What is important? The sweet robot-on-robot action of course! The scenes in between the fights often consist of low-framerate animation or static images, but when the girls get into their hardsuits (created by influential '80s character designer Kenichi Sonoda*), the metal shines, the lasers fly, and the AD Police helicopters start exploding.

What I keep trying to figure out is why I love this show so damn much, even though it's just so damn bad. Even in the later episodes, when the animation takes a significant turn for the better, the episodic plots retain their maddening predictability. One of the Knight Sabers meets and befriends another woman who happens to be tied into some sort of evil Genom plot. Then someone hires them for a job and their new friend is brought into the fray. Rinse and repeat.

There's something special about Bubblegum Crisis, though. If nothing else, the Knight Sabers themselves are memorable, with Priss the hotheaded motorcyclist and indie rock musician, Sylia the lingerie shop owner and leader of the Sabers, Linna the boy-obsessed gymnast, and Nene the incompetent AD Police officer and hacker. Their expressive, distinctive character designs by Kenichi Sonoda (Gunsmith Cats, Riding Bean) bring the four to life, and their clashing personalities make for some genuinely funny moments of conflict between the girls. And then there are the robot fights. Nearly every one is filled with classic action-movie "Oh Snap!" moments, as robots (and people) are ground under motorcycle wheels, blasted with machine gun fire, and punched with EXPLODING PUNCHES. Priss even uses a rocket-powered kick in episode 6!

Of course, since each episode is its own self-contained story, directed, animated, and written by a partially new staff every time, the show frequently see-saws in terms of quality. Nevertheless, the two episodes that really stood out to me are episodes 6 ("Red Eyes") and 8 ("Scoop Chase"). The former, directed by Masami Ōbari (Gravion), features a sexoroid, a guy with control over an orbital laser, and the previously mentioned rocket-kick. The latter, directed by Hiroaki Gohda (Ah! My Goddess), is what I like to call "Nene's Aquaman episode," since it's clearly tailor-made to create a situation where Nene can contribute in a meaningful way to the Knight Sabers for once. Despite clearly being made for her, the episode still fleshes out her personality in a way that no other episode does, making Nene (to my great surprise) the most well-developed character in the show!

As far as I'm concerned, this is a show that, for all rights and purposes, nobody should like. It is simple-minded, trashy late-'80s pulp entertainment, created as a way to cash in on the cyberpunk boom that directly followed Blade Runner, but somehow, some way, I was — completely un-ironically — entertained by it.

So we're back to the big question: why do I love Bubblegum Crisis so much? After putting quite a lot of thought into it, I realized that the answer is really quite simple: It's fun. No symbolism, no emotion, no deeper meaning. Just good old-fashioned robot-smashing fun.

[Recommended]

* According to the information I have available to me, Kenichi Sonoda seems to be responsible for the initial hardsuit designs, despite not having a "Mecha Design" credit for the series. (Thanks, Daryl Surat!)

Who would have thought that Paper could make a cool power? We've seen spiderpowers, invincibility, super-strength, but never the ability to control paper. Luckily, Read or Die, based on the manga of the same name, makes this power work, which makes up for other errors in the plot.

Yomiko is the driving character of this series, in both her sincerity and likability and her awesome power. She is completely trusting of her teammates, and seems a little weak sometimes. However, when her friends (or her books) are in trouble, "The Paper" jumps into action.

And some action it is! Yomiko's power is so cool that one can enjoy the entire show simply on its merit. She carries around a large suitcase full of sheets of paper. When she allows these to fly out, Yomiko can send them flying at enemies, sharpen them, and change their shape. Throughout the series, she finds very unique ways to use this power, which is one of R.O.D.'s best features. Sadly, Yomiko falls into the problematic rut of moe, oftentimes acting unrealistically cute and clumsy.

As for the other characters, they are undoubtedly cool, but lack a lot of depth. Miss Deep's powers, though unoriginal, look amazing and are used for some awesome fight scenes. Drake and "Joker", the investigator and commander of the team, who stays at the British Library Base, are interesting and likeable.

With such a focus on action scenes and this fascination with very cool characters, its a good thing R.O.D. has good animation. As an OVA, it has high-quality animation. Everything moves smoothly, and the action scenes are incredibly kinetic and action-packed. Character designs are usually very bright and distinguishable, and the backgrounds fit in nicely with the show's bright, lively tone. The final episode has some of the coolest, best animated work in the entire OVA, showing off some very original and fun fight scenes.

The voice acting is pretty good, with some of the most natural performances given to Drake, Joker, and Miss Deep. Yomiko's voice is high and unnatural, furthering her moe categorization.

As soon as the opening begins, Read or Die makes it clear that it intends to have some really interesting music. Combining motifs from Cowboy Bebop and James Bond, the opening shows us people shooting, sillouettes of women, and plays an energetic Jazz peice that will remind viewers unstoppably of Yoko Kanno's classic Bebop opening, Tank.

Of course, Read or Die has its faults. Namely, the plot is contrived and often is full of plot holes and unanswered questions. Even so, this is perfect popcorn entertainment. With only 3 episodes in this OVA, each with some very sharp animation and amazing fight scenes, this DVD is perfect as some mindless entertainment on a rainy day with some friends. Read or Die hands us a paper-thin plot, where the superficial action written onto the paper is much more important and interesting than the paper itself.

Animation:		3.5		Average: (3.0 stars)
Plot:		2.0
Voice Acting:		NR
Sound:		3.5
Overall:		3.0