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[This is old news from the 3x3 Eyes Info site. All links are broken, all speculation is wrong.]

September 24, 1997

U.S. Anime Update

The new 3x3 Eyes anime series was finally released in the United States earlier this month (not sure exactly when). There are two tapes, 3x3 Eyes 5 and 6, which are English-dubbed versions of the first two Japanese 3x3 Eyes "Seima Densetsu" OAVs. As far as I know, the videos are identical to Manga UK's 3x3 Eyes tapes 3 and 4.

When will tape 7 be released? Will it be released?
Good question. At about the same time Orion released 3x3 Eyes 5 and 6, the company was bought by MGM. MGM is laying off most of Orion's staff and have apparently stated that they have no interest in releasing any of Orion's anime titles (the ones Orion bought from Streamline, including 3x3 Eyes) in the future. I have no idea what will happen to the final 3x3 Eyes episode, the currently released anime, or even the titles Orion was distributing for other companies (Viz Video's Galaxy Express 999 for example). If anyone has any info about this situation (fact or rumor), please let me know.

BTW, if you don't have the anime yet, you might want to track it down soon. The tapes that are currently in stores will probably not be restocked, so once they're gone, they're gone.

September 1, 1997

Manga Manga Everywhere...

...and I can't read any of it (yet). I just bought a copy of Kodansha's monthly Afternoon magazine, based on an advertisement I had seen that mentioned Yuzo Takada. As part of some sort of promotion of the magazine, various famous manga creators including Yuzo Takada, Kenichi Sonoda, Katsuhiro Otomo, and a bunch of other people I recognized but can't remember are contributing original short stories. This is in addition to the regular lineup of great titles like Ah! My Goddess and Blade of the Immortal. The latest issue (October) features a one-part story by Takada-sensei called, um, "Genzou Hitogata Mawa" or "Phantom Storehouse Man-Shaped Demon Story" (very roughly translated, and from memory, since I don't have the magazine with me). One of the main characters (who looks not unlike Haan) is a puppetmaster and carries a big wooden puppet case on his back, which explains the title if I understand the story correctly. The story is set in samurai times, and has the familiar 3x3 Eyes/Blue Seed style. The magazine also has a two-sided color poster of the main characters, which is pretty cool. If you spot the magazine anywhere, grab it.

Speaking of Kodansha, they've reorganized the Young Magazine website again, and I don't know what happened to the 3x3 Eyes page. I'm still hoping to find some info about the 3x3 Eyes TV series, but no such luck.

Not So Secret?

I was in a manga store looking for the novels, and I came across a book titled "3x3 Eyes Secrets". It's sort of an unauthorized fact book answering all those 3x3 Eyes questions you've been dying to ask, like "what's with Pai's fashion sense, anyway?" It does have some interesting things about Hindu mythology, and it has footnotes pointing to the source of facts in the manga and some magazine articles. The publisher has a whole series of "...Secrets" books, and I'm hoping they publish another 3x3 Eyes one eventually, because this book only covers the manga up through volume 15.

Product Updates

Here's more info about the 1998 calendar:

Kodansha is doing something different with the 3x3 Eyes calendar this year. According to an ad in Young Magazine, it will actually be 12 postcards (165mm x 101mm). They come with a little stand and a sticker. The price is Y1400, and the calendar will be available starting Sept. 30.

When I visited Jeff Hansen, I found out he had one of the 3x3 Eyes novels, as well as a 3x3 Eyes Super Famicom game (I think the same one reviewed on the Products page). I'll update the Products page soon with details about all these goodies.

New Websites

Check out this Chinese 3x3 Eyes page (BIG-5 encoding). As the maintainer, Night, says, "This web site will be the site which has the most 3x3EYES info in Chinese. I will add the other comics by YUZO TAKADA sensei step-by-step." It looks pretty nice, but my computer at work is currently BIG-5 impaired, so I'm not too sure what's there.

Also, Henrique Holschuh pointed out the Ayanokoujii Yohko kisekae doll on the OtakuWorld page. If you've never played with Kiss, you're missing out on some fun. ^_^ The Otakuworld people also run the Sazan Eyes Ring of the Third Eye, and their site is really cool.

August 21, 1997

Time Flies

Hi, I'm still alive but very busy. I finally get paid this Monday, and I'm hoping I'll have enough yen to buy a TV and VCR (as well as a Chacha CD-ROM I spotted the other day). I'll probably put in 8 hours at work on Sunday just answering email and getting caught up, but web updates will be really slow for the next month or two. Here are some random thoughts on Japan and anime so far:

• the network connection from work is REALLY SLOW, but they do allow me to use telnet
• volume 26 of the 3x3 Eyes manga was just released, and the 1998 calendar (postcard size) will be out next month
• when I tell people I'm an anime fan, they usually respond by saying their kids are too ^_^;;;
• I met Jeff Hansen (of the 3x3 Eyes Manga Translation page) and we climbed Mt. Fuji, which is extremely hard work but there were still hundreds of people there (Jeff and his wife are extremely nice, BTW)
• I haven't watched much anime on TV yet (hence the need for a VCR)
• anime is a really expensive hobby
• more people speak English than I expected, but I still need to learn Japanese if I want to survive on my own
• Japanese food takes time to get used to
• All Nippon Airways can make even a 13-hour flight seem pleasant, and I got to see the Dog of Flanders animated movie on the plane
• manga (and beer) are everywhere

More later... ^_^

July 28, 1997

Finally On My Way

I leave for Japan this Wednesday, and I'll probably be out of touch for a while until I adjust to my new life. I'll be sure to update you all about my trip as soon as I can. I had hoped to get the new 3x3 Eyes pages online before I left, but it's not going to happen (I'm close, but not that close). Anyway, assuming I have some free time at my new job, I should have some exciting things here in the coming months.

July 13, 1997

Dub Confusion

Sorry for any confusion I caused with the last update about the impending release of new 3x3 Eyes anime in the US. This is not some new series, but the "Legend of the Divine Demon" videos that have been available in the UK (as 3x3 Eyes #3-5) and other parts of the world for some time. Yes, the US is incredibly backward, and we still don't have this series here yet.

No exact release date has been announced that I have seen, but the planned release of the videos (dubbed only, as feared) is confirmed by this month's Previews magazine. The other titles in this issue are planned for September, so I'm guessing that will be the release of 3x3 Eyes, too. The only videos mentioned are 3x3 Eyes #5 and #6, but I assume a #7 will come eventually. (I just saw this info on r.a.a.m and the Previews website, so maybe the magazine itself has more information.)

There has been some discussion about the quality of the Manga UK dub on the 3x3 Eyes mailing list recently. Apparently some of the voices and translation decisions were not the best, in some peoples' opinions. ("Pearl?" Nooooooo!!! ^_^;;;) Anyway, I'm not a huge fan of dubs in general, but I doubt that it will be worse than the dub of the first series. I fully expect the Manga UK dub to be released in the US (why dub it again if it has already been done?), so be prepared.

Song Translations

cleod & net-chan were kind enough to send me romanized lyrics of the songs on the 3x3 Eyes Seima Densetsu soundtrack. If you haven't noticed, the CD pages are a bit messy right now, so I'm going to wait and include the lyrics with the new music pages on the updated site. By then, they may have some English translations of the lyrics for us, too.

Official 3x3 Eyes RPG

I recently received more news about the new 3x3 Eyes RPG that will be published in Italy soon. Go on over to the RPG page and check it out. Hopefully the RPG will be worthwhile.

Links and MP3s

I updated the Links page with a new image gallery, Mysterium's Anime Archive, that has some 3x3 Eyes pics. While you're looking at images, be sure to visit the Amber Anime Archive if you haven't already. I grabbed some really nice Gowcaizer LD scans last night (another cool show coming out on video here in September).

If you've caught the MP3 fever that seems to be going around, go check out Serpent's 3x3 Eyes Page. There's an MP3 there of some music from one of the Seima Densetsu soundtracks, as well as a MIDI file of some Takada Band song. I'll try to figure out what the song titles are by the next update. Oh, if you are behind the times like I was yesterday, you'll need to get an MP3 player. (BTW, Serpent's site is before mine on the Sazan Eyes Webring. There are only four sites on the whole ring so far, so it shouldn't take to long to travel the whole thing. I need to harrass Fred from Pai's Page to add his site.)

Still In The USA

Quick update on my current situation: I should hear from the Japanese Immigration Bureau any day now about my work visa, and shortly thereafter I should finally be heading to Kyoto. (Actually, I'll be working in a small place called Nagaokakyo, south of Kyoto.) I should have telnet access from work, so I will have no problem keeping my web pages and email on this machine. I'll be sure to let you know how things go.

I've been working on getting the final graphics and scans for the new 3x3 Eyes site done before I leave. Things are progressing well, and I'm about to start re-editing and updating all of the text. Hopefully I will have enough done before I leave that I can upload the new stuff and not feel embarrassed. (BTW, I have a new Acer laptop, Parvati, that's going with me to Japan, so I won't be tied to my computer at work. ^_^)

Go to the News Archives for an index of past updates.

3x3 Eyes story, art, and characters Copyright © 1987-1999 Yuzo Takada / Kodansha.
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