History Anime / ReadOrDie

* YouSaidYouWouldLetThemGo: Nancy complains to Ikkyu that he promised he would not kill Yomiko. He explains that while Yomiko does need to die, he will clone her and alter her personality to be more in tune with his goals, so FromACertainPointOfView he was telling the truth.

* BadassAdorable:
** Yomiko.
** Junior in R.O.D the TV. He is capable of jumping from moving helicopters and is skillful at using guns and martial arts. And he's only about ''eleven''. [[spoiler: Six biologically.]]
%%* BadassBookworm: Also Yomiko

* BrownNote: [[spoiler:Beethoven's "Death Symphony", which causes anyone hearing it to commit suicide.]]

* HotLibrarian + BadassBookworm: Yomiko. Her extreme love of books can get to be a very expensive habit (at one point, she even asks her boss for a cash advance so that she can purchase more books), but the British Library still regards her as [[BunnyEarsLawyer one of the best in her field]]. When her voice actress was replaced for the dub, her accent suddenly became [[UsefulNotes/BritishAccents British]]. And yes, it made her ''even hotter''.
** Nancy Makuhari disguised herself as a librarian, when she first met Yomiko, getting the same book.

* LovelyAngels: Yomiko and Nancy.
* {{Meganekko}}: Yomiko Readman is widely considered the Queen of All {{Meganekko}}s.

* NerdActionHero: Yomiko
* NerdsAreSexy: And so is Yomiko-chan.

* ThePowerOfFriendship
* PreExplosionGlow

* PuppyDogEyes

* StormingTheCastle

* {{Superhero}} (sort of)

* TurnTheOtherCheek
* {{Tykebomb}}: Anita and Junior.

%%* ChristmasCake: Yomiko and Michelle are 25 years old.

* ArchivedArmy: The I-jin are clones of famous historical figures with fantastical powers based on their contributions.

%%* {{Gainaxing}}

%%* DarkSkinnedBlond: Wendy

* IllGirl: Faye loved books, but went blind and couldn't read them anymore. When she started to make paper planes out of them, Maggie came to her room and started to read books to Faye to remind her of her love for them. [[spoiler:She gets better.]]

* IHaveTheHighGround: For about two seconds in the second episode fight sequence.

* ActionGirl: Yomiko and Nancy

* BadassAdorable: Yomiko

* BadassBookworm: Also Yomiko
* BadassNormal: Drake Anderson
* BeautyBrainsAndBrawn: Yomiko, Nancy and Drake. Also, the Paper Sisters in ''Anime/RODTheTV''.

* BigBad: Ikkyu

* ChristmasCake: Yomiko and Michelle are 25 years old.
* ClothingSwitch

* TheCutie: Yomiko-chan
* DarkSkinnedBlond: Wendy
* DeadpanSnarker: Nancy and Drake
* DeliberateInjuryGambit: Nancy vs. Genjo Sanzo
* DoNotAdjustYourSet
* DramaticWind
* DudeLooksLikeALady: Junior, oh so much.

* EvilTwin
* ExtraordinarilyEmpoweredGirl: Yomiko, Nancy
* {{Fanservice}}: Nancy

* {{Gainaxing}}

* GratuitousEnglish: "Zah...PAAAAAYPAAAAAAHHH!"

* HeelFaceTurn: [[spoiler:Nancy #1]]

* ArchivedArmy: The I-jin.

JustForFun/NotToBeConfusedWith MateOrDie.

Also, as one last note: The [=OVA=]'s first episode, which was produced in the year 2000, shows the World Trade Center in New York City. One scene in the episode is set on the roof of one of the Twin Towers. Anyone who has a [[DistancedFromCurrentEvents sensitive disposition]] to the events of 9/11 may wish to avoid that scene for that reason.

* SpotOfTea: Joker will not start work without it, Gentleman is also seen drinking it.

* PowerTrio: Yomiko, Nancy and Drake. Also, the Paper Sisters in ''Anime/RODTheTV''.

* TunnelOfForeshadowing: The very first scene in the TV series.

''Read or Die'' is a three-episode {{OVA}} set in an alternate late 21st-century Earth with rare and mostly hidden superhumans. The story centres on the adventures of Yomiko Readman, an [[BunnyEarsLawyer eccentric]] yet [[CuteBookworm adorable]] bibliomaniac who is also a part-time substitute teacher and [[BadassBookworm a super-powered agent]] for the British Library's secret intelligence division. Codenamed "The Paper" by the British Library, Yomiko possesses what are best described as [[ElementalRockPaperScissors elemental]] [[PaperMaster paper powers]]--in other words, she can manipulate paper in practically any way imaginable. She also has an insatiable addiction to reading, which she feeds by spending thousands of pounds a week on books. Due to her work and her quirks, Yomiko is an odd combination of giggling innocent schoolgirl-ish woman--she gives off a distinct impression that her mental age and, er, general level of life experience are those of a twelve-year-old--and stone-cold killer.

Also, as one last note: The [=OVA=]'s first episode, which was produced in the year 2000, shows the World Trade Center in New York City. One scene in the episode is set on the roof of one of the Twin Towers. Anyone who has a [[TooSoon sensitive disposition]] to the events of 9/11 may wish to avoid that scene for that reason.

* AGodAmI
* GratuitousEnglish: "Zah...PAAAAAYPAAAAAAHHH!!!"
* GratuitousForeignLanguage: Any language except English gets slaughtered in the English dub!

''Read or Die'' was originally a [[LightNovels book series]], then a manga. The OVA follows some of the characterization introduced in the first manga chapters, but drastically becomes an AlternateContinuity. When the OVA became a popular success, the creators followed it up with a 26-episode TV series titled ''Anime/RODTheTV'' (''ROD TV'' or ''R.O.D. the TV Series'' in the West), which also became a popular success.

* AlternateHistory: Britannia still rules the waves (at least in the OVA) through the efforts of the British Library, but by the time of the TV series it has decayed and fallen even further than its real-life counterpart. In the OVA [[http://readordie.wikia.com/wiki/Joker Joker]] has the authority to give orders to UsefulNotes/TheUnitedStates military and government. In the TV series the UsefulNotes/UnitedKingdom has been expelled from the UsefulNotes/UnitedNations and is forced to infiltrate [[http://readordie.wikia.com/wiki/Dokusensha Dokusensha]] to regain power. Yomiko Readman is amazed to learn this from Joker.

** Maggie got wacko for a short period of time from reading a magic book that brought up suppressed aspects of her personality.

* EasyAmnesia (AvertedTrope): The amnesia comes about through massive head-trauma and prolonged asphyxiation, which realistically leads to brain damage and memory trauma. Her memory loss does seem a bit [[LaserGuidedAmnesia specific]], but at least it comes about in a realistic fashion.

* HeartIsAnAwesomePower: Being able to control paper sounds like the stupidest power of all time... unless you can make it hard as steel and razor sharp.

* IntangibleMan: Nancy has the ability to phase her body through just about anything: walls, doors, machinery...flesh and blood...

* LatexPerfection: According to the manga, it is possible for a PaperMaster to do this with paper. One did it over his entire body, fooling Yomiko into thinking he was her deceased lover and successfully seduced her.

* TheMirrorShowsYourTrueSelf: The Mirror Man, an agent of the British Library, has the ability to appear as someone else, but a mirror reveals his true form.

* ReadingIsCoolAesop: Not really as overt as with most examples. However reading (insane amounts) gets you superpowers!

** The opening credits as a whole are an obvious tribute to the ''Film/JamesBond'' opening sequences, complete with Lalo Schriffin inspired swing-band musical score and SexySilhouette shots. Yomiko even does her own silhouettes -- and she makes them look good.

* TrapIsTheOnlyOption: In OAV, one clear path into the I-Jin fortress suddenly becomes apparent. Joker instructs his team to take that path, stating that while it is obviously a trap, he has a few tricks of his own to play.

* WhoWouldWantToWatchUs: Invoked by Maggie, after a starving little girl they picked up from the streets chugged a bucketful of salt water as fuel and revealed herself as the judge of the world and judged the world to be destroyed [[HumansAreTheRealMonsters due to human punk-assery]].
* YouGetMeCoffee: Well, tea, actually, as Joker asks Wendy at the end of episode 2. She is glad to do so, and despite everyone else being ready to go, Joker does not start the operation until Wendy serves the tea.

''Read or Die'' is a three-episode {{OVA}} set in an alternate late 21st-century Earth with rare and mostly hidden superhumans. The story centres on the adventures of Yomiko Readman, an [[BunnyEarsLawyer eccentric]] yet [[CuteBookworm adorable]] bibliomaniac who is also a part-time substitute teacher and [[BadassBookworm a super-powered agent]] for the British Library's secret intelligence division. Codenamed "The Paper" by the British Library, Yomiko possesses what are best described as [[ElementalRockPaperScissors elemental]] [[PaperMaster paper powers]]--in other words, she can manipulate paper in practically any way imaginable. She also has an insatiable addiction to reading, which she feeds by spending thousands of dollars a week on books. Due to her work and her quirks, Yomiko is an odd combination of giggling innocent schoolgirl-ish woman--she gives off a distinct impression that her mental age and, er, general level of life experience are those of a twelve-year-old--and stone-cold killer.

* AlternateHistory: Britannia still rules the waves (at least in the OVA) through the efforts of the British Library, but by the time of the TV series it has decayed and fallen even further than its real-life counterpart. In the OVA [[http://readordie.wikia.com/wiki/Joker Joker]] has the authority to give orders to UsefulNotes/TheUnitedStates military and government. In the TV series the UnitedKingdom has been expelled from the UsefulNotes/UnitedNations and is forced to infiltrate [[http://readordie.wikia.com/wiki/Dokusensha Dokusensha]] to regain power. Yomiko Readman is amazed to learn this from Joker.

* AlternateHistory: Britannia still rules the waves (at least in the OVA) through the efforts of the British Library, but by the time of the TV series it has decayed and fallen even further than its real-life counterpart. In the OVA [[http://readordie.wikia.com/wiki/Joker Joker]] has the authority to give orders to the UnitedStates military and government. In the TV series the UnitedKingdom has been expelled from the UsefulNotes/UnitedNations and is forced to infiltrate [[http://readordie.wikia.com/wiki/Dokusensha Dokusensha]] to regain power. Yomiko Readman is amazed to learn this from Joker.

* VomitDiscretionShot: In Read or Dream, when the carsick child writer Hisami faccidentally fell on Anita and puked in her face.

* VomitDiscretionShot: In Read or Dream, when the carsick child writer Hisami fell accidentally fell on Anita and puked her in the face.

** Anita [[spoiler:gets hit on the head by a baseball and hallucinates/dreams that she]] dives through a [[PortalPool poodle]] into a world after the setting of "Literature/TheWonderfulWizardOfOz", [[AssKicksYou lands with her ass on the witch, knocking her out]] and then setting out on the quest to liberate Oz ([[spoiler:Maggie is the robot, that seeks a heart for courage, Michelle is the scarecrow, that [[TheDitz wants a brain]] and Chihon is the Monkey King from ''Literature/JourneyToTheWest'' and completely out of place]]).

DoNotConfuseWith MateOrDie.