On December 13 2005 Geneon films re-released (on UMD) episode 1 and 2 of one of the more interesting anime series out there, R.O.D T.V. (Read Or Die TV.). A 26 episode series, R.O.D TV is quite a unique show that’s based on a new concept called paper mastery or rather the telekinetic ability to control paper which is about as strange as it sounds.

The show starts out with about four main characters, the main one being that of Nenene Sumiiregawa. Nenene is a famous author that is lending her opinion on a upcoming movie based on one of her novels, but when her book signing is threatened her agent decides its time to hire some bodyguards.

This is when she meets the three sisters who are (unbeknownst to her) paper masters. The eldest Michelle Chan is a 24 year old blonde who is an expert at paper archery. Michelle, who considers herself a serious Bibliophile, pretty much orchestrates her two younger sisters' actions, staying out of the way and telling them what to do next and only getting directly involved when she has to.

The next sister down is Maggie Mui who is quite the interesting character - you don’t expect it when you see how withdrawn and shy she can be around people considering her extremely tall stature and its real strange to see the places she decides to sleep (or more to the point nests as she likes to find a small dark place and seal it off with herself and her books inside). Maggie also considers herself a bibliophile and actually gets depressed and even more withdrawn when she has nothing to read. Her specialty as a paper master is pretty amazing, she likes to be a sort of puppet master with paper shaped animals that can do some pretty amazing things including supporting great weights and flying.

The youngest sister of the three is Anita King -- and in my opinion -- she's the one that adds the most to the plot of this show; not only is she probably the best paper master of the three but she makes a lot of the important decisions for the group and also seems to be the one who "saves the day" more than the others. Her skills include being able to cut through just about anything with metal. Anita is definitely the most level headed of the group but strangely claims to hate books. But being that she still relatively young you see the child in her come out quite a bit like when she’s throwing a temper tantrum.

So the basic premise for the show is that the author Nenene hasn’t been able to write in four years since her best friend (whose also a paper master) disappears taking with her the inspiration and approval that Nenene needs to be able to write. So ultimately the authors main goal in life is to track down her friend and when she runs into the foes that are against reading that’s when the three sisters come into play.

There’s quite a few subplots to this series like that of the three sisters trying to assimilate their life to accommodate their new roommate Nenene. There’s also a lot in the way of the youngest sister's trouble like going to school and trying to fit in. If this sounds like its shaping up to be an adult drama that is because its exactly what it is including a very dry slow paced music track and very slow mature dialog.

Therefore if you enjoy an adult anime show that is kind of slow paced and with less fighting than normal then this is a pretty interesting series. Although the fight scenes are kind of sparse they are in my opinion worth the wait. They are very different than the ones in everything else i've seen but that’s what makes them pretty cool. There are currently 26 episodes of R.O.D TV. and the first UMD includes 2 of those titled The Papers Have Landed and Rise up, Oh Dregs Of Humanity. Both episodes combine to make 50 minutes of viewing and are rated 13 and up.

Editor's Note: You can find out more about this series by checking out www.rodthetv.com .