Iria

Director
Tetsuro Amino
Country of origin
Japan
Format
OVA
Running time
30 mins, 6 episodes
Year
1993

Iria

By Stephen Lerch
19th May 04

Iria is an extremely well done OVA from 1994 (1994 is when it was released in Japan anyway). The animation is high quality, the story is good and the voice acting is top notch.

Short Synopsis:

The story is of a bounty huntress, who begins the tale as a hunter's assistant, not a full hunter. She is the assistant to her "brother" Glen (or Gren, depending on your take). The mission they are assigned in the beginning of the series is to rescue some people stranded on a space station that has been hijacked. It turns out it wasn't really hijacked, but the "merchandise" (one nigh invincible killing machine by the name of Zeiram) has escaped and taken control of the station. They arrive at the station only to learn that most of the crew has been slaughtered in some very violent ways. They manage to rescue the crew members at an expense. Glen loses his life and Iria is left floating in space. Iria ends up on a planet where she meets some little "street urchins" and we learn, from the fact that Zeiram ends up on the planet as well, that Glen may not be dead after all. Should Iria seek revenge or search for her brother? You'll need to watch it to find out the rest.

Video:

One of the draws of this release is that the video is "remastered." Is this a good thing or a bad thing? To me, it's a good thing, though they have made some comprimises. The video is extremely clean, with very little sign of dust/dirt on the film. The colors have been brightened, and whereas it causes some problems in certain areas, it is generally well done over all. In the original Image release, it was showered with rainbows and plenty of compression blocking. Rainbows, while they still exist, are few and far between, though still noticeable. This could be a problem with the source material used, I'm not sure.

One problem with the video is the use of Edge Enhancement. While it does exist, it is low key in most instances. One case where it is evident something went wrong is during the first 10 minutes of the last episode. They must have hit the EE nob hardcore the day they were authoring the DVD, as after the first 10 minutes, it drops back to the same level as was seen in the prior episodes. One other thing that has been fixed with this release, is that the openings and endings are intact before and after each episode, and in Japanese text no less! Edge Enhancement is apparent in the text in the ending, however, though the picture that changes from black and white to color seems unmolested for the most part. Credits in English are available after the 3 episodes on each disc, and it's credits for each episode, not just a dump of generic credits.

Audio:

You are given a choice between Japanese 2.0/5.1 and English 2.0. The English dub is the same dub used on the Image/CPM release.

Don't watch the 5.1 mix. Basically it is a fake 5.1 mix. They took the music and duplicate it between all of the speakers, which tends to be OK, but one thing they've done wrong is that the dialog plays through all of the front speakers when a character is "front and center."This causes an odd echo type effect. This is mostly an issue in regards to Iria, but less so on the other characters.It can be quite distracting. Also be aware that the volume level between the stereo mixes and the 5.1 mix are profound. If you turn up the volume to watch one of the 2.0 mixes, be careful when you switch to the 5.1, as it may be overly load.

I haven't watched the 2.0 mixes yet, though I have spot checked them and there doesn't appear to be any issues with them.

Extras:

2 video interviews, 2 text intervies, plenty of stills, trailers for Amemiya live action films and AnimeWorks Anime. Nice, but not something you are likely to watch more than once.

Packaging:

This release, at least the version I bought, comes in a VERY cool tin, then is held in a crappy 3 disc DVD case. Being what it is, I had a floater when the set arrived at my house. Thankfully, no real damage was caused. THe disc setup is similar to that used on the Kurogane Communication set, though this is a bit easier to handle as the 3rd disc, which sits beneath disc 2 and cannot be taken out if disc 2 is in place, is the extras disc. Once you've seen them once, there is likely no reason to see them again, at least not any time soon and definitely not something you need to see every time you watch the show.

Final Analysis:

This is a great show. One of the few I would recommend everyone who enjoys Anime see. Great characters, lots of action and a good story. Regardless of whether you spring for the remastered version or the Image version, the content is basically the same. Personally I prefer the remastered version, as I find endless rainbows and compression blocking iritating. Your mileage may vary. Media-Blasters did a great job, though they could have done better. Maybe when the show hits 20 we will see the perfect release on HD-DVD?

9/10

-- Stephen Lerch 19th May 04

Iria Images