10 Underrated 1990s Anime You Probably Haven't Seen
2. Iria: Zeiram The Animation
The story of Iria: Zeiram the Animation is a wild thing:
Originally produced as a tie-in to a live-action movie about an
interspace bounty hunter named Iria who comes to earth to hunt an
immortal creature named Zeiram. More specifically it was produced as
a prequel to the original '91 film in order to advertise the sequel, which also came out in '94.
Iria, the anime, did appear on western television in the nineties with the foul language reduced a bit in the English dub. Unfortunately even though Iria is largely considered one of the best Sci-Fi anime of the decade, it is often overshadowed by other great Sci-Fi anime such as Akira and Battle Angel: Alita.
One thing that makes Iria so good is that the main character, Iria, does not start the series as an unassailable badass – she's an intern to her older, adoptive brother – the real badass of the series. In the early episodes Iria's mentors are killed or lost in action and Iria is left on her own to grow – and try to get her revenge on the walking bioweapon, Zeiram.
Basically, imagine the original Terminator if Sarah Connor fought the Terminator after it killed Kyle Reese during the opening credits.