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:

幻夢戦記レダ The Fantastic Adventure Of Yohko: Leda.

A Walkman can do wonders.

Leda: The Fantastic Adventure of Yohko (幻夢戦記レダ, Genmu Senki Leda) is a direct-to-video anime film released in Japan on March 1, 1985. It was also released in theaters on December 21, 1985. Directed by Kunihiko Yuyama, who's known for his work in  Kimagure Orange Road: Summer's Beginning, The Three Musketeers, and Pokémon among other Animé. 

The story is that of Yoko Asagiri who finds that the love song she wrote acted as a bridge transporting her to a fantastical alternate world called "Ashanti." Yes, you read that right, a movie with a strong connection with music. Especially, 80s music. There, in this magic world, Zell, the ruler of it, wants her song so that he could use it to open a doorway to Yoko's world and conquer it with his armies. Using the artifacts left behind by the legendary warrior Leda who prophesied her arrival, Yoko and her new found friends must stop the tyrant's ambition and return both worlds to their proper place and balance.

Yohko listens to her own songs. how cool is that?

The most 80s device can lead you to other worlds.

Because Yohko wrote a song, it’s important to note that the music is an important factor in this anime because she uses this as a catalyst to confess her feelings for her secret crush. There are piano pieces, synth (now dubbed as city pop and/or synth-wave in the music community), and orchestrated music that some untrained viewers may find rather unusual for a sci-fi/fantasy adventure. However, her song and walk-man are the required Mcguffin for this story.

The sci-fi is a little out of place in an anime that’s mainly about legends and fantastical beasts. It’s not melded in very well and it’s kind of weird that after learning about Leda, there’s a throwaway line about hopping their robots. Perhaps it’s to help understand how Leda managed to make Master Zell bring Yohko to Ashanti and try to discover the secrets of her walk-man. Despite this, though, the random inclusion of sci-fi isn’t terribly distracting or take the audience out of the show. It’s used to help understand how the people of Ashanti live on the land without just saying, “it’s just because of magic”.

From 80s teenage girl.

...To heroic Valkyrie.

Yohko is a very good lead character – she seemed adaptable and definitely capable, though the fact that it’s only one episode hurts her character a little bit. She’s not shown to have some kind of athletic ability until she arrives in Ashanti and starts running, and lifting herself from the vines. It does show that she has an ear for music since she composed the song her self but it’s not too bad.

The other characters, Ringum, the talking dog, and Yoni, the remaining Leda shrine maiden, are very good characters as well. They can stand on their own and they really are interesting in their own rights but they never seemed to overshadow the main character herself. As for the world, it would have been nice to know if there were other villagers in this particular world to show how devastated it actually is when it seemed that Leda abandoned them.

A problem, though, with the characters, including and especially Master Zell, they act as actors playing a certain archetype instead of being actual characters. Usually, this would be a really bad thing, the archetypes, but it’s not as annoying in this OVA. It’s pretty much downplayed as something that someone with an affinity for cheesy 1980s media would enjoy.

Yoni.

Ringum.

The animation, especially for its time, is absolutely stunning! Granted, there are quite a few flubs here and there but it’s not so bad that the viewer wouldn’t be too distracted from it. Certain angles, colors, and the atmosphere of the anime itself is extremely well done and pretty effective. It certainly works with what’s going on and the colors aren’t over-saturated with a singular one. All in all, it’s gorgeous to look at!

As for the magical girl component, well, it’s there. She does get powers and there is a cute mascot. There is a sequence and she does eventually return to her more normal every day life. If there’s an appropriate way to help understand, it’s pretty much a lite version of “Conan the Barbarian” but with sci-fi & magical girl tropes added in.

I want that walkman!

That state-of-the-art Walkman is the key.

Now just by that plot, you can see that this show isn't particularly new. The odds and ends of it show up in Magic Knight Rayearth, Fushigi Yugi, and plenty of other shoujo (or women's) anime. Together with characters that fit stereotypes more than real people, Leda starts off with a hard load to carry. Yohko is so much an everygirl that she isn't particularly compelling, and her acceptance in becoming a warrior in a single moment is silly. Lingum is fun, but primarily there for the cute factor. Yoni is a plot device. Zell is ridiculous, right down to his sorcerer's robes. And that's essentially it for the characters.

So why can I still recommend this piece? It's because you will see things here you won't see anywhere else. You'll see creatures that Lewis Carroll would have envied. You'll see mecha that make you rethink how cool Gundam is. You'll see better mechanical designs than in a half-dozen other shows combined. This is a fantasy world that is indeed fantastic. Combined with some sharp action sequences, a soundtrack that's still a worthy listen in 2021, and nice animation, there's plenty to enjoy. And yes, it's fun, a joy at times to just sit and watch.

 

This is how perfect the Blu ray edition looks.

SD versus HD.

It's also the rare title that has major crossover appeal to both sexes. As the deodorant commercial goes, Leda's strong enough for a man but made for a woman. Despite my picking on certain character choices, there are some very interesting choices here too. Because we never see Yohko's choice in a man, we don't make judgments on her; we simply accept him as the embodiment of unrequited love. We feel for Yohko not because we know her, but because we know ourselves and our own pangs of love. And that isn't a storyline limited to either of the sexes.

I've grown fonder of Leda over the years, enough that I wanted to watch it again before writing a revised review. I caught some flaws I didn't remember, but I also was reminded of why this title works. It's like listening to the 80s station and hearing a tune that floods you with memories, not because the melody is great but because it connects with you at some deeper level. Leda's surface is glittery and sometimes too predictable, but underneath is a love song waiting to be heard.

 

Ready to fight the good fight.

A talking dog is always an asset.

Would this anime benefited more as a 12-26 episode series rather than a single OVA? It doesn’t necessarily need to have an entire series about the lore, technology, and the characters but it’d be nice if it did. But, as it stands, it’s pretty much good on its own. It’s something to watch when you need some action with little bits and pieces of romance and magical girl. It’s fun and that’s all it is.

It’s really enjoyable and I’d recommend this OVA especially to those who enjoy some lite 1980s anime cheese.

 

Impressive fanart!

 Here's the original 3 minute promotional trailer for the VHS release:

 

 

 

 Here's the HD extended trailer: