Read or Die

I was recommended this title; it won the Anime Expo of 2002; I read many great reviews about this title. So I was viewing this with great anticipation. I have now just watched it and have given this a

C+.

WHY??? You may ask I'll explain in due course.

First the anime revolves around like a cheesy James bond style plot, with characters that have super natural abilities. So a race against time to save the world against a group of historical, extraordinary peronalities. There is the main character Yomiko Readman, a part time teacher and special agent of the Special Library Operations, code name "The Paper" or "Agent Paper"(, sounds corny, but that's probably the idea). She has a love of books, therefore she is here to protect the one book, that the enemy needs. She has a speciality, and that is the manipulation of paper.

Other characters with the ability to pass through solid matter, to control insects, and manipulation of electricity. Therefore you could imagine some fantastic and clever, animated action scenes, on those basis alone. And it really does deliver.

Animation is top notch, alot of detail has been put into this. When have you seen animation of someone taking a lid off a pen to write something down. Though it isn't truly necessary, it is little details like this, that tells you they have put effort into this. But it could also be their down fall, I'll explain later.

It truly is a breath of fresh air, from your average anime. They may have taken a lot from James Bond, even the theme tune, opening titles and soundtrack resembles a lot like Bond. They put in a prologue opening scene much like Bond, but it fits really well into the style, and coolness of this anime.

Now for the negative opinion. What really annoyed me was some of the character annoying habits they make, during the course of this 3 part anime. Miss Deep constant habit to pose and pose and pose, even during strange situations. It may have been cool, but a certain situation that I felt wasn't necessary. Wendys' constant falling over, was not funny at all to me. Thinking it might work it's way into the plot, but never really did. So didn't know what the reason behind that was. The Jokers' habit to touch his hair every time. That may the detail the animators were looking for, but for me as a viewer it kind of.... annoyed me.

Now for Yomiko, well she started off great, cute and funny. Liked how she just wants the book. When she started fighting, I was in awe, but as soon as she fell over a cow, I thought that she was slightly too clumsy, and now not believable to be an agent. She wasn't professional in the slightest, but that could be the beauty of it, and that I missed it completely. So it didn't work for me.

Though you shouldn't be put off this, as it is only my opinion. Maybe I was let down because it was hyped up too much, by others. 10/10 ratings are truly impressive ratings, so I was expecting perfection. Maybe when I watched again I'll change my opinion of the anime.

Overall I do recommend it. Go watch it, for the animation, and for something slightly different compare to others.

C+

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

MAGI rating scale: +7.8(-10/+10)

There is a little odd gem from our friends overseas. ROD is the story of an intelligence agency, based in of all places the British Library, and its agents as they protect the world from the Ijin. In this particular case, the Ijin(or Great person as they are refered to) called Stephan has discovered a symphony of Beethoven's (?) that if played will cause people to commit suicide. Seizing on this ultimate form of crowd control (maybe he could never get a parking spot), he sends out his genetically resurrected Ijin to collect the two books that hold the song.

Our hero that can stop this threat? A clumsy substitute teacher with the ability to manipulate paper, a grouchy explosives expert and a leather-wearing over-developed femme fatalie with the ability to make things pass through her...and look good doing it.

One of the more interesting things about anime is their themes in the storylines. If you look into the vast majority of Japanimation, even the strangest series or movies all work with it's own logic. In ROD, the logic is books. From the Macguffins (Beethoven's notebooks) to the heroine (Yomiko Readman) to the British Library, ROD creates its own logic and own rule...and yet still manages to give us some believeibly and humanity in its characters. The animation itself is clean and beautiful, with an eye for detail. The two female leads, while doing quite a bit of 'fan service' still manage to convey some parts of realism...especially Yomiko. If the world had people with powers like these, OF COURSE the Powers That Be would try to recuit them...even if that person is not someone you would usually want as an agent. Yomiko is clumsy, self-absorbed and a bit naive.....not to mention obsessive. But she's also cute, lovible, caring and surprizingly capaible (She even figures out who to defeat a lightning-powered samarai with a few dollar bills!)

I recommend this OVA series to any true fans of anime...give it a try and just sit back and relax....it's a fun trip.

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.

A young female agent with a powerful psionic power over paper must stop a plot for world destruction.

I have literally spent the whole day marathoning the first of the series and I just finished watching the OVA's. I have now got a bot of a background of Nyanyanya friend and a bit about the joker in the series.

While the OVA'S are very action packed and fun to watch, i still prefer the actual which I will do a review on soon.