Regular Price $59.98

Starring:
Directed By:
Rated: Unrated
Release Date: 1953
Studio: Geneon [Pioneer]
Format: Animated,  Color,  DVD-Video,  Full Screen,  NTSC, 

Editorial Reviews and DVD Information about 3 X 3 Eyes Collection

Description
Legends whisper about the ancient Sanijyan, poweful three-eyed demons that possessed the secret of immortality. Yet their fascination with humanity led to their slaughter by one of their strongest leaders, Lord Kaiyanwan... Today, humanity's blind arrogance has built a civilization that believes only in itself and we preserve our senses of security only by refusing to see the shadow-world lurking beneath the surface of our town... One man, Yakumo, will be forced to confront this hidden world and discover the curse of immortality. What he finds will force him to embrace the demon world to find not only its humanity, but also his own...

Amazon.com
The two-disc Collector's Edition unites two linked stories, although the appearance of the characters and the style of direction change between them. Pai is the last Sanjiyan or holy demon: the rest were exterminated 300 years ago when their king, Kaiyanwang, turned to evil. She's spent the last three centuries trying to become human. In Japan, Pai meets Yakumo Fujii, whose scientist father discovered that transforming a Sanjiyan into a human requires the "Statue of Humanity." The evil creatures who hope to resurrect Kaiyanwang also want the Statue: Pai and Yakumo challenge them in a series of bloody battles. Pai turns Yakumo into a Wu, a spirit whose soul is bound to her own and who cannot be killed while she lives. Yakumo falls in love with her, although it's difficult to understand why. Immortals ends when Pai and Benares, Kaiyanwang's chief henchman, disappear in a violent explosion. Realizing that Pai must still be alive, Yakumo vows to search until he finds her again.

Divine Demon picks up the story four years later: Pa-Bo Ayanokoji believes she's a typical high school girl who likes to hang out with her friends. Her world is shattered when Yakumo reveals she is not a human, but Pai. Kaiyanwang is about to rise again, and his servants are trying to kill Pai, who can challenge his power. Pai's memories of her life in the blessed realm of Kunlun have been blocked by a spell; Yakumo takes her to Tibet to break it. Along the way, he fights assorted villains led by the sniggering Choukai. Pai and Yakumo cross the barrier to Kunlun with the aid of treasure hunter Jake Macdonald. There they battle both Choukai and Benares. Both stories end on weak notes, with enough plot strings left hanging to form a fringe. In Immortals, the viewer never learns what becomes of the sinister Mrs. Wong, the Statue of Humanity, or Yakumo's group of friends. In Divine Demon the expected confrontation between Pai and Kaiyanwang fails to materialize. Contains these episodes: 1. "Transmigration," 2. "Yakumo," 3. "Sacrifice," 4. "Straying," 5. "Descent," 6. "The Key," 7. "The Return." Rated 16+: considerable violence, minor profanity, and nudity. --Charles Solomon

Customer Reviews for 3 X 3 Eyes Collection

Uneven quality and a little light on the plot
This set includes the two OVAs that were released on this series. The first four episodes contain the first arc and the remaining three the other one. It all begins with Pai and Yakumo. Pai the alter ego of a demon, called Sanjiyan, who wants to become human and is seeking a statue that will help her achieve this. As soon as she meets Yakumo, a high school student who likes to ride bikes, he gets into and "accident" and dies; therefore, Pai has to give him the "gift" of immortality by making him her Wu, which is a kind of servant bound to the Sanjiyan.

The journey takes Pai and Yakumo from Japan to China, and in the process they meet various friends and a myriad of foes. The latter are usually demons of various different kinds and abilities. There are a few things that I thought were over the top, especially how frequently Yakumo "dies" and how helpless he is during the first arc. I did not particularly enjoy the lack of continuity between the first and second story. With four years passing in the interim, it takes a while for the viewer to understand what is going on.

The graphics are decent, but since this series was created more than a decade ago, you will not find cutting edge animation. There is a fair amount of action, which in some cases may feel like a little too much. I would have liked the creators to have spent some more time building the story and less showing us monsters and demons. Overall, this is an OK series, but I think that there are several better options available. If you are looking for a series that includes demons and have no issues with a more mature storyline, I would recommend Berserk instead.3 X 3 Eyes Collection

cheat on her for catch the bad man!
the girl did not know happen with the bad man have strong inside to beat on her and she get not remember the past with the guard guy but she love to him for good .. she did tell to him for real human with her life ...
i did watch that before , what they talked about it.. because she have hard to save to her guard guy.. but he have strong "WA" on his forehead!3 X 3 Eyes Collection

It all depends on what you are looking for
3 x 3 eyes may not have the slick sleek computer anime that has drawn many people to the genre, and they haven't re-released it digitized and re-done, which I think is just as well. While it is all drawn old school hand work, it's amazing the amount of expression that can be conveyed, even in just a simple screen still.

I originally caught the last half of the series on cable many years ago and have searched for it for some time. I'd not even seen the first part until I found a fan sub on the web, and decided the heck with it, I would sink the money to get it. I'm disabled and don't have much money, so this was actually a considerable investment for me.

There are plot holes and such, and i gather the manga was more complete and cleared all that, but the overall essense of the story can be easily followed, and as I said, it may be old school style animation, but some of the expression drawn into the art is more than worth it.

Very creative, and an intersting weaves of oountries, religions, and belief systems hooked into modern day era.

I will agree it's definitely not a series for younger kids to see, not so much for sex or nudity, but it's pretty gory. Yakumo gets dismembered, maimed, or barfs up enough blood for three people about every episode, but if you aren't particularly squeamish (which I'm not) the storyline, the hand art and series will hook you and draw you in, if you have appreciation for such things.3 X 3 Eyes Collection

I didn't notice the dark tones.
Okay, so part one of the show doesn't have a conclusion. And part two only has half a conclusion. This collection, I am told, is not the real end of the series. Apparently, there are more episodes that just never made it to an american release.

However, thaaat doesn't matter even a little bit to me. This show is grreat *like kellog's corn flakes* and while I've only seen it dubbed (totalllly cheesy voice acting, especially laughter + screaming) it's one of my favorites. (Maybe I just like Yuzo Takada's work.)

As for violence, humans don't have as much blood as these character's seem to and I didn't notice any gloomy tones (as mentioned in other reviews.) I tend to focus of the romance, I guess. I mean, there's some angst n stuff, but what show about teenagers doesn't have angst?

p.s. I love the soundtrack, too.3 X 3 Eyes Collection

It could have been many things...
3x3 Eyes is driven by a very strong and original plot, but the overall atmosphere is just too gloomy for my taste. Even daytime scenes come off as dark and brooding, somewhat reminiscent of Batman films.

The main character Pai is a sweet young girl who wants nothing else but to become a full-fledged human being. She doesn't even know that like the Incredible Hulk, she's just scary when she's angry. A third eye appears on her forehead, and the incredible powers of the Sanjiyan become manifest. In her Sanjiyan form, Pai is merciless -- the total opposite of her usual self. Helping Pai on her quest for humanity is Yakumo, an ordinary guy with a not-so-ordinary job (which involves cross-dressing). A romance between Pai and Yakumo develops in a realistic and believable pace, and the innocence of the two characters is a great contrast with the violent setting, giving 3x3 Eyes a certain freshness and distinctive twist.

3x3 Eyes is one hell of a blood and gore fest, and the scenes are shown in their full, horrific glory. There are also a lot of occult elements like demons, evil spirits, and possession. What ruined this series for me is the artwork. None of the characters look any good. Faces are drawn in a pudgy manner that's just annoying to look at... which is a far cry from creator Yuzo Takada's original artwork. The English dubbing is quite satisfactory though, and I didn't notice anything amiss.

3x3 Eyes could've been a great series. In fact, there are a lot of things it could've been -- if only the visuals were better.

3 X 3 Eyes Collection