They call themselves the Lovely Angels, but they are notoriously known as the Dirty Pair. They are Kei and Yuri, trouble consultants for the Worlds Welfare Work Association (WWWA or 3WA), a mercenary organization which will solve any interplanetar y crime for the right price. Kei and Yuri earn the nickname, the Dirty Pair, because mass destruction results in every situation they get involved in. They are partners and best friends, but they often argue (especially during combat). Accompanied by t heir sidekicks, Muhgi and Namo, Kei and Yuri are ready to wreak havoc on the universe. The Dirty Pair sends mixed signals to the audience. These women are admirable anime heroines, yet they always end up fighting in skimpy underwear-like clothing. (Ota kus will argue that this allows for greater mobility.) They are skilled soldiers, yet they have all the nuances that are charateristic of stereotypical females. [See "AnimEssence: Babes with Guns"] The Dirty Pair is based on the Japanese novel < I>The Great Adventures of the Dirty Pair by Haruka Takachiho (available in English). Dirty Pair fans will want to see the commerically available movies: Project Eden, Affair on Nolandia, and Conspiracy of Flight 005. The more recent 6 OAV series, Dirty Pair Flash, takes place when Kei and Yuri were just starting out as 3WA agents (Muhgi is a little kitten!). Dirty Pair comic books are available at Comics & Comix.
Today, Kei and Yuri first travel to the gambling planet Vega where they attempt to steal a lucky poker chip from Carello Carpenti. In the next episode, they encounter a mysterious force which is connected with J.S. Criados, a scientist who supposedl y committed suicide. Next, they attempt to rescue Yur's long lost love, Billy Galet, who is forced to work on a secret weapon. their next mission is to rescue Chief Gooley of the WWWA and save Eleanor City from Captain Marcus, who has captured the Super God Cannon!
--Ankan BhaumikWelcome to the Cal-Animage Alpha's showing of the Dirty Pair. Hopefully, you've enjoyed our Fall Schedule of anime, but have you wondered: "Man that was lame! I can write better stories than that!" or "There are no more episodes? I wish there wer e more." Don't be afraid. Many people just like you have felt the same way, but they have done something about it. They've written fan-fictions.
Fan-fictions (of fan-fics for short) are "alternate realities," based on an original anime or manga theme. In the realm of fan-fics, anything is possible as long as the writer can imagine it. The Knight Sabers from Bubble Gum Crisis can be of ficers of a Federation Starship from Star Trek. Kasuga Kyosuke and Ayukawa Madoka experience the wild life of college. The imagined devastation of the Dirty Pair continue in gory detail. These tales are real in fan-fics. For those adults in the audience, Adult-rated fan-fics are also available.
So, I invite you into the owrld of fan-fics. Otakus like to publish their works of writing by posting onto the Internet. If you have an e-mail account for the OCF, UCLink, EECS, WEB, or other internet computer service, the bestway to read fan-fics is to subscribe to the newsgroup Rec.arts.anime.stories. Just type rn rec.arts.anime.stories for the recent fan-fics. Also, if you know how to conduct file transfers from computer to computer, try ftp-sites, where old fan-fiction stories h ave been stored. I recommend the site ftp.std.com in the directory /archives/anime-fan-works/. this may sound very technical, but if you have any questions or if you need advice about trying to take a look at fan-fics, ask the officers of this club. Or send e-mail to me, Weldon Chen, at my account weldonc@server.berkeley.edu. We'd be happy to help you out.
--Weldon
It is as if, to make up for the fact that cute-girls are emotionally non-threatening, animators and manga artists present cute-girls that are a serious hazard to ones physical well-being. Let's , ahem, take a closer look at them. Young, of course, and cute. No femme fatales of the classic style here. Large quantities of high-powered, top quality ordnance at their immediate disposal are coupled with a lack of discretion or actual skill with them. Toss in maybe a gung ho attitude and some form of official sanction to use 'em. And no brains. Allow me to qualify that. They have brains, they're just missing a few components. As opposed to a psycholady's twisted sense of conscience, BWGs seem to have no conscience whatsoever. Blow up a bui lding. Sink a cruise liner. Release a plague. The most you'll get, if they realize "something bad" has happened, is "oops." Mihoshi trips her partner into a reactor core, the Puma sisters cheerfully shell a police station, and the Dirty Pair.. .can you say "Heaven-sent Scourge"? I thought you could.
Underlying all of this is the centeral tenet that the cuter and arguably dumber you are, the more you can get away with. The logic being: how can you punish or blame someone if they just can't realize what they've don is "Very Bad?" Even more so if everything that happened really was an accident. In Dirty Pari: Project Eden, an entire planet along with its population is overrun by hordes of monsters because of a dropped wine bottle. Well, it has been said: "Nothing like a bit of cheesecak e to wash the main course of racial extinction down?"
--Bobby
Ever watch a new anime series and think, "Hmm...loser guy gets universe's greatest babe...this seems strangely familiar"? Was it some strange coincidence? Were you experiencing Deja Vu? Sorry, no, you are not extremely lucky , and it was not concl
usive proof that psychic powers exist; you had seen it all before. While the common redundancies may be bad from and artistic standpoint, they are good in that, with only a little effort, You Can Write Your Own Anime! Just fill in the blan
ks with the possible selections:
I. "Keiichi-san!" ---- "Belldandy!"
(Next episode)
"Keiichi-san!" ---- "Belldandy!"
(Next episode)
"Keiichi-san!" ---- "Belldandy!"
(A for effort, C for relationship development)
II. "Pull back and direct all fire to the center of the enemey fleet!"
"There will be no retreating in MY detachment!" [boom]
"Tyler-kanchou, the cances that your plan will work are infinitesimal...oh never mind." "Moon Tiara ... ACTION!" (At least it has action)
--David Bautista
Release date for Macross #5, Southern Cross #5, and Mosepeada #5 is October 30, 1994. 100 minutes each.
Other videos from Streamline: Crying Freeman #4 (retail: $29.95) RElease Date: Oct 20. 8 Man After #3 (retail: $14.95) Release Date: Oct. 25.
By Rodney Romasanta
But it doesn't stop there! No! They have computers! They recreate anime scenes on AnimeMucks (interactive Internet "talk" worlds), or even try to play out their favorite characters on computer genterated Role-playing Games where they spend weeks o n end earning "experience" and/or "money" that can't be spent anywhere else but in this computer genterated fantasy world. Anime is their world. Take anime away and their lives are filled with a strong emptiness that isn't easy to ignore. Call i t culturally lacking or just "filling in that vacant hole caused by a stressful school life". Anime isn't forever. One of these days, we're all going to have to just let it go and grow up. After all, cartoons are for kids, right?
--Rodney
Sound of the Ocean: [pictured to the left] A love story spread over the years...will he get the girl in the end? Spirit of Wonder: An inventor's dream to reach the moon and a moving story of love.
Cal Animage (animage@server.berkeley.edu)