Anime of Games and Books

I caught the rest of the first season of Log Horizon, and I'm still enjoying it. The ending arc feels a little weak overall, and the growing harem vibe around the main character is a little off-putting, but it's still good. I look forward to seeing the second season, expected in fall sometime, though I have some concerns as the first went through (from what I've read) about 5 of the existing 7 light novel volumes. That implies the anime series will have to start being padded or go off on its own path - neither of which tends to end up as good as it could have been.

I also went back a bit and watched the Read or Die TV series.
I saw the OVAs years ago on... hmmm... Cartoon Network? Maybe even the SciFi Channel. Whatever the case, the OVAs come first and lay out a world of anachronistic British power, cloning, and largely-unexplained super powers. The lead character is a frequently-distracted obsessive reader with... well... "paperkinesis" I guess, in that she can control paper. Bind it, shape it, make it strong and rigid enough to block bullets or shear through steel - it's pretty neat. There's a fun feel to the story and at least one solid action scene in each of the three volumes.
The TV series picks up the story later. It explains more, but is muuuuuch slower-paced. It goes about half the season before even getting Yomiko Readman back in the picture, though the new central characters include a trio of "Paper Master" self-adopted sisters with similar powers. Like the OVAs, some of it's kind of wild and random feeling, in spite of more explanation, but when the story is moving, it's similarly fun. I can appreciate the effort in emphasizing the relationships and characters, but it drags in the slower stretches. And it feels a little disappointing to see some of the changes.

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