The Third

ザ・サード

17 volumes

1999 – present

The story takes place long after a devastating war wiped out 80% of Earth's population. A group of beings called The Third watches over Earth from the city Hyperius. They are named for a red, jewel-like eye on their forehead called a Space Eye, which acts as a port for data access and other communication. The Third is dedicated to protecting humans, mainly by controlling the amount of technology—or "technos"—that humans can use, a rule known as the "technos taboo." Any human caught using forbidden technos risks being killed by Bluebreaker, an AI robot that serves as The Third's top autoenforcer. The story follows Honoka, a 17-year-old girl who is human but was born with a blue third eye. The Third discovered she could not interface with the rest of them, so they labeled her a mutation and left her with human parents. Her blue eye allows her to see Chi, which she uses to locate cloaked enemies and sense the emotions of all living things. Honoka is a jack-of-all-trades who travels across 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 taking on various jobs with the tank, such as clearing areas of oversized spiders and ants, or escorting and transporting clients. One night while crossing the desert, she encounters a strange man named Iks. He arrived on the planet with a purpose that remains unclear until the final episode. The Third is uneasy about his arrival and fears he may intend to harm humans. To better understand this world, Iks contracts with Honoka to accompany her on most of her travels. During their journey, whether traveling or at night, she recites poems by a writer named "Dona Myfree" (exact spelling unknown at this time).