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 Back in 1987 , difficult to believe twenty whole years ago ; I picked up a bootleg VHS of the very first theatrical feature of The Dirty Pair : Project Eden . At that time , anime was only beginning to enter the collective subconscious of the american market and bootleg was really the only way to see the latest Japanese 'toons , unless you happened to own a LaserDisc player and had access to a comic shop with a progressive thinking owner . I had first discovered the " Lovely Angels " late in 1985 , as their television series began to warrant attention in the sparse japanimation magazines that were being produced here in the US , this was during the time period when I was taking a course in traditional cel animation . The aspect of this series that had me hooked from the onset was that here we had a cartoon series that featured two beautiful action girls . Yuri and Kei were the STARS ! You'd NEVER see such a thing in an american cartoon at the time , tuff gals were strictly supporting characters . What made the " Dirty Pair " even more enchanting was their curse , they never failed to succeed in their missions , but it was inevitable that outrageous destruction would follow their actions ; often with much more devastating results than that which was threatened by the villain . How could one help but become enamored of such a concept ?  The Dirty Pair originally appeared within novellas written by Haruka Takachiho with illustrations by Yasuhiko Yoshikazu . I was lucky enough to find a second printing of the first book in 1991 , and the Dirty Pair that appears in Haruka's stories are much closer in visual style to the versions of Yuri and Kei that appear in the first OVA , " Affair of Nolandia " , and Mughi looks more like a panther than a bear . However , the animated versions of the lovely angels that made their debut in the TV series are the versions that really stuck with me , classic anime style , and it was that look that was carried thru into Project Eden , and later in the Flight 005 Conspiracy OVA . Eventually the Pair would see much " re-imaginings " through the efforts of Studio Proteus , Darkhorse Comics and Japan's " Flash " videos , none of which will receive comment here , aside from this blurb . I don't even consider these incarnations of " The Dirty Pair " , so far removed from the original concept as they are .  Considering the amount of Dirty Pair merchandise that has been produced over the past 20 years , not a lot by any means , compared to some properties ; this has been one of the most difficult collections to keep vital . Mostly PVC's and Vinyl kits , the odd cloissonne or two , at least one set of dolls have been produced , and most are astoundingly rare . Very much like Appleseed in that respect . I was able to purchase the two 1:4 scale vinyl kits when they were released back in 1988 by Fukaya , a whopping $75 bucks back then ! They remain two of my most treasured pieces . I also picked up the two dolls from Bandai's Lovely Gals Collection from 1985 ; 1:6 scale vinyl kewpie Dirty Pair versions that while cute are two of the less than inspired products ever created of Yuri and Kei . Fortunately for us dyed in the wool Dirty Pair " purists " , Wave Corporation has just released a boxed PVC set to promote the Dirty Pair Boxed Collection DVD's , that bring back from oblivion the " classic " image of Yuri and Kei that we all fell in love with back in 1985 . God Bless 'em !  I'm not a huge fan of PVC figures , too much like a vinyl or resin kit that all the fun of building and painting has already been done for you . Still , due to the rarity of Dirty Pair items , especially the classic versions , when I saw that these were getting ready to be released I put in my preorder . As far as quality goes , these are top of the line . They are constructed in pieces so you get all those vital and necessary undercuts that make a dynamic figure . The gunbelts are separate pieces as are the guns , the clothing and boots are all separate pieces glued on so they really look like they are being worn and not sculpted on . The sculpting job is exceptional , and both figs have those " oh so cute , skinny little narrow anime derrieres " that look so good in clingy leather BVD's .  I'm quite amazed that Takara , creators of the " Cool Girl " line of action figures have really missed the ball when it comes to licensing the " Dirty Pair " . When one considers the line of Cool Girl , and such entries as Princess Jun , Cutey Honey and even Catwoman , how could they possibly ignore the two legends of female pulchritude embodied by Yuri and Kei ? I can only think that it's due to the curse of the Dirty Pair . Oh , and just to let you know , once the official market version of Project Eden was released , I picked that up , something I do with all features that enter my collection originally as bootlegs . | ReelArts Blue Bulleteer | Shocker Toys | Cool Girls | Triad Toys | KiniKomix | KiniKomix2 | Custom Action Figures | eBay Auctions | AppleseedTribute | Macross Valkyrie | Planet of the Apes | Horse Sense | WeaversUpholsteryToo | ToyBiz_Iron Man | Dirty Pair | On Display | The OTHER Gorby | Obitsu | | Return Home | Updates | The Archive | Gorby Site Map | Geeb-O-Rama's Model Workshop | Geeb's Toy Box | Geeb-O-Rama Goodies | Movie Madness | World Of The Bizarre | Cool Beans | |
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