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R.O.D. Read or Die #4
R.O.D. Read or Die 4
See alternate cover edition here.
At the Manshu Academy, the secret Underground Library continues its feeding frenzy, while Yomiko struggles to make peace between the warring A and B level students. More chaos ensures when the Joker arrives with his squad of deadly commandos, hot on the trail of the Underground Library's most valuable-and powerful- book. Forced to choose between human life and literary value, can Yomiko make the right decision?
At the Manshu Academy, the secret Underground Library continues its feeding frenzy, while Yomiko struggles to make peace between the warring A and B level students. More chaos ensures when the Joker arrives with his squad of deadly commandos, hot on the trail of the Underground Library's most valuable-and powerful- book. Forced to choose between human life and literary value, can Yomiko make the right decision?
208 pages, Paperback
First published July 19, 2002
2 people are currently reading
108 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
July 30, 2019
This was full of action and suspense! Really enjoyed it but definitely wish the ending was a bit better. Enjoyed reading this!
February 14, 2021
Finally, Yomiko Readman snapped out of it when she finally opened and read the last letter Donnie wrote before his death. She discovered it was Joker who set everything in motion: the death of Donnie, search for the underground library, and the book of truth. Even Ridley admitted painfully the whole set up. As Joker and his commando closes in, Yomiko was to determine the fate of this world, and the people who live in it. What’s gonna happen? How will it end? Read this and find out. This manga series is a bit different from the anime series. Anime is more elaborate. Manga left some to the imagination. Both versions are good.
March 7, 2023
The ending was a disappointment.
June 28, 2022
This is my review of the whole Read or Die series.
I've been trying to get into reading manga more, and I really wanted to like Read or Die, I really did. I almost didn't want to think about it so I could enjoy it more. However if I enjoyed it more the review wouldn't be nearly as heartfelt. The manga wants to be a lot of things; a school story, a spy story, an X-Men-ish 'we have powers that no one understands' preachfest, an action-comedy, and a dash of wanting to appreciate great literature without referencing any of it. Sure I liked the Misery quip at the beginning, and the story has a nice synopsis going for it, but it's not consistently clever or cohesive enough to be considered great or even a full story at times.
The story has a promising premise without a doubt. Yomiko is a bubbly teacher-turned agent with an ability to control paper and but not her feelings about her troubled past. From the get go, it announces that Yomiko is in a world where greater organizations like the London library suits following her around are pulling the strings and requesting that she helps them find rare books for, some reason. There's also old dirt on the bibliophiles like Yomiko; her former boyfriend Donnie and his best friend Ridley that is seemingly covered up by the organization as well. Along the way Yomiko meets an author and tries to save a group of students, and her interactions with all the characters, stereotypical or otherwise, were pretty sweet and geneuine. I also liked the psychological effects Yumiko experienced from supposedly killing Donnie, and there were some sad and sweet moments along the way even if the manga doesn't fully resolve them or make use of their full potential.
With me so far? Good, because that's all I got too. The rest of the story is so convoluted and all the character and story subplots and arcs introduced previously get lost in the shuffle very VERY quickly. Fighting between two groups of students comes out of nowhere and gets resolved somehow. A giant paper dragon-worm flies out of the ground as part of an ancient library of books that the London library wants to find the book of truth, again, for some unexplained reason. The library also weaves in and out of fight scenes for some reason and while they are seemingly pulling the strings, they just end up being there to give the illusion of story amid all the fighting. Ridley eventually shows up out of nowhere announcing that he's Yomiko's rival and the books then feel the need to take a big info dump and tell us all about his experience, which when digging deeper doesn't even make sense. Who are Donnie and Ridley and how did they get their powers? Why does the library want the book of truth? Why is it so important to begin with? Why does Yomiko fight for the students and why does she try so hard at all of this in general? The manga posed so many unanswered questions and threw up so many red herrings that I started to get bogged down with more questions than the suspense that the story tries to build and they started to drag my enjoyment of the story down very very quickly. On top of that, so few of them get unanswered that I felt cheated with the ending I got.
The action and occasional panel furthers my confusion as well. The art is drawn well for sure, but during the action sequences a boom or bang along with a beam of light or a flying character will be so huge and dramatic that it almost took me out of the experience and came across as more obnoxious than intense. This when paired with the confusing story that ties itself in knots comes across as half baked. Being a bibliophile myself, I really wanted to enjoy Read or Die, and I'm aware that the anime has quite a bit of praise, but if you were to read the manga first, I would recommend passing it up.
I've been trying to get into reading manga more, and I really wanted to like Read or Die, I really did. I almost didn't want to think about it so I could enjoy it more. However if I enjoyed it more the review wouldn't be nearly as heartfelt. The manga wants to be a lot of things; a school story, a spy story, an X-Men-ish 'we have powers that no one understands' preachfest, an action-comedy, and a dash of wanting to appreciate great literature without referencing any of it. Sure I liked the Misery quip at the beginning, and the story has a nice synopsis going for it, but it's not consistently clever or cohesive enough to be considered great or even a full story at times.
The story has a promising premise without a doubt. Yomiko is a bubbly teacher-turned agent with an ability to control paper and but not her feelings about her troubled past. From the get go, it announces that Yomiko is in a world where greater organizations like the London library suits following her around are pulling the strings and requesting that she helps them find rare books for, some reason. There's also old dirt on the bibliophiles like Yomiko; her former boyfriend Donnie and his best friend Ridley that is seemingly covered up by the organization as well. Along the way Yomiko meets an author and tries to save a group of students, and her interactions with all the characters, stereotypical or otherwise, were pretty sweet and geneuine. I also liked the psychological effects Yumiko experienced from supposedly killing Donnie, and there were some sad and sweet moments along the way even if the manga doesn't fully resolve them or make use of their full potential.
With me so far? Good, because that's all I got too. The rest of the story is so convoluted and all the character and story subplots and arcs introduced previously get lost in the shuffle very VERY quickly. Fighting between two groups of students comes out of nowhere and gets resolved somehow. A giant paper dragon-worm flies out of the ground as part of an ancient library of books that the London library wants to find the book of truth, again, for some unexplained reason. The library also weaves in and out of fight scenes for some reason and while they are seemingly pulling the strings, they just end up being there to give the illusion of story amid all the fighting. Ridley eventually shows up out of nowhere announcing that he's Yomiko's rival and the books then feel the need to take a big info dump and tell us all about his experience, which when digging deeper doesn't even make sense. Who are Donnie and Ridley and how did they get their powers? Why does the library want the book of truth? Why is it so important to begin with? Why does Yomiko fight for the students and why does she try so hard at all of this in general? The manga posed so many unanswered questions and threw up so many red herrings that I started to get bogged down with more questions than the suspense that the story tries to build and they started to drag my enjoyment of the story down very very quickly. On top of that, so few of them get unanswered that I felt cheated with the ending I got.
The action and occasional panel furthers my confusion as well. The art is drawn well for sure, but during the action sequences a boom or bang along with a beam of light or a flying character will be so huge and dramatic that it almost took me out of the experience and came across as more obnoxious than intense. This when paired with the confusing story that ties itself in knots comes across as half baked. Being a bibliophile myself, I really wanted to enjoy Read or Die, and I'm aware that the anime has quite a bit of praise, but if you were to read the manga first, I would recommend passing it up.
November 25, 2021
This was the only volume we had in the library. You have to read the first three to understand this final volume. There were a lot of action sequences so it's a quick read, but unless you know the characters you're lost.
February 16, 2017
I was surprised by the ending, but this had a lot more depth than the OVA series I watched. I would love to see another installment in this series.
July 15, 2016
So I enjoyed the entire series. My only real complaint was that in the second and third books they started painting Yomiko as more vapid and dense than you would expect such a lover of books to be. However, the fourth book somewhat redeemed the series when it demonstrated that this denseness was what contributed to her being so powerful- if that makes sense? The series was really cute with some interesting plot twists. The most developed characters, despite the main character being a female, were the male characters. The relationships that got the most attention were all the male-male friendships/rivalries. I wish they had gone into more detail with Yomiko and Wendy or Nenene. This was great, quick series that will appeal to lovers of books and spy novels alike.
June 15, 2011
The final R.O.D. is not perfect but quite enjoyable nonetheless! Ultimately, that's why we read, is it not? To think, to learn, to enjoy! A few pages have some really memorable dialogue:
"As a bibliophile, as a paper master...as the woman in the world most loved by paper...even if your fate has become a burden...even if you've fallen into doubt...you must choose...READ OR DIE!"
"Books aren't meant to help people run from reality. If that were so, we'd just be slaves to books. We live the best lives we can...so we can be equal to the great books."
Well said, old friends. And with that, I have experienced the entire Read or Die universe. It's been fun!
"As a bibliophile, as a paper master...as the woman in the world most loved by paper...even if your fate has become a burden...even if you've fallen into doubt...you must choose...READ OR DIE!"
"Books aren't meant to help people run from reality. If that were so, we'd just be slaves to books. We live the best lives we can...so we can be equal to the great books."
Well said, old friends. And with that, I have experienced the entire Read or Die universe. It's been fun!
March 28, 2012
In true epics, the hero(ine) always faces a crisis of faith. Such a crisis has come to Yomiko Readman, providing her with a depth of character that is lacking in people like Ridley Wan. Her faith has faltered but true heroes rise above such crises and become all the stronger for facing their demons. In the final showdown, loose ends are tied, allegiances are revealed and violent battles are fought in all comers, leading to a truly spectacular fight. Although the mystery of Readman’s disappearance and reappearance are never explained (which I find just a tad frustrating), the finale is a fitting conclusion for bibliomaniacs everywhere on the planet.
April 13, 2013
This was the perfect ending to a highly enjoyable manga series.In fact, this whole series got me to thinking about my relationship to paper (books). In the Manga, an individual becomes The Paper because books love them back. If that's true, then all of us who love books become The Paper.A horror novel instills fear in us. A love story makes us cry. A great cook book brings us joy. A text book brings us knowledge. A comedy makes us laugh. If all of that isn't getting love in return, then I don't know what love is. Thank you R.O.D. because you brought me insight.
September 6, 2014
I am a huge fan of the R. O. D. Read or Die OVA, and I was quick to pick up the four volumes of this story when I found it at my local library. Yomiko Readman is what all bibliophile dream of being. Her love of books has bone beyond the page and she is able to connect with the story, and the author in ways we can only imagine. Besides that, she can control paper and make it become any shape she desires. A must read for book lovers.
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August 28, 2007
And it all comes clear in the final volume, but I think the better choice on this one would be the DVDs as it's an adaptation anyway.
June 20, 2008
Not the version I read, but the end was very interesting...
May 9, 2009
Good book!
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews