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.
10 Reviews
Iria: The Grand-daddy of the Bounty-Hunter Anime
rockinapotamuskool15 February 2007
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!
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!
🌠Beaded Redhead Directs Her Spacecraft, Baster & Temper °7.5° °VG° 💯%🔍
50fiftillidideeBrain7 March 2024
This 1994 animation has a retro sound and look - anime's structure, sound, and feel changed very little in the entirety of century-20. It is a prequel to the live-action film Zeiram. Just 6 short episodes, it's worth watching this b@d@$$-in-the-making for even the casual anime fan.
Iria is wrapping up her bounty hunter apprenticeship. She's out on a mission with her brother, Gren, when things go horribly wrong. Gren and his partners went after their target, Zeiram, who was surprisingly impervious to their weaponry. Now Gren is missing and presumed dead, though Iria is determined to find him. Gren's partners, Fujikuro and Bob will help her, though a grumbling Fujikuro sometimes claims that he won't. Post Zeiram mission, Bob is reduced to a consciousness existing on a computer, which was the only way he could survive the mission. They want to find Gren, and they want to kill Zeiram - if he can be killed.
Iria has a Cowboy-Bebop-Vibe without the sexual content and the humor. It predates Cowboy Bebop by at least 4 years and seems to have influenced CB. Ed, from CB and Kei, from Iria, are particularly similar. Kei is not unlike Iria, herself. I suspect a cloning program to keep gingers in space. Most of Iria takes place on a planet (Myce) with a landscape very much like Tatooine from Star Wars. The SW impact has left its residue, sans the Jedi... or the cuteness - Iria is edgy. Iria, herself, is a cool, brave, talented, and bold lil' sis with a proceed-with-caution beaded hairdo - It's awesome. Iria is not a feel-good show, but it is good ol' Sci-fi. It is smart and direct, like Iria herself.
As of today, Iria is available on Hidive. Some dubbed titles worthy of a visit of Hidive are: Maid Sama 10, Made in Abyss 9 (currently the 3rd movie and S2 are not dubbed. Per Hidive: "Since MADE IN ABYSS: Journey's Dawn... and MADE IN ABYSS: Wandering Twilight... are compilation movies, you can either watch MADE IN ABYSS season 1 or just the two movies before moving on to the MADE IN ABYSS: Dawn of the Deep Soul..., the third movie is NOT optional "); Parasyte the Maxim 8.9, The Eminence in Shadow 8.8, No Game No Life Zero 8.8, RahXephon 8.6, Akame ga Kill! 8.6, Princess Principal 8.6, Chihayafuru 8.5, Girls Last Tour 8.5, CR Chaika The Coffin Princess 8.4, Love Chunibyo And Other Delusions 8.4, Special A Class 8.2, Food Wars 8.2, Land Of The Lustrous 8.1, Girls Und Panzer 8, Land Of The Lustrous 8, Reincarnated as a Sword 8, My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU 8, Gate 7.9, Ao-chan Can't Study 7.8, Beyond the Boundary 7.8, You're Under Arrest 7.8, Pet Shop of Horrors 7.8, Hakkenden 7.7, Monthly Girls Nozaki-kun 7.7, Is It Wrong To Pick Up Girls In A Dungeon? 7.7, Flowers of Evil 7.7 (not dubbed), Farming Life in Another World 7.7, Princess Resurrection 7.6, Akiba Maid War 7.5, Real Girl 7.5, School Live 7.5, Kokkoku 7.5, Needless 7.5, Senryu Girl 7.5, D4DJ 7.5, Iria 7.5 Kokoro Connect 7.4, Aura Battler Dunbine 7.4, Pet Girl of Sakura Hall 7.3, After the Rain 7.3, BToom! 7.3, Ice 7.3, Armed Girl's Machiavellism 7.1
Honorable Mention: Wasteful Days of High School Girls, Blue Seed, Patlabor, Get Backers, Clannad, Tsurune, Tada Never Falls in Love, Kino's Journey, Lupin III.
〰🖍 IMHO
🎬7.5 📝7.5 🎭7.5 🌞5 🎨7⚡7 🎵 7.5 😅3 🤔6 🔚8.3
Age 13+ feeling up breasts, underwear joke - mild; Hot shower scene, we see a taught backside and the side-boob. Iria has a rocking hard bod with full udders.
Re-📺? Possibly
🙇🏽
Iria is wrapping up her bounty hunter apprenticeship. She's out on a mission with her brother, Gren, when things go horribly wrong. Gren and his partners went after their target, Zeiram, who was surprisingly impervious to their weaponry. Now Gren is missing and presumed dead, though Iria is determined to find him. Gren's partners, Fujikuro and Bob will help her, though a grumbling Fujikuro sometimes claims that he won't. Post Zeiram mission, Bob is reduced to a consciousness existing on a computer, which was the only way he could survive the mission. They want to find Gren, and they want to kill Zeiram - if he can be killed.
Iria has a Cowboy-Bebop-Vibe without the sexual content and the humor. It predates Cowboy Bebop by at least 4 years and seems to have influenced CB. Ed, from CB and Kei, from Iria, are particularly similar. Kei is not unlike Iria, herself. I suspect a cloning program to keep gingers in space. Most of Iria takes place on a planet (Myce) with a landscape very much like Tatooine from Star Wars. The SW impact has left its residue, sans the Jedi... or the cuteness - Iria is edgy. Iria, herself, is a cool, brave, talented, and bold lil' sis with a proceed-with-caution beaded hairdo - It's awesome. Iria is not a feel-good show, but it is good ol' Sci-fi. It is smart and direct, like Iria herself.
As of today, Iria is available on Hidive. Some dubbed titles worthy of a visit of Hidive are: Maid Sama 10, Made in Abyss 9 (currently the 3rd movie and S2 are not dubbed. Per Hidive: "Since MADE IN ABYSS: Journey's Dawn... and MADE IN ABYSS: Wandering Twilight... are compilation movies, you can either watch MADE IN ABYSS season 1 or just the two movies before moving on to the MADE IN ABYSS: Dawn of the Deep Soul..., the third movie is NOT optional "); Parasyte the Maxim 8.9, The Eminence in Shadow 8.8, No Game No Life Zero 8.8, RahXephon 8.6, Akame ga Kill! 8.6, Princess Principal 8.6, Chihayafuru 8.5, Girls Last Tour 8.5, CR Chaika The Coffin Princess 8.4, Love Chunibyo And Other Delusions 8.4, Special A Class 8.2, Food Wars 8.2, Land Of The Lustrous 8.1, Girls Und Panzer 8, Land Of The Lustrous 8, Reincarnated as a Sword 8, My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU 8, Gate 7.9, Ao-chan Can't Study 7.8, Beyond the Boundary 7.8, You're Under Arrest 7.8, Pet Shop of Horrors 7.8, Hakkenden 7.7, Monthly Girls Nozaki-kun 7.7, Is It Wrong To Pick Up Girls In A Dungeon? 7.7, Flowers of Evil 7.7 (not dubbed), Farming Life in Another World 7.7, Princess Resurrection 7.6, Akiba Maid War 7.5, Real Girl 7.5, School Live 7.5, Kokkoku 7.5, Needless 7.5, Senryu Girl 7.5, D4DJ 7.5, Iria 7.5 Kokoro Connect 7.4, Aura Battler Dunbine 7.4, Pet Girl of Sakura Hall 7.3, After the Rain 7.3, BToom! 7.3, Ice 7.3, Armed Girl's Machiavellism 7.1
Honorable Mention: Wasteful Days of High School Girls, Blue Seed, Patlabor, Get Backers, Clannad, Tsurune, Tada Never Falls in Love, Kino's Journey, Lupin III.
〰🖍 IMHO
🎬7.5 📝7.5 🎭7.5 🌞5 🎨7⚡7 🎵 7.5 😅3 🤔6 🔚8.3
Age 13+ feeling up breasts, underwear joke - mild; Hot shower scene, we see a taught backside and the side-boob. Iria has a rocking hard bod with full udders.
Re-📺? Possibly
🙇🏽
One great anime
Rirath_com10 February 2003
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.
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
Fantastic style
exileFaker22 January 2022
This is one of those titles I never watched in the 90s as a kid (when I cut my anime teeth on Robot Carnival, Akira, and eventually, Evangelion), but just decided to give it a spin recently now that everything's free on the internet.
I can now see why it's not heralded as an all-time classic, but I really don't want to dwell on the negative here. What kept me watching (despite a noticeable dip in quality after episode 3, I'd argue) is killer originality and style. This applies mainly to visual, and to some extent audio, design (check out the OP animation, which I find to be pretty strong despite the re-use of some clips in reverse), and also to the world the series creates.
I'm going for a zero-spoilers review here, but to speak generally, there are robot/creature/technology designs in this series that are extremely creative, daring and visually interesting, and that are explored consistently from various angles across the episodes. Despite (justified) complaints about the plot, it too has some interesting elements, including the very unusual transformation of a main character early in the series.
I'm sure had I watched this in the 90s, the nostalgia factor would boost my review by several stars, but with apologies to diehard fans, I do feel 6 is appropriate--but I wanted to celebrate what is in some ways objectively a very unique, compelling and probably (in these respects) underrated anime.
I can now see why it's not heralded as an all-time classic, but I really don't want to dwell on the negative here. What kept me watching (despite a noticeable dip in quality after episode 3, I'd argue) is killer originality and style. This applies mainly to visual, and to some extent audio, design (check out the OP animation, which I find to be pretty strong despite the re-use of some clips in reverse), and also to the world the series creates.
I'm going for a zero-spoilers review here, but to speak generally, there are robot/creature/technology designs in this series that are extremely creative, daring and visually interesting, and that are explored consistently from various angles across the episodes. Despite (justified) complaints about the plot, it too has some interesting elements, including the very unusual transformation of a main character early in the series.
I'm sure had I watched this in the 90s, the nostalgia factor would boost my review by several stars, but with apologies to diehard fans, I do feel 6 is appropriate--but I wanted to celebrate what is in some ways objectively a very unique, compelling and probably (in these respects) underrated anime.
The Best Heroine Ever.
bmk20017 July 2000
Iria is beautiful. Iria is young. And Iria can kick more butt than Xena on her best day. The animation is terrific, and Zeiram is a terrific monster. Okay, the plot. Iria's brother dies on a mission that involves the invincible monster Zeiram. She vows revenge on it, using every weapon she has and every plan she can possibly conceive. For those of you who are tired of Ellen Ripley being the only real tough Science Fiction heroine, I recommend Iria.
A Successful Mission
rr-5681128 June 2022
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.
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.
One of my favorite Anime shows
Angel_Meiru17 December 2004
Warning: Spoilers
A prequel to begin a great movie franchise, Iria: Zeiram the Animation is definitely a well done anime.
It starts out with our heroine Iria, trying to stay in touch with her brother, only to have things go awry. When landing on a Spaceship called Karma, people are fleeing from a bio-mechanical robot monster called Zeiram. Her brother falls victim to the monster, sets slums on fire and devours people and gives birth to strange mutations, and he must be stopped at all costs.
Though it might not completely beat the live-action movies, it is great and entertaining, and is definitely not a typical repetitive anime that we all get sick and tired of.
BTW, Iria and Kei are cuuuuuuuute!
It starts out with our heroine Iria, trying to stay in touch with her brother, only to have things go awry. When landing on a Spaceship called Karma, people are fleeing from a bio-mechanical robot monster called Zeiram. Her brother falls victim to the monster, sets slums on fire and devours people and gives birth to strange mutations, and he must be stopped at all costs.
Though it might not completely beat the live-action movies, it is great and entertaining, and is definitely not a typical repetitive anime that we all get sick and tired of.
BTW, Iria and Kei are cuuuuuuuute!
Entertaining anime about a nearly unkillable monster.
Aaron137524 May 2009
Warning: Spoilers
I enjoyed this movie that I think was cut into two parts when I watched it on the Science Fiction channel when they showed more than just horrible movies made by them featuring computer generated snakes and such. This movie featured a female bounty hunter type girl and her brother as they end up facing off against this incredibly powerful and resilient monster. The story progresses after the demise of the brother and it has the girl trying to find out some conspiracies involving this super beast. She also battles this kind of corporation at the end of the first part then once again must try and tackle the beast again multiple times in the second part of the movie with a rather cool ending fight on some other planet. Very good action and there is just something exciting about watching the people fight the monster as it seemingly has no weakness. The story goes here and there, but it is still rather well done, I liked all the fighting in this one as the animation in this one is very well done.
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