| Title: | Read or Die - TV |
| Episode: | 26: From There On |
| Synopsis | |
| Having infiltrated the British Library's command center, Yomiko is holding a paper knife to Joker's throat. Nevertheless, Wendy orders that the "Gentlemen Reissue" procede as normal. "We've given everything for the past five years for this day" Joker says. "Don't underestimate us". Yomiko finally backs down, and is taken prisoner. Meanwhile, Nenene has been freed by the three sisters. Over the intercom Joker announces that he has Yomiko, and gives Nenene ten minutes to surrender "if you value her life". Nenene tells the sisters she must comply--"It's my turn to go help her" she says. Michelle, Maggie and Anita insist on accompanying her, since they are her bodyguards, after all. Drake hears the announcement as well, predicts what the girls will do, and tells Nancy that they are the only ones who can take action now. As Yomiko watches, Joker offers Wendy the honor of initiating the reissue process. "A new Gentlemen will be born in a few minutes" he says as a gigantic antenna array extends around the Library. "If you only have a will that's as thin as paper, stay out of our way!". Nenene accuses Joker of merely trying to create a new world order that is "convenient" for himself. "Once Mr. Gentlemen has returned and declared the new era" Wendy replies, "our brains will also be formatted, the same as yours... we can bet our memories on him". The sisters are horrified--"We know how sad it is, how painful it is, when someone tells you your memories are fake" Michelle answers. "And I will never again let my sisters feel sorrow"... | |
| Comments | |
| Hmm... A touching lead-in to the climactic scene, with the sisters reflecting on their own experiences, and thereby giving the viewer an idea of just how dangerous and insidious the "formatting" of the mind of every human being would be. On the other hand, the action scene itself was a bit disappointing. There are so many "good guys" (actually good girls for the most part) that I was expecting this to break up into a number of mini-fights, with each character playing a significant part in winning the battle. But that didn't happen, perhaps because the "villains" aren't all that bad, and there weren't enough of them (Wendy and Joker aren't exactly deadly opponents in hand-to-hand combat). I don't want to give too much away, but the main opponent was a little hard to take seriously (i.e., "what the f--- is that, and where did it come from?"). There are a number of pleasing post climax bits, showing that all is fine and dandy, but I'm left scratching my head on a number of points. What happened to Gentlemen (and what was he to begin with)? What happened to Joker, and did he snap out of it later on? Oh well, the characters in this series are so likeable that you want to get as much of them as you can, even if the overriding plot doesn't seem to make all that much sense. Perhaps I shouldn't be writing this episode review when I've only watched it once... Forbin Yes you need to see it more than once. That last part was so full on information. Watch 25 and 26 again. Keep an eye on the absolute End of the Anime when it shows Hong Kong. They show something there that didn't really register at first or 2nd or even third to me. But it's very important to the sisters. | |
