Dirty Pair Flash
Publisher
ADV
Director
Tsukasa Sunaga
Production
Bandai, Sunrise, VAP
Country of origin
Japan
Format
OVA
Running time
30 min x 6 vol
Year
1994
Dirty Pair Flash: Angels at World's End
By John Huxley
28th Apr 04  The dirty pair return to our screens for more cyberpunk adventures in this, their second mission. Kei and Yuri have been assigned to bodyguard their fellow W3A agent and all-round computer whizz Touma during his trip to the premier holiday destination of the future - World's World, a brick-for-brick re-creation of 20th century Tokyo (with a version of New York in the works) where every aspect of life has been painstakingly reproduced for the amusement of holiday goers - crowded trains, public high schools and even those primitive fossil fuel propelled cars! They're not here to see the sights, of course, they're here to solve the mystery of a malicious computer virus and suspected terrorist activity. You see, for all its rustic charm, the inner workings of World's World is a technological haven kept well out of sight from the contented holiday goers; and with its central computer under threat from a virus it's up to the dirty pair to once again save the day. Somewhat surprisingly, they're done saving the day within the space of a single episode. The first episode seemingly introduces this plot that will connect all five (as was the case with their first mission), but this is quickly dropped in favour of several totally unrelated stories that verge on the wrong side of ludicrous. Just how ludicrous, exactly? How about Kei and Yuri in school uniforms chasing ghosts? After blowing up their own hotel room, they are relocated to the only free accommodation in the city - a girls-only boarding school, complete with resident ghosts - it sounds like an excuse to get the voluptuous dirty pair in school uniforms and that's exactly what it is. That said, fan service shouldn't be considered detrimental to anyone who's considering buying this; the artwork on the cover isn't exactly misleading and there's plenty more titillation for the one-handed viewer, including a hot springs scene in which our lovely angels can be seen practically naked. Which, considering the intended audience of Dirty Pair Flash, is probably a good thing. They may be less than subtle, but these twenty-five minute excursions are entertaining pieces of anime. Reading like the dirty pair's adventures on vacation, they're amusing, fun, brainless and unoffensive diversions that will keep all but the most irritable of viewers happy. The only factor connecting these otherwise unrelated stories is World's World, a clever gimmick which brings the series to a more familiar urban setting. There's also the inclusion of Touma, which adds a little to the chemistry between the central characters, though his lengthy absence from several episodes means that he never really gets the screen time he deserves. That said, he does get a whole episode to himself in which he falls head-over-heels in love with a local flower girl; yet another episode that sacrifices action in favour of comedy. The brilliantly over-the-top action of the first volume is sadly lacking here, limited to a few lacklustre chase scenes and an obligatory explosion or two. We do get to see some proper action during the final episode, which sees the return of the plot introduced at the beginning of the disc. While it's great to see the dirty pair back doing that which they do best (blowing things up, shooting everyone and looking good), it's a shame they had to be involved in such a lacklustre story. The computer virus falls several miles short of a worthy adversary; his screen presence is limited to a bare minimum and consequently the audiences' reaction to him is indifferent. This kind of series is just screaming out for a decent, evil stereotype of a bad guy and so far it hasn't delivered. Opportunity missed. For all its faults, Dirty Pair Flash is an attractive package. No, I'm not talking about the fetching illustrations of Kei and Yuri that are plastered all over the cover. I'm talking about the fantastic value for money this disc represents. Where most series require you to buy six volumes and can contain as little as three episodes per disc, Dirty Pair Flash boasts five episodes on this disc alone which can be happily viewed in isolation from the rest of the series because there are no loose ends or cliffhangers forcing you to buy the next volume. It's not a difficult series to collect and it's certainly not a difficult series to watch. Hardly groundbreaking stuff, but entertaining nonetheless.
R2 DVD Notes
Features: English and Japanese audio, English subtitles, character biographies, original trailer, clean edit animations
Release information: UK release date: 20th October 2003, ADV
Notes: The cover is smattered with artwork of Kei and Yuri in various alluring poses, as well as the single-sheet leaflet included inside the box. The extras on this disc are nothing spectacular; character bios, a trailer and clean credit animations won't keep you entertained for very long (unless you just can't get enough of that oh-so-cute end theme). The real bonus is the total of five episodes on one disc - one less than the previous volume but still a full set and great value for money.
-- John Huxley 28th Apr 04
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