Read or Die

You know, if I knew that books were THAT exciting, I would've been an English major...

Y'all remember that mousy, quiet girl in high school who never talked and always had her face in a book? Well, she grew up to be Yomiko Readman. Yomiko's a nondescript, good-natured idiot savant with glasses (Of course) whose life revolves around books. Heck, her ENTIRE apartment building is filled with enough literature to make the Library of Congress in the U.S. look like a book cart. In fact, the only personal space she has in the entire place is a bed shoved off in one corner.

On the surface, Yomiko earns her pay (Which she promptly spends on new reading material) as a substitute teacher. Scrape the unimpressive surface layer away however, and you've got "The Paper", a special agent for the British Library's L.L.U. (The Last Literature Defense Line of the UK. Gotta love that title). The L.L.U.'s jurisdiction is given by order of the British Diet, and it seems they undertake super-secret missions for God, the Queen and the literacy rate of the British Isles.

Boy, guess the UK takes it reading pretty friggin' seriously. Then again, considering America's literacy rate, maybe that's not a bad thing...

Now, I know you're asking "But Uncle Mike, why do they call Yomiko 'The Paper?'" So glad you asked my child. Y'see, Yomiko has the comic-bookish-like power to make paper do anything she wants. ANYTHING. Whether it's to be used as shuriken, shielding material or a gigantic paper airplane you can actually sit in and fly, papyrus becomes an organic, living thing when under her command. I know it sounds funky, but believe me it's very cool.

Now I wonder if I can just convince her to make me a Porsche 959 GT2...

Sorry about that, back to the story. The first episode opens in Washington DC, where a man with some sort of portable power generator on his back is laying waste to the White House (Think the movie Independence Day. I loved that scene and I loved this one). Tesla Dude (NOT his real name, just made it up) then proceeds to kill a few Secret Service agents and causes the president of the US to wet his pants (HAHAHA!) before asking one question...

"You mean this [The White House] isn't a library?"

Genius I say.

As Tesla Dude turns away from the president, apparently upset that he got the wrong target, the president asks him who he is, to which Tesla Dude responds "A great man".

Whoa, talk about confidence...

The next day, we see Yomiko shopping for books as she always does. And in one store she reaches for a book that another woman just happens to be reaching for at the same time. Yomiko manages to snag the tome first, and using the legal saying "Possession is nine-tenths of the law", along with the ever more logical and effective "I got here first" argument, Yomiko heads off happily with her new purchase.

All is not well in her universe however, for as soon as she steps outside the hon-ya she comes under attack by an old geezer who controls killer bees and rides a giant grasshopper. And for some reason, Insect Dude (Again, I made this up) wants Yomiko's new book. He manages to snag it, but just for a minute, because here we see "The Paper" at work...Hear me now and believe me later (Bonus points to those who know the origin of that line), Yomiko you can deal with in your sleep. The Paper, however, is another matter entirely. After the dramatic battle, Yomiko's superior at the LLU, codenamed "Joker", shows up and ushers her off for a briefing. And in the process, Joker confiscates her new book for study and analysis.

At L.L.U. headquarters, Joker and Yomiko meet up with "Gentleman", the patriarch of the L.L.U. and the story's requisite puppet-master, for the briefing. According to the L.L.U.'s information, Tesla Dude was Hiraga Gennai an inventor, and Insect Dude was John Farble, an entomologist. However, there's a catch: Those futari weren't the original Gennai and Farble, but rather clones. It appears that in Read or Die's world there exists a sort of gene bank for geniuses and outstanding members of society, and the genetic information for Gennai and Farble was stolen from that gene bank to make the clones. Hmmm...that would explain why Gennai told the president he was a Great Man, but why are they trying to trash libraries and score books? Or more importantly to Yomiko, why are they after hers?

To get to the bottom of the mystery, Joker calls in some help to work with The Paper on this mission: The first is Drake Anderson, a grumpy tech/weapons specialist who's blithely convinced Yomiko's going to bring him bad luck. But since Drake's just support staff, he doesn't get a cool nickname like a full agent does (Shucks). The second person assigned to the case IS another agent though, and wonder of wonders, it was the same woman that Yomiko was fighting with previously over the book she recently bought. Her name's Nancy Makahari, and Joker actually ordered her to buy the book that Yomiko did. But since Joker got the book from Yomiko herself, all's well that ends well. Oh, and since you're wondering, Nancy's codename is "Miss Deep".

Chotto. Miss Deep?

...Okay, a quick history lesson for your kiddies out there. In the 1970's in America there was an infamous porn movie called "Deep Throat". And NO, I haven't watched it and I don't plan to. Also in the 1970's the Watergate scandal involving then-President Nixon broke, and the anonymous source who tipped off the press was called "Deep Throat"...Now, I know the Japanese try to use English to be cool, but it just DOES NOT work here. With the connotations attached to the word "Deep" while using it for a woman's codename...Let's just say that's a good way to generate some guffaws and smirks. Hence, I will from here on out refer to her as Nancy. And for the record, Nancy gets her codename because she can alter her molecular structure, allowing her to become insubstantial and travel through solid matter. Hence, she can dive "Deep" into stuff.

Okay, that just ain't working...

All snide comments aside, Yomiko, Nancy and Drake have to try to figure out why all the cloned Great Men are after certain books in a globetrotting, rollicking-good spy story. Across Japan, the U.K., D.C., New York, India and the Pacific Ocean, Read or Die has a very 60's-spy feel to it: Hip, slick and it doesn't take itself too seriously, but just seriously enough for the story to work. Released last year as a 3-episode OAV, Read or Die has garnered enough of a following that a sequel is in the planning stages, and Manga Entertainment has already snapped up the rights to it.

For such a short series, the production values, while not excellent, were very good. Created and written by Hideyuki Kurata, he and the character designer Masashi Ishihama have a little fun with the 60's spy characters we're used to. First off, like I mentioned earlier, Yomiko isn't your typical lethal bombshell. In fact, you'd be hard-pressed to find anything truly outstanding about her, so that was a refreshing change. Yomiko just strikes me as the friend you regard with exasperated affection, the one who needs to be protected from herself. Just don't mess with her glasses, as Nancy finds out the hard way. And speaking of Nancy, she fills out the role (Both literally and figuratively) as the femme fatale nicely. Tall, beautiful and skilled in combat, she's the powerhouse on this tag team. And for those wondering about the fanservice, Nancy runs around in a leather catsuit that leaves the top halves of her breast exposed (I guess if you're fighting guys it makes for a good distraction) that you'd expect to see a James Bond girl wearing. The more I think about it, the more I realize the Ishihama's designs tended to be more low-key and not as exaggerated as one would typically expect. Except for Nancy, who is undoubtedly a fanboy's dream come true. I think that approach works well to enhance the differences between Yomiko and Nancy, 2 very different operatives in both appearance and modus operandi.

The other animation parameters also worked admirably here. The L.L.U. itself and its personnel are cool, with the staff all dressed as librarians and the HQ containing retro-stylings set with modern technology that even MI 6 (The UK's version of the CIA) would envy. Oh yeah, did I mention that the L.L.U. headquarters is set in the secret basement of a library, with all the books moving around on automated sliding shelves and racks? Nice touch. The CG blended in well for the most part, and director Koji Masunari's action sequences were well done. I was especially fond of the New York battle, with the skyline (With intact World Trade Center) and the multi-colored, lit-up Empire State Building adding nice, completing touches to the sequence.

The biggest kudos I think goes to the music director though, Ishizaki Migaku. The opening theme for Read or Die really sets the mood with a groovy, 60's jazz number very reminiscent of Cowboy Bebop. That, coupled with the opening animation number, makes you anticipate 007 himself walking across the screen. It also seems like each episode also has its own ending theme, which I thought was a nice touch. And the performance of Beethoven's 9th Symphony (Ode to Joy) is played at a dramatic turning point in the series and meshes in well with the plotline.

Read or Die would win points for style and originality alone, but when combined with a good story and good music it makes for a very pleasant 1? hours of viewing. And as soon as the sequel comes out you can bet I'll be seeing it. Read or Die is solid GOLD, all the way.