"Gasaraki" is the story of the Earth's first robotic combat machines. Yushiro Gowa, the prodigal scion of the innovative Gowa Corporation is skilled both in piloting the robotic Tactical Armor units (TAs) as well as in invoking mystical energies through the Gasara dance. Despite his talents, Yushiro suffers from an eternal emptiness that just might be filled through his relationship with Miharu, another Gasara dancer working for the mysterious organization known as Symbol.

Amid evidence that the Japanese government is involved in some sort of cover-up regarding the TAs, Yushiro's elder brother Kazukiyo Gowa meets with Hiraku Nishida, an elderly, blind warrior who wishes to unleash selective violence against the Japanese people in order to strengthen Japan against growing opportunism and selfishness. At the Gowa laboratory the plot takes a startling twist when Miharu breaks into the Gowa headquarters to retrieve the missing components taken by the Japanese TAs in Belgistan. As she exits the plant, Miharu reveals to Yushiro the startling secret she has uncovered during the raid - the Gowa family refers to Yushiro as "the test subject" and that the real Yushiro Gowa has been deceased for years. As the episode ends, Yushiro's entire existence is mired in uncertainty.

In an attempt to understand the information Miharu has imparted to him, Yushiro returns to his family home to confront his parents. At his ancestral home, Yushiro meets with his instructor, Sorachi, who leads Yushiro into an abandoned storehouse. There Yushiro discovers the cryogenically preserved body of Sorochi's son Ku-ya as well as a body that is probably his, along with the slouched form of a formidably-advanced robot, known as the Kugai. Meanwhile, Yushiro's sister, Misuzu, and Ataka, one of the female TA pilots, have followed Yushiro to the site, where they are surprised by the sudden appearance of Miharu and another of the symbol weapons platforms, known as Ishtars.

Sensing the proximity of Miharu and the other Symbol Ishtar (known colloquially as Fakes), Yushiro instinctively begins to perform the Gasara Dance. Before long, the stomach of the abandoned robot, known as the Kugai, opens up and takes in Yushiro as a pilot. The robot, adorned like an ancient Japanese samurai, battles and defeats the intruding weapons platforms and captures Miharu. When Yushiro leaves the Kugai, his master, Sorochi, informs him that Yushiro is a kai, a man with the special talent required to control the Kugai, and that the Kugai itself is a gift from Gasaraki. Sorochi says Yushiro must travel to Kyoto with Miharu in order to find out more.

Inexplicably freed from the lethargy of the second cycle, "Gasaraki" Vol. 3 quickly takes the narrative to top form. All of the plot elements that made the first Gasaraki volume both exciting and inventive return in the third cycle, and the mystery unfolds in exciting new directions as characters whose development had languished in cryogenic freeze burst back into life.

The primary innovation of the Gasaraki epic has been its seamless weaving of the familiar battling-robot story with endless layers of Japanese and Buddhist mysticism. Earlier episodes opened with Yushiro performing the chillingly mystical Gasara dance for reasons that were not quite clear. "Storehouse" and "Kugai" advance this plot masterfully by revisiting that dance and fulfilling the subtle promises that dark forces were in fact behind it. As it turns out, the development of robotic combat platforms might be the result of a nefarious relationship between the Gowa clan and the dark god Gasaraki. The robots may not be merely man-made killing machines, but the unholy avatars of the dark god on Earth. Adding to the joy of this revelation is the fact that even as the original inscrutability of the plot drops away, there are tempting hints that more delectable revelations lie just over the next horizon.

Even the characters of "Gasaraki," thus far not the strength of the story, find themselves suddenly defined in the third cycle. The Gowa brothers are no longer merely overlords of an ultra-high-tech corporation, but members of a conspiracy that may outshine the Iran-Contra affair for complexity and malevolent genius. Ataka, one of the TA pilots, assumes her place as a companion to Yushiro in the real world, a perfect foil for the Miharu, Yushiro's potential companion in the world of the kai. Yushiro too, finally acquires a credible motive as well when his brooding turns out to be completely justified - after all, he is dead! Now, the central protagonist is on a quest to rediscover himself, and the audience will be allowed to discover the real Yushiro along with him.

Even the battle scenes evolve in this latest cycle, as the tireless battle between Gowa TAs and Symbol/Belgistanian Fakes is replaced by a melee between the talented Miharu and the devilishly slick Kugai. Instead of machines firing at machine, the battle in "Kugai" is reminiscent of showdowns between Samurai warriors. This is far more involving than the childish interposition of underdeveloped robots onto a romanticized Gulf War backdrop that made the second set of episodes a dud. With these developments, the series is back on track and ready to thrill.