Otaku USA Magazine
RetroCrush Declares July Dirty Pair Month
by Matt Schley July 19, 2023

RetroCrush Declares July Dirty Pair MonthRetro anime streamer RetroCrush has declared July Dirty Pair month, and who are we to disagree.

Dirty Pair, the iconic sci-fi anime series about the “trouble consultants” Yuri and Kei, debuted on July 15, 1985 and ran for 24 episodes. The franchise later spawned multiple OVAs, a movie, manga, and a reboot series in the ‘90s.

https://twitter.com/retrocrush_tv/status/1681037173611479042

It’s based on a series of novels by Haruka Takachiho, also known as the creator of Crusher Joe and founder of anime studio Studio Nue.

The idea for Dirty Pair was apparently spawned when Takachiko and sc-fi writer A. Bertram Chandler went to a women’s pro-wrestling match featuring a duo called the Beauty Pair.

Said Takachiho at WorldCon ’92 in Orlando:

As we were watching the Beauty Pair in action, Mr.Chandler joked, “you know, those two in the ring maybe the Beauty Pair, but these two with you — Yuri and Kei — should be called the Dirty Pair!

Thus, a classic was born.

Do you have any Dirty Pair faves? I’m partial to the Dirty Pair 2 OVA series, myself. That opening theme, man.

Here’s how Nozomi describes the 1985 series:

In the 22nd century mankind may be technologically advanced, but there are still some problems that can only be fixed by a couple of women who won’t back down from a fight! These are the adventures of Kei and Yuri, two official Trouble Consultants for the World Welfare Works Association (WWWA) who use their brains, brawn, and looks to solve any problem. They call themselves the “Lovely Angels,” but because their solutions often result in chaos and mass destruction, the rest of the universe has dubbed them the “Dirty Pair”!

For Kei and Yuri, no two missions are ever the same. As the WWWA’s top Trouble Consultants, they take on all sorts of odd jobs, like chasing down treasure in high-tech ruins, fighting off political assassins, and even avenging the death of… a plaster statue? In the end, only one thing’s for sure: anything that stands between these two and victory is sure to be destroyed!

Source: Retrocrush

Dirty Pair 10
Matt Schley

Matt Schley (rhymes with "guy") lives in Tokyo, and has been OUSA's "man in Japan" since 2012. He's also written about anime and Japanese film for the Japan Times, Screen Daily and more.

View all posts by Matt Schley

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