R.O.D Read or Die

Yomiko Readman will "just die" if she doesn't finish reading her book, but wacky super-villains are trying to steal it from her and use it's secrets to destroy all human life on earth. A situation scary enough to make the President of the US wet his pants. Left on her own Yomiko would happily spend the rest of her life and all of her money buying books to read. Unfortunately for her now she has to become Agent Paper, a super powered secret agent working for the British Library. Step aside James Bond, now Agent Paper (with the ability to make common paper do anything, and I mean ANYTHING) along with Miss Deep (with the ability to move deep through solid objects) and weapons expert Drake (who is having a bad day) are needed to save the world. If you set aside some miner plot flaws you may find this campy spy spoof a hilarious guilty pleasure like me. I love the kick ass music, action, humor, as well as what evolves into a deeply moving relationship between Yomiko and Nancy.

Read Or Die is only an hour and half long but it packs in so much it feels like you've watched an entire anime series. Full of interesting characters with unique fighting powers (Yomiko, the main character, fights with paper) and a fresh concept, Read Or Die is sure to please the anime fan.

Not only is Read or Die full of new ideas, the animation is also a thrill as well. Every aspect of the show is perfect, and the story is well thought out and neatly performed. For the record, I'd say that Read or Die is the most underrated anime of 2001. I've shown it to all my friends and they have been impressed as well.

If you love anime, or used to love it, or have never even seen it before (and can use your imagine some), there's plenty of colorful entertainment to be had in Read or Die. 10/10

In my humble opinion, this is nothing short of a masterpiece. Often, I feel that animation (western and Asian alike) tends to forget its roots - the fantastic, the stuff of dreams and imagination. Instead, a lot of animation tries to mimic reality, which many do well. This anime however, tells a playful, dreamlike story, taking you through literary eras without the need to actually jump in time, and as effortlessly as turning the page of a book.

In short, this anime has a strong theme of storytelling, classic fantastic literature, and "history" rather than "legend". The setting is in victorian-like castles, huge libraries and secret corridors, with sudden leaps into the modern big city life, musty basement-bookstores, a desert town, a high tech military base, and more, all blending seamlessly, magically. The characters seem too fantastic to be real, but at the same time they are rooted in historical characters.

I can't even comment on the animation or the sound. It's simply impeccable. But the true strength of this anime, and the final push towards a full 10/10 is the story, and the way it's told. A less-than-great attempt at such a diverse setting and cast would most likely fail, but incredibly Read or Die pulls it off. How the creators managed to do this, I cannot comprehend, but it works! You're seduced and taken for a ride through worlds, eras and genres, from fantasy adventures to street-level action, unexpected character dramas to huge scale crime fighting. It's no wonder that this anime won best OVA at Anime Expo 2002 - I can only say that it's well deserved.

I saw this one about a year ago out of curiosity (the name alone sounds interesting) and I thoroughly enjoyed what I saw.

The story revolves around Yomiko Readman, a.k.a. The Paper, a substitute teacher/secret agent for the Royal British Library, and also quite a book collector with the unique ability to control paper (it's cooler than it sounds, trust me). She reports to a man called Joker when called into action. But she can't do it alone. She needs the help of her fellow agents: Nancy Makuhari, a.k.a. Miss Deep, who can pass through solid objects as if they were air; and Drake Anderson, who has no special talent, although he is able to see the bad side of nearly every situation. Together, they must stop a group of famous people from the past, who were brought back to life through genetic reconstruction, from destroying the world.

With superb animation quality and a story that will keep you guessing right up until the end, this OVA is up in the top of my list of favorites. I'd recommend this to anyone, whether you're an anime fan or not.

Yokimo Readman just loves her books, and she has thousands. She coos over them, cuddles them, and absorbs herself so fully in in reading them she can literally let a five car pileup crash by her without noticing.

And she has a curious superpower. She's a "paper master" that can make paper do all sorts of incredible things, like form barriers or bind things or cut through steel. So it is fitting that her spy code name is "paper." So she is a secret agent. Unlike the usual anime super-heroine, Ms. Readman doesn't ever shed her long skirt, vest, and glasses when doing battle with the bad guys. She stays her same cute-but-dorky self throughout, saying things like "give me back my book, please" from the super-villain that stole it from her even while he is trying to kill her. She leaves it to her colleague to wear the form-fitting spandex costume (which is, after all, obligatory).

The storytellers in this movie have an excellent sense of subtlety, even while they indulge in the usual action-adventure excesses. There are a few worthwhile reflections on the nature of the historical figures that are cloned and brought back to life as part of the Evil Plot, but most of what is worth watching is Yokimo herself. Her first use of her power is so casually done that you would miss it if you blinked, but that fits with the character. Perhaps her most endearing moment is when she admits that as much as she treasures her books, she knows that real life is more important.

You have to see for yourself how believable it is when she takes on a homicidal samurai with a light saber on his side with nothing but a morphed dollar-bill for herself. For me, it worked.

I am amazed I can give this DVD 9 stars while still finding what should be a fatal flaw. The passion of the character is for books, but never once does the story depend on something that she read in all the thousands of books she is supposed to have read. Leaving this out reduces Yokimo's driving characteristic from a powerful plot device to a simply amusing fetish, which is a shame. And there is something to be said for being a role model for the kids that can and should watch this. However, the story is fun enough that this can be overlooked and 9 stars is appropriate.

The artwork is slick, smooth, and convincing. The voice acting in both English and Japanese is superior. Sometimes the background details get washed over, usually in the machines of battle hardware, which is actually not unwelcome.

A note about the series: I found this DVD because I rented the first volume of "R.O.D. the TV" from Netflix, and liked it so much that I found this story was the prequel. So I canceled the entire series at Netflix and bought this DVD and the whole series of "R.O.D. the TV" just from that one sample. They are that good.