R.O.D: The TV

Despite its bookworm outlook at the begging, this show is very action oriented. And its action is centered around Nenene\'s three \'bodyguards\' known as Paper Users. They have the ability to shape and mold any forms of paper to virtually anything they want. Anita King runs the offensive using paper as blades and other weapons, Michelle Cheung is the defensive user creating barriers and such, and Maggi Mui has the most versitility of the paper being able to create creatures and vehicles. At my first impression of the use of this power i was a bit skeptical. If your anything like me your probably going ... to say, "Look at all that paper!" And thats no joke too... they use alot of paper in this show (green peace freaks probably shouldnt watch this show). After the intial shock the action starts to become second nature to the show, showing each characters different fighting styles.

The story is pretty deep and intreguing starting by looking for her lost friend only to find out that there is ALOT more than what she bargins for. Since the series is a 2 season affair (26 episodes) This gave them the time to flesh out the side stories of the main characters and find out their ultimate goals with really really REALLY good twists. No spoilers here considering thats half the fun of ROD is finding out how everything fits into place so well...

The artistic detail in ROD is very well done but its not the best i\'ve ever seen. The details in the action scenes are well executed, you truly get the feeling of lots of paper being wasted fighting the baddies. Even after the aftermath (from fighting or just trashing nenene\'s house or the sisters apartment) the detail of the junk lying around is very well placed. Little details like a stack of books next to a staircase or a bookshelf so full its almost about to burst really pull you more and more into the story. I\'m a total sucker for small details like this. A minor gripe would be the sound... the paper monsters should have sounded a little more ferocious, and paper rustling is EVERYWHERE. But it cant be helped ^_^

Overall i really enjoyed this show despite it lacking ecchiness (big surprise i know). But the big fight scenes the animation and detail of every subtle movement make this show flow very smoothly and seamlessly. I mean its practically an 8 hour movie and i sat watched all 8 hours with great intent. I did have a 2 hour nap in between tho since i didnt sleep for 24hours straight.
But anyone whos into magical warfare but
wants something a little different than sparkles
and wands, please pick this anime up! ^_^

Read or Die - the TV is a very interesting Action, Adventure, Anime; where the main characters have the strange ability to control paper. After watching this you might begin to think differently about books and paper. ^_^

Read or Die - the TV follows the adventures of three sisters who have the ability to manipulate paper. These three sisters end up protecting a famous writer Nenene, who's being targeted by some dangerous people. Yet while protecting her, they also take on missions from the Chinese Intelligence on the side, to retrieve rare stolen books. It continues like this until the British Empire begins to ... make their move.

The storyline of this action-packed anime takes place 5 years after the incident in the original R.O.D OAV. Just like in the OAV this anime follows the adventures of the main characters Michelle, Maggie and Anita who are all paper manipulators just like Yomiko from the OAV. During the show there's a decent amount of amazing paper combat and character developments. The main problem with R.O. D - the TV is the pace of this show and the number of dull and boring moments. The show started of well but flowed very slowly, with episodes of very little happening and it wasn't until episode 11 when the story actually started to develop. From here right through to the end there are some of the most exciting battles, a decent plot-twist and the most hoped for return of "The Paper" from the OAV.

The animation quality for R.O.D – the TV was great with a decent amount of detail put in. the characters were well designed but the only thing that may annoy some is how cute they made some of them, with their blushing cheeks. Yet this is easily forgotten when there's a major action-packed battle, which is surprisingly fluid, even with multiple characters doing separate things (episode 12 is a good example of this).

The music was superb with every episode starting of with a great Jazz beat (with no lyrics), just like in Cowboy Bebop. The music during the show was also great and blended in well with the mood however it's sometimes spoilt by the character's annoying voices.

Overall this turned out to be a great anime, which had a lot of dull moments but at least it didn't let it spoil the story. As the story began to reach its climax, the new plot did feel a little too unrealistic; of how creating a new world without books would help end wars. At the very end of this series I was really disappointed that very little action happened, so if you're hoping for one big showdown then you'll be disappointed as well. This anime is best suited for those who want to see something interesting that hasn't really been done before, but I recommend watching the OAV first.

^_^

The OVA of Read or Die is a secret agent parody, perhaps poking a little fun at how ridiculous some of 007`s plots are, and its overboard story of literary greats trying to take over the world has a campy charm. The TV series brings back most of the characters from the OVA,but centers itself around a new cast. Even though it`s a little more heavy handed with its mood and drama, all the style in the OVA is preserved, only drawn out to a long 26 episodes.

Where the laughably crazy plot in the OVA held a certain charm, it doesn`t serve well as the ... plot of a TV series. The plot is fairly thin for the first half of the series. It alternates between monsters of the week and some slice of life pieces. The monster of the week encounters don`t have the same elaborate design as the action packed encounters in the OVA, but they more or less have the same wackiness. The characters of the TV series are also more or less of the same quality as the OVA. They are simple characters with one or two defining quirks, some of which are a bit cliche in the Anime world. A short 3 episode stint is conducive to simple and cliche`d characters, but slice of life is not. By far the worst segment of this series is when it explores the daily lives of the 4 new main characters. The slice of life subplots are boring in and of themselves, and these characters are far too simple and played out to spark empathy.

The story suddenly and completely changes from around the midway mark,kicking out all of the monster of the weeks and slice of life bits for its central plot. It shapes into something vaguely similar to the OVA`s. The heroes have to stop some maniacal villain from taking over the flow of books, and thus, the world. It`s certainly a lot more complex than that of the OVA`s, but to its own detriment. Far too many plot developments stem from extraordinary lapses of common sense by some of the characters. Contrivances like these are sadly, a gigantic driving force. This leaves the plot not only wacky, but also nonsensical.

As if that wasn`t enough, we still have to stomach our average dose of B rate Anime melodrama, including but not limited to complete over-dramatization of trauma, loss, and depression. As per usual also,the maniacal villain has to give his share of philosophical lectures on how to make the world a better place, all of which are answered by the hot headed heroes with equally bogus, but less pessimistic philosophy.

The TV series isn`t really unfaithful to the OVA. It`s not quite as impressive visually, and maybe it`s a bit cheesier, but it goes for the same feel the OVA does. This just goes to show that campy charm is exceedingly delicate. Where the OVA in many ways was so weird, so bad that it was good, trying to stretch that same appeal into 26 episodes just leaves it as plain weird and bad.

I really liked the Read or Die OVA. While it wasn’t the best anime OVA ever made it still was one of the most enjoyable and fun anime OVAs I have ever seen from this medium. So when I decided to hold my out of print Read Or Die TV DVD UK boxset I was pretty cautious about because before I even watched it I asked people opinions about Read Or Die TV and what I got was pretty divided. On one camp you had people who absolutely loved it and they thought it was better than the OVA while the other camp didn’t like ... it all that much as it’s very inferior to the OVA that barely had any charm. So after reading people opinions of Read Or Die TV I decided to watch it. 26 episodes later and I safely say that Read Or Die TV is an amazing squeal as it everything that was great in the ova and made it better to a point where it became now one of my favourite anime squeals period.

Story.
Taking place 5 years after the five years after the “I-Jin” incident Yomiko Readman has supposedly gone missing. Nenene Sumiregawa, Yomiko former student and best friend hasn’t written a book ever since her disappearance. This has led to her becoming lonely and frustrated that her sensei (Yomiko) has never read her last book, and she feels she can’t write again until she hears Yomiko’s reaction to the book, so Nenene often disappears for long periods of time searching for Yomiko. During her trip in Hong Knog she meets the three paper sisters named Michelle, Maggie and Anita who are supposed to take care of her during her visit. However, the hotel at which Nenene is supposed to stay at is bombed, and at a press conference, Nenene is briefly held hostage by a jealous rival in her industry. The three sisters end up becoming her bodyguards and join her back to Tokyo and from there Nenene enlists their help in looking for her missing best friend Yomiko.
I really liked the story for Read or Die TV. Compared to the story in the OVA series where it was pretty meh the TV series is much stronger in the story department as it not only fixes many of the story issues that I had with the OVAs but it manages to make the story more intriguing to the viewer especially in the second half where the show starts to dive into pretty dark topics and themes which I won’t mention due to spoilers.
The show is once again is well paced as it keeps the viewer interested of what is happening whatever it’s a slice of life school stuff with Anita to the more serious action with Yumiko and the Paper Sisters. Speaking of the slice of life school stuff the first half of Read or Die was excellent because not only it well written as it but it does a great job at developing key characters like Anita.
The second half of Read or Die TV goes backs to it’s OVA roots where there is more action, however, the story is much better executed and intriguing this time around as it’s becomes far more complex and intriguing however I will admit there were certain moments in the show I was not a fan off because it seemed that the story tried to be more epic than it should be.
Overall despite that small nitpick I had with the second half the story of Read Or Die TV is great and well executed.
9/10

Characters.
When it comes to the characters in Read Or Die I thought they were pretty great and fun for the most part.

Before I talk about the Paper Sisters am going to go the talk about other characters first.

First, we have Nenene who is easily my favourite new character in the series. Despite her not having any power to speak off she’s doesn’t let anyone persuade her choices that she makes even if jealous writers threating her with bombs or agency trying to brainwash her amazing will is way too strong to be taken down because she simply never wants to give up being the person that she is. It is a very strong characteristic that I really adore especially for female chararters and it makes me sad that we don’t that strong characteristic all that much in modern anime. Outside of her strong will, she is a well-written chararter who gets a lot of chararter development thanks to Yumiko and The Paper Sisters. Overall amazing character and she’s was my main highlight for the series for me.

Yomiko is still great as ever and like with the OVA she is still an aboustly joy to watch.

The same can apply for the other returning characters from the OVA series.

Finally, let’s talk about arguably the weakest characters in the show the Paper Sisters or more specifically Maggie and Michelle. I honestly thought they were pretty meh overall. Now aren’t bad characters by any means and they do have some great moments but as characters, they didn’t develop that much as characters. Not to mention at times they can be pretty annoying in some cases for me. However, I will give them this despite them not being as memorable compared to the others they chararter interactions were pretty well done and at times very funny.

They aren’t bad chararters but they were not all that memorable compared to the rest of the chararters especially Anita and Nenene.

Anita, on the other hand, is a great character and easily the most developed character from not only this series but the franchise as a whole. Sure she can be bratty at times but outside of her brattiness, she’s actually the best-written chararters even more than Yomiko. Her chararter development in the series was great and very impactful where not only her bonds very well with other chararters but she grows as a chararters. She is the second main highlight for Read or Die TV for me outside of Nenene’s strong will and I really love her as a character.

As for the rest of the characters, I thought they were pretty good and enjoyable for what they were.
Overall the chararters, for the most part, were awesome, likeable and well developed. It was easily the best thing about this series.

8.5/10

Visuals.
Visually Read or Die TV is pretty great. While it may not as amazing as the OVA series it’s still a one of the better-looking anime from the early 2000s. The characters designs are great and applying to the eye. The animation is smooth and constant. All the fight scenes in the show are very engaging to watch.
Overall the visuals of Read or Die were great.

8.5/10

Sound.
Like with the OVA series the soundtrack is brilliant. The soundtrack still has that great James bond feel it and am glad they didn’t change the soundtrack at all. The one thing I really liked is how they carried over half of the music from the OVA to this series. When I heard that iconic Read or Die from the ova in this show it made me feel so nostalgic and hyped.
The opening theme while not as amazing as the ova is still a great opening theme that perfectly captures the tone and setting of the series.
The first ending theme Moments in the Sun by Kazami with Home Grown is an amazing ending theme that closes off each episode of the first half perfectly. Not to mention is very catchy.
The second ending theme is good but not as memorable as the first ending theme.

Now for sub vs dub
Like with the OVA series I only have seen dub version of Read or Die TV The dub for Read or Die TV is awesome as voice actors did an amazing job at portraying the respective character roles.
My favourite performances in the dub were Rachel Hirschfeld as Anita and Tricia Dickson as Nenene. Overall a fantastic English Dub that shouldn’t be missed.

9/10

Final Thoughts.
I love Read or Die the TV. Yes, the show had it’s few shortcomings but those shortcomings did not completely ruin the experience as the show was an amazing and well-written ride from start to finish. The story was awesome and intriguing, the characters, for the most part, were excellent and well developed, the visuals while not as amazing as the OVA it was still great for what it was and the soundtrack is kickass.
Read or Die TV took everything that I loved about the OVA and expanded to new heights and because of that, I consider this show along with the ova series a hidden anime classic that I will forever love.

Final Score 9/10.

R.O.D the TV soars above it's manga equivalent, Read or Dream, in terms of strong story and well developed characters, even bringing back several popular characters from the past. While the two host the same primary characters, the plot line of the tv series takes on a whole different path from the manga, and I must say that it was a brilliant choice. Although the series overall is rather slow to develop, it all results in an amazing ending climax and resolution that is well worth viewing for oneself.

Do note that it is not necessary to know anything about the Read or Die ... setting previous to this series to be able to follow it, although many elements do tie in with the past.

Story: 9
This story centers around several bibliophile sisters (and one who hates books) who are able to animate paper, and their various day to day life, as well as the missions they go upon. Later on in the series, the story takes on a much more epic scale, and everything involving the sisters and the people they are involved with all comes together in a grand fashion that has the potential to all fall apart, but manages to stick and finish well.

Again, I'll try to avoid comparisons to the manga, but first I shall mention that I found the character designs to be greater in the anime series; the portrayal of the Paper Sisters is better executed and personalities are well defined in a manner that the manga lacked.

In terms of story progression, the first episode should give you a pretty good feel of what the series is like. The first few episodes are somewhat uneventful in terms of heavy action as they're used to introduce you to the main characters and their personalities, but the pace starts to pick up around the fourth ep. when they start taking on some missions and Anita starts school. Episode 12 marks the start of the real focus of the story, and after a recollection of the events that were involved in the original Read or Die and tie in with R.O.D the TV in Episode 14, the true plot line unfolds (as well as the return of a certain Paper Master). The series definitely takes its time in delivering the full story, and although many episodes could easily be cut, overall, I found the shifting between the slower, more character development-centered parts (edging toward the slice of life genre) and the more story-driven, action oriented parts to be appealing and rather enjoyable.

R.O.D just has this really relaxed feel to it, which blends well with the action sequences surprisingly. The main characters maintain their personalities well whether relaxing reading books or animating paper on a serious mission.

The way that the plot progresses is comparable to a train starting up; it starts out really slow and slowly begins to pick up speed, until it progresses into an all out (I'd feel rather awkward saying 'full steam ahead') race to the finish that is just impossible to stop watching. While the story does take quite a few rather creative liberties when the real action begins, overall the story packs a solid punch that delivers in the end.

I should mention that the series does contain a small amount of nudity, but nothing too major (namely Episode 9).

Art: 9
If the animation for the series has one thing, it's consistency. The animation is fluid and well done throughout the entire series; the flow of hundreds of sheets of paper everywhere is quite a sight to see. The series delivers on the action scenes, and is easy to follow and impressive to watch. Character design is clean and simple, although they are defined aptly, and it is easy to distinguish one character from another. The anime refrains from using any super deformed styles such as simplified faces or chibi to convey emotions, and rather uses dialogue, superb voice acting, and well drawn faces to create an effect. However, they do sometimes use blush spots on cheeks to make the characters look cute at times, and while it is a bit out of place, it is far better than the common use of >< eyes and such to translate feelings. The backgrounds at times are simply beautiful, as are the cloud designs. Overall, the art is rather solid.

Sound: 8
One thing I should mention, regarding voice acting, I watched the english dubbed version for a while, and I have to say that it wasn't too bad. It takes a bit of getting used to at first, but some voices are just spot on, such as the brilliant voicing of Nenene, which provides a perfect fit to her character. In fact, when I went back to subs, I found that I actually preferred the English voices, with a few exceptions (i.e. Hisa's voice). And that's saying something, as I generally prefer Japanese with subtitles to dubbing.

The ending theme is very fitting to the series, as I find it reflective of the relationship of the Paper Sisters. The ending changes after Episode 13, halfway through the series, and although I liked the new ending, I found that it did not fit quite as well as the first.

The OP is a lyric-free jazz piece similar to ones found in Cowboy Bebop, or something that you'd hear in a James Bond-type movie, and is also used several times during action scenes. The music played throughout the series fits the atmosphere and helps to define it, and although the music is sometimes started awkwardly in some scenes, it is all very fitting.

Character: 10
Perhaps R.O.D's strongest point is its character relationships. The chemistry between the three sisters is realistic and gripping, as are the friendships they form with many of the other main characters of the series. Every character possesses strong unique qualities that define each, and they stick by them consistently throughout, while simultaneously developing and growing as people. The characters' traits and the way they act are deeply ground in reality and it is easy to visualize any of them living in the real world (minus the supernatural elements, of course). All have vastly differing appearances; there is no risk of ever mixing up characters for one another. While many of the characters' pasts are not deeply delved into, although at the moment I cannot confirm, I believe that they are addressed in earlier installments of the Read or Die universe. However, the three main characters receive plenty of background information that is slowly revealed throughout the story and make them stronger as a whole. The characters of R.O.D are part of what makes this story so great.

Enjoyment: 10
R.O.D the TV delivers a unique story that any anime fan should check out. The story is unique and refreshing and the characters are both memorable and likable. The general atmosphere of the series may not be for everyone, but I feel that this is a rather under-appreciated anime and everyone should at least give it a chance. Despite its slow and steady pace, this series manages to stay compelling and kept me hooked all the way through up to the end.

Overall: 9
Although I feel that the series does fall a little short as it takes a bit too much time in the beginning, those who are patient will be rewarded with a great story and characters if they stick with the series. My best advice would be to at least check out the first episode and see what you think as it gives a pretty good idea as to what R.O.D is like. If you happen to like the Read or Dream, or Read or Die manga, then you should check out this anime for sure.

Score: 46/50; A- (92%)

Having watched the fantastic R.o.D. OVA I decided to check out the series... first thing that must be known is that it does not directly follow the storyline of the OVA but instead takes the route of coming up with three completely new protagonists; "The Paper Sisters".

I do not want to give any spoilers but this is something you learn very early on in episode 1;
Each of these sisters is a papermaster with the ability to manipulate paper in a variety of ways.... the big problem is, each of them ONLY manipulate paper in a specific way. The major draw of Yomiko Readman in RoD ... OVA was that she could be wildly creative with her manipulation of paper, creating airplanes, swords, shields, parachutes, etc.... by limiting each of the characters to one specific form of paper manipulation it turns each encounter into a highly predictable and dull scene.

They literally kneecapped the best part of the OVA.


So let's put the action scenes aside for awhile, what is the main story? well, it struggles to find its footing but it is allegedly about the three paper sisters becoming the bodyguards of a published author named Sumiregawa Nenene, so because the set-up is such a passive affair, the plot falls into stagnation pretty quick and struggles to find something for the characters to do... so much so that half-way through the series they just throw their hands up in the air and say EFF IT (You'll know what I mean when it happens), destroying the little story they had so far and restarting from scratch.

Okay enough about the story for a bit, let's talk about the characters;
Oh boy, they completely went overboard, in the OVA there were hints of lesbianism and it was cute, it was sexy, it was intriguing... but in RoD the TV the undertones became 'overtones', though we don't see any actual lesbian acts, the characters are blatantly lesbian. That is not something that bothers me but it very much distracts when every single female character is blatantly lesbic, in some cases having that being one of their defining characteristics.



So let's recap;
- Very weak characters that are poorly developed and put through awkward/forced development
- A non-story that is abandoned half way through the series
- Action scenes far inferior to its OVA counterpart


There is nothing to recommend here.
If you want action like the OVA, you will not find it here.
If you want creative, strange characters, you will not find it here.
If you want a complex, intriguing overarching plot, you will not find it here.
If you want to see more Yomiko Readman as the focus, not here either.

R.O.D. the TV is a 26-episode anime produced by the great Aniplex production house. It is the sequel to the R.O.D. movie, and occurs 5 years after the events of the movie. The story revolves around three special sisters who save the world from a nefarious plot (by the British Library, no less) to 'unite' all mankind by reformatting their brains.

The anime as a whole, I must say, is awesomely created. Everything is perfect: the characters, the act, even the storyline. A superbly crafted series, R.O.D. the TV manages to leave nothing to the imagination, yet conveys an intellectual involvement that is interesting on ... so many levels.

The story, to begin with, is superb. The episodes moves from one to another in seamless sequence. Not for a moment does one feel out of place. The exciting parts are long and aplenty, and the soft and melancholy parts do not bore. Highly emotional at times, yet completely cohesive in its entirety, the story gets a definite 10.

The character design is excellent as well. The female characters are, not to put too fine a point on it, dee-LICIOUS!! On their part, the male characters, too, live up to expectations. Overall the characters are well-designed and even better, well-conceptualised. Each character is perfectly natural in his/her role, and while watching an episode, one may well be forgiven for losing track of reality.

The soundtrack for the show, though not overly spectacular, is nevertheless quite good. The opening track (R.O.D. by YKZ) is a thumping good song, and will have you jiving to it soon enough. The ending tracks (there are 2) are good too. The first, Moments in the Sun by kazami, gets you really mellow with its reggae-ish background music and really smooth vocals. In comparison, the second theme, Confidence by Rieko Miura, isn't all that good, and does not at all gel with the pessimistic mood of the later episodes.

In conclusion, then, I'd just like to say that R.O.D the TV is an awesome anime that you have to, have to, watch. I don't care if you have to beg, borrow or steal for it, just watch it!!!! And once you do, I guarantee you: you will LOVE it!

From slicing steel to bows and arrows, a "Papermaster" has the ability to manipulate papers any way they want. In Hong Kong, three Papermaster sisters, Anita, Maggie, Michelle, use their skills to protect their writer friend Nenene from a bomb threat. In doing so they become a part of something more then a simple bodyguard job and it’s up to them to save the day.

Everything about this show is great, from character development to the story line. This is an anime you should not miss out on!!!

Enjoying an anime is always nice; better yet is when a series ends up exceeding your expectations. Such is the case with 'R.O.D. the TV'. This is a surprisingly entertaining adventure with likable characters and a jazzy soundtrack that should be checked out by anyone who enjoyed the action-packed OVA that came before it. To those who haven't: I strongly recommend you do, it's a terrific action-anime first and foremost; but it must also be noted that the second half of this series builds heavily on characters and events that transpire in the OVA.

'R.O.D The TV' is best described as a combination of X-Men and ... James Bond, with a dash of Cowboy Bebop. The story revolves around three girls: the happy-go-lucky but surprisingly perceptive Michelle, the tall-and-silent Maggy and the spunky Anita. Together they form a group of private-detectives called 'The Paper Sisters'. The 'Paper'-part is a reference to the special ability of these girls: each of them can manipulate paper in a special way that might have your morning newspaper turn into a deadly dagger or a swimming swan. Origami on steroids so to speak.

The series starts off by having our heroines protect and eventually move in with a novelist called Nenene Sumiregawa, a writing prodigy with a severe case of writer's block and some emotional baggage caused by the sudden disappearance of a close friend a few years ago. Over the course of the series the sisters solve cases and do their best to get along with Nenene. The first half is mostly comprised of establishing the characters and 'case of the week'-episodes in which the Paper Sisters solve random cases (tone ranging from lighthearted to horror-ish, much like Cowboy Bebop) to pay their bills. The second half presents a more cohesive and more serious story built upon the established characters and plot threads of both the first half as well as the OVA.
All in all the narrative does a great job of keeping the whole thing going. It never drags aside from a rather slow beginning and there are plenty of interesting twists and events to keep it engaging. Even better is that R.O.D. the TV manages to juggle between all the characters and (sub)plots with the finesse of an A-class circus-clown, ultimately providing a satisfying end to the whole affair.

Another part of why the series works so well is because of the characters. The Paper Sisters quickly prove themselves to be quite endearing as individuals (Anita in particular) but they shine brightest when working together, particularly when trying their best to help their often grumpy but well-meaning employer Nenene. Speaking of which, Nenene (referred to as 'sensei' by most of the cast) also proves to be a surprisingly well-developed and interesting character thanks to how well the series portrays how loneley (because of her missing friend) and under pressure (considering all her fans are fiending for a new novel) she is. Sadly the antagonists don't fare quite as well. They manage to be entertaining and menacing but their motivations remain largely unexplored (the main antagonist in particular is a very missed opportunity) with the exception of one minor villain whose character is remarkably well fleshed out.

The visuals and audio are remarkable. The OVA was also an absolute delight in this regard and it's nice to see the TV-series continue this proud tradition. The detailed art, distinctive character designs, fluid animation (NB: I watched the series in 2010 and feel that its animation can easily compete with contemporary stuff), excellent sound-effects, jazzy soundtrack (again very reminiscent of Cowboy Bebop) and solid voices make for an overall product that's well above-average as far as production values is concerned.

On the whole, R.O.D. the TV manages to be a deftly plotted, fun-packed adventure with likable characters packed in a stylish prestation. It could have been a great series if it had few more fight-sequences, a better developed main antagonist and a more spectacular finale. As it stands, though, I still recommend anyone who enjoyed the OVA to spend some time with the Paper Sisters.

ROD started out as a really fun anime full of action, humor and extremely likable characters. The soundtrack is unique and "cool" that give a certain mood to the series that really fits. The animation and character design is also rather pleasurable. However, about halfway through, the story heads towards stagnation as if the creators had run out of ideas. Even though I watched the last half more recently than the first half, my memory for the first half is better since there just wasn't much notable material with the second half. The real killer to the series was the bland, predictable ending that was ... a complete failure of a finale.

This series was definitely one that starts off with huge potential, but flatlines after a point in such a bad, horrible way that the whole anime was killed for me. In a way, I wish I hadn't seen the last half because the first half was seriously cool!

I really miscalculated thinking that this series with three paper masters would give me 3x the enjoyment I got from watching the original Read Or Die OVA.

Animation

Animation is pretty solid, character designs are clean and cute, nice color schemes and some interesting paper based battles (when there where battles). Surprisingly there was hardly any noticeable fanservice which I thought was a good thing until the slow pacing of the story actually made me wish fanservice was there to keep me awake on some of the more snail paced episodes.

Sound

This is definitely the best point of this anime, catchy opening theme, nice closing themes and enjoyable ... classical background themes for episodes. Unfortunately I put myself through the ringer with this painful English dub. The dub was painful mostly due to hulky dialogue and BAD English accents for the British characters. Otherwise it was generally decent.

Story

Honestly apart from the initial setup in the first two episodes It mostly felt like a slice of life anime up until about halfway when they decide to explain the inner workings of the story. So then after about episode 14 the show kinda comes full circle and merges the plot with the original OVA's story which seems like a good move but then the characters begin to show elements of melodrama and the storyline gets flimsier by the episode.

The show continues to degrade with more snail paced and dreary dialogue then coming to the last quarter of the show there is a mediocre plot twist that was actually a bit unexpected but is sadly once again ruined with some long winded kidnap exchanges followed by an inevitable shallow yet predictable ending or wrap up whatever you wanna call it.

Characters

Characters are probably the worst thing about this show as they feel as flat as a plank of wood and despite some attempts to pull on your emotions they seem void of any substantial depth.

So basically you got 3 sisters with 3 totally different personalities - the tall quiet one, the short zany one, and the middle sized calm and collected one. Then you got the super annoying Nenene who is actually a friend of the previous paper master in the original ova. They all play off each other in a typical highschool anime way but fail to draw any real interest. The story does little in terms of any character development but instead drones on the whole concept of 4 lonely female characters who learn to appreciate each other and form a bond of sisterhood whilst battling an evil corporation bent on doing something very lame to the mass population.

Since 90% of the characters in ROD are female maybe I should have expected this level of mediocrity but due to the surprisingly uneven amount of battle scenes I thought would make up for its shortcomings the characters end up being just above 1 dimensional at best

Enjoyment

Sadly I did not enjoy this title at all because compared to it's predecessor it is just bloated with too many trivial activities and slow paced dialogue and when it finally decides to pick up some momentum it seriously fails to make a solid impression. I actually had to fast forward some scenes near the end as they where just too boring.

Value

This is low value for me mainly because noting at all stands out in this show. I actually ended up watching the original OVA again and although it was not as good as I remember it being it is miles better than this. It's a real shame because I really like the concept of the paper masters,,,,A waste of potential if you ask me.

I honestly believe if this show was compacted into a 6 episode OVA like its predecessor it would have been a more faithful and enjoyable sequel….there is just too much fat on this piece of meat!

Planet Tyro Rating: Not Feelin This

planettyro.com

Read or Die should have been an 8 or and 8.5 Unfortunately it's more 6.7 to 7.1.

It's got a few really big problems that bring it down .

First the pacing of the story is abysmally slow for the first 13 episodes or so. Initially it just plods along it tries to be action oriented but fails and mostly spins its wheels with throw away plot elements. Admittedly it does get character development going, but it does so with what are mostly irrelevant story lines.

Second it really doesn't decide what it wants to be. Does it want to be a character driven ... shoujo, yuri kind of anime ? Does it want to be an action spy flick ? Does it want to be a slice of life ? It doesn't know, and it's trying for all the above.

Thirdly if you saw the OVA that this is the sequel to it fails to deliver on what you have been made to expect from that OVA. It eventually does deliver but by the time it does the series is nearly over.

TL:DR It does some things really well but because of the length of the series and its lack of focus it undermines its strong points.

Read or Die the TV (R.O.D for short) is definitely one of my favorite all-time animes which i have watched over and over.

The characters are amazing with each one possessing a power slightly altered to one another as to keep them all original. I do however feel that some of the characters were not used to their full potential such as Michelle who, although got a lot of screen time didn't use her powers as often as say Anita.

I was also quite surprised as the anime doesn't offer much fan-service (there is a little) but then one episode had nudity out of nowhere (not that ... that is a problem am i right?)

Overall i loved this anime and will probably continue to rewatch it in the future.

I wanted to like this show. I was hyped ever since the ova. I looked forward to more Yomiko Readman papercraft adventures, but instead we get the three stooges, a bungling lot of sisters putzing around stumbling on a consiracy. I was not impressed. The music at best was decent, characters were all standard cliche trope archetypes, while probably the highlight of the show, clearly not for me. And the pacing oh my god! It felt like I was watching never ending filler and ended up dropping it. The art and the characters to the credit of JC Staff were all well done. The story ... was so so whenever there was any to be had. I'm overall disappointed in this series, though maybe it picks up later, so I may re-watch to see if it redeems itself in the end.

Remember last time last year, when I watched an OVA called Mezzo Forte and I thought that was one of the many entertaining anime I had ever saw and then after that, I’ve reviewed Mezzo DSA, the TV series to follow it and I thought the TV series was very bland and vanilla compared to the OVA, offering nothing to the table aside from a few basics from the OVA. Well, I was very cautious when going into the Read or Die franchise as I know a few friends of mine said that OVA is very underrated and I wholeheartedly agree about. Now with this ... TV series, that might say the opposite that it isn’t as good as the OVA but hey, who knows? I might find a different opinion on it.



The series begins in 2006, five years after the "I-Jin" incident detailed in the Read or Die OVA. Yomiko Readman (a.k.a. "The Paper", agent of British Library Task Force) has supposedly gone missing, and Nenene Sumiregawa, her former student and best friend, is still in Tokyo after her parents moved to the USA. Nenene has not written a book since Yomiko disappeared, as she has become lonely and frustrated that her sensei has never read her last book, and she feels she can't write again until she hears Yomiko's reaction to the book, so Nenene often disappears for long periods of time searching for Yomiko, and has been periodically doing so ever since her "disappearance".

During a trip to Hong Kong, Nenene meets the three sisters, Michelle, Maggie and Anita (from the Read or Dream manga), who are supposed to take care of her during her visit. However, the hotel at which Nenene is supposed to stay at is bombed, and at a press conference Nenene is briefly held hostage by a jealous rival in her industry. The three sisters end up becoming her bodyguards and join her back to Tokyo.



As I watched the series, I will know there will be additional characters made into main characters from the aforementioned manga and the plot expands to more than just 3 episodes (to a full 26 episodes) and I only have half enthusiastic when I was watching this. The plot of this is as like the OVA but it’s sliced and diced to either the average bad guy of the week to these character pieces that are more akin to the slice-of-life genre with one part being Anita in middle school (or it is high school? I couldn’t really tell. They looked way too young to be high school.) but it just feel odd and jarring as most characters from the first half disappears and then appears from out of the blue and/or a long time period for forced character development, which just puts me out of interest altogether.



Funny thing about the main 3 sister characters, all of them are named after Hong-Kong action actresses, hence Anita King (Anita Mui), Maggie Mui (Maggie Cheung, part of Anita Mui) & Michelle Cheung (Michelle Yeoh, part of Maggie Cheung) but yet, the fact is the only thing that is interesting about them as they aren’t that strong as characters but more of anime archetypes: Anita being the youngest but the most capable and often more focused on than the other sisters, Maggie being the quiet and silent one, and Michelle is the cheerful, older yet ditzy sister. Throughout the show, they do go through this sisterhood bond with another new character in the mix, Nenene Sumiregawa and yet, she is a very irritable and screechy character, whose only reason to appear in this is because she has a connection to the earlier master Yomiko Readman and yes, most of the characters from the OVA do appear in here, including Joker, Drake & Nancy, but if you’re expecting the femme fatale Nancy was in the OVA, prepare to be disappointed, as it was explained that she did suffer some brain trauma that had her in a childlike state.



The animation here as in the OVA, Studio Deen did the previous one, while in the TV series, they are replaced with J.C. Staff for this time and it was just……average. The paper battles were very spot-on with the previous installment although they appear within long periods of time. Character designs are actually faithful as I can’t spot the differences of how they were designed. The music is still the best part of the franchise as it still retains the spirit of the OVA and it even got more funkier when the opening theme for the show. Plus, the original themes from the OVA among other pieces are heard in there. I can say less for the ending themes as they are standard pop songs that seemed forgettable.



Fuck it, this English dub is bad and I mean it was grating as like the animation, the voice actors from the Manga dub was replaced by company Geneon / New Generation Pictures and most of them tried to do British accents and some can’t do it well, especially the replacement actress for Yomiko (Hellena Taylor), Joker (J.B. Blanc) & Junior (J.D. Stone) and some of the main female character voices are often shrilly and screechy, mostly Nenene’s voice. However, I’m not going to fault the dub that much as they did hire kid actors to play the younger characters and if you try to find some recognizable voice actors in there, the only people whose voices I got from there are Hunter MacKenzie Austin (playing Michelle), Carrie Savage (replacing Amanda-Winn Lee for Nancy Mukahari) & Patrick Seitz.



FINAL VERDICT: The show isn’t wholly unfaithful to the OVA, the spirit of that is still present in the TV series but I just don’t think it was ready for a TV format, even the plot as ridiculous in the OVA seems better suited to that. Mainly one character left somewhat of an impact of the show, only 50% less than Yomiko. I wouldn’t say it’s inferior to the OVA but it’s nothing that most people would say when talking about most anime out there. By any chance, you should stream or rent before buying.

Read or Die - TV definitely falls in the category of unique anime series. While it takes place after the events of Read or Die, OVA, the storyline centers around Japanese storywriter and more so, her three bodyguards, the Paper Masters who are three sisters with the unusual ability to manipulate paper however they see fit. I found the story to be intriguing as you go from protecting Nenene to the sisters having missions on the sideline and then to finding out how the sisters, Nenene, Yomiko Readman and the Joker all intertwined in the second half. Theres a good amount of action ... for the series peppered with episodes where you get to see character development fleshed out. You can feel the sisterhood amongst the four and how their bonds are what keeps them moving forward as they figure out the truth behind The Joker's ultimate plan to bring UK back to glory. Sounds a bit convoluted but its well paced so you don't feel like you're rushed at all. Theres an episode where they encapsulate the events of the OVA leading up to the events the happen in Episode 13. The second half is where I think the drama unfolds and it makes for a satisfying ending. The music is where, in my opinion, the series shines. Taku Iwasaki managed to have action oriented music to the likes of James Bond especially in the opening theme of the series, with mystery and suspense and then you're giving music to bring the tone down to emotional and vulnerable moments of the show. It really helps to set the pace where the storyline needs to go. The two ending theme songs for the show are standard J-pop and I actually enjoyed their placement in the series to lighten the mood. I did not complain at all. The battle scenes are really fast paced and the animation style works for me - well given early 2000 era standards. Do I think it aged well - sure thing. The storyline is unique in that I can watch this series again - which makes high replay value for me. Its short and while I do wish there was more episodes, its satisfying to know the characters all play out their roles to the end. The voice actors did a great job. When this show first aired, I watched it with the English dub and I was fond of it. This time I watched it in the Japanese version and they sound just as good, if not, even more in character. My only complaints is that I wish they utilized their paper abilities more in the series to get a better sense of their paper abilities.

The first 6 or ten episodes are easily the best and most enjoyable part of the show, so if you do end up watching this just stick around for those. Once the actual plot gets started things just get worse from there. Which is really unfortunate because there were a lot of genuinely moving character beats and arcs that are suspended in a god awful plot and story exaction.

At its core my main issue is that the story is slave to whatever perpetuates drama in the moment, damn character and damn integrity of the narrative. The story suffers from a severe lack of creating ... believable stakes and plot, because of the aforementioned issue, as any upper hand the protagonist gain is surely to be lost, and same for the antagonists. This is the state of the story for 26 episodes which really drag on.

The story probably could've been condensed into something 1/2 or 2/3 of its current length, with a higher density of action and character beats and would be better off for it. The issues with pacing are exacerbated by an uncathartic ending.

Between these story beats is sometimes pretty decent action and character beats. The animation and art is jank at times, and the action is actually pretty sparse throughout the episodes. The voice acting is pretty good, although there were a few parts where it felt like things could've used another take or the performance didn't fit the scene.

To me at least what ROD did best was the characters and the relationships between the sisters and other characters. The drama while extremely heavy handed and transparent does sometimes effectively create compelling character beats.

On the whole I'd repeat what I said in the first paragraph, watch the first couple episodes and if you don't like where its going after that feel free to drop out.

Review out of 100. 35 for Story, 35 for Characters, and 30 for Production Values.

Story: (25/35) A good, but slow first half, an interesting, but convoluted second half that has a lot of flaws.

Characters: (32/35) Best part of the show. Great characters that you will fall in love with (save for a few) that have a lot of character development.

Production Values: (27/30) Very well done soundtrack and visuals. The music is very James Bond like and the fight scenes are nicely choreographed.

Overall: (84/100) Watch this if you like shows with great characters, and really good fight scenes. If you don't mind a ... confusing and flawed but otherwise interesting plot, you will like this show for what it is. If you are someone who looks into every detail in the plot, be prepared to get annoyed.

I really, really enjoyed the first half of R.O.D The TV. Like, it was really well done. People who can control paper and go on missions to take back important books? Count me in. The first 13 or so episodes go really slow and allow for the characters to properly develop. This part of the series feels a lot more like a slice of life/comedy more than it does an action. Of course, the show never goes more than a few episodes without a glorious fight scene, so it does keep the action coming (although a little more would have been nice). But even during this time the show manages to stay on track and advance the plot, although you wont notice it at first. But around episode 14 or so, the show takes a pretty big turn. In a good way, the show becomes more interesting because there is so much that is happening. But sadly, the plot is just isn't all that good. It is littered with plot holes and has the usual "people acting stupid for plot" problem. The plot didn't go downhill, rather it went uphill, and it went a little too far a little too fast. The sheer craziness of the plot might get you annoyed at first, and you will probably get confused somewhere along the way. There are a lot of plot twists though, so the story won't seem boring and you'll never know what will hit you next. The ending was very good IMO, although I think it left a lot of small details unanswered. If you are someone who tends to analyze a show too much, you'll probably dislike the second half of the show a great deal. But if you're someone who can just let the plot entertain you, you wont hate it. (25/35)

The characters are this shows strongest point IMO. I really liked all of the main characters. This is one of the few examples of characters that are really fun to watch on their own, and are even better when put together. On top of that, they all get tons of development, especially the paper sisters. The first half did a very good job at making these characters very lovable, while the second half made them much more developed (although, a lot of the comedy the series had is also gone in the transition, as it is a lot more serious). You might get annoyed by a few characters, in particular Nancy (at times) and Yumiko for just being plain stupid. Seriously she is like the worst character here. This show gets a high score for a great cast of characters that are also surprisingly developed. (32/35)

The production values for this show are extremely high, especially the music. I have heard that some of the music was reused from the OVAs, but I can't complain since I haven't seen them yet. Either way, that shouldn't annoy you since the score for this show is absolutely amazing. It is mostly jazz instrumentals that are reminiscent of a James Bond movie, while also reminding me of Cowboy bebop(just watch the opening, which was very well done). (14/15) The animation was also very well done for a show in the early 2000's. On top of being very fluid and just overall above average, they had amazingly choreographed fights and certain scenes just looked really amazing. (13/15)

I really enjoyed this show, despite its obvious flaws in the plot. Honestly, I'd consider this a classic if it would have ended on episode 13, and the rest would have been a separate season or something. I enjoyed the second half, but at times it was hard to swallow everything that was going on. The plot is this shows biggest downfall IMO, but it isn't bad enough for me to not recommend it, so long as you are the right audience for it. (84/100)

Okay let's get down to business, R.O.D. the Tv is all about an author (Nenene) who is in a creative slump because her mentor has disappeared for years. Then one day she runs across a trio of magical paper controlling women who want to become her bodyguards, of course this has it's setbacks as we soon come to learn that there is a relation between the trio and Nenene's missing mentor and that it all has something to do with the British Library.

The story provides fast paced action with beautiful animation. What's great about the drawing style is that the animator is able to create ... many action scenes that utilize paper, fluttering up and down, through the fight scenes.
Plot-wise, the story is amazing with many twists and turns, dragging in characters you would never had thought had any relation to the main problem.

Overall 9.5/10! The story delivers and makes no false promises, with some mediocre humor.

Having watched the OVA of ROD, most of us then embark on the TV series, and it's better than some reviews would have you believe. In a sea of moe-blobs or tsunderes, this show stands out as being a little bit quirky but easily accessable.

Naturally, it's a little bit fanciful, but contains a bit of drama and relationship struggles with some comedy and action. Probably not the top of your list but I'd recommend it when you get the chance.