The Third

Download here

Original release by Fansub no Tameni (FnT)
----------------------------------------------------------

The Third what ?

The Third are a group of people that fiercely guard the technological secrets of the past from the rest of mankind - the small rest of mankind that is still alive after a devastating war. Of course, it's for their (mankinds) own best. And anyone who violates the techno taboo will get more or less severely punished. I honestly haven't found out what exactly on has to do in order to violate the techno taboo: the heroine for exampel drives around in a gigantic tank piloted by an autonomous AI with more firepower than blackwater - and she apparently has no problems getting munition refills. She also has a mechanized battlesuit that could give Iron Man some pointers, so the techno taboo doesn't seem to be there to make humans more peaceful.

Anyway, the story revolves around said heroine who earns her keep by doing jobs that amount to a modern version of monster hunting - or mercenary work, if you will. She built herself quite a reputation due to her - here comes the stereotype - swordmanship. She is later occasionally accompanied by the token mysterious stranger, a lesbian school teacher/part-time merc that fell in love with her and a little kid she knew from way back.

"OMG, NOT ONE OF THOSE SERIES" you might think. A series where a skilled swordsman (or rather katanagirl) dodges bullets and is inevitably superior to the average machinegun user. Relax, it's not that bad.

In fact this series tries very hard to not fit the genre-mold:
While there is plenty of well made action, it doesn't define the show, meaning it's not about rivalry, the daily monster or the latest special-move or power up. Her companions come and go and come again, since they have their own lifes and ain't just two-dimensional sidekicks. Her ability to cut steel with a sword works only because of spoilerspoilerspoilerspoiler and not because swords are usually decent alternatives to grenade launchers and homing missiles. She doesn't behave like a schoolgirl on vacation in madmaxland and there is no evil overlord madly laughing while escaping or any such crap.

You really get the impression that the author wanted to create a world, populated it with life and observed this world for a while before actually starting to write the story.

On the downside, the author's imagination stopped at making a boring desert with a few towns and the regime of The Third, who spread the occasional unhappyness. They call themselves like that because of their third eye, by the way. The third eye is located on their forehead and is a kind of USB-port of the future, which allows them to interface with all kinds of computers. But honestly, if my fellow übermenschen had such a power, we'd probably name ourselves something cooler.

I can recommend this anime. It has all the elements that you expect in a science fiction series, convincing and likable characters, well executed action and even a small storyline. It has it's funny moments, suspense, and mysteries to discover.

Sex&Violence: Moderate violence, a moral lead character and no nudity. Some people might object to the horny lesbian teacher/merc, but even she is more interested in a real relationship than in just getting girls into her bed. And besides, anyone who objects to lesbians belongs to the moon. ^_^

Conclusion: Good action without focusing on violence. Fun without slapstick and romance without schoolgirls. Definetly recommended!