Rating: 
Summary: W.O.R. - Watch or Regret
Review: "Read or Die" is a fast-paced adventure full of paper-throwing, bullet-dodging, and literally heart-squeezing action. The story follows a substitute teacher named Yomiko Readman (and her gigantic glasses). Yomiko spends all her earnings on books, and she loves to read. One day while out shopping (for books), she finds a particularly rare tome, which she proceeds to bury her nose in. Unfortunately for her, it is snatched away from her buy a grasshopper-man riding a gigantic bug the moment she steps from the store. Fortunately for her, she has the power to manipulate paper in any way she sees fit, and also happens to be standing next to a tipped-over truck carrying a load of printer paper. Needless to say, Ms. Readman is a secret agent, better known among her colleagues as "The Paper," and she teams up with several other unusual characters to protect the priceless and dangerous volume from the clutches of some of history's most erratic celebrities, ranging from a German aviation pioneer to a Chinese monk who can ride clouds. As you can no doubt see by now, this is a whirlwind adventure that you can't miss.The entire series is contained on one DVD, making it one of the cheapest whole anime series that one can buy. The downside is that "Read or Die" is only three episodes long, but since they were not produced for television, each one is a full thirty minutes instead of the standard twenty-one. Each episode has several exciting battle scenes mixed with quiet character and plot development scenes. The episodes can be watched like a movie, with no "recaps" at the beginning of the episode or previews at the end. The soundtrack is composed by the incomparable Taku Iwasaki, who is best known for his work with "Rurouni Kenshin: Romantic Tales from the Meiji Era." This is music that I enjoy listening to even when not watching the series. The theme song and the general tone of the music is sort of a cross between 70's-style James Bond-esque spy show music and orchestral music, which, on the whole, came out very well. The episodes can be watched in either Japanese or English, and though I usually advise watching the subtitled Japanese version, R.O.D.'s American voice acting is very well done for a dub. The biggest gripe I had with "R.O.D." was the fact that all the writing was in Japanese except for three specific instances, yet the story took place exclusively in London, New York City, India, and over the Aegean Sea. Still, that's not a very big problem, and didn't really affect my overall impression of "R.O.D." On the plus side, all the architectural drawing was very accurate, for instance the shot of the British Museum (a real place, I've been there) was astoundingly similar to the real thing, and althought they never call it the British Museum by name, it was instantly recognizable. Overall, "Read or Die" was a terrific piece of work. The art was amazing, the humor was absolutely perfect, and the general feel of the series was exciting. From the twisting plotline to the unforgettable characters, "Read or Die" was an amazing pieve of work, perfect for anyone with a sense of adventure and especially well-suited to otaku or those with an appreciation for terrific animation... a definite thumbs-up.
Rating:
Summary: More than a breath of fresh air...
Review: ...although I notice our illustrious spotlight reviewers seem to favor that phrase. I can't really add more information about the plot or characters than previous reviews, but there's one important point that I don't feel has been brought up yet. All the superpowered characters in this anime are perfectly in touch with their powers, and use them to their full extent. The Paper makes swords and clubs and shields without thinking about it, and at one point deftly bends said club into a hook to catch herself from a fall. Ms. Deep hides inside things, reaches through things, and generally has complete mastery over when and how she is immaterial. It does seem to require a little concentration on her part -- she does occasionally get hit -- but otherwise her grace and skill are a sight to behold. The villains all use their quirks to full advantage on both offense and defense. The first two minutes give us a taste of this awesome power before starting character development. There is kung foolery, electricity, aircraft, and Zen Bhuddism (?!), all pushed to their illogical limit in pursuit of rare books. The biographical notes are a must if you want to understand all the in-jokes with the flashy abilities they wield. On the whole, there is no hewing and hawing with mortal conventions when superpowers would serve just as well. Can you imagine American cartoons with heros giving 100% constantly? Justice League episodes would be over in ten minutes; Powerpuff Girls would take five. Read or Die nailed the apparently difficult concept of superhumans doing battle with one another.
Rating:
Summary: Great Anime worth paying for!
Review: Alright R.O.D. starts off with a bang and doesnt stop. Not one dull moment in this 90 minute anime. It has a very good story which is really what anime is about. The english Dubs where great. I dont think I could have picked a better cast to do the voices. The animation is top notch and the action in this anime will figurativly keep you on the edge of your seat. In my honost opinion you would be an idiot to not pick up a copy of R.O.D. Its one of the many great animes out there. I got my copy cheap so I'm pretty sure you could find it somewhere costing around $15-20.
Rating:
Summary: BOOYAKA !!
Review: Amazing!! Wonderfully inventive film showing new talent and great cinematography. Animation was fluid and precise although not as detailed as one would like. Overall a great movie/series...I'm just waiting for episodes 4-6 !! You won't be dissapointed.
Rating:
Summary: great
Review: At first i thought the i dea was one of the worst i'd ever heard. A secret library organization? but it turned out to be great. The animation is great and the story and plot are as well. Don't let the idea of paper powers or a secret library fool you this is a really good anime.
Rating:
Summary: The Pen is mightier than the Sword!
Review: I am constantly impressed with the level of animation that is coming from overseas. I think it is because they are going places that our native animators are afraid to go. We still see cartoons for children, where overseas they see it as a form of entertainment for both adults and children. Why can't they see that it is a form of cinema that will and can take us to places that live-action never will, and give us characters that no actor could ever conjure up? Who knows? I hope that one day we get there, but until then I can sit on my comfy couch and watch amazing cinema like that of Read or Die.
To begin, this was a fantastic story. I loved the literary references throughout the course of the film. I loved that there was so much to see or do in the story that you never really knew where it was going to go next. This was a very unpredictable story that left so much up to the imagination. It was futuristic, yet somewhat present day. There was a feeling that you were seeing on old novel opened for the first time and remastered for today's generation. It was breathtaking, uncontrollably mesmerizing, and spellbinding to say the least. I mentioned before about the imagination that this film held, well let me say that it flowed like water from this Read or Die. It is hard to explain, but if you watch so much live-action cinema, it is hard to comprehend, but there was more alive in this film than I have seen in any of Spielberg's epics. Keep in mind that I am also relatively new to the Anime genre, and probably am missing some of the better stuff, but for a newbie like myself, Read or Die was perfection in its purest form.
In live-action films I always mention the characters, and am normally nervous to mention them in animation (because it is actors voicing not really acting), but I need to applaud the animators in this film. The way that the characters in this film carried themselves, to their facial expressions, to the intensity that they brought to the screen is equal to that of most live-actors out there. There was enough back-story and future story for these characters that you knew them, you honestly knew them as if they were real. This was a character-based film. While some may argue with me on that topic, it was about friendship, love, and a desire to read and be successful. These are not emotions that you feel or see with just simple drawings. The animators went above and beyond their call of duty with this film, and it was demonstrated through cunning visionary and smart characters.
With a gripping story that took us all over the world (showed the vast horror that could be found, instead of just making it centralized) and characters that literally jumped out of the screen with heart-pounding animation and style, there is only one more thing to say about this film. The action. Growing up in a post-Matrix style film world, it is getting harder and harder to see fight sequences choreographed without the use that made The Matrix so popular. I continually see more and more films ripping off the "bullet-time" effect and making their money back on just that one effect alone. While I do realize that this was ... yet again ... a cartoon, the action in it seemed more real than in most action films. Sly and AH-NOLD have nothing on "The Paper" as she uses brains and strength to outwit her opponents. This continued to keep my attention throughout the entire film and nearly pushed me to watch it again. I know there was something that I probably missed the first time because my jaw was stapled to the floor. The action sequences were, for lack of a better word, beautiful. Like a ballet gone wrong, this film stepped into the screen with simplicity, violence, and this subtle delicacy that is unmatched in American cinema today.
Overall, this was an impressive film for me. I loved everything about it from the beginning to the end. Again, perhaps it has something to do with my amateurish nature around Anime (which is going to change soon), but this is one of the best that I have seen. It left me satisfied, yet with this strong desire to watch again and again. Not many films do that to me, so it was great to see something as powerful as this pull me into the Anime world. I cannot wait for my next adventure!
Grade: ***** out of *****
Rating:
Summary: Read or Die Rocks
Review: I personally liked this movie. Although the lames are kind of lame, and maybe the title could have been changed (Read or Die???). But ya, the lames are lame ("Agent Paper," "Miss Deep,"Joker," Gentlemen") But other than that, this movie is full of action and stuff. i would recommend it.
Rating: 
Summary: If the plotholes don't get you, the cliches will
Review: I really was interested in this series...then I actually saw it. What I saw really turned me off, mainly because much of what I saw either annoyed me greatly or just flat-out bored me.
One problem is that it came across as very cliche to me. It's basically like all other secret organization animes out there ("Hellsing" included), what with an organization with great powers fighting something minor that turns out to be bigger than even they can handle. This time its the British library fighting someone stealing important books in the world. (I'm waiting for an anime involving the General Electrics company saving the world from some evil entity turning toasters against their masters) Of course, there's one "runt" member who becomes the hero, this time it being a young schoolgirl who has the power to have her breasts dance around with every slight movement (in fact, most of the female characters have this power). Of course, things take a turn for the worse and the organization falls for traps that you will see coming a mile away. If animes like Hellsing or Witch Hunter Robin hadn't come out before Read or Die it might not have mattered, but unfortunately this anime comes out with a cookie-cutter kind of story.
I couldn't understand a few parts of this series either - like how, for example, the tough girl's clone could have replaced her when there was no time to do so. And how did that one soldier who got tossed down from the vessel suddenly get better and manage to climb back up? Yet again, another moment when I think the writers were inspired by the John Cleese line from the Holy Grail. ("I got better!") By the way, I don't know how many pictures of Washington, DC the art director saw but it must have been less than or equal to zero, because that is not how Washington, DC looks. I thought the communist architecture of London in "Hellsing" was bad, but this was abysmal - rolling hills full of flat, square houses with the Washington monument in the horzion is supposed to suffice? I've seen postcards with the Washington, DC skyline, you're telling me no one at the studio could check online or something?
My final complaint would have to be I really didn't care for any of the characters. The main girl was extremely annoying and downright stupid, the villain didn't seem scary at all, the tough girl was poorly developed and I didn't feel any chemistry between her and the main girl, the secretary for the British library seemed to have a lot of different jobs, and finally, of course, the head of the library is the stereotype British persona of, "Well, we'll save the world sometime...but first a spot of tea!" When characters die off I'm left feeling empty. I really didn't care.
Overall, I found this whole thing to be below average. I guess some people may like it, but for myself and most people I know, I didn't find anything enjoyable about it.
Rating: 
Summary: Cool designs, great animation, ... story...
Review: I saw this on my friend's recommendation, but I found it disappointing. The animation itself is cool, and elements of the story are quite original. Ms. Readman's super-power is also quite cool. However, the story feels like a condensed manga, and the characters have very little depth. The dialogue was ..., the female characters were portrayed as either clumbsy and stupid or as leather-clad juggies and no explanation of the insane world of librarian-agents is given. Better than a lot of kiddie anime, but not anything people over 15 need to get excited about.
Rating: 
Summary: Great Action Flick
Review: I'm basing this review on the R.O.D. fansubs which have circulated, so I can't attest to the quality of the upcoming domestic release. However, if you appreciate over-the-top action you could hardly ask for a better anime than this! It has a rather Giant Robo-esque vibe, though without the actual giant robots and lacking much of the melodrama and complex backstory. What fan service there is isn't gratuitous enough to be offensive, and the insane, super-heroic action easily makes up for what the show lacks in depth and development. I found myself squealing like a little girl in disbelief at a number of scenes. Watch it and love it!
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