Back in the Day - Dirty Pair TV 12/12/2009.

Back in the Day - Dirty Pair TV

OH NO! It’s the Dirty Pa…. I mean the Lovely Angels!

OH NO! It’s the Dirty Pa…. I mean the Lovely Angels! For that is the actual team code name of Kei & Yuri, more notoriously known as the Dirty Pair on every planet in any galaxy. Wherever they go, whatever mission they are on, no matter how well-meaning they are, their luck follows them and wreaks havoc along the way, dragging poor Mughi - their pet of sorts - right behind them. Yet, they always manage to get the mission done successfully, even if it means nearly collapsing the building they live in!

Over the years they have been righting wrongs in a few different iterations. In the beginning they first came about in 1979 in SF Magajin in serialized form and later the first book, Daatipea no Daibouken aka Great Adventures of the Dirty Pair, in 1980. Written by Takachiho Haruka and illustrated by Yasuhiko Yoshikau, the Dirty Pair was a mix of science fiction and detective stories. Since then it hasn’t deviated far from the original novels in each of it‘s reincarnations, but still each new form of the Dirty Pair has been it’s own beast. It wasn’t long after the first novel that the Dirty Pair made their way into their own TV anime series. This is thanks largely in part due to their appearance in Crusher Joe: The Movie in 1983, another creation of Takachiho. Even though it was only a short 30 second cameo of them in a movie of their own at a 22nd century drive-in theater, it was enough to get fans clamoring for more. As luck would have it, they were able to get the execs at the TV network to give it a shot. Thus Dirty Pair TV was born in 1985. But that’s where the little history lesson ends, this is about Dirty Pair TV, no further. If you want more, sit down and be patient, I’ll tell you were to go for all the Dirty Pair info you could ever want later.

Dirty Pair TV opens with “Ru-ru-ru-russian Roulette” performed by Nakahara Meiko, who also did the ED, “Space Fantasy”. It’s just the kind of song to get a person hooked and interested in just what they are about to see. It’s catchy, jumpy & exciting and also fits the style of the show, as well as the decade, quite nicely. You will enjoy watching the opening each and every time as it serves as a quick reminder of just what to expect from the series - an exciting romp through space that sprinkles trouble, danger and destruction along the way. As for the ED, “Space Fantasy”, it’s the kind of song that brings you down from the excitement that two beautiful women running amuck in space can cause. But only enough to prepare you for another episode, of course. As for the music in between, well, it works and does the job it needs to do, but I don’t think you’ll be left with any impression of it afterwards. For the most part you will be too busy watching things go boom, caused by a pair of scantily clad women.

Dirty Pair, as they are known, is an apt name for the pair whose results end up dirty. Throughout the entire series it’s a reoccurring joke for them to correct those around them that their name is the Lovely Angels, for it seems no matter where they go their reputation precedes them. A reputation of destruction unlike any other, yet always accomplishing the mission goal. Kei, the red headed tomboy, & Yuri, the blue haired girlie girl, work for the WWWA (World Welfare Works Association), mostly called the 3WA. The 3WA is an organization that helps members of the United Galactica federation with what ever problems they may have by sending out “trouble consultants” to try and take care of the problems. This is where our heroines come in, they are the “trouble consultants”, the Lovely Angels. As the series goes on they end up on case after case that no one else is willing to touch. Yet, these girls love to party and parting doesn’t come cheap when you’re the Dirty Pa… I mean the Lovely Angels. So, what does their boss do? The same any boss does to any employee, bribes them with a big pay day, that they just so happen to manipulate in their favor. Once they get involved they are in it until the end, no matter the consequences, no matter the cost, even if they cause more monetary damage than the pay they get for completing the job!

It should be obvious to anyone who watches Dirty Pair TV that Kei & Yuri are polar opposites, an Odd Couple you wouldn’t mind getting in between. Thanks to this, their verbal assaults on each other are the icing on a double dipped cone of vanilla and chocolate. If this was a series that was purely episodic with no character development or genuine stories, albeit old rehashed tropes, neither I nor you would be here right now. As the series progresses it is clear that Kei and Yuri are getting better at what they do, since little by little less carnage is being left in their wake, but still carnage. Also, we are treated to their personal lives a few times and those small moments are a real insight to who they are. They really are more than the boy chasing, gun toting, walking deconstruction company they appear to be on the surface. At the end of each episode you really get that feeling of everything having worked out in the end, even if it’s less than perfect.

Once again though, I have to say that sadly the series was cut short and had an abrupt end. Like many series of it’s time, while highly successful with the fans, it still didn’t produce big enough numbers for the men in the tall buildings. So we are left with 26 episodes of the TV series, which is much more than what was typical of series cut short back then. The last two episodes were actually released as an OVA. Thankfully, Dirty Pair has lived on, from the OVAs, movies, Flash and even an American comic, your favorite Lovely Angels kept popping back up. Now I have to tell you the really bad news, Dirty Pair TV is the only incarnation of the Dirty Pair that has never seen a US license. When you consider that the TV series goes into details of Kei and Yuri so much you can understand why it’s such a shame. So what is the discerning fan to do, you ask? You’ll have to get dirty yourself and go hunting. I promise you it’s out here, in this madness of floating information known as the internet. However, if you are patient, there is the chance (however slim) that it may get licensed sometime in the future now that complete series releases are becoming the norm for anime here in the US. For now though, if you want to learn more about the Dirty Pa…. Lovely Angels, head on over to the greatest Dirty Pair fan site ever, Elenore City. See, I told you I’d tell you where to go for more.

Comic Day 12/9/2009.

As expect after a light week this week was one of the heavier ones.

Gen 13 #33
Titans #20
Punisher Max #2
Donatello: The Brain Theif #4
Gold Digger X-Mas Special #3
Gold Digger Tifanny & Charlotte #4

New Avengers Annual #3
Amazing Spider-Man #614
Web of Spider-Man #3
Incredible Hulk #605
Invincible Iron Man #21
War Machine #12
Ghost Riders Heavens on Fire #5 of 6

X-Men Forever #13
Dark X-Men #2 of 5
Uncanny X-Men First Class #6
Wolverine Under the Boardwalk One-Shot
Necrosha the Gathering One-Shot
Nation X #1 of 4
Deadpool #18

In other awesome news, my Coop statue of those naughty Devil Girls came in. Looks killer and I'm looking forward to getting some pics of it after Christmas. For now though, you can take a look at it here, and while you are there I suggest you take a look around.

Comic Day 12/3/2009.

Was quite the light week. Would've been a really light week if it wasn't for last weeks hold overs.

Halo Helljumper #5 of 5
TMNT Donatello: The Brain Theif #3
Deadpool Team-Up #898
Son of Hulk #17
Thor #604
Wolverine First Class #21
X-Force Annual #1
Uncanny X-Men #518
X-Men Forever #12

I got a smoking deal on the comics today. Did a little more Christmas shopping, this time at the comic shop, and I asked if I could get a little Christmas special on the pricing. Dave is one of the coolest guys there is. I picked up volumes 1, 2, 3 and 5 of The Boys trades along with volume 2 of Hellboy and finally The Hero Initiative's Wolverine Weapon X #100 all for a Benjamin.

Quick explanation about the Hero Initiative, it's a charity group that puts together different events and books and such to raise money for comic creators that have fallen on hard times. It's the community giving back to those that helped build comics from nothing to the huge industry it is today. For more info, check it out, The Hero Initiative.

Reading by the fire.

I consider myself to be lucky to live in a house with a fireplace. I mean a proper fireplace too, not one of those electric or gas burning posers, I'm talking about a wood burning, smoke going out the chimney fireplace. So when winter comes around it's nice to get a fire going and relax with some literature. Not conventional of course, and if you've been paying attention you've already figured out I was reading comics by the fire.

Nice and relaxing evening at home reading comics with the warmth of the fireplace going and enjoying a tasty lasagna. And now, I am treated to another awesome piece of media, my favorite movie is on TV, Who Framed Roger Rabbit. Of course I can watch it anytime I so choose since I own the DVD, but it's nice to catch it on TV.

So the point of this post? It's the little things, especially when added up, that make for some of the best days, or nights, in life.

Back in the Day - Bubblegum Crisis 11/28/2009.

Back in the Day - Bubblegum Crisis

There’s a hurricane tonight, and it’s named the Knight Sabers.

There’s a hurricane tonight, and it’s named the Knight Sabers. Bubblegum Crisis is as well known for it’s music as it’s cyberpunk setting. With songs like “Konya wa Hurricane,” “Mr. Dandy” and “Mad Machine” to name a few, Bubblegum Crisis has one of the strongest soundtracks of any anime of it’s day. Taking in consideration the 8 episode albums, and ignoring the vocal albums, that is a 1:1 ratio of music albums to anime. Clearly music plays a major role in Bubblegum Crisis. The style of the music is easily identifiable as being from the 80’s., so it should come as no surprise that Bubblegum Crisis rolled out in 1987. An interesting note about the music is that it is possibly inspired by the music of the 1984 cult classic, Streets of Fire. On the downside to sharing common ground with Streets of Fire is that like Streets of Fire, Bubblegum Crisis suffered from poor sales, in Japan that is. So what was intended to be a 13 episode series got cut down to an 8 episode OAV. In the US however it became an instant hit with fans.

Set in 2032 Mega Tokyo, that’s been rebuilt after being destroyed (the city of Tokyo is abused more than a red-headed step child), once again by an earthquake, it now has to deal with Boomers that go haywire. Boomers are androids that were built by the Genom Corp. after the destruction of Tokyo to help rebuild the city. Genom Corp. is a major corporation that has it’s hands in just about everything and is a seemingly necessary evil. And it is just as evil as you think. It lives up to it’s world domination seeking goal putting out deadlier and deadlier boomers. The police can’t seem to handle the situation, and it’s specially created AD Police force isn’t doing that great of a job at combating the boomers either. That’s where the Knight Sabers come in. They are the swift justice that Tokyo needs to be able to sleep safely at night.

Four beautiful women kicking boomer ass in form fitting hard suits. What’s not to like about strong women getting the job done? You have Nene the pink haired cutie, Linna the black haired fitness trainer, Priss the brown haired rocker and finally the Knight Sabers’ leader, Sylia the blue haired lingerie store owner. Sylia started the Knight Sabers using research and data her father left her after his death while working on boomers. It’s unclear how the Knight Sabers came together but story has never been Bubblegum Crisis’ strong point. You learn very quickly that Priss is somewhat the lead character in the series thanks to the opening of the first episode with Priss singing “Konya wa Hurricane” along with her band, The Replicants. The other Sabers get about equal screen time and dialogue, but Priss is without a doubt the main focus. She’s the lone hothead type that gets the others fueled and fired up when it’s time to finally take action.

Looking closely, Bubblegum Crisis has some references to the legendary cyberpunk work, Blade Runner. Mostly seen in the boomers, they appear human but are completely cybernetic robots. They are somewhat organic as well, with them spilling what looks to me like some kind of hydraulic fluid that symbolizes blood whenever they are severely damaged. Other references are the first opening with it’s over view of future Tokyo and the rising music score, the name of Priss’ band, The Replicants and the questioning of what makes one human. Without a doubt Bubblegum Crisis is cyberpunk in every way. From the dystopian future to the mega corporation running things to the technologic advancements. It has a very dark and gritty feel to it that matches what you would expect from the cyberpunk genre.

Over the span of the series’ run the animation changed. Early on it was what was typical of Japanese animation of the time, heavy on the details with fewer frames. As it went on though the details were lessened and more frames were added, and so it became more fluid and smoother. Since Bubblegum Crisis’ production ran from 1987 to 1991 it makes for a great example of how Japanese animation changed from the 80’s to the 90’s. You will see the difference, it’s quite clear. The first 3 episodes are more detailed and seem a bit darker and grittier. Episode 4 is where you will start to see the change. The coloring was also affect as the series went on. The colors used were a little brighter and happier. It’s still got that cyberpunk feel of course, but it’s lessened towards the end.

As I said earlier the series was cut short. So, it ends abruptly with no real end or conclusion. It’s not a huge opening, but you will be left wanting to know how it finishes. There was something of a sequel to the series, Bubblegum Crash, a 3 episode OAV. Yet, it was done by a different production company, so the character designs are different and it doesn’t really pick up where Crisis left off. There’s also Bubblegum Crisis 2040, a 26 episode TV series. It doesn’t have anything to do with the original as well. The only comics of the series are those that Dark Horse did and a few others. Bubblegum Crisis was intended as an animation to begin with, there is no manga it was based off. So we are left with the 8 short episodes of the original and two series that follow it that has no relation other than being the same material.

Originally released in the US by Animeigo on single episode VHS tapes in 1994, and later 3 episode VHS tapes. In 1998 it was released onto DVD by M2K, Animeigo still responsible for the subtitling. It was easily one of the earliest anime DVD releases. It has since been re-released solely by Animeigo in a re-mastered box set that is a huge improvement over the original DVD release by M2K in every way. It is still available from Animeigo and I highly suggest you add it to your collection while it is still available. Even though Bubblegum Crisis lacks good story (mostly in the early episodes) it makes up for it with plenty of great action and stunning music. This is an anime classic that most fans should not miss.