Dirty Pair Flash #3: Random Angels (DVD)

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ADV released its third and final "Dirty Pair Flash" DVD, "Random Angels", in 2001. This DVD contains all five episodes of what was called Mission 3 in Japan. By this time, it seems like the writing for "Dirty Pair Flash" has started to wind down a bit. There are five episodes ("Snow White Chaser", "Pink Sniper", "The Winners in Summer Clothes", "My Boy in Rose Color", and "Grey Colored Avenger"), but nothing really ties any of them together. Gone is the linking plot thread from Mission 1 or the common setting of Mission 2. Instead, the collection of episodes is about as random as can be. Still, anyone who enjoyed the other "Dirty Pair Flash" DVDs won´t want to miss this final offering.

Kei and Yuri, the titular Dirty Pair, each get an episode practically to themselves. Kei saves a baby from a crashed airplane and takes it to safety in "Snow White Chaser". Yuri drops in near the end to help, but I think Kei could have won by herself. Of course, I like Kei more than Yuri, so I suppose I´m biased. For "My Boy in Rose Color", Yuri takes center stage. In what is one of the creepiest things I´ve ever seen (and may be a bit of a dig at obsessive fans), a distant admirer of Yuri´s has built a life-sized android of her. After Kei accidentally breaks it, Yuri has to live with the boy for three days while he fixes the android. Because the boy is a bit of a shut in, he can´t relate to the real Yuri. Over the three days, Yuri has to live in a three-story doll house, change costumes often (including into a uniform from the original "Dirty Pair" series), sneak in food (the boy thinks Yuri is much too pure to eat food), and find someway to go to the bathroom (the boy also believes Yuri is too pure to ever need to expel waste). Why would Yuri go to this kind of trouble? Because the kid is rich, and Yuri plans on getting him to marry her, of course! See, this is why I like Kei better than Yuri--the latter is just too scheming and underhanded.

By far the funniest episode, "The Winners in Summer Clothes" puts Kei and Yuri into the galaxy´s volleyball championship in order to capture their man. However, most of the episode focuses on the special training that they receive from the 3WA´s athletics coach, Gazelle. He puts the girls through a bizarre mix of aerobics, strength training, and exercises that just don´t seem to have a point, all the while reminding them that fifty other Trouble Consultants have fallen before them. I especially like his wake-up service--when Kei and Yuri don´t wake up on time, he fills their room with water.

The final episode, "Grey Colored Avenger", was my favorite on the disc. It involves an old enemy of the Dirty Pair´s boss, Poporo, coming back for revenge. One of the bad guys looked a lot like a bad guy from "New Cutey Honey", a series I´ve been trying to forget. Regardless of any such unfortunate coincidences, I thought this episode´s plot and action were equal to the best this series has had to offer. The tone was fairly serious, there were plenty of explosions, and Kei and Yuri got to show off their team work. I can´t think of a higher note for the series to end on.