ADV Films presents

Dirty Pair Flash: Mission 3: Random Angels (1998)

Kei: Crap! This door's just like Yuri!
Yuri: What does that mean?
Kei: It's incredibly dense.
Poporo: Good one!- Sue Ulu, Kim Sevier, Donl Johnson

Stars: Rika Matsumoto, Mariko Kokufuda, Shigezou Sasaoka, Sue Ulu, Kim Sevier, Donl Johnson
Other Stars: Maseru Ikeda, Mika Kanai, Hekiru Shiina, Motomu Kiyokawa, Ichirouta Mochizuki, Juni Hoang, Bryan Bounds, Davind Bell, Brett Weaver
Director: Takahiro Kimura

Manufacturer: JVC
MPAA Rating: Not Rated for (12+ for violence, nudity, fanservice)
Run Time: 02h:18m:55s
Release Date: 2002-02-26
Genre: anime

Style Grade	Substance Grade	Image Transfer Grade	Audio Transfer Grade	Extras Grade
B+	B+	B+	A-	C-

 

DVD Review

The final installment in the Dirty Pair Flash series contains another five adventures with our damage magnets, Kei and Yuri, better known as the Dirty Pair. These are pretty much standalone episodes, allowing our girls to create as much damage as possible.

Just when I thought I'd seen everything, the first installment, Snow White Chaser throws a major curve ball—Kei as a mom? When terrorists blow up the plane she's on, Kei becomes the guardian of a crying baby, as she treks across a snowy wasteland after the crash. With the killers after the infant, Kei has to resist the urge to throttle the child herself—but is she prepared for the baby's secret weapon?

Then, Kei and Yuri become practice targets for the youngest in a family of assassins. Determined to succeed, Monica, the Pink Sniper, has several tricks up her sleeve, and while the Lovely Angels have faced all manner of threat in the past, can they fend off an attack by... a teddy bear?

When you are a Trouble Consultant, life can be a beach, as the Dirty Pair are assigned as entrants in a volleyball competition in Winners in Summer Colors. What they hadn't counted on was their commandant of a coach, who is going to whip these girls into shape, even if it kills them!

It's nice to have fans, but when the grandson of 3WA's major funder is upset by Kei's beheading of his android Yuri look alike, the original has to step in to make amends. For Yuri, it's the perfect opportunity to snag herself a rich husband, at least it seems so.

Finally, it's payback time for an escaped terrorist who wants Poporo's head. All hell is going to break loose at 3WA headquarters before this mission is over, and with Kei and Yuri on the case, they are obliged to make sure the damage is permanent.

Mission three has a number of standout moments. From Kei's dealing with babies, to the pair's exhaustive training sessions (and a great send up of competition style shows), there is lots of opportunity for laughs along the way. While the fallout count may not be as not as high as the other two missions, this one certainly takes the crown for its copious amounts of fanservice. The personalities are a little more mature, but there is still a good amount of ribbing between the pair. The scenarios are varied enough to make each interesting, and the resolutions have a patented destructive tendency. The Japanese voice acting is spot on, with the dub being pretty decent overall. There's plenty of action, as the masters of disaster do a noble job of blowing things up—even while wearing a bikini.

Rating for Style: B+
Rating for Substance: B+

 

Image Transfer

	One
Aspect Ratio	1.33:1 - Full Frame
Original Aspect Ratio	yes
Anamorphic	no

Image Transfer Review: Image quality is very good, with well saturated colors and strong black levels. There is some cross coloration, but it is only really glaring in a few places. Aliasing is fairly minimal, and fine grain is unobtrusive. This is a solid release.

Image Transfer Grade: B+
 

Audio Transfer

	Language	Remote Access
DS 2.0	Japanese, English	yes

Audio Transfer Review: Stereo audio is available in Japanese and English dubs. Both tracks have a nice forward soundfield, with moderate use of directionality. The Japanese track has a slight edginess in a few places, but overall both sound pretty good.

Audio Transfer Grade: A- 

Disc Extras

Full Motion menu with music
Scene Access with 24 cues and remote access
Subtitles/Captions in English with remote access
1 Original Trailer(s)
6 Other Trailer(s) featuring Excel Saga, Legend of Crystania: The Chaos Ring, Soul Hunter, Dai-Guard, Orphen, Princess Nine
Packaging: Scanavo
Picture Disc
1 Disc
1-Sided disc(s)
Layers: dual

Extra Extras:

1. Japanese opening credits
2. Character bios

Extras Review: A character bio section covers the principle players in this collection of missions.

The original Japanese opening animation is included, complete with Japanese credits.

The preview trailer for Dirty Pair Flash: Mission 3 and a selection of ADV trailers for Excel Saga, Legend of Crystania: The Chaos Ring, Soul Hunter, Dai-Guard, Orphen and Princess Nine is also included.

The spine art police have issued warrants for a printing error, which omitted the black ink from the title swatch.

Extras Grade: C-
 

Final Comments

The final Dirty Pair Flash collection presents another batch of comically destructive episodes from our favorite Trouble Consultants. The fanservice is bountiful, the mayhem nonstop. It may not be the originals, but this one is worth a purchase for the volleyball episode alone.

Jeff Ulmer 2002-08-29