• Dirty Pair Flash & Flight 005 Conspiracy
• FeedBACK - A Response to German Militarism
• AnimESSENCE - Sexism in Destruction...We want equality
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• SignOFF - Trends
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In Dirty Pair FLASH Episode #1, "Runaway Angel," Kei and Yuri are introduced as young 17 year-olds. Ironically named the 'Lovely Angels' after a famous 3WA team, Molly and Iris, the two are poster children for 3WA recruiting ac cidents. Yur is famous for ditching school to meet with her newest man, and Kei's suspension record gets longer by the second. While sneaking out, Yuri acquires a mysterious card. Soon they are inconveniently getting chased by the cops and some dastard ly business men...and the Lovely Angels hate to be late for a date. Look for a transformation scene using Yuri's sailor suit reminiscent of Sailor Moon.

"Darkside Angel" (DPF #2) has the Lovely Angels coming to the 'rescue' of an informant in the middle of a civil war between the Takushaka Highlands and the Mugaru. Unfortunately, the informant is the custody of famous assassin, Lady Flaya (AKA Miss Irene ). The Mugaru have obtained military aid from GNC and are preparing to obliterate their opponents. Unfortunately, Kei takes up a personal vendetta against Lady Flaya and inconveniently becomes involved in the war.

Flight 005 Conspiracy is classic Dirty Pair. Kei and Yuri reign magnificently in skintight 70's battle armor while solving the newest case that the 3Wa computer has deemed worthy of investigation. A shuttle flight between the planets of Dubahl, D olz, and Zahl has exploded. Suspiciously, none of the survivors among the 300 passengers have filed insurance claims. At the same time, an important scientist, Dornenschtern, is missing along with his family, and Dornenschtern's father-in-law has reques ted an investigation. Flirting, fighting, and philosophy rage in comic Dirty Pair Style.

Cast of Characters:

Kei -

the red haired, more violent member of the Lovely Angels. Obsessed with big guns and gifted with a talent for down-and-dirty shoot-em-ups.

Yuri -

The other beloved human of the Lovely Angels (AKA Dirty Pair). More overtly feminin, squealing, and boy-crazy than Kei, she is just as destructive, though with a different panache.

Mughi -

The third member of the Lovely Angels. Sometimes looks like a cat, sometimes looks like a nightmare monster.

Supervisor -

Kei and Yuri's superior. A man perpetually on the verge of a nervous breakdown.

Lucifer -

A highly intelligent criminal netwrok. Think big, corporate-type criminals.

Besides, the symbols the Nazis used are unique in German history, and deliberately so. The Swaztika was not used in Germany before. But the rise of Japanese militarism co-opted symbols of an older Japan, notably the sammurai's Bushido Code. Thus, the u se of Japanese regalia of World War II, and this loss exposed the madness of militarism. There is little desire to revisit it. Indeed, the post-war Japanese Constitution (framed with much input from the United States) prohibits military action abroad. For many people, World War II is more than mere history. We may recall the recent scuttling of the planned Enola Gay exhibit at the Smithsonian Institute as ample proof that emotions still run high for both Americans and Japanese. (Local angle: the curat er of the Smithsonian is former Berkeley Chancellor I. Michael Heyman.)

In fact, military stories do appear in anime and manga. The stories of this genre do not glorify militarism; wars and militarism are depicted as the folly they are. These stories often examine the nature of being a soldier. They depict identifiable hum an beings , not storm troopers, serving in very nasty, ugly, immoral wars. They may occasionally be heroic, or anti-heroic; it is their superiosrs who are often stupid, foolish, greedy, or cowardly. Analogous stories for Americans could include M*A*S *H, Dispatches, The Forever War, China Beach, and All Quiet On The Western Front. One notable example is The Bridge Over The River Kwai, a story about British POWs in a Japanese labor camp, which was popular both in the U.S.A. and Japan .

In short, Japanese military sybols carry a far more complex and subtle meaning for Japanese audiences than do German and Nazi military symbols. You will see an example of this in our February 27 showing of The Cockpit.

Playing off our weekly showing, let's examine a new trend in anime. Of course it might seem paranoid, but have you noticed that the women in anime are getting more and more unrealistically proportioned? They've always been a little, er, huskier than the average female, but now anime seems to be following our society's (and the media's) crazy and unhealthy ideal of women!

Let's look at the Dirty Pair. Now, in Dirty Pair Flash, Kei and Yuri actually look passably seventeen (as opposed to traditional Dirty Pair, where by no strech of the imagination could they possibly be nineteen) but they are humongously developed. In th e tranformation scene, Kei's already formidable chest gains a few more inches in girth, while Yur's strategically torn sailor suit abandons her for glorified underwear. (Of course we are used to seeing the Lovely Angels in underwear.)

But the trend I'm talking about is the grotesque reformation of anime women. Unless I'm mistaken, Kei and Yuri went on a crash diet. now, while they were buxom in the original Dirty Pair, at least they looked like REAL WOMEN. Generously hipped, with th ighs and REAL waists, one could regard the classic Dirty Pair with the comforting thought that if they were most chesty than most, at least they were equally healthy looking all around. Now they have thighs like a prepubescent, but they do not have propo rtionally thinner chests.

This phenomenon is not limited to the Dirty Pair. Akane used to be quite a bit heavier - she's obviously lost a lot of weight too. Sure, anime women have always looked older than their age (Ayukawa Madoka from K.O.R. never looked like an eighth grader), but at least they were realistically thin. The new anime that's out (Maross Plus, DP Flash, Ah! My Goddess!) features women who, while they may be a little buffer, are also a good ten pounds lighter. Meanwhile, the average real woman hasn't gott en any lighter; to the contrary, she's gotten heavier.

Has Twiggy taken over the world? Will anime join in the media onslaught that turns normal girls into bulimics and anorexics? The first step towards recovery from this dangerous trend is to be aware of it. Protest! Demand the return of the archetypal w oman.