The show is set in a future where many planets are populated with all kinds of people. Seeing as how humanity really hasn't evolved very much in the last several thousand years, it's not too big a leap to think that a few hundred years from now, some people will still be basically the same; greedy, dumb, and lazy. Because of such people, the rest of the universe will need someone to instill a sense of law and order, a law enforcement agency full of capable and talented individuals that will protect the rest of us from these bad guys. Well, sadly enough, such an agency won't exist but the next best thing will; the World Welfare Work Agency (3WA). Even sadder is that the world will have to depend on their two most interesting agents, Yuri and Kei.

These two agents are actually attractive women that run around (and fly around) in skimpy outfits as they try to accomplish whatever missions they are handed by their high-strung boss. For whatever reason, he seems to think that the trail of destruction and damage that follow the duo is somehow their fault yet who can deny that the phrase "the ends justify the means" seems to be their motto? In any case, the OVA series consisted of ten episodes that were all stand alone in nature, meaning you didn't have to see them in order to enjoy the action that took place. Here's what the back of this re-release said about the show:

"Can you handle girls with guns? How about two of them? Meet the original girls with guns: Kei and Yuri, the Lovely Angels, top agents of the World Welfare & Works Association (3WA), better known to the rest of the galaxy as the Dirty Pair. And when the 3WA unleashes this infamous pair, the bad guys aren't the only ones in trouble. Still, as the 3WA's supercomputer is quick to point out, the Lovely Angels always get their man, and the collateral damage that results is never really their fault. Don't miss the mayhem, destruction and downright devastation surrounding the delectable Original Dirty Pair!"

The show started off with a rescue mission where the ladies had to save a prison warden on a space bound penal colony from rioting prisoners. That he didn't want to be saved as he tries to kill all the prisoners left alive after a squadron of space marines' attacks to assist in the rescue is only a side issue for the women. This led to the following episode set on Halloween featuring a combat robot that looked suspiciously like the exo-skeleton from the Terminator movies run amuck in the city thanks to the duo messing up a mission. With limited time to spare, they must reclaim him before his programming switches to combat mode and causes as much damage as the ladies could do. A planet full of religious zealots was the focus of their third mission with the one after that putting the gals in the unlikely role of nannies for a bunch of young thugs trying to use a powerful weapon, never realizing the established capabilities of their protectors.

The first disc ended with the fifth mission, an escapade where the gals have to reclaim another agent whose life has turned to gambling, using a rail gun that is all the universe needs in the hands of the gals. The second disc then started with a mobster's son marrying Yuri, something neither his father nor Kei are willing to accept. The rest of the episodes centered on drug rings, murder mysteries, civil wars, and solving a case where space truckers are dropping dead far too often to allow for interstellar commerce. The sole factor in all of these episodes is how much more carnage the gals leave in their wake then the original problems they are sent to solve yet that forms the basis for much of the humor. That there was some adult humor and minor fan service was just icing on the cake for fans of this nearly twenty year old series from Japan.

The voice acting on the English dub wasn't up to today's standards but it wasn't too bad considering the age of the material. The insider jokes were many here and fans of pop culture could spend a lot of time figuring out the subtle (and some not-so-subtle) references to other shows and events. In all though, the limitations aside, it was still a funny show to enjoy. That's why I thought it was worth a rating of Recommended to any fans of the series from the movies to the newer versions that have caused ADV Films to tack on the "original" to the header of the title.

Picture: Dirty Pair: OVA Collection was presented in the original 1.33:1 ratio full frame color. The source material were as scratched up and grainy as I remembered it from long ago due in large part to the lack of cleaned up versions of the show from Japan. The animation used to show movement was limited too due to the age of the show and limited budget but the fun factor was always high as the goofy exploits of the characters went about their missions. There were even moments when the colors looked slightly off but this is also to be expected on such an older show. I didn't see any compression artifacts but this was clearly one of the weaker looking shows from the talented folks at ADV Films.

Sound: The audio was presented with the usual choice of the original 2.0 Dolby Digital Japanese track or the 2.0 Dolby Digital English language dub, both with optional English language subtitles. I listened to both tracks and found the original language track to sound superior to the dub but enough quality on both to merit a listen on each of them. There was no separation between the channels that I noticed (making me think the source material was in monaural) and the dynamic range was similarly limited but the audio provided enough support to the pictures that I enjoyed it nonetheless.

Extras: This was one of the value thin pak series by ADV Films so there were no extras outside the inclusion of some trailers. Given the savings from the original releases, I wasn't too critical about the lack of extras although they might've been nice additions here.

Final Thoughts: Dirty Pair: OVA Collection will certainly appeal to the fans of the series who have been longing for a value oriented release of the episodes. It contained the better part of four hours of material for a very reasonable price and that's nothing to scoff at. Considering the pedigree of many who worked on this series also worked on shows like Cowboy Bebop, Zone of the Enders, Mobile Suit Gundam, Angelic Layer, and Noir; I think this served as a training ground allowing their skills to evolve nicely. The prints used for the DVD transfer might've been in need of a cleaning but the material itself seemed almost timeless by comparison.

If you enjoy anime, take a look at some of the recommendations by DVD Talk's twisted cast of reviewers in their Best Of Anime 2003, Best Of Anime 2004, and Best of Anime 2005 articles or their regular column Anime Talk.