3x3 Eyes

As of writing this review, I've yet to see the other OVA in this series so it may be updated. What you need to know is that this is a great story for any fan of paranormal thriller series, and that despite it's age both the graphics and audio hold up very well, but that's about where it falls off.

A great story with likable characters and a great sense of actual character development despite the shows length, but that's the issue. From what I understand, this was a fairly large manga and the story should ... not have been adapted into so few episodes. It's so rushed it doesn't really hook the viewer and watching it felt forced at parts, but it's definitely worth it at the end.

When I heard about this I really wanted to give it a higher rating, and I feel that my bias towards the genre and older anime in general might be half of why I'm giving it a 7 so take my rating with a grain of salt.

Overview:

3x3 Eyes is a series most older anime fans have heard of, but relatively few have actually seen. The manga is a 40 volume epic that ran from 1987 to 2002. In the United States, Dark Horse adapted the first few volumes of the manga thanks to some generous financing by rock musician Rob Zombie. Thanks Rob! Unfortunately, nobody bought it and Dark Horse soon cancelled. Basically, this was never a very popular franchise in America despite the best efforts of a certain Hellbilly. On the other hand, 3x3 Eyes was a huge hit in Japan and I guarantee you've all seen tropes that this ... series started.


Adaptation issues:

I mentioned the manga was 40 volumes, but guess how long the anime is? Just 7 episodes! The first OVA is 4 episodes and the second is 3 episodes! Both OVA series were made long before the manga finished, so the anime just kind of ends with no real conclusion. It also has a VERY rushed feeling. It doesn't have any time to really build up its characters or explain the little details. In the first episode, the demon girl Pai runs into a drag bar and meets our main character. He claims he's not a transvestite and only does this for money, but nothing further is explained. How the HELL did he stumble upon this job of all things? Why is he so desperate for money? The manga has time to explain stuff like this, but the anime just wants to cover as much plot as it possibly can. You'll have a million questions and the answer is always "Go read the manga".


Plot and characters

Deep in the mountains of Tibet, there was once a powerful race of demons. These demons were immortal and immortality tends to lead to eventual insanity and endless suffering. So, the demons created a magical statue that turned them human and gave them the gift of mortality. Unfortunately, one of the demons wasn't present for the ceremony and has spent 100 years searching for the statue and trying to become human. This last member of the 3 eyed, Tibetan demons is a girl named Pai. A Japanese archeologist discovers Pai and promises to help her, but soon contracts a fatal illness. On his death bed, he sends Pai to find his son Yakumo in Tokyo, so that Yakumo can carry out the promise in his stead. Too bad for Pai, other species of demons desire her powers and pursue her relentlessly. One of these demons quickly kills Yakumo, but Pai absorbs his soul and saves his life by making him an immortal undead. Now he's bound to Pai as her immortal servant and together they need to search for the statue, which could potentially turn both Pai and Yakumo back into mortals.

While only 9,000 people on MAL have seen 3x3, around 250,000 have seen "Is This a Zombie". That series was basically created as a spoof of this one. A magical girl turns a hapless guy into her immortal undead servant. Remember Highschool DxD? That was ALSO created as a complete ripoff/spoof of 3x3. Familiar of Zero? Also wouldn't exist without 3x3.

However, 3x3 wasn't just a huge influence on a sub-genre of echii. Pai's immortality caused her to lose her sanity and develop an extra personality she talks to. Whenever Pai is in danger, she switches between her sweet and innocent persona to her bad bitch persona. Both Chobits and Elfen Lied were originally created as tributes to 3x3 Eyes. While almost nobody outside Japan has seen this series, almost ALL anime fans have seen something it directly inspired.

Art:

The art is actually some solid work by Toei, which is something I rarely get to say. This was a 1991 OVA and Japan still had plenty of money for generous animation budgets back then. 3x3 effectively uses a dark color palette to create a moody and gothic atmosphere. The character designs are pretty neat, although it's kind of weird to watch an anime where everyone has teeth. Every time somebody opens their mouths, they have teeth and prominent incisors. It's shocking for me to not just see an upside down red triangle that flaps open and shut.

Music:

It's a Kaoru Wada soundtrack. Have you seen Inuyasha? Have you seen Ninja Scroll? You've basically heard this soundtrack.


Overall,

While far from a perfect adaptation, 3x3 is a pretty decent OVA and is fascinating for fans of anime history. Before watching this series, I had no idea how incredibly influential it was on other anime! Since this is only 7 episodes, I highly recommend giving it a try!

And just like there, there is another OVA from the Golden Era I am unsure about. These older OVAs, when OVAs were the actual definition of OVAs, are a little hit and miss. Now I've written 'OVA' enough for one review, I'll explain why I believe this is hit and miss.

We are quickly thrusted into the story. We have a young girl (Pai) who has been searching for a boy (Yakumo), turns him into her Wu and then they embark on a journey of turning Pai human. The word 'journey' however I would take with a pinch of salt. There really isn't much of a ... journey at all. Episode one focuses on the turning of Yakomo into an Immortal Wu but didnt really give me any shock value, or immotional impact something like this has on a character. It's a little unfair to draw this comparison, considering the difference in time they have the tell the story but when Urameshi suffered a similar fate in Yu You Hakusho, you felt the impact on the character. You got a true sense of this life changing incident. Here in 3x3 it just happens and you move on. As we move further into the story, this 'journey' to become human, literally nothing of any excitement happens and the ending is the most non ending I have experienced in a while. I get there is a season 2, and this was clearly left open for it at the end of season 1, but it was like they ran out of time to do anything with the ending.

Animation is fine, nothing special. For 1991, it was ok I guess. Bit of a bland colour pallete and lacked a little creativity. Sadly, there isn't much more to say about it.

The best part of this show was the music. Even though this show conveyed no 'horror ' in the slightest, the music did everything in its power to provide some tension and release. The music couldnt have done any more to support the story and animation. Sadly, the story and animation isn't great in my opinion.

In summary, Cyber City, and OVA that came out the year before really shows how an OVA can be done well, 3x3, that came out a year later, is quite the opposite.