R.O.D. THE T.V. 1 (Animé TV)

 

Picture: A-     Sound: B-      Extras: B+     Episodes: A

 

 

Read or Die is an upbeat blend of James Bond action, magical girl powers, and a uniquely book-centered storyline.  Its heroine is Nenene Sumiregawa, a popular Japanese author who has just had her novel turned into a screenplay in China.  Despite her popularity, Nenene is stuck in a rut – her dearest friend and biggest encouragement, Yomiko Readman, mysteriously went missing several months ago.  Without Yomiko waiting to read her latest work, Nenene is lonely and uninspired.  It doesn’t help that Yomiko left no explanation for her disappearance, nor any promise of return. 

 

Viewers may be familiar with the character of Yomiko Readman from the OAV also entitled Read or Die.  The OAV serves as a prequel to the series, but its main character is nowhere to be seen in the TV episodes, with the exception of Nenene’s photographs.  The change of focus keeps the series fresh, as a different plot begins to unfold around Nenene and her new acquaintances.  Yomiko seems destined to enter the picture further down the road, but for now, the story is all about Nenene. 

 

The other main faces in the cast are Nenene’s three bodyguards, appointed to her for her visit to China: Michelle, Maggie, and Anita.  Michelle and Maggie are both hopeless bibliophiles and huge fans of Nenene’s, while Anita professes a hatred of books, adopting an I-don’t-care attitude in the presence of her older sisters.  All three are Paper-Users: like Yomiko Readman, they are endowed with magical powers centering around paper.  Their skills, which we first see in action during an assassination attempt on Nenene, vary widely.  One can turn paper into a razor-sharp thrown weapon, one can create functional archery equipment, and one can create huge golem beasts, all out of the small squares of paper the sisters carry around in reams.  The scenes of paper-magic are impressively animated.  People move fluidly, camera angles are dynamic, and fights revolving around scraps of paper are somehow breathtaking.  The action sequences move at just the right pace: fast and surprising, yet never so fast that you can’t tell what’s going on. 

 

The soundtrack is right on the mark: appropriately Bond-esque during the action sequences, quiet and not too sappy during the more introspective moments.  This anime also has one of the catchiest opening theme songs I’ve heard in a long while.  The sound quality of the DVD is above average.  It has 5.1 Dolby Digital Audio in both Japanese and English, as well as the standard 2.0 Dolby Digital Japanese tracks.  A word to the wise, though – this may be one dub you want to avoid.  The main problem is that the voices don’t match the personalities of the characters.  While Maggie still speaks in a halting monotone, she comes off as apathetic instead of shy, awkward, or daydreaming.  Anita, a hotheaded kid with a nasal voice and a tendency to mumble, speaks English with perfect enunciation, like a well-behaved schoolgirl.  Michelle’s voice is perhaps the best.  It’s bright and chipper, but it also sounds patronizing or know-it-all, when she’s meant to sound flighty or protective.  Nenene’s voice is unfortunately the worst of the mix.  Instead of speaking with a “masculine,” tough and jaded attitude, Nenene seems whiny and almost classically feminine, in the shrewish way.  Granted, she is irritable, but in the Japanese it’s clear that she puts on a gruff, crotchety exterior to hide the fact that she’s painfully lonely, and actually enjoys the company of the Paper Sisters.  In the English, it’s easy to believe that she may very well really hate them. 

 

Read or Die comes with some nice extra features, especially considering that it’s not a movie.  The DVD includes a promo trailer, a full-color art gallery with comments, and the US production commentary.  The excellent animation, great music, thoughtful character development, plus the promise of several plots merging in the future, all make this a DVD worth owning.  Provided, of course, you can graciously accept a story that combines the adventure of a spy flick, the joy of loving books, and the magical properties of paper.

 

 

-   Anne Moffa