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Review

by Bamboo Dong,

Dirty Pair Flash

DVD 3: Random Angels

Synopsis:
Dirty Pair Flash DVD 3
The Dirty Pair are at it again, in Mission 3 from their adventures, Dirty Pair Flash. Filled with action and comedy, the third volume is as enjoyable as the original was, making it easy to see why the two girls have become such favorites with fans all around the world.
Review:
The Dirty Pair have always been popular amongst fans, and even in the newer Dirty Pair Flash, it's still easy to see why. Released in North America by ADV Films, the Third Mission DVD comes with five episodes at a decent price, allowing fans to easily purchase each consecutive volume. Along with the episodes, the DVD also includes a feature with character biographies, which comprises of brief introductions to each character shown in the episodes, as well as a picture. Unfortunately, poor grammar used in the writting of the character descriptions completely ruins the value of this extra. Questionable use of pronouns makes it so that the reader has a hard time figuring out who the writer was actually referring to in regards to the relationships between one the characters. Another extra on the disc was more worthy, and this was the opening animation with the original Japanese title screens; with a song as cute as the opening, this extra is hard to be underappreciated.

The actual story line of the five episodes was entertaining, and made the time flow easily. Between the episodes, there was no continuity whatsoever to speak of, as each one was an individual, standalone story. While this makes it annoying when stories are left unresolved, it keeps the viewer's attention span running with all the antics in the series. Like the earlier Dirty Pair, however, the production staff found every chance possible to insert the girls in scanty clothing, sexual situations, both well equipped with panty and breast shots from every possible angle known to photographers. The third episode was especially prevalent in racy shots, featuring less clothing than any of the other episodes—there was even a scene with the two girls in the same bed together while slinky music played subtly in the background. While the sexual atmosphere doesn't distract from the enjoyment of the series, it does get odd at times, since certain scenes seem to serve no purpose other than to present eye candy.

Random panty shots aside, the art and animation for this series are surprisingly well done. Especially nice is the beautiful backgrounds used in the series. Featuring amazing mountain backdrops and carefully drawn buildings, the backgrounds are detailed enough to look like exact duplicates of their real-life counterparts, yet subdued enough to not clutter or be distracting. The actual foreground art is pleasantly done, though nothing to get overly excited over. Once again, there is enough detail to entice an exclamation every now and then, but it is subdued enough to not make the screen seem “busy.” As for the animation, it is quite fluid and consistent for the most part, which allows for smooth action scenes, though during minor scenes, the animation quality fades slightly. Given the triviality of such connecting frames, however, this doesn't detract from the viewing pleasure at all.

All the audio aspects of the series are equally well-done, both music and dialogue-wise. The music is incredibly cute and fun to listen to; the background music matches the light, airy nature of the scenarios well, and the opening and ending vocal themes are just too bouncy to not enjoy. Viewers shouldn't be surprised at all to find themselves sitting through all the opening sequences, just to bob their heads to the sugary music. The other important aspect of the audio, the dialogue, is also impressive. The Japanese voice actors performed their roles faithfully, showing excitement and commitment to making the characters come to life. As for the dub, it is probably one of the best ones that ADV has pulled out of its sleeve yet. The actors did a wonderful job delivering their lines; amazingly, the voices were cast (most likely accidentally) so that the actor's voices match the characters' natures almost perfectly. Most of all, contrary to ADV's usual dub antics, the English script actually matches the original Japanese script. The major scenes were well translated so that the meanings of the words arealmost exactly the same. The only noticeable deviation from the Japanese script is in the minor conversational scenes where the lines were changed to sound more racy or humorous. Considering the insignificance of these time-filler scenes, however, the script changes can be easily excused and forgiven.

Not only is Dirty Pair Flash a fun and energetic series that is easy to get into, ADV also did a great job in making it a release worthy to purchase and please the fans. With the pleasant characteristics that come from the series itself, and the effort that ADV put into the release, any fans of Dirty Pair Flash would get a kick out of watching Kei and Yuri pulling their usual slick moves and comedic antics. Coming at five episodes per disc, the DVD is cheap enough to entice new viewers into the series. Regardless of whether or not one is already a fan, or is contemplating being drawn into the circle, the DVD is definitely worth checking out.
Grade:
Overall (dub) : A-
Overall (sub) : A-
Story : B
Animation : B
Art : B
Music : B

+ Beautiful backgrounds, and a thankfully good dub
Random panty flashes strewn everywhere

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Production Info:
Licensed by: ADV Films

Full encyclopedia details about
Dirty Pair Flash (OAV)

Release information about
Dirty Pair Flash - Random Angels (DVD 3)

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