I loved Read or Die, just because it isn’t often you get to watch a show featuring a bespectacled book loving woman (Yomiko Readman) with super powers acting as a secret agent for the British Library

R.O.D. the TV is a sort-of sequel that combines characters from the mangas Read or Dream and Read or Die.

Sounds confusing? It isn’t really! In the first episode an author with a severe case of writer’s block, Nenene Sumiregawa, goes to Hong Kong to promote one of her old books that is being adapted into a movie. She meets a group of sisters who have been hired to act as her guides, Michelle, Maggie and Anita. The sisters also run their own detective agency. Michelle and Maggie love books so much that when they introduce themselves to someone they are just meeting, they state who their current favorites are like this; “Nice to meet you, my name is Michelle, and I love Harry Potter books!” Anita the youngest sister hates books, partly because the sisters’ apartment has turned into a book warehouse due to her older siblings’ obsessive book buying.

When Nenene is attacked by an insane fan, the sisters spring into action. They possess the power to turn paper into anything, like a bow and arrow, a cutting blade that can slice through metal, or a giant animal. The three sisters end up being hired to become full-time bodyguards for Nenene in Japan, but mysterious forces seem to be at work that disrupt their new lives.

Although the first 4 episodes of the dvd don’t give characters from the Read or Die OVA much screen time, Nenene used to be friends with Yomiko Readman and continues to miss her desperately. As the tv show progresses, more characters from Read or Die are incorporated into the storyline, but enough backstory is included that I don’t think you would have to have watched Read or Rie to enjoy R.O.D. the TV series. The commentary track for the first episode reveals some of the details and references that the creators have included in the TV show, for example, the names of the three sisters are identical to the names of the actresses in the classic Hong Kong action flick, The Heroic Trio.

If you enjoy books, libraries, and anime, try to watch this show!

It looks like the earlier series Read or Die is going to air on the Cartoon Network in October.