Bara no Maria (Maria of the Rose) also known by it's english title, A Brave Heart of Red Rose, is a Light Novel series written by Ao Jyumonji and illustrated by BUNBUN. The series follows Maria Rose, a red hair warrior who works as a "cracker", a mercenary, in the city of Elder where Maria's fellow companions try to earn money while Maria deals with weird and crazy people. One of the Running Gag's of this series is Maria's gender. Despite the female name, Maria's gender has never been confirmed in the series and it doesn't help Maria displays both typical boyish and girlish reactions and attitudes.