Rozi in the Labyrinth Manga Volume 1 Review

-Written by: Allyn

Welcome to my first manga review. I’ve worked at Right Stuf for over a year and had not read a single manga until a few weeks ago. If you’re an avid Right Stuf Blog reader, you may recognize my name from our blog post Allyn’s Anime Adventure where my coworkers recommended (and created an impressive spreadsheet) some of their favorite anime for a complete newbie like myself. I’d say my anime knowledge has definitely improved in my time working here, but I still don’t watch as much anime as some of my coworkers. So when given the opportunity to review a manga, I figured it was time to see what the hype was all about.

If anyone reading this is also a “newbie” like me, here’s a helpful tip when reading your first manga: make sure you check to see if the manga is printed from right to left (like most manga) or left to right (which is what I’m used to reading). Reading the first 15 pages of your manga backwards is bound to confuse the reader—and that’s exactly how I started Rozi in the Labyrinth. Rookie mistake. Once I shook off the initial confusion and started this manga (in the right direction) things were starting to look up. The main character Rozi sets a tone of utter cuteness with her bubbly personality and curiosity of the labyrinth she and her guardians, Chemin and Mur, reside in. Chemin is a “father-like” figure who takes care of young little Rozi and her “big brother” Mur. Mur seems to be an angsty teen who constantly wears a hood over his head with hair in his face, but hey, I can’t judge. We’ve all experienced some teenage angst.

One of my bigger complaints about this manga has to be the overly cheerful reactions the characters have to some pretty stressful situations. After some brief character introductions, Rozi hops right into the plot by getting lost in the labyrinth, leaving Chemin and Mur to rescue her before she’s lost in another dimension of their world. It’s a lot to take in during the first 10 pages. I figured this had to be the direction the manga was taking—Chemin and Mur would go on a quest to rescue Rozi and all would be well, but that’s not quite it. Chemin and Mur quickly find Rozi and everyone acts as if losing a child in another dimension of an endless maze is no big deal in an annoyingly cheerful way.

Now that they’ve rescued sweet little Rozi, Chemin decides that he is going to take everyone on a litte road trip through the labyrinth. The first stop? A trip to a witch’s shop. If I were Rozi’s age, I would burst into tears if I was placed in front of a scary witch, but she giggles her way through the shop as if it’s nothing. Once they leave the witch’s shop, Chemin decides that instead, he’s going to visit the Black Queen, who rules over the section of the Labyrinth the main characters live in. Adding yet another quest to a relatively short manga.

In the end, Chemin, Rozi, and Mur give a bouquet of flowers to the Black Queen and then go home and eat omelets. In my opinion, there were just too many plot points to end on such a simple note. First Rozi got lost and then found (very quickly I might add). Then everyone decides to go and explore the labyrinth more but that really just turned into a trip to an old witch’s shop. To end by giving the Black Queen a bunch of flowers, a character that was suddenly introduced in the last chapter, seems senseless to me. Maybe we’ll get some more explanation in volume 2? I hope so. Until then, I think my next manga is going to have more action or horror. Any recommendations? Send me a spreadsheet—or give a shoutout to Right Stuf on social media.