Dirty Pair (TV series)

Dirty Pair (ダーティペア) is a 1985 science fiction anime television series based on the novel series of the same name by Haruka Takachiho. Produced by Nippon Sunrise, the series aired on Nippon Television and its affiliates from July 15, 1985 to April 21, 1988.

The series has a closer setup to the original light novels more than any of the other incarnations. Unlike the light novels, the universe of the anime has a more comical atmosphere and presents the typical styles of a 1980s inspired future. The Lovely Angels and the WWWA reside in a location known as Eleanor City where Kei and Yuri live in an apartment together in the city's famous Damocles Tower. The chief of the 3WA in this version is Gooley Andrew Francess along with Calico who serves as second in command. The duo also have two assistants, a genetically modified feline named Mughi, and a small robot known as Nanmo.

The series won the 1985 Animage Anime Grand Prix prize.[1]

Cast

Episodes

Production and release

Produced by Nippon Sunrise, the series was directed by Toshifumi Takizawa with Norio Kashima taking over for episodes 15-26 with character designs by Tsukasa Dokite, mechanical designs by Junichi Akutsu, uniform designs by Fujihiko Hosono and music by Toshiyuki Kimori. Following its cancellation, two additional scripts had been written for two additional episodes. These episodes were ultimately produced and released as an OVA titled Dirty Pair: With Love from the Lovely Angels (ダーティペアの大勝負 ノーランディアの謎) on VHS by VAP on January 1, 1987. Both episodes were retroactively added to the 1985 television series in rebroadcasts and international releases.

In 2001, the TV series (including the two extra OVA episodes) was licensed for release in North America by ADV in two DVD sets, and was re-released in March 2005 as the Original Dirty Pair Collection Box.[2][3] It was licensed for a re-released by Nozomi Entertainment. The company released it into two box sets on November 2, 2010, and February 8, 2011, respectively, each containing 13 episodes.[4][5] These releases contain Japanese dialog with English subtitles.[6] It was also reported that David Williams from Sentai Filmworks did confirm that he offered to produce an English dub with Seraphim Digital for the re-release, but it was declined for reasons not stated.[7] Dirty Pair was aired in North America on the Showtime Beyond channel.

On October 1, 2021, Nozomi Entertainment launched a Kickstarter campaign to release the original television series on Blu-ray, along with the creation of a new English dub to be produced by Headline Studios.[8][9] The following day, after raising 75% of their $275,000 goal, Nozomi announced in an update that Jessica Calvello would be reprising her role as Yuri from the OVA series dub for the new dub of the original series. An update on October 13 revealed that Pamela Lauer, who last played Kei in the ADV dub of Project Eden in 2005, would be coming out of retirement to reprise her role.[10] On October 30, after reaching $600,000, an update revealed that Jason Douglas would reprise his role as Gooley. The campaign closed on October 31, 2021, with a final pledge tally of $731,406.[11] It was reported in April 2022 that the Blu-ray release would include "original music and effects" and the original version from ADV with "recreated music and effects."[12] The dub was completed on May 30, 2024, as announced on the Kickstarter crowdfunding page for the Bluray release.[13]

In August 2024, Crunchyroll stated that the Blu-ray release was in post-production but "suffering from delays". The company stated it was "fully committed" to the project; Anime News Network noted that English anime fans had expressed concerns about lack of communication from Crunchyroll or Nozomi Entertainment on the project's status and about how the acquisition of Right Stuf and Nozomi Entertainment may have "adversely affected the project".[14][13] Prior to this update, Christopher Farris and Steve Jones of Anime News Network had criticized the lack of communication about the project and Crunchyroll's actions regarding the Blu-ray release, describing it as a "fiasco".[15]

Reception

Critical reception of the Dirty Pair TV series has been generally positive, while the OVA series has been received slightly better.

Allen Moody of THEM Anime Reviews gave the Dirty Pair TV series a rating of 3 out of 5 stars, and the OVA series a 4 out of 5 star rating. Moody praised the humor, characters, the homages made to classic science fiction such as Star Trek, and plot twists in certain episodes, but criticized the pacing and the eighteenth episode for lifting part of its plot from Clint Eastwood's film The Gauntlet. Moody concluded that “the regular TV series does have its moments, but it's a bit too lightweight, the characters not quite as well defined as I'd like, and it reaches neither the level of humor nor the level of drama that the OAV episodes have occasionally achieved.”[25]

Theron Martin of Anime News Network gave the second half of the Dirty Pair TV series a C+ rating, praising the characters, humor, animation, homages to classic science fiction, but criticized the low amounts of continuity and the dated look of the series.[26] Rebecca Silverman of Anime News Network gave the first half of the TV series a B rating, praising the story, soundtrack, artwork and characters, but like Martin, also criticized the low amounts of continuity and the dated look of the series.[27]

Michael Toole of Anime News Network gave the Dirty Pair OVA series a B rating, praising the soundtrack, artwork, animation, characters, and scenarios, but criticized the series for not taking any new risks, citing the lack of big story arcs and plot twists. Toole ultimately concluded that “If you already know and love the Dirty Pair, this release is a no-brainer. Grab it up and get a step closer to completing your collection. If you love the look and luster of 80s anime, it's still a pretty good bet.”[28]

External links