R.O.D.: Read or Die

"What's worth more, your life or your book?" For Yomika "Agent Paper" Readman, a rare books aficionado shanghaied into (secret) service as part of Library Special Operations, that's not an easy question to answer. In Kouji Masunari's bibliophile-friendly triple episode anime, Agent Paper (whose special powers revolve around the use of paper--creating instant load-bearing getaway paper airplanes, for example) and Agent Miss Deep (who is able to pass through solid objects and has mammary glands the size of Cleveland) team up in a convoluted plot that finds the Library of Congress and the British Library joining forces to stop--follow me closely here--a wacko who is cloning historical figures who raid libraries searching for a rare manuscript of Beethoven's Immortal Beloved (which were actually letters, not a book) with musical marginalia that will (when properly transcribed) form the basis for a new symphony that will spur people to mass suicide in a "karmic cleansing of mankind." True, it doesn't make a lick of sense, but the animation is handsomely drawn, "The Paper" is a cool heroine, and the title is a grabber (now, wouldn't that be an arresting ALA poster--"READ or DIE"?). Presented in both Japanese and English-dubbed 5.1 versions (with the English version markedly different from the subtitled Japanese version, adding--among other changes--the English line "c'mon, you stupid Japanese piece of crap" in reference to a transistor radio), the DVD also includes an 18-minute director/crew interview session (that is interminably slow due to the multiple translations that take place in real time). Industry rated "13-up" due to violence and mild language, this is recommended. Aud: P. (R. Pitman)