Really Surprised!

Fantastic!

Better Late Then Never

This movie feels like it was made purely to piss off people who want good shows

Yomiko Readman will "just die" if she doesn't finish reading her book, but wacky super-villains are trying to steal it from her and use it's secrets to destroy all human life on earth. A situation scary enough to make the President of the US wet his pants. Left on her own Yomiko would happily spend the rest of her life and all of her money buying books to read. Unfortunately for her now she has to become Agent Paper, a super powered secret agent working for the British Library. Step aside James Bond, now Agent Paper (with the ability to make common paper do anything, and I mean ANYTHING) along with Miss Deep (with the ability to move deep through solid objects) and weapons expert Drake (who is having a bad day) are needed to save the world. If you set aside some miner plot flaws you may find this campy spy spoof a hilarious guilty pleasure like me. I love the kick ass music, action, humor, as well as what evolves into a deeply moving relationship between Yomiko and Nancy.

Yokimo Readman just loves her books, and she has thousands. She coos over them, cuddles them, and absorbs herself so fully in in reading them she can literally let a five car pileup crash by her without noticing.And she has a curious superpower. She's a "paper master" that can make paper do all sorts of incredible things, like form barriers or bind things or cut through steel. So it is fitting that her spy code name is "paper." So she is a secret agent. Unlike the usual anime super-heroine, Ms. Readman doesn't ever shed her long skirt, vest, and glasses when doing battle with the bad guys. She stays her same cute-but-dorky self throughout, saying things like "give me back my book, please" from the super-villain that stole it from her even while he is trying to kill her. She leaves it to her colleague to wear the form-fitting spandex costume (which is, after all, obligatory).The storytellers in this movie have an excellent sense of subtlety, even while they indulge in the usual action-adventure excesses. There are a few worthwhile reflections on the nature of the historical figures that are cloned and brought back to life as part of the Evil Plot, but most of what is worth watching is Yokimo herself. Her first use of her power is so casually done that you would miss it if you blinked, but that fits with the character. Perhaps her most endearing moment is when she admits that as much as she treasures her books, she knows that real life is more important. You have to see for yourself how believable it is when she takes on a homicidal samurai with a light saber on his side with nothing but a morphed dollar-bill for herself. For me, it worked.I am amazed I can give this DVD 9 stars while still finding what should be a fatal flaw. The passion of the character is for books, but never once does the story depend on something that she read in all the thousands of books she is supposed to have read. Leaving this out reduces Yokimo's driving characteristic from a powerful plot device to a simply amusing fetish, which is a shame. And there is something to be said for being a role model for the kids that can and should watch this. However, the story is fun enough that this can be overlooked and 9 stars is appropriate.The artwork is slick, smooth, and convincing. The voice acting in both English and Japanese is superior. Sometimes the background details get washed over, usually in the machines of battle hardware, which is actually not unwelcome.A note about the series: I found this DVD because I rented the first volume of "R.O.D. the TV" from Netflix, and liked it so much that I found this story was the prequel. So I canceled the entire series at Netflix and bought this DVD and the whole series of "R.O.D. the TV" just from that one sample. They are that good.

I have no complaints against the artwork or anything like that. Actually, I thought the art was pretty good. The plot is okay too, though not the world's greatest. There was a fair amount of humor as well, with Agent Paper's obsession over her book. Though sometimes I wondered about her feelings for Nancy...for barely knowing someone, those feelings were pretty intense.Perhaps it was because I saw this on TV, but things seemed a bit rushed and disjointed at times. And yes, I know any movie can end up this way...but I just find it annoying. Because of this, I think the main reason I'll watch it again, if I do, will be to make sure I understood everything correctly.Therefore, I won't say if it was good or bad, just that it was...interesting.

MAGI rating scale: +7.8(-10/+10)There is a little odd gem from our friends overseas. ROD is the story of an intelligence agency, based in of all places the British Library, and its agents as they protect the world from the Ijin. In this particular case, the Ijin(or Great person as they are refered to) called Stephan has discovered a symphony of Beethoven's (?) that if played will cause people to commit suicide. Seizing on this ultimate form of crowd control (maybe he could never get a parking spot), he sends out his genetically resurrected Ijin to collect the two books that hold the song.Our hero that can stop this threat? A clumsy substitute teacher with the ability to manipulate paper, a grouchy explosives expert and a leather-wearing over-developed femme fatalie with the ability to make things pass through her...and look good doing it.One of the more interesting things about anime is their themes in the storylines. If you look into the vast majority of Japanimation, even the strangest series or movies all work with it's own logic. In ROD, the logic is books. From the Macguffins (Beethoven's notebooks) to the heroine (Yomiko Readman) to the British Library, ROD creates its own logic and own rule...and yet still manages to give us some believeibly and humanity in its characters. The animation itself is clean and beautiful, with an eye for detail. The two female leads, while doing quite a bit of 'fan service' still manage to convey some parts of realism...especially Yomiko. If the world had people with powers like these, OF COURSE the Powers That Be would try to recuit them...even if that person is not someone you would usually want as an agent. Yomiko is clumsy, self-absorbed and a bit naive.....not to mention obsessive. But she's also cute, lovible, caring and surprizingly capaible (She even figures out who to defeat a lightning-powered samarai with a few dollar bills!)I recommend this OVA series to any true fans of anime...give it a try and just sit back and relax....it's a fun trip.