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Reviewed by Javier Lugo I got a nice package of books to review today. Wow, a lot of stuff that I really like! Naruto v14, some new book called Dragon Drive and a four volume series called “ROD - We are Paper Sisters Detective Company” with 3 girls on the cover. Well, I thought that I should leave that one for last. What kind of story can be written about 3 detective sisters? Three weeks later I found my answer: a lot of different types of stories! I was very hesitant to even get started on reading the first volume of Read or Dream, but once I did, I read one volume each night. The stories were hilarious, funny, heartwarming, haunting and sometimes unexpectedly enjoyable. Which is, of course, the whole reason of creating a great work of art. The creators wasted no time in setting up the main traits of the three sisters in the first story, and as I read through all four volumes, they never strayed from their character in the 31 chapters that followed. Anita is the rude tomboy with no patience for fools; Maggie is the middle sister who is easy to overlook, because she is often confused for a boy because of the way she dresses, and Maggie is the older sister, with her head in the clouds and her nose deep into reading a book at all times. What unites these sisters is an uncanny ability to manipulate paper. They can make statues, paper planes, utensils, maids, clothing, mythical animals, weapons and other things out of pages from books, newspapers or any other paper items. Living in an apartment filled with bookshelves stacked to the max with books and with two of the sisters addicted to buying and reading books (Anita hates reading), the sisters struggle to make ends meet. Living off a tight budget of books, cabbage and sweetened water, they embark on many adventures helping those who love books. These adventures range from a haunted house, a stolen book, a writer with a severe case of writer’s block, an author with no intention of ever writing again, a book thief, a kidnapping and many others. The final volume explains how the 3 of them became the Paper Sisters Detective Company and hints at the origin of each sister and show the potential that the series could have explored had the series continued. As it is, then series ends appropriately and in a satisfying way. Hard to believe that I never thought I would be interested in a series about 3 sisters, huh? That goes to show me to not underestimate the quality stories being translated from overseas. One never knows when one has found a gem in the rough until you polish off the dirt and see the diamond inside. Well, now you do. This series is a real gem. BTW, I just found out that this is the second series of *R.O.D*. Guess I’ll have to look up the first series at my next convention! Comment on this review of *R.O.D* Read or Dream v1-4 on the Manga Life Forums. |
6 October 2009
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