Dirty Pair

Tough girls.

 

The 80s were a unique decade for science fiction. Inspired by blockbusters from the   previous decade, we witnessed the birth of some of the most beloved Animé franchises that still keep their legacy intact despite the sad transition from Animation cels to CGI. Comic Books also released some of their best "Graphic Novels" and giant story arc events that had their sequels and remakes decades later. Music wise, that same trail of creativity was felt immensely with the rise to fame of Disco, New Wave, Glam Rock Hardcore Punk, and Alternative Rock. Of course, not everything was nice in the 80s. They killed John Lennon! dictatorships were rotting Latin America, and the consequences of Cold War still seemed like a very real threat. 

Anyway, the Animé industry, being as culturally Japanese as it can, it also nurtured itself with what was going on both good and bad.

Dirty Pair must be one of the earliest successful attempts at putting women front and center. No more damsels in distress, no more men saving the day. Produced by some of the busiest animation companies in the 80s: Studio Nue (Macross, Orguss & Samurai Pizza Cats, Sunrise (Mobile Suit Gundam, Cowboy Bebop, Inu Yasha) and Nozomi Entertainment (Zeta Gundam, The Rose Of Versailles), Dirty Pair is a testimony of what the 80s thought the future would be like. Neon colors, disco music, robots ,and fearless heroes. 

"If you're in a big trouble, call the World Welfare Work Association or WWWA. They will send out a team of highly trained capable agents called Trouble Consultants who can solve your problems. But if the team they send you is the Dirty Pair, there will be a lot of collateral damage aside from solving your problems."

An inseparable team of justice and comedy.

New artwork for the Blu Ray box.

While their prominence in Japanese animation is unquestionably admirable, it’s how relevant the show feels almost thirty years later that truly impresses. The balance between hilarious eighties cheesiness and masterful animation is remarkably inviting, making the episodes feel like something that could have been released a few years ago. Yes, newbies will find the 4:3 aspect ratio annoying, but Yoshikazu Yasuhiko’s art style is as electrifying as ever.

The show revolves around Kei and Yuri, two enticing members of the Trouble Consultant Team 234. The code named “Lovely Angels” are disaster magnets, always leaving a trail of utter chaos and madness…hence their nickname Dirty Pair. Despite their destructive temperament, they somehow always end up catching the bad guy, even if it means destroying half a city. Dirty Pair can be best described as a Cyberpunk action-comedy inspired by classics like Blade Runner and Mad Max. While the tone is clearly more lighthearted, fans of such films will absolutely devour the show’s diverse sci-fi aesthetic. The action sequences in nearly every episode are nothing short of amazing. The spectacular battle set pieces give Dirty Pair an impressive cinematic quality and while most of the series feels somewhat episodic in nature, the charming duo keeps each narrative segment thoroughly entertaining and captivating.

 

Incredible artwork from the incredible blu ray box.

Dirty pair indeed.

The inspiration for Dirty Pair novels was a visit to Japan by the British Australian science-fiction author A. Bertram Chandler, probably in 1978. On his itinerary was a stop at the young Studio Nue, which Takachiho co-founded. As something to entertain their guest, two of the staffers there, Yuri Tanaka and Keiko Otoguro, hit upon the idea with Takachiho of taking Chandler to a tournament of the All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling organization, which was a member of the World Women's Wrestling Association (WWWA). The card included the highly-popular wrestling (and singing) team, the Beauty Pair. Something that passed among the foursome during that match led Chandler to remark to Takachiho something to the effect that "the two women in the ring may be the Beauty Pair, but those two with you ought to be called 'the Dirty Pair'."

This became the germ of an idea for a novella Takachiho decided to write, transplanting the rough-housing of pro-wrestling to the realm of space-opera mystery stories, with which he already had experience in his already successful Crusher Joe series. The team code-name "Lovely Angels" is also a play on the names of certain women's teams of the time, such as the Queen Angels.

 

Dirty Pair,the novels.

The wrestlers that inspired our lovely angels.

An anime television series based on the novels, simply titled Dirty Pair, ran for 24 episodes on Nippon Television affiliates from July to December 1985, winning the Animage Anime Grand Prix prize for that year. Scripts had been written for two additional episodes, that were produced after the TV-series had aired, and released as an OVA in January 1987. In subsequent re-airings those two episodes were added to the original show making the series 26 episodes long.

The Dirty Pair anime has a closer setup to the original light novels by Haruka Takachiho more than any of the other incarnations. Unlike the light novels, the universe of the anime has a more comical atmosphere and presents the typical styles of a 1980s inspired future. The Lovely Angels and the WWWA reside in a location known as Eleanor City where Kei (voiced by Kyouko Tonguu) and Yuri (voiced by Saeko Shimazu) live in an apartment together in the city's famous Damocles Tower. The chief of the 3WA in this version is Gooley Andrew Francess along with Calico who serves as second in command. The Lovely Angels also have two assistants, a genetically modified feline named Mughi, and a small robot known as Nanmo.

 

Their 1st appearance in the Crusher Joe OVA.

Crusher Joe in Dirty Pair final episode OVAs.

Since Dirty Pair was very well received in Japan, it led to its first animated film Dirty Pair: Project Eden in 1986. Later in 1987, a 10 OVA series was released. To avoid confusion with the original Animé, the series was called Original Dirty Pair in Japan and Dirty Pair 2 in English. Also in 1994 the Dirty Pair Flash series was a reimagining of the original series and it ran for 16 episodes until 1996. Of course, its international fame would come a bit later with the big OVA boom from the early 90s. I remember seeing Dirty Pair mentioned in a few fanzines, and offered by mail service in glorious VHS format. Luckily, retrofuture allowed it to be re-released on DVD, and also in a brand new HD transfer on Blu-Ray. God!, how I love retro animé on HD! the mastering work makes it look brand new, and the colors! oh the colors! neon everywhere! Not to mention the pristine sound that boosts the action scenes and improve the dialogs and soundtrack by a 100%. 

 

But has it aged well? 

 

Absolutely! Don't believe all the crap stupid teenagers write about Animé from the 70s and 80s. Their usual complains include "I don't like the 4:3 ratio", "The animation is horrible compared to today standards". Fucking ball-sacks!  The 4:3 Ratio is the "TV Aspect" Even television from the 90s had it! Get an education! The animation sucks? go gag on Satan's mayonnaise! These shows were all hand-drawn! the artistic value they hold is incalculable! go jerk-off to your lame CGI furry-femboy shit!

Teen roasting aside, this Animé in particular was produced by three of the most prolific and creative studios from the 80s. The animation style is top notch even by today's standards.

The lovely angels!

Print magazines will return in the retrofuture.

Plot wise, each episode is its own adventure. In comic book lingo, each episode is a "one shot". However, this doesn't mean it ends up being derivative, and boring like most American made cartoons from the same decade. Comedy plays a major role here, and we do get to see the chemistry the main characters share with either their colleagues & enemies. Dirty Pair was made to entertain, and even 37 years later after its release, you can still get every joke.  In addition, the show tends to maintain the base of an action-comedy, but along the way hits on everything from crime thrillers to psychological horror to westerns. If you're just going through the series for the first time, there's an innate compulsion to fire up the next episode just to see what happens next. Meanwhile, if you're revisiting the series, the quality of the episodes remain intact. In no time you'll be back in the 80s saying "Oh!, I remember that episode!". Two crazy memorable episodes are the 'mouse dictator' episode or the one where Kei and Yuri try to work their way into the good graces of a guy with a violent allergy to women. Basically, Dirty Pair TV, some call it that, isn't just the best Dirty Pair anime, it's also the gateway drug that will turn you into a fan. Just don't forget there are animated movies, a collection of OVAs and the 90s remake waiting for you once you complete your journey through one of the best Animé from the 80s, and probably all time.

Here's the Opening:

Here's the Ending:

And a bonus video comparing the original standard definition of the series with the recent Blu Ray remaster:

Violence Jack

A man of action.

Now that the end of the year festivities are around the corner, nothing screams family entertainment like バイオレンスジャック , AKA, Violence Jack. Today's entry is based upon a certain manga, co-written and co-illustrated by legend Go Nagai since 1973, all the way to 2008. Considering how long its run has been, it's quite obvious to agree this is the Manga responsible for creating the post-apocalyptic setting that became a genre of its own. It's funny though, because Hokuto No Ken , which came years later, is  usually deemed as the ultimate representation of Manimé and post nuclear war storytelling. Perhaps, making it less graphic and sexist, allowed Kenshiro to grow into the franchise it is today.

A set of sagas from the manga were adapted in three independent OVAs released in 1986, 1988 and 1990. These OVAs have been released in the USA, Italy, France, the UK, Australia, and New Zealand. In some of these countries, the contents of the OVAs have caused censorship issues, while in Australia the second OVA was banned altogether. If you’re familiar with Go Nagai you know that he's known for having eroticism and violence in many of his works. Besides that though, he did end up creating some influential and creative titles like Cutey Honey and Mazinger Z just to name two of his works.

A Hero has to smile sometimes.

Not good.

Anyway, this is an 80’s adult themed OVA and is known as one of the most grotesque, sadistic and cruel anime made in the 80s, and believe you me, there were many of those made in the 80s, and we have covered a few of them here in the past. As you can imagine, the story takes place in a grim post apocalyptic setting. after a massive earthquake (which in the OVAs was triggered by a Comet strike) dubbed 'The Great Kanto Hellquake'. Cut off from the rest of the world, the survivors of the disaster are divided between the strong and the weak, and the land becomes a haven for criminals and renegades from around the world. Violence Jack is uncovered among the rubble and demolished granite by the inhabitants of a ruined city, asking him to help the weak people and helping them destroy what, in most cases, are the strong groups commanded by killers and rapists (this is the story line of "Violence Jack: Evil Town"). In the three OVAs, Jack is requested to help different groups, such as the Zone A (later he ends up helping Zone C women) or a small town, as shown in "Hell's Wind". As for the manga, the stories change drastically, the first being the story of Violence Jack helping a group of female models in a tropical forest in Kanto by possessing a boy living in said forest in order to fight off a roving tribe of bandits. Although Jack maintains a ruthless facade, he often helps the weak, and expects nothing in return. However, Jack's unpredictable nature means that bystanders get injured or even killed on occasion as a consequence of his vicious fighting style.

Jack himself is some sort of Giant who always happens to be in the neighborhood during these attrocities. He's quite obviously very strong and he always sides with the weak, but it doesn’t seem like he really wants to. It just looks like he’s doing them a favor or something. Even though I guess he has some sense of justice in him. Besides that though, he’s just a bland heavy dude as far as the anime is concerned because we don’t even find out who he is, since this is an incomplete adaption of the source material. Besides, he doesn't talk much, so the mystery remains.

The rest of the characters are either just there to die and for you to feel sorry for, or completely evil and sadistic people you’re gonna hope to see die miserably. There’s not much else, really. Most of them don’t have any back-story (with an exception or two) and none of them are particularly focused on, or alive long enough to develop so there’s no point in talking about them much. 

This isn't your Saturday morning Jem.

Size matters.

But, who is Violence Jack?

He is a complete mystery to those who have encountered him. He is often described being 7 to 10 feet tall with the muscles of a gorilla, the fangs of a wolf, and having burning primordial eyes. The man called Violence Jack had his name given to him for his unpredictable, violent nature and for his signature weapon, a large foldout jack-knife that he conceals and sometimes brandishes whenever necessary.

Having appeared out of nowhere after the Great Kanto Hell Quake, Jack wanders throughout Kanto, often picking street fights with those he sees as a threat to Kanto. He often helps those who are weaker than him who are preyed upon by violent nomads and criminals who scour Kanto. Although Jack is described as human, he is often the focal point of strange phenomena that occurs in Kanto. Often when he is finished helping the weak, he will suddenly vanish without a trace of him ever actually being there.

Many of the towns he visits are often subjected to mysterious earthquakes that occur during or after his arrival. His presence alone sometimes incites those he is around to become violent and seek to attack him.

 

This isn't what it looks like.

While Jack is a man of a few words, he uses violence to solve problems caused by violence. After all, it's a futuristic world with no rules. If you want to go philosophical about it, Violence Jack is once again another Animé dealing with sexist culture and its grotesque results if left unsupervised. Everything you see in the three OVAs is seen from a sexist perspective where men are the leads, and women are mere diversions. While it's true the last chapter features a stronger woman seeking revenge, she still has to rely on a man to get the job done, and get humiliated by men in doing so. My point is, don't take it too seriously if you plan to watch it for the first time, or rewatch it after a long time. Most of these made for home videos were made in a time where it was cheap & profitable to make them. The shock value was intentionally added, to separate them from your usual Saturday morning cartoons. They wanted to get your attention. And they did. Now, if you insist on trying to find some value in Violence Jack, I'd say it pretty much describes how society has been for decades. 

This is how Violence Jack was promoted.

Shut up! you little shit!

Much like what we'd seen years before on the Fist Of The North Star animé.  Each OVA revolves around the aftermath of some disastrous event in Japan and as a result, the strong people take advantage of the situation and persecute the weak. And we (the audience) get to witness that, with all the Gory details. Sure, it involves themes like anarchy, lawlessness, corrupt politicians and policemen, and how some people might behave in such situations, their presence is merely to justify what comes next with all the damage they cause, and how only a mysterious over powered man can turn the tables and bring bloody violent, yet fair, revenge in favor of the weak and the abused.

Production values are somewhat good for its time. The soundtrack is a combination of what now has been dubbed as "City Pop" and some hard rock songs very much in the line of what was trending in Japan those days. but it’s quite creepy and fitting most of the time. Sound effects and seiyu acting are great examples of the decade where the OVAs were made, meaning they're great. The character designs aren’t very pretty and neither are the colors, but they are mostly detailed. Character and background animation are the standard for the genre. The three OVAs were released on Blu-ray Disc some time ago, and I highly recommend it. The HD work makes it look brand new, and it comes with a lot of supplemental material.

Kids love violence!

An eye stab?

Now let's got for  quick review of each episode:

Volume 1: Harlem Bomber (1986)- This one has an earthquake, after which, a man kidnaps women and turns them in to sex slaves in addition to going after our hero, Violence Jack. Did I mention that this is the tamer one of the three? Yep, at this point the violence seems pretty basic for an 80’s gore OVA. Besides nudity and sex, there’s nothing here you haven’t seen somewhere else. The story was both meh and also paced badly, it seems messy and rushed, although I'm sure some people might have liked it enough for the producers to continue with two extra volumes.

 

The story is basically about a wasteland ruled by bike gangs and a sociopath anti-hero that brutally kills them all. Jack is causing trouble for a gang called The Slum Lords and the boss is obsessed with killing Jack. One the gang's enforcers helps gather up young women to force into sexual slavery, but he suddenly grows a conscience when one of the girls is his ex-girlfriend. He tries to free the girl, but is caught by the boss of the Slum Lords. The boss will only let him go if he can, of course, kill Violence Jack. 

 

Violence Jack is here!

 

Volume 2: Evil Town (1988)- Now this is the story that made Violence Jack as infamous as it still is. After another natural disaster, people go underground and separate in to 3 groups. One group consists of people who just want to find a way to survive, another group has women only (from fear of getting raped) and the third is a group of vicious thugs lead by a transvestite and his Giant lover. As you can probably guess, this is the volume that gave Violence Jack the reputation it still has. Both men group are equally grotesque and perverted. While some women can defend themselves, they're outnumbered and most of them end up raped and dead. While there are worse graphic examples of this in other Animé, these scenes are unnecessarily long, not to mention the graphic violence that women and even children face on screen. 

 

Like the previous OVA, Evil Town excels at showing carnage and intestines. The blood and gore is far more realistic than most other old anime. People are actually filled with organs, guts, and bone fragments instead of just red paint. One thing I found hilarious was that the artist really loves to draw tits, but sucks at drawing them. The nipples are placed at random locations that seem to change in every shot. It would be easier to predict the exact location of an electron orbiting an atom (and its momentum) than predict where the nipple is going to show up next. At least Heisenberg would enjoy this anime, because it would give him the excuse to make another long math formula. If you didn't get that last joke...go take a physics course.

 

The future is evil.

 

Volume 3: Hell's Wind (1990)- It takes place in a peaceful town somewhere in the wastelands and its quickly attacked by a motorcycle gang. This one is basically like an average HnK episode. But wait, there’s actually a notable character in this one that has some background and a proper motivation (hurray!). The character is a muscular chick with scars on her face and body (she’s really hot btw, they rarely make anime chicks like this nowadays) and we witness her lover being torn to pieces in front of her in the beginning of the episode. As a result she’s out for revenge. Not as insane as Vol’ 2 but still very gruesome at points.

 

If you happen to live in a poorer and under-served portion of the wasteland, you get officer Jack as your defender. Unfortunately, Jack's response time is the worst. He will never get there in time to prevent a rape or a murder. However, he will at least brutally stab the assailants to death with his Jack Knife. Sure he always stops to get that cheeseburger rather than getting to the crime scene on time, but at least he only kills criminals that committed a serious crime. Every person that Jack kills is armed at the time he kills them. Jack doesn't kill petty criminals who run in fear of his manly sideburns by lazily shooting them because he doesn't feel like giving chase, or breaking their cervical spines. Jack would never accidentally choke a man to death for selling loose cigarettes on the street because he wanted to "show off" to his drinking buddies.

What were they thinking in Evil Town?

Sex & violence always sell.

Overall, Violence Jack suffers from not having enough time to develop good story telling. Three OVAs that run for two hours and a half are nowhere near decades of Manga publications. However, the essentials are here and you can clearly understand why his name is Violence. Made in a decade that wanted to make as much money as possible, all these crazy OVAs are a reflection of the 1980s fear of the future based on the cold war and cyberpunk ultra violence. Definitely not for the faint of the heart, or for those who can't see this is a fictional work.