A dying man atop the mountains of Tibet tells Pai to find his son in Japan and that he would help her. Racing through the streets of Tokyo on the way to Culture Shock, a restaurant where he works as a transvestite escort, Yakumo, the son, slams into Pai with his scooter. She gives him a letter from his father that explains that Pai is the sole survivor of a tribe of immortals, the Sanjiyan. Pai, however, longs to be human, a mystical feat that can only be accomplished through the use of an artifact called the Ningen No Zou, which Yakumo's father, an archeologist, had entrusted to a company in China right before his death.

But just as Yakumo is about to refuse this charge, a demon, Takuhi, Pai's escaped friend, pierces him with its talons. To save him, Pai bestows on Yakumo the power of immortality, rendering him a mystical Wu, thus inextricably linking their fates. And they both now must travel to China on a quest to become human.

Having had the Ningen No Zou slip through his fingers, Yakumo decides to return to Tokyo with Pai and resume his normal, high school life replete with friends and tinges of romance. All seems idyllic until the Sanjiyan within Pai's body (that which possesses her body but doesn't usurp her consciousness) insists that the quest for the Ningen No Zou must continue. Yakumo still asserts his unwillingness to search for the Ningen, but his immortality begins to scare his schoolmates. And, at one point, Mama, the proprietor of Culture Shock, convinces him that living in the grimy city pales in comparison to setting out on a fantastical journey to fight evil.

In China, a mystical channeler named Steve Long felt an evil presence and performed a purification ritual which, consequentially, brought the Ningen No Zou falling out of the sky into which it flew at the end of Chapter 1. Ling-Ling, an international investigator for the same company to which Yakumo's father entrusted the statue, tracks the artifact back to Long who has no problem taking her to see it. When he does, however, the two get caught in an explosion that rips a massive hole in the side of a Hong Kong high-rise. Pai and Yakumo patiently wait for word from Ling-Ling about the statue while Mei-Shin, Steve's sister, storms into the Yogekisho company's office and attacks the two of them looking for her missing brother.

Once the dust settles, though, the three realize they have a common goal, to find Ling-Ling and Steve and therein rescue the Ningen from the clutches of evil. Their efforts lead them to another Hong Kong high-rise where they insist on being taken to a 32nd floor that the management says does not exist. They finally do get escorted to the ostensibly non-existent floor only to discover a cult of demon worshipers who sacrifice virgins awaiting the return of Kaiyanwan.

A conflagration consumes the upper story where the cult attempts to resurrect Kaiyanwang, and into the mists, a shadowy character with gleaming read eyes disappears. Two weeks later, having recovered the Ningen, the whole group is deep in analysis of the mystical statue (and in there ranks is a dubious other worldly woman whose motives may eventually prove duplicitous). But while out shopping one day Yakumo realizes that he is deeply in love with Pai, much to the chagrin of Mei-Shin who has had the hots for the young Japanese boy ever since she laid eyes on him. Elsewhere in the marketplace, Pai eyes the shadowy stranger, Benares, and realizes that a battle will take place; and she must decide whether or not to elicit Yakumo's help or confront the monster alone. Either way, Pai and Yakumo are still inextricably linked, body and soul, as immortals. Though they would both sacrifice their lives for each other, it is imperative that they both live - for the benefit of each other and of mankind, which now lies in the crossfire of a demonic battle.

An engrossing, occult mystery upstaged by a teen sex comedy, this first "3X3 Eyes" OAV collection arcs like a rocket trying to achieve escape velocity, ever teetering on the brink of breaking a barrier. The adolescent antics of Yakumo cling to this story of demon resurrection like mud from a valued artifact, until the end when Yakumo finally breaks through his mainstay anime boy awkwardness and embraces a love for Pai that is genuine and powerful. Of course, at that point, the OAV ends and springboards into the next OAV series.

Immediately asserting the series' quirky sensibility, Yakumo motors onto the screen in a dress. Never again does his job as a transvestite escort at a chic Tokyo watering hole come into play for this narrative. Pai, a sweet, innocent, fanged immortal is possessed by a Sanjiyan, but the relationship between the inner being and the outer guise remains a perplexing, but interesting, dynamic. Swarming with cult members in daunting-looking masks, Yakumo is able to sneak into the 32nd floor compound to spy on the ritual sacrifice of Mei-Shin with nary a tap on the shoulder or a furrowed brow from any of the looming guards. Logistics and motivation tend not to be an area of concern for "3X3 Eyes" creators, which sometimes works in their favor - enshrouding how the demon world operates in mystery - and sometimes doesn't - why is Ling-Ling suddenly their bud when she was in charge of protecting the statue in the first place.

However, watching "3X3 Eyes" is a rigorous test of the suspension of disbelief. Most harrowing in this test is believing that Yakumo doesn't think his immortality is the coolest thing since sliced bread. He almost immediately rejects this gift as a burden without really being faced with just how much of a burden it really is, when any other hotheaded, teen transvestite orphan would use this opportunity to wage war on all of those bullies that made fun of his narrow, little eyes.

The piece is best when employing simplicity to its story and artwork. Supervising director Kazuhisa Takenouchi deftly balances his explosive action with long, well-paced passages of character and narrative development. Evincing particular skill, still moments that depict a character in deep contemplation about his/her destiny come off surprisingly well, given the propensity of the script to wander off into the terrain of puerile romances.

However, screenwriters Yuzo Takada, Akinori Endo and Takenouchi fashion the love affair between Yakumo and Pai into a classic star-crossed lovers epic tragedy. This may only take place at the very end of this OAV series, but it does happen and sets up the next OAV series, "Legend of the Divine Demon," with some meaty characters. Only in this last episode does Yakumo transcend from bonered, pre-adult poser to a man who understands the gravity of the role into which he has now been thrust. If it weren't for Pai, he wouldn't be charged with battling the manifestation of raw evil that is the Kaiyanwang, but because of her he's felt true love. And though that sentiment may be as insipid as Yakumo copping a feel of Mei-Shin in the Hong Kong marketplace, it is true love that becomes the much belated engine for this script; and it is true love that ultimate tests that suspension of disbelief.