Read or Die (OAV)
Oh shit I’m dead, apparently
I just don’t read enough anymore. But I’m not alone, something like one in 8,000,000 people read more than whatever bit of Popular Mechanics they can fit in while they’re on the can. But maybe thanks to video movies, we can all start to read again. What?
Sort of like a hero that doesn’t smoke or drink, Yomiko Readman (yeah, you heard me but there’s an intentional hokiness factor here) is a bookworm who saves the day. Unfortunately for this after-school special moral that I’m going after, she also has a rad superpower that lets her manipulate the molecular structure of paper to do whatever she wants: bind it, make it hard, sharpen it to a weapon, you name it.
So reading just got cool for about five seconds, but it really can’t hold a candle to paper samurai swords.
Story
Just because the hero dresses conservatively, doesn’t mean we lack catsuits
This thing basically exists because somebody thought “wouldn’t it be cool if paper was a weapon, we could make some kickass fight scenes with that” and someone else gave it the green light. True enough, though, these are great action sequences.
The story overall is more than a bit implausible even within its own world, but the over-the-top Bond action and a hint of self-aware irony at least get the job done.
The disturbing part about R.O.D. was that I got the distinct feeling about halfway through that I’d seen it before. There really isn’t anything else with a similar story, so I can only conclude that I did in fact see and promptly forgot about it.
Characters
Yomiko is the only one close to being a completely developed character, and even she’s a fairly one-dimensional caricature. The others have secrets up their sleeves (they’re secret agents, after all), but I found myself not caring as much about those as when the next action sequence was going to happen. None of them are particularly grating, though, so there’s that. They’re just on the forgettable side.
Animation
This is really where the flick shines. Animation isn’t always smooth, and the money seems to have been spent mostly on the action scenes, but again that’s what we’re here for. Action choreography, villain design, and some really imaginative uses for paper (up to and including a giant paper airplane) give you plenty of excuses to keep your eyes on it. And the bizarrely historical-looking cast of characters makes it one of the more stylish things out there.
Music & Credits
The music goes right along with the animation design in keeping things stylish. R.O.D. is well aware of its camp, but also of its cool. Except for the occasional foray into Beethoven to keep things on topic, you’re mostly treated to action-packed horns, strings, and surfy guitars over high-energy beats that evoke a spy movie. Think modern update on a John Barry soundtrack. It’s a lot of fun, and one of the main reasons why the show itself is fun.
Dub
Yomiko’s dub by Kimberly Yates could have been terrible, but it’s not. It’s actually pretty enjoyable to hear, naive but not annoying. One of North America’s favorite dubbers, Amanda Winn-Lee (Evangelion’s Rei Ayanami) does a nice job as Nancy as well. The ever-popular Crispin Freeman is a capable Joker, but he’s not great at a British accent: and unfortunately, he’s the best of the faux-Brits. The cast of goofy yanks trying to sound English can be really irritating.
Bottom Line
All in all, Read Or Die a fun, brief romp through some innovative action sequences with not a lot of spy-like intrigue or involving character development. I realized I’m at the end here and I probably didn’t say much of anything interesting, but that’s the nature of this beast: Being mean would be unfair because it was an enjoyable watch, but it doesn’t deserve heaps of praise either. Netflix this guy and forget about it immediately after watching. Pretty sure I’ve actually done that at least once.
- admin out!
