Read or Dream, Vols. 1 & 2
Published by: Viz Media
Writer: Hideyuki Kurata
Artist: Ran Ayanaga

200 (188) & 208 (198) pages.
Original Language: Japanese
Orientation: Right to left
Vintage: 2002. US editions November 2006 & January 2007
Translation: JN Productions
Touch-up Art & Lettering: Mark McMurray
Design: Amy Martin
Editor: Shaenon K. Garrity
Publisher’s Rating: Older Teen

Rating: 2 out of 5

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Premise: Those who really love books can become Paper Masters with the ability to manipulate paper into tools, shields, & weapons. Who knew there would be three together in one place? Meet the Paper Sisters Detective Agency of Hong Kong.

Synopsis:

Michelle is the oldest: she is an avid collector of books, a passionate reader, and the de facto leader of the agency.

Maggie is next, a quiet, bookish young woman who is shy (perhaps due to her height) and easily engrossed in any book, to the point where she ignores the rest of the world.

Anita is the youngest, a little firecracker and the only realist of the group, in that she doesn’t see the need to spend every last yuan on more books, when they already have so many. She claims to hate books, but she shares her sisters’ power.

All three can manipulate paper, of course, and they use their powers to solve small cases around town involving books — well, they’ll also track down the occasional lost pet if that’s the only work they can get. Business has been slow recently.

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Review:

Call this one Read or Die Lite. The focus shifts from intrigue and action to comedy and dialog.

Different yes, but not by any means bad. Some familiarity with the previous manga, the Read or Die OVA or the R.O.D TV Series are handy, but not necessary. If you want to fault this manga for lacking a strong story arc, definitely check out the two seasons of ROD the TV. The show and book were developed together, and I think one was meant to compliment the other.

These manga are a little different in style, compared to the rest. In these first two volumes, most chapters are self-contained stories (with one 3 chapter arc), so you can take as much or as little of the adventures of Michelle, Maggie, and Anita as you’d like. Each small episode deals with the smaller things in the lives of the detectives: books, cases and clients, the usual friction between sisters, and spending the grocery money on more books (I know that pain). Gone are the multipage duels with hardcore paper-cutting action, but instead we get some characterisation and exploration into what exactly books are and their meaning to the people who love them.

The art is also “softer” in style, in keeping with the other changes. Part of that is of course the change in artists, since the original series was drawn by Shutaro Yamamda. With three all-new main characters and no crossover between Die and Dream, direct comparisons would be unfair — Ayanaga is a fairly talented artist in her own right; her art (particularly character design) is a lot closer to what you see in many anime, not falling strictly into any one manga genre.

A few liberties are taken with some of the storylines, with aliens and magical libraries and a run in with “Lily the Reader, the Book Pirate” (a literary thief with a taste for rare books). Since the story resets to normal after each plot line wraps up, I guess Kurata can get away with these oddball elements. There are a couple of hints that some clients may be coming back as recurring characters, which would bring some much needed continuity and depth to this series, but since Read or Dream caps out at 4 volumes, I doubt it’ll be growing much of a plot between the halfway point and the end.

Recommended for fans of the series; a skippable but enjoyable light entertainment for others — 2 out of 5.