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R.O.D. Read or Dream #1
R.O.D. Read or Dream 1
Three very different sisters--Michelle, Maggie, and Anita--united by a strange power run the Paper Sisters Detective Company, solving any and all cases involving books, in a follow up to the hit series R.O.D.: Read or Die.
208 pages, Paperback
First published July 18, 2003
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Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews
February 5, 2019
Let me preface this by saying that this manga series is, to my understanding, a follow-up to a previous series by Hideyuki Kurata. Additionally, I have not read that previous R.O.D. series, which is titled Read Or Die, and based on some reviews I've seen floating around, I don't think I want to.
I don't mind that however, as I think Read Or Dream can stand fairly well on its own without any knowledge of the other series being necessary in order to read this one. The stories in this first volume tend towards being very fluffy, cute slice-of-life, and chronicle the unorthodox "cases" of the Paper Sisters Detective agency.
Unlike with a lot of manga that I tend to review on here, this series is not one I read in high school, though I do remember seeing it float around the Anime Club members' collections and wished I could get a chance to read it. I'm happy to say that I enjoyed this volume, even if it was mostly a bunch of fluff, because it's a sweet, feel-good kind of fluff. I highly recommend it to anyone who likes manga and is looking for a lighter kind of pick-me-up with shoujo art.
I don't mind that however, as I think Read Or Dream can stand fairly well on its own without any knowledge of the other series being necessary in order to read this one. The stories in this first volume tend towards being very fluffy, cute slice-of-life, and chronicle the unorthodox "cases" of the Paper Sisters Detective agency.
Unlike with a lot of manga that I tend to review on here, this series is not one I read in high school, though I do remember seeing it float around the Anime Club members' collections and wished I could get a chance to read it. I'm happy to say that I enjoyed this volume, even if it was mostly a bunch of fluff, because it's a sweet, feel-good kind of fluff. I highly recommend it to anyone who likes manga and is looking for a lighter kind of pick-me-up with shoujo art.
June 11, 2015
Recommended by Genesis this is a Super cute manga of sisters who love books. Fave chapter is 5. Check it out.
May 27, 2018
I think this is the one part of the read or die franchise I haven't absolutely loved
July 27, 2020
More silly than thriller; these detectives don't solve a lot of cases in this volume! Mostly, they read.
June 8, 2023
Manga sure is a trip huh?
This one is even more inane and anthology like than usual for a manga. Mostly I just ended up with emotional and plot whiplash: the first chapter they find a stolen book, the second is a legitimately sweet story about a boy finding a magic library, in the third, they argue over budgets, the fourth has an alien appear and demand book recommendations or she'll destroy the earth, the next two are about a girl with brain cancer and one of the girls feeling useless, the last they organize books. Outside of chapters 5 and 6, there is absolutely zero character development and very little plot (the couple from ch 1 show up again in ch 3 to say, no, he's not abusive, we're really in love). I guess I just expected there to be any kind of coherent... Anything? I lost several brain cells reading this. There are several sweet and heartfelt moments, and good comedy (I enjoyed "you have a right to an attorney but not to reading books"), which bumped it up a star.
This one is even more inane and anthology like than usual for a manga. Mostly I just ended up with emotional and plot whiplash: the first chapter they find a stolen book, the second is a legitimately sweet story about a boy finding a magic library, in the third, they argue over budgets, the fourth has an alien appear and demand book recommendations or she'll destroy the earth, the next two are about a girl with brain cancer and one of the girls feeling useless, the last they organize books. Outside of chapters 5 and 6, there is absolutely zero character development and very little plot (the couple from ch 1 show up again in ch 3 to say, no, he's not abusive, we're really in love). I guess I just expected there to be any kind of coherent... Anything? I lost several brain cells reading this. There are several sweet and heartfelt moments, and good comedy (I enjoyed "you have a right to an attorney but not to reading books"), which bumped it up a star.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 5, 2024
And now for something completely different.
“You have the right to remain silent. You have the right to a lawyer. But…You have no right to read any books.”
Man. That reminds me of Storm’s line from the original live action X-men movies. The stories are sweet and innocent, with a sprinkle of laaaame. I just can’t do hate on it. It’s too innocent. The stories aim to be too wholesome. I’ll shut up now!
“Anyone who likes the same books you like will become a good friend.”
Now I’ve read chapter 6. My god, I’m crying. I’m gonna` hit it with a 5 star. That was completely uncalled for, unexpected and universally, unbelievably uwu. *peace sign just above the window sill*
“You have the right to remain silent. You have the right to a lawyer. But…You have no right to read any books.”
Man. That reminds me of Storm’s line from the original live action X-men movies. The stories are sweet and innocent, with a sprinkle of laaaame. I just can’t do hate on it. It’s too innocent. The stories aim to be too wholesome. I’ll shut up now!
“Anyone who likes the same books you like will become a good friend.”
Now I’ve read chapter 6. My god, I’m crying. I’m gonna` hit it with a 5 star. That was completely uncalled for, unexpected and universally, unbelievably uwu. *peace sign just above the window sill*
May 16, 2023
The first couple of chapters were promising but they were followed with an introduction to a bunch of whiny sisters. I don't much care for them nor do I find them to be interesting. I hope it gets better.
October 20, 2024
I have always loved the R.O.D movie and R.O.D the TV. I love this series and like any bibliophile this is just as good. Following the stories of the Paper Sisters it really is good to see how their lives are in this AU of the show.
August 28, 2022
WHY DID I SIT ON THIS
It's even more charming than the show, in its own way!
It's even more charming than the show, in its own way!
March 23, 2013
This is the first volume in the series featuring the Paper Sisters Detective Company - two women and a young girl who use their incredible paper-manipulation skills (more in the realm of telekinetically created bullet-proof paper walls and other creations than good origami) to help people with their problems. With the exception of the young girl, Anita, who hates reading, the Paper Sisters are book addicts. These are the kind of women who will spend their food budget on books, despite having a potential avalanche of books in their home.
Each chapter features a separate story, and few of the stories are in any way connected to each other (characters from one story do reappear in another, but rarely). In the first story, the Sisters help a woman find a stolen book. In the second story, the Sisters help a young boy fulfill his elderly friend's dying wish to return a book to a mysterious library. The third story doesn't have much of a plot - it's just a funny snippet about the Sisters trying to deal with the results of one of them spending their entire food budget on books. The fourth story is about an alien who's threatening to destroy the world unless the Sisters can show her a book that can convince her that humankind is worth keeping alive. In the fifth story (which is told in chapters 5 and 6), one of the Sisters, Maggie, befriends a sick young girl by reading to her. The sixth and final story, like the third story, doesn't have much of a plot - Anita has become fed up by the books cluttering up their home and tries to get the book-loving Sisters to clean things up and get rid of any books they don't need. Unfortunately, Anita, not being a book-lover, doesn't understand that, for a book-lover, all books are potentially useful or have some emotional value.
If you're going to spend your money on manga, I'd probably recommend getting something else instead of this - the art is kind of boring, the artist's use of tones could've been better, and the stories aren't anything special (I kept feeling like I'd read most of them before, in other books and manga). However, it's not the worst manga I've ever read, and I felt that it was actually better than the series that came before it, R.O.D. Read or Die 1 by Hideyuki Kurata (story) and Shutaro Yamada (art). Whereas that series was more action oriented, this series is more humorous and occasionally touching. Read or Die's main character, Yomiko, had a love of books that was almost sexual in the way Yamada drew it, whereas the Paper Sisters have a very intense, but more normal-feeling love for books.
(Original review, with read-alikes, posted on A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions.)
Each chapter features a separate story, and few of the stories are in any way connected to each other (characters from one story do reappear in another, but rarely). In the first story, the Sisters help a woman find a stolen book. In the second story, the Sisters help a young boy fulfill his elderly friend's dying wish to return a book to a mysterious library. The third story doesn't have much of a plot - it's just a funny snippet about the Sisters trying to deal with the results of one of them spending their entire food budget on books. The fourth story is about an alien who's threatening to destroy the world unless the Sisters can show her a book that can convince her that humankind is worth keeping alive. In the fifth story (which is told in chapters 5 and 6), one of the Sisters, Maggie, befriends a sick young girl by reading to her. The sixth and final story, like the third story, doesn't have much of a plot - Anita has become fed up by the books cluttering up their home and tries to get the book-loving Sisters to clean things up and get rid of any books they don't need. Unfortunately, Anita, not being a book-lover, doesn't understand that, for a book-lover, all books are potentially useful or have some emotional value.
If you're going to spend your money on manga, I'd probably recommend getting something else instead of this - the art is kind of boring, the artist's use of tones could've been better, and the stories aren't anything special (I kept feeling like I'd read most of them before, in other books and manga). However, it's not the worst manga I've ever read, and I felt that it was actually better than the series that came before it, R.O.D. Read or Die 1 by Hideyuki Kurata (story) and Shutaro Yamada (art). Whereas that series was more action oriented, this series is more humorous and occasionally touching. Read or Die's main character, Yomiko, had a love of books that was almost sexual in the way Yamada drew it, whereas the Paper Sisters have a very intense, but more normal-feeling love for books.
(Original review, with read-alikes, posted on A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions.)
March 8, 2008
I was prompted to read it due to a teacher complaint for inappropriateness/full nudity - neither of which I found in the first volume (teacher did not indicate which volume).
No language, no sexuality, no nudity, no graphic violence. There is magic of sorts, because the sisters can manipulate paper (like make it become a Godzilla creature to obtain the bad guy). The only thing that could turn some people off is that one of the sisters wears skin tight clothes. Also, another one of the sisters looks like a boy (and apparently has a boy’s voice), and a dying blind girl develops a crush on her because she thinks she is a boy (the sister does not seem to encourage these feelings but does not come out and say that she is a girl). So I suppose this sister’s sexual orientation is ambiguous.
At this point I’m not sure yet why it is rated “older teen”, because the plot itself was rather childish (aside from the androgynous sister). In general, it is about three sisters with a love of books and reading who possess the power to manipulate paper, and they have a detective agency where they use these abilities to help people. It is part fantasy, part comedy, and a tad romance.
My personal opinion is that it isn't particularly good manga or a compelling story. The art is ok, the plot felt disjointed and childish. The chapters don't seem to build much on each other, they are more like individual stories, aside from the fact that the sisters need money and are hungry throughout the volume.
No language, no sexuality, no nudity, no graphic violence. There is magic of sorts, because the sisters can manipulate paper (like make it become a Godzilla creature to obtain the bad guy). The only thing that could turn some people off is that one of the sisters wears skin tight clothes. Also, another one of the sisters looks like a boy (and apparently has a boy’s voice), and a dying blind girl develops a crush on her because she thinks she is a boy (the sister does not seem to encourage these feelings but does not come out and say that she is a girl). So I suppose this sister’s sexual orientation is ambiguous.
At this point I’m not sure yet why it is rated “older teen”, because the plot itself was rather childish (aside from the androgynous sister). In general, it is about three sisters with a love of books and reading who possess the power to manipulate paper, and they have a detective agency where they use these abilities to help people. It is part fantasy, part comedy, and a tad romance.
My personal opinion is that it isn't particularly good manga or a compelling story. The art is ok, the plot felt disjointed and childish. The chapters don't seem to build much on each other, they are more like individual stories, aside from the fact that the sisters need money and are hungry throughout the volume.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 29, 2012
Billed as a followup to the hit series “Read or Die”, the Paper Sisters can also command paper to do their bidding. They are very different types, with Michelle acting as the happy dreamer, perfectly willing to forego food for books. There’s Maggie, the stolid middle sister, a hoyden and a bit of a homebody. And then there’s little Anita. More level headed than either of her older sisters, she doesn’t care for books and is constantly struggling to get her flighty siblings to focus on desperately needed funds rather than the next book. Mildly diverting rather than really funny, this manga succeeds mainly in its character studies. The stories are cute, absorbing, startling or wistful, most of them without the earth-shaking apocalyptic overtones of the original “Read or Die” series, and thus definitely suited for younger readers.
December 24, 2012
Um, yeah. three sisters have power over paper. this was a freebie book at the library, about girls who like to read (well, 2 out of the 3 do), so I figured why not give the genre another try? meh. I just don't love manga itself, the format, the art. the girls are cute, and I thought Maggie was a sympathetic character, but Anita is bratty (although perhaps with reason) and Michelle is annoying and kind of pointless. The one story arc I was interested in, about the blind girl and Maggie, didn't seem to offer a clear resolution, which disappointed me. Plus, it turns out having power over paper looks kinda lame. so this just didn't do much for me. on the other hand, it was a quick read.
January 29, 2014
Three sisters have been given the power to control paper. lame right? Wrong its amazing anyways. the three sisters have started a company called Paper sisters detective company. they get hired to do anything with books. they can find them, sell them, get them back for you, and even translate the books. but in this book they get a stolen book back. the middle sister helps a cancers young girl accept the surgery needed and having a crush both ways. the youngest sister finds a monkey for a client. and finally the three sister saves the earth for 100 years.
August 20, 2008
I liked this better than the Read or Die manga, but it's very different in style. In Read or Dream we're looking at three sisters with paper powers who run a detective agency. Each chapter is a stand-alone story although there are links between them. This is much more of a humorous manga rather than an adventure manga as Read or Die was. Rated T for teens although there's not much provocative here compared to some other T rated mangas. I look forward to reading the rest of the series.
January 29, 2014
I adore the animated series and movie of rod, so I squeed when I saw this on the library shelf and made a teenage boy very uncomfortable when I snatched it up in front of his face. Reading it wasn't as satisfying as snatching it off the shelf... a few chapters were good, most fell terribly flat, and one was great. sigh. I was so excited to spend some quality time with Anita, Maggie and Michelle! hope the books get better!
September 26, 2009
Cute graphic novel, especially good for librarians and other bibliophiles...Michelle, Maggie, and Anita are three sisters. Michelle and Maggie love books and reading. All three can control paper in magical ways to make it do what they want. They have a detective company and solve book-related mysteries.
June 19, 2012
I haven't read manga in a while, so I forgot how quickly I read graphic novels! It's great to see intelligent, compassionate, and diverse women solving mysteries and prioritizing sisterhood (rather than being obsessed with boys/romance). Their paper master powers are interesting and often fun. It's also comforting to see other female bibliophiles.
October 15, 2012
Is this manga going to change your life or how you view the world. No. But it will make you laugh at loud and squee at the sheer adorableness of these three "paper" sisters. Bookworms will really love this--two of the sisters are obessed with books and the entire series centers around literacy and the importance of books. A fun and quick read.
August 10, 2013
This review will be for the whole series (4 volumes). I loved this series. It's all about girls obsessed with books and so I can totally relate. They're both funny and sweet. Any bibliophile/bibliomaniac worth their salt should read these.
December 31, 2023
Read or Dream the anime continues the original Read or Die series with lightheartedness and seriousness. The Read or Dream mangas, however, are like a collection of extra bonus stories that I just can't get enough of.
January 11, 2009
You just have to love a manga where the fate of the world depends upon a readers advisory interview.
February 15, 2009
A good read!!! Lol I love manga!
September 15, 2009
Liked this first volume more than the anime. Very cute and funny!
November 22, 2012
I couldn't finish this because it was just too cheesy. It wasn't terrible and I didn't hate it- it was just ok. However, not worth reading the whole thing.
February 18, 2014
muy bonita la historia, muy tiernas las hermanas
Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews