Dirty Pair Flash

Dirty Pair Flash (ダーティペア Flash, Dāti Pea Flash) is an anime and manga franchise based on the light novel series by Haruka Takachiho.

This article is about the remake. For the original series this title is based on, see Dirty Pair.
Dirty Pair Flash
Cover art from the DVD release
ダーティペア Flash
(Dāti Pea Flash)
Original video animation
Dirty Pair Flash: Mission I
Directed byTsukasa Sunaga
Music byKei Wakakusa
StudioSunrise
Licensed by
Released January 21, 1994 – June 23, 1994
Episodes6
Original video animation
Dirty Pair Flash: Mission II
Directed byTomomi Mochizuki
Written byFuyunori Gobu
Music byJun'ichi Kanezaki
Hajime Mizoguchi
StudioSunrise
Licensed by
Released June 1, 1995 – October 1, 1995
Episodes5
Original video animation
Dirty Pair Flash: Mission III
Directed byTomomi Mochizuki
Written byFuyunori Gobu
Music byJunko Miyagi
StudioSunrise
Licensed by
Released December 21, 1995 – April 25, 1996
Episodes5
Manga
Written byHisato Makihara
Published byDengeki Comics
Original runJuly 1995 – January 1996
Volumes1
Manga
Dirty Pair Flash DX
Written byTakemaru Ōno
Published byDengeki Comics
Original runMarch 1996 – July 1996
Volumes1

Although it is often said that these are younger versions of the original Lovely Angels Kei and Yuri, in truth this series is an alternate universe telling of Dirty Pair, set in the years 2248–49. When Sunrise originally began the project, their idea was to make a sequel to the original Dirty Pair series, but Kyōko Tongū, the original voice actress for Kei, had long retired and moved to North America, and Saeko Shimazu, the voice of Yuri, refused to work with anyone but her original partner, forcing the project to be a remake of the original series instead.

Dirty Pair Flash was first aired in North America on PBS San Jose station Superstation KTEH as the English-subtitled version and also on Showtime’s SHO Beyond channel as the english-dubbed version. The English version of Dirty Pair Flash was licensed by ADV Films.

Plot summary

Kei and Yuri were originally junior auxiliary agents in the Worlds Works and Welfare Agency (W.W.W.A. or 3WA for short) when the two were paired together under the codename "Lovely Angels." Kei was coming off her fourth probation for something she had done, and Yuri's dating exploits were common knowledge, not to mention the two had an instant dislike for each other when they met.

Kei and Yuri were not the first to receive the codename Lovely Angels. Years before, during the Gamorian Riots, two other women, Iris and Molly, had been given the designation Lovely Angels. Molly was killed in action, and her partner Iris, who had lost her left arm trying to save Molly, became bitter about the lack of response from the 3WA and vanished, later becoming the notorious assassin known as "Lady Flair."

At first, Kei and Yuri refused to work with each other, and Kei even resigned from the 3WA. However, when the "Siren" crisis erupted, Kei returned. This was decidedly a good thing, as Yuri's ditsy new partner, Lily, had abruptly quit just as the response to the crisis started, and Kei's return came just in time, as Yuri was about to be killed by Waldess.

Afterwards, the two continued to work together, although they earned their nickname, "the Dirty Pair" because of all the collateral damage the two (unintentionally) cause in the completion of their cases. And even though the two now get along with one another, they continue to bicker and complain to each other.

In addition to the sixteen anime episodes, there have been three novels (1994, 1997, 1999) and four "Stereo Dramas" (one in 1994, the others in 1996) written by Takachiho, as well as two sanctioned manga series (1995–96) published by Dengeki Comics.

Characters

Kei
Born: January 1, 2231, Age 17 on the colony planet Workoh, Kei is hot-headed, impulsive, and rude, and because of this is often mistaken for being a man. Those who mention this are, as expected, reminded (painfully) that she is, in fact, a woman. Her usual response to a crisis is "shoot first and ask questions later.", but she can show insight into situations when properly motivated. She usually gets into a lot of arguments with Yuri over her "girly" attitude, but is usually the first in line to back her up when trouble happens. Kei is also very Proficient with a Blaster and uses one as her primary weapon.
Kei has a love for jet coasters, fast-food restaurants, drinking beer, sushi, and big-game fishing. She is afraid of nothing with the exception of ghosts, zombies, and vampires. Kei has a softer side, but dislikes showing it.
Voiced by: Rica Matsumoto (Japanese); Sue Ulu (English)

Yuri
Born: March 3, 2231, Age 17 on the colony world Shack-G, Yuri acts more stereotypically feminine than Kei. She is more concerned with getting dates and marrying a rich, handsome man than doing her job, and she gets more than her share of complaints from Kei because of this. However, if anyone ever harms her partner, it's unlikely that the offender will live to tell about it. Yuri is adept at using a plasma sword and carries one as her primary weapon.
Yuri is the more romantic of the two. She likes romantic dinners, moonlit walks, and very wealthy men. However, she has poor luck with men, as she usually finds men who care more about what their fathers think about what happens to their prized possessions than to her.
Voiced by: Mariko Kouda (Japanese); Kim Sevier (English)

Secondary characters
Chief Garner
Garner was a section chief in the 3WA at the beginning of the series. A veteran of the Gamorian Riots, he was instrumental in helping to rebuild the 3WA in the aftermath. Now approaching retirement, he has the unenviable task of molding two bickering junior auxiliary agents, Kei and Yuri, into first-class trouble consultants.
Garner was also a good friend of the original Lovely Angels, Iris and Molly, and it troubles him that Kei and Yuri were given the 'Lovely Angels' codename by the 3WA's central mainframe. He knows of the trouble the two got into previously, and fears that they will bring shame to that honored name.
Voiced by: Hajime Koseki (Japanese); Rick Peeples (English)
Chief Poporo
Chief Poporo became section chief supervising the Lovely Angels after Garner's retirement. He was once a trouble consultant himself, requiring a cybernetic arm after participating in the arrest of renegade weapons designer Berringer.
While he realizes Kei and Yuri's usefulness, he is irritated by all the damage they cause. He seems to be quite the henpecked husband; he often gets calls from his wife back home, asking him to go grocery shopping after work.
Voiced by: Shigezou Sasaoka (Japanese); Don'l Johnson (English)
Lady Flair
Originally, she was known as Iris, one of the original Lovely Angels. She, along with her partner Molly, were the finest trouble consultant team in the history of the 3WA. However, during the Gamorian Riots, the two were faced with a huge crisis during which Molly died and Iris lost her left arm.
Now known as Lady Flair, Iris led the life of an assassin-for-hire. She had briefly aided Waldess as he tried to take control of the galaxy, but was double-crossed by him. She also looks down at the newest team who were given the codename "Lovely Angels," Kei and Yuri.
During the 'Siren' crisis, Flair was reunited with her old friend Garner, who revealed what had happened when Molly was killed. Guilt-stricken, Iris confronted the cause of the crisis, Waldess, and tried to arrest him, but was killed in the process.
After the crisis was over, Iris' record as Lady Flair was expunged and Iris was posthumously awarded the 3WA's highest honors.
In the flashbacks, Iris and Molly's appearances are identical to the original designs of Kei and Yuri respectively.
Voiced by: Yumi Touma (Japanese); Laura Chapman (English)
Touma
Touma was a character in the second series. He is a trouble consultant just like Kei and Yuri, but his speciality is computers and computer programs. He looks like your average computer geek; he wears eyeglasses, and has a tall but wiry body. In the course of thinking, Touma also gets distracted by the smallest of details - which often gets him beat up by Kei and Yuri. He is also inexperienced with dating, which led to one of the most hilarious moments in the series.
Touma's knowledge in computers is almost unmatched. As a college student, he was the one who had written the code to Silica 2000, Worlds World's chief mainframe... and got an "A" for his efforts. When Silica 2000 was compromised by a computer virus, Touma was call upon to eradicate it. However, since Touma is also a target by the creator of the virus, Kei and Yuri went with him as well, and stayed on the planet when Touma began to isolate the computer from the creator... a Joint Artificial Intelligence Criminal, or J.A.I.C.
Voiced by: Kenichi Ono (Japanese); Jason Douglas (English)
Calbee
Calbee is a con-artist who ended up stranded on World's World when the J.A.I.C. infected Silica 2000, and later when the Lovely Angels wrecked Narita Spaceport when landing on the planet. An expert in persuasion, he swindles many a lovely girl and takes off with their money.
On the day an unexpected typhoon blows into Tokyo, he was charming another woman at an all-you-can-eat restaurant by relating a story that he was a Tro-Con, when he encountered Kei and Yuri, who had cancelled their reservations at a very pricey French restaurant. Kei had recognized Calbee because she was a victim of his and saw a chance to get the money she and Yuri needed for the restaurant.
What followed next was a pursuit, which resulted in the three ending up stranded miles away from Tokyo and having to walk back on foot. Calbee tried many times to escape, either by guile or by action, but for one reason or another, it all went wrong. In the end, Calbee was brought in, but somehow escaped to do his cons again. Kei and Yuri saw this, but decided not to pursue him again.
Voiced by: Akio Ootsuka (Japanese); Spike Spencer (English)
Leena
A florist on Worlds World, Leena had caught the eye of Touma when he and Yuri were caught on one of the planet's planned rainy days. From the time he set eyes on her, Touma was smitten with her. However, for all the planning he made to woo her, there was one fact he didn't calculate on... Leena was a lesbian who had her eyes on Yuri.
Voiced by: Yuri Shiratori (Japanese); Kimberly Yates (English)
Gazelle
An arrogant, almost sadistic individual, Gazelle was enlisted by the 3WA to teach Kei and Yuri beach volleyball so that they could accomplish their latest mission; capture a corrupt president of a galactic company. In order to do this, Gazelle harshly drove Kei and Yuri to the point of total breakdown, and beyond that. He would do anything to whip the girls into shape, including outright lying; when Kei and Yuri chose to quit after his training reduced Yuri to tears, Gazelle told them on how fifty men had suffered at the hands of the president, including his best friend. This gave the girls a renewed sense of duty, to which they resumed their training. On their last day, however, Kei and Yuri sent Gazelle to the hospital by knocking volleyballs primed to explode if touched by anything but their hands back at him.
After the tournament and subsequent arrest of the president, Kei and Yuri learned from Poporo that the fifty men Gazelle had mentioned hadn't died, but in fact suffered office-related injuries such as Carpel Tunnel Syndrome. They then went to Gazelle's hospital room in a fit of psychosis and proceeded to beat him up.
Voiced by: Kiyoshi Kobayashi (Japanese); Rob Mungle (English)
Monica De Noir
Coming from a long and honored line of assassins, Monica De Noir, a.k.a. the Sweet Fairy, is given the job of killing Kei and Yuri to celebrate her 15th birthday. Her weapons usually include explosive candy, killer teddy bears, and other cute but deadly items. She also has at her disposal a battle mecha in the form of a teddy bear.
Voiced by: Mika Kanai (Japanese); Junie Hoang (English)
Julian
The grandson of the 3WA's biggest contributors, Julian is a brilliant but lonely boy who is obsessed with Yuri... so much so that he uses his genius to gather as much information about her, including her likes and dislikes, and constructs an android double of the trouble consultant so that he can be with her.
However, when Kei accidentally breaks the Yuri android, the real Yuri then steps in place until Julian can repair the android. She then lived in what was a life-sized dollhouse, which included an extensive wardrobe. Yuri had to somehow let the boy know that what he was in love with was a doll and not a real person... which ultimately proved to be her undoing at the end of the story, for Julian fell in love with a girl who had been trying to get through to him but he was too obsessed with the android Yuri at the time.
Voiced by: Hekiru Shiina (Japanese); David Bell (English)
Lily
Lily was Yuri's temporary partner, who was assigned to her when Kei had quit the 3WA for a brief time. Her personality that seems to mirror Yuri, but even more to the extreme, to the point of appearing as the stereotypical dumb blonde. During her first mission, Lily attempted to use one of Yuri's known tactics to get out of the mission, only to be scolded by Yuri herself and ruined a stakeout. When the 'Siren' crisis erupted, Lily abruptly quit the 3WA, mostly due to the stress of being a trouble consultant.
Lily was last seen at the end of Mission One, when she was sighted by Kei and Yuri riding in a car with a handsome man.
Voiced by: Katsuyo Endou (Japanese); Allison Keith (English)
Mughi
Mughi is Kei and Yuri's pet cat, found on their first adventure. Mughi is usually left in the care of Chief Poporo, as Yuri is too busy as a trouble consultant or dating.
Rosa
Rosa is Chief Poporo's daughter from a previous marriage. While her father would be annoyed about having to care for Mughi, Rosa found the cat entertaining and would often play with him when she visited 3WA Headquarters. It was during one of these visits that Berringer attacked, and had used the girl to try to get to Poporo.
Voiced by: Kimberly Yates

Episode list

Dirty Pair Flash (1994)
  • Opening song: Limitless Answers" by MANA.
  • Ending song: "The Second Chapter" by MANA.
No. in series No. in season Title Original release date Description
1 1 Runaway Angel January 21, 1994 (1994-01-21) Yuri is in town all dressed up for a date when a dying agent from the 3WA (World, Welfare, and Works Agency) hands her a special card to give to headquarters.
2 2 Darkside Angel February 21, 1994 (1994-02-21) Kei and Yuri are at an airport, escorting some guys to the plane, but the guys get shot. The girls pursue the assassin, who turns out to be a beautiful but very skilled woman named Lady Flair.
3 3 Frozen Angel March 22, 1994 (1994-03-22) After spotting bigwig Waldess at his GCN corporation, Kei tries to confront him but the bodyguards apprehend her and toss her out. Frustrated, Kei has had enough, and resigns. Yuri is assigned to protect a neuroscientist, but runs into trouble as Lady Flair storms in to kill the scientist. Waldess takes a sabbatical to a cruiser ship on a planet's ocean full of deadly whirlpools. Kei pursues her but gets into trouble as Lady Flair is aboard the ship, and Yuri pursues to try to help out.
4 4 Sleeping Angel April 21, 1994 (1994-04-21) Professor Kupps has made it to 3WA headquarters but he has hidden himself mind-wise in a virtual reality role-playing world of his own creation. It'll be up to Yuri to go in there and save him. Kei leaves headquarters but notices the blue uniformed men from the first episode on the subway, and they are plotting to attack 3WA and kill Kupps. As Yuri enters a stronghold and fights fantasy monsters in the virtual realm, Kei gets dragged into 3WA headquarters.
5 5 Stray Angel May 24, 1994 (1994-05-24) Professor Kupps has made it to 3WA headquarters but he has hidden himself mind-wise in a virtual reality role-playing world of his own creation. It'll be up to Yuri to go in there and save him. Kei leaves headquarters but notices the blue uniformed men from the first episode on the subway, and they are plotting to attack 3WA and kill Kupps. As Yuri enters a stronghold and fights fantasy monsters in the virtual realm, Kei gets dragged into 3WA headquarters.
6 6 Lovely Angel June 23, 1994 (1994-06-23) With Kaps's testimony, the GCN is being investigated. The guys that represent Lucifer decide that Waldess is too dangerous especially when he's still going after Siren, so they hire an assassin, who is none other than Lady Flair! Kei gets her gun repaired but it got confiscated by the 3WA. Meanwhile, Yuri gets a new ditzy partner named Lilly, and they have to help Unit 9 stake out Waldess at a spaceport, but trouble arises when other assassins make their moves against Waldess.

Dirty Pair Flash 2 (1995)
  • Opening song: "Loving In The Thrill" by Rica Matsumoto.
  • Ending song: "I Really Like You" by Mariko Kouda.
No. in seriesNo. in seasonTitleOriginal release date
71"Tokyo Holiday Network"June 1, 1995 (1995-06-01)
82"Mysterious High School Seventeen"July 1, 1995 (1995-07-01)
93"Steamy Hotsprings Romantic Tour"August 2, 1995 (1995-08-02)
104"Sparkling Flower Shop of Love"September 1, 1995 (1995-09-01)
115"Tokyo Airport Hot Pursuit"October 1, 1995 (1995-10-01)

Dirty Pair Flash 3 (1995–96)
  • Opening song: "Don't Get Serious" by Mariko Kouda.
  • Ending song: "Looking With The Eyes Of The Heart" by Rica Matsumoto
No. in seriesNo. in seasonTitleOriginal release date
121"Snow White Chaser"December 21, 1995 (1995-12-21)
132"Pink Sniper"February 1, 1996 (1996-02-01)
143"The Winners in Summer Colors"March 1, 1996 (1996-03-01)
154"My Boy in Rose Color"April 1, 1996 (1996-04-01)
165"The Gray Avenger"April 25, 1996 (1996-04-25)

References

    Further reading
    • Beveridge, Chris (5 December 2000). "Dirty Pair Flash: Angels in Trouble". Mania. Demand Media. Archived from the original on 26 November 2011. Retrieved 5 February 2013. Archived 26 November 2011 at the Wayback Machine
    • Beveridge, Chris (11 December 2001). "Dirty Pair Flash: Angels at World's End". Mania. Demand Media. Archived from the original on 26 November 2011. Retrieved 5 February 2013. Archived 26 November 2011 at the Wayback Machine
    • Beveridge, Chris (10 February 2002). "Dirty Pair Flash: Random Angels". Mania. Demand Media. Archived from the original on 6 September 2011. Retrieved 5 February 2013. Archived 6 September 2011 at the Wayback Machine
    • Crandol, Mike (15 August 2002). "Dirty Pair Flash DVD 2". Anime News Network.
    • Dong, Bamboo (22 August 2002). "Dirty Pair Flash DVD 3: Random Angels". Anime News Network.
    • Dong, Bamboo (16 April 2003). "And the anime and the antelope play – Shelf Life". Anime News Network.
    • Finnegan, Erin (6 August 2012). "The Polar Express – Shelf Life". Anime News Network.
    • Jacques, Paul (8 October 2003). "Dirty Pair Flash: Angels in Trouble". Mania. Demand Media. Archived from the original on 5 February 2013. Retrieved 5 February 2013. Archived 5 February 2013 at the Wayback Machine
    • Jacques, Paul (29 October 2003). "Dirty Pair Flash: Angels at World's End". Mania. Demand Media. Archived from the original on 12 February 2009. Retrieved 5 February 2013. Archived 12 February 2009 at the Wayback Machine
    • Jacques, Paul (28 December 2003). "Dirty Pair Flash: Random Angels". Mania. Demand Media. Archived from the original on 9 January 2009. Retrieved 5 February 2013. Archived 9 January 2009 at the Wayback Machine
    • Ross, Carlos (c. 2000). "Dirty Pair Flash". T.H.E.M. Anime Reviews.
    • Vincent, Brittany (6 August 2012). "Japanator Doesn't Recommend: Dirty Pair Flash Collection". Japanator. Modern Method.
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