is a novel

Novel

A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....

, manga

Manga

Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...

, and anime

Anime

is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....

 series by and illustrated by . The anime series goes under the name . According to the recent New York Comic Convention; The Third has been licensed by Kadokawa Pictures U.S.A and is distributed by Nozomi Entertainment

The Right Stuf International

The Right Stuf International, Inc. is an American retailer based in Grimes, Iowa that markets and distributes anime and manga-related products throughout the United States and internationally...

 for U.S release. The anime was released in summer of 2007.

Plot

The series is set many years after a devastating war, which killed 80% of the Earth's population. Earth is being watched by a group of beings known as The Third from a city called Hyperius. They are named after a red jewel-like eye on their forehead (Space Eye) that serves as a port for data access and other types of communication. These beings are committed to protecting the humans from harm. One of the main ways is to protect the humans is to control the amount of "technos" or technology that the humans have access to, known as the "technos taboo". Human found using forbidden technos could be killed by The Third's best "autoenforcer" an AI robot named Bluebreaker.

It follows the adventures of Honoka, a 17 year old girl who is human, but was born with a blue third eye as well. The Third found that she could not interface with the rest of The Third and so declared her a mutation and left her with human parents. Her blue eye enables her to see Chi and use it to find cloaked enemies and sense the emotions of all living things. Honoka is a jack-of-all-trades

Jack of all trades, master of none

"Jack of all trades, master of none" is a figure of speech used in reference to a person that is competent with many skills but is not necessarily outstanding in any particular one....

 who travels throughout the barren earth with the help of a sand tank operated by Bogie, an AI guardian given to her by her grandfather. She earns a living by doing various jobs with the tank like ridding areas of oversized spiders and ants and escorting or transporting clients. One night while traveling through the desert, she comes upon a strange man named Iks (eeks). He arrived on the planet for a purpose which is not clear until the last episode. The Third is also nervous about his arrival and fears he may seek to harm the humans. In order to understand the world more Iks contracts with Honoka to accompany her for most of her travels. During travel or at night, she recites poems by a writer named "Dona Myfree" (exact spelling unknown at this time).

Various other characters are woven in to bring out more of Honoka's character and virtues. She grows over the episodes into a person whose personality becomes critical to the very survival of the planet.

Characters

She is the protagonist of the story, a jack-of-all-trades that will do any job except assassinate another human. Honoka wields a katana and a pair of guns, in which she uses for battles. Honoka is known as the because of her graceful moves with her katana. She is also shown to be a gun fanatic, usually spending all of her money from her latest mission on guns.

Honoka also has a third eye similar to The Third, but this eye is blue rather than red. She does not have the abilities that The Third have, but with the blue eye, she is able to detect life forces and sense other things in her environment. She is 17 years old in the anime and 15 in the manga (which appears to take place before the anime). She is incredibly strong, where in the end of the anime series with one strike of her sword she was able to take down a large army.

He is the mysterious, seemingly young individual that Honoka meets earlier on in the series. Iks has a calm and trusting persona, appearing to be harmless. However, he is sought after by The Third since no one knows his purpose or intentions. He has special powers of healing and is later revealed to be a visiting alien sent to observe the Earth. In the end we get to know that he is the arbitrator, who has come to make decision about the Earth and also fell in love with Honoka.

A robotic mind

Artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence is the intelligence of machines and the branch of computer science that aims to create it. AI textbooks define the field as "the study and design of intelligent agents" where an intelligent agent is a system that perceives its environment and takes actions that maximize its...

 that acts a guardian, advisor and support for Honoka. He is lodged in a metal container and wears a green visor. Appears to be sentient to an extent and is often serviced at the hospital in Emporium. He will state Honoka's flaws bluntly, as well as reprimand her after spending all her money on guns, usually annoying her. He is a very skilled fighter, where he was able to defeat an anti-tank helicopter by himself.

He was one of the best mechanics and regularly services Honoka's sand tank. He travelled about in a huge crane/tank. He was killed by Blue Breaker because of repeatedly breaking the Technos Taboo near the beginning of the anime.

One of The Third and very interested in Honoka. He keeps tabs on her from time to time and wields considerable political power within The Third.

A small girl that travels with Zankan. She is cheerful and likes Honoka as if she is her sister, usually calling her Hono-chan. Currently, she is travelling with Honoka after her father, Zankan, was killed by a Blue Breaker. She now attends school in Emporium and lives with her father's sister.

A youth that meets Honoka in the first episode and is a mechanic to the sand vehicle. He wishes to follow the man's footsteps whom he calls pops; Zankan. For this, he will attend a technical school while working for Honoka's team. He has obvious feelings for Honoka, and usually gets jealous when she talks to Iks. Near the end of the anime, while trying to invent a way to improve Boogie, her tank, he breaks the Techno Taboo which causes him to be banned from being a mechanic.

A health teacher from Millie's school who takes an apparently sexual interest in Honoka. When she travelled with Honoka she revealed that she can sense chi. She also displays an open hatred towards men and carries a gun around with her. Despite her hatred towards men, near the end of the anime she helps Iks with his feelings towards Honoka, later commenting after doing so "it's like a wife helping her husband find his mistress". Honoka often refers to her as Sensei (teacher in Japanese), since she herself never went to school.

A cyborg from the Great War. He is a hunter out to merge with Allies of the Monster Troop to grow stronger. His body is made from a mysterious liquid metal and can shoot laser beams from his finger. In order to keep from deteriorating he merges with other allies from the Monster Troop as well to keep its nanomachines alive.

Episodes

#	Title (Kanji)	Title (Romaji)	Translation	DVD Title	Synopsis
1	ソード・ダンサー	Sōdo Dansā	Sword Dancer	Sword Dancer	Honoka is traveling in the desert when she stumbles upon a young man about to be ambushed by desert creatures. She and her companion AI, Bogie, rescue the young man and learn that his name is Iks.
2	慌しい一夜	Awatadashī Ichiya	A Busy Night	An Eventful Night	Honoka goes to Zankan, a friend and mechanic, to have her sand tank inspected. We also meet Jouganki, a Third with a strange connection to Honoka.
3	砂漠の街	Sabaku no Machi	Town of the Desert	Desert Town	Honoka does some mundane jobs in the desert town of Emporium to earn some money.
4	蒼い殺戮者	Burū Bureikā	Blue Breaker	Blue Breaker	Honoka receives a PSP Suit from Zankan, but as Honoka leaves, a Blue Breaker kills Zankan.
5	蒼い天宙眼	Aoi Tenchūgan	The Blue Space Eye	The Blue Astral Eye	Honoka and Millie struggle to comprehend Zankan's Death.
6	大地に吹く風	Daichi ni Fuku Kaze	The Wind that Blows Toward the Earth	The Wind That Sweeps The Land	Honoka fights the Blue Breaker that killed Zankan.
7	夜明けまで	Yoake Made	Straight Until Dawn	Until Dawn	Honoka attempts to protect a queen ant from enemies until it is strong enough to fly away.
8	エンポリウムの午後	Enporiumu no Gogo	An Afternoon In Emporium	An Afternoon In Emporium	Herds of sand dragons in the desert are stampeding for an unknown reason. A teacher at a school in Emporium possesses a strange power. The Third are investigating a crisis regarding a dimensional distortion.
9	パイフウ	Paifū	Paifu	Paife	Having been employed to search for the reason behind the fright of the sand dragons, Honoka goes off to the desert. Paifu joins Honoka as a partner. In the night, they have to deal with assassins after Paifu.
10	砂漠の墓碑	Sabaku no Bohi	Desert's Tombstone	Gravestone	The expedition group reaches the dimensional distortion, which is called Gravestone.
11	幻影との戦い	Gen'eito no Tatakai	Fight with the Illusion	Battling Against Illusion	The dimensional distortion engulfs the group and traps them in an interdimensional threshold. Honoka and Iks both disappeared.
12	それぞれの理由	Sorezore no Riyū	Their Respective Reason	Their Respective Reasons	Gravestone tries to kill each separated individual.
13	砂漠の伝説	Sabaku no Fōkuroa	Desert's Folklore	Desert Folklore	Honoka takes a break from work by traveling in the desert with Millie and Iks.
14	妖精幻視	Yōsei Genshi	Fairy Hallucination	Fairy Visions	Millie was rescued by a fairy and wolf when attacked by a monster in the desert.
15	砂嵐の夜	Sunārashi no Yoru	Night of the Sandstorm	Night Of The Sandstorm	The group search for the fairy and the wolf. Honoka opposes Leon's search for the fairy and is almost killed.
16	乱舞する生命	Ranbusuru Seimei	The Life which Dances Boisterously	Life Dancing Wildly	Honoka is healed by Kamui the wolf. When they resume their search for the fairy, they encounter Leon again.
17	ローナ・ファウナ	Rōna Fauna	Rona Fauna	Rona Fauna	Rona Fauna, one of Third, has seized control of the wormhole drive weapon and is holding Jouganki prisoner. Honoka has been asked to rescue him.
18	発動	Hatsudō	Motion / Engage	Engage	Two unexpected individuals join Honoka’s rescue team.
19	強行突破	Kyōkōtoppa	Force Breaking	Breaking Through Enemy Lines	Honoka gets separated from Bogie and Paifu and has to join forces with Blue Breaker.
20	死線を越えて	Shisen wo Koete	Over the Dead Line	Facing Down Death	Paifu and Bogie defeat their opponents. Rona Fauna becomes very weak from overusing her powers and becomes unable to control her powers.
21	届かぬ思い	Todokanu Omoi	Feelings That Won't Reach You	Emotions That Fall Short	Rona expresses her love for Jouganki and her jealousy for Honoka.
22	還らざる魂の蜃気楼	Kaerazaru Tamashii no Shinkirou	Mirage of A Past Soul	The Mirage Of A Soul Never To Return	Rona has a showdown with Honoka and the wormhole driver is activated to destroy the entire planet.
23	鋼の谷へ	Hagane no Tani e	To The Steel Valley	To The Steel Gorge	Both Iks and Honoka for different reasons to head to the Steel Gorge and face the Third.
24	これから始まる物語	Kore Kara Hajimaru Monogatari	The Story Starts from Now	The Story That Begins Here	Jouganki, Iks and Honoka go into the crevasse of the Steel Gorge to meet the Observer of the planet.

Further reading

External links

Kadokawa's The Third website XEBEC's The Third website

• Official English Site to The Third