Summary
As the fifth Rozen Maiden doll and the first to appear in the narrative, Shinku embodies the persona of a traditional Victorian aristocrat. Her vocabulary frequently includes her favorite words: "tea," "servant," and "What?" She habitually and casually inflicts physical punishment on Jun, her medium, whom she views as her servant. In her own mind, she holds a dual role, believing it is her duty to not only discipline Jun but also to guide him as a guardian. Although she may appear cold and unappreciative, she is deeply protective of her sisters and cares profoundly for Jun, often offering parent-like wisdom. Despite her arist eccentricities, she remains the most level-headed doll residing in Jun’s house. Her primary weakness is a fear of imperfection, a anxiety potent enough to shatter her usual cool demeanor. Because Father invested immense effort into her creation, Shinku feels an obsessive drive to become Alice. She views the Alice Game as cruel and is reluctant to take the souls of her sisters, regarding them as lifeless "junk," which they fear more than anything else. Unlike other dolls, Shinku avoids honorific suffixes like "-chan," "-san," or "-kun," with the exception of when addressing "Father." Despite being relatively young among the Rozen Maidens, the other dolls respect her as an older sister and a worthy challenger in the Alice Game. Shinku possesses a cute side, most notably her intense, almost obsessive admiration for the puppet detective Kun Kun. Jun once managed to win her over during an argument by using a Kun Kun doll. She also harbors a hatred for cats due to a past incident where one nearly ate her wind-up key. Alongside her status as the central doll, Shinku holds a special place in Father’s heart; he gifted her a unique brooch bearing his image upon her creation, a token later destroyed by Suigintou out of jealousy. While Shinku desires to become Alice, she refuses to use deadly force against her sisters, believing there is a way to achieve her goal without participating in the Alice Game, as instructed by Father. In battle, Shinku is one of the strongest dolls, utilizing rose petal-based attacks that are highly versatile. She can command the petals to spread for wide-ranging assaults or cluster them to form a shield. Additionally, she wields a cane with the skill of a sword. Shinku also possesses special powers, including a form of time-reversing magic that allows her to restore broken objects, such as Jun’s bedroom windows, after Suiseiseki and Souseiseki cause damage. Her popularity was recognized when she was a runner-up in both Saimoe 2005 and 2007. Her medium is Jun across all seasons, while Sara serves as her medium in the 19th Century arc. Her Artificial Spirit is Hollie, known as Hollier in the Tokyopop translation. The name Shinku translates to "True Crimson" in English.
