Dirty Pair

Did You Know?

• Kei favors large weaponry and prefers to shoot first, while Yuri uses energy whips or throwing cards, including the Bloody Card.
• The first two light novels were released in English translation by DH Press in 2007 and 2008.
• The manga The Great Adventures of the Dirty Pair, by Hisao Tamaki, was serialised in Monthly Comic Ryū from 2010 to 2011 and released in English by Seven Seas Entertainment in 2019.

Premise

Kei and Yuri are Trouble Consultant team 234, code-named Lovely Angels. They complete their assignments but cause extreme collateral damage, earning the hated nickname Dirty Pair. The 3WA's Central Computer clears them of wrongdoing, though their presence worsens situations. In some continuities, they share extrasensory perception, usually precognition, which led to their recruitment.

Development

The idea for Dirty Pair originated during a 1978 visit to Studio Nue by British Australian author A. Bertram Chandler. Chandler remarked that the two with Takachiho should be called the Dirty Pair. Takachiho later wrote a novella transplanting pro-wrestling rough-housing into space-opera mystery stories, building on his experience with Crusher Joe. The team code-name Lovely Angels plays on contemporary women's team names like Queen Angels.

Anime

The Dirty Pair television series aired 24 episodes on Nippon Television affiliates from July to December 1985. Two additional episodes, scripted but produced after the series aired, were released as an OVA in January 1987 and later added to re-airings, making the series 26 episodes. The anime is closer to the original light novels than other incarnations, though it has a more comical atmosphere and 1980s future styling. Kei and Yuri live in Eleanor City's Damocles Tower, with 3WA chief Gooley Andrew Francess and second-in-command Calico. They have assistants Mughi, a genetically modified feline, and Nanmo, a small robot. ADV licensed the series in 2001, and Nozomi Entertainment re-released it in two box sets in 2010–2011 with Japanese dialog and English subtitles. An English dub was offered but declined. The series aired in North America on Showtime Beyond.

Radio series

A radio series titled Lovely Angel: Kei & Yuri debuted on FM Osaka on 1 October 2006, running 26 weeks, with a streaming broadcast from 15 October. It features Horie Yui as Yuri and Minagawa Junko as Kei, with Takachiho selecting the voice artists but not writing the series. A second radio series, Daatipea91: Kunoichi, began on 15 October 2007, written by Takachiho, placing eighteen-year-old Kei and Yuri in 1791 Japan as student ninjas. The same voice actresses reprised their roles, and the series was rebroadcast in March–April 2009.