Iria: Zeiram the Animation (1993) (V)

User Rating:

7.2/10   

Director:

Tetsuro Amino

Writer:

Keita Amemiya (story)

Genre:

Action | Horror | Animation | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

She's a bounty hunter with a score to settle.

Plot:

A monster hunter goes after a beast that could be her brother.

Plot Keywords:

Shower | Oav | Kid | Space | Bounty Hunter

Cast

Aya Hisakawa	...	Iria (voice)
Katsue Miwa	...	Kei (Japanese version) (voice)
Rica Matsumoto	...	Komanisa (Japanese version) (voice)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Jason Harris	...	Komimasa (voice)
Al Muscari	...	Puttubayh (voice)
Terry Muus	...	Kei (voice)
Stacie Lynn Renna	...	Iria (voice)
Dave Seigel	...	Zeiram (voice)
Apollo Smile	...	Additional voices (voice)
Gary Suson	...	Bob (voice)
Andrew Thorson	...	Fugikuro (voice)
Oliver Wyman	...	Dr. Touka (voice) (as Pete Zarustica)
Chris Yates	...	Gren (voice)

Runtime:

USA:151 min (edited version) | USA:162 min (6 episodes)

Country:

Japan

Language:

English | Japanese

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Canada:14A | Germany:16 | UK:12 | USA:R

Company:

Graphical Corporation Crowd Inc.

Trivia:

The prequel to the Japanese live-action sci-fi thriller Zeiramu (1991)

Quotes:

Gren: Bob, the hijacker is that immortal hat-headed bastard and he's just as weird as the rumors said he was.
[shoots Zeiram with no effect]
Gren: And as nerve-dead too.

Movie Connections:

References Batman (1989)

One great anime

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