Recent viewings

Read or Die. This three-part anime miniseries starts out promisingly. A mysterious figure armed with crackling bolts of electricity attacks the White House, wreaking destruction. Oddly, he seems to have mistaken it for a library.

Our Heroine, Yomiko Readman, is introduced lying sprawled asleep among countless piles of books in her cramped apartment. Much like myself, she must dig through this biblio-debris in order to locate vital household items such as ringing telephones. Unlike myself, she is not just a humble biblioholic. She is Agent Paper, an operative of a mysterious organization with a secret base underneath the British Library. And as we see in the show's second action sequence, her skills with paper go well beyond those of your everyday researcher.

It turns out that she, as well as other mysterious and supernaturally-gifted folks, are all in pursuit of a lost book written by Ludwig von Beethoven. Through most of the show, this book is a McGuffin pursued by good and evil, the goal of repeated battles between superpowered adversaries. Along the way there's some goofy comedy, hints at girlish freindship or romance, and a healthy slug of anti-Americanism directed at a rather Bushlike President who wants to launch "nukyular" weapons at the slightest provocation. Agent Paper -- or, as she's sometimes called, just The Paper -- doggedly pursues her beloved book despite adversaries who breathe fire, fly, ride giant insects, and perform all manner of bizarre feats. Inevitably, there's the James Bondian scene in which the Boss Monster -- er, I mean, head supervillian -- ties her down in an Elaborate Deathtrap(TM) and then saunters off. Because, you know, desperate heroes can never escape from Elaborate Deathtraps(TM)! (Bwahahaha!)

Yes, it's silly, but the silliness is enjoyable, and punctuated with moments of wit. The Beethoven connection is eventually explained, although I must confess I never did figure out exactly why that much-sought-after book was needed. There's plenty of cartoonic hyperviolence, plenty of improbable acrobatics by improbably-proportioned anime women, a smattering of humor, and just enough pathos to keep it from seeming entirely frivolous. An enjoyable light diversion.