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.

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.

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?

In my humble opinion, this is nothing short of a masterpiece. Often, I feel that animation (western and Asian alike) tends to forget its roots - the fantastic, the stuff of dreams and imagination. Instead, a lot of animation tries to mimic reality, which many do well. This anime however, tells a playful, dreamlike story, taking you through literary eras without the need to actually jump in time, and as effortlessly as turning the page of a book.In short, this anime has a strong theme of storytelling, classic fantastic literature, and "history" rather than "legend". The setting is in victorian-like castles, huge libraries and secret corridors, with sudden leaps into the modern big city life, musty basement-bookstores, a desert town, a high tech military base, and more, all blending seamlessly, magically. The characters seem too fantastic to be real, but at the same time they are rooted in historical characters.I can't even comment on the animation or the sound. It's simply impeccable. But the true strength of this anime, and the final push towards a full 10/10 is the story, and the way it's told. A less-than-great attempt at such a diverse setting and cast would most likely fail, but incredibly Read or Die pulls it off. How the creators managed to do this, I cannot comprehend, but it works! You're seduced and taken for a ride through worlds, eras and genres, from fantasy adventures to street-level action, unexpected character dramas to huge scale crime fighting. It's no wonder that this anime won best OVA at Anime Expo 2002 - I can only say that it's well deserved.