A new security system called Algernon has been stolen along with classified data. The 3WA building is closed off and chief Fangoria (head of the Research and Development Division) requests the Lovely Angels to get Algernon and the data back.
Gooley informs the Angels of the situation and the girls manipulate him into giving them some vacations. Typical of the Dirty Pair.
The girls meet with the sturdy chief Fangoria but they are constantly surprised by the traps and crazy experiments of the labs like a flea that destroys brain cells and nearly turns Yuri into a bimbo. Seems like Fangoria wanted the Angels for the job because she doesn't trust her staff.
The details of what Algernon really is are top secret, which makes the girls become wary of the mission. Soon they find a massive rat infestation threatening the installations. Mughi and Nanmo are taken out by the rats, while the entire building is conquered by the little rodents.
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| Kei and her anger issues. |
Turns out they reveal that Algernon is in fact a mouse and there's also a similar mouse named Chichi who speaks and has a high IQ. They were part of a neuroscientific experiment to create a security system involving mice. Fangoria´s idea was to test the mice against the Dirty Pair due to their reckless style, to see if they can handle the duo.
Things get out of control when Algernon decides to rebel against his creators and attacks them, leading a rat rebellion against humans; he is soon joined by Chichi. The girls then set in motion a plan involving cats and futuristic machine guns to fight back against the tiny enemies.
After that approach fails, the girls decide to simply enter the mice´s lair blasting everything in their sight. Yuri brings with her the flea that was about to drain her IQ. With Mughi and Nanmo captured, the girls pretend to be bitten by the flea that decreases their intelligence. Nanmo deactivates the rays keeping the girls out of the room and Mughi catches Chichi.
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| Fangoria gets mad at her IQ results. |
The gals then use the flea against Algernon but Chichi intervenes and the flea bites her instead. Algernon then jumps out of a window and kills himself. A price to pay for being too smart. A melancholic ending to what seemed like a simple assignment.
The name of Algernon is taken from the 1958 science fiction novel/short story Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes, which is about a simple-minded man who goes through scientific experiments that increase his IQ but instead of improving his life things go awry for the guy. The lead character adopted a laboratory mouse as his pet, the mouse was also part of the experiment and had an increased intelligence just like his owner.
This episode briefly touches upon the same idea of intelligence being a burden to carry and the dangers of unchecked scientific experimentation on living beings. However it focuses far more on the well crafted action sequences and in unfolding a thrilling plot instead of the calm exploration of the book, it was just a nice little reference that enriched the episode´s overall story. Similar things have happened in other anime like in Pokemon: The First Movie (1998) which had a similar premise and themes.
An intriguing chapter in the Dirty Pair catalog that features the expected entertainment and laughs as well as some bittersweet moments.
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