OVA
Description
Pai, also known by her full name Pai Ayanokoji and by her alternate identity Parvati IV, is the central character of 3x3 Eyes. She is the last known surviving member of the Sanjiyan Unkara, an ancient race of three-eyed beings who look almost entirely human except for a third eye in the middle of the forehead. Pai is roughly three hundred years old and carries two distinct personalities within the same body. The first personality, called Pai, has the appearance of an ordinary human girl and is cheerful, naive, caring, and somewhat flaky. The second personality, Parvati IV, is often referred to simply as the Sanjiyan. This second persona arises when Pai is endangered, defenseless, or emotionally overwhelmed, and it is noticeably more arrogant, ruthless, rigid, and stoic. The two personalities are aware of one another and sometimes speak with each other.
In terms of background, Pai comes from the Holy Land, the original home of the Sanjiyan, a mystical realm reachable through the Konron mountains in Tibet. About three hundred years before the main story, a war broke out between the Sanjiyan and a powerful and violent member of their own race, a being who took the title of Kaiyanwang, the Demon-Eyes King. Kaiyanwang was the one-time husband of Pai. The conflict nearly destroyed the species, and after a long and bloody fight, the surviving Sanjiyan gave their own lives to banish him and seal him away. Pai was the only one left, and she came to believe that she was the last of her kind. Alone and burdened by the sorrow of her past, she decided that she no longer wanted to live as an immortal Sanjiyan and instead sought to become human through an artifact known as the Ningen no Zo, the Statue of Humanity. According to legend, this statue could transform a Sanjiyan into a mortal by transferring the powers of two members of the race into a third, which was also how many of her people had reportedly left their immortal nature behind. After taking refuge in the Tibetan mountains, she was found by an archaeologist named Professor Fujii, who befriended her, learned about her nature, and promised to help her find the statue. He fell ill and died before he could fulfill that promise.
Pai's central motivation is her wish to become human. She wants to end her existence as one of the Sanjiyan because she wants to forget her troubled past and escape the pain of outliving her kind. This goal drives the entire story, because finding the statue is the only way she can achieve her wish. It also ties directly to the fate of Yakumo Fujii, the son of Professor Fujii. After traveling to Tokyo in search of the artifact, Pai met Yakumo, who had received a letter from his late father asking him to help her. Soon afterward, Yakumo was fatally wounded by Takuhi, a large bird-like creature that Pai kept as a pet and companion. Unwilling to let Yakumo die, Pai's third eye opened and she absorbed his soul into herself, which restored his body but transformed him into her Wu. A Wu is an immortal servant created when a Sanjiyan merges a human soul with her own. Yakumo gained superhuman strength and the ability to recover from nearly any wound, but he became bound to Pai for as long as she lives. He can become fully human again only if Pai succeeds in becoming human herself, and if Pai dies, Yakumo dies with her.
Pai's role in the story is that of the protagonist whose quest shapes nearly every event. She and Yakumo travel together across the world in search of the Statue of Humanity while being pursued by demons, monsters, and the surviving followers of Kaiyanwang. These enemies come from the Shadow World and other supernatural places, and they either want to kill Pai, steal her power, or use her to resurrect their dead god and gain immortality. Because of this, her journey is not simply a search for an artifact but also a constant struggle for survival. The dual personality is central to her role, because the gentle Pai persona handles ordinary life and emotional connection while the Sanjiyan personality takes control in dangerous moments, wielding magic that Pai herself cannot use.
Her key relationships are defined by this bond. Yakumo Fujii is the most important person in her life, acting as her Wu, her protector, her traveling companion, and the one whose mortality is tied to her own. The relationship between them is built on the burden they share, since both of them can only regain their humanity if her quest succeeds. Takuhi, her pet creature, also plays a meaningful role in her past, and his death-like injury of Yakumo is the event that permanently connects her to him. On a more tragic level, her relationship with Kaiyanwang, her former husband, is part of what drives her desire to leave her immortal life behind, and the legacy of their conflict continues to threaten her throughout the story. Professor Fujii was her friend and ally, and his promise of help first gave her hope that she could change her fate.
Over the course of the story, Pai develops from a naive and somewhat helpless figure into someone who must confront the full weight of her identity and her past. She struggles with the knowledge of what she did to Yakumo, with the destructive nature of her Sanjiyan side, and with the sorrow of being the last of her kind. Her two personalities gradually become a key part of her growth, because the compassionate Pai and the powerful but cold Sanjiyan represent the conflict between her wish to remain gentle and humane and her need to use overwhelming force to survive. Her desire to become human is not only an escape from immortality but also a way to stop being the source of danger to those close to her and to lay her troubled history to rest.
As a Sanjiyan, Pai's most notable ability is the power of her third eye. When it opens, her Parvati personality takes control and can access extremely powerful magic, allowing her to perform feats far beyond what her human personality can do. This magic is exhausting, and after using it she must rest, during which time she is vulnerable to attack. Her third eye closes when her energy is depleted, and the gentle Pai personality usually resumes control once the Sanjiyan personality has rested. She also possesses the unique ability to absorb a human soul and merge it with her own, creating a Wu, an immortal guardian. Aside from these supernatural gifts, she is physically fragile and largely defenseless in her normal state, which is why the protection of her Wu is so important. Her powers are therefore both a shield and a burden, because every use of them drains her and exposes her to the very dangers she is trying to escape.
In terms of background, Pai comes from the Holy Land, the original home of the Sanjiyan, a mystical realm reachable through the Konron mountains in Tibet. About three hundred years before the main story, a war broke out between the Sanjiyan and a powerful and violent member of their own race, a being who took the title of Kaiyanwang, the Demon-Eyes King. Kaiyanwang was the one-time husband of Pai. The conflict nearly destroyed the species, and after a long and bloody fight, the surviving Sanjiyan gave their own lives to banish him and seal him away. Pai was the only one left, and she came to believe that she was the last of her kind. Alone and burdened by the sorrow of her past, she decided that she no longer wanted to live as an immortal Sanjiyan and instead sought to become human through an artifact known as the Ningen no Zo, the Statue of Humanity. According to legend, this statue could transform a Sanjiyan into a mortal by transferring the powers of two members of the race into a third, which was also how many of her people had reportedly left their immortal nature behind. After taking refuge in the Tibetan mountains, she was found by an archaeologist named Professor Fujii, who befriended her, learned about her nature, and promised to help her find the statue. He fell ill and died before he could fulfill that promise.
Pai's central motivation is her wish to become human. She wants to end her existence as one of the Sanjiyan because she wants to forget her troubled past and escape the pain of outliving her kind. This goal drives the entire story, because finding the statue is the only way she can achieve her wish. It also ties directly to the fate of Yakumo Fujii, the son of Professor Fujii. After traveling to Tokyo in search of the artifact, Pai met Yakumo, who had received a letter from his late father asking him to help her. Soon afterward, Yakumo was fatally wounded by Takuhi, a large bird-like creature that Pai kept as a pet and companion. Unwilling to let Yakumo die, Pai's third eye opened and she absorbed his soul into herself, which restored his body but transformed him into her Wu. A Wu is an immortal servant created when a Sanjiyan merges a human soul with her own. Yakumo gained superhuman strength and the ability to recover from nearly any wound, but he became bound to Pai for as long as she lives. He can become fully human again only if Pai succeeds in becoming human herself, and if Pai dies, Yakumo dies with her.
Pai's role in the story is that of the protagonist whose quest shapes nearly every event. She and Yakumo travel together across the world in search of the Statue of Humanity while being pursued by demons, monsters, and the surviving followers of Kaiyanwang. These enemies come from the Shadow World and other supernatural places, and they either want to kill Pai, steal her power, or use her to resurrect their dead god and gain immortality. Because of this, her journey is not simply a search for an artifact but also a constant struggle for survival. The dual personality is central to her role, because the gentle Pai persona handles ordinary life and emotional connection while the Sanjiyan personality takes control in dangerous moments, wielding magic that Pai herself cannot use.
Her key relationships are defined by this bond. Yakumo Fujii is the most important person in her life, acting as her Wu, her protector, her traveling companion, and the one whose mortality is tied to her own. The relationship between them is built on the burden they share, since both of them can only regain their humanity if her quest succeeds. Takuhi, her pet creature, also plays a meaningful role in her past, and his death-like injury of Yakumo is the event that permanently connects her to him. On a more tragic level, her relationship with Kaiyanwang, her former husband, is part of what drives her desire to leave her immortal life behind, and the legacy of their conflict continues to threaten her throughout the story. Professor Fujii was her friend and ally, and his promise of help first gave her hope that she could change her fate.
Over the course of the story, Pai develops from a naive and somewhat helpless figure into someone who must confront the full weight of her identity and her past. She struggles with the knowledge of what she did to Yakumo, with the destructive nature of her Sanjiyan side, and with the sorrow of being the last of her kind. Her two personalities gradually become a key part of her growth, because the compassionate Pai and the powerful but cold Sanjiyan represent the conflict between her wish to remain gentle and humane and her need to use overwhelming force to survive. Her desire to become human is not only an escape from immortality but also a way to stop being the source of danger to those close to her and to lay her troubled history to rest.
As a Sanjiyan, Pai's most notable ability is the power of her third eye. When it opens, her Parvati personality takes control and can access extremely powerful magic, allowing her to perform feats far beyond what her human personality can do. This magic is exhausting, and after using it she must rest, during which time she is vulnerable to attack. Her third eye closes when her energy is depleted, and the gentle Pai personality usually resumes control once the Sanjiyan personality has rested. She also possesses the unique ability to absorb a human soul and merge it with her own, creating a Wu, an immortal guardian. Aside from these supernatural gifts, she is physically fragile and largely defenseless in her normal state, which is why the protection of her Wu is so important. Her powers are therefore both a shield and a burden, because every use of them drains her and exposes her to the very dangers she is trying to escape.