Zeiram
Encyclopedia
also known as Zeram, is a 1991 Japan
ese live-action movie
in which the bounty hunter from another planet named Iria (Yūko Moriyama) comes to Earth to do battle with Zeiram, an immortal alien creature with a strangely shaped head which resembles a wide-brimmed hat. Along with two ordinary Japanese electricians, she and Zeiram become trapped in an artificial dimension
called the Zone, and have only a limited amount of time to finish their battle. The film Zeiram was followed by a live-action sequel, Zeiram 2, as well as an OVA prequel
miniseries
called Iria: Zeiram the Animation and two videogames, Hyper Iria
and Zeiram Zone.
The Zeiram series was created by Keita Amemiya
, known for his work as both a director and an illustrator. Zeiram, like many of Amemiya's other works such as Mirai Ninja
and Hagane
, has a very distinctive visual style that incorporates traditional Eastern motifs and symbolism with science-fiction concepts. Amemiya has himself said that Zeiram's rather striking appearance was inspired by the image of a lone traveler in a straw hat and cloak that was common in the Japanese period
drama
s he watched as a child. He was also inspired by The Terminator
to create an unstoppable villain which changes its form but never dies.
Zeiram (Mizuho Yoshida) is an alien of unknown origin. It appears to be a very large, imposing humanoid
wearing a wide, circular hat and a ragged cloak, and its appearance is usually accompanied by an eerie chant. However, its true form is actually the small Noh
-like face on its hat. This face is its only weak point; the rest of the body is almost indestructible and regenerates quickly as long as Zeiram is able to feed, which it does by extending the little face on the end of a fleshy tentacle to take bites out of people. By doing this, it also absorbs the genetic material of its victims, which it uses to generate smaller, weaker monsters to do its bidding. These monsters seem to be partial clones of whoever's genetic material was used in their creation (in Zeiram 2, a dog is killed by Zeiram and the resulting monster looks vaguely like a weird dog alien). Zeiram itself is able to change its own form to a large degree, and appears in many different forms throughout the series. It can produce many different weapons such as guns and swords from its body, although these are probably weapons taken from its victims and stored inside itself. In addition to consuming organic tissue through its core, if it sustains enough damage, Zeiram is able to ingest a victim's entire body, keeping that person alive for some time inside itself while it digests them, regenerating itself and drawing on their genetic material and even their memories to create more advanced clones.
Although the core face is Zeiram's only weak point, even that may be impossible to permanently destroy. In Zeiram 2, the creature's core, which was presumed dead, is recovered by a shadowy organisation which installs it as the organic core of a robotic supersoldier
. This new cyborg
Zeiram starts out bearing a mild resemblance to its precursor, before it lost the hat and cloak in favour of an appearance patterned after a classic Japanese fox-spirit, or kitsune
. The actual core of Zeiram is visible on the robot's stomach. Naturally, even in an artificial body Zeiram cannot be controlled, and it goes on a killing spree. It is possible that Zeiram itself is partly biomechanical, since even in IRIA it is shown to be able to infect and control computers.
Although Zeiram is usually referred to as a male, the face which serves as its core seems to be female. Indeed, some of its mutations quite visibly possess female breasts. Its partially regenerated appearance in Zeiram 2 might suggest that its original form was that of a miniature female humanoid.
Zeiram is reasonably intelligent although it doesn't seem to be able to speak or understand human language. Just how intelligent is up for debate, since it spends most of its time mindlessly killing everything in sight.
The dubbed U.S. release of the film titled it Zeram and simplified the pronunciation of the name. It was produced by Streamline Pictures
for Fox Lorber Video, and atypically, placed a card at the end of the film identifying the members of the dubbing cast. It was retroactively added to the Mondo Pop label, though it was not packaged as such. Both Zeiram movies and the Iria OVA are currently available (in the original Japanese) on DVD from Media Blasters
.
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese live-action movie
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
in which the bounty hunter from another planet named Iria (Yūko Moriyama) comes to Earth to do battle with Zeiram, an immortal alien creature with a strangely shaped head which resembles a wide-brimmed hat. Along with two ordinary Japanese electricians, she and Zeiram become trapped in an artificial dimension
Parallel universe (fiction)
A parallel universe or alternative reality is a hypothetical self-contained separate reality coexisting with one's own. A specific group of parallel universes is called a "multiverse", although this term can also be used to describe the possible parallel universes that constitute reality...
called the Zone, and have only a limited amount of time to finish their battle. The film Zeiram was followed by a live-action sequel, Zeiram 2, as well as an OVA prequel
Prequel
A prequel is a work that supplements a previously completed one, and has an earlier time setting.The widely recognized term was a 20th-century neologism, and a portmanteau from pre- and sequel...
miniseries
Miniseries
A miniseries , in a serial storytelling medium, is a television show production which tells a story in a limited number of episodes. The exact number is open to interpretation; however, they are usually limited to fewer than a whole season. The term "miniseries" is generally a North American term...
called Iria: Zeiram the Animation and two videogames, Hyper Iria
Hyper Iria
is a cyberpunk action video game loosely based on the anime Iria: Zeiram the Animation. The game was released in 1995 to an exclusively Japanese market.-Summary:...
and Zeiram Zone.
The Zeiram series was created by Keita Amemiya
Keita Amemiya
is a prolific Japanese character designer and director from Urayasu, Chiba. Amemiya is known for his sophisticated science fiction & fantasy designs and unique directorial style, and is recognized among tokusatsu genre fans as one of the most creative, respected and successful professionals of all...
, known for his work as both a director and an illustrator. Zeiram, like many of Amemiya's other works such as Mirai Ninja
Mirai Ninja
, fully titled as , is a beat 'em up arcade game that was released by Namco in 1988 only in Japan. Mirai Ninja was based on the Japanese movie of the same name, also produced by Namco. The game ran on Namco System 2 hardware.-Summary:...
and Hagane
Hagane: The Final Conflict
Hagane: The Final Conflict is a 1994 side-scrolling platform game developed by Keita Amemiya and Red Entertainment and published by Hudson Soft for the Super Nintendo. In the United States Hagane was only available at Blockbuster Video stores.-Story:...
, has a very distinctive visual style that incorporates traditional Eastern motifs and symbolism with science-fiction concepts. Amemiya has himself said that Zeiram's rather striking appearance was inspired by the image of a lone traveler in a straw hat and cloak that was common in the Japanese period
Period piece
-Setting:In the performing arts, a period piece is a work set in a particular era. This informal term covers all countries, all periods and all genres...
drama
Drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do","to act" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a...
s he watched as a child. He was also inspired by The Terminator
The Terminator
The Terminator is a 1984 science fiction action film directed by James Cameron, co-written by Cameron and William Wisher Jr., and starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Michael Biehn, and Linda Hamilton. The film was produced by Hemdale Film Corporation and distributed by Orion Pictures, and filmed in Los...
to create an unstoppable villain which changes its form but never dies.
Zeiram (Mizuho Yoshida) is an alien of unknown origin. It appears to be a very large, imposing humanoid
Humanoid
A humanoid is something that has an appearance resembling a human being. The term first appeared in 1912 to refer to fossils which were morphologically similar to, but not identical with, those of the human skeleton. Although this usage was common in the sciences for much of the 20th century, it...
wearing a wide, circular hat and a ragged cloak, and its appearance is usually accompanied by an eerie chant. However, its true form is actually the small Noh
Noh
, or - derived from the Sino-Japanese word for "skill" or "talent" - is a major form of classical Japanese musical drama that has been performed since the 14th century. Many characters are masked, with men playing male and female roles. Traditionally, a Noh "performance day" lasts all day and...
-like face on its hat. This face is its only weak point; the rest of the body is almost indestructible and regenerates quickly as long as Zeiram is able to feed, which it does by extending the little face on the end of a fleshy tentacle to take bites out of people. By doing this, it also absorbs the genetic material of its victims, which it uses to generate smaller, weaker monsters to do its bidding. These monsters seem to be partial clones of whoever's genetic material was used in their creation (in Zeiram 2, a dog is killed by Zeiram and the resulting monster looks vaguely like a weird dog alien). Zeiram itself is able to change its own form to a large degree, and appears in many different forms throughout the series. It can produce many different weapons such as guns and swords from its body, although these are probably weapons taken from its victims and stored inside itself. In addition to consuming organic tissue through its core, if it sustains enough damage, Zeiram is able to ingest a victim's entire body, keeping that person alive for some time inside itself while it digests them, regenerating itself and drawing on their genetic material and even their memories to create more advanced clones.
Although the core face is Zeiram's only weak point, even that may be impossible to permanently destroy. In Zeiram 2, the creature's core, which was presumed dead, is recovered by a shadowy organisation which installs it as the organic core of a robotic supersoldier
Supersoldier
Supersoldier is a term often used to describe a soldier that operates beyond normal human limits or abilities. Supersoldiers are common in science fiction literature, films, TV programs, computer, conspiracy theories, and video games, but have also made appearances in other related genres, such as...
. This new cyborg
Cyborg
A cyborg is a being with both biological and artificial parts. The term was coined in 1960 when Manfred Clynes and Nathan S. Kline used it in an article about the advantages of self-regulating human-machine systems in outer space. D. S...
Zeiram starts out bearing a mild resemblance to its precursor, before it lost the hat and cloak in favour of an appearance patterned after a classic Japanese fox-spirit, or kitsune
Kitsune
is the Japanese word for fox. Foxes are a common subject of Japanese folklore; in English, kitsune refers to them in this context. Stories depict them as intelligent beings and as possessing magical abilities that increase with their age and wisdom. Foremost among these is the ability to assume...
. The actual core of Zeiram is visible on the robot's stomach. Naturally, even in an artificial body Zeiram cannot be controlled, and it goes on a killing spree. It is possible that Zeiram itself is partly biomechanical, since even in IRIA it is shown to be able to infect and control computers.
Although Zeiram is usually referred to as a male, the face which serves as its core seems to be female. Indeed, some of its mutations quite visibly possess female breasts. Its partially regenerated appearance in Zeiram 2 might suggest that its original form was that of a miniature female humanoid.
Zeiram is reasonably intelligent although it doesn't seem to be able to speak or understand human language. Just how intelligent is up for debate, since it spends most of its time mindlessly killing everything in sight.
The dubbed U.S. release of the film titled it Zeram and simplified the pronunciation of the name. It was produced by Streamline Pictures
Streamline Pictures
Streamline Pictures was an American media company that was best known for its distribution of English dubbed Japanese animation. -Founding:Founded in Los Angeles, California, in 1988, Streamline Pictures was one of the first North American companies that was created primarily for the intention of...
for Fox Lorber Video, and atypically, placed a card at the end of the film identifying the members of the dubbing cast. It was retroactively added to the Mondo Pop label, though it was not packaged as such. Both Zeiram movies and the Iria OVA are currently available (in the original Japanese) on DVD from Media Blasters
Media Blasters
Media Blasters is an entertainment corporation founded by John Sirabella and Sam Liebowitz, based in New York City. They are in the business of licensing, translating, and releasing to the North American market manga compilations and anime and live-action movies and television series to home-video...
.