R.O.D.: the TV Volume 1

For the sake of simplicity, I’m going to refer to this series as simply R.O.D.: the TV. There is some confusion over the title, but suffice to say it isn’t even crystal clear in Japan either. The most important thing is that it can be viewed as a stand-alone series with no previous knowledge of the original Read or Die OVA.

Set years after the original story, Yumiko Readman has disappeared and her close friend Nenene has become a successful novelist. When Nenene takes a tour of Japan to promote her latest book three sisters from Hong Kong who run a detective agency are sent along to protect her. They also have the skills of paper masters, which allow them to manipulate simple pieces of paper to create whatever weapons and other tools they require for their work. Unfortunately the company of bibliophile Michelle, shy tomboy Maggie and outspoken Anita causes considerable inconvenience to Nenene, who is not only being targeted by a number of unknown assassins but is at the same time trying to write her next novel and find her long lost friend Yumiko.

As soon as the catchy and James Bond-style R.O.D. opening theme tune begins, it’s immediately clear that R.O.D.: the TV is a very hip and stylish series with plenty of slick, well animated action sequences. The idea of people being able to will paper into the shapes of lock picks, flying creatures or simply used to make an attack on some villain or other seems a little strange at first (especially if like me you are unfamiliar with the R.O.D. universe) but chances are you will find yourself just sitting back and enjoying the ride. The characters are varied and thoughtfully designed, with the exchanges between Nenene and her new companions being especially entertaining. The animation is bright and fluid, showing the fast-paced moves of the three sisters to great effect and striking a good balance between action and comedy. My only criticism is that the four episodes included in this volume spend a lot of time introducing the characters and it takes a while for the first hints of a bigger picture to appear. The contrasting personalities and abilities of Michelle, Maggie and Anita make for some great scenes in which Nenene’s life is either saved or made difficult, but the presence of a major “bad guy’ is only shown towards the end.

The DVD features a commentary track for the first episode courtesy of three members of the production team for the English language dub, which is well worth a listen. While some commentaries of this sort are often irreverent and chatty, this time around it gives plenty of interesting bits and pieces of trivia and clears up (some of) the confusion surrounding the title.

In Summary

Although it is a bit of a slow starter from a storyline point of view, the opening episodes of R.O.D.: the TV have high quality animation, thoughtfully designed characters and enough fast-paced action to make it great fun to watch. The somewhat late introduction of a potential opponent to the paper masters and the feisty author they are protecting does however suggest that it is a series that will pick up in pace later on.