AKA: ダーティペア（劇場版） (Dirty Pair: Gekijouban), Dirty Pair: the Movie

Genre: Action, Sci-fi

Length: Movie, 80 minutes

Distributor: Currently licensed by Right Stuf International

Content Rating: PG-13 (violence, fan service)

Related Series: Dirty Pair, Dirty Pair: Affair on Nolandia, Dirty Pair: Flight 005 Conspiracy

Also Recommended: Dirty Pair, Burn Up W, Kiddy Grade

Notes: Sequel to the original.

Rating:

Dirty Pair: Project Eden

Synopsis

The Lovely Angels are dispatched to a mining planet to search for the origin of monsters that have been attacking facilities that are the major source of material used for interstellar travel. Beneath the surface of the planet, Kei and Yuri find a dark secret - a mad scientist obsessed with "releasing" his "master race" of monsters who would overtake humans as the ultimate life form in the universe.

Review

If you want a purely *fun* movie, Project Eden fits the bill perfectly. With a surprisingly well-written plot, non-stop action, intriguing side characters, and, well, of course, the irrepressible (and really, really cute) Kei and Yuri, this movie is a real blast to watch. This is the movie that hooked me onto classic Dirty Pair with a vengeance, and here's why.

For one, the storyline, though pure action-movie, is actually pretty intelligent. Yes, the whole mad-scientist deus-ex-machina bit is purely silly, but what the characters actually *do* is pretty darn consistent with reality. The Dirty Pair, far from being a pair of flaky "riot-grrls" as they are in Flash (or the Adam Warren "manga") are intelligent trouble-shooters who come up with brilliant solutions to the problems that face them. Throughout this flick, you realize that all the destruction caused in this movie is *not their fault*! They just happen to be dealing with desperate people, and Kei and Yuri have to be clever to escape all the situations they are thrust into.

Not that they didn't have any help. Of course, their trustworthy (and very furry) companion, Mughi, as always, is with them (and saves their butt from the fire several times during this movie), and is less pet than Wookiee friend. Not to mention the guy who barges in on them, Carson B. Carson, who is a pretty talented guy himself. (And all he wanted was a bottle of wine...) For a character that you'd expect to be cannon fodder, as most Dirty Pair males are, he really holds his own with Kei and Yuri, kind of like a reverse Bond girl. (Though, despite his attempts, he can never get anywhere with either one of them...)

Actually, the classic Dirty Pair franchise is really comparable to an intergalactic James Bond series. Yes, the movies are really silly if you really think about them, but they're clever, funny, and full of exciting action sequences that are entertaining, without ever being excessive. The main characters are smart, quick-witted, and thoroughly likable, as well as attractive. Kei and Yuri are hardly bimbos - they're genuinely womanly, without ever resorting to out-and-out cheesecake. (Really, the only fan service here is when they're bathing, and they don't react kindly to peeping Toms, as we find out in this movie.) They're actually very realistic characters, something that the new incarnations of the Dirty Pair completely miss the mark on.

Project Eden is one of the best, if not *the* best Dirty Pair vehicle to date. Not only is it entertaining, but also it's intelligent and well crafted, with good animation for its day, good music, oh, and yeah, did we mention the *real* Kei and Yuri? It's definitely worth at least a rental (unless you're lucky enough to find it for sale somewhere still), and it's far better than what people these days seem to be passing off as Dirty Pair. If only they still made Dirty Pair features like this.

Add one star if you're a Dirty Pair fan. This is Dirty Pair at its very best, and it's a lot of fun to watch! — Carlos/Giancarla Ross

Recommended Audience: A few fan servicey scenes (c'mon, they're Kei and Yuri, what did you expect? though there's no actual nudity) as well as some semi-graphic violence (mostly monsters though) will limit this to older children and above, but the tone of the movie is, by and large, very inoffensive. Perfect for the James Bond fan.