After the cancellation of the original TV series based on the light novels by Haruka Takachiho was cut short, the Dirty Pair would move to the big screen while the last two episodes remained unreleased and Affair On Nolandia was released for the OVA market (not to mention a new OVA series being prepared to release the following year). The theatrical film was titled Dâti pea Gekijô-ban, Dirty Pair: Project Eden in North America, and direction duties were handled by Bee Train creator Kôichi Mashimo (Noir, Dominion Tank Police, .hack//SIGN, Madlax, Cazador de la bruja), the script was written by Hiroyuki Hoshiyama (Urusei Yatsura, Patlabor, Lily C.A.T.) and character designer/animation director Tsukasa Dokite worked on the film as well, which ended up being released on the 14th of march of 1987.
After stopping a gang of smugglers, 3WA agents Kei and Yuri (a.k.a The Lovely Angels, a.k.a The Dirty Pair) are sent to planet Agerna, rich in the mineral known as Vizorium, in a secret mission to investigate mysterious attacks performed on the local refinement plants, which increase tensions between two nations fighting for the mineral, Uldas and Edia. Smuggler Carson D. Carson follows the Angels to an abandoned plant and the three of them begin to be attacked by bioengineered monsters created by Dr. Wattsman, a mad scientist bent on dominating the world by pushing evolution to its next level.
God bless the animators for elevating what it’s probably one of the weakest Dirty Pair entries. First of all, the visual flair on display is dazzling and astounding in a way that old cel animation could only be, the stylish visuals condense information and transmit mood in abstract but appropriate ways, the flashing colors, the fluidity of movement and minute details really show off the talent of the people behind the animation, the precise and delightful expressions and body animations are also top notch and convey emotion in just the right ways. It's a visual masterpiece. It’s just a shame that the actual story and plotting aren't up to par.
During the first few minutes we see all of the potential as the introduction establishes our protagonists and their way of working, these are scenes of maximum enjoyment and highly loveable craft on display. The expository scenes are understandable as their first briefing begins, but it quickly goes downhill once the new character, Carson, comes into play. The story takes a turn for the worse as we are bored with the worst “romantic” plotline in the entire franchise, forgettable and underdeveloped villains and a dull character with unexplained (and inconsistent) superhuman powers, this is the overall problem: an incoherent mess that goes beyond just cartoon logic and by the end when you see a lightsaber not being able to cut through a knife (I assume is a futuristic one, but still) you feel like this is way too illogical to actually enjoy.
The absence of verisimilitude can break a story. One can excuse a couple of convenient resolutions, characters using inappropriate weapons just because it looks cool, maybe even an uncomfortable outfit or creative liberties with stuff like space travelling, but when what you established before in your world/story doesn't make sense anymore you are in big trouble and this movie doesn't have the weight of character drama or a strong enough conflict to pull it off. When your main villain has to recite his plan in detail and is reduced to a bunch of phrases stating his plan without much behind it I begin to lose all interest.
When Dirty Pair tries to pull off romance it’s often when it fails, the best romance was the one we never saw on the screen (the episode with Yuri trying to meet her childhood love). The overly sentimental music and silly expressions the film tries to use at the end don't feel emotional, it’s not audiovisual expression, it’s just empty manipulation that’s unearned.
Don't get me wrong, the typical stuff you expect from a Dirty Pair movie can be seen here: Kei and Yuri being their silly selves taking improvised baths and bickering, the action sequences with them blasting biologically mutated nightmares are astounding and anything that involves a comedic set-piece with the girls is actually effective in how well constructed they are (shot by shot, frame by frame, you can see the animation skills). So it’s not a worthless movie if you are actually just looking for a very fantastically animated action movie. I know it’s going for “over-the-top” but it only barely achieves it, the rest is actually just nonsensical.
Disappointing but with a lot of technical merit to it.
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