Read Or Die: OAV (2001)

(On DVD, March 2008) I remember seeing the first two episodes of this series a few years ago and being quite amused by the blend of high-concept (“British Library Special Operations” has got to be the coolest division title ever put on a business card), super-powered characters and wild anime action scenes. But a new look at the series reveals the stupefying power of decaying memories: If I’m still generally entertained by the series, it now seems to me that it does little with the possibilities at its disposal. “The Paper” isn’t nearly as proactive as I remember her, and the “British Library operatives” conceit seems to be discarded early on as the series adopts a more conventional superhero structure. It’s still worth a look, but I’ve got plot hamsters running around telling me how unbelievably better this concept could be with just a few tweaks.