Iria: Zeiram the Animation

Viewed on Retro Crush.

An OVA miniseries (6 episodes) that follows a futuristic bounty hunter named Iria whom gets embroiled in a conspiracy involving a suspicious mega corporation & a nearly indestructible hostile alien lifeform called "Zeiram", after being sent out on a mission to rescue the crew of a ship that has sent out a distress signal.

It clearly owes it's core concept to "Alien", however it does enough of it's own to justify it's existence. The conflict between Iria & Zeiram becomes personal in a way that it's inspiration wasn't, and Zeiram itself has an eye catching design (a theme that carries over to the series as a whole, it mixes sci-fi grandeur with traditional Japanese/Asian aesthetic influences much like other sci-fi anime of the time like "Tenchi Muyo!" & "Outlaw Star"). Not the best thing ever, but I liked it more than I had imaged I would going in.

Basically about this bounty hunter/ gun for higher crew that take on a mission that goes awry when they encounter a nearly immortal alien being and the rest of the episodes are basically this one gal's quest to ( you guessed it) try to destroy it.

They story is nothing special. The mechanical designs and world building are specifically very un-special. It's trying to do cross between woodlands and sci-fi. Think the whole Ewok sequence in Star Wars or a way lesser Tenchi Muyo. The animation has it's moments where it shines with all it's retro charm, specifically the last episode. But I really couldn't get over how boring the weapons and creatures were.

It was back in 1994 when I first laid eyes on Iria, and ever since then I've been in love with the movie. I don't consider myself an anime expert by any stretch, but I've seen enough to know what's good and what's not. There isn't a whole lot about this movie that I don't like, with the exception of some of the voice acting, but that's to be expected with translation. The action is spectacular, the characters are likeable, and the animation is beautiful. I think the thing about Iria I like the most is the villain, Zeiram. The way that he's so emotionless and tenacious is something that you don't see very often with bad guys. He doesn't talk or brag, so you don't get the run of the mill psycho or typical villain. The story holds up througout the entire movie, and moves at a very good pace, especially the action sequences. All in all I would rate Iria: zeiram the animation an 8 out of 10.

Iria has long been one of my favorite animes. The characters, locations, weapons, vehicles, and just about everything else are so uniquely designed it's incredible. They really put in the effort to create a truly unique sci-fi universe.

Iria is a young bounty hunter following in the footsteps of her older brother Gren. There's a big corporate cover-up going on and a deadly alien monster named Zeiram on the loose. I don't want to spoil the story so I'll keep the details brief.

The anime revolves around mystery and action. When things start to get too slow, a heavy dose of Iria's fighting abilities come into play. Iria's right up there with Armitage, Faye, and Motoko Kusanagi of Ghost in the Shell. Between her incredibly designed armor, Bond like gadgets, and fighting style, there's plenty to keep things fresh.

I absolutely love how they designed Iria. The hair, the weapons, the blue and white armor... it's all very cool. If you're not an Iria fan just by watching the opening then we've got different tastes. She has moves that would make Batman jealous and a good sense of humor to boot.

The music is really catchy... I always have the opening theme in my head for days after watching the movie. It's a really great song that truly fits with the style and theme of the animation.

This one's a good family anime. The message is good and the action is sure to keep everyone interested. There's a real brief shower scene in the full sub version though. It's not fan service, but brief nudity none the less.

The story itself is well told and will keep you guessing. There's plenty of twists and turns to keep things moving and interesting. All in all this is a great anime that has been a favorite of mine for many years now. Give it a shot if you like bounty hunters, female fighters, alien monster sci-fi, and/or mysteries.

• Rirath_com

They absolutely do not make them like they used to. New anime is painfully predictable & oftentimes immature; capitalizing on some trivial gimmick or twist in traditional anime archetypes. For the few good OAVs out there--like cowboy bebop--, they owe much to films like IRIA. I first saw this on Sci-Fi's 'Saturday Anime' as a child, when Anime in the U.S. was still nascent at best, and Japan was producing provocative films and advancing the genre instead of the drivel large-scale studios produce for the popular market today.

For those of you who want to see where goldies like "Outlaw Star" and "Cowboy Bebop" came from, you must watch Iria. Do not heed the 'Iria is a trite and predictable anime' warning: Iria is only trite in retrospect if you're ignorant of the fact that it was cinema like Iria that made the myriad of contemporary imitations possible.

On another note, if you like Iria don't expect to like the live-action--you simply can't transfer the 'manga-feel' to physical actors & sets without a sizeable budget!