R.O.D.: the TV Volume 5

On the run from the British Library with Yomiko and Nancy in tow, the Paper Sisters seek refuge in Yomiko’s parents’ house in the mountains. Secluded, deserted and with a healthy collection of unread books, it seems to be the perfect place to rest for a while and assess their situation. Unfortunately Mr Joker is hot on their trail with one of his most dangerous agents.

If you are expecting plenty of paper-based combat and more dramatic revelations you will be more than impressed on the second count but perhaps disappointed on the first. There is some edge-of-your-seat material to be had here (not least the Mirror Man, the British Library’s aforementioned trump card in field operatives) but the emphasis is more on the characters and filling in their backgrounds.

For example Nancy has a large surprise about her past: some viewers might have second-guessed it already (as often happens in this series, prior viewing of the Read or Die OVA is not essential but recommended) but from Nancy’s point of view it is quite a revelation and gives us some of the most heartfelt and emotional scenes yet. Similarly Yomiko has some explanations of her own, which concern the infamous incident at the British Library; this news will have a profound impact on one of the Paper Sisters.

Drake makes another welcome appearance, although the British Library’s Wendy is now behaving a little out-of-character compared with how she was in the past – this and the increasingly ambitious storyline requires some suspension of disbelief, even by the standards of the R.O.D. universe with all its quirks. The book burning is a pretty extreme measure and for the characters involved it takes on a much more shocking significance but at this stage we can only guess at the underlying reasons for it all; as far-fetched as it may seem at this stage though, it still makes for great entertainment.

After all, R.O.D. is designed to be good, straightforward fun and it succeeds: fortunately the conscientious writing gives us an engaging cast of characters that add heart to the show and make it easier to get along with the R.O.D. universe’s stranger themes and ideas. Looking at how many episodes we have left before it reaches its conclusion, this series appears to be going through its final stage of character-driven aspects before the big finale.

In Summary

We are treated so some insight into the cast and touching drama instead of many action scenes on this outing, but the character development and explanations concerning some of the series’ main themes make up for the relative infrequency of the paper battles. There are revelations, recollections and flashbacks galore here, and in true R.O.D. style the main story that is emerging is quite dramatic and far-reaching. Those who have followed the adventures of Nenene and the three Paper Sisters will find no reason to stop now.