Lawrence Griffin Unlike the rather paltry and ridiculous series which shares its name, this OVA is actually quite worth your time, anime fan or not. A lot of the usual anime clichés are abundant, but the difference here is that they are wrapped up tightly inside a packaging that is fairly original, and extremely entertaining, too. I mean, a bookish, busty young Japanese lady fighting with paper against big guys with guns and swords? Hey, it might not be all that weird for anime standards, but I find it pretty fun.The story is pretty simple, yet involving and intriguing at the same time, skipping along at a gallant pace and always keeping the viewer on the edge of his seat. Read or Die is silly at times, and it does not vary all that much from what the viewer would expect from an anime, but it is damned good, and fans of the style should check it out.

Alan Deikman (Alan-40) Yokimo Readman just loves her books, and she has thousands. She coos over them, cuddles them, and absorbs herself so fully in in reading them she can literally let a five car pileup crash by her without noticing.And she has a curious superpower. She's a "paper master" that can make paper do all sorts of incredible things, like form barriers or bind things or cut through steel. So it is fitting that her spy code name is "paper." So she is a secret agent. Unlike the usual anime super-heroine, Ms. Readman doesn't ever shed her long skirt, vest, and glasses when doing battle with the bad guys. She stays her same cute-but-dorky self throughout, saying things like "give me back my book, please" from the super-villain that stole it from her even while he is trying to kill her. She leaves it to her colleague to wear the form-fitting spandex costume (which is, after all, obligatory).The storytellers in this movie have an excellent sense of subtlety, even while they indulge in the usual action-adventure excesses. There are a few worthwhile reflections on the nature of the historical figures that are cloned and brought back to life as part of the Evil Plot, but most of what is worth watching is Yokimo herself. Her first use of her power is so casually done that you would miss it if you blinked, but that fits with the character. Perhaps her most endearing moment is when she admits that as much as she treasures her books, she knows that real life is more important. You have to see for yourself how believable it is when she takes on a homicidal samurai with a light saber on his side with nothing but a morphed dollar-bill for herself. For me, it worked.I am amazed I can give this DVD 9 stars while still finding what should be a fatal flaw. The passion of the character is for books, but never once does the story depend on something that she read in all the thousands of books she is supposed to have read. Leaving this out reduces Yokimo's driving characteristic from a powerful plot device to a simply amusing fetish, which is a shame. And there is something to be said for being a role model for the kids that can and should watch this. However, the story is fun enough that this can be overlooked and 9 stars is appropriate.The artwork is slick, smooth, and convincing. The voice acting in both English and Japanese is superior. Sometimes the background details get washed over, usually in the machines of battle hardware, which is actually not unwelcome.A note about the series: I found this DVD because I rented the first volume of "R.O.D. the TV" from Netflix, and liked it so much that I found this story was the prequel. So I canceled the entire series at Netflix and bought this DVD and the whole series of "R.O.D. the TV" just from that one sample. They are that good.

KharBevNor Like many of the best anime, Read or Dies plot looks absolutely ridiculous on papers. Superpowered librarians and resurrected minor historical figures fight ridiculous, lightning-paced battles for a lost Beethoven score of, at least initially, uncertain significance. The premise, and many of the superpowers hurled around with vicious abandon, are absolutely absurd, yet the show maintains its own bizarre internal logic which catches you up in the shows world without requiring you to ask too many questions, especially if watched in one sitting. Indeed, the show never tries to explain any of its more bizarre elements, and a good thing as well. Something like ROD could easily get bogged down in technobabble fan-service, but instead it rips along at a great pace. Whilst not a classic by any means, ROD is a great bit of fun, with colourful, eccentric characters, top-notch animation and good, crisp modern anime artwork thankfully free of blatant CGI abuse. When did anime ever have to make sense anyway?

wimjim I was recommended this title; it won the Anime Expo of 2002; I read many great reviews about this title. So I was viewing this with great anticipation. I have now just watched it and have given this a C+.WHY??? You may ask I'll explain in due course.First the anime revolves around like a cheesy James bond style plot, with characters that have super natural abilities. So a race against time to save the world against a group of historical, extraordinary peronalities. There is the main character Yomiko Readman, a part time teacher and special agent of the Special Library Operations, code name "The Paper" or "Agent Paper"(, sounds corny, but that's probably the idea). She has a love of books, therefore she is here to protect the one book, that the enemy needs. She has a speciality, and that is the manipulation of paper.Other characters with the ability to pass through solid matter, to control insects, and manipulation of electricity. Therefore you could imagine some fantastic and clever, animated action scenes, on those basis alone. And it really does deliver.Animation is top notch, alot of detail has been put into this. When have you seen animation of someone taking a lid off a pen to write something down. Though it isn't truly necessary, it is little details like this, that tells you they have put effort into this. But it could also be their down fall, I'll explain later.It truly is a breath of fresh air, from your average anime. They may have taken a lot from James Bond, even the theme tune, opening titles and soundtrack resembles a lot like Bond. They put in a prologue opening scene much like Bond, but it fits really well into the style, and coolness of this anime.Now for the negative opinion. What really annoyed me was some of the character annoying habits they make, during the course of this 3 part anime. Miss Deep constant habit to pose and pose and pose, even during strange situations. It may have been cool, but a certain situation that I felt wasn't necessary. Wendys' constant falling over, was not funny at all to me. Thinking it might work it's way into the plot, but never really did. So didn't know what the reason behind that was. The Jokers' habit to touch his hair every time. That may the detail the animators were looking for, but for me as a viewer it kind of.... annoyed me.Now for Yomiko, well she started off great, cute and funny. Liked how she just wants the book. When she started fighting, I was in awe, but as soon as she fell over a cow, I thought that she was slightly too clumsy, and now not believable to be an agent. She wasn't professional in the slightest, but that could be the beauty of it, and that I missed it completely. So it didn't work for me.Though you shouldn't be put off this, as it is only my opinion. Maybe I was let down because it was hyped up too much, by others. 10/10 ratings are truly impressive ratings, so I was expecting perfection. Maybe when I watched again I'll change my opinion of the anime.Overall I do recommend it. Go watch it, for the animation, and for something slightly different compare to others.C+