NoaIzumiManga Review: Dirty Pair
March 15th 2009 19:27
Yep, the Dirty Pair made the manga pages, too, although not Japanese manga, technically. The Lovely Angels were the subjects of several graphic novels by the famed American artist, Adam Warren, who drew the recently-reviewed manga for Bubblegum Crisis. I’ll be reviewing three of them here.
Biohazards
This was the first in the series, published way back in 1989. Kei and Yuri are assigned to help a bio-weapons manufacturer find evidence against a rival. And bio-agents aren’t the only thing in the air as Kei starts to fall for their new ally.
Biohazards is straight-up Dirty Pair, with action, romance, and collateral damage. It borrows a number of plot elements from Project Eden, but it’s still its own story. Industrialist Kelvin O’Donnel makes for an interesting guest character, as he’s on the side of the (Lovely) Angels, but he’s not above skirting the law, and his rivalry with another manufacturer has gotten seriously personal, with the two men trying to kill each other and neither making any apologies about it. He’s certainly not a bad guy, but he’s not exactly a good guy either.
This publication also includes the short story, “I Honestly Hate You,” where Kei reveals her true feelings about Yuri. (Down, you perverts; they aren’t those kinds of feelings.)
Sim Hell
It’s time for Kei’s 3WA evaluation to find out if she still has what it takes to be a Trouble Consultant. Yuri tells her there’s nothing to worry about, but then something goes wrong with the virtual reality simulation, and Yuri has to dive into Kei’s mind to find out what’s happening. Together, they uncover a plot that will change the entire galaxy.
This is frankly my least favorite. Sim Hell does sport some great visuals and provides a little background on the 3WA’s Central Computer, but the story is hard to follow, and at the end, it’s unclear whether the whole adventure was for real or just a creative test for the Lovely Angels. On the plus side, it includes some bonus artwork and an extra short story.
A Plague of Angels
What do you do when you have as bad of a reputation as the Dirty Pair? Find a reporter to do a friendly interview, of course! Freelance journalist Corey Emerson is with the Lovely Angels on their latest case, and she quickly finds out that getting her piece in by deadline is going to be the least of her problems.
A Plague of Angels is definitely the best of the lot. Not only do we get to see the infamous Dirty Pair through the eyes of a somewhat jaded reporter, we also find out where the Lovely Angels came from and why they joined the WWWA in the first place (although how much of it is true, and how much is embellished, I wouldn’t presume to guess). The villain is more fleshed out than usual, too. An artificial intelligence (with no physical body of his own) with a fetish for buxom babes, matched up against the Dirty Pair? Who’s chasing who here?
If you’re familiar with the DP, all three mangas are well worth reading, and if you’re new to the franchise, any of them would not be a bad place to start. All of the elements that make the Lovely Angels so worth watching, including the chemistry between them, are here in spades. Adam Warren is a fan, and it shows in his work.
Geeking Out: In the short story, “I Honestly Hate You”, Yuri is watching TV, and Rally Vincent of Gunsmith Cats is on-screen.
Great moments: The Lovely Angels sing karaoke! (Plague of Angels) And of course, the hundreds of variously dressed Kei and Yuri clones in Kevin Sleet’s virtual harem in Sim Hell. (I know he’s the villain and all, but the man does have taste.)
Age rating: 15 and up. In these works, Adam Warren tends to play up the satirical nature of the franchise, which means more fan service and more violence (but all in good fun).
This was the first in the series, published way back in 1989. Kei and Yuri are assigned to help a bio-weapons manufacturer find evidence against a rival. And bio-agents aren’t the only thing in the air as Kei starts to fall for their new ally.
Biohazards is straight-up Dirty Pair, with action, romance, and collateral damage. It borrows a number of plot elements from Project Eden, but it’s still its own story. Industrialist Kelvin O’Donnel makes for an interesting guest character, as he’s on the side of the (Lovely) Angels, but he’s not above skirting the law, and his rivalry with another manufacturer has gotten seriously personal, with the two men trying to kill each other and neither making any apologies about it. He’s certainly not a bad guy, but he’s not exactly a good guy either.
This publication also includes the short story, “I Honestly Hate You,” where Kei reveals her true feelings about Yuri. (Down, you perverts; they aren’t those kinds of feelings.)
It’s time for Kei’s 3WA evaluation to find out if she still has what it takes to be a Trouble Consultant. Yuri tells her there’s nothing to worry about, but then something goes wrong with the virtual reality simulation, and Yuri has to dive into Kei’s mind to find out what’s happening. Together, they uncover a plot that will change the entire galaxy.
This is frankly my least favorite. Sim Hell does sport some great visuals and provides a little background on the 3WA’s Central Computer, but the story is hard to follow, and at the end, it’s unclear whether the whole adventure was for real or just a creative test for the Lovely Angels. On the plus side, it includes some bonus artwork and an extra short story.
A Plague of Angels
What do you do when you have as bad of a reputation as the Dirty Pair? Find a reporter to do a friendly interview, of course! Freelance journalist Corey Emerson is with the Lovely Angels on their latest case, and she quickly finds out that getting her piece in by deadline is going to be the least of her problems.
A Plague of Angels is definitely the best of the lot. Not only do we get to see the infamous Dirty Pair through the eyes of a somewhat jaded reporter, we also find out where the Lovely Angels came from and why they joined the WWWA in the first place (although how much of it is true, and how much is embellished, I wouldn’t presume to guess). The villain is more fleshed out than usual, too. An artificial intelligence (with no physical body of his own) with a fetish for buxom babes, matched up against the Dirty Pair? Who’s chasing who here?
If you’re familiar with the DP, all three mangas are well worth reading, and if you’re new to the franchise, any of them would not be a bad place to start. All of the elements that make the Lovely Angels so worth watching, including the chemistry between them, are here in spades. Adam Warren is a fan, and it shows in his work.
Geeking Out: In the short story, “I Honestly Hate You”, Yuri is watching TV, and Rally Vincent of Gunsmith Cats is on-screen.
Great moments: The Lovely Angels sing karaoke! (Plague of Angels) And of course, the hundreds of variously dressed Kei and Yuri clones in Kevin Sleet’s virtual harem in Sim Hell. (I know he’s the villain and all, but the man does have taste.)
Age rating: 15 and up. In these works, Adam Warren tends to play up the satirical nature of the franchise, which means more fan service and more violence (but all in good fun).
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