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Read or Die (2001) is a series of novels, a manga published in Shueisha's Ultra Jump, and a three episode OVA series about Miss Yomiko Readman, substitute teacher, bibliophile and secret agent of the British Library Task Force, codename The Paper. The atmosphere of the series is a mix of Victorian design and James Bond movies.
A semi-related manga featuring three other 'paper-users' (Read Or Dream) has been partly combined into the Read Or Die OAV canon in a TV series, simply titled R.O.D the TV. The series does not require manga knowledge of the sisters, but is best viewed after the OAVs.
Ironically, none of the 'paper' versions of the story (manga) have been licensed or thoroughly scanlated.
Background
Yomiko Readman is a clumsy, head-in-the-clouds, but sweet woman who is completely and utterly addicted to books. Her name is a two-part pun on this obsession: "Readman" is obvious to English speakers, and the "Yomi" in "Yomiko" means "read". Just after buying an extremely rare book at a secret, by-invitation-only bookstore, the book is stolen from her by a strange man riding a giant locust. Or at least, he tries to steal it from her, for Yomiko has an extremely unusual, but very useful, superpower-- bibliokinesis: the telekinetic control of all paper in her immediate vicinity. She can make a paper ribbon be stronger than a thick steel cable, make index cards stop bullets, make an origami butterfly actually flap its wings and fly. Her abilities only seems to be limited by her imagination and availability of useful supplies of paper.
The story centers on the struggle for control of this mysterious book, with the heroes belonging to the British Library Task Force (which seems to have as much resources and power as the CIA). The Task Force (of which Yomiko is a member) brings in a second super-hero (and the other main character), Nancy Makuhari ("Miss Deep"), who has the ability to pass through solid objects at will. As they track down leads they fight a strange variety of super-villains who seem to be people straight out of myth and history. They ultimately discover that the book is the key to a plan to wipe out a large portion of humanity via Ludwig van Beethoven's lost "suicide symphony," a work of music that compels all who hear it to immediately commit suicide.
Characters
- Yomiko Readman, AKA The Paper
- Nancy Makuhari (Japanese spelling of "McHarry"), AKA Miss Deep (AKA Mata Hari) (Nancy does not appear in the manga)
- Drake Anderson
- Mr. Gentleman
- Mr. Joker
- Wendy Earhart
Summary
The series balances well between tension and humor, although some scenes may not be suitable for younger viewers (for instance, images of multiple suicides).
External Links
- ReadOrDie.org - Maid Service!: a fan site
- Yomiko's Library
- Dreams of Twilight - The Read or Die fansite