Read or Die (OVA)
| Read or Die (OVA) | |
DVD cover of Read or Die
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| Genre | Action, Comedy, Spy, Supernatural |
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| Original video animation | |
| Directed by | Koji Masunari |
| Written by | Hideyuki Kurata |
| Music by | Taku Iwasaki |
| Studio | Studio Deen |
| Licensed by | |
| Released | 23 May 2001 |
| Runtime | 90 minutes |
| Episodes | 3 |
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. It is a continuation of the Read or Die storyline, taking place a few years after the events of the manga.
The first episode begins with a cold open, set in Washington DC, where the White House has been evacuated. The samurai Gennai Hiraga appears on top of the White House and annihilates it using a mysterious power. Later in the episode, it is revealed that the US Library of Congress has been attacked, although this is not actually shown.
Meanwhile, in Tokyo, Yomiko Readman gets her hands on an ultra-rare German first edition book, "die Unsterbliche Liebe" (or "The Immortal Beloved"). The book is dusty and dirty, but has sheet music handwritten in its pages, in the margins and on the blank pages in the back and front. Almost immediately she is attacked by a superhuman-like clone of Jean Henri Fabre riding a giant mecha grasshopper. He tries to steal her book, but she fights back and wins, exhibiting a superhuman ability to manipulate paper. A man in a suit walks up to her moments later, asking "The Paper" to accompany him. We learn that Yomiko is an agent of the British Library special operations division, a group tasked to locating and protecting rare books worldwide.
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