You know, popular media has portrayed all kinds of fictional superpowers for decades from flying to superhuman strength to walking on walls but I never found any of these powers fascinating…until Read or Dream came along!Welcome to the world of paper users!StoryThe show is based on a manga written by Kurata Hideyuki and illustrated by Ayanaga Ran. The manga spans four volumes. The story is about three Chinese sisters who are not blood related; Anita King (the youngest), Maggie Mui (the middle one) and Michelle Cheung (the oldest). The three sisters run a detective agency in Hong Kong. The three are also expert “paper users” which means they can manipulate the physical structure of paper so that it forms into any shape they want and so that it strengthens to any degree they want. That way they can use paper around them as extremely versatile tools like weapons, planes or support structures. The three sisters are hired as bodyguards for a Japanese author called Sumerigawa Nenene by her editor Lee Linho (who is Chinese). Nenene is an author who has been in a slump for four years and as such hasn’t written any new books during that period. I will not give details about the reasons of this slump but I can say that it is related to her past. Her editor finally convinced her to start writing a new book. The show basically follows the life of Nenene and the incidents she has to go through as she is protected by the three paper sisters.The story in this show is basically a continuation of the OAV story but with the addition of a few new characters. As far as I can tell, the story in the series is only loosely based on the story in the corresponding manga with JC Staff applying a bit of literary liberty.I should say that the idea of using paper like paper users do excites me a lot. I’m a book worm (not as bad a Maggie and Michelle but I still love reading) and I also like Origami. My chosen discipline is also greatly involved in the paper manufacturing process. I also love manga which is printed on paper. In short, I love paper and can’t imagine the world without it! To have an anime show about paper is like a dream come true.The story is a well balanced mix of drama, action, comedy, political intrigue and fantasy.The action is very well done and this can easily go down as one of the best action shows in anime history. The tactics employed by the three sisters during their battles are quite clever and Michelle assumes the role of leader and strategist most of the time.The series is choke full of excellent drama. The drama focused episodes typically used a laid back approach which made them very memorable. The relationship between Nenene and the three sisters was the main focus initially. The first few episodes explored how Nenene’s attitude towards the three sisters who were freeloading at her house changed from complete irritation because of their continuous goof ups to complete acceptance of their presence as an indispensable part of her new life. Watching them develop this relationship was an absolute joy. The series later explores the relationship between the three sisters themselves and gives insight about their past. It then explores the relation between Anita and her friends at school. The second half of the series mixes a lot of intense drama with action because the story moves into the conflict stage and we get to see some really emotional scenes of love, hate and betrayal.The comedy is absolutely great. The comedy in this show is not of the slapstick type that you find in real anime comedies but I found the low key realistic humour far more enjoyable than jokes in shows like Love Hina or 2x2=Shinobuden. Most of the comedy originates from the interaction between the three sisters and Nenene and amongst the sisters themselves. The scenes involving Michelle in particular are very memorable.The politics is an interesting aspect of the show. At first, I thought it was way over exaggerated and corny at times but it started to make much more sense later on. The thing that changed my opinion is the character of the president. Initially, I thought the guy Joker called “Mr. President” was just the head of the British Library but I later found out that he is actually the US president. Now, Read or Dream the TV series and the manga were both released in 2003. If you take into account the world events that have occurred in the past 5 years and the fact that the US has a great deal of influence over much of the world since it is the last remaining superpower; it becomes obvious that the show is also trying to deliver a covert political message and the political aspect of the show starts to make sense. There are still some overdone aspects but they can be forgiven since the show overall was excellent.I think the overall conclusion was satisfying. While it’s not the best of anime endings out there, it still managed to tie all the missing links.Characters & Voice ActingOne of the most appealing aspects in this show is the cast of interesting characters.Michelle is the eldest sister and effectively the leader of the group. Now before I continue any further, I just want to say that MICHELLE IS AWSOME!Now back to our story. Before watching the show, my first impression of Michelle, based on the images I’ve seen of her, was that of a calm and confident woman who is always ahead of the game and knows what she is doing. I was really surprised to find out that she is completely the opposite. I was even more surprised when I realised I like her even more now!Don’t get me wrong. Michelle does in no way have a bad personality. It’s just that she is a weirdo! She is calm indeed and always manages to remain optimistic no matter what. She cares deeply about her sisters. She is a money pincher but that’s not because she loves money but because she wants to save enough money for her favourite hobby (and dare I say life blood); buying books. She knows no limits when it comes to books; she would easily read 50 books in one day and has bought the entire stock of multiple bookshops at times. It is no wonder then that the owners of bookshops in Jinbōchō consider her, along with Maggie and Yomiko Readman, as their most prized customers and there is an official agreemnt amongst the book sellers there to always give those three the VIP treatment!During battles, she usually calls the shots and behaves in a very serious manner. While her paper abilities are not as powerful as her sisters, she still manages to come up with solid tactical plans. Her specialty is paper archery. When she is not in battle mode, she tends to be very laid back and clumsy. She is quite celever though but her intellect only shines during battles. She is also very fond of cute boys and girls (scary!!) and is the source of a lot of comedy in the show.Her voice actress, Kikuchi Shoko, delivered an excellent performance and her voice siuts Michelle’s playful laid back personality perfectly.You have to be heartless not to like Maggie. She is the second sister and is the tallest amongst the three. She prefers to dress in men’s clothing unlike Michelle. She doesn’t talk very much and likes reading as much as Michelle does. She and Michelle are both big fans of Nenene’s works. She admires Michelle and cares deeply about her and about Anita. In fact, she risked her life many times to save Anita and would sacrifice anything for the sake of her sisters. In a way, she serves as the link between Michelle and Anita who are the absolute opposite of each other.She has the odd habit of reading in cramped places as this for some reason makes her feel at ease. Her crying is the silliest that I have ever heard (it sounds like a pigeon call) and Anita often makes fun of that. Battle wise, she is probably the most powerful amongst the three sisters and her specialty is creating moving paper creatures.Hirata Hiromi did the voice of Maggie. Her calm low toned voice was perfect for Maggie’s character.Anita is the youngest of the three and is often called Chibikko by Nenene (which annoys her a lot). The relation between Nenene and Anita didn’t start off very well but it improved with time. Nenene likes to tease Anita a lot but I think she does that because she likes her (and she enjoys seeing Anita getting mad) (^_^;;) I don’t know if Nenene realised it but I think she and Anita are very similar to each other personality wise.Anita is more of a tomboy. Unlike her two sisters, she doesn’t like reading and actually hates books (the reason for that is revealed later in the show). That’s why she feels like the stranger in the group as she is living with two extreme bibliophiles and an author. She likes to collect frog dolls and has a very hot temper (which Nenene likes to exploit for her own amusement). She may have the occasional argument with her two sisters but deep inside, she really loves them and would feel devastated if she was to separate from them.For a young girl, Anita has a lot of guts. Her specialty is suing paper cards as cutting tools in close combat. She has done some very daring moves and operations throughout the series.The voice actress behind Anita’s voice was none other than Saito Chiwa. A perfect and expected choice since Chiwa has monopolised the roles of young hot tempered girls in anime over the years. Her crying voice is still quite sharp though.Nenene’s personality is more or less similar to Anita except she is more mature. One striking aspect of her character is her guts; she’s got tons of it!! She is more than willing to stand up for what she believes no matter who her opponent is. She often gets into heated arguments with the sisters over their misbehaviour but she learned to accept them with time.She is considered Yomiko’s closest friend and the friendship between the two is explored in this show.The voice of Nenene is done by Yukino Satsuki who is well know for her role as Kaname Chidori’s voice in Full Metal Panic and its sequels. Another perfect choice since Nenene and Chidori’s characters are not that different from each other.I’ll refrain from talking about other characters since this might be spoilerific.MusicThe opening is a dramatic tune with no lyrics which fits the nature of the show perfectly. It actually reminds me of the music you hear in James Bond movies. Of course the three sisters are far more superior than Bond since Bond is nothing but a bastard.The ending is a nice melody that conveys a sense of nostalgia.The background music is also well done. The piece that plays when the sisters are in action always excites me and I can’t seem to get enough of it.Animation & ArtThe people at JC Staff must really enjoy what they are doing; otherwise they would not create such great shows like Read or Dream. The animation is top class as to be expected from JC Staff. The fighting scenes in particular are very fluid.The background art is very detailed and a lot of effort has been made to make the urban details of Tokyo and Hong Kong as realistic as possible.The character designs are very similar to the ones in the manga (the manga designs are more cuter). The designs are generic but likable. My only complaint is Junior: with his hair down, Junior looks too much like girl. Ironically, he looks more like a boy when he ties his hair in a pony tail style!And there you have it. The show has been licensed by Geneon Entertainment. You can also find a lot of extra information (and images) about the show and the related manga in this website. Some screenshots and short episode reviews can be found at Momotato’s blog and at Sea Slugs.
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