Ranked #1891

3x3 Eyes

3x3 Eyes is known as one of the pioneering supernatural series out there, having a long and influential legacy in manga. With dozens of volumes published until 2002, it isn't surprising that anime adaptations would be the next necessary step. However... as we know, 3x3 Eyes the OAV aired in 1991, long before the series' conclusion. So if you're looking for a solid ending from this anime with a definite conclusion, I immediately ward you away. The anime only covers the first couple of volumes.

Now that the history of this series is out of the way, I go into the review.

3x3 Eyes has a definitely unique storyline. A young man is taken away from his day-to-day life and is thrown into conflict with evil forces while protecting a mysterious girl with supernatural abilities. Okay, okay. You're going to think 'Pfft, like who hasn't seen that before!' Admittedly, this story has been told countless of times, but 3x3 Eyes was one of the first to use it, and use it very well. The story pretty much catches you right from the get-go: our hero dies, becomes immortal and is on a quest with a schizophrenic to protect her. If she dies, he dies. He doesn't really have a choice when he is thrown into the fray. It is a lot more interesting than I'm making it sound, and it does have some reference to Hindu deities, making it a pretty culturally flavoured story as well.

The art and animation has stood its own against time, mostly. The animation is pretty good still, and some of the action scenes really did blow me away still. This is a very, very violent anime with a lot of bloodiness and gore, and these were all animated well. The art has its own style as while. Everyone had a mostly gentle, soft look, which is pretty ironic seeing as how this is one of the most violent anime I have seen come out of the 90s.

The sound is a little old-school. So if you're not into synths and early 90s action scores, then you may be a little disappointed by the sound.

Now the cast was pretty cool. We have our hero Yakumo who reminds me a little of the Energiser Bunny (the guy just keeps going and going and going). I suspect he doesn't have much of a choice since his immortality pretty much makes him invincible. And it's pretty good of character if he can get you to sympathise with him when he's hurt (and do trust me--he will be hurt a lot) even though he can't die. He's a generally good guy and a strong-willed person. You don't get his type of hero these days as the anti-hero seems to be the popular way to go now.

Pai is our heroine, and she is definitely the show stealer. Her schizophrenia leaves her with two personalities: one, a dangerous persona who is cold and merciless but just, and the other, innocent, naive and pure-hearted. The other characters an assortment of supporting characters who are all very entertaining or interesting. I can't say that there was one in the bunch who disappointed. Even with the bad guys.

Did I enjoy this? You bet I did. The OAV doesn't cover the entire plot, but what it does give us is a wonderful taste of what 3x3 Eyes is: an interesting supernatural series with a strong cast of characters. If you don't want to go into a series without a conclusion, then this may not be for you. It also may not suit your tastes if you don't like violence. I will reiterate that this isn't for a meeker audience.

I can say my only two disappointments were the short run time and the fact that Pai did not have nine eyes as the title would suggest. read more

Thanks to the fast forward button I skipped parts that tried to show the characters' emotions like gritting their teeth in anger, opening their eyes when something more dramatic occurs etc etc. It is just a badly drawn anime. If you can put up with the drawing then you can enjoy the plot development. I, however, couldn't bear it. Also note the second installment, Seima Dansetsu has improve its Art dramatically.