3x3 Eyes

3x3 eyes is originally a supernatural manga series of the same name, which spans over 40 volumes, but this OVA made in 1991 gives us a taster of the manga by covering the first two volumes. And they do this quite well, firstly by not falling into the trap of trying to give us a conclusion and neither does it rely on previous knowledge of the manga, which many short running OVAs of long running mangas do. It does exactly what it should do, introduce newcomers to the world of 3x3 eyes and let fans already of the series get an idea of what an ... anime adaption of the whole series would possibly (and hopefully) look like.

3x3 eyes is about Yakumo, a sixteen year old student, who is working in a gay bar, as a cross-dresser in order to make ends meet. He meets Pai, an immortal, who has been sent by his estranged and now dead father from Tibet to help her become human. To really make sure he follows through with this, Yakumo is turned immortal himself and the only way to turn back is by helping Pai. This is the first episode and the basic premises of the plot has been set, you are already pulled into the supernatural world of monsters, immortals and magic with Yakumo. Usually something like this would come off a bit unnatural due to the fast pace of the story and all the elements being introduced so quickly, but somehow it works, especially when you watch all the OVA. The four episodes gives you a good idea of what type of story of 3x3 eyes is and also leaves you on a bit of a cliffhanger at the end just to leave those who haven't read the series to want more.

I thought what was quite well done is after their little adventure in the first episode was how Yakumo still found the whole thing quite unsettling, since he couldn't just get up and leave his whole way life like that. It is realistic for anyone in his position, as it isn't the easiest thing to go off and leave your friends and your whole way of life to go off on an adventure with someone to become human. Most series of this kind have the protagonists suffer this kind of dilemma, but they related it very well to a major point of the series: what's so great about being mortal, or better said what's so great about being human? They tie this in quite nicely.

The art is quite nice and has certainly stood against time and each character is realistic looking, Yakumo actually looks like a Japanese boy. How many times do you get a Japanese boy actually looking like, well, a Japanese boy in anime? Yakumo's eyes is a good example of this, they are mostly closed since they are supposed to be slit eyes, you know the eyes Japanese actually do have. The animators uses the art also to show the split personalities Pai has, by making her have more gentle features to represent her cheerful and child-like personality. The second personality is not only distinguished by the opening of her 3rd eye, but also alter her whole face expression to represent her arrogant and cold personality.

I'll give a special mention to the background of Hong Kong, I loved it! The grittiness of the markets in the final episode is tastefully done.

There is very little to say about the sound, nothing too out of order. A bit dated, but typical of its time, 90s background music with synths thrown in for good measure. It suits the mood of the anime, as it's quite dark, especially the main theme.

Our two protagonists are both interesting characters, who don't fall into the trap of cliché anime characters. Yakumo is a good-hearted sixteen-year-old, who means well. It was nice to find an anime character, who I thought I could actually be friends with. He is just very likable. (Seriously people, most of characters in anime do you think you could actually handle them for more than 10 minutes in real life?) Pretty much by the end of the series, most of his body has been broken in some kind of way, good thing he's immortal, isn't it? So you'd want to like him.

Now, Pai really is up there with one of the most original characters in anime, a schizophrenic girl: one personality is sweet and innocent, the other is stoic and ruthless. Both have their merits and neither of them irritate you, even the colder persona grows on you, unlike another schizophrenic in another series I could mention! Her multi-personality is also reference to the Hindu deity of Parvati, since firstly that's the name of her second personality, who was known to have several personalities. This was another favourable aspect of the series since they used some culture background to help create characters and certain plot devices, but neither wholly relied on it that you suddenly needed to start picking up textbooks or wikipedia -(ing) on the Hindu religion.

The other characters each proved their worth and were all likable. I had a little soft spot for Lee Ling Ling, deputy editor for an occult magazine, but doesn't believe in the occult and just uses it as a vice to make money. And she can really kick ass!

So why did I give it 8 instead of something higher, well, the problem was 3x3 eyes isn't my cup of tea. So why all these positives you may ask? It did everything well and everything I've stated here is the truth, but you see it still does not make me want to go off and read the manga. 3X3 eyes is quite a classic and is something every enthusiast of anime and manga should read or watch at some point, as it's the first to use this storyline and do it better than most. I did want to know some more at the end of the series, since the audience is left on a cliffhanger and I'll definitely go and watch the second set of OVA, but I'll spare myself the manga. This is simply something to do with my taste of anime and manga rather than with the series. I would recommend a watch (it's only 4 episodes long) and see how you fair this!

The 3x3 eyes OVA gives us a good idea about what to expect from the manga and the producers use the 4 episodes to introduce the series quite well without trying to outdo itself. It does what it set out to do and you couldn't ask for anymore than that!

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.