Customer Reviews

R.O.D. -The TV-, Vol. 1: The Paper Sisters

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Put simply, any fan of the original "Read or Die" OVA series should watch R.O.D the TV... The first half of the series seems only midly connected to the original Read or Die OVA because it is based on the "Read or Dream" manga/comic which features a different cast. The second half of the series (episodes 14-26) combine "Read or Die" and "Read or Dream", in terms of both characters and plotline. You will come to realise that R.O.D the TV is far better than "Read or Die"!

Some people might not be that impressed with the first volume of R.O.D the TV, due to a total lack of action scenes in episodes 2 and 3. Well, from Volume 2 onwards, there is far more action... the reason for the two comedy-based episodes is that Read or Dream is based is far less action-orientated than Read or Die and concentrates more on the silly anticts of the characters. The first episode of Volume 1: The Paper Sisters will be very pleasing to action fans, while the fourth episode has a nice action finish. I found episodes 2 and 3 to be very amusing rather than dull; some may disagree, but are sure to enjoy the rest of the series as it is more action packed.

R.O.D the TV seems a little odd for the early episodes, but it turns into one of the best anime series in years. It has great action, great fun and yet moments of great emotion and tension.

Worthy of note is that Geneon has done an absolutely fantastic job with dubbing this series, making it even more re-watchable as it is enjoyable in both language tracks. The voice of Anita is especially impressive: for children in this series they used real child actors, and thanfully these children can act! Anita's lines are much funnier when you hear them coming from a real child.

For those who have seen the OAV, you will come into this expecting the same unique style and grace that caressed the OAV series that follows Yomiko Readman more commonly known as "The Paper," released earlier by Manga Entertainment. However, upon watching this, you see a few differences that bring up disappointment.

First, the animation of a TV series is usually of lower quality than that of OAV series or movies; this seems to be the case. I felt that the characters were not drawn as well as I had come to appreciate within the OAV series. The music also lacked the same sort of emotion and 'coolness' seen from the OAVs. But these things apart, there are things that were done as well and these were stressed more in what a longer series could provide - a more developed story and stronger character development.

This 26 episode series follows a new lead female, Nenene Sumiregawa, who is a writer in some sort of rut. She was friends with Yomiko Readman but she mysteriously disappeared a few years earlier and no news has been heard from her despite her constant search. On a trip to Hong Kong to discuss plans with turning her previous novel into a film, she is attacked. However, luckily girls from the Three Sisters Agency came to save the day, and as you can assume, these girls can manipulate paper. The story continues on (albeit with MANY plot twists) with the sisters taking on a job to be Nenene's bodyguard and they learn to get along as well as really feel attached to one another.

The real highlight of the release of this series is in the packaging. With the many boxes being released for new series, it is hard to truly distinguish them from each other as being unique. The R.O.D TV series' box is just that: unique. With the box being a book, it is very relevant to the series as this series revolves around the love of books and some conspiracy on having some of them. I guess the downpoint to this sort of box is that while it conserves space, you don't have a place to hold the other DVD cases as you buy each additional volume.

Final Note: I think now we realize that the anime DVD market has become a sort of art as companies are coming up with new ways, competing to stand out or have a unique release. It's bad for our wallets but it's good for the companies. Geneon (formerly Pioneer) always finds ways to outdo itself. Bravo.

I watched the fansubs of this when it was out in Japan, and I can't wait to get the dvds. ROD may look 'cutesy', but it's far from shallow and there's a lot of excellent action and animation to boot. I'm a 29 year old guy, and my friends and I are shamelessly hooked on this show, so don't think it's just for kids or girls.

What really gets you addicted, though, are the endearing characters and the strong bonds they have to each other. Just as they care for each other, you care for them, and that keeps you hooked as they get into one perilous situation after another.

Fans of the original OVA may be put off by the fact that Yomiko Readman & crew are not the main characters in this show. Once you get to know the paper sisters, though, you won't mind a bit. And if you wonder what happened to Yomiko, Drake, and Ms. Deep after the OVA... well, you'll be in for a real treat a bit later on in the series ;)

Story/Plot: - 8 - Gets a bit convoluted at the end, but it's fun and original.
Animation - 9 - Excellent, especially for a 26-episode show.
Sound/Music - 8 - The music is great, and I like the new version of the ROD theme even better than the OVA's intro. The Japanese voice acting is great, and really brings the characters to life.

So, um, GET IT!

Certainly the TV series is a different tone than the original OAV.

If you've not seen the original Read or Die OAV, then you will go into this series and probably enjoy the pace and the writing.

However, if you have seen the wonderful OAV, then when you start this series you may be a bit taken aback. The pace of the OAV reminds me of the pace of the Indiana Jones movies - you are almost breathless by the time you sit thinking about the final scene of the heroine and her new friend.

While there are certainly action sequences in the TV series, they are sporadic. And in fact, to be honest, some of the stories with action were confusing to me.

On the other hand, I did not find the non-action driven episodes boring - in fact, just the opposite. I am drawn to character driven writing more than explosions and killings, so I find the episodes where we learn bit by bit about Nenene, and watch her relationship with the three sisters evolve, as well as learn about the background of the sisters, through the first dozen or so episodes of this series to be a wonderful thing.

(of course, the 12 episodes are not all on this dvd - they are spread across the first few dvds...).

So take a chance, try the first dvd or two, and decide for yourself whether this is a series of interest to you.

finally an anime series that has all the action AND main characters are female whose goal is something other than attracting the boy. ok, i know there are others out there but there are few. good character development to the point that you care about the three sisters and nenene. there are a some PG-13 themes and action scenes but i would not hesitate to get this series for my 13 year old niece. i almost caved to poor reviews and didn't watch this series, but i am so happy i didn't. female anime lovers should really check this series out.

After many months (possibly years) of looking for a decent Japanese cartoon finally I can sit down and watch something that is Japanese and isn't riddled with foul sexual content or humor, over the top violence, and romance! "R. O. D. (Read or Die): The TV" is exactly the kind of Anime I can enjoy with a smile on my face.



Story; Vol.1--- (5/5): Famous novelist Nenene Sumiregawa takes a trip to Hong Kong for a promotion on the first novel she had ever written (if my memory serves me correctly), still suffering from a four year writers block. She meets her 'guide' Michelle, a high spirited blonde who is incapable of spelling Nenene's name correctly and her sister Maggie; an unusually tall young woman who is a big fan of Nenene and books of all types. When they take her to the penthouse she supposed to have been staying, it explodes and authorities discover it was an attempt on her life by someone not so fond of her writing.


Nenene, however is not swayed by the threat against her life and does not opt for hiding despite the danger surrounding the situation. Michelle and Maggie decide to stick by her side and protect her (against her wishes) until the threat upon her life has passed. Nenene then meets the youngest sister of the three, Anita; a loud mouthed girl with a tomboyish, bratty personality who is greatly opposed to books and Nenene herself, unlike her sisters. Beyond this, the story becomes slightly complex, shrouded in a complete mystery until much later into the series.





Animation/Art--- (5/5): Thankfully there is not a trace of CGI animated scenes to be found in R. O. D. Everything is strictly painted and drawn; the character animations are a downright treat to watch, everything from the vehicles movies realistically with a hint of unlogical-ness added into the mix. The cities and characters in the show were done very beautifully, there are touches of real still pictures in the background at times but its hardly noticeable.





Music--- (4/5): The music used in this series has this sort of mellow tune to it, that basically translates into very relaxing. I am unable to describe is fully, I can only say its done quite well and that it reminds me of Jazz most of the time.






Characters--- (4/5): By far the big drawer of this show aside from the action are the characters. Be it minor or major, the characters in R.O.D. have personalities that could match a variety of people. Maggie, despite her semi antisocial and shy personality, she is a humble character and it quite firm when she wants to be, however she prefers not to harm anyone she is close to. Michelle isn't my favorite character but her stereotypical 'bubbly blonde' appearance is the complete opposite of her character. Michelle, being the oldest of the three of them is firm and makes all the decisions acting as the parent and being part of the glue that keeps their friendship with Nenene together. Anita is probably more adult than her older sisters are; she has her moments of maturity and understanding when someone is down on their luck or just feeling bad. However, Anita remains the bratty child, with a dark past concerning books. And she, more or less is the brawn of the three sisters. Nenene, is a nice depiction of a brooding Novelist suffering from writers block, in need of some 'bodyguards' who just might be the thing to release her from the lack of inspiration needed to write. The rest of the characters are the same compared to the four main characters, but most of them are annoying and one-dimensional.





Voice Acting---- (English 5/5; Japanese 4/5): I'm no purist but I did listen to Vol.1 in Japanese, it wasn't bad at all, however, if I had to choose the English dub is where the real talent is that. Its very charismatic and never betrays the emotion shown on the characters faces.





DVD--- (3/5): The DVD consists of the same requirements of a Geneon DVD; trailers, episode previews, chapter selection, audio, subtitle, and language choices. Not much to say on that.








Total: This series is funny in its own sense and meaning of the word. The story is a completely original from anything I've ever seen and doesn't let you in on anything surrounding the mysterious organization Maggie, Michelle, and Anita work for until later as I said before. It gets a 4 out of 5.

This series is quirky and entertaining. The disc contains 4 episodes from the beginning of Read or Dream. The four main characters are well developed and have personalities that make interactions humorous.

Nenene Sumiregawa is a famous author beloved by millions but she has two problems. The first is that she's had writer's block ever since a beloved friend, Yomiko Readman, disappeared 5 years ago. In addition to being her friend, Yomiko was a secret agent of the British Library, known as "The Paper", which signified her abilities as a "Paper Master". With this ability, she was able to bend paper from any source to her will. Although this doesn't sound like an awesome power, you can construct weapons, fashion planes, shields, cut through metal, etc. Nenene's second problem is that someone wants to kill her! Her editor hires three young ladies, who also turn out to be freelance Paper Masters, to serve as bodyguards to Nenene. After foiling an assassination attempt in Hong Kong, the girls follow Nenene to Tokyo and begin to adjust to life in Japan, even as they mooch off of her by moving into her apartment without her permission...and continue to risk their lives to protect hers!

Some anime viewers have been put off by this series, but I loved this first volume. It unfolds slowly like a live action weekly series or a series of short films instead of a typical anime. There isn't tons of action, but the little there is will knock your socks and your head off, so connect it with a thread of paper! Of course, as with all first volumes, you can either start with action and build characters later, or start with characters first. The writers of this series take the latter approach. Michelle is the de facto leader of the Sisters, even though she might not be the brightest. Maggie is a mumbling lanky, boyish, and distant personality, and is thereby the calmest of the sisters. Anita is her polar opposite, being the youngest, and is always quick to fly off the handle, especially because she really dislikes Nenene, but she might be the smartest of the three. A good conflict right off the bat is that Michelle and Maggie love books while Anita HATES them. There is a lot of humor in this show, but it retains a "coolness" factor through its writing and the fluidity of its action sequences. The soundtrack also provides nice James Bond like orchestration for the adventures of the Paper Sisters. Good show, especially for people with a love for books.

I would also recommend the Read Or Die OVA and the manga version of Read or Die. Cowboy Bebop and Full Metal Panic would also be good shows to view.

I liked Read or Die the movie, the main character was cute and I associated with her book obsession... But something was missing. I couldn't get into it, after a while I got bored.
Enter the tv series.
The show is hilarious and entertaining, it held my attention through every single dvd. The action is fast and the characters are cute, fun, and perfect. I can't explain what draws me to this series so much, but I love every single thing about it. To me, this is one of the most perfect anime ever created, it's flawless in execution, it's funny, fast, and stylish.

They did a wonderful job in transitioning this series from the OAV. They got me very interested in the characters. I would recommend this series to anyone that enjoys anime. It is funny and exciting to watch.