Reviews for R.O.D: The TV (8.32)

ROD the TV was a very interesting watch for me. At first I was not sure I would like it as I had started a few anime series at the same time and it did not jump at me as being awfully great, and I did not watch past the second episode at that time. A few months later, I decided to watch episode 3 and 4 to see whether the rest of the series was worth a shot. What a great surprise it was after those episodes! As soon as I finished them, I could not stop myself from putting more discs in and watching the rest.

This speaks volumes for the story as I am not usually one who has to impatiently and compulsively watch a series so quickly. The episodes tend to end on captivating cliffhangers (a tool employed to great effect in shounen classic Saint Seiya) that have the audience on the edge of their seat and the ride pays off some healthy dividents throughout the series. The suspense of the middle section of this anime has not been matched in any action series I have ever seen so this anime really breathes new life into a rather stale genre (not saying that Noir or Madlax are bad shows but their pace are no match for this series').

The animation of Read or Die the TV can be summed up in one word: SUPERB. All the way through, there is consistency in the way things are drawn and animated, which is a great achievement for a series of 26 episodes with not so much as a recap episode thrown in. The battle scenes are especially stunning in this anime as the fluidity and depth of field of the medium is brilliantly explored. The backgrounds and the character designs are also excellent and remain so throughout. The only thing I was not a fan of was the fanservice of the series. It was not excessive so it was never a big issue but it did affect how seriously one perceives the show in a couple of spots.

Read or Die's only sore spot is the soundtrack, as it is an adequate one but not one that stands out. The scores suit their scene effectively but they are not powerful enough to warrant a purchase of the soundtrack. The sound effects are great during the battle scenes and when objects move (which is important here as a lot of travelling and levitation takes place), and the voice acting is also very accomplished.

With a professional seiyuu cast, characters are brought to life successfully and Read or Die delivers just that. The main cast of Maggie, Michelle, Anita and Nenene are voiced so well that they are distinct characters, and on more than one occasion the performance allows you to feel the anguish of the characters without it sounding overdone or melodramatic. The episode previews are actually a great demonstration of the eloquence performance of the cast.
The characters of R.O.D only ever suffer from sounding one note in a few places because some of them are underwritten. This is to be expected when the story has to cover so much and the cast is fairly large, but it still affected how some of them came accross even if it were just a minor quelm. Characters like Anita, The Paper and Maggie suffered in that sense a little bit because the writing did not call for them to be more than one-note characters most of the time. A few efforts are made to make them a little more believable throughout and especially towards the end, which was convincing enough but not quite as engaging as it could have been.

As mentioned, R.O.D has a whole lot of story to tell and it does so very well for most of its run. Some elements could have been explored a little further, such as why the British Library and especially Wendy were so devoted to their cause but what was given was convincing enough to not leave plotholes which was the most important thing. The inclusion of later characters was also done smoothly which was great but it does not really come as a surprise since this show's writers are some of the best out there when it comes to pacing a story. The twists were also well paced and brought in to consistently engage you more and more in the title.

I have thoroughly enjoyed this anime and I think it can easily be enjoyed by many because of its broad appeal, so it is an easy recommendation. Keep with it if you are not too sure about the first few episodes as it just gets better from there, and delivers one of the best action anime series of all time.

Having hated the Read or Die OVA, I looked down on this series, and therefore in writing this review I acknowledge my stupidity for ever thinking the R.O.D. universe as a hopeless cause. I absolutely LOVED this anime, and without a doubt it will remain one of my favorites for a very, very long time.

A new world order?

Meet Anita King, 12 years old, and she hates reading. Well of course, her "strong and silent" sister Maggie and her "always happy" sister Michelle are quite the opposite. They are the detective sisters! Recently they've been assigned to Sumiregawa Nenene, who authored several outstanding books recently...although lately she's been having a little difficulty with a topic for her next novel.

What amazes me most about this anime is it's hidden comedy. Yes, there IS comedy, though you don't necessarily see it on the characters faces - but it's there. It always enlightened me to see the main characters bond, as they carry out their lives (particularly in the first 11 episodes). Then all of a sudden things get really bad, new evils are discovered, and hidden memories are revealed. It still has a Matrix / James Bond feel with the storyline, however what makes it better than the preceding OVA is the new cast and much more complicated storyline.

The first 4 episodes are an introduction; a cute introduction, I might add. Then the story starts to take off, delving into wild action scenes, painful dramatic moments, and mysterious investigations. All with a touch of humor, R.O.D. the TV picks up everything one could want from an action series.

The music? *dances*

Though the opening theme isn't something really to jam to in the car, on the OST are several versions of it that are definitely worth that burn. It's a funky little tune with a Goldeneye feel. The ending theme Moments in the Sun by Kazami and HOME GROWN really isn't my style of music at all, but I could not help but love it. It makes me think of reggae minus the wailing Jamaican men, replaced by sexy-sounding soloist Kazami.
Background music is a masterpiece. This category is what made the 10. The songs The Tear Flow and R.O.D. theme - My Heart's Way Home Version on the OST are some of the most beautiful orchestrations I've heard in all of anime. I immediately added these OSTs to my queue shortly after finishing the anime, since all of the music grew on me rapidly. As I mentioned before, there are several versions of the R.O.D. theme that are played in the background during fight scenes. Almost everytime the theme started I would get the chills with excitement, knowing something good is going to happen.

Animation: beautiful...

Though at first it may seem like I'm fanboying, watching the series for a while will prove that the animation actually is quite beautiful compared to many other animes of this day. The characters stay well in proportion, and their designs look gentle, without accenting too much on the muscles or their proportions, like many action animes do. Sometimes the boobs had too high a jiggle factor; especially in episode 9 where there is nudity and graphic violence (though this episode by itself looks entirely different from the rest of the series). I don't have any real complaints, because the animation doesn't really need any improvements as a whole.

The action scenes and colors are pretty, ranging from an action-packed midnight invasion, to a relaxing sunset in the mountains. I felt like I had traveled the world through this series.

I feel like I'm the only person who thinks characters were awesome.

Though it is a slight stretch, I feel my reasoning is justified in saying character development in this series is sugoi. Firsthand, introducing Yomiko from the Read or Die OVA was not an easy thing, since her personality alone couldn't make sense at all in this series. However, I feel that R.O.D. the TV skillfully absorbs it's prequel characters, while also continuing the story, and blending the three sisters in as well. I don't believe this was an easy thing to do, especially with Anita and Yomiko later in the last story arc.

I felt the three sisters fit together extremely well, each with their own personality. Anita has the most development of the three, and really she is almost at the very center of the story. Being that she is the loudest and most obnoxious character, that's what I came to love about her. Michelle's personality makes her difficult to focus on, but I couldn't help but love her for her cuteness. Maggie I found to be strangely interesting, since her seiyuu made a good effort to sound dull. Often times her little lines or phrases, facial expressions, and gestures humored me.
The seiyuu, by the way, are good, with no one I can think of as being annoying.

Watch this, or dream.

I stress anyone who has seen the Read or Die OVA and at least found it interesting should take this series up without a second thought. To those who hated it, you may be like me and find this sequel much more in depth and appreciable. I couldn't recommend this to those looking for romance - intimate relationships in here are only explored on the surface, and not worth further investigation.

Side note: Though it still has the James Bond feel to it, I think this series really got me because it took a much more dramatic route than a typical James Bond movie or action anime.

I am already burning this to go watch at a friends, and for me that's not a common thing to do! I hope there is a continuation, since I will be dreaming up several possible ones for a very long time.

While browsing through my friend's hard disk for more anime, I happened to stumble across this piece called R.O.D ~The TV~. I thought to myself: R.O.D? What does it mean? No sooner have I found out that it is an abbreviated name taken from the manga, Read or Dream. Read? An anime about books? To me, the word ‘read’ is a taboo, especially if it is in anime. "Oh heck", I said to myself, "Let's just watch the damned thing" - I was glad I did.

Trivia: Imagine this as a James Bond-type movie, with a James Bond-type storyline but with X-men characters.

First off: R.O.D ~The TV~ is an action based anime set with a positive tone yet subtly serious. It is original and different from all the "main-stream action" where action favors over the story. Where there is no action packed scenes, the story does not fail to captivate, and vice versa. The scene is set in the modern era (and the first episode is "shot" in Hong Kong), which makes it easy for one to make a real connection with it.

Story:
The story is, in a nutshell, Superb with minimalistic flaws. The producers took great care to "deceive and trick" the audience in the first episode with a tense and stunning action-obsessed scene. I fell into their trap straight away; it was a jaw dropping experience (more on the animation later). To add on top to an already enticing first episode, the story makes a connection with one of the character from the prequel, Read or Die OVA. Full of adrenaline, my heart was racing, I had to continue with the anime. No doubt, as in all anime, the character development comes next, which lasted for about 3~4 episodes. Do not be fooled when I say this, there were lots of thrilling action and humor throughout them.

Glancing back through the show, the story began to pick up after seven or eight episodes. Its complexity increases, making it even more interesting to watch. The story is told in parallel - a sneak peak at the evil protagonists and their conspiracies involved (which binds you even more to the show) while telling the story of the main characters. Its clever use of this dramatic irony made me sympathize for the characters, as they have no idea what was in store for them.

A chilling (and note my word, chilling) fact about the actual story as a whole was the connection with the real world, as I said earlier. This is because the story homes in on the idea of a totalitarian society. It was so vivid that I felt sick watching the story unfold. I could not imagine my world ruled and my freedom taken away, and yet it was happening in the anime. It made me realize how lucky I was (On the other hand, it is an anime, and it is fiction, nevertheless it was very convincing).

By the nineteenth episode, the climax has reached an all time high. New characters appear, adding new possibilities to the story. More character development and new insights to why and what and who they are. One might then say that the drama almost hijacks the show at around this period. And I agree, but this is so necessary for the buildup to the ending. However, despite the climax, some may argue that the ending was an anti-climax. I believe that one should not put too much emphasize on endings, as the story itself makes up for what the ending missed out (if it did, at all).

Overall, the story is slick, nicely paced and is not entirely predictable during the course of the show. Many episodes include action, but while some of them don't, I guarantee that the story and drama would take their roles and fill the gap.

Animation:
The animation is incredibly slick. For those who have watched the OVA, that same familiar feeling returns with those amazing slick action scenes. Character designs were very cute, and the background drawings were superb. It only took one episode to convince me that the animation was spot on. The first episode took place in Hong Kong, and it was identical, even down to the ghetto apartment blocks (I live in Hong Kong, for those that think I am just babbling ).

The opening sets the tone for quality. The fight scenes were flawless. The action was fluid and the frame rate was very high. In my opinion, the action has the best animation out of all the scenes in the series. The drawing of the weapons used was fantastic and was drawn to such a high degree of quality – all this was demonstrated in the first episode! The animation is without doubt, one of the better strengths of the show.

Characters:
A rich variety of characters and a substantial background on the main characters is given. The different personalities of the three main leads work rather well together and I was able to feel for them. There is Anita, an arrogant but cute little girl with an attitude; Maggie, a shy tall girl and Michelle, a clever and kind girl. For most of the time they act logically up until one incident where "Maggie will never be able to recover (feelings-wise)", but for some miraculous reason, she makes an almost next morning recovery! Otherwise, these three girls (or the three sisters) are fun to watch and have no "split personalities".

Note that only the main characters (the three sisters + one other) have their backgrounds told. Others leave you guessing what their intentions are and where they come from etc. Throughout the show, I could not guess or did not understand the intentions of the evil protagonist and what drove him to continue his evil schemes... which leads me to think that this category is one of the lesser strengths.

Music:
"Cool" best describes the music. Composed by Iwasaki Taku (composed some Kenshin Movie music), the music itself is spell-binding. The new and refreshing upbeat opening theme song could be said to be similar to your average James Bond music, with a tinge of old skool hip-hop beat and a bit of funky jazz. I really liked the mellow tune while there was no action – it conveyed tranquility and safeness. I equally found the tense background music enthralling, especially when a variant of the theme song kicks in when there was mass action. A big thing to notice is that the soundtrack is ridden with gloomy tunes, made very appropriate by the equally gloomy conspiracies in the storyline. The first ending was mediocre, while the second ending was far more enchanting… all in all, a great soundtrack.

Closing Comments:
These 26 episodes were worth it. Watching this was a visual experience more than a dramatic one. Great originality and well executed and a slick, positive and complex story with a gloomy undertone to go with it; superb animation and fight scenes with a very vivid background drawing; fun characters and a mesmerizing soundtrack, R.O.D should not come short on anyone’s expectations.

Lastly, if you happen or are going to watch the whole series, please watch the last ending. It is slightly different, and if you watch on to the very last second, you will find something very revealing – and leaves the anime on a happy note (but brought tears to my eyes, because I was so glad).

(Writers note: If you read this review, RATE this review. Authors thrive on feedback, whether it be a simple happy face, or an in-depth critique.)

Read or Die TV romanticizes books the same way Get Backers romanticizes art. It is a wonderful tale, filled with originality, intrigue, characters you will love, characters you will love to hate, and, most importantly, tons and tons of books.

RoD TV has virtues, not least of which is the animation. Like in the RoD OVA, repeated footage and still frames are virtually non-existent. Characters move fluidly and naturally through beautifully rendered and highly detailed environments. CGI is used for when a character unleashes magical powers, but the jump in frame rate is the only thing that distinguishes the CGI from the hand-drawn images.

As was done in the RoD OVA, far more is rendered in the background that is necessary for to get a feel for the scene. For instance, entire bookshelves will be filled with readable and identifiable titles. No expense was sparred in bringing RoD TV to the little screen.

The music of is as polished as the animation, and is as kinetic as RoD TV’s many action sequences. The opening song is a heavy percussion jazz piece reminiscent of some of the music in Cowboy Bebop. I downloaded it immediately. The ending song is sweet, but forgettable. Music during the series is another high point of the series, with the same energetic feel of the opening song that makes you want to jump up and pump your fists during the action scenes.

Besides Cowboy Bebop, the music reminded me of some of the older James Bond flicks. Not all that surprising, since the story shares some similarities to James Bond as well, with the villains dead set on changing/destroying the world.

As good as the music and animation are, it is the characters that make this series what it is. I have never seen such an exotic arrangement of original characters. The three main characters are the three paper sister detectives. The oldest sister Michelle has a love for books so great that she will occasionally buy out entire bookstores. She’s also a blonde bombshell with an adorable trait of pulling on her cheek whenever she feels embarrassed.

Anita, the youngest, is also the most headstrong of the three, and the most curious about her past and where she came from. Unlike the others, a traumatic event in her past has lead her to despise books and reading. Maggie is the middle sister, a very tall and awkward woman who, despite her great height, prefers to crawl up into a tight space and read books till daybreak.

The three sisters are hired to guard Nenene Sumiregawa, an author who has been getting harassed. Nenene has had writers block for the last few years, ever since her Sensei, Yomoko “The Paper” Readman from the original OVAs, went missing.

The early episodes are wonderful in how they avoid getting bogged down in the plot, and instead spend time developing the main characters. The first 10 or so episodes deal with Nenene and the three sisters, as they get themselves in and out of trouble.

The main storyline kicks into high gear around the mid-point of the series, never letting up until the big (though mildly disappointing) finale. The development in early episodes ropes us in and gets us emotionally involved with the characters while the second half is both engrossing and moving while putting these characters through the ringer.

My favorite aspect of RoD TV has got to be the paper-users. The three sisters, as well as some of the villains, have an ability called paper using, whereby a person can make paper do just about anything. A piece of paper can be turned into a sharp cutting instrument, or a lock pick, or a handcuff, or can be hardened enough to stop bullets. Multiple sheets can be “bonded” to make giant paper animals, or a huge paper airplane for the characters to ride on, or a big ball of impenetrable paper for the characters to ride around in. Of all the super powers I have seen in the many anime I have watched, this is definitely my favorite. There are limitless possibilities with such an open ended super power, and RoD TV, goes through great pains to present us with as many of those possibilities as possible.

Read Or Die TV has some flaws, with a few characters acting false in a couple of episodes, and a lot more could have been done with the ending. However, its virtues far outweigh its flaws. With gorgeous and highly detailed animation, an energetic and heart pumping soundtrack, well developed characters that are easy to care for, and a story that runs the gamut from episodic scenes of daily, to breath-taking action, to an almost surreal finale, Read Or Die TV earns its place along side such greats as Last Exile, Cowboy Bebop, and Paranoia Agent. A true work of art, and one of the best series of 2003-2004.

A more than worthy sequel, with a great and deep story, for a stylish anime.

Having seen and liked the Read or Die OVA, I was for a long time reluctant to watch this sequel because I feared it wouldn't live up to its name. Boy was I wrong! Finished watching it for the second time just now and I must say, it's a more than successful continuation of the original.

While the OVA set an interesting idea with the paper masters and the world, had a good lead and a style which still has to meet its match. This tv series continues this idea with even more outstanding characters and explores a much deeper story which already has its roots in the OVA.

Starting off with an introduction of the new main cast, the three paper sisters, Anita, Maggie and Michelle, and the author Nenene Sumiregawa, known from the R.O.D mangas, the first half consists out of lose episodes which deepens the characters and let us take part on their daily life, their happiness, dreams and hopes. But those episodes, still guided by a happy mood especially seen on the lot of comedy, are only a small part in the whole construction. The plot, which actually already starts in the OVA, goes farther than just showing the main characters, their daily life and bread.

All episodes are connected through a main thread and you see now and then how well thought out the main plot is. There are small details everywhere, happenings from the ova are integrated and blend in with the story. The 10th episode, which was in my opinion one of the best in the whole anime, would be the best example for all that. Trough flashbacks our heroes get a lot of development and you get to know facts from the past which are important for the later story. Nenene gives somebody a present which later on appears in a key episode and hints back on this episode, that's nothing important for the story, but alone the fact that such a small detail was considered later shows that the story-writer gave his best to make a story which is interesting, capturing and complex. That's even more important when you consider the fact that the series is mainly about books and stories and what they are standing for.

In addition to all that the story is really unpredictable, though it doesn't look that way in the beginning. Somewhere in the middle of the series the pace and the mood of the series change and you get some shocking twists and revealings. Everything else I could add would already spoil the anime, so I'll leave it at that. There's only one thing to add, both parts of the anime have their advantages and with both together you get one hell of a story, a story which truely lives up to the theme of the anime.

But even the greatest plot would be worthless without the right characters and the fitting seiyuus and R.O.D the TV doesn't disappoint on this part. The new cast lives up to Yoriko, the lead of the OVA. And seiyuus truely do their part to give their characters a nice and believable personality. Maggie (Hiromi Hirata) and Michelle (Shoko Kikuchi) both have parts of Yoriko's personality, but they also have their own individual small characteristics which make them unique. Add Anita (Chiwa Saito), who is much different from all other characters in this show and thus makes a good round-up for the cast and you have a perfect sister team with all its edges. Then there is Nenene (Satsuki Yukino), her development throughout the series is enormous and her character was fully fleshed-out, that applies for every other character as well, even for the minor ones and the villains. Junior was a nice add to the cast, he reminded me a lot of Tsukasa from .Hack//Sign (and that wasn't only due to the fact that he was dubbed by Mitsuki Saiga ). The old characters appear as well, and even with improved personalities. You can really see that some time went by between the OVA and this anime and there happened a lot which made them the way they are now.

Not enough, the story and characters aren't the only remarkable things on this anime, the visuals and the sound are topnotch as well.

The animation really took a step forward. While the OVA already offered good animation and special effects and detailed backgrounds and character designs, this tv series goes a step further. The animation was especially beautiful, even compared to other animes of this date it manages to stand out. Character designs are again really good, unlike in many other new animes the proportions are good and you don't get more boobs than characters. The action is set well in scene. Even in the greatest battle of paper you're still able to see the little details and the movement is smooth. The special effects don't fail, that applies for the different styles of using paper and also for the explosions etc. Over all 26 episodes you get the full packet of great up to date animation.

The opening, R.O.D by YKZ, shares a lot of similarities with the opening from the OVA, this goes for the visuals as well as for the music which has some kind of James Bond flair and fits to the show.
The first ending, Moments in the Sun by Kazami, is nice and carefree and gives you a good feeling while listening to it. It was replaced with a new one in episode 21, Confidence sung by Yomiko's voice Rieko Miura. This one has a slower pace and is really beautiful. But the most important and memorable piece was the R.O.D Theme, already known from the ova. This theme was played in different variations throughout the anime, mostly during different action scenes. There were some other background pieces which were really good, most of them used in important scenes for the development of the story. Still, there are some weaker pieces used in the show and I wish there were some other themes used to emphasise the action than just the R.O.D Theme in its different variations.

All in all R.O.D the TV is to recommend to everyone who liked the OVA, not only because of the reappearance of some of the known characters, also because of a great and intriguing story which involves the OVA as well. And even if you didn't like the OVA you still should take a look on this one, the whole feeling is different and you get some new and interesting characters, so you could get to like it despite of the relation. The fact that I watched it already for the second time gives it also a high rewatchability factor.

R.O.D TV is one of my favorite anime series. First I thought it would be ridiculous, since it's about some people using paper as weapons. But I do not regret that I have watched the series. I have never thought that you can use paper as weapons in a such impression way. Just awesome! If I am right the TV series is kind of mix between the "Read or Die" and "Read or Dream" manga since characters from both manga are implemented in the anime. In my opinion the implementation is quite successful.

I give the following scores (there may be some minor spoilers - I won't spoil too much since you have to watched it for yourself because it's really a good anime):

Animation: 9

What so impressive is about this show are the animations, all animation is very fluid and the action is fast and awesome. How the lead characters use the paper as weapon is just amazing. In almost all fight scenes the animations are very well done. The show is from 2003-2004 and it still looks quite modern/fresh; some other shows from the same year look old and outdated. So the design of the characters etc. are quite timeless, which is great.

Sound: 8

I really like the sound and background music, some of them sounds like those from a James Bond movie. If you like the James bond theme music you would probably love the music of this anime too. As for the voice-acting (Japanese audio), the seiyuus have done a great job, simply excellent.

Story: 7

As for the story, the story is good and so are the themes used in the anime like injustice, betrayal, friendship. I can't see anything that's awful. The R.O.D TV show got comedy, conspiracy theory and drama, all what an anime lover would love and want to see.

Character: 8

The characters are well designed. I really like the three sisters.

The oldest sister is Michelle Cheung who loves books and reading very much, she can become so excited and happy/joyful when she sees alot of books and she would just go out and buys all the books (piles of that is) she loves; trivia: she likes the Harry Potter books. She reminds me alittle of Belldandy (OMG!), since she looks alittle like her and she is a very caring person, especially towards her two other sisters. In combat she's very calm and her main weapons are arrows and bow both formed by paper.

Maggie Mui is the second sister, she is tall and tomboyish; she also loves to read. She is somewhat quiet and actually alittle shy too, especially when she's complimented for something. She also weight the lifes of her sisters above her own, because she loves them so much.
The ability of Maggie is using paper to create creatures which can protect and attack people; this is impressive particularly in a certain episode. Also she is very strong in the defensive department. When the sisters fight to together Maggie is providing the defense since her defense is so good.

Anita King is the youngest sister. She is keen in martial arts and can use paper as blades (which can cut through everything) and projectiles; in the series you can see that she is a very perceptive kid. Unlike her sisters she does not like books and reading. There's a tragic story about her dislike of reading/books, but I won't say it here. She also loves her sisters very much.

Nenene Sumiregawa is a former successful novelist but didn't write a good book for years. She is a very good friend of Yomiko Readman, the main character of the OVA R.O.D. Earlier in the series the three sisters has become her bodyguards since a rival want to kill Nenene out of jealousy. After that the three sisters become friend of Nenene. Nenene hopes Yomiko would come back again since she is missing and no one know where she is.

Yomiko Readman doesn't have a big role as in the OVA, but at the end of the TV series her role become more important. Yomika hides with Nancy Makuhari since the Joker (Joseph Carpenter) are searching for them for years.

Overall, the character development is okay/good, especially of the three sisters (even more so after they know their real identity).

Value: 9

I would re-watch the (some part of) show for several times since the animations and action, character design and music are so good.

Enjoyment: 9

I really have enjoyed the R.O.D TV series. It got drama, comedy and the story is quite good, everything an anime lover can wish for.


other thoughts:

I wish Yomiko Readman let us see more of her "paper mastery" since I want to compare her mastery of paper with the three sisters. In the TV series Yomiko didn't have much screen time and Yomiko didn't frequently make use of her mastery of paper. That's a shame. Also I wish there's a second season or another OVA since I am really impressed with the adventure of the three sisters Michelle, Maggie and Anita (which are actually the three names of 3 Hong Kong superstars).

Overall, a very good show with good story, characters design, nice music, some drama, a good amount of comedy and great suspense in the TV series. Highly recommended!

R.O.D the TV is among my favorite anime. This surprised me, as I didn't like the rest of R.O.D nearly that much (Read or Dream is the only part that comes close).

The series is dark and dramatic, favoring character and story development over action (still a reasonable amount of action, though). There's a fair amount of yuri subtext, although that has little to do with what I think of it.

For reference, R.O.D the TV is a sequel to the Read or Die OVAs, which are theoretically set somewhere in the continuity of the original novels (Read or Die is primarily a light novel series, not a manga). It also includes characters from the spin-off manga Read or Dream, and mentions things from the novels, despite directly contradicting both. Try to think of it as being set in it's own universe.

Animation:
The quality isn't as high as the OVAs, but it's still far from low. The art style is closest to Read or Dream, which is good, since Read or Dream looks better than the rest of R.O.D. There's lots of detail, and plenty of creative uses of paper. Generally pleasant to look at.

Sound:
The score is good, and the seiyuu all put out good performances.

Story:
The story itself is fairly good, until the end, where it gets a bit silly. For the most part, it does an excellent job of moving the characters around, and very little feels forced.

It's told using a two-arc method. Roughly the first half serves as fairly episodic character development, that has it's own plot of sorts. This ends in a two-episode finale. Then the main plot, which isn't episodic (still plenty of character development though), starts.

Character:
The characters are the best part of the series. All the major characters, even the villains, have depth. The protagonists grow and change as the series progresses.

Review
Read or Die TV (Read or Die) is a hard show to define. I could point it out at being a standard super-power shounen, but that would be not exactly right. It is filled with slice-of-life parts, a bit of thriller, part of comedy, and part of simple nonsense. It is not a show for the uninitiated in the industry, but for those who have watched a lot of things, this will certainly be a welcome bizarre experience. If you haven't watched the OVAs, I'd recommend you do so before watching this. While it's not exactly necessary, it serves better to introduce the setting and build up some expectation when people from the OVA's cast appears in the TV show.

Read or Die tells the events after the OVA. It follows with a trio of girls with the ability to control and shape paper to use it as weapon and other utilities. This trio is assigned to bodyguard a famous, but not in a good shape, japanese writer that goes to Hong Kong for some promotion event, weirdly named Nenene. The writer suddenly faces a few threats and draws trouble all around her, making the trio slowly uncover many secrets about the organization that hired them, paper users, the past of Nenene, and the events that unfolded in the past.

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1. Mixed bag of genres
   The show is a mix of genres here. You'll have bits of comedy when the trio start living with Nenene and following her around. You'll have fanservice with the trio, but not anything exagerated. You'll have plenty of action, great fights and nice outcomes involving very shounen-like powers. In resume, you'll likely to watching a shounen plot with all required elements.
   
   Twists, cameos, and attention
   Read or Die's pace is a very positive factor, as it draws you in by mixing plenty of action scenes, slice-of-life parts, cliffhangers and an interesting take on how to use the weird paper-powers. Its cast may look childish and stupid, but they act very well when put in a darker and more mature setting, filled with secret organizations, death threats, opression and mercenaries. Also, the show slowly creates a great re-presentation of the cast that was present in the OVAs, making their appearances a major point in the show.
   
   The trio and the rest
   Anita, Meggy and Michelle are all great characters on their own despite representing some very common stereotypes. They start as any annoying loli, dumb, or hyper-active girl would, but their bizarre passion for books makes for a more different approach when creating comedy and daily-life scenes with them. They evolve nicely through the show after a slow start and become more and more likeable as the shows progresses. The rest of the cast is a bit of the two extremes, there are nice characters with bits of development and others that are only casks to allow the author to expose some sort of insteresting design he came up with. There is also a but of trouble when, sometimes, the characters become annoying, maybe because of their voices, maybe because they act in stubborn ways, maybe simply because the script says so.
   
   A nice addition
   I always mention that the early 2000's was the best moment of anime industry in terms of quality shows. Read or Die was released as one of the last of those back in 2003, and it used the momentum greatly to create a show that was very different from most others by that time. It's not exactly original, most of its elements were borrowed from shows of the late 90's and thrown in a real-world based setting. However, the way it was used, the mafia-style organization, the paper powers, many things contribute for a show that is above average and surely lasted in the memory of those who've watched it back in 2003. Watching it today makes it a more common and typical show, but it does not deny its feats back in the years.
   
   Slow to start
   Don't expect a quick start. Read or Die is slow paced by the beginning, taking some turns in a episodic formula 90's-style until the true plot kicks in around episode 6 or so. The early start has its demerits, but it also has a few strong points, especially in the interactions and presentation of the sisters, which bring some funny moments without being overly comical. For the rest of the show things get a lot more addicting. The fights are frantic, some are very good, the twists mid-season and the last stretch are also very enjoyable and in overall you'll be watching a pretty solid shounen. It's sure to grab it if you watch it knowing that it'sa shounen and not a truly deep show.
   
   It is bright and shiny
   Read or Die is one of the best works made by J.C.Staff, a piece with quality on par with its big budget competitors such as Full Metal Alchemist and Gundam Seed. It boasts a sharp art style, bright and vivid and yet it manages to use it for quite a vairety of situations, from comedy to drama, without much of a hassle. Add that some interesting special effects and a great animation and you have everything a shounen such as this needs. Character design also helps because, despite having generic girls, they can demonstrate emotions at a high level and are cute enough to be looking at.
   
   It sounds old though...
   The opening has a late 90's feel all over it, but the overall soundtrack is decent. You have many background themes that succeeds in building up for tense and dramatic moments and there are times when the music sounds out-of-place, promising urgency but showing only pretty average and slow paced scenes, but those are rare and are only more noticeable by the first episodes. The voice-acting is fine but, as with many all-girl show, you're doomed with a few japanese voices that can echo in your mind and make you scream in pain with disturbing pitchs. That don't harm the overall experience, but is always there to remind you that, if animes are true, most of japanese girls are sonic machines to break glass.
   

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Comments
Critically speaking I see a very small number of flaws here. However, while I try to truly appreciate Read or Die, the show never really got me like a few others of the early 2000's. Hell, it's still pretty good and a worth watch, it has decents fights, the cast is decent, there's no thing like shy lolis and lame ecchi scenes, etc, but the show fails to be truly marvelous. After watching it a third time last year I think this happens mainly because the narrative never tries anything flashy or unexpected to create a few over-the-top momentso to grab you.

Well, there are some nice super power show-offs even at one of the first episodes, but there's never something to scream "Holy s***, that's awesome!". Besides that, however, Read or Die is a very powerful show that had many of its main scenes marked in my memory in details even about 5 years after I've first watched it.

Those looking for a good adventure with a mixed bag of comedy, action, and drama will certainly be pleased here. You can expect a high-quality show, but not a masterpiece.

The OVA of Read or Die is a secret agent parody, perhaps poking a little fun at how ridiculous some of 007's plots are, and its overboard story of literary greats trying to take over the world has a campy charm. The TV series brings back most of the characters from the OVA,but centers itself around a new cast. Even though it's a little more heavy handed with its mood and drama, all the style in the OVA is preserved, only drawn out to a long 26 episodes.

Where the laughably crazy plot in the OVA held a certain charm, it doesn't serve well as the plot of a TV series. The plot is fairly thin for the first half of the series. It alternates between monsters of the week and some slice of life pieces. The monster of the week encounters don't have the same elaborate design as the action packed encounters in the OVA, but they more or less have the same wackiness. The characters of the TV series are also more or less of the same quality as the OVA.They are simple characters with one or two defining quirks, some of which are a bit cliche in the Anime world. A short 3 episode stint is conducive to simple and cliche'd characters, but slice of life is not.By far the worst segment of this series is when it explores the daily lives of the 4 new main characters. The slice of life subplots are boring in and of themselves, and these characters are far too simplea nd played out to spark empathy.

The story suddenly and completely changes from around the midway mark,kicking out all of the monster of the weeks and slice of life bits for its central plot. It shapes into something vaguely similar to the OVA's. The heroes have to stop some maniacal villain from taking over the flow of books, and thus, the world. It's certainly a lot morec omplex than that of the OVA's, but to its own detriment. Far too many plot developments stem from extraordinary lapses of common sense by some of the characters. Contrivances like these are sadly, a gigantic driving force. This leaves the plot not only wacky, but also nonsensical.

As if that wasn't enough, we still have to stomach our average dose of B rate Anime melodrama, including but not limited to complete over-dramatization of trauma, loss, and depression. As per usual also,the maniacal villain has to give his share of philosophical lectures on how to make the world a better place, all of which are answered by the hot headed heroes with equally bogus, but less pessimistic philosophy.

The TV series isn't really unfaithful to the OVA. It's not quite as impressive visually, and maybe it's a bit cheesier, but it goes for the same feel the OVA does. This just goes to show that campy charm is exceedingly delicate. Where the OVA in many ways was so weird, so bad that it was good, trying to stretch that same appeal into 26 episodes just leaves it as plain weird and bad.

An excellent anime that does great justice to the OAV. I really enjoyed R.O.D. for its quick animation and great story.

Bottom Line: It starts out slow, but I really like how they build up tension before they meet Yomiko. The ending sucked a whole mountain of @$$, though.

Animation: Top-notch. It maintained the quality of the OAV. Characters move fluidily, and there's no jerkiness and the action scenes were really sweet. Running animatio was decent enough, character designs were better than most, and the background detail was amazing, especially when they showed Tokyo's "book street", with its numerous bookstores. Paper animation was done superbly well, with no loss due to framerate or shoddy lazy animation. Character designs were also very consistent.

Sound: Great music, ok opening piece but the ROD theme will stick in your head for a long time. Ending songs were catchy J-pop. The music during the actions scenes really revs up the audience to get into the action, such as the first episode's plane scene. I'm not really a fan of jazzy music.

Story: Very gripping...but the ending just fell apart. Hated how they ended with a talk-fest instead of a beat down. I liked the gripping tension the anime had before you meet Yomiko and Nancy. The first arc had a nice comedy/mystery in it, as the sisters take missions and the characters finally convene together in the middle of the 15th episode. Too much episodes were wasted on Anita's schoollife though, we needed more Dokuensha pummelage!

Character: Here's where the anime falls a bit short. 5, and I mean FIVE!!! main women characters. I wasn't surprise at all that lesbianic references. It was nice, but we need some guys goddamnit! Anita was just soooooooo annoying, but Maggie and Michelle filled their roles wonderfully. Joker is as sly as ever, but the best character I liked is Drake. He was the best. Yomiko is her usual absentminded self, but Nancy...woah what a change. Too bad they didn't put her in the kickass purple outfit until the last 3 minutes of the anime. Junior was a pretty interesting new character, with a dark past.

Value and Enjoyment I thoroughly enjoyed ROD TV. It was a great series, and had an interesting plot and animation to back it up.