The Third: The Girl with the Blue Eye

[Munsu]

First episode released by Ayu:

http://ayu-anime.net/torrents/torrent.php/%5BAyu%5D_The_Third_-_Aoi_Hitomi_no_Shoujo_-_01_%5B02F71A89%5D.avi.torrent



"In the distant future, because of an interplanetery war that has continued on for centuries, the civilizations were ruined. Human beings have lost everything, and only 1/5th of the population survived. Pseudo-human, “The Third”, is said to have appeared just after the war. They have red pupils called “Space Eyes”. Using them, they can control computer systems and so on, and rule the world by their superior power.

In this world, there is a girl, Honoka; She is a jack-of-all-trades, and she accepts any order except murder. One day, she happens to find a young Ikus in the desert. When she accepts the order from him, her great adventure begins."


http://www.wowow.co.jp/anime/third/
http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=6466
http://anidb.info/perl-bin/animedb.pl?show=anime&aid=4088
http://www.animenfo.com/animetitle,3596,dapzap,the_third__aoi_.html

[Munsu]

Watched the first episode the other day, surprised that no one else has giving it a chance. I liked the OP song a lot, the melody it has sets-up the series nicely.

For the episode itself, I really liked it. Not sure yet about the plot, but I think the characters are interesting and they live in an interesting world. It reminded me of Appleseed a bit with the main character communicating with her tank.

The episode had some cool action scenes, which I think will make this series worthwhile, but I don't know yet if the plot will be good yet. Guess I'll have to wait and see.

[Ryllharu]

At first I wasn't really caught by it, but the second time I watched it I liked the atmosphere of it a lot more. Maybe I watched it after a bad day or whatever, but it definitely has promise.

I like the laser-katana too. Very reminiscent of post apocalyptic series from the 80's and 90's. Can't go wrong with a series that has Rie Tanaka in it either.

Overall, I don't know how it will hold up to the rest of the series I picked up, but its an interesting premise at the least.

[masamuneehs]

hmm like Ryll mentioned it seems to have a nice atmosphere. The main character is a little run-of-the-mill, but oh well, so many of them are nowadays anyhow...

The animation, especially the backgrounds and skylines was awesome. The sand tank was also wicked sweet and the action had a good pace and was quite detailed.

Only thing I don't care for sofar: the writing. As if Honoka reciting those poems all the time wasn't enough we seem to have this mushy overly-prosy narration. It was really annoyingly overwhelming with the sentimental stuff. Dialog wasn't anything to write home about either.

The music is nice although neither the OP or ED are more than OK, IMO.

I'll continue with this show, i suppose, though not as enthusiasticly as some of the others.

edit to below - i really meant to say that the poems i can stomach. they actually are an interesting aspect of Honoka's character. The narration is really what bothered me.

[Ryllharu]

I think the poems actually add to the atmosphere that they were trying to create. A sort of comtemplative narrative into the world and her thoughts.

Characters like that are always a bit cliche (think Izumi from Nadesico or the blonde one of the great four from Stellvia, if I'm remembering her correctly), but always a decent addition to any series. In a way, it's kinda nice seeing one as a main character.

[Munsu]

Well, I see a lot of upside to the series, I think the setting and atmosphere has been set fairly good.

And I don't mind her quoting some poems, if you think about it goes against what her character represents, so there might be some hidden meaning. She's a mercenary, yet seems very educated and quotes poems which are usually reserved for the "elite" of society in anime convensions. So, this may speak a bit of her origins, maybe she belonged to a rich family and she belonged with the high society.

[Apraxhren]

Episode 2 by Ayu (http://www.ayu-anime.net/torrents/torrent.php/%5BAyu%5D_The_Third_-_Aoi_Hitomi_no_Shoujo_-_02_%5BDDFB905E%5D.avi.torrent)

[Ryllharu]

The three eyed guy and Honoka were pretty familiar with each other. That mystery alone is enough to keep my interest with this series pretty high. There really wasn't too much else to this eps though.

I did feel like I was watching a shamless tie-in for Sony everytime they mentioned the powered armor.

[Munsu]

Well I'm liking this series a lot, not that I cared much for this episode... it really didn't have much interest for me. But, I think it's laying out the setting nicely, and I see plenty of potential. Hopefully 2-3 episodes from now we'll see some good shit go down. And, have I mentioned that I love the OP?

[Ryllharu]

Ayu released eps 3, hope everyone didn't forget this series, its got a fair amount of promise.

[Ayu] The Third - Aoi Hitomi no Shoujo eps 3 (http://ayu-anime.net/torrents/torrent.php/%5BAyu%5D_The_Third_-_Aoi_Hitomi_no_Shoujo_-_03_%5BB7592269%5D.avi.torrent)

EDIT: A funny eps. The perverted doctor and the android nurse who obviously takes after him a bit were great.

It's fairly obvious from the title if you think about it, but I've had a feeling from the beginning that Honoka was hiding a third eye behind that bandana. It would explain the interest the guy from the Third had in her, and a few other odd things about Honoka as well.

[Apraxhren]

Thanks for the link, I agree it was a quite funny episode with only minor plot information but it looks like we will get plenty of plot in the forth coming episodes. I am really enjoying this so far, I hope it isn't a let down.

[NeoBear]

I like this show it gives me a warm fuzzy felling its paced well and the characters seem to all be likeable also Honoka is KAWII!!!!! =)

Does anybody know if this is gonna be 12-24 eps im hoping 24 but they seem to be moving along pretty fast as the story goes at lest that’s my feeling?

[Kraco]

Ho... I just noticed there's Ueda Yuji among the voice actors. That does it; I'm picking this series. With 3 episodes already released, it'll give me a nicer head start to the story. Hopefully.

Besides, "Azure-Eyed Girl" sounds intriguing...

Edit: Well, it seems like a decent enough series. Nothing really remarkable yet, though. So far The Third has impressed me the least - I hope there is some yet to be revealed potential there (or somewhere else), or this is going to be a boring series. They really need something more to be able to keep the whole world suppressed like they apparently are doing. Robots that can be beaten with bare fists or a sword aren't quite up to the task. And I seriously hope the charmer dude also has some hidden agenda, and is not just a doll like he looks like right now.

And I have to agree with Masa; the narration would need to disappear. It does nothing but strangely detach from the series. As if such things would need to be explained aloud.

[Munsu]

Well right now this is my favorite series of all the current season ones. Action is great, music is great, characters are great, the humor has been good, the world is interesting and I've liked how the story has progressed so far.

[Apraxhren]

Well for anyone who didn't watch the KnT episode 4, or just wants a higher quality, the good people at Ayu have come to the rescue with The Third - Episode 04 (http://ayu-anime.net/torrents/torrent.php/%5BAyu%5D_The_Third_-_Aoi_Hitomi_no_Shoujo_-_04_%5B9CE97EE5%5D.avi.torrent)

[Kraco]

It was quite an interesting episode. But the narration still plagues it, so I guess it'll be there till the end. The Blue Breaker seemed like a decent enemy, as opposed to those models shown earlier that were no good.

[Ryllharu]

I regret continuing using the previews for the next eps as the discussion, but its there the really interesting things are said. They say so much that it tend to eclipse whatever happened in the eps itself. (Just let me know if you'd rather I not talk about what's said in the preview)

So Honoka's azure eye signifies that she failed to become a Third, and that's why she's on the planet instead of wherever exactly they are. It also said she never knew who her parents were because of that. So this makes me wonder if the Third who came down to hassle her with the white units is more than just interested in her solely out of curiosity.

[Apraxhren]

FnT released Episode 5. They seem to be decent quality but that is just judging from episode 4 they released.

Episode 5 - XVID (http://weedy.1.vg:8396/torrents/The%20Third%20-%2005%20%5BFnT-XviD%5D%5B558C59D9%5D.avi.torrent?info_hash=1174ab 43bd70a181b234d48ec4d6686259a96657)
Episode 5 - H264 (http://weedy.1.vg:8396/torrents/The%20Third%20-%2005%5BFnT-264%5D%5B6CEA122B%5D.mkv.torrent?info_hash=d7b4b23 1aa1b4830bcbb2236ff50cf8235b4ab17)

[Munsu]

Just watched episode 4 loved the episode...

Don't understand what the real complaint of the narration is, I like it. It gives you more insight of the world and of the characters. Plus all great animes have narration, like Legends of Galactic Heroes.

[Kraco]

Just watched episode 4 loved the episode...

Don't understand what the real complaint of the narration is, I like it. It gives you more insight of the world and of the characters. Plus all great animes have narration, like Legends of Galactic Heroes.

"All great animes have narration" is not true, but quite an exaggeration. And even if it was true, there are many styles of narration: some good, some bad.

The problem with the narration here is that it basically has only been telling what you should have been able to imagine and figure out yourself. It has been always said that TV and movies don't require as much thinking as reading books, but the makers of this series have taken the extra step to insure that.

I said earlier the narration detaches the viewer from the story and characters, and I still claim that is true: When you aren't free to judge and evaluate the characters, their feelings and motivations yourself, but are provided with the ready made explanation like in that narration, it robs one very big element that normally makes you feel attached to the world and people of the series.

[Munsu]

Well, for me I don't care about "thinking", in fact I would rather not think. I preffer to have things thoroughly explained to me, so that I'm 100% sure that I have a grasp on what's going on. I mostly watch anime, tv shows, and read manga solely because I want to learn everything possible about the world and characters portrayed in the story. I want to learn about them, not "imagine" what they are all about. This is mainly why I don't like open ended stories, I like being told what really happened rather than letting my imaginiation run about.

So it's not really the style of narration that bothers, it's the reason for watching something that's bothering.

[masamuneehs]

I throw my hat on Kraco's side on this one.

I like to see characters' emotions/thoughts/whatnot, but I much prefer when the characters themselves express these things. Facial expressions, tone of voice, dialogue, body language, there's lots of ways the viewer can get a sense for what's going on. Some disembodied voice using overly flowery language, telling me what to think is not my idea of good narration. If the narrator provided more info about the world, about the history or places or even standard info about people and things no character will directly speak about, then I'd be happier.

100% clarity is nice, but I do like to make my own thoughts about things. One of the reasons I enjoy Eureka 7 so much is because there's so many things in that show that I have to read into, that a viewer can make connections with in his/her mind. The 3rd is good and still keeps me wondering about the future, but I don't need to have the characters' personas spelled out to me all the time.

As such this show has not began to even scratch my top 5. Heck, it's not even in my top 10... Although i'd attribute that more to the sheer amount of shows I'm watching over the quality of this one.

[Ryllharu]

I'm with Bud on this issue, I fail to see even after the explainations why it's a problem in this series. It's an unusual touch we almost never get to see. It does detach us breifly from the world, but we get insight into Honoka that we might not normally discern from just watching their expressions and waiting it out.

Honoka is incredibly contemplative, we saw that from the first moments of the series. She doesn't always emotionally react to a situation right away, rather, her real feelings are told to us through the narration while she's blankly staring at the stars.

It's a different approach, one I'm happy to see get some time. It's like reading a book written in the third person that only focuses on a single character.

[Apraxhren]

FnT has released episode 6 (http://www.datorrents.com/download.asp?id=10583&name=The Third - 06 [FnT-264][127FABDD].mkv.torrent). Their video quality is a bit lower than Ayu and the timing is a little fast but the translations seem to be better.

Edit: About the narration, the original work was a novel so the narration in the book would tend to be overly descriptive since there are no pictures. It seems the producers either wanted to reference the narration in the book or keep the original feel of the book through the narration. As Ryllharu said "It's like reading a book"

[Kraco]

The fifth of the Third, from Ayu:

Episode 5 - Ayu (http://ayu-anime.net/torrents/torrent.php/%5BAyu%5D_The_Third_-_Aoi_Hitomi_no_Shoujo_-_05_%5B533B957E%5D.avi.torrent)

[Ryllharu]

So, Thirds are just regular mutations, and Honoka is simply a mutation of that mutation. There goes my theory from the last preview.

Anyhow, I'm guessing now that since the normal red Thirds interact with technology and information, essentially non-physical commodities, Honoka's must be able to sense and control all matter. She can find the invisible robots, sense the flowers, and cut anything to ribbons.

[Kraco]

Yeah. Sounds like a plausible theory. I was thinking this series was a bit more realistic, thus the fact she uses a kind of spirit blade was a surprise to me, although it of course explains why those robots were so weak against her.

Well, I guess it might be more interesting this way, if also more traditional.

[Ryllharu]

She was saying she using the katana as a focus though, so its really more like applying a super fine edge to the blade (like the molecule thin Damascus Blade from Battle Angel Alita or you can pick your favorite cyberpunk monofilament). It generally doesn't extend beyond the edge of the katana, but ensures that the katana goes clean through anything. (Exceptions being the end of eps 4 where the one of the Blue Breakers exploded after she got out of the PSP)

From this eps and the last one where they showed a flashback of her master, it seems fairly difficult for her to concentrate on the cutting ability, thus the typically need for a focus object. Its not some unconquerable combat ability, she really has to give it her all and visualize whatever being sliced in half. It's still samurai-esque skill based, but the 'spirit blade' is like the Zen concentration.

[Apraxhren]

Ayu released Episode 06 (http://ayu-anime.net/torrents/torrent.php/%5BAyu%5D_The_Third_-_Aoi_Hitomi_no_Shoujo_-_06_%5BA330FAB2%5D.avi.torrent)

[Yukimura]

Fansub no Tameni - The Third - 07 (http://weedy.1.vg:8394/torrents/The%20Third%20-%2007%20%5BFnT-XviD%5D%5BFDD3CA7B%5D.avi.torrent?info_hash=9eb35c f98ba4e4de8a328279dcf10dcc803bcc18)

Interesting, more of Honoka's teacher, and Chibi Hono was so cute!

[Board of Command]

I didn't like this episode. This series is supposed to be sci-fi, not magical sword techniques.

[Apraxhren]

Episode 08 by FNT (http://weedy.1.vg:8396/torrents/The%20Third%20-%2008%20%5BFnT-XviD%5D%5B97EA6DAB%5D.avi.torrent?info_hash=b32829 9faa35bdce9aaab12940f28084b30b35c9)

[Yukimura]

Very nice, I was thinking about how this show didn't have anything that really grabbed me and made me want to watch it, beyond the charachters anyway, and finally they drop a plot into our laps.

EDIT: Unessecary Rambling Removed

[Board of Command]

Seems like this new woman is the same "race" as Iks.

[Munsu]

Tried episode 7 and 8 from FnT, didn't like them much. Their timing is pretty bad, it was giving me headaches. I'll probably keep watching them when they come out though.

That aside, episode 7 was fairly boring, but episode 8 was pretty good with the introduction of that new character. She's pretty hot, and lesbo at the same time, hope she sticks around.

[Apraxhren]

Well FnT just released episode 09 (http://weedy.1.vg:8396/torrents/The%20Third%20-%2009%20%5BFnT-XviD%5D%5BC7027D7E%5D.avi.torrent?info_hash=854160 5f2613b2f50ecebb6fce2978d52bc11f4d)

[Board of Command]

That aside, episode 7 was fairly boring, but episode 8 was pretty good with the introduction of that new character. She's pretty hot, and lesbo at the same time, hope she sticks around.
I don't know. Maybe she's not lesbo but instead that waitress girl is lesbo.

[Munsu]

She doesn't have to be a lesbo, but you still get a lesbo vibe from her... that's enough.

[Yukimura]

Well, in ep 9 there is plenty of lesbo hinting going on with our new friend, and did I perhaps detect a hint of jealousy towards Iks?!?!

[Board of Command]

That guy transforming into a monster was kinda weird.

[Munsu]

Well, I liked the episode... Bogie's new add-ons look pretty good, and Paife slaughtering everyone makes her awesome. For some reason I think Iks is the one responsible for the rampages and the blackhole thing.

[Board of Command]

For some reason I think Iks is the one responsible for the rampages and the blackhole thing.
Yeah, me too. He's the most mysterious character in the series. How did he get to the middle of the desert without anyone noticing?

[Munsu]

Not sure if anyone has mentioned it before, but I'm doing it anyways. I just found out that Honoka's voice is from the same VA as Revy from Black Lagoon, it's freaking awesome listening how their voices differ from each other.

[Kraco]

Really? I certainly never made the connection. Very interesting, just like you said. She sounds much more like Revy in Venus, but that's hardly surprising considering the roles are somewhat more similar. I recently watched Stellvia, but didn't recognize her in that one either. She's a talented voice actress, that's for sure.

I wish this series would continue. It's not like this was my favorite series, but it showed some promise, nonetheless. Especially in the last subbed episodes. Ayu, whose subs I started with and preferred, just recently released episode 7, so perhaps there's some hope still in the horizon.

[Munsu]

Episode 10 by FnT:

http://weedy.1.vg:8396/torrents/The%20Third%20-%2010%20%5BFnT-264%5D%5B35757916%5D.mkv.torrent?info_hash=a3b75dd 0e96c5e5eb7e62f8b37a1f3739fde7c88

[Kraco]

Quite an interesting episode. I never considered the possibility of Honoka never having killed anybody, and thus I kept wondering why she acted so strangely in this episode, before it was explained. But of course it makes sense with the real enemies mainly having been robots. It doesn't look like there are too many random human villains to fight, anyway.

But there sure were lots of sound in the space, when the orbital weapon was reshaping itself to the launch position...

[Apraxhren]

FnT brings us Episode 11 (http://weedy.1.vg:8396/torrents/The%20Third%20-%2011%20%5BFnT-XviD%5D%5BFE92FDED%5D.avi.torrent?info_hash=9cfb4c 408b9f31651021b965d61bcf473b0f8921)

[w8woord]

Episode 12 By FnT

Avi (http://downloadanime.org/torrent/The%2520Third%2520-%252012%2520%255BFnT-XviD%255D%255BD9F2B7BE%255D.avi.torrent)

Mkv (http://downloadanime.org/torrent/The%2520Third%2520-%252012%2520%255BFnT-264%255D%255BDD98A96C%255D.mkv.torrent)

[Kraco]

Damn... We didn't get to see what the wormhole driver projectile and explosion looked like... Quite a mushy ending to that miniarc. But not a bad episode, even if it wasn't as innovative as I hoped for.

[Munsu]

Even though the last couple of episodes haven't been my favorite, still fairly good. Love the lesbo vibes from Paife.

Anyways, episode 13:
http://weedy.1.vg:8396/torrents/The%20Third%20-%2013%20%5BFnT-264%5D%5B7AD9DD05%5D.mkv.torrent?info_hash=fc89241 295278cfbb5273a666bacfc9de548281c

[Kraco]

Is it just me, or did the graphics in this episode look quite different compared to the previous episodes?

[Munsu]

I haven't watched the episode, but I browsed through it... and it isn't you, the character design sure is wierd, but if you look in the previews, the drawings go back to normal. As to why this episode has this wierd graphics I wouldn't know, it reminds me of that shitty episode from Sousei no Aquarion.

[Kraco]

Ho... Wasn't a very long wait for the 14th episode...

Episode 14 - FnT (http://weedy.1.vg:8396/torrents/The%20Third%20-%2014%20%5BFnT-XviD%5D%5BED85E6F3%5D.avi.torrent?info_hash=263ae2 6d2d121fe18ab78a9ebe6ee0e3e30d2b06)

Edit: Graphics are back to normal. And the episode was quite interesting also otherwise. Too bad it's a vacation trip, and so they couldn't cut the meaty monster to pieces and sell at the marketplace. Even with a low price they would have fetched some good money, considering the thing probably weighed several tons. Well, assuming the meat is edible and doesn't taste of ammonia...

[Board of Command]

I thought I was just crazy, but apparently you both have noticed this animation issue. I thought they switched animation studios with the new ED and all, but apparently not. Watching ep 13 was definitely an awkward experience.

[complich8]

yeah, I just watched 13 too, and was taken aback by how .... err ... round everyone's face looked.

I just wrote it off as an unmentioned swarm of desert hornets stinging people in the heads in an indiscriminate fashion just before the episode started.

[Kraco]

The FnT crew is working like slaves, and the next episode is already here:

Episode 15 - FnT (http://weedy.1.vg:8394/torrents/The%20Third%20-%2015%20%5BFnT-XviD%5D%5B2B220373%5D.avi.torrent?info_hash=4ba276 1d28855358784929da71d4c609545ce8b1)

[Kraco]

I wish Iks would actually do something in even one episode before we run out of episodes!

Episode 18 - Fansub no Tameni (http://weedy.1.vg:8394/torrents/The%20Third%20-%2018%20%5BFnT-XviD%5D%5BB07D9FE1%5D.avi.torrent?info_hash=bcc19a b5ef66f42090ae0f5ba21227956b0f3bbc)

Edit: A couple of earlier episodes skipped in this thread:
Episode 16 - FnT (http://weedy.1.vg:8396/torrents/The%20Third%20-%2016%20%5BFnT-XviD%5D%5BFC7A4C95%5D.avi.torrent?info_hash=8e067b aa5b02dd29cd443ca5ae51a49290a6cc20)
Episode 17 - FnT (http://weedy.1.vg:8396/torrents/The%20Third%20-%2017%20%5BFnT-XviD%5D%5BC0114CB5%5D.avi.torrent?info_hash=8c8f31 9a93ceb5547158e011e24a684a3006ce2f)

[complich8]

another episode! FnT Episode 19 (http://weedy.1.vg:8396/torrents/The%20Third%20-%2019%20%5BFnT-XviD%5D%5BE8523068%5D.avi.torrent?info_hash=6d71d3 541db7075128b62937feb89893cfa85c0a)

will there be discussion, I wonder ...

[Kraco]

And so the aggressive negotiations started... Quite an action filled episodes certainly. Few battles in this series have been really equal, and this episode didn't break this rule. Only exceptional enemies have any chances against Honoka. The usual stuff, no matter what forms they take, are weeds to be cut down at leisure. Well, it was still entertaining to watch.

One thing I wonder is the wormhole driver. You would think the admistration of the three eyes would have taken a crew on a shuttle to the satellite and shut it down via hardware means until they have dealt with the rebellious queen of the nanomachines. It seems implausible they would have just left their most potent weapon under enemy control like that for extended periods of time.

[complich8]

I think the reason The Third hasn't done anything like that yet is because they can't. Not that they're incapable of going there and physically doing something about it, but that the things they would normally send are autonomous soldiers, autonomous planes, etc... basically AI-operated systems. Anything they send out will be taken over.

Blue Breaker is an exception, as is the plane's AI. But the general rule is that The Third's military forces are generally all the same, and generally all susceptible to that type of attack. Least, that's what I think.

For that matter, if they tried to dismantle it, it's possible that the controllers would notice and start firing it indiscriminately, destroying cities, bases, and so on. In essence, this is a hostage situation, with the whole world as the hostages.

Really, though, the whole scenario points to the indolent complacence of The Third in their position.

[Munsu]

I'm getting lazy with my anime watching, I have a shitload of episodes to catch up on.

19 v2:
http://weedy.1.vg:8396/torrents/The%20Third%20-%2019v2%20%5BFnT-264%5D%5B9171E9B4%5D.mkv.torrent?info_hash=347a3bb 0e5ce49bf180972619c110592f618f841

[Kraco]

Good points, Complich. I hadn't thought about that aspect of it. On the other hand, though, aren't The Third people living in some orbital space station? I have got that kind of impression from the views they often have from their quarters. If that's the case, it shouldn't take very long to fly there, well, assuming they could send something else than automated vehicles.

From what I remember right away it takes some time to charge the wormhole driver, doesn't it? At least the countdown was long one indeed when they were planning to use it against the Gravestone (was that the name of the other olde weapon?). Unless it was all just waiting for Earth to rotate, of course. If there is a charging period, the weapon couldn't potentially be launched before it was inactivated on site.

[complich8]

yeah, I'm not sure if the Third is actually mostly in orbit or mostly earthbound ... I got the impression that at least space wasn't particularly unfamiliar to them anyway. But still, doesn't change the fact that the weapon could probably be kept "hot" and fired at a moment's notice.

The initial Gravestone countdown was pretty long, you're right, but the time it took to blast that mountain seemed pretty short. Maybe it's because for Gravestone the weapon was sort of in "hibernate" mode, and getting it powered back up and operational took more time. Like ... starting a car the first time after leaving it in storage for a year takes more time and effort (ie: you probably have to change some fluids, reconnect the battery, stuff like that) where starting it when it's been in your garage for a couple hours, you just walk out and turn the key.

But the orbital status is a good point too ... it could just be that the gravestone firing solution required some extra time to wait for another orbital pass.

What I'm wondering is if Honoka is going to end up wandering through another psychedelic mind-dive in the psyche of another superweapon, or if they're just going to shut it down.

Either way, the relationship between The Third and Honoka is definitely going to be changed irrevocably after this incident. She seems to be getting comfortable with the idea of fighting alongside Blue Breaker, and ... well, she's sort of saving their asses, if she succeeds at the mission. And not just saving their asses for her own reasons, like with Gravestone. Or maybe the Gravestone incident was that turning point in their relationship?

[Kraco]

Either way, the relationship between The Third and Honoka is definitely going to be changed irrevocably after this incident. She seems to be getting comfortable with the idea of fighting alongside Blue Breaker, and ... well, she's sort of saving their asses, if she succeeds at the mission. And not just saving their asses for her own reasons, like with Gravestone. Or maybe the Gravestone incident was that turning point in their relationship?

That's indeed an interesting point. At the beginning of the show I was considering The Third purely evil oppressors and thought Honoka would rather sooner than later really end up fighting against them following a traditional storyline. Well, now that doesn't seem quite that likely or at least simple. Not only do The Third have serious internal issues but like you said, Honoka's relationship with them is getting better and she seems to end up fighting on their side also by free choice.

What has surprised me most during the series is that there doesn't really seem to be rebellious movements against The Third.

[complich8]

I dunno, I think they're disliked, a lot, for justifiable reasons (ie: enforcing the technos taboo, their role in the great war in the past, treating human life as not particularly valueable, generally being haughty stuck-up assholes), but ... other than technos taboo, I don't think they really play a whole lot of a role in the day-to-day lives of the people to the point that people would be motivated to revolt.

What's more, because of the technos taboo, the people don't really have the sort of technological power to rival the Third's. As far as military might goes, they're hopelessly outclassed.

Adding to that, the very visible enforcement of the taboo serves to strengthen the impression of the Third as basically unapproachably powerful. I think it's sort of a rebellion-crusher there.

[complich8]

For those who like Ayu's work better than FnT's for whatever reason,
Episode 11 (Ayu) (http://ayu-anime.net/torrents/torrent.php/%5BAyu%5D_The_Third_-_Aoi_Hitomi_no_Shoujo_-_11_%5BF5A92EAB%5D.avi.torrent) is out.

[Darknodin]

Gravestone was the little kid
the orbital weapon is the Wormhole Driver

what struck me with these eps is Blue Breaker... I thought there was several of them ( a bit like elite soldiers... but still mass produced)... but it seems there is only one. Aside of that... this show has great action sequences... ep19 was a reminder of that.

[Apraxhren]

Episode #20 by Fnt (http://weedy.1.vg:8396/torrents/The%20Third%20-%2020%20%5BFnT-XviD%5D%5B972B6AC8%5D.avi.torrent?info_hash=37a0c4 3a6a614104c0a6a1cb378fb388a67d0d2e)

[Zati]

Episode 21 by FnT


Xvid (http://weedy.1.vg:8396/torrents/The%20Third%20-%2021%20%5BFnT-XviD%5D%5B822DD204%5D.avi.torrent?info_hash=fc5cb7 b6447aa9a6e152b583b5d75893469f1a16)


h264 (http://weedy.1.vg:8396/torrents/The%20Third%20-%2021%20%5BFnT-264%5D%5BC0EEE761%5D.mkv.torrent?info_hash=e6fba44 d33b67ca049410e0fe731fe0f2ae12740)

[complich8]

eww, layout breakage ... let's just fix that up >_<

Interesting happenings with Blue Breaker and Rona Fauna. You sort of have to wonder precisely what she's after. Does she want to antagonize Honoka into killing her? Maybe it's spite over Jouganki ... and just what signals is sensei getting from the network?

A pretty good episode, I'd say.

[Kraco]

Indeed. The previous episodes already slightly it wouldn't be a straight-forward rescue mission but would develop into something else. Now it clearly took a step into the my psychological, or spiritual, direction the series has so often emphasized. And it's of course pretty expectable that Honoka doesn't ever take easiest and shortest route. No doubt the next episode will do something to explain Rona Fauna's behavior, and whether she attacked Honoka because of those goals, no matter if they indeed are goals of the past with no relevance to her future (as she seems to be dying soon no matter what), or if she's really anymore master of her own actions.

Intering episode, and whole arc, to say the least. I hope Iks will also play some role towards the end. He has never been too active in any arcs so far.

[Yukimura]

The Third - 22 by FnT (http://weedy.1.vg:8396/torrents/The%20Third%20-%2022%20%5BFnT-XviD%5D%5B7CC81176%5D.avi.torrent?info_hash=9f2d1f 33356c17ba10acf24c8ec24162e932d3a5)

It's been a while, I really should catch up with this show...

[Kraco]

The last fight should be drawing near. Hopefully.

Episode 23 xvid - FnT (http://weedy.1.vg:8396/torrents/The%20Third%20-%2023%20%5BFnT-XviD%5D%5BA0468309%5D.avi.torrent?info_hash=7b28bb 990ff7280140b1fafa5eb4e9421ef4aee9)
Episode 23 h264 - FnT (http://weedy.1.vg:8396/torrents/The%20Third%20-%2023%20%5BFnT-264%5D%5B07FF9D0C%5D.mkv.torrent?info_hash=c8e46ba 69b2e2d6dfc052377dcb8853f0dadda44)

[Yukimura]

Well the next episode is the last so unfortunately it's going to be over. From the preview it looks like Iks has been holding back immensely, but I guess he didn't want to mess with the staus quo of the world until now.

Unfortunately I don't think we'll be seeing Paifu of Milly anymore, which sucks b/c they were both excellent charachters, but I'm sure there'll be a falling action revisiting of all the other charachters after whatever is going to happen happens.

[Kraco]

This was quite an interesting series in how it did have heavy action yet you can't really say the action would have ever been the center of the interest. Even the Honoka's sword dancer title refers to the fact how her sword skills are mainly spiritual and philosophical for her, despite the immense potential in use. Just like most of the fights eventually did have some other meaning as well.

Keeping that all in mind, it also explains why the last fight might end just like Jyouganki predicted (and the preview suggested) and with no regrets of the potential of lost action. Iks's purpose hasn't been altogether made clear, and so it has always been hard to predict his actions. Well, other than to expect him to do nothing like it has been in the past...

[Board of Command]

Anyone else notice that this is another differently-animated episode? Weird.

[Kraco]

Yeah. It surely caught my eye. Although I don't think it was as gross as the one near the middle of the series. Let's hope the final will be like the best of the episodes and not a different one. They always say that series often run out of money near the end, so let's hope they just decided to save some yen for the last episode...

[Yukimura]

The Third - Final Episode by FnT (http://weedy.1.vg:8396/torrents/The%20Third%20-%2024%20%5BFnT-XviD%5D%5B12161AFE%5D.avi.torrent?info_hash=47c8cc c7b2ecfd06befb8b5e34033d9e02287db9)

Well as endings go, it wasn't as random as some other endings I've seen but I do like to have some type of closure. However I liked how looking back from this last episode the show makes sense as a 'This is what life is like on this planet' montage. The stories have just enough to do with each other to be tied togeather at the end as an excuse for what I'm guessing passes for God to not blow up the planet or something. The fairy kind of spoiled it for me though, b/c a) she was supposed to be gone already and b) what was this connection between her and Honoka.

All in all it was a good time and I'm glad I watched it.

[Kraco]

I think this was pretty much the only kind of closure this show could have. After all, despite all the action and the techno taboo by the Third, and other such concrete things, this was more a philosophical and I guess emotional show than anything else. And it seemed to me Honoka was always looking for something not very close to earth. And she certainly found that.

The Observer wasn't going to blow up the planet. He had became sad, or filled with void, because humans had nearly destroyed the planet and their own limitless potential along with it. I doesn't make sense an entity that had become disappointed and saddaned by that would then finish the work, does it? I think Iks and Honoka only wanted the being to be able to leave Earth feeling something else than emptiness and sadness, and they succeeded.

I don't remember if the fairy was supposed to be gone already, but I think the connection could even simply be imagined to be a connection between the fairy and all living beings on Earth, since the fairy decided to take the hereditary material with her to take it to other worlds. At that moment Honoka certainly was a representative of the life on Earth.

I think this was a pretty good conclusion to the story. I was wondering how they are going to be able to end it all in one episode, but it felt quite balanced and not hurried at all. And like you said, it also tied many things together, in a way.

[complich8]

The whole basis for the observer and the fairy seems to be a sort of moderated exogenesis. The idea is, an observer observes the life on the planet, a collector (the fairy) collects the seeds of life, and based on the results that the planet produces they decide whether to propagate that life to other places in the cosmos.

Sort of like controlled breeding, on an interplanetary scale over eons.

I think the arbitrator's role is to decide whether a planet's life is worth propagating or not. Iks came to the Observer because it was time to choose whether to let the planet have successors or not ... maybe just in cases of an indecisive observer.

Sort of a neat premise to build a story around.