Ask John: Will the Dirty Pair TV Series Ever Be Released in the US?

Question:
Will the Dirty Pair TV series ever be released in the US? ADV licensed and released all the movies plus the OVA series some time ago, but still there is no sign of the TV series. I consider Dirty Pair to be a fan favourite both in Japan and America. I even heard that David Williams (ADR Director of ADV) absolutly adores the the franchise and that ADV has first choice on it. It’s for these reasons that the lone absence of the TV series puzzles me to no end. Could you please shed some light on this mystery?

Answer:
To be blunt, I can’t answer this question because I don’t know. I have two opposing theories about the likelihood of the Dirty Pair television series reaching America. Moreover, since Dirty Pair is my favorite anime series, I’m eager to make use of any opportunity I have to discuss the show.

For the sake of convenience, I think of the 1985 Dirty Pair television series as a 26 episode series. During its original broadcast, the show was canceled after airing only 24 episodes, so the final two episodes are commonly referred to as the “From Lovely Angels With Love” OAVs because they were originally released together directly to home video under the title “From Lovely Angels With Love.” While Dirty Pair was not initially successful in Japan, similar to Star Trek in America, the popularity of this sci-fi adventure grew with time. The franchise has been a cult favorite in America since its inception, spawning even a long series of original American comics and merchandise based on Haruka Takachiho’s original Dirty Pair novels. All of the Dirty Pair anime from the classic era and the re-envisioned Dirty Pair Flash has been released in America, except for the original television series.

AD Vision is presently the exclusive distributor of Dirty Pair anime in America. For many years AD Vision’s David L. Williams has asserted himself a devoted Dirty Pair fan and taunted American fans with a non-committal tease that AD Vision hasn’t excluded the possibility of bringing the show to America. However, refusing to discount a possibility is not the same as confirming an intention. “Might” is not the same thing as “will.” As I’ve mentioned, Dirty Pair is a cult hit in America; it’s not a best selling mainstream hit. Even the most recent classic Dirty Pair anime is still older than many American anime fans themselves. I think it’s an established and accepted fact that the majority of American consumers refuse to watch and buy vintage anime. The small fan following for Dirty Pair in America by itself is doubtfully big enough to cover the cost of licensing, producing, and releasing the show domestically.

I think that in America Dirty Pair suffers from the common perception of being a brainless, gratuitous girls with guns oblation to male anime fans. I blame Dirty Pair Flash for unashamedly contributing to this perception. The strength of the original Dirty Pair is that Kei and Yuri are mature young women who are competent and intelligent, although often unlucky. They are detectives and professional problem solvers capable of investigating mysteries and resolving conflicts. Both Kei and Yuri are women fully capable of exploiting their feminine wiles and instantly switching to the personalities of businesslike professionals. The girls also know each other so well that they work together as one. The TV series depicts countless instances of Kei & Yuri wordlessly working in perfect unison because they compliment each other, think alike, and have an innate understanding of how to best achieve their goals. The Lovely Angels may have the nickname “Dirty Pair,” but the original anime clearly reveals that Kei & Yuri are rarely to blame for the destruction and mayhem that surrounds them (unless they’re on a sabotage mission). They simply have the bad luck of frequently hunting destructive criminals, or frequently being forced into situations in which extreme measures are the only viable option.

Dirty Pair isn’t quite the brainless, gratuitous fan service show that many American fans may believe that it is. If the show was really that insubstantial, it probably wouldn’t be as beloved and respected as it is. But it is old. The visual look of the show and its animation quality are not on par with the contemporary anime that modern American fans demand. I’m sure that the marketability of the Dirty Pair TV series is one factor which has hindered the series’ American release. It’s also a factor which may perpetually prevent the show from reaching America. However, considering that AD Vision has licensed and released anime older than Dirty Pair, I must assume that there are other circumstances at work which have prevented the series from reaching America.

2006 has seen a significant revival of interest in Dirty Pair in Japan. The TV series, OAV series, Affair of Nolandia and Flight 005 Conspiracy OAVs, and three Dirty Pair Flash series have all recently received a remastered Japanese DVD release. There’s now a new Dirty Pair radio drama. The first book of classic Dirty Pair art in over a decade has recently been released. And a new pair of Kei & Yuri statues are on the horizon. This sudden revival of Dirty Pair franchise in Japan may spill over into an American release if the Japanese distributor wishes to push this new marketing blitz internationally.

I’ve been a die-hard Dirty Pair fan since 1987. I’ve watched the TV series several times. I imported the recently released Japanese DVD boxed set. And my extensive Dirty Pair collection includes everything from standards like books and toys to oddities like cassette labels, school notebooks, sticker sheets, and metal pencil boxes. I would be overjoyed to have an opportunity to purchase an official American DVD release of the TV series, but I really can’t guess whether or not a release will ever occur.