Read or Dream is a manga written by Hideyuki Kurata and drawn by Ran Ayanaga. It was published in Japan in four trade paperback volumes by Shueisha in 2002. The full title is
R.O.D - Read or Dream - We are Paper Sisters Detective Company.
The "Paper Sisters Detective Company" consists of three young women who live in Hong Kong: Anita King, Michelle Cheung and Maggie Mui (they are not blood relations, but treat each other like sisters). Maggie, Michelle, and Anita are papermasters, meaning they can telekinetically manipulate paper to do anything they want, such as creating bulletproof shields and razor sharp swords. Their detective agency, which specializes in finding lost books (though they are often asked to find missing pet and do bodyguard duty as well), serves as the source of most of their adventures.
Read or Dream is written in a largely episodic format; each trade paperback volume contains approximately 9 chapters which are often separate adventures. However, the manga contains several recurring characters and does have a few overarching storylines. In addition to the main comic, each paperback features a "Yomi-Oh!" or "Reader King" commentary by the author and other contributors, and a "bonus story" called "Cleaning Up Demons with Anita the Cleaner."
Some consider
Read or Dream to be a sequel to the
Read or Die manga, which is about another papermaster, Yomiko Readman. Both series are written by the same author. However, while this series has some similarities to
Read or Die, they introduce an entirely new cast, and there is a greater focus on character and domestic life with less action. The two series are set in the same continuity, however, as there are appearances by
Read or Die's Yomiko Readman and the corporation Dokusensha.
The anime
R.O.D the TV brings together for the first time the characters from both
Read or Die and
Read or Dream. The story of the anime begins in the Hong Kong, introducing Anita King, Michelle Cheung, and Maggie Mui to one of
Read or Die's main characters, author Nenene Sumiregawa (more characters from both manga and the Read or Die OVA eventually appear).
Read or Dream's comedic elements, episodic nature, and focus on the relationships between the three sisters are integrated into
R.O.D the TV, particularly in the earlier part of the series (while the later, darker, more action-oriented episodes pull more from the ambience of the
Read or Die manga). The "R.O.D" in the title of the TV series refers to the initials in the titles of both manga .
Note that although
R.O.D the TV uses the main characters from
Read or Dream, the two series exist in different canons; particularly, the sisters' back histories, especially Anita's, are changed, and the characters meet Hisami Hishishii in a very different way.
Source:
Wikipedia 
