R.O.D: Read or Die

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Alternative Titles

Synonyms: RoD

Japanese: R.O.D -READ OR DIE-

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Information

Type: Manga

Volumes: 4

Chapters: 30

Status: Finished

Published: Dec 18, 1999 to May 18, 2002

Genres: Action, Comedy, Mystery

Themes: Adult Cast, Super Power

Demographic: Seinen

Serialization: Ultra Jump

Authors: Kurata, Hideyuki (Story), Yamada, Shutarou (Art)

Statistics

Score: 7.07¹ (scored by 1,643 users)

¹ indicates a weighted score.

Ranked: #7825²

² based on the top manga page. Please note that 'R18+' titles are excluded.

Popularity: #4276

Members: 4,763

Favorites: 72

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Wikipedia

7.07

Ranked #7825Popularity #4276Members 4,763

MangaUltra JumpKurata, Hideyuki (Story), Yamada, Shutarou (Art)

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Volumes: /4

Chapters: /30

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Synopsis

Yomiko Readman's love for literature goes far beyond any run-of-the-mill bookworm's! In fact, she has a supernatural ability to manipulate paper in the most amazing ways. From turning a tiny scrap into a lethal throwing dagger to making a single sheet hard enough to block bullets, she's only limited by her imagination. She uses her phenomenal power to seek out legendary books containing secret information that, in the wrong hands, could be dangerous. Backed by a Special Operations Division in England, Yomiko has her hands full battling evildoers, saving the world, and trying to find time to curl up with a good book.

(Source: VIZ Media)

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Background

R.O.D: Read or Die was published in English by VIZ Media from March 21 to September 19, 2006.

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Related Manga

Parent story:	R.O.D: Yomiko Readman "The Paper"
Alternative setting:	R.O.D: Read or Dream
Adaptation:	R.O.D: Read or Die

More characters
Characters

Readman, Yomiko

Main

Sumiregawa, Nenene

Main

Anderson, Drake

Supporting

Carpenter, Joseph

Supporting

Earhart, Wendy

Supporting

Nakajima, Donnie

Supporting

Wan, Ridley

Supporting

Reviews

Dec 21, 2007

ArcherKinao

Recommended

A very interesting insight on what happens before the OVA anime Read or Die.

I enjoy the anime a lot more then the manga.

But you do get to see where Yomiko met Wendy and Nenene(from ROD the TV) who wasnt in the OVA.

The plot of the manga goes for 4 volumes but really has nothing to do with the story in the anime.

So fans of the OVA will enjoy this manga. Because you get to see the characters differently.

Also would reccomend for older teens. Lesbian kiss in the first volume.

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Apr 5, 2010

winnett

Mixed Feelings

First, I really enjoyed the OVA. I think that had me in a certain mindset when I picked up the manga to read.

I was generally disappointed by the manga for a few things:

1) It was confusing. The flow from panel to panel was not smooth, especially the action scenes (See #3).
2) I couldn't tell who was talking. The speech bubbles often didn't have the little tag to show who was talking. Sometimes it seemed that someone in an entirely different panel was talking, but I had no direction as to who was talking.
3) The action scenes were confusing. ...

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Jan 24, 2021

angelsreview

Mixed Feelings

I am a bit surprised that R.O.D. isn’t talked about that much at all. While it is a bit of an older series, I believe it actually holds up. Before I read the manga, I had watched part of the R.O.D OVA as a movie on Tunami so I was very confused when I started up reading it. I wondered if I had picked up a second season rather then the start of the series. Turns out that the OVA do not have anything to do with the manga except for following Yomiko and the basic elements.

Yomiko Readman is our main character and I fell ... in love with her. Her personality is mostly ditsy and sheltered but her good heart shows through everything she does. They drew her to a point where I could feel her love of the books she fights to protect as well as the hope to protect the people who are around her. The only thing I kind of had a problem with was that for most of the book series, she really didn’t seem to grow as a character or have any sort of change. We did see a little of her background and why she works so hard to do what she does but other then that, most of her growth is much later on. Still, I am very very glad that I kept reading as it was worth going through that slow curve.

The only other character they really dove into much was a famous author named Nenene Sumiregawa… Yes, that really was her name. It makes me understand why her pen name was just Paul S. Anyway, she is a interesting supporting character though doesn’t feel like she had any reason being there after the first book. I hear she had a lot more in the spin off sequel Read or Dream but I feel like she was lacking here.

So I come to a little bit of a problem here, the question on if the OVA was better then the Manga seeing as the stories are so different. I liked what I saw of the OVA so that was why I bought the Manga series and yet, I felt let down when I read the first book and found how so different it was. I feel like I like them both for different reasons but consider it two different universes. There are the OVA, and then there is the Manga. It’s so hard to explain without spoiling either one sadly to explain just how much it’s different.

The artwork is very good with a lot of detail. There are times that things are created with thousands of sheets of paper so I am amazed with the creativity that they set up to actually look textured. Most of the characters were very recognizable and stood out well against the other characters except for Nenene who I kept getting confused with another girl in the second part of the series. They just looked so similar that it kept getting me confused especially since they seemed to have the same tone of hair.

Overall, I think R.O.D. is a pretty decent manga series. It holds up on its own without the OVA or TV series. In fact, I would say you should probably read this before the OVA and TV series or just forget about them for a moment as you read this. It will only confuse you more if you don’t.

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Poll: Read or Die Chapter 8 Discussion vigorousjammer - Jul 18, 2014	0 replies	by vigorousjammer »» Jul 18, 2014 3:14 PM
Poll: Read or Die Chapter 7 Discussion vigorousjammer - Jul 18, 2014	0 replies	by vigorousjammer »» Jul 18, 2014 12:28 PM
Poll: Read or Die Chapter 6 Discussion vigorousjammer - Jul 14, 2014	0 replies	by vigorousjammer »» Jul 14, 2014 8:08 PM
Poll: Read or Die Chapter 5 Discussion vigorousjammer - Jul 14, 2014	0 replies	by vigorousjammer »» Jul 14, 2014 7:58 PM
Poll: Read or Die Chapter 4 Discussion vigorousjammer - Jul 14, 2014	0 replies	by vigorousjammer »» Jul 14, 2014 7:42 PM

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