R.O.D the TV - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

R.O.D -THE TV- is a 26-episode TV anime

Anime

is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....

series, animated by J.C.Staff

J.C.STAFF

, is a Japanese animation studio founded in January 1986. Their first release was the three episode OVA Sengoku Kidan Yōtōden, in 1987. They have produced several well-known anime series, such as Revolutionary Girl Utena, Excel Saga, Shingetsutan Tsukihime, Shakugan no Shana, Toaru Majutsu no...

and produced by Aniplex

Aniplex

, formerly known as Sony Pictures Entertainment Visual Works Inc. and Sony Music Entertainment Visual Works Inc., is a Japanese anime and music production and distribution enterprise owned by Sony Music Entertainment Japan and established in January 1997...

, directed by Koji Masunari and scripted by Hideyuki Kurata, about the adventures of three paper-manipulating sisters, Michelle, Maggie and Anita, who become the bodyguards of Nenene Sumiregawa, a famous Japanese writer. Featuring music by Taku Iwasaki

Taku Iwasaki

is a Japanese composer and arranger. His hometown is Tokyo, Japan. He is a graduate of Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music. Iwasaki is generally known for his jazz-like score music.-Anime:...

, the series is a sequel to the Read or Die
Read or Die
is a series of light novels authored by Hideyuki Kurata, published under Shueisha's Super Dash Bunko imprint. Read or Die follows Yomiko Readman, codename "The Paper", an agent for the Special Operations Division of the British Library. There are currently 11 Read or Die novels. In volume 11, a...

OVA. Its official title of R.O.D -THE TV- is a catch-all acronym referring to the inclusion of characters from both the Read or Die
Read or Die
is a series of light novels authored by Hideyuki Kurata, published under Shueisha's Super Dash Bunko imprint. Read or Die follows Yomiko Readman, codename "The Paper", an agent for the Special Operations Division of the British Library. There are currently 11 Read or Die novels. In volume 11, a...

novels, manga

Manga

Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...

and OVA and the Read or Dream
Read or Dream
Read or Dream is a manga written by Hideyuki Kurata and drawn by Ran Ayanaga. It was published in Japan in four trade paperback volumes by Shueisha in 2002...

manga, which revolves solely around the Paper Sisters. Promotional material for R.O.D -THE TV- implies that the show revolves around the three sisters of Read or Dream; however, Nenene Sumiregawa of Read or Die is also considered a protagonist

Protagonist

A protagonist is the main character of a literary, theatrical, cinematic, or musical narrative, around whom the events of the narrative's plot revolve and with whom the audience is intended to most identify...

.

R.O.D -THE TV- first premiered across Japan from October 1, 2003 through March 16, 2004 on pay-per-view

Pay-per-view

Pay-per-view provides a service by which a television audience can purchase events to view via private telecast. The broadcaster shows the event at the same time to everyone ordering it...

satellite television

Satellite television

Satellite television is television programming delivered by the means of communications satellite and received by an outdoor antenna, usually a parabolic mirror generally referred to as a satellite dish, and as far as household usage is concerned, a satellite receiver either in the form of an...

platform SKY PerfecTV!

SKY PerfecTV!

SKY PerfecTV! is a direct broadcast satellite service that provides satellite television, audio programming, and interactive television services to households in Japan, owned by parent company SKY Perfect JSAT Corporation....

. It was later aired across the terrestrial

Terrestrial television

Terrestrial television is a mode of television broadcasting which does not involve satellite transmission or cables — typically using radio waves through transmitting and receiving antennas or television antenna aerials...

Fuji Television

is a Japanese television station based in Daiba, Minato, Tokyo, Japan, also known as or CX, based on the station's callsign "JOCX-DTV". It is the flagship station of the Fuji News Network and the ....

station from October 15, 2003 through March 18, 2004. The series spanned a total of 26 episodes, and was broadcast worldwide by the anime satellite television

Satellite television

network, Animax

Animax

is a Japanese anime satellite television network, dedicated to broadcasting anime programming. A subsidiary of Japanese media conglomerate Sony, it is headquartered in in Minato, Tokyo, Japan, with its co-founders and shareholders including Sony Pictures Entertainment and the noted anime studios...

.

The series was distributed on DVD in North America by Geneon

Geneon

is a Japanese music, anime and home entertainment production and distribution enterprise headquartered in Akasaka, Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Geneon has been involved in the production and distribution of several anime in Japan...

, in seven discs; the company finished releasing the series in summer 2005. Aniplex of America will re-release the original Read or Die

Read or Die (OVA)

The OVA based on the Read or Die manga series created by Hideyuki Kurata was created by Studio Deen in early 2001 and distributed outside Japan by Manga Entertainment in 2003. The series, directed by Koji Masunari, features the main characters of the original manga such as Yomiko Readman and Joker...

episodes and the TV series on Blu-ray in Winter 2010/2011.

Plot

The series begins in 2006, five years after the "I-Jin" incident detailed in the Read or Die OVA. Yomiko Readman

Yomiko Readman

, also known as "The Paper," is the protagonist in the Japanese novel series Read or Die and its manga and original video animation spin-offs. She is also a major player in the sequel, R.O.D the TV...

(a.k.a. "The Paper", agent of British Library Task Force) has supposedly gone missing, and Nenene Sumiregawa, her former student and best friend, is still in Tokyo

Tokyo

, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...

after her parents moved to the USA. Nenene has not written a book since Yomiko disappeared, as she has become lonely and frustrated that her sensei

Sensei

' is a Japanese word that basically means "person born before another." In general usage, it means "master" or "teacher," and the word is used as a title to refer to or address teachers, professors, professionals such as lawyers, CPA and doctors, politicians, clergymen, and other figures of authority...

has never read her last book, and she feels she can't write again until she hears Yomiko's reaction to the book, so Nenene often disappears for long periods of time searching for Yomiko, and has been periodically doing so ever since her "disappearance".

During a trip to Hong Kong

Hong Kong

Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...

, Nenene meets the three sisters, Michelle, Maggie and Anita (from the Read or Dream
Read or Dream
Read or Dream is a manga written by Hideyuki Kurata and drawn by Ran Ayanaga. It was published in Japan in four trade paperback volumes by Shueisha in 2002...

manga), who are supposed to take care of her during her visit. However, the hotel at which Nenene is supposed to stay at is bombed, and at a press conference Nenene is briefly held hostage by a jealous rival in her industry. The three sisters end up becoming her bodyguards and join her back to Tokyo

Tokyo

.

Each sister has paper manipulation skills similar to Yomiko, although less powerful and more focused in scope. After the initial action-filled adventure, the first several episodes take on the feel of an odd-couple comedy which focuses on tension between Nenene and the sisters, who move into her apartment and mooch off her, all while dealing with various crazies and psychos in their everyday lives. The sisters also perform odd jobs as agents of the Dokusensha (ostensibly a Chinese publishing company, but more like an Illuminati-type organization focusing on the collection of rare and powerful documents). This eventually puts them and Nenene in direct conflict with the British Library and the protagonists of Read of Die (Dokusensha is established as the British Library's rival in the Read or Die manga).

Events grow more serious as the series progresses as atrocities are committed by both sides, thrusting the main characters into the middle of a conflict between literary superpowers, the British Library and Dokusensha, who are both trying to collect ancient artifacts (books, of course) to control the entire world and even rewrite history. After a horrific collision between the two superpowers, Nenene and the Paper Sisters set out to find the missing Yomiko to learn the truth about the conflict and save the world from literary terrorism.

Main characters

The Paper Sisters' names are derived from those of three real Hong Kong action stars: Maggie Cheung
Maggie Cheung
Maggie Cheung Man yuk is a Chinese actress from Hong Kong. Raised in England and Hong Kong, she has over 70 films to her credit since starting her career in 1983...

, Anita Mui
Anita Mui
Anita Mui Yim-fong was a popular Hong Kong singer and actress. During her prime years she made major contributions to the cantopop music scene, while receiving numerous awards and honours. She remained an idol throughout most of her career, and was generally regarded as a cantopop diva...

, and Michelle Yeoh
Michelle Yeoh
Michelle Yeoh Choo-Kheng is a Hong Kong-based Malaysian Chinese actress, well known for performing her own stunts in the action films that brought her to fame in the early 1990s....

(who has also been credited as "Michelle Khan"). These three actresses starred together in the 1993 movie The Heroic Trio

The Heroic Trio

The Heroic Trio is a 1993 Hong Kong action film directed by Johnny To, starring Michelle Yeoh, Maggie Cheung, and Anita Mui as the titular trio. Other cast include Damian Lau, Anthony Wong Chau-Sang, Paul Chun, James Pak and Yan Yee Kwan...

as the titular super-powered heroines.

The youngest sister is a spitfire who specializes in using her paper offensively (by using paper "blades" and throwing index cards like shuriken), but she also relies upon her impressive physical martial arts skills in combat. Unlike all other known Paper Masters, she dislikes books (but is obsessed with collecting frogs and drinking milk). Although Anita sometimes acts bratty and self-important, she deeply loves her sisters. She frequently fights with Nenene, who is equally outspoken, but beneath their squabbles, they demonstrate a strong bond through the series. She is well liked in her class and is especially admired by classmate named Hisami Hishiishi (whom Anita nicknames "Hisa"). Hisa compares the two to the main characters with an extremely close friendship in Anne of Green Gables
Anne of Green Gables
Anne of Green Gables is a bestselling novel by Canadian author Lucy Maud Montgomery published in 1908. Set in 1878, it was written as fiction for readers of all ages, but in recent decades has been considered a children's book...

.

a.k.a. Ma-nee

A tall, boyish, quiet wallflower with somewhat depressed looks, her power usually manifests as familiars – beings she controls made of paper; her sisters also rely on her for her strong defensive capabilities. She is known for being easily embarrassed and enjoying tight cosy spots to relax in (which is why she sleeps in the closet). Michelle says her favourite author is Ernest Hemingway

Ernest Hemingway

Ernest Miller Hemingway was an American author and journalist. His economic and understated style had a strong influence on 20th-century fiction, while his life of adventure and his public image influenced later generations. Hemingway produced most of his work between the mid-1920s and the...

, but Maggie quickly points out that she likes Nenene's works too. She strongly looks up to her older sister, Michelle, and compares herself negatively to her. She cares for her sisters and always tries to protect them at the expense of her own safety. Anita believes Maggie to be strongest Paper Sister in combat.

a.k.a. Mi-nee (her surname is sometimes spelled "Chan," the transliteration of the kana spelling her name, but scenes in the series show her name romanized as "Cheung")

The oldest sister, generally considered the leader and strategist of the three. She has a cheerful, ostensibly ditzy personality. Her favourite books are the Harry Potter
Harry Potter
Harry Potter is a series of seven fantasy novels written by the British author J. K. Rowling. The books chronicle the adventures of the adolescent wizard Harry Potter and his best friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, all of whom are students at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry...

series, and she has a soft spot for cute things and small children. She is almost supernaturally calm, and her enemies find it difficult to manipulate her emotions; their enemy Webber notes her emotional balance makes her resistant to his sonic tortures. Michelle manifests her paper powers primarily through ranged weapons, such as bow

Bow (weapon)

The bow and arrow is a projectile weapon system that predates recorded history and is common to most cultures.-Description:A bow is a flexible arc that shoots aerodynamic projectiles by means of elastic energy. Essentially, the bow is a form of spring powered by a string or cord...

s and arrow

Arrow

An arrow is a shafted projectile that is shot with a bow. It predates recorded history and is common to most cultures.An arrow usually consists of a shaft with an arrowhead attached to the front end, with fletchings and a nock at the other.- History:...

s. Michelle's love of books almost matches that of Yomiko's; when she arrives in Japan, Michelle buys out so many book stores that people begin to speculate Yomiko has returned.

a.k.a. 'Sensei,' Nene-nee-san

A prodigy novelist in her high school years, usually referred to as sensei and originally featured in the Read or Die

Read or Die

is a series of light novels authored by Hideyuki Kurata, published under Shueisha's Super Dash Bunko imprint. Read or Die follows Yomiko Readman, codename "The Paper", an agent for the Special Operations Division of the British Library. There are currently 11 Read or Die novels. In volume 11, a...

manga as a teenage friend of the older Yomiko. She is often frustrated with Yomiko's obsession with books – and later the Paper Sisters when they move into her home – and chides her for being absentminded, leaving post-its in her room. Since Yomiko's disappearance, she has become very self-sufficient but unfortunately wistful, cranky and bitter at times in her loneliness. She remained in Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

, despite her parents' move to the United States, in order to housekeep and tend to Yomiko's personal effects until her (presumed) return.

Characters from Read or Die

The former "Agent Paper" of the British Library, and Nenene's close friend, does not appear until episode 15 of the series, with only the vague suggestion before she appears of something terrible happening to her around the same time the British Library

British Library

The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom, and is the world's largest library in terms of total number of items. The library is a major research library, holding over 150 million items from every country in the world, in virtually all known languages and in many formats,...

was destroyed. Yomiko's abilities and power as a papermaster are far greater than those of the Paper Sisters, as she does not seem as limited to one form of use for her powers, whereas Anita, Maggie and Michelle all have one speciality.

She is the second I-Jin clone of Mata Hari

Mata Hari

Mata Hari was the stage name of Margaretha Geertruida "M'greet" Zelle , a Dutch exotic dancer, courtesan, and accused spy who was executed by firing squad in France under charges of espionage for Germany during World War I.-Early life:Margaretha Geertruida Zelle was born in Leeuwarden, Friesland,...

that Yomiko met in the R.O.D OVA. At the end of the original series, Nancy suffered extensive brain damage

Brain damage

"Brain damage" or "brain injury" is the destruction or degeneration of brain cells. Brain injuries occur due to a wide range of internal and external factors...

as a result of oxygen deprivation; the result was that her mental state was reduced to that of a child, with no memories of her earlier actions. Desperate to protect her, Yomiko took Nancy and ran off into hiding. When introduced in the TV series, Nancy's personality is that of a young girl, far from the femme fatale

Femme fatale

A femme fatale is a mysterious and seductive woman whose charms ensnare her lovers in bonds of irresistible desire, often leading them into compromising, dangerous, and deadly situations. She is an archetype of literature and art...

she was before she was injured.

An American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

munitions expert, frequently hired by the British Library for mercenary work. Anderson has no superpowers, but is good with fairly well trained and good with weapons. A weapon off sorts he wields is his knowledge of papermasters, being more knowledgeable than most when pitted against them. He is a sarcastic realist who tries to keep situations calm and professional, although sometimes he is overwhelmed by the eccentric, super-human people around him. He has a young daughter named Maggie, but with no relation to the aforementioned papermaster. Probably because of his daughter, he is less ruthless than a soldier like him would otherwise be (i.e., when he fights the three sisters he doesn't try to murder them, and he refuses to kill children, such as Anita and actually saving her at one time as an enemy).

Joseph Carpenter a.k.a.

The head of the British Library Special Operations Unit and Yomiko's former boss. He took control of the organization after the death of the Gentleman and is now often referred to as "Mr. Carpenter." Compared to his appearance in the OVA, his face seems a bit more lined from stress (and possibly age), and he now walks with the assistance of a cane. Initially, Joker appears as calm, reassuring, and easy-going as ever, but as the series progresses he gets more violent and high-strung, revealed to be an elitist who holds the same "human selection" principles as the I-Jin (the villains of the OVA). Disappointed by the decline of British global influence following the Gentleman's death, Joker implements a scheme to regain control of the world, no matter the human cost. At the end of the TV Series, he is seen recovering from a comatose state after being "force-fed" part of Mr. Gentleman's information during the execution of Operation Sleeping Books.

Seen in the manga and OVA as Joker's office secretary and junior agent of British Library Special Operations, she now serves as his right hand henchwoman. Wendy's character has matured radically, from an enthusiastic, if clumsy, over-eager young assistant into a serious, ruthless agent willing to fulfil the British Library's plans by any means necessary. She is highly resentful of Yomiko (whereas she adored her in the OVA and manga), likely due to events laid out through the course of the TV series, and she is one of the few British Library personnel fully aware of Joker's plans.

Seen in the OVA, now deceased. He was the head of the British Library and the true source of Britain's secret power over global affairs (i.e., it was because of Gentleman that Joker had the authority over the U.S. President in the OVA). In the TV series, the British Library made efforts to revive him with the purpose of reviving the British Empire. Operation Sleeping Books was launched as a last resort, where the British Library used the concept of "Skin Print" to record his human genome into paper and separated it into 7 books. Once an appropriate body/host was found, these books would have been transmitted to the host so that Gentleman may be reborn in a new body. The seven books are:

The Book of Forlorn Blood
The Book of Pulsing Flesh
The Book of Powerful Arms
The Book of Trotting Legs
The Book of Rising Intellect
The Book of Supporting Bones
The Book of The All-Seeing Eye

New, Major & Minor Characters

Joker's youngest henchman and extremely violent assassin

Assassination

To carry out an assassination is "to murder by a sudden and/or secret attack, often for political reasons." Alternatively, assassination may be defined as "the act of deliberately killing someone, especially a public figure, usually for hire or for political reasons."An assassination may be...

, Junior is a mysterious, effeminate young boy about Anita King

Anita King

Anita King was an American stunt driver, actress, and thoroughbred racehorse owner.-Early life:Born Anna Keppen to German immigrants in Michigan City, Indiana, her father committed suicide in 1896 when she was twelve years old and two years later her mother died of pulmonary tuberculosis...

's own age who is a highly skilled master marksman

Marksman

A marksman is a person who is skilled in precision, or a sharpshooter shooting, using projectile weapons, such as with a rifle but most commonly with a sniper rifle, to shoot at long range targets...

and secret agent

Espionage

Espionage or spying involves an individual obtaining information that is considered secret or confidential without the permission of the holder of the information. Espionage is inherently clandestine, lest the legitimate holder of the information change plans or take other countermeasures once it...

working confidentially under the British Library

British Library

's Special Operations Division (though this is revealed much later in the series.) While on missions for Joker, he is referred to as Agent J and usually carries out dangerous and difficult missions using his physical intellect and martial arts, stealth, and his power of intangibility , which is apparently hereditary from his mother, Nancy Makuhari, though this is revealed much later. As an agent, Junior is adept at deceiving his enemies, which makes him a highly talented deceiver--comparable to Joker, Junior's enigmatic boss. While he is efficient as an agent, he somewhat lacks the ruthlessness of his legal caretakers, Joe Carpenter (Joker) and Wendy Earhart, and his father, Ikkyu Sojun. Extremely reserved and emotionally distant, he is easily drawn to those who show him kindness, which can explain his deep attraction towards the Paper Sisters whom he befriends later on. Because he was raised by a Government agency

Government agency

A government or state agency is a permanent or semi-permanent organization in the machinery of government that is responsible for the oversight and administration of specific functions, such as an intelligence agency. There is a notable variety of agency types...

, he isn't strongly adept socially and it isn't until he meets Anita King

Anita King

in the Nishihama middle school and starts to interact with her (though at first, he seems somewhat standoffish) that he begins to regard his individuality. His withdrawn demeanor and inexperince with friendship and love hints at a lonely upbringing. Later in the series, Junior is revealed to be the child of two I-jin, Nancy Makuhari and the deceased Ikkyū Sōjun, and the tool in Joker's scheme. As the son of two great, though distinct beings, whose intellect and physiology is deemed as superior above all other humans, Joker considers him as "the perfect vessel"; hence Joker is keen to train him as an agent and later as a medium for resurrecting The Gentleman, an ancient man of power beyond knowledge. Because of the I-jin's sudden instinction, which took place five years earlier before the TV series, nine months prior to his birth, it could be said that Junior, aside from his mother who was the last surviving of the clan in the coming of the I-jin's fall, is the last of the I-jin.

Nenene Sumiregawa's editor, who hired the Paper Sisters to guard her early on in the series. Usually very calm, despite apparently having recently given up smoking (evidenced by chewing a red pen, also a tool of his profession). Seemingly minor at first, he plays a bigger and darker role as the scope of Dokusensha's plans – for Nenene in particular – is revealed. Nenene gives him a Zippo

Zippo

A Zippo lighter is a refillable, metal lighter manufactured by Zippo Manufacturing Company of Bradford, Pennsylvania, U.S. Thousands of different styles and designs have been made in the seven decades since their introduction including military ones for specific regiments.-Establishment:George G...

lighter, which eventually returns to the giver along with important information.

A carrier pigeon used by Mr. Kim to send messages and assignments to the Paper Sisters. The sisters name him after the famous Chinese film director

John Woo

John Woo Yu-Sen SBS is a Hong Kong-based film director and producer. Recognized for his stylised films of highly choreographed action sequences, Mexican standoffs, and use of slow-motion, Woo has directed several notable Hong Kong action films, among them, A Better Tomorrow, The Killer, Hard...

, one of whose trademarks is the use of doves to highlight dramatic moments. The pigeon demands respect and pecks Maggie when she forgets to call him "-san" ("Mr."). It is unclear then, exactly how the pigeon communicates, as Mr. Lee tells him to "shut up" even though the bird did not vocalize anything. While originally serving Dokusensha, Mr. Woo remains a "friend" to the Three Sisters throughout the series.

A Dokusensha operative who hands the sisters their mission briefings; Michelle refers to him as their "handler." He can usually be seen overseeing these missions from a safe distance away. Sonny Wong is often with him. During the "Twilight of the Papers," Mr. Kim disappears during the conflict in Dokusensha headquarters, only to turn up much later as a minor employee for the British Library.

a.k.a. "The Recycler"

A Paper Master employed by Dokusensha. He's mysterious, wearing sunglasses and a large coat that conceal most of his face, and he never speaks. He's incredibly physically strong as well and probably at least seven feet tall (given he is much taller than Maggie, who is six feet). He has no qualms about killing people to achieve his goals. He challenges the Paper Sisters during "Twilight of the Papers" episodes and proves stronger than all three combined, even capable of ripping Maggie's familiars apart with his hands, and he only meets his fate after Maggie successfully manages to fight him defensively until he is engulfed in a sea of ink released when a series of explosives in the building go off.

Professor Webber

An enthusiast and supporter of the British Empire. After the fire incident in the British library, he was entrusted by the British library to guard "The Book of Pulsating Flesh." He lives in a Romanian castle together with his faithful servant, Irving. The castle exterior and interior were specially design to detect disturbance from a certain distance and at the same time emit frequency on its own. As shown in TV series, he is an expert in sound and frequency where he uses a special pipe organ (also known as a frequency organ) to transmit various frequency to control mammals, manipulate people's emotions and create a semi-visible shield to protect himself. He holds a grudge against Yomiko Readman since she was responsible for the fire in the British Library. Though he proves to be a challenge to the Paper Sisters, he is defeated when the Paper Sisters create a paper "silencer" field which allows them to bypass his protection field.

Alice Alice Arquette a.k.a "Triple A"

Former archaeologist from British Museum and onsen

Onsen

An is a term for hot springs in the Japanese language, though the term is often used to describe the bathing facilities and inns around the hot springs. As a volcanically active country, Japan has thousands of onsen scattered along its length and breadth...

freak. She was a British library agent whose mission was to retrieve the "Key" to activate the Sleeping Books, hidden an ancient storeroom under a hot spring mountain built by her family. She was killed without mercy while surrendering by Sonny Wong, angering Drake, Nenene, and the Paper Sisters (despite the fact that Wong was technically there to help the Sisters), and Drake attempts to avenge her death.

Richard

Another British Library agent believed to have gone rogue, who happened to meet Anita at her junior high school. He is hunted down by the British Library, who sent Junior to kill him and retrieve the book. He asks Anita to hide one of Mr Gentleman’s books when Junior shoots him. Before Anita and her sisters return to Hong Kong, she returns the book to Richard, who is recuperating in the hospital. After she leaves, however, Junior phases through a wall and takes the book, leaving Richard either unconscious or dead.

John Smith

A famous and an intelligent actor in theatrical circle, turned British Library agent. Dokusensha believes he sold the book entrusted to him by the British Library and used the money to build a town where the population were dedicated to his acting. Their efforts to divert the Paper Sisters from their mission to find the Sleeping Books are frighteningly effective. The town however is effectively wiped off the map afterwards by the Dokusensha. It is also important to note that the term "John Smith" means someone who remains nameless like Joe Bloggs or John Q. Public, this fact plays a vital role in uncovering who exactly he is in his episode.

President Cole

The President of the United States. Throughout the series he supports Joker's plans with the understanding that the United States would be the leading nation in the new world order Gentleman would bring about when resurrected. When he learns that it will be the United Kingdom, not the United States, to lead the new world order, he attempts to attack the UK only to have his forces destroyed. He is probably the same U.S. President shown in the Read or Die OVA, as he speaks with a Texan accent and when faced with adversity wets himself.

Other media

Dōjin game
Dojin soft
, also sometimes called , are video games created by Japanese hobbyists or hobbyist groups , more for fun than for profit; essentially, the Japanese equivalent of independent video games. Most of them are based on pre-existing material, but some are entirely original creations...

studio Easy Game Station created the side-scrolling video game ElePaper Action based on the series.
The Three Paper Sisters appeared in the cross-over game Battle Moon Wars
Battle Moon Wars
, or known as Battle Moon Wars銀, is a PC-made series of Super deformed Tactical RPGs created by Dojin soft developer and publisher Werk in 2005. Its popularity in Japan has given rise to a number of Battle Moon Wars games...

as enemies, renamed as Anipon, Maggipon and Mipon.

External links

R.O.D -THE TV- Official Japanese site
Geneon's official R.O.D. the TV website
Madman Entertainment's official R.O.D. the TV website
Read or Die Wiki An English language wiki designed to cover all aspects of the Read or Die universe
Aniplex USA's official Read or Die/ROD the TV website

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.