![[Review] Dirty Pair Flash: Mission 2](http://www.anime3000.com/images/front_page/dirtypairflash.png)
Dirty Pair Flash: Mission 2
This is an entertaining remake of the original Dirty Pair anime from the 80’s. For the uninitiated, Dirty Pair is the story of Kei and Yuri, two darling agents who work for the Worlds Works and Welfare Agency (3WA for short). Kei is the assertive gung ho member with bleached hair and a major attitude. On the other hand is Yuri, who’s a bubbly-peppy cheerleader-type who is decidedly more feminine then her impulsive partner; The
ensuing conflicts between them make up a lot of jokes of the series.
However, when the two manage to set aside all personality differences and work together, they become a kick-ass unit.
The other major character in this Dirty Pair Flash OVA is Touma, the stereotypical computer geek who can solve major technical problems but can never find a date for the weekend. I am a sucker for this setup: the lonely nerdy male who is surrounded by cute females that overpower him.
This particular entry in the series, Dirty Pair Flash: Mission Two is set in the computer-generated universe known as World’s World, a virtual place designed to look and feel just like the 20th Century.
Kei and Yuri are in charge of protecting Touma as he tries to find a virus that is messing up World’s World.
First, this mid 90’s anime is off to a good start with a catchy opening song, Thrill ni Koishie (Loving Thrills) sung by Rica Matsumoto. Being an OVA, little time is wasted on introductions and the story begins. The first episode, titled Tokyo Holiday Net Work is done in the style of a spy caper. However, it’s a hard episode to get into and I was wondering if I should continue on to Episode 2.
Fortunately, the next episode Seventeen Mystery School is a lot more engaging as Kei and Yuri are forced to go back to school and wear sailor school uniforms. Mysterious ghosts and spirits scare the girls as they attempt to deal with strange supernatural occurrences. It reminded me of the old legend of Hanako, the female ghost that appears in the bathroom and kills you depending on if you pick blue or red paper - blue for death by hanging and red for being stabbed. Kei is confronted by an all-blue Hanako-esque spirit only to find that firing her gun does no damage at all. This would have been a great episode if not for the ending where everything about the supernatural is so neatly explained.
In episode 3, Kei and Yuri chase Calbee, a con man who takes advantage of women and runs off with everything they have. There are plenty of great comedic moments in this one as Kei and Yuri try to bring Calbee to justice. Each night as Kei and Yuri get tired and sleep, Calbee escapes from his panty hose bondage. Each morning a pissed off Kei and Yuri successfully recapture him. Wash rinse repeat.
But the what truly shines is when Touma meets Leena in episode 4, when Yuri and Touma are both standing under the doorway of a flower shop to get out of the rain. The lovely Leena gives umbrellas to both Touma and Kei and it is love at first sight for the romantically challenged Touma. Touma is the ultimate anime male character: He comes across as a geeky neutered guy who is forced to share an apartment with two strong willed women, yet never tries to make a romantic move on either one. However, Touma finally sees his opportunity in the graceful and feminine Leena and his attempts at winning her over are really funny. One particular favorite involves Touma talking to Leena about computer technology as Leena yawns and turns her hand to which Touma replies, “Am I boring you?” Duh!!!
Also enjoyable is the scene where Touma asks Leena out on a date. He sits in front of his PC building a database for Tokyo dating places. Touma really needs to turn the computer off and interact with his fellow humans more.
Overall, Dirty Pair Flash: Mission 2 comes as an entertaining sci-fi romantic comedy with some action scenes. While the action scenes are a little light, what is there is good. Perhaps the biggest complaint is that there is no continuity. Each episode is stand-alone and you don’t have to watch them in order. The only thing that holds the OVA together is the simple fact that the setting in World’s World is the same. It’s fun but, I would go back and watch the original Dirty Pair from the 80’s over this one any day.
The ADV DVD contains all 5 episodes in both an English dub and the original Japanese audio with a minimum of extras consisting of characters bio, a trailer, and a few sneak peaks at upcoming ADV titles.
Grade: B
Review by: Jason Fetters
Director: Takahito Kimura
Production by: Sunrise
Distributed by: ADV Films
