Read Or Die
Synopsis
A sinister plot is afoot and only one schoolteacher - a special agent with an affinity for rare books - can stop it. She is Ms. Yomiko Readman - better known to her colleagues in Section A of Library Special Operations as ‘Agent Paper.’ Someone is bent upon procuring a lost Beethoven manuscript and has enlisted a few of history’s most extraordinary personalities, cloned from stolen DNA, to aid in the endeavor. Readman and her fellow super-powered operatives must tangle with the likes of Tokugawa-era scientist Gennai Hiraga, aviation pioneer Otto Lilienthal and 19th century entomologist Jean-Henri Fabre in a desperate race to find the books and save the World!
Review
Read Or Die is simply short and sweet. Three episodes make up this OAV, approximately thirty minutes each. Although R.O.D. is short, it is still very enjoyable. The story kicks off with the destruction of the Library of Congress, and one thing I noticed was people urinating on themselves. That is the first time I have ever seen an anime going that detailed in showing fear.
Yomiko Readman is a book enthusiast. Her living quarters is filled with books all over. Her love for books is really amazing as she ignores everything that is happening around her once she starts reading (I wish I can have that much fun reading books). In any case, Yomiko finds a book in a bookstore which later on turns out to be a book by Beethoven. Beethoven will play a significant role later on as the story progresses. The thing that comes into my mind while watching R.O.D. is ‘How can such an innocent looking girl be the main character of the show?’ To my surprise, her ability to manipulate paper comes in quite handy at times when she is in the heat of battles, hence earning the moniker ‘The Paper.’
Overall R.O.D. starts off slow, but the pace picks up and soon you will be noticing that you are zooming through the whole OAV. That is the fun part though; it keeps you in your seat anticipating for the next scene to happen.
The Breakdown
Read Or Die huh? Who would have thought paper could be so cool?