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historyhermann · 2 years

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"You are way buff": Re-examining the wrestler-librarian in Totally Spies!

Jerry, the head of WHOOP, calls the librarian "mild-mannered" as he shows a video of the librarian decking a problem patron

Back in May 2021, I wrote about an April 2003 episode of Totally Spies! which begins with a scene in the Liverpool Library. A middle-aged White woman with a hair bun who is confronted by an irate patron who refused to pay fines for his overdue books, and she accepts this, not knowing what else to do. This changes when a pendant wielded by a man in the shadows causes her personality to change, resulting in her grabbing the patron, holding him the air and throwing him onto the ground, shocking the students. She follows this by laughing at his misfortune. As I joked then, "Don't return books late to her! She'll deck you!" Since I'm actually watching the entire series, episode-by-episode, it only seemed right to come to this with a new perspective, considering how much I've written since then.

The episode clearly is setting the expectation that librarians aren't "supposed" to be this strong. Rather they supposed to be "wimps," as the librarian herself remarks, and "mild-mannered" as Jerry, the head of WHOOP, head of the spy agency that Sam, Alex, and Clover work for, put it. Without a doubt, it is wrong for a librarian to assault patrons. Her reaction is understandable, though, as he was being a jerk. This is further reinforced when the spies go to the librarian's apartment house in Liverpool, where she is weightlifting, and later says that in the past all she lived for was books and an afternoon cup of tea, but now there is so much more in her life. She says this as she starts jumping rope, can now bench 150 pounds, and is working on her abs, as the spies leave her be, even as they are puzzled.

While they are there, Clover seems to question that she is even a librarian, asking her, "Are you sure you're a librarian because sister you are way buff?" After they leave the apartment, Clover then tells Alex and Sam, "what a freak show. How often do you meet a wrestling librarian?" Again, being a buff librarian is seen as a negative, something which isn't "normal." Alex makes a bad joke about how it is just as unlikely as being an international spy. Sam looks at a local paper and saws it can't a coincidence that a pro-wrestler retired, so they go to a wrestling gymnasium, finding the wrestler who now likes to read books. It is then, with an idea from Alex, that Sam realizes they have switched personalities. On the one hand, Clover may be perturbed by this "different" librarian while Alex and Sam may find it weird. However, when it comes down to it, I would even venture that Sam, and maybe even Alex, are fine with this librarian being buff, as long as the librarian isn't decking patrons of course.

Later on, doing their typical spy work, Sam, Clover, and Alex go into the Liverpool Library, dressing up in professional clothes so they can get in. For reasons not known, the librarian isn't there, but this allows them to break into a locked drawer, find the date book of the librarian, hoping to find the connection between the wrestler and librarian. They find it is a man named Dr. Gray, a psychotherapist. He has a personality adjuster which he made because he tired of hearing people complain and wants people to walk in each other's shoes if you will, in an extreme form of psychotherapy, but not to deviate from their set societal roles. In my original post I said that the actions of the spies seemed unnecessary as they could have "asked the librarian about it rather than stealing her book" and that this made them "bad spies." When rewatching the episode, it is implied that Sam only opens the locked drawer to look at the date book, not to steal it. So, likely, the book was returned to the drawer and locked up again.

The librarian weight-lifting while the spies look on

By the episode end, there is an open question as to whether those whose personalities have been switched are switched back. This is because the spies don't have time to switch back the personalities of anyone, apart from Jerry and Clover. Did they switch the personalities of the librarian and wrestler? Or did they leave them intact? That is open to viewer interpretation, as WHOOP now possesses the behavioral adjuster and can use it if they want. It means, as I said in the original post, that it is possible that "the buff librarian is still out there." In that post I also argued that this librarian seemed to fulfill the spinster librarian stereotype outlined by Jennifer Snoek-Brown on Reel Librarians, adding that when the librarian becomes buff, she becomes "scary," arguing that when she throws the patron on the ground, it is a show of authority, making others afraid "to cross her." I further asked if she is still hoarding information as a rule-monger, stated that she is not timid or meek anymore, might even possibly be comic relief, but is not flirtatious or sexy. I concluded that post by saying:

I hope that if her personality did change, she becomes more assertive and stands up to people who don't follow library rules in the future. So, I have a mixed view of this buff librarian, although you could argue she busts existing stereotypes I suppose. For sure, her character is definitely different than the shushing librarians or anything else I've seen in any of the reviews on this blog, for sure!

I still believe that, but I'd like to go beyond that analysis. I would argue that by being buff, this librarian is going against usual depictions of librarians, often as those who are strict, elderly, and uptight, as Snoek-Brown explains. She shares some characteristics with the "Liberated librarian" character type, in that she undergoes a change in appearance, becoming more feminine and attractive, but she is still committed to libraries, although in a new way. Due to her age, probably in her 40s or 50s, she is not a spirited young girl. Although she can become violent, she isn't shown to be sexually charged or flirtatious, like the naughty librarian character type, despite letting her "hair down" outside the conversation. She is just a librarian who likes to pump iron. She undoubtedly continues to be an information provider who provides information, highlights importance of rules, or engages in occupational tasks, but is not necessarily comic relief like some other librarians. I still think it is possible she was voiced by Janice Kawaye, an actress of Japanese descent who has voiced characters since 1983.

Although this librarian in Totally Spies! is the only fictional librarian that I am aware of who lifts weights, jumps rope, and does other exercises, there are actual librarians who are also weightlifters! One of these is Katie Montague, who worked Princeton Theological Seminary Library as a Manuscript Metadata and Quality Assurance Assistant and a Librarian for the Monmouth County Public Library System. She is also a weightlifter, saying on now defunct blog where she promoted what is close to her heart, like "reading and lifting, and...some pelvic floor awareness." It was also noted that she lifts weights and enjoys "reading manuscripts in the library." An interview with her in October 2017 claimed that she is "redefining the librarian cliché while simultaneously turning the lifting world upside down." [1] It listed her full name, and low, and behold, she is still working at Princeton Theological Seminary Library, and has been a Manuscripts Metadata and Quality Assessment Assistant there since 2016, and a coach at Long Branch CrossFit according to her LinkedIn page.

More recently, there is Krystal Gagen-Spriggs, a lecturer in Teacher Librarianship and PhD Candidate. She works at Charles Sturt University as Lecturer in Teacher Librarianship, as she noted on her blog, Adventures of the Lifting Librarian. She currently has an Instagram with the username "theliftinglibrarian." Unlike Montague, she lives in Australia, so that makes her experiences in librarianship different from someone who works in the United States. [2] Additional weight-lifting librarians include Fort McMurray Public Library director Carolyn Goolsby, Episcopal High School library director Tiffany Whitehead, a librarian named Megan A. Brooks, otherwise known as Library Grrl, and former librarian (and current fundraiser) Kate Tkacik Sweeney. In 2013, Goolsby was interviewed by a local paper in Fort McMurray, which said she is "far from the soft-spoken, matronly librarians of yore." There's also a Salt Lake City librarian, Josh Hanagarne, who wrote a book, The World’s Strongest Librarian, and founder of a "popular blog" on books and weight lifting." So, I suppose he is a weightlifting librarian too. He is still at the Salt Lake City Public Library and is a professional speaker. [3]

The buff librarian prepares to work on her abs. She looks very fit in this shot. Funny that she still keeps her hair up in a bun, despite it all.

In writing this post, I really got into it and found that there are two wrestlers out there who compete using a librarian gimmick! Oft-cosplayer and streamer, Leva Bates, joined the women's roster of an elite wrestling company as "The Librarian" in 2019, an idea that wrestler Cody Rhodes came up with and proposed to her as an idea, saying she chose the gimmick for fun and that it fits her personality. She competes with Peter Avalon, a Cuban-American wrestler, who debuted in the same wrestling company, with both wrestling each other who is the "librarian," playing off one another. Avalon called it something "silly" and saying that the character needs good writing, seeming to retire from doing the gimmick sometime this year. Its a bit funny even as Bates gimmick is a bit stereotypical in its portrayal, as she uses books as weapons and comically shushes opponents during matches, even though some have grumbled that "nobody" cares about her character and snarled it is "not an interesting gimmick." On the other hand, Bates has used her librarian gimmick to ask people to sign up for library cards at the East Orange Public Library, and has recommended comics in the middle of matches. [4] In addition to this, there is a now-defunct blog by Dante Namibia named Wrestling with Dewey which tries to combine wrestling and a "fledgling career as a school librarian," a fictional character named Benjamin Cole, part of a fictional wrestling company, who was a librarian and is now a wrestler.

As one librarian, Siobhan, put it on Twitter, "every time someone expresses surprise to meet a cat-averse, weightlifting, comic book-reading, NIN-listening librarian, it’s sure sign they have never met an actual librarian. I clearly need to get a tattoo to complete the set." I have to agree with this sentiment and the fact there are weightlifting librarians out there is pretty cool if you ask me. As Jon Michaud wrote in 2013, there is an inaccurate image of a librarian in popular culture, a "petite, humorless woman...dressed in dowdy clothes, spectacles on her face, [and] hair knotted in a bun." A weightlifting librarian, or a wrestler-librarian in the case of this Totally Spies! episode, blows that completely out of the water, without question.

Notes

[1] Kaitlin Monague, "About Me," The Lifting Librarian, c. 2017; "The Weightlifting Librarian – Pelvic Physical Therapy and Lifting Weights," MK strength & conditioning, Jan. 27, 2017; Jennifer McDowell, "The Lifting Librarian: An Interview with Kaitlin Montague," The Lifting Librarian, Oct. 10, 2017.

[2] Krystal Gagen-Spriggs, "Home," Adventures of the Lifting Librarian, accessed Mar. 16, 2022; Krystal Gagen-Spriggs LinkedIn page, accessed Mar. 16, 2022.

[3] "Librarian holds the title of Jeopardy champion and set several world weightlifting records," LISNews, Mar. 4, 2013; Tiffany Whitehead, "Weightlifting is it for me! I subscribe to @bretcontreras program and have stuck with it for over two years now. Monthly program subscription means it doesn't get dull and I'm always learning new things!," Twitter, Oct. 15, 2021; Tiffany Whitehead, "About Me," Mighty Little Librarian, c. 2012; Megan A. Brooks, "As someone who is more into the mushing aspects of your world, it is super easy to scroll past anything that I'm less interested in. (I'm a librarian who tweets about skiing, dogs, libraries, educational technology, weightlifting, politics, and whatever else comes to mind...)," Twitter, Jan. 21, 2019; Megan A. Brooks, "Extra Curriculars," Library Grrl, Nov. 13, 2014; Kate Tkacik Sweeney, "Going Slower to Get Stronger," Medium, May 29, 2020; Amanda Richardson, "Not your average librarian," Fort McMurray Today, Mar. 3, 2013; Josh Hanagarne LinkedIn page, accessed Mar. 16, 2022. Kate Tkacik Sweeney, an advisor to Everylibrary, also says she likes weightlifting.

[4] "Leva Bates: 'The Librarian'," FITE, accessed Mar. 16, 2022; "Peter Avalon: 'The Librarian'," FITE, accessed Mar. 16, 2022; Connor Casey, "Leva Bates Reveals How The Librarian Gimmick Got Her Hired by AEW," ComicBook, Oct. 9, 2019; Marc Middleton, "New AEW Signings Revealed, Who Is The Librarian?," Wrestling Inc., Apr. 22, 2019; East Orange Public Library, "As we round out this year’s National Library Card Sign-Up Month, The East Orange Public Library would like to thank All Elite Wrestling and their resident librarian LEVA BATES for their partnership and support of libraries, education, and literacy!," Facebook, Sept. 27, 2021; "All Elite Wrestling’s ‘Librarian’ LEVA BATES wants you to get your library card for National Library Card Sign-Up Month!," East Orange Public Library, Sept. 27, 2021; Michael Catarevas, "Meet CT's go-to stylist for wrestling and Hollywood royalty," Connecticut Magazine, Mar. 20, 2020; Noah Dominguez, "AEW: Leva Bates Is Recommending Comics - In the Middle of Wrestling Matches," CBR, Jul 23, 2020; Ryan Clark, "Leva Bates Reveals Who Came Up With The Idea To Have Her Become The Librarian," ewrestlingnews, Sept. 5, 2021; Jason Ounpraseuth, "'The Librarian' Leva Bates Talks WWE Never Signing Her During Her Run With The Company," Wrestling Inc., Oct. 22, 2020; Joe Anthony Myrick, "AEW: Why Leva Bates would make the perfect Librarian," Fansided, 2020; Matthew Wilkinson, "9 AEW Wrestlers That Are In Desperate Need Of Repackaging," The Sportster, Jun. 1, 2021; Ryan Clark, "Peter Avalon Reveals Why The Librarian Gimmick Didn’t Work In AEW," ewrestlingnews, Feb. 12, 2022; "New AEW Signings Revealed, Who Is The Librarian?," wrestlingattitude, Apr. 22, 2019; "Four Wrestlers Added to the AEW Roster," TPWW, Apr. 22, 2019; "Wrestling Doesn't Pay," TV Tropes, accessed Mar. 16, 2022; Altamush Nayyer Khan, "Peter Avalon Speaks About The Librarian Character," Wrestling World, Jul. 24, 2021; Gisberto Guzzo & Jeremy Lambert, "Peter Avalon On Why The Librarian Failed: "I Think It's Because The Character Needs Writing"," Fightful, Feb. 12, 2022. There's also Joseph Paul Paynter, who called himself "The Liberal Librarian" and is reportedly a librarian turned wrestler, who is now retired. I thought this passage from a New York Times Magazine article in 2014 was funny: "He passed a librarian from Jackson, Miss., wearing a Batman T-shirt with ab muscles painted on it. The librarian’s arms and face quivered from the effort of trying to perform Page’s slow-count push-ups."

Reprinted from Pop Culture Library Review and Wayback Machine

#totally spies #buff librarians #women librarians #female librarians #problem patrons

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historyhermann · 2 years

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Read or...die?: Paper masters, embers of the British empire, and books galore [Part 1]

Anita, Nenene, and Maggie in the first episode of the 26-episode anime in a room filled with books.

On August 29, Amy recommended (in an account which is now locked) I watch "Read or Die," otherwise known as R.O.D, which they called a beloved anime series. Earlier this month, I tweeted about how the 2001 OVA is interesting because one of the protagonists, Agent Paper, is a book nerd (bibliophile to be exact) who is "often too distracted from the task at hand by reading books," and that libraries are bursting out of this anime. She has the power to manipulate paper, perhaps a bit like Paper Star in the Carmen Sandiego series.

Before I get further, let me summarize the plot of the OVA. Basically, this anime takes place in a world where the British Empire is a major superpower, with an intelligence agency known as the "British Library" within the actual British Library, ensuring the empire is maintained. It has a special ops division, the MI6, with the OVA following the story of "The Paper," otherwise known as Yomiko Readman, who is an agent of the library and is part of a team working to track down rare books, keeping them from the hands of evildoers. She lives in an apartment which is filled to the brim with books, so many that she is almost sleeping on them, and is acquiring more all the time. After she is attacked by someone who tries to take her book, Yomiko teams up with a former U.S. soldier, Drake Anderson, and an agent named Nancy Makuhari, the latter who Yomiko falls for, with both expressing feelings for each other. [1] Nancy has the power to phase through objects but cannot control paper like Yomiko. Yomiko reports to the Library's head, Joe Carpenter ("Mr. Joker") while Wendy Earhart is Joker's assistant and secretary, caring for Yomiko's well-being. This Joker is nothing like the Joker in the Batman series, although he ends up becoming a villain. Anyway, the OVA, which was given bad marks by reviewers for Anime News Network as having an awful storyline, but positively by Robert Nelson and Dallas Marshall of T.H.E.M. Anime Reviews, ends in a huge battle. It results in the injury of Nancy as the villainous plan to broadcast the Beethoven symphony across the world by using a rocket, while Yomiko gets away with a parachute made of paper. Later, she visits Nancy, who has suffered memory loss and is living in a house with people who have a similar condition, talking about how nice her "sister" was, as a way of talking about her.

The 26-episode sequel series, known as R.O.D the TV, meant to be a catch-all term to refer to characters from the Read or Die OVA, manga, and light novels, and those from the Read or Dream manga, begins very differently than the OVA. This series happens five years after the OVA and has stronger character development, even though some criticize it for its "hokey plot and premise." I would like to be mention Jennifer Snoek-Brown’s post about library call numbers in the film, noting that these numbers often serve as clues, props, and plot points. I am noting this because, in many of the scenes that libraries are shown, there are also library call numbers as well.

Nenene Sumiregawa is a depressed Japanese writer, with writers' block, who has come to Hong Kong to promote her book, later lives with two sisters (the "Paper Sisters"), Michelle Cheung and Maggie Mui, who are bibliophiles, and their little sister, Anita King, in Japan. None of them are blood-related. Nenene reveals she has a friend who was "important to her" which gave her helpful reviews on her writing, and the three sisters save Nenene from two assailants. The next few episodes are about the growing friendship between Nenene and the Paper Sisters, as the latter are freeloaders who live at Nenene's apartment. In the third episode, "Let's Meet in Jinbocho," we see a bookstore and Yomiko's apartment which has become her bookshelf. We also hear the future villain mentioned, Mr. Carpenter. In the fourth episode, titled "The Seventh Grade Course," Anita joins a book club at the local junior high school that is located in a library, with Hisami Hishishii as the only other member. That library, the first shown in the series, is shown below:

Following this, Anita barely escapes an assailant while holding a book in the library. She is saved by her sister, Michelle, barely. The assailant gets away and does not retrieve the book. This is the beginning of the three sisters, and others, handing out "some wicked papercuts with their paper master skills" as one critic puts it, which is a hilarious way to describe it. This is interesting because Anita hates books but while exhibiting symptoms of a "deeper problem," while she, like the other sisters, have varied powers as papermasters. And yeah there is the "wastage of good paper," as one person put it, but it's for a good cause! That leads to the next episode, "They Shout," where the Paper Sisters get a mission to recover one of the books which were smuggled out of the British Library during a fire four years earlier and are in a Romanian castle. They come across a professor who can manipulate sound, making the abilities of the Paper Sister moot. They figure out how to defeat him, creating a huge silencer, allowing Anita to throw a book at the professor's head, knocking him out. Unfortunately, the professor sends out such a strong soundwave that it deafens Maggie and causes Michelle (and Anita) to fall down. While Michelle recovers, as does Anita, Maggie has lost her hearing, although she still is able to stop a bullet from hitting Anita. They all return to Nenene's apartment and sleep in the living room together. By the next episode, "The Right Stuff", the library is under attack again, with books strewn across the floor:

Later, Junior returns from her mission empty-handed, unable to find the book…

Then, we have another scene in the library where Anita meets Junior, who is an agent for the British Empire, trying to retrieve a book, although Anita does not know this at the time. As they talk, we find out why Anita doesn't like books: they remind her of painful memories, like the burning of books and a shadowy figure standing nearby. At the same time, Nenene (and the audience) learns that the Paper Sisters are not sisters by blood but that they adopted each other, becoming a family unit. Hisami tries to sympathize, saying no one will be coming for her either. She tries the best she can to convince Anita to read a book for school.

The episode ends with her reading a report she wrote about Midnight Liberation Zone, one of Nenene's books. The next episode, "In A Grove," named after a January 1922 short story by Ryūnosuke Akutagawa which Akira Kurosawa used as a basis for his 1950 film, Rashōmon, features the Paper Sisters going on a mission to find a book. Everything goes horribly wrong as one of them is arrested, another is stuck in a coffin, and one more is almost killed by a person posing as one of the sisters. The episode ends with an unidentified person putting a book in what looks to be an archives.

The next episode, episode 8, "Seduced by the Night," features Anita and other students trying to find a "poltergeist" in the library and Nenene traveling to bookstores presumably looking for her book. We also learn about the illegal human experiments by the British government (the villains in this story), on people to get them to "learn" more words. Anita and the other students end up having a "food break" in the library, ha.

Of course, Junior and Anita connect more, with people thinking that Junior is Anita's boyfriend (he isn't). Then, Junior later finds the book but reports to his superiors that he "can't find it," likely looking for an excuse to stay around Anita, which would be my guess. The next episode, "Heart of Darkness," involves the Paper Sisters going on a mission to recover another one of the books taken from the British Library. They are not successful and are more skeptical than ever of the people they work for. In the episode that follows, "A Christmas Carol," we learn how Maggie, Michelle, and Anita met. Part of that includes going into a dimly-lit basement library in a house they broke into, and discovering a bunch of books made to look old but are actually newer, with Maggie and Michelle thinking they have been set up. Then, they meet Anita, who begs to join them, but they reject her pleas, with all of them going their separate ways. The following day, Michelle proposes that all three of them become sisters, which Anita tearfully accepts and Maggie accepts silently, becoming M.A.M. (Michelle, Anita, and Maggie). The episode after that, "Goodbye Japan," features Anita at the school library with Hisa. Anita later gives up a book she had been hiding, with the villains, like Mr. Carpenter, saying that all the pieces are falling into place. There are a couple more scenes in a library later in the episode as well. Anita is given a going-away party, and tearfully embraces Hisa, who says she loves Anita, as they both hug each other. They get to Hong Kong and Nenene gets straight-up kidnapped by her editor, Linho, to write the best story that's ever been told, apparently.

In the next episode, "Twilight of the Papers, Part I," Nenene is subjected to a mind control/hypnotism experiment after she is kidnapped. The Paper Sisters plan her rescue, while Nenene challenges Linho, who is working for Dokusensha, asking if he has been lying to her the whole time, wanting to get her to write for four years so they can conduct some experiment on her. The Paper Sisters break-in and easily move for the facility in their attempt to save Nenene, with Wong stopping them in their tracks. This continues in the next episode, "Twilight of the Papers, Part II," where they work together to help Nenene and get her out of the building. Linho dies in the sinking of the building, as does Wong, while much of Hong Kong Island sinks as a result of the explosion. They all get out alive, and we hear the voice of Yumiko leaving a message on the answering machine of Nenene's apartment in Tokyo. It seems the show is really heating up at this point.

Wendy Earhart, part of the British Library, is trying to resurrect all the information from the Dokusensha building which collapsed at the beginning of the following episode, "Forest of Paper Leaves (or "Paper Leaf Wood")." We also find out that Junior is living with her at her lush apartment, presumably in Tokyo. We also learn that the British worked to find a cure for "Mr. Gentleman," but then realized they had to transfer his memories and knowledge to another body, so they began human experimentation, and collecting genetic samples from historic figures, with some samples successfully "cultivated." During this explanation, we see a library, presumably a branch of the British Library, at one point. Thus begins a sort of clip episode.

The story goes that the resurrection of Mr. Gentleman was put on hold when the place holding the genetic samples was attacked by an unknown force (the superpowered samurai, Gennai Hiraga, in the OVA), destroying half of the samples. Then, in 2001, the events of the OVA occurred, with a fight with the I-Jin. While they "resolved" the incident, they wondered who had been behind the attacks and why, although they suspected that Dokusensha was behind it all. The latter was described originally as serving the Chinese emperors but then tasked with guarding the imperial libraries through many dynasties, studying literature on various topics. They disappeared, then reappeared in 1994, becoming more powerful after Hong Kong was given back to China, with their goal reportedly to "control the world and destroy the British Empire." After that, they began experimentation on people, with an operation titled "sleeping books" to transfer his knowledge to seven people. This plan was put on hold when the British Library was attacked by an unknown person, with the British later withdrawing from the EU and were expelled from the UN. After they worked with Dokusensha to continue their plan. Wendy goes on to talk about the papermasters, saying that Yomiko disappeared after the British Library was set on fire, and noting some archival footage of her abilities. We also get a profile of the three Paper Sisters which the British are trying to get information on and their missions for Dokusensha:

Wendy continues writing her report, concluding that the collapse of the Dokusensha facility gave them an advantage, then transitioning to Joker's speech before members of the British Empire, which is well-received. Joker then tells Wendy they need to look for Yomiko...

In the next episode, "In the Gray Light of the Abyss," the Paper Sisters and Nenene return to Tokyo but are on the run again, accused of helping in the bombing in Hong Kong. All of them work together to find Yomiko, who is in the place where you would find the most books in Japan: the National Diet Library. According to its official website, the library's main building alone has the capacity to hold 4.5 million volumes of materials, while the annex has the capacity to hold 7.5 million volumes. The library was established in 1947 with the National Diet Library Law and opened to the public the following year. It is a bit like the Library of Congress in that it supports the Japanese parliament, known as the Diet, which is its primary role, but it also acquires information and materials to be preserved in a long-term manner, and to provide "easy access to information resources." In the episode, the library director says they have "everything that has ever been published in Japan." Yomiko is said to read her way through the stacks all day. The director basically gives them a bit of a tour of the library, which is pretty cool, to be honest, and something I haven't seen in animation, showing the inner workings of the library. In the episode itself, National Diet Library appears for a total of about 11 and a half minutes, which is about half of the episode! The animators likely worked with/went to the library to put together these animations, which look pretty close to how the library functioned and what was in the stacks.

Some snapshots of the National Diet Library in the episode

Nenene hugs Yomiko tightly and bawls her eyes out, happy to see her once again. Yomiko then takes them to a place she is living... in the stacks itself. She and Nenene talk more, while the Paper Sisters explain what happened. Yomiko expresses doubts about coming with them, then Joker appears, telling her that she should return to the British Library and be Agent Paper once again.

The next episode, "Fahrenheit 451," which has a slightly changed opening, including Nancy reading a book in a library, and a book falling off Yomiko's head, ha, begins with a bang. Mr. Joker is impressed by her "hiding place," and when he tries to convince Yomiko to return to England, and cooperate, she refuses, saying, "Mr. Joker, you are an evil man." What follows is an eight-minute scene in the library, with the Joker claiming he bought the entire library, a fight between his goons and them. Their time in the library itself ends with them flying out of the library on a paper bird, which is so cool:

After they escape, Joker, still in the library, surrounded by slips of paper, reports that the containment mission has failed, and gives orders for a new mission. Wendy tells all those listening to take new orders and begin the mission "Fahrenheit 451." The British Library agents begin collecting all the books from the bookstores and the Jimbocho region. Little do they know, but the Paper Sisters, Nenene, Nancy, and Yomiko decide to return there, so she can say goodbye to bookstore owners and pick up some personal items. She does get back to her apartment, Junior tries to take the specific book the British Library needs. She fails, stopped by Nancy, to her chagrin. They then find out about the awful plans of the British Library to steal all the books in the area, putting them in a huge pile. The citizenry is alarmed and the books burn in a huge fire. These villains are some of the worst! Awful to burn all those good books! Yomiko tells them to stop and put out the fire, asking them how they could do such an evil thing, with Wendy telling it is a "bit like last time," referring to the previous fire at the British Library. Anita has a flashback to the burning of books which traumatized her earlier in her life, and Wendy declares that Yomiko will "pay for" what she did.

Well, that was one depressing episode. In the episode that follows, "Sweet Home," the fire continues, with Yomiko pleading for her to put out the fire. Wendy says they are doing this because "it's necessary." She is shocked that Wendy is staying with them willingly when it is clear she has changed. She continues to plead for this to stop, but what she says falls on deaf ears. Thanks to her old US army pal, Drake, they are able to escape, with a smokescreen enabling them to slip away undetected. The local booksellers also let them borrow their vehicle as well. More of the world falls under the control of the British Library/British Empire and martial law is said to be coming in Tokyo itself, as they set up shop in bookstores across the world, attempting to gain control of knowledge and ideas, rather than a simple military occupation. Joker says that bookstores and libraries are the "fundamental fabric of a nation's collective wisdom," with control of these the "first step" toward constructing a "new world," that people like Joker want. When they get to the house of Yomiko's parents, where no one has lived for years, she turns on the generator, with the paper sisters, Nenene and others impressed by the number of books she has, with books everywhere, which annoys Anita, of course. Later, as Drake sets up traps, Anita comes outside the house and talks with him, with her trauma coming back to the forefront, and she pleads with him if he knows anything about the fire at the British Library. Drake then describes Yomiko as a fool, saying that no matter how much evil someone has inside of them, she tries to reach out to them, but is unsuccessful.

In the episode that follows, "Confession," Junior becomes temporarily allied with the heroes after he finds out that Nancy is his mother. While Michelle is accepting of him, Anita is still skeptical, as is Maggie. Nancy is still comforting Yomiko, who is in a deep funk. Anita explains to Nenene what they are running from, reminds her that they are still fugitives. Drake wakes up from his nap and is still skeptical of Junior, although he comes around, like everyone else. Yomiko reveals the truth to them all, which the audience partially knows, the origin of Junior, and how the British Library agents kidnapped him. Junior is so distraught that he phases into the book and they see the British Library Special Operations Center, for a scene that lasts for about four minutes.

Notes

[1] As Theron Martin writes, this OVA has "a little bit of character development in the way it tries to shape the relationship between Yomiko and Nancy...[but] there is not much room to delve into things deeply."

Reprinted from Pop Culture Library Review and Wayback Machine

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