Read Or Die

Whatever anime you like!

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shadowferret
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Read Or Die

Post by shadowferret »

I love this Anime.

Read Or Die, better known as R.O.D, is a story about bibliophiles, writers...it's very much intwined with literature.

It started with the OVA, Read Or Die, starring Yomiko Readman of the British library.
She is what's known as a "Paper Master", a person who has the ability to control paper, and do with it what she pleases. She is a special agent of the British library, along with Nancy Makuhari, a woman who can phase through objects, much like a ghost. They are led by Joseph Carpenter, or Mr. Joker, and, in the OVA, must defeat the "I-Jin", historical figures who have been revived.

In the sequel, R.O.D The TV, we follow, the Paper Sisters, Anita, Maggie, and Michelle, three detectives who are hired as bodyguards for Nenene Sumiregawa, a famous author. Through their adventures, they meet up with the old cast, and together, they have to take down the British Library, for reasons which would spoil it for you if I told you.

THis is a very good anime, and I suggest any Bibliophiles pick it up and at least give it a glance.
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Black Mamba
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Post by Black Mamba »

Could you please jog my memory as to what the R.O.D movie was that I saw on Cartoon Network a while ago? I can't remember much of the plot, something that had to do with a famous piece of classical music and a main female character that there was two of (evil?) and had a big chest (I know its anime, but thats one of the things I remember).

I never really was able to get into the series, I blame TV's lack of anime. I know it was shown on G4, but anime unleashed's shedual is so unpredictable.

...

I'm not sure if its even on anymore...


Thanks
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AlphonseVanWorden
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Post by AlphonseVanWorden »

That would be the OVA.

Basically, girl with book obsession works for secret British agency, has adventures around the globe, fights sinister clones of famous literary, scientific, and historical figures.

I loved the OVA, but I couldn't get into the series.

Not to say it's a bad series; I just mean I couldn't get into it.
Such is the soul in the body: this world is like her little turf of grass, and the heaven o'er our heads, like her looking-glass, only gives us a miserable knowledge of the small compass of our prison. - Bosola, in John Webster's The Duchess of Malfi
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shadowferret
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Post by shadowferret »

Alphonse got the OVA right.

As for the series, it's broken down like this:

Three Sisters, two bibliophiles, Michelle and Maggie and a hater, Anita, bodyguard an author, Nenene Sumiregawa. They get into some adventures, and end up meeting with the two "big-chested" girls, Yomiko Readman and Nancy Makuhari. British Library, as it's called, tries to capture girls, they all team up to defeat the organization.

The original you saw goes by many names:
Read Or Die (OVA)
R.O.D (OVA)

And, the series, has the simple title of R.O.D The TV.
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Jeni Nielsen
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Post by Jeni Nielsen »

I love the OVA and I have the first DVD of the series.

The only problem is that I haven't really been able to get into the characters of the sisters. I found them to be too stock. One's a dumb blonde who tries to hard. One's a brat and the other one is a introverted otaku... I also found Nenene to be a complete and utter b*#%*. I guess it was just hard for me to get into the characters for those reasons. These are just my very biased first impressions though, and I'm sure they develop as characters over the series.

That said I really liked Yumiko Readman as a character. Also the animation quality is amazing (especially when they "use" paper), and Taku Iwasaki's score is absolute gold.
Last edited by Jeni Nielsen on Mon Mar 13, 2006 8:04 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Jeni Nielsen
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Re: Read Or Die

Post by Jeni Nielsen »

shadowferret wrote:I love this Anime.

Read Or Die, better known as R.O.D, is a story about bibliophiles, writers...it's very much intwined with literature.

It started with the OVA, Read Or Die, starring Yomiko Readman of the British library.
She is what's known as a "Paper Master", a person who has the ability to control paper, and do with it what she pleases. She is a special agent of the British library, along with Nancy Makuhari, a woman who can phase through objects, much like a ghost. They are led by Joseph Carpenter, or Mr. Joker, and, in the OVA, must defeat the "I-Jin", historical figures who have been revived.

In the sequel, R.O.D The TV, we follow, the Paper Sisters, Anita, Maggie, and Michelle, three detectives who are hired as bodyguards for Nenene Sumiregawa, a famous author. Through their adventures, they meet up with the old cast, and together, they have to take down the British Library, for reasons which would spoil it for you if I told you.

THis is a very good anime, and I suggest any Bibliophiles pick it up and at least give it a glance.
Oh wait. I just remembered... you know that the TV series is actually called Read or Dream like the manga it's based on right? I remember thinking that it was weird that they changed the name.
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Motoko2030
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Post by Motoko2030 »

When I watched Read or Die OVA on Adult Swim, I loved it, the characters, the story and the artwork, but when I watched the series on Anime Unleashed, which is on the G4 cable channel, I just couldn't get into it, no matter how many times I tried to get into the series, I just couldn't.
AlphonseVanWorden
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Post by AlphonseVanWorden »

When I watched Read or Die OVA on Adult Swim, I loved it, the characters, the story and the artwork, but when I watched the series on Anime Unleashed, which is on the G4 cable channel, I just couldn't get into it, no matter how many times I tried to get into the series, I just couldn't.
I had a similar reaction (non-reaction?) to the R.O.D. series. In fact, I bought the OVA on disc several months before it was on Adult Swim; I'd heard such good things about the OVA, that I bought it, and I loved it. When I watched the first six episodes of the TV series, it just didn't do anything for me.

But I'm a huge fan of the anime Noir, and I know lots of people can't get into that. In fact, I lurk at a forum where people really, really hate Noir.

I don't hate R.O.D.: The TV, and I'm not saying you do, Motoko. It seems that Jeni, you, and I couldn't get into the show. But I am curious: shadowferret, if you wanted to sell someone on the series, what would you say to them? Are there really surprising developments, or cool action sequences, or deeply touching moments, or...?

I keep thinking, "Maybe if I watched the whole series, all the episodes, back-to-back..."

I really like Yomiko Readman. Some friends of mine give me grief and tell me that my apartment looks like hers... :lol:

I'm a pretty hardcore bibliophile. Another reason to love the Laughing Man...

Printed material rocks.
Such is the soul in the body: this world is like her little turf of grass, and the heaven o'er our heads, like her looking-glass, only gives us a miserable knowledge of the small compass of our prison. - Bosola, in John Webster's The Duchess of Malfi
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shadowferret
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Post by shadowferret »

AlphonseVanWorden wrote: But I am curious: shadowferret, if you wanted to sell someone on the series, what would you say to them? Are there really surprising developments, or cool action sequences, or deeply touching moments, or...?
Well, here are some things that could help you get into it:
At the beginning of the series, It's basically just getting to know the sisters and Nenene, developing thei rcharacters and such. The bond between the sisters is a bit touching at times, and the interaction between them and Nenene is actually pretty funny at times. As the series progresses, and you learn more about the characters, it [the series] becomes less comedic and more action oriented. There are some pretty cool fight scenes. such as...


In one episode, the sisters face off against a composer who plays an organ, and can creat subsonic and ultrasonic sounds, and also causes mood changes an anxious and temperemental people. The paper powers are useless, because the sound creates a sort of barrier against the paper. [throughout the series, you fin that paper has some weaknesses, such as sound, water, and fire] To solve this problem, the two older ones create a sort of silencer effect, by throwing huge sheets of paper on the ground and raising them, in columns, to make a huge silencer around the young one.

Another enemy, maybe the most famous one of the series [although he dies after only one fight sequence], is Sonny Wong, another Paper Master. To save Nenene, who's been kidnapped, the sisters face off against Sonny. Maggie, the tall, quiet one, decides to fight him while the other two save Nenene. It was a very cool scene, with lots of action.

And, as well, near the end of the series, there are some pretty surprising plot twists, such as what happened between the OVA and the series, and also, a secret about the three sisters.


In a summrization, I would say that, at the beginning of the series, it's all about character development and comedy, but later on, the action begins.

*Note: In my experiences, people who have seen the original OVA were not very interested in the series. Even though the series is a sequel, it is best viewed as a stand alone experience.


And, to Jeni Nielsen's comment, I had never known that it was Read Or Dream. Although, it does make sense, since it's the same characters.
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Black Mamba
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Post by Black Mamba »

Wait, how can the R.O.D movie be an OVA if its a movie *A little confused on what exactly an OVA is*
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AlphonseVanWorden
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Post by AlphonseVanWorden »

An OVA is an Original Video Animation, sometimes known as Original Animated Videos or OAVs. OVAs tend to be straight-to-video releases in Japan, although they're sometimes screened at industry events or in nightclubs prior to release.

If you watch the R.O.D. "movie" on DVD, it's clearly episodic, due to the nature of the Japanese release. Basically, the "movie" was a miniseries, released in three parts or episodes.

(In Japan, companies usually release OVAs with one episode per disc; this allows the producers to make some serious money if they create a hit.)

When a company outside of Japan acquires the rights to an OVA, the distributor might release the animation in one of several formats, depending on the OVA's length. An OVA with several episodes is released on several discs, much like a TV series. (The original BUBBLEGUM CRISIS was an OVA series, and it was released Stateside this way.) If the OVA doesn't have too many episodes, or if it's a short or feature-length film, the whole thing's put on one disc, which was the case with R.O.D.

What you saw on Cartoon Network was the R.O.D. OVA.
Such is the soul in the body: this world is like her little turf of grass, and the heaven o'er our heads, like her looking-glass, only gives us a miserable knowledge of the small compass of our prison. - Bosola, in John Webster's The Duchess of Malfi
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Black Mamba
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Post by Black Mamba »

I see now. Thanks for clearing that up AlphonseVanWorden.
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AlphonseVanWorden
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Post by AlphonseVanWorden »

Black Mamba wrote:I see now. Thanks for clearing that up AlphonseVanWorden.
You're quite welcome, Black Mamba.
Such is the soul in the body: this world is like her little turf of grass, and the heaven o'er our heads, like her looking-glass, only gives us a miserable knowledge of the small compass of our prison. - Bosola, in John Webster's The Duchess of Malfi
Maltese Kentaiba
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Post by Maltese Kentaiba »

I watched R.O.D. before i was in to anime. I wasn't used to anything like that, and it was horrible for me. Now that i've opened up I should see it again and take a stand from there. Not too sure i could watch it again, I really don't know.
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Post by Tonks_kittygoth »

I love the title "Read or Die"

My husband nearly laughed himself silly when he saw the title on the cable menu and called me in to see it.

He was like, "This can be your slogan, book girl."

However, though I liked the charecters, especially the wrangling for the book in the begining of the ova, I also wasnt a big fan of the whole story. Kinda drifted off for me.

Still, I should get a shirt, or print my own, to go with my "get a spine" shirt from Half price books.

Printed material rocks.
I agree! ~ except I go by the appelation bibliomaniac, rather than bibliophile...more discriptive of me. :D :shock: :shock: :twisted:
"Life is as dear to a mute creature as it is to man.
Just as one wants happiness and fears pain, just as
one wants to live and not die, so do other
creatures." - His Holiness The Dalai Lama
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