Maiden Rose

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Maiden Rose (百日の薔薇, Hyakujitsu no Bara) is a 2009 manga series written and illustrated by Fusanosuke Inariya.

Set in a world embroiled in a complex war (ca. 1930), Taki Reizen, the heir to an aristocratic family especially favoured by the Emperor, leads his countrymen against the encroaching threat from both their enemies and their volatile allies. However, his position as messiah to his people and his authority in the military are now being undermined primarily by his acceptance of a knight from an enemy country, Klaus von Wolfstadt, who is something of a loose-cannon. He is also Taki's lover.

Despite the story being about a relationship between two men, it is notable for the sheer scope of the political and military backdrop that spur on much of the plot, and the series' author Inariya Fusanosuke has embedded such rich imagery and symbolism into the mythos it truly stands out in its genre. At its most basic, Maiden Rose poignantly examines the pressures of duty and social expectation as they clash with the complexities of human desire and emotion.

Not to be confused with Rozen Maiden.

Tropes used in Maiden Rose include:

• 100% Adoration Rating: Taki truly cares about his soldiers and they love and respect him, the children look up to him and want to be like him, etc.
• Ace Pilot: Both Klaus and his mother are Ace Pilots.
• Animal Motifs:
  • Klaus is often compared to a mad dog or a wolf.
  • Berkut means golden eagle, a species used to hunt wolves.
  • Taki is likened to either a bird or (in a flashback) an alley cat by Klaus.
  • The omake takes this even further.
• Anachronic Order: The manga shows the main characters' childhood (mostly Klaus'), their time in the Military Academy, and the present day; the storyline jumps back and forth quite a lot.
• Armchair Military: There in every administration that we see. In Volume 2 the brass from Taki's country are particularly obstructive and serve as a contrast to the type of frontline leader Taki is.
• Art Shift: It's easy to see that the manga and the omake are drawn by the same mangaka, but the style is different.
• Artistic License Sex Ed: Simply put, there's way too much semen in many of the sex scenes for one person (usually Taki) to produce. And it's painfully averted at one point, when Klaus is way too rough and Taki actually requires a doctor.
• A Taste of the Lash: Hasebe canes Klaus while he is tied to a chair during interrogation for treason.
• Bishonen: Averted with Klaus. Taki is a straight example.
• Badass: Both main characters, though Taki's rank elevates him to Colonel Badass. And Berkut.
• Badass Longcoat: The army greatcoats all qualify, but Taki's is the best example.
• Battle Couple: The Commander and his Knight, naturally.
• Berserk Button: Do not hurt and mock Klaus if you don't want Taki's sword though your hand.
• Berserker Tears: Taki when he attacks Klaus singlehandedly beat up following harassment from students at military academy.
• Big Entrance: Hasebe is about to kill Klaus when suddenly his sword is shattered. Following this is a two page spread of an ill Taki standing in the doorway, sporting a Death Glare, katana drawn, wearing a Badass Longcoat as a Coat Cape blowing in the Dramatic Wind against a stream of white light, with some flower petals floating around for good measure. The shocked looks from the others are pretty well warranted at that point.
• Black and Grey Morality
• Blue Blood: Taki, Klaus, Theodora and Katsuragi to start with.
• Bodyguard Crush: Klaus' relationship with Taki can be seen as this. Klaus often bows down to Taki, and has expressed his desire to protect and defend the country with him.
• Bottled Heroic Resolve: Klaus, when he goes on the raid. Less effective than expected, probably because that wasn't the first time he used drugs.
• But I Would Really Enjoy It: Taki really shouldn't want Klaus (or anyone, actually). But he does and Klaus wants him too, and that makes things quite difficult.
• Cargo Envy: When Klaus kissed Taki's blade.
• Cast Full of Pretty Boys: Justified because of the military setting. There are female characters: Duchess Theodora, Claudia, Taki's and Klaus' mothers in flashbacks, the nameless nurses, etc., but the cast is predominantly male.
• Caught in the Rain: The first time Klaus and Taki made love.
• The Champion: Klaus to Taki.
• Chekhov's Gun: The book Taki once wrote "danke schön" into. It seemed to be only a reminder of the days when the relationship between Klaus and Taki was happier. It actually saved Klaus' life when Berkut shot him and the book subdued the force of the bullets.
• Child Soldiers: The children of the military officers, but they don't really fight.
• Cliff Hanger: Thankfully not always. But ending a chapter with the promise of a duel between Taki and Klaus, and then going back to the days in the Military Academy counts as one.
• Coat Cape: Most memorably when Taki stops Chamberlain Hasebe from killing Klaus, as Dramatic Wind was in full effect.
• Colonel Smooth and Captain Rough: Taki is self-possessed, formal, and kind, whereas Klaus is brazen, frank, and none too polite.
• Conflicting Loyalty: Klaus has to give up his country, his family, all his privilege to be Taki's knight. Taki wishes to be the beloved and respected leader of his division and he also wants Klaus.
• Culture Clash: There are some not so irrelevant things in Taki's country that Klaus doesn't know about. Taki also got into trouble in the Military Academy because he didn't know the customs there.
• Cultured Warrior: Several members of the cast, given how many of them are also Blue Blooded. Katsuragi is the one who really flaunts it but he's also more of a Desk Jockey these days than a fighter.
• Curb Stomp Battle: Taki almost killed Berkut after he mocked Klaus' defeat.
• Death by Transceiver: Subverted. By the time Klaus and Yamamoto get ahold of the Murakumo crew, Yamamoto is panicking and yelling about how the captain is hurt until suddenly there are several gunshots and Yamamoto's screams. After a prolonged static-y silence Taki (on the receiving side) begins to freak out himself before Klaus comes on the line and says everything's under control and they're heading their way.
• Death Glare: Taki has made a speciality of it.
• Does This Remind You of Anything?: Klaus kissing Taki's sword. 'Nuff said.
• Doujinshi: Inariya has made several, some purely for comedy or Fan Service (the Hallowe'en specials) and some quasi-Canon ones about events that couldn't fit in the storyline (In Their Room at Luckenwalde series)
• Dramatic Wind: So the badass longcoats can look even more badass.
• Estrogen Brigade Bait: Klaus' design eschews the Bishonen aesthetic for this.
• Fantasy Counterpart Culture: Taki's home is a Japan-like country and Klaus came from a land that resembles Germany. Eurote resembles pre-revolution Russia.
• Femme Fatale: Duchess Theodora is darkly beautiful, ruthless and she has a pretty coat.
• Flash Back: The days in the Military Academy, Klaus' and Taki's childhood, when Klaus and Taki first met, etc.
• Flower Motifs: The relationship of Taki and Klaus is full of flower motifs. Also, the symbol of Taki's division is a three-leaf rose. Taki as the shinka is the flower of the emperor: the Maiden Rose.
• Forbidden Zone: No Man's land.
• Forgotten First Meeting:Klaus and Taki meet briefly in the middle of a forest by chance when they are young and make something of a Promise. Years later, they meet again and Klaus recalls but continually dismisses the memory, until their Relationship Upgrade, when he realizes from Taki's scent that it was him.
• Functional Addict: Klaus exhibits the Descontructed form of this trope. He is implied to have been addicted to morphine in the past, so that once he is injured and needs it to help enhance his performance it's not very effective and he has to increase dosages. As one would expect, he doesn't stop using it after that and it's still up in the air whether he'll be able to curb the addiction again or not.
• Giant Poofy Sleeves: Claudia's clothes. Not too over the top though.
• Good-Looking Privates: In ca. 1920-30s costume.
• Good Eyes, Evil Eyes: Averted. With his tiny body and pretty face Taki does look like a typical Uke, but he has just as narrow eyes as Klaus. Not in the omake, though, where his eyes are ridiculously big.
• Gratuitous German: Klaus is a typical German name and "von Wolfstadt" means "of the town/city of wolves". The name of the Military Academy is Luckenwalde Armor School ("wald" meaning "forest") and the textbooks are written in German. In one instance Taki actually writes "Danke schön" in Klaus' book.
• Greater Need Than Mine: Azusa did this after he and Klaus was found at the riverbank. Probably because Klaus' wound was more serious (there is a difference between being shot on the leg and the chest), Klaus' rank is higher, he didn't abandon Azusa on the train and Azusa thinks his duty as a soldier is more important than his life anyway.
• Guns Akimbo: Klaus uses both of his guns at times.
• The Handler: Klaus has one in Taki's country. When he tells Klaus he's getting out soon and Klaus should too before he dies there, Klaus mocks him for getting too attached to him.
• High on Catnip: This gag appears in one of the bonus comics, where a chemical weapon attack against the cat side is actually bombing them with catnip, to great effect.
• Horrible Judge of Character: Cadet Yamamoto adores Klaus-sama and wants to be like him when he grows up, and he told Klaus outside his doorstep that he will be stronger and more useful on the battlefield like Klaus and Taki, while inside the building Klaus was brutally raping Taki.
• Huge Guy Tiny Guy
• I Kiss Your Hand
• Impaled Palm: Be careful about touching Taki, Berkut found out the hard way.
• Inter Class Romance: Zigzagged. Taki is second-in-line to the throne in his own country. When Taki and Klaus first meet Klaus is of the nobility. Eventually Klaus' family lose that status because the monarchy is dissolved when the country falls to the Western Alliance, placing him as a wealthy middle class. Later, when Klaus becomes Taki's knight, he has to renounce his country, his name and status and becomes the lowest of the low in Taki's country. Their romance has been developing through all of this, but really comes into force after Klaus has lost his upper-class status.
• Intertwined Fingers
• Jack Bauer Interrogation Technique: Citing the fact that as Klaus' disavowal of his citizenship means he can't be tried for war crimes, Hasebe canes Klaus brutally before deciding to just kill him when he won't talk. Taki stops him.
• Jigsaw Puzzle Plot
• Katanas Are Just Better: Taki's sword is probably a katana. It certainly looks like one... well, what else could it be? It's a really Cool Sword and he can use it quite skillfully.
• Kiss of Life: Taki brought Klaus back to life this way after he was found unconscious and not breathing.
• Lap Pillow: Klaus fell asleep on Taki's lap after being 'interrogated'.
• Lens Flare Censor: Sometimes used during the sex scenes. Occasionally Barbie Doll Anatomy is also present, but for example in the 'sex on the train' chapter there isn't any censoring.
• Love Hurts: This is a manga about a very troubled relationship.
• Magical Realism: There is a definite spiritual element going on that is not fully explained but is acknowledged in-story as drawing all the characters together.
• Meaningful Name: Taki's three subordinates are named after components of Shinto rituals, alluding to his status as The Messiah and their positions as his protectors. "Azusa" is written with the same character as "azusa-yumi", the traditional Japanese bow which protects the inner chamber of Ise Shrine (the most important Shinto shrine). "Moriya" is taken from "Mamori-ya", Shinto arrow talisman used for spiritual protection. "Date" is written with the characters of "exorcist shield". This is also Theme Naming.
• The Messiah: To Taki's misfortune, even.
• Mexican Standoff: Klaus and Berkut have a brief moment when Berkut's sword is at Klaus' neck while Klaus' gun is pointed at Berkut's head. Unfortunately for Klaus Berkut notices immediately that the gun is jammed, but luckily Azusa starts firing from behind before Berkut can do anything about it.
• Military Academy: Luckenwalde, where Taki went to study and met Klaus for the second time.
• Military Maverick: Both Klaus and Taki at times. And it gets them in trouble.
• Mix and Match: Boys Love + During the War + Love Hurts + Adventure/Action
• My God, What Have I Done?: Klaus, after he realized he went a little too far with Taki.
• Never Bring a Knife to a Gun Fight: Subverted in a couple instances, particularly in Taki's Curb Stomp Battle with Berkut.
• Nice Hat: The emperor and Taki both have interesting ceremonial headgear. Taki also had a bowler hat in one scene, and he looked quite adorable.
• No One Gets Left Behind: Azusa wanted Klaus to leave him because of his injured leg, but Klaus refused to forsake him.

'No way. I won't give those guys a single one of you. Not this land. It's people. You. You're all my master's pride. We're going back. Taki's waiting.'

• Oblivious Sister: Claudia does know that Klaus 'wants Taki so much that he'll throw away everything', she seems to understand this and wishes the best for her brother, but she probably isn't aware of how exactly Klaus' and Taki's relationship works.
• Official Couple: Klaus and Taki
• Omake: Uses the Rule of Funny with Taki as a cute cat, Klaus as a wolf, a Tank-cum-Naughty Tentacles and Black Comedy Rape.
• One Head Taller
• OVA
• Pocket Protector: The textbook Taki wrote in slows down the bullets that Klaus takes in Volume 2, causing the wounds to be non-fatal.
• Red Oni, Blue Oni: Klaus and Taki.
• Right Through His Pants: Klaus never takes off his pants.
• Royals Who Actually Do Something: Taki puts his life on the line on the battlefield.
• Sarashi: Klaus, after he is wounded.
• Scars Are Forever: Berkut's scar. Averted with Klaus, who often has bandages on his face and torso, but his scars are temporary.
• Sensible Heroes, Skimpy Villains: There isn't any significant difference in how the male characters dress, but this trope is used with the two more important women. Claudia's clothes aren't revealing, she doesn't wear make up and she is kind, understanding, one of the very few genuinely pure characters. Duchess Theodora has skimpy clothes, high heels, she uses lipstick, and she is a cruel and dangerous antagonist.
• Sensitive Guy and Manly Man: Taki and Klaus, once again.
• Shadow Archetype: Katsuragi seems to shape up to be this for Taki. Like Taki, he is of royalty and used to have a "knight" (who is implied to be very close to him). Unlike Taki, he has an It Amused Me attitude about the war and more tellingly, Second Lieutenant Surugi calls him the traitor that caused the tragedy in No Man's Land.
• Shirtless Scene: Klaus likes to wander around wearing only bandages on his torso.
• Shower of Love: Well, Klaus and Taki did have sex (at least half of it) in the shower, but that sure wasn't an example of Good People Have Good Sex.
• Shrouded in Myth: As mythical as the relationship between Taki and Klaus can seem at times, things get even more vague when you start working outward from them (ie. Taki's mother, Klaus' ancestors, the wolfman and the founders of Reizen). It also occurs within the story to Klaus in examples like the nature of the Reizen sacred ground, which is incredibly important to Taki and his countrymen and yet no one can adequately explain to Klaus.
• Smoking Is Cool: Klaus
• Spit Trail Kiss
• Invisible to Gaydar: Both Klaus and Taki, though Klaus is interested in women too.
• Stuff Blowing Up: Like passengers trains hit with anti-tank missiles.
• Sword Plant: Taki
• Tank Goodness: The Murokumo and the Onokami. Especially the Onokami, being a Ferdinand
• Tarot Motifs: Appear in the Wheel Of Fortune doujinshis, naturally
• There Is No Kill Like Overkill: Why you don't force your way into Taki's...land.
• Train Station Goodbye: Averted against all expectation by taking out the 'goodbye' bit, and essentially starting the story.
• Traintop Battle: After jumping on top of the train Azusa asks why they are going in through the last car and fighting their way to the engine room rather then running across the top straight there. Klaus lampshades the impracticality of this tactic as their footsteps would give away their location and they'd just be target practice.
• Tranquil Fury. Taki, as Berkut found out the hard way.
• Unequal Pairing: Taki is the master, Klaus is his knight.
• Victim Falls For Rapist: Arguably subverted. There is no question that Klaus loves Taki, but his motives for rape primarily seem to be his anger towards Taki due to their situation and wanting to force Taki to acknowledge their relationship rather than love. Their first few times were also actually consensual.
• Walkie-Talkie Static: Represented visually in the Death by Transceiver incident.
• What Beautiful Eyes!: Klaus has said before that Taki has "such beautiful eyes". Taki thinks the same about Klaus' Eyes of Gold.
• Wouldn't Hit A Woman: Subverted. At first Taki commented on how chivalrous Berkut was because he asked his associate to take care of Duchess Theodora while he fights with Taki, but then Taki attacked her without any qualms and probably would have killed her if he is not stopped by his own soldiers.