Dirty Pair (Episode 16) - Leave It To Us! The WWWA is a Wonderful Job

Kei and Yuri’s day off is cancelled again so that they can be bodyguards for the chairman of one of the five mega-corporations that pretty much run the galaxy. If only their bonus review wasn’t coming up…

Dirty Pair (Episode 16) – Leave It To Us! The WWWA is a Wonderful Job

What happened?

With no way out, they take the mission. However, they are surprised to find out that the chairman is a young girl. She has just inherited the corporation from her father and is attended by her three executives. Each of them is the descendant of the previous executives and the ones before that. In fact, the corporation runs on an inheritance basis. Anyhow, the chairman wants to visit the city and needs Kei and Yuri to protect her as there are those out there that would benefit should anything happen to her.

Also, having won a major contract, the chairman needs to be at a meeting later that night. If she missed it, it would destroy the corporation’s reputation. She must be there on time! Kei and Yuri take the chairman out and are surprised to see that she is a sheltered princess despite her claims to the contrary. However, she manages to give them the slip when she goes to the bathroom. Kei and Yuri have to go back to the executives to explain. They are not happy.

Yuri heads back out to find the chairman who has been spotted by a rival corporation while Kei stands in as the chairman, putting a seal of approval on a stack of documents. The glamorous life of the chairman is nothing like Kei imagined. Back in the city, Yuri finds the chairman who tells her she needs to see the lands that they will be developing so her attempt to run off wasn’t just for fun. However, a sniper takes aim at her and misses her when she moves to hug Yuri. Can Yuri keep the chairman alive and get her back in time for the meeting?

Dirty Pair Episode 16 Kei and Yuri looking after Sakurako

What did you think?

This was a bit of a goofy episode although I get the feeling it was also being quite critical of the rampant nepotism that plagues a number of industries. For that, I applaud it as it’s one thing I can’t stand. There’s absolutely no reason someone who happens to be born into a particular bloodline is any better suited to do anything than anyone else. It’s one of the reasons there are fewer ruling monarchs than there were a hundred years ago and that trend is only going down. Unfortunately, we are seeing it in business now instead.

That’s enough of that rant. Now, let’s talk about Panther, the ace sniper that couldn’t hit a barn door if it was closed and he was standing next to it. Sure, I could forgive him for missing the chairman once, but every time he took aim at her she was standing still. The second time, she was holding onto a fixed gun, firing at spaceships in a game and he still managed to miss her. It’s a little disappointing as I want to see Kei and Yuri succeed because they’re awesome and not because their opponent is hopeless.

Dirty Pair Episode 16 Sakurako gives Kei and Yuri the slip

What have you learnt?

The antagonist can’t be completely hopeless. If they are it removes the stakes and anything the protagonist does isn’t as impressive. We want to see them overcome the unimaginable and earn that victory. Now, there are plenty of examples of terrible antagonists that you start to wonder how they got to where they are, however, they are usually surrounded by capable people that are willing to follow them. Equally, you can have a brilliant antagonist who is regularly undone by the incompetence of their henchmen.

As with everything, there needs to be a balance. If everyone’s an idiot then how are the protagonists supposed to show us how amazing they are? This episode felt like there were no stakes because as soon as we saw the sniper miss time after time, it became glaringly apparent that he was never going to get close. If we don’t believe he’s dangerous then it becomes fairly trivial. You could certainly use that as a form of misdirection, but that seems incredibly unlikely in a series like this. Ultimately, we want to see the protagonists overcome the impossible.