R.O.D. Cast

Summary:
In a small apartment in Hong Kong, there lives about three thousand books stuffed into and onto every available space. And, somewhere amongst the literary mass, three highly unusual sisters: Michelle Chuen, Maggie Miu, and Anita King. So different in both nature and appearance it’s laughable, close in such strange ways you could cry, there’s one other thing that makes them different: they are all three paper users. Born with the ability to manipulate paper to almost any purpose, they hire out as detectives, and somehow, despite themselves, do well at it. But when they successfully save the life of Japanese author Nenene Sumiregawa, things take a different turn. Sumiregawa’s books are renowned, but for years now she hasn’t successfully written a word, and her editor thinks the three sisters can help. So he hires them to ‘watch’ her. And so they arrive in Tokyo – hungry, poor, and book mad. And, eventually, just mad. Because there is a serious threat to Sumiregawa after all – and much more besides. They’re the most mismatched trio of heroes ever assembled – but it’s the bonds that matter. And no one knows that better than they do.

Studio:
J.C. Staff/Studio DEEN

Cast:
Saito Chiwa as Anita King
Hirata Hiromi as Maggie Miu
Yukino Satsuki as Nenene Sumiregawa
Kikuchi Shoko as Michelle Cheung
Goda Hozumi as Joe “Joker” Carpenter
Iwasaki Masami as Drake Anderson
Neya Michiko as Makuhari Nancy
Miura Rieko as Yomiko ‘The Paper’ Readman
Saiga Mitsuki as Junior

Genre:
Action, Drama, Unusual Abilities.

Airtime:
Roughly 2003. Further details appear confusing, but really, does it matter?

Available on DVD:
Yes – in English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, and Chinese. I’m not the only one who approved.

Episodes:
Twenty six. Strongly connected to the OVA, also excellent, highly recommended for it’s own sake.

Review:
One might say that there is a certain amount of self-destructiveness in an anime that hypes bibliomaniacs. I mean, it’s a multimedia, but all the main characters love books and one’s an author and they are always talking about the heart that makes books. I can’t complain though, since I was a reader long before I stumbled onto a bleach episode on Youtube. And I doubly can’t complain, because this series came this close to being a five. The characters are wonderful, and the story they tell is heartfelt. If you’re the sort, like me, who is willing forgive some stretching of credulity in the name of excellent delivery and emotion, then you will have as little to complain about as I do. R.O.D. – Read or Die – rates a four, for being powerful and enjoyable, but just a bit too flat on the end. Oh well.

When I say the sisters are mismatched, I mean it. Michelle – the oldest – is twenty-four, blond, and a bit of an airhead, as in the Empire State building is a bit tall. Clueless, cheerful and open-hearted, she nonetheless pulls some impressive weight when it comes time for action. Lot’s of comic fun on screen as well. Maggie, second sister, is abnormally tall (six and half feet at least), has short cut dark hair, and hardly talks. When she does, it’s very quiet. She’s also awkward, and likes to make little dark places to sleep. She’s also possibly the strongest of them(though power levels aren’t so easy to calibrate here). Finally, Anita, pink haired, short tempered, aged ten or so. Claims to hate books, constantly sniping, but in reality deeply attached to her sisters. She’s not as strong, but she’s much more aggressive and athletic. Told you they were mismatched. Stuck somewhere in the center of the inevitable confusion they generate is Nenene Sumiregawa, a beloved author despite having had four years of consecutive writers block. Having the sisters descend on her peaceful apartment, where she had been spending her days staring at her computer and trying to will some words onto it, drives her to distraction, and she in turns drives them quite a bit in the beginning. She has a strong personality and a strong temper, but she also has a strong need for something to turn things around, and her editor believes that the Paper Users can wake her up. Well, they make enough chaos. Junior is a young silver haired boy, quiet, socially disinclined, and an all around enigma – but an exquisitely sympathetic one. Naming the villains here is a bad idea, but I can say that their portrayal is superb. They certainly aren’t typical – despite the evil of their actions, the show convincingly shows their belief in their actions. Despite that, you know what the ending must be.

The plot comes slowly, but the entertainment stays all the way. The first episode presents quite a mix of touching, comic, and action. Second and third are mostly comic, but also sympathetic, and we learn to love the unbelievable oddness of the paper users, as their presence and their basic relationships are established. After that, the story runs partly on missions the papers take in addition to their Nenene sitting duties (which sometimes more resembled their being sitted), and partly on character development, as the papers make friends, grow closer to Nenene, and reveal more of themselves. We also have a bit of intrigue as Anita makes friends with a reclusive boy she meets about the school who also, unbeknownst to her, is playing a role in their missions – against them. Yet he seems somehow starved for human company…all of this is done well, with the powerful character handling and telling that makes R.O.D the excellent anime it is. But eventually of course, we get the first climax, and start to learn just what is wrong with the picture. As it turns out, quite a lot, some of it rather far fetched. And yet, unless you make a point to think about it, the story somehow manages, through raw storytelling power, to push such considerations completely out of your mind. I’ll tell you this – if the series has consisted only of the first half, it would have been a five. Flat out. After climax one there is a short ‘break’, where there isn’t so much action but a great deal of psychological suspense, as Nenene and the Paper Sisters act on the revelations their previous encounter had brought them. This slowly, steadily, builds into a mountain of plot pressure. At this point, I must re-emphasize that while you can get away with skipping the OVA, this series will have far more impact throughout if you do see it. It’s quite excellent all of its own…though I have to resent, both in the OVA and the TV series, their portrayal of whichever president it is supposed to be as an incontinent – and incompetent – idiot. With a Pavlovian response cycle linking danger, his bladder, and the nearest nuclear warheads. Very insulting. But I digress. The cycle of emotions, plot, and danger is built with astounding, solid weight, which ironically contributes to the series’ one and only major flaw – the ending was, not wrong, but flat. Strictly in comparison. The build up of tension was so powerful, so residual, but the fact that all was well only sank in slowly. With so much on top, you needed a cleansing emotional explosion to relieve it – and there isn’t one. It is resolved without any single, strong, intense moment of right to counter the immense build-up of wrong, and this made what was otherwise a satisfying ending fall flat. Also it felt like at least three hints, character threads or plots got left by the wayside by necessity. Which is annoying. But for all of that, I cannot give this any less than a four. It simply can’t be done.

It bears mentioning that the series contains no small amount of very cool action. Yet another reason why it should have earned a perfect score. In the end, quite a few do that. Casshern Sins would have been a five if it had elaborated on the final scene for just two or three more minutes. The higher they rise, the harder they fall – at that level, a critical misstep is perilously easy. But that should NOT stop you from watching this one. R.O.D is a four, for powerful, superb storytelling with a regrettably inadequate close. Relatively.

Final Rating: 4/5

This review is brought to you by Z.N. Singer

Credits:
Info such as cast and airtime are courtesy of ANN’s encyclopedia listing. All else is and always will be the origination of the author

written by znsinger \\ tags: Action, Drama, Fantasy, Reviews