen Maiden doll and acts as the tomboyish twin sister to Suiseiseki. Functioning as a gardener, she possesses the unique ability to enter human dreams and tends to humans' soul trees using a specific set of pruning shears. In combat, she combines these shears with acrobatic flight, her artificial spirit Lempika, and a hat that returns like a boomerang; she notably used this tactic to temporarily disarm Shinku during their second confrontation. Visually, she shares heterochromatic eyes with her sister, though the color pattern is the mirror image. Her personality stands in stark contrast to Suiseiseki, characterized by rationality, calmness, quietness, and deep devotion to both her master and her duties, including the Alice Game. She speaks with a sharpness reminiscent of Shinku, attacks ruthlessly, and tolerates no sub-par actions. Her appearance is the most masculine among the dolls, and she uses the masculine first-person pronoun "boku" rather than gender-neutral options. Her narrative significance is greater in the anime than in the manga. In the manga, her master sought to exploit her dream-entering powers to exact revenge on his brother's lover, whom he blamed for stealing his brother. Since Souseiseki could not achieve this alone, she fought Suiseiseki to unite the Gardener's shears with the Gardener's watering can, as both tools are required to affect an individual's soul tree. Ultimately, she realized her master's heart needed liberation and sacrificed herself to grant it. In the anime, she is devoted to a lonesome old man who uses her as a substitute for his deceased son, Kazuki. She appears more eager to participate in the Alice Game due to a strong sense of duty. In the OVA, she is introduced mid-fight with Shinku in a flashback and attacks a then-harmless Suigintou without restraint. In Rozen Maiden träumend, she questions her idyllic lifestyle but joins the Alice Game out of devotion to Rozen, aiming to fulfill his wish of finding Alice and relieving his perceived grief. Her artificial spirit, Lempika, is named after a fragrance by Lolita Lempicka. Souseiseki was the first runner-up for Saimoe 2005. She is created by Shibasaki Motoharu in the anime and Yuibishi Kazuha in the manga, with Jun Sakurada creating her in alternate dimensions.
