WasAnnon Slow pace in the most part of the movie.

Smartorhypo Highly Overrated But Still Good

SteinMo What a freaking movie. So many twists and turns. Absolutely intense from start to finish.

Hulkeasexo it is the rare 'crazy' movie that actually has something to say.

KharBevNor 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?

Christopher Aaby Sørensen (christopher_aaby) 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.

wimjim I was recommended this title; it won the Anime Expo of 2002; I read many great reviews about this title. So I was viewing this with great anticipation. I have now just watched it and have given this a C+.WHY??? You may ask I'll explain in due course.First the anime revolves around like a cheesy James bond style plot, with characters that have super natural abilities. So a race against time to save the world against a group of historical, extraordinary peronalities. There is the main character Yomiko Readman, a part time teacher and special agent of the Special Library Operations, code name "The Paper" or "Agent Paper"(, sounds corny, but that's probably the idea). She has a love of books, therefore she is here to protect the one book, that the enemy needs. She has a speciality, and that is the manipulation of paper.Other characters with the ability to pass through solid matter, to control insects, and manipulation of electricity. Therefore you could imagine some fantastic and clever, animated action scenes, on those basis alone. And it really does deliver.Animation is top notch, alot of detail has been put into this. When have you seen animation of someone taking a lid off a pen to write something down. Though it isn't truly necessary, it is little details like this, that tells you they have put effort into this. But it could also be their down fall, I'll explain later.It truly is a breath of fresh air, from your average anime. They may have taken a lot from James Bond, even the theme tune, opening titles and soundtrack resembles a lot like Bond. They put in a prologue opening scene much like Bond, but it fits really well into the style, and coolness of this anime.Now for the negative opinion. What really annoyed me was some of the character annoying habits they make, during the course of this 3 part anime. Miss Deep constant habit to pose and pose and pose, even during strange situations. It may have been cool, but a certain situation that I felt wasn't necessary. Wendys' constant falling over, was not funny at all to me. Thinking it might work it's way into the plot, but never really did. So didn't know what the reason behind that was. The Jokers' habit to touch his hair every time. That may the detail the animators were looking for, but for me as a viewer it kind of.... annoyed me.Now for Yomiko, well she started off great, cute and funny. Liked how she just wants the book. When she started fighting, I was in awe, but as soon as she fell over a cow, I thought that she was slightly too clumsy, and now not believable to be an agent. She wasn't professional in the slightest, but that could be the beauty of it, and that I missed it completely. So it didn't work for me.Though you shouldn't be put off this, as it is only my opinion. Maybe I was let down because it was hyped up too much, by others. 10/10 ratings are truly impressive ratings, so I was expecting perfection. Maybe when I watched again I'll change my opinion of the anime.Overall I do recommend it. Go watch it, for the animation, and for something slightly different compare to others.C+

Narf1701 I saw this one about a year ago out of curiosity (the name alone sounds interesting) and I thoroughly enjoyed what I saw.The story revolves around Yomiko Readman, a.k.a. The Paper, a substitute teacher/secret agent for the Royal British Library, and also quite a book collector with the unique ability to control paper (it's cooler than it sounds, trust me). She reports to a man called Joker when called into action. But she can't do it alone. She needs the help of her fellow agents: Nancy Makuhari, a.k.a. Miss Deep, who can pass through solid objects as if they were air; and Drake Anderson, who has no special talent, although he is able to see the bad side of nearly every situation. Together, they must stop a group of famous people from the past, who were brought back to life through genetic reconstruction, from destroying the world.With superb animation quality and a story that will keep you guessing right up until the end, this OVA is up in the top of my list of favorites. I'd recommend this to anyone, whether you're an anime fan or not.