Dirty Pair Recommended

Publisher
Dark Horse
Writer
Adam Warren
Artist
Adam Warren
Country of origin
Japan
Length
1 volume
Year
2001

Dirty Pair: Sim Hell Remastered

By David Rasmussen
10th Sep 06

With the whole Best of 2006 voting thing coming around the corner (nomination process to begin November 1st) I was thinking about how it’s been awhile since there’s been anything of note in the AmeriManga category, what with this year showing promise with underdog Seven Seas and longtime company TOKYOPOP facing off with several interesting titles apiece. That being said I thought back to several notables in the category. Some are still relevant, like Ben Dunn for instance. While others… well, are not so. Take Adam Warren (please), now I’m sure he’s still in the industry around (and kicking some assistant as we speak) but for my own personaly experience he might as well have fallen off the planet since I haven’t seen anything of note from him in a long time.

Back in the day, when I was into his work, I followed his one big title… yeah, before the whole MARVEL Mangaverse thing and his going there which lead to whatever he’s doing now I used to read his take on the Dirty Pair, but that was then and this is… well, this is now. He doesn’t do the Dirty Pair anymore. Not since his last original title (Run From The Future), and his last George Lucas style revisioning of his work (Sim Hell Remastered) has he even touched on this franchise that he started quite some years ago, effectively falling right off the recogintion radar for myself at that point… not that his series was on the radar of many Dirty Pair purists who more often than not were quite opposed to his revisioning of the pair, sticking to their guns and the Haruka Takachiho vision of the series that has it’s roots way back in old school movie Crusher Joe.

Eh? Well, in brief here’s the overall evolution of the Pair (which, as I mentioned in a different piece, is embroiled in a popular urban myth concerning the “birth” of the Yuri (girl on girl action) genre).

Version 1
The original that appeared in a cameo (in the drive-in theater sequence) in Crusher Joe (movie). They later appeared in some novels written by Mr. Takachiho.
They looked different than they do in future incarnations, and this is the only version in which the pair had a bit of psychic abilities (while the on and off again representation of Mughi, their sidekick “pet”, resembled a Displacer Beast from AD&D as opposed to the giant fuzzy bear thingee from Dirty Pair TV/OVA, a look by the way that is revisited again in Dirty Pair-Flash but only in cute chibi form).

Version 2
The 1985 TV Series version (which also appeared in a OAV called Affair on Nolandia if memory serves me correctly... and it doesn't always do that so don't blame me if I'm slightly off) is Version 2. The psychic abilities are now gone, Mughi is a giant fuzzy thing (no longer the agile and striking Displacer Beast knockoff) and they gain a mechanical addition to the team in a little gizmo called Nanmo (if I remember right).
The series runs for 26 episodes and the aforementioned OAV.

Version 3
The 1987 OAV Series (new costumes and apparently a little older), sometimes referred to as Dirty Pair TV II or TV Season 2 with10 OAVs (or TV episodes depending on who you ask), one Movie and one more OAV rounding out this version.

Version 4 to 4b - Adam Warren's works fall into this Version.
Version 4 - The first two Graphic Novels (Biohazard and Dangerous Acquaintances) fill up this version. Kind of resembling the Version 1 Pair, Adam is just getting into the swing of doing this series and the series is more story driven, not to mention abit risque, at this point.

Version 4a - The second three Graphic Novels (Plague of Angels, Sim Hell & Fatal But Not Serious) take up this version. The Pair begin to form their own look while still maintaining a resemblance to their original counterpart, branching out into three stories that sees the title shift from Eclipse to Dark Horse (who swallowed up Eclipse if I remember right concerning the events of way back when), and an apparent series altering event that happens in Fatal which brings about Version 4b… the shortest lived version.
(NOTE - One of these, Sim Hell, got a redress with a Remastered version… which is, to date, the only Adam Warren Dirty Pair volume to get such a redress).

Version 4b - A one shot and this Graphic Novel round out the short history of this version, completely going in a new direction though not for long as Mr. Warren seemed to have become burned out by the Pair to the point that not even a complete overhaul could bring him back from the brink of shelving the Pair seemingly permanently.

Version 5 - Dirty Pair Flash! version. Going back to Japan we see the birth of the last Dirty Pair franchise series, which lives through a series of OAVs (now found on a single collector’s DVD available at a cheap price from Right Stuf International) and a series of mangas that, to date, have not made the jump across the Pacific to English translation.
(NOTE - I’ll go dig up that DVD set for you and give you a review in the near future).

Version 6 - Nope. Once upon a time I was optimistic about the birth of a 6th Version of the Pair…. But now that all this time has passed I have become jaded to the fact that there will probably never be a 6th version of the Pair. Never.
Sure, go on, prove me wrong Haruka Takachiho or Adam Warren, prove me wrong. I, for one, am not ashamed to admit that I want to be proven wrong at least where this one “Fact” as it presently stands is concerned.

Now, as you came here to relive the glories of Adam Warren past… here it is. The first outing under the Dark Horse banner (fourth overall in the series), Dirty Pair : Sim Hell Remastered (the revisioning of the original Sim Hell).

You probably never forget your first shot at any particular series, your first book you picked up from one favorite series or another. Adam Warren’s Dirty Pair : Sim Hell was my first sojourn into the whole Dirty Pair franchise as visioned by Adam Warren. And, yes, that makes it still a topper on my list with a good score to come.

Kei is not having a good day, what with her having to report to 3WA for this exam which may determine her future with the organization, not to mention the fact that she doesn’t have a thing for going online Matrix style, which is a good thing since this outing into the 3WA mainframe for her exam is destined not to go well as she falls into a coma and the system suddenly does a crash and burn. Yuri goes in to save her, but it’s all Kei as she finds herself struggling with internal and external opposition in this one that is all Kei. The internal strife comes from her own self doubt about her abilities, and her place in the 3WA (as well as her future). External strife comes from a gimpy would be galaxy conquerer who runs a rather slick unstoppable game on the Pair right up to the end when… well… he’s stopped.

While it ends with a rather cliché ending the title still pleases with an overall nice feel to the story, and while I am not a big fan of the whole cosmetic redress to add “graffiti” and such to the world of Sim Hell I did like reading it again (and some of the freshness of the new amped up artwork actually works too).

This is the halfway point between the two extremes that is Dangerous Acquaintance and Run From The Future. Not as gritty as before, but not the pomp and flash of the latter, Sim Hell is recommended for being the middle ground in the progression of the characters evolution, still carrying some bite without the excessive fan service of Run (despite the fact that the title got a visual overhaul to bring it up to Run’s level). Breakdown time.

Dirty Pair-Sim Breakdown Remastered
What's Hot?
That basically depends on who you ask. Really.
Purists mostly never liked the Adam Warren Pair to begin with, so when realization finally sets in that Adam Warren may never return to the Pair? You won’t see them cry anytime soon… they might throw a Dirty Pair Convention to celebrate, sure, but they won’t cry on the passing of the 4th Version of the Pair.

May I recommend, if you have the consoles, time and the monthly subscription fee, the world of Final Fantasy XI for your convention? It’s a relatively quiet MMORPG now that everyone’s moved on the Guild Wars, Star Wars : Galaxies (version 2) and World of Warcraft so you will probably have whole cities for yourselves and your virtual convention. (Of course if you want a free place to meet you’ll go Guild Wars).

What's Not?
It's been... what? Now when it comes to this volume it’s been forever and ever since this one came out, and about four going on five when the last Dirty Pair book from Adam Warren saw the light of day with that fresh new trade paperback smell on it.
When will he do another one? I don’t think so, but that’s my own personal grumble on the whole thing. In fact… I don’t even know WHAT he’s doing anymore!! Anybody know what Adam Warren is doing these days? Anyone? Please e-mail me if you know! Thanks guys, thanks for… something.

Moments to Remember?
Halfway between the beginning and the end, Sim Hell serves up a nice experience that doesn’t overdo it (and thus makes it a nice read with just enough fan service without fan service overload). I liked it when it was the first Dark Horse banner released Dirty Pair, and I still like it in Remastered (which even sports a little fresh content). Not bad.

What to Ignore?
Not much to ignore.

Overall?
The series is over, and like I said above it’s all a matter of taste here. There is no middle ground when it comes to Adam Warren’s now defunct Dirty Pair franchise, you are either pro or anty-AWDP…. But if you are a fan of Adam Warren (whatever he’s doing now) and want to be Pair Curious then you should really start to check these out. Maybe you’d like to start here… or maybe flash forward to later Pairs (like the Dark Horse era Sim Hell slash Fatal But Not Serious Pair for instance), or back to the origins of the series in the Eclipse age with Biohazard, Dangerous Acquaintance and Plague of Angels.

Either way, there are six volumes in the series so check them out.
As for this one? My familiarity with this series hasn’t diminished with the Remastered version, even if the look has been “punked” up abit to bring it to Run levels.
A 4... Out of 5.

-- David Rasmussen 10th Sep 06