Getting double-crossed by a "friend" of big brother Gren might be second-nature to Iria, Assistant Hunter, but when the cargo on a rescue mission turns out to be Zeiram, the bizarre life form classified as a Class A danger, she finds herself in a little bit over her head. Bereft of her beloved brother, she is faced with one thing after another in this action-packed anime. Iria shows just what kind of wonderful vision can be captured when resources are dedicated to an OAV series-top of the line in 1994, it can still wow audiences today.

Iria’s plot relies primarily on action and interest in the characters to drive it onward, but nonetheless manages to captivate one to the very end. There’s a bit of commentary on the short-sightedness of money-grubbing corporation heads and some enjoyable just desserts thrown in the face of some callous creeps, as well, but who really cares ^_^ What is important is the pacing and the progression involved in the escalation of the conflict, and the makers of Iria demonstrate a good understanding of both. There are a number of surprises on top of an enemy whose face and nature seem to constantly evolve, rounded out with enough cool action scenes to tie it all together. Even if the ultimate weak point for Zeiram might seem a bit of a let-down at the end, the means Iria uses to figure out this weak point are quite extraordinary. All in all Iria’s plot does quite well in spite of the "kill the foozle" premise….

The cast of characters in Iria is also well-done. There is a lot of character development and insight revealed throughout the series, which makes Iria a fairly unique action heroine at the end of the day. She’s not a heartless killer out to coolly take out an enemy for vengeance in some sexy outfit, but rather a very compassionate young tomboy whose happy world was shattered in a single mission, forcing her to mature quickly and pick up the pieces. Even when deeply angered at the injustice of a situation, she does not kill her enemies in cold blood, being more inclined to teach them a dangerous lesson to live with. The other characters are also quite enjoyable, even our double-crossing mercenary "friend" Fujikuro. And at the end of the day, Iria does complete her journey from young tomboy sidekick to mature, motherly Hunter extraordinaire.

The protagonist, Iria, is a very compassionate young tomboy whose happy world was shattered in a single mission, forcing her to mature quickly and pick up the pieces.	Zeiram, the bizarre, constantly evolving life form, is but one of the many imaginative visual treats which populate the world of Iria.

The animation for Iria does a perfect job of capturing the wonder of a science fiction vision of the future. The animation itself is well-paced, doing a great job of drawing the audience into the heart of the action even if there are some cheap tricks used from time to time. Where Iria truly shines, though, is in the imagination captured in the dreamy backdrops and the cool gadgets which populate the world of Iria. The technology as a whole has an interesting organic feel to it, with tanks that have turrets inflating before firing as if the tanks were drawing in breath to spew fire like a dragon, and the widely different forms of locomotion and assault. Throw in Zeiram, who is a truly bizarre and fitting nemesis, and you have a visual experience that really shouldn’t be missed!

Iria’s soundtrack is also distinctly its own. The composers have done a great job of encapsulating the strangeness that is Zeiram musically, and the opening and closing songs also perfectly capture the mood of the protagonist, Iria. Other background tracks positively set the tone for the various scenes and aptly serve their purpose in immersing the audience in the anime. This music’s excellence again highlights everything that one should expect from an OAV series.

As a whole, Iria is a high quality title which should not be missed by anyone who enjoys action thrillers. Just don’t look to the series with a critical eye for scientific principles or exciting new pesudo-scientific theories, as Iria definitely leans more towards the “fiction” than the “science” of “science fiction” ^_^

For those who might be concerned about the warning towards “brief nudity” on the packaging, bear in mind that this refers only to a pair of shower scenes, neither of which is remotely sexual in nature. This is really more of an “all ages” title for those who don’t mind exposing their children to the level of violence exhibited in your typical action flick.

As far as translations go, the CPM’s translation was fairly interpretive, but I never felt that the dialogue changes inhibited or missed any of the mood of the scenes, unlike the omissions and interpretive changes done by Viz to Key the Metal Idol. There was, however, a single line of dialogue spoken by Komimasa to Kei which was untranslated for no apparent reason-but it really was a fairly minor line, in spite of its length. It may have just been omitted in the DVD version as a minor mistake, but it’s been too long since I originally watched the VHS version for me to be sure.

If you’re planning on picking up the DVD edition, you should also bear in mind that you’ve got 162 minutes of animation on a single disc, and naturally the video quality is going to suffer. The pixellation and rainbowing doesn’t detract from the title too much, but it’s there, and fans are probably going to wish CPM had taken the time to make a two DVD release. Additionally, there aren’t any of the extras which perk up more recent DVD releases, aside from a fairly detailed foldout of chapter stops. All in all, the DVD release is still superior to VHS, both in quality and value, but…it is very clear that this was one of CPM’s early DVD releases.

Distributor: CPM
Creator: Crowd, Bandai Visual, Banpresto
Released: 1994

Plot: A-
Character Design: A
Animation Quality: A-
Music: A
Overall: A