Original Dirty Pair, Vol. 2: Damels in Destruction (1999)
Review by Dindrane
Film:
DVD:

Original Story by Haruka Takachiho
Directed by Katsuyoshi Yatabe

Features:

• Original trailer
• Clean ending

Dindrane's Anime Warnings:

• Playing cards of death
• Government employees dressed very inappropriately
• Death and criminal behavior

Released by: ADV
Region: 1
Rating: 15+
Anamorphic: N/A; appears in its original 1.33:1 format.

My Advice: At least rent it.

The Lovely Angels are back and just as bad as ever. This time, they're up against crime families, steroid-drenched women with a grudge, international terrorists, smugglers, and more dangers than you could shake a stick at.

One of the best episodes on the disc is "Wedding Blues," wherein in Yuri and Kei are charged with gaining incriminating evidence on a known crime family and counterfeit ring. Yuri finds herself engaged to marry the youngest son of the family, a man who isn't sure he fits in with their criminal ways at all, but she doesn't really love him, does she? Does she? And don't miss the deadly card-throwing of Madame Beryl in the episode "Sleeping Beauty," who finally gets to star a bit.

Another great episode is "Red Eyes are the Sign of Hell," which is a far cry from the humor of the usual Dirty Pair sagas. This one is actually surprisingly very moving. There's a conspiracy of terrorists bent on destroying peace talks on another planet, but the five men involved seem to be being controlled somehow by cybernetic implants. Yuri and Kei need to get to the heart of the matter and find out who these men are and what they want before the hopes of peace are gone forever. "We are Space Truckers!" is just hysterically funny and a great antidote to the teary previous episode. Seeing Kei act like a "temp" and drive a forklift is not to be missed.

One of the best things about this particular collection of episodes is that both Yuri and Kei get to "star." No matter which Lovely Angel is your favorite, you'll be pleased with the attention she gets.

The extras list is a little sparse. We get the original trailer, which is nice, and a clean ending. That's it. Both features are nice to have, but a series as perennial as this one is deserves a bit more, like a look at the novels that started it all, maybe a comparison of how the look of Yuri and Kei have changed over the years, or even just a chronology. What would be really nice would be character profiles and interviews with the voice actors and creators.

The audio and video quality is good. The colors are bright and appropriately cheerful, and the sound is similarly in line with the show's genre. The English voice actors are perhaps not quite as skilled as the Japanese cast here, with the exception of Yuri, voiced by Wendee Lee, who is always good. No technical problems will get in the way of your enjoyment.

Basically, Dirty Pair is what Dirty Pair was meant to be: rollicking good fun. Fans of shows like The Pink Panther and the various incarnations of James Bond will eat this up. Romance and ruins, little girls in cold storage, criminals of many varieties, this show has it all. Part comedy, part spy thriller, and part wild sci-fi adventure, The Original Dirty Pair never fails to entertain.