Dirty Pair: The OVA Series (1987-1988) Episode 1: Prison Uprising. We Hate People With Grudges!

The success of the original Dirty Pair series based on the light novels by Haruka Takachiho, the OVA movies and the theatrical feature film prompted a sequel show for the home video market in the form of a 10-episode OVA series by Sunrise. The series was mostly handled by director Katsuyoshi Yatabe, but other directors included Masayoshi Tanidabe, Shinji Takamatsu, Shin'ichirō Watanabe, Mihiro Yamaguchim and Osamu Sekita. The writers included Koichi Kasamoto, Hiroyuki Hoshiyama, Yuichi Sasamoto, Hiroshi Ônogi, Hideki Sonoda and Yasushi Hirano.

This first episode has the angels going into a space prison named Karuso after a riot broke out and prisoners took control of the facilities. They are looking to rescue a warden that's being held in the place by the inmates. They meet with some marines as they enter the prison in waves and wearing mechanical suits for protection. The girls enter the prison and beat the crap out of the rogue convicts, finding their target in the process but he makes the mission troublesome.

It's quite fun to see more of the angels working on a case doing paperwork and research at the beginning, something that we didn't get to see a whole lot of before, we even start out turning the tables a little bit with Yuri on her own flirting as Kei works in the office. Some other new characters are introduced but they won't really become all that relevant later on anyway. The function of these new characters is basically to set up some plot devices that will come in handy during the episode. 

The writers and board artists bring a lot of the charm and fun back with sequences like the space surfing one or the dynamic and flashy action sequences and shootouts that abound here. The comedy never fails as the Lovely Angels are as endearing and charismatic as ever, solidifying this new introduction as a pretty nice return to form.

Dirty Pair: Project Eden (1987) Anime Movie Review

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.

Dirty Pair: Mystery of Norlandia (1985) Anime Review

The success of the original Dirty Pair TV series gave Sunrise the idea to create more material of the franchise, particularly for the home video market. This gave us the first Dirty Pair OVA titled Mystery of Norlandia, but it is also known as Affair of Nolandia. It was directed by Masaharu Okuwaki, who had just come out of Cat’s Eye in 1985 and would direct Reporter Blues (1991), The Twins at St. Clare's (1991) and Girl Detective Club (1986). The OVA was written by Kazunori Itô, who is well known for writing several works in the Ghost in the Shell franchise like the 1995 movie, Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (1984), Lum (1981-1986), several Patlabor episodes along with the movie and Seijun Suzuki’s Pistol Opera (2001). Itô had also written two episodes of the original TV series, so it made sense to bring him back.

Norlandia is only 57 minutes long and has a somewhat mixed reputation among fans but I consider it a very likable entry in the series.

Kei and Yuri are flying over the planet Ookbar, contracted by a woman named Cony Brighton to protect her daughter, Missnie. However, things get complicated when they witness an odd crash, they have strange visions, their client gets murdered and the girl they are supposed to protect goes missing. 

They are called in by Samara, the chief of security of AJ Development, who doesn't want them in the city because of their reputation. She actually informs them that the missing girl is probably somewhere in the forest of Nolandia. Samara's attitude and actions are very suspicious.

Their ship crashlands in the middle of the forest and the girls inspect the place only to find an empty ship with no child in sight. A weird-looking unicorn appears to them and goes away, leaving the girls with more questions than answers. They also realize the strangeness of the entire ecosystem that surrounds them, they begin to be plagued by nightmares and dreams within dreams, seemingly illusions.

What's causing these abnormalities? Where's the little girl? Who are the villains? The Lovely Angels will have to find out.

While somewhat disjointed in it's plot structure and with an unshakeable feeling that this could have been summarized in a 20 minute block, Mystery of Norlandia is actually a very worthy addition to the Dirty Pair franchise, seemingly trying to stick slightly closer to the original material with allusions, details and changes in design that go back to that vibe. 

Visually, I think it's rather good but not spectacular. The detailed and complex environments and backgrounds work well enough. The animation quality as well as the design and its details increased. All of this elevates the technical elements and the craft enough, but it's never really close to being the best of its breed. It's an OVA after all, it's not a theatrical release. 

Here we have a bit of an average but still captivating plot with a decent mystery to unravel and a very exciting climax. But while the action is mostly reserved for the final stretch, the rest is made up with inventive and original resolutions to the obstacles the  protagonists face, and they solve these issues in very peculiar and idiosyncratic ways that only they could come up with, that's what good writing is all about.

The final battle with Kei fighting a cyborg is a highlight, and even Yuri manages to kick some butt herself during the ending. There's a bit of an edge and more crude or mature aspects seen in this OVA as well, with nudity and blood being more prominent here than in most of the TV show’s episodes.  

I think the themes are refreshing and the hard edge is palpable but it's not as fleshed out as it could have been, the lack of clarity doesn't make me think the abstractions and the somewhat labyrinthic storytelling are put to good use, but rather that it probably needed a more clear link between the girls and the mission in order for the emotional scenes to have more impact. I was never confused but I was intrigued, so the script does it´s job in general terms.  

It’s totally a recommended OVA, you can actually watch it at any time you want since it doesn't really fit into the already loose continuity of the series. If you like strange and creative animation in general then you will most likely enjoy it but don't expect an adrenaline roller coaster.