Read or Die

    (Viz, 2006)
™ and © Hideyuki Kurata, Shutaro Yamada
Read right to left; b&w.

A true book lover, Yomiko Readman is a master of paper (à la Iceman, Human Torch, etc.) who works for a British secret agency that saves the world by securing powerful secrets hidden in famous books. Assigned by her dapper boss “Joker,” first she must overcome her innate gawkiness to take down the double-dealing book burglar. But this is just the introduction to “The Paper’s” bigger case of protecting her favorite writer!

A teen-age author, Nenene Sumiregawa, now must fend off a male stalker and her infatuated female bodyguard, who is an undercover substitute teacher. But can paper defeat fire, when Yomiko combats the flaming Fire Inc, the henchwoman of the obsessed fan Marihara, who intends to deflower poor Nenene?

Recently popularized by the pulse-pounding OVA and then more middling TV anime series, this manga has had its audience primed. However, the Read or Die manga assumes a more juvenile tone. Though Yamada’s art is attractive and Kurata’s script is occasionally smutty, readers must wait for this title to jell to expectations.

— Oliver Chin
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