Dirty Pair (Season One)

Kei and Yuri are trouble consultants for the 3WA who go by the codename Lovely Angels. However, they have acquired another name that they are more commonly known as because of the destruction they cause. They are the Dirty Pair!
Dirty Pair (Season One)
What did you watch?
Back when I first got into anime in the early nineteen nineties, my parents got me a subscription to a magazine called Manga Mania. It serialised a number of works of manga and had reviews and features focused on anime and manga. One of the series that was in the first issue I got was Dirty Pair. I was instantly drawn to them because of the sheer carnage. I was aware of the anime, but it was incredibly difficult to get hold of back then. Remember, this was before the internet. My world was a lot smaller. So, I’ve always meant to catch up on the anime and decided that I should finally do that. So, here we are…

What happened?
Kei and Yuri are the best trouble consultants the 3WA has, however, they also cause almost as much destruction fixing the issue they were sent to deal with. There’s no doubt about their effectiveness. They will get the job done no matter the costs. As a result, the Lovely Angels have become known as the Dirty Pair. Just don’t say it to their faces! Along with Nanmo, their robot and Mughi, their giant space cat, they travel the universe capturing criminals, stopping rogue AI, and just about anything that someone is willing to pay for.
Of course, they’re also real people who need vacations and downtime. Sadly, it doesn’t come as often as they hope and as a result, they have to fight for it. They’re partners and best friends, but that means that while they mostly get along, they aren’t afraid to tell each other exactly how they feel. That’s probably what makes them so successful. Anyhow, if you need something resolved contact the 3WA and ask for the Lovely Pair. Whatever you do, don’t call them the Dirty Pair!

What did you think?
Overall, I loved this series mostly because of Kei and Yuri, but mostly Kei. There were some episodes that were far better than others, but I don’t have any real complaints about the content. Well, I have one. The one thing this series was missing was a thread that pulled the episodes together. There was no overarching plot at all. Every episode with the exception of the two-parters could be watched in any order. Now, that has its benefits too, but I didn’t feel compelled to watch the next episode as soon as I finished the last and that made me drag out this series over a considerable period of time. It took me a year and a half to watch the entire season because I kept getting pulled away by other shows that demanded I keep watching. It’s a great show, but if you want something more than the episodic format, you may get frustrated.

What was your favourite moment?
There were a lot of great episodes such as the one where they were trapped on a ship heading towards a black hole and needed the assassin they were trying to catch to help them stop the ship. I loved the one with the giant space garbage ship that wanted to kill them. The episode where they searched for treasure was fun and then there was the one where they conned a drug manufacturer. In fact, there are a lot of great moments in lots of episodes, however, there was one episode that really stood out to me.
Kei and Yuri had to live in an apartment building to try to catch a serial killer who was posing as a door-to-door salesman. The episode was hilarious as they ended up with three different door-to-door salesmen in their apartment at the same time, each with a possible motif. Of course, it was the fake policeman that showed up later and it was revealed that he was playing a twisted game of chess with his twin brother where they were killing people to move their pieces. It was a bonkers episode but it was really good.

What was your least favourite moment?
There was one moment in this series that made me sit back. I felt like it was too far even for Kei and Yuri. They went on a mission to resolve a dispute between two rival gangs that were controlling Newstone, a highly volatile substance that was imported for space travel. Everything was going well, with each girl hired by a gang to be a bodyguard. Somehow someone found out who they were and so the gangs arranged for their bodyguards to fight each other to resolve the dispute. They were shocked when Kei and Yuri started to shoot at one another. It ended with Kei and Yuri flying away thanks to Nanmo. However, as they left they accidentally fired a cannon at the Newstone destroying the planet and everyone on it. That’s a funny ending… maybe. There was a town with children playing in the streets and people going about their daily business. All destroyed in the blink of an eye. That’s pretty dark!

Who was your favourite character?
It’s hard to really pick between the Lovely Angels, but it’s definitely Kei. It’s always been Kei. I even had some artwork I made of her for my school art exams. So, as much as I love Yuri too, I have to pick Kei. I love her attitude towards stuff and how completely fearless she is. At the same time as being a tomboy, she can also be more feminine. In short, they both behave like women but are as capable as anyone else. This show goes out of its way to drive that point home, often having the bad guys dismiss them because they’re girls. They soon regret that!

Who was your least favourite character?
As each episode stands on its own there are very few characters that are consistent throughout the show. Obviously, there’s Kei and Yuri. Then, there’s Nanmo and Mughi. The only other repeating characters are Chief Gooley and Calico. There are a couple of other characters that show up more than one such as the Chinese chef, but it’s much more about Kei and Yuri and whoever they are trying to catch/defeat. So, other than being a really large space cat, Mughi doesn’t really have a lot going for him. Sure, he helps from time to time, but Nanmo sacrificed itself for them at one point. Sorry, Mughi!

Would you like some more?
Luckily, there is an OVA series, a movie, and the more recent version – Dirty Pair Flash to see. I have seen Flash before and wouldn’t mind watching it again. I will endeavour to catch up on all of them, however, what I really want is a reboot. I want to see these characters in something bigger. A real season with an episodic format that all ties together. I think something similar to how Doctor Who works would be amazing. There’s nothing that needs to be done to the characters as they are perfect as they are. I want more Kei and Yuri with bigger stakes and more destruction.

What have you learnt?
I watch a lot of shows and read a lot of books. I try to vary the genres and content. However, there’s something else that this show has made me think about and that’s length. I don’t mean in the sense that there were twenty-six episodes, but the fact that each episode worked as an independent story. It reminds me that variety is the key to most things. I’ve read series that are twenty-six volumes and still going and I’ve read some that are two and tell a complete story. Then, there are short stories that are a fraction of that.
At the moment, I’m outlining a long series, I have a novella in the works, and a trilogy that I’m working on. Now, I don’t expect everyone that reads one to jump at the others, but some will. Each type of story will attract a different person. Some people like long sprawling epics and others want something they can read on a bus journey. Dirty Pair has reminded me that there is yet another format to consider and that is the long series with episodic stories that can be read in any order. I already have something in mind to test this out with so that should be interesting. Don’t be afraid to experiment.

Other posts in the series
- Season One
- Episode 1 – How to Kill a Computer
- Episode 2 – Do Lovely Angels Prefer Chest Hair?
- Episode 3 – Go Ahead, Fall in Love! Love Is Russian Roulette
- Episode 4 – The Case Smells Like Cheesecake and Death
- Episode 5 – Criados’ Heartbeat!
- Episode 6 – Lots of Danger, Lots of Decoys
- Episode 7 – Love is Everything. Risk Your Life to Elope!!
- Episode 8 – Gotta Do It! Love Is What Makes a Woman Explode
- Episode 9 – Hire Us! Beautiful Bodyguards are a Better Deal
- Episode 10 – What? We’re Heinous Kidnappers!
- Episode 11 – Hah Hah Hah, Dresses and Men Should Always Be Brand New
- Episode 12 – The Little Dictator! Let Sleeping Top Secrets Lie
- Episode 13 – What’s This?! My Supple Skin is a Mess
- Episode 14 – The Vault or the Vote? A Murderous Day for a Speech
- Episode 15 – Dig Here, Meow Meow. Happiness Comes at the End
- Episode 16 – Leave It To Us! The WWWA is a Wonderful Job
- Episode 17 – Come Out, Come Out, Assassin
- Episode 18 – Pardon Us. Trouble’s On the Run, So We’re Coming Through!
- Episode 19 – An Unjustified Lover’s Grudge. Let Me Love You Without Revenge
- Episode 20 – Nostalgic Blues Make a Killer Soundtrack
- Episode 21 – No Way! 463 People Disappeared?!
- Episode 22 – We Did It! 463 People Found!
- Episode 23 – Something’s Amiss…?! Our Elegant Revenge
- Episode 24 – Are You Serious?! A Condo is a Dangerous Place to Live
- Episode 25 – Eek! The Boy in the Manor is a Terminator
- Episode 26 – R-Really?! For Beautiful Women, “Cannon” is the Keyword to Escape
You might also like…
