R.O.D the TV is a Japanese anime television series, animated by J.C.Staff and produced by Aniplex, directed by Koji Masunari and scripted by Hideyuki Kurata. It follows 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, the series is a sequel to the Read or Die OVA."GALLERY: The Cast of R.O.D -THE TV-". Animage. Tokuma Shoten. March 2004 (in Japanese). ("To understand the second half of 'ROD -THE TV-', you need to watch the OVA. [...] Let's organize the complicated relationships between the characters along with the story of the OVA version!"} Its official title of R.O.D the TV is a catch-all acronym referring to the inclusion of characters from both Read or Die (the light novels,"Stranger Than Fiction: How light novels have become a powerful new force in anime". Anime Insider (57). Wizard Entertainment: 12–13. 2008 manga and OVA) and the Read or Dream manga, the latter of which revolves solely around the Paper Sisters (except, Yomiko Readman does make a cameo appearance in the last chapter; the manga is not considered canon to the TV storyline).Kurata, Hideyuki. "The Final Chapter." R.O.D Read or Dream, Vol. 4. 集英社 (Shueisha), 2005. VIZ Media Edition, 2007. Promotional material for R.O.D the TV implies that the show centers around the three sisters of Read or Dream; however, Nenene Sumiregawa of Read or Die is also considered a protagonist.
R.O.D the TV was broadcast for 26 episodes from October 1, 2003, to March 16, 2004, on pay-per-view satellite television platform SKY PerfecTV!. It also aired across the terrestrial Fuji Television station from October 15, 2003, to March 18, 2004. It was also broadcast worldwide by the anime satellite television network, Animax.
The series was first distributed on DVD in North America by Geneon, in seven discs; the company finished releasing the series in summer 2005. Aniplex of America re-released the original Read or Die episodes and the TV series on Blu-ray in Winter 2010/2011.
Plot
Set in 2006 five years after the events in Read or Die, Nenene Sumiregawa, a renowned author in Japan who was a publishing prodigy at 13-years-old, is invited to a promotional book signing in Hong Kong. However, Nenene's career has been at a standstill: she has neither written nor published a single novel since her former high school teacher and best friend, Yomiko Readman has mysteriously vanished. Unable to cope with the loss of her friend, she has slipped into an aggressive state of writer's block.
While in Hong Kong, she runs into a quirky sister trio, Michelle, Maggie and Anita, the older sisters having been appointed as guides and translators (and later, protectors). When Nenene's hotel room is threatened with a planted bomb by an insecure local writer, she is invited into the sisters' cramped apartment, filled floor-to-ceiling with books. Despite the previous day's events, Nenene attends the scheduled book signing, accompanied by the sisters. Things turn drastic when the terrorist writer appears with another bomb disguised as a pen, venting his fury that his book has been rejected while Hong Kong celebrates a foreign writer. The three sisters come to her rescue, revealing themselves to be Paper Masters, bibliophiles (excluding Anita) with paper manipulation abilities similar to Yomiko (although less powerful in the case of Michelle and Anita and more focused in scope). Once safe, Nenene returns to Tokyo, tailed by the Paper Sisters who are now her bodyguards.
After the initial action-filled adventure, the first several episodes switch tone, becoming a slice-of-life-odd-couple comedy, focusing on tensions between Nenene and the sisters who move into her apartment and mooch off her, all while dealing with various psychos in their everyday lives. The sisters also perform odd jobs as agents of Dokusensha (ostensibly, part Chinese publishing company, part organization with the purpose of collecting rare and powerful documents). This eventually puts them and Nenene in direct conflict with the British Library and the protagonists of Read or Die (Dokusensha is established as the British Library's rival in the Read or Die novels and manga).
Events grow more serious as the series progresses. Atrocities are committed by both sides, thrusting the main characters into the middle of a conflict between the literary superpowers of the British Library and Dokusensha, sharing the goal to control the entire world and even rewrite history. After a horrific collision with Dokusensha where the sisters defect as agents and are framed as terrorists, Nenene and the Paper Sisters set out to find the missing Yomiko.
When Mr. Lee, Nenene's editor who secretly worked for Dokusensha is killed, he leaves behind a clue hidden in a cigarette lighter, notes which reveal Dokusensha's motives and a missing book that the British Library has been searching for, which may have something to do with Yomiko's disappearance. The girls arrive at the National Diet Library, hoping to find Yomiko and uncover the truth. Thus, our heroes are accidentally plunged into the British Library's path to world domination, which is linked to both Yomiko"At the end of the last episode, the Three Sisters are forced to fight alone (Britain's great ambitions)". Animage. Tokuma Shoten. March 2004 (in Japanese). ("As the story progresses, the reality of the sisters' origin is revealed by Joker. It becomes clear that Anita's hidden past goes deeper. The world of 'ROD THE TV!' is interpreted. The flames in Anita's memory are due to Yomiko.") and a young boy who Anita befriends, Junior. In order to save the world from literary terrorism, the girls must face ultimate risks that may threaten their sisterhood.R.O.D the TV. Directed by Koji Masunari, performances by Chiwa Saito, Shoko Kikuchi, and Hiromi Hirata et al. Studio ORPHEE / Aniplex Inc., 2003-2004.
Characters
Main characters The Paper Sisters names were derived from those of three real Hong Kong action stars: Maggie Cheung, Anita Mui, and Michelle Yeoh (who has also been credited as "Michelle Khan"). These three actresses starred together in the 1993 movie The Heroic Trio as the titular super-powered heroines. Alternatively, a possible reference is Hong Kong actress Michelle Reis, whose surname means "king" in Portuguese (her father being Portuguese).
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. Like Maggie, she is also flat chested but unlike the latter, she mostly resembles an elementary school student (especially in stature). At the start of the series, her past is shrouded in mystery and one of her earliest memories involves a traumatic fire incident. 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, 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. Because of her masculine appearance; including her flat chest, she strongly resembles a teenage boy. Before she was adopted as Michelle and Anita's sister, she was seen working as a solitary agent for Dokusensha. Mi-nee
The oldest sister, generally considered the leader and strategist of the three. She has a cheerful, apparently ditzy personality and has been described as having "a warm and gentle attitude." Her favourite books are the Harry Potter 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 bows and arrows. 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. 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 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, 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 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 that Yomiko met in the R.O.D OVA. At the end of the original series, Nancy suffered extensive brain damage 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 she was before she was injured.
An American munitions expert, frequently hired by the British Library for mercenary work. Anderson has no superpowers, but is well trained and good with weapons. A weapon of 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 does not try to murder them, and he refuses to kill children, such as Anita).