R.O.D -The TV- Box Set (Limited Edition) - Region 1 DVD

Hideyuki Karata's muddled screenplay defeats director Koji Masunari's attempts to present a coherent story visually. Episode 14 is basically one long, static Morris-the-Explainer scene, in which a character outlines the weird backstory. There's so much plot to get through and it takes so many weird turns, the characters remain underdeveloped, a problem their tendency to withdraw into brooding silences exacerbates. The heroines' ability to meld paper into weapons, vehicles, and animal-like automatons offers some imaginative visuals, but they get lost in a welter of more ordinary CG effects. R.O.D. has its fans, but it's a series that requires considerable patience and determination to get through. (Rated 13 and older: violence, violence against women, toilet humor, nudity, ethnic stereotypes, alcohol and tobacco use) --Charles Solomon