Read Or Die: The Review.
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Today's journal entry focuses on the anime known as "Read or Die" which has enjoyed success in Japan for the past 3 years, it airs on G4TechTv weekends on Anime Unleased and is one of the most interesting and deriative anime series I've ever seen, First:the T.V. series.
In R.O.D. the T.V. series, the british government has accuired secret technology that allows people to use words and paper as weapons and ablities. Three young Japanese one from Hong Kong are given these special powers and are assigned to protect a young novelist named Nenene Sumiregawa form a secret orginization hellbent on destroying everything. These women Michelle, a high strung self serving woman,Anita a cute intelligent 12 year old girl from Hong Kong and Maggie an introverted shorthaired woman who looks like a lesbian are known as the "Paper Sisters" because they contain the special technology.
Among other characters are Natsume Nishizo Anita's shy pig tailed classmate, Junior(Japanese name Juno)a very very beautiful looking long haired young boy whom Anita is attracted to his shy charisma and his ability to phase through walls like "Shadowcat" of X Men, and Noru Okahara the immature boy who's main squeeze is Natsume.
Okay back to the the story. Basicallt M.A.M.(as they call themselves.)move in with Nenene while Anita goes to school,Michelle home makes, while Maggie hangs out in the library. Nenene's day job is that she spends all day long writing and drinking coffee,her personality paints here as a conceited self centered, and bitchy woman who doesn't really notice that her actions make people offened but her determination makes M.A.M love her as a sister.
Michelle seems to be happy-go-lucky all the time,she strolls without a care or worry in the world. She doesn't mind doing people favors noir is concerned about anything thats about ot go wrong. She's always happy and never angry, the blonde's recreation is very bizarre,she likes to read german novels and even though she's only 17 she likes to flirt with preteen boys, she nearly frightened Juno after propositioning him. She also treats Anita like her guardian.
Anita is 13 years old and doesn't like to read, she hasd practiced the trick of the trade but is naive about her powers. Her friendship with Natsume is that of two twin sisters. Anita is pink haired and well mannered,execept where Michelle is involved because she's unerved by Michelle but when around Jumo blushes because of her secret crush on him. Probably the reason why she likes him is because he's just like her.
Maggie like i said is introverted,She pretty much keeps to herself. She doesn't say much and seems afraid of something maybe her past?We don't know because she's isolated from the others and keeps everything secret. The only person she's close to is Nenene because she understands her loneliness.
Juno is the only male role model on the anime usually because most Shojo(Female) anime has a servere shortage of male characters and like most shojo manga is a bishonen(pretty boy) and is a very very pretty boy. He's probably Anita's knight in shining armor because like her he's 13 and very well mannered and naive about his powers but Juno was originally a secret spy from the orginization sent to kill Anita but decided not to because he loves her. Besides how could the "Shadow Kid" as he's called be a spy when he's the same age as Anita?Anyway the reason why I call him "Juno is because thats his orignal Japanese name in the Japanese version but for some reason Aniplex calls his "Junior" well "Juno" is the Japanese name for Junior and Aniplex dubs his voice with a young male teen with a heavy scottish accent whereas the Original Japanese version has his voice recorded by a woman.
Maybe Aniplex was afraid that people would thin he's a girl.
Anyway the T.V. series is very enduring,although the story isn't very deep noir does it get serious, the characters are very likeable and the dub itself is well done!Probably better than most dubs like mediocre Funimation and the horrid 4kids,but this newcomer Aniplex tries to compare itself to Sunrise and TMS. The animation is top notch,stellar at the least. R.O.D. the T.V. series ran on N.H.K.(North Hoshu Kamuri)T.V. meaning North Hong Kong island in south Japan from October 24,2003 to April 15,2004 it was released after the movie and O.A.V. series.
Overall rating B+
Art A+
Animation A+
Story C+
Dub A-
Good: Stellar animation, likable characters.
Bad: weak story.
Rating: teenagers(yellow) Contains, violence,crude humor, some panty shots(minor Ecchi that may spawn hentai fatasies.) and Language.
Posted on 11/1/04 at 2:55 PM CDT
Posted by patltornado
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