Customer Reviews

Original Dirty Pair - Project Eden

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

So far, this is One of Three DP movies that's being released by ADV Films and it's interesting in that they are selling them by order of popularity of when the movies first came out both in Japan and America. Project Eden was actually the 2nd movie to be made(1987). The First is Affair of(or on) Nolandia and the Third and final project ever of the Pair is Flight 005 Conspiracy. Here's the order in which all the shows have been made: I believe it's 27 TV episodes (which have yet to be seen in the US) which proved so popular that Affair of Nolandia was made but the director wanted it to look realistic instead of the more animated look of the TV series. That idea hurt the DP very much. Seeing how it affected the girls made them revert back to the original style and was shown that way with the next movie: Project Eden. Popularity shot through the roof! Not only did it have an amazing plot, it had a great music score as well as the fact it had an opening theme with awesome visuals and music vs. the other Two movies. With the profits rolling in, they later made Ten OAV episodes followed by the last movie. ADV Films plans to release all Three and if sales go as well as before, they will probably dubb the TV shows. I know I'm supposed to review about THIS movie but I thought I should give a little history lesson mainly. If anyone remembers, the movies were frist released by Orion in the US around the mid-90s (I think) and never released again since. For those of you who have the old VHS versions will notice there are some differences between this version and the old one. First, the entire movie has been redubbed with all new voice actors/actresses. However, the music has thankfully stayed the same. Wendy Lee's voice, famous for Faye Valentine on Cowboy Bebop, "Angel" on The Big O!, a teacher on Handmaid May and many, many other shows including Yuri from all Three old versions of the Dirty Pair movies has been replaced in this movie and the same goes for Kei's voice. However, the actress who made the voice of Kei from the OAV episodes is in this film. Secondly, the dialogue has changed somewhat, making it not as funny as the old one and the lovable, friendly squabbling among the Angels has toned down alot compared to the old one also! It has been Digitally re-mastered and is in stereo format. Other than the negatives, it is still fun to watch and a must for your DP collection. I'll leave the plot for you to find out but if you were to only buy one of the Three movies, this is the one!

Some people ask me why I concider 3DCG to be cheap, easy, low quality cheating; because 3D is all about saving money, being faster, putting in less effort, & staying high-tech. But that crap just won't give you the warm, fuzzy, intence yet relaxed feeling of blood-&-sweat hand painted & hand drawn cell animation. Project Eden is eyecandy, a real piece of work. Even the dubb is excelent! The music really sets the mood. The fight sceene near the end was cooler than Skywalker VS Darth!

If you like this, I reccomend; *Gunsmith Cats*Galaxy Express 999*Megazone 23*Gall Force*Appleseed*Heavy Metal*Bubblegum Crisis*Bubblegum Crisis Tokyo 2040*Wind of Amnisia*AD Police*Aeon Flux (animated series)*EYES of Mars*LILY Cat.

The original Dirty Pair series is one of my all-time faves among animes, and I enjoy DP Flash as well, so, naturally, I was excited to get a full length original DP movie. Sadly, this one was a true disappointment. That's not to say it isn't an enjoyable little slice of classic sci-fi anime, it just doesn't live up to the series. First off, the music in this movie is so prevalent that you could make an argument that this is really an 80 minute music video. That in itself isn't necessarily bad, but the music is awful. None of the sweet guitar rock of the series, just cheesy pop music. Second, I expected a DP movie to have more action, more plot, and more of that wickedly sharp and hilarious banter that only Kei and Yuri can bring. Unfortunately, you get less of each than you'd get in an average 20 minute episode of the tv series. That is what kills this movie more than anything. Third, the love story is so awkward and pointless that it doesn't even belong in the movie. They really should have put the famous Kei/Yuri verbal exchanges first and all this other crap as an afterthought rather than the other way around. Still, this is not a bad film. There are a few scenes of risque hijinks that got a good laugh out of me. And the main battle scene (even with the awful music) is a classic; Kei and Yuri's battle-suits are pretty darn sweet. The monsters look pretty cool, even if they are rip-offs from "Aliens", and the plot surrounding them is quite interesting. You've also got to love the Bond-esue opening sequence. All in all, I'd say only check it out if you're a die-hard lover of all things Yuri and Kei. If you're a newcomer to the Lovely Angels, go get "Girls with Guns" instead. If you bought the original series and want more Dirty Pair, procede with caution.

I admit it, I am an avid Dirty Pair fan and I have this movie in both the VHS and DVD format. The VHS was made by Streamline Films in the late 80s and was re-scripted to play more as a "female James Bond" type of movie, complete with a love interest for Kei. While quite good, it is NOT the Lovely Angels or "Dirty Pair" we die-hard fans have come to know and love. The voice actresses, also very good, are not the "definitive personalities" of Kei and Yuri that have been created by the talents of Pam Lauer and Jessie Calvello on the dubbed OVAs from ADV however.

The DVD, on the other hand corrects this with Pam Lauer as Kei and Allison Summeral as Yuri (Jessie Calvello was unavailable).
The scriptis more accurate to the original story, with the theme and background music maintained. The voice characterization/personalities are "perfect" for those of us who know our Kei and Yuri. For a newcomer to the series, however, it is NOT the typical Dirty Pair kind of action. While there is some of the banter and teasing between the girls and some of the "non-standard" behavior that make the Angels the lovely duo that they are, the plot is more concerned with the villian, his experiments, his long, but well thought out speeches, and the well concieved action scenes. The girls' dialog and character interplay take a back seat. This is a shame, because the vocal performances are a large part of what make this anime series so entertaining.

To get a better feel for who and what the Dirty Pair are all about, one would reccomend the DVDs "Girls with Guns" and "Damsels in Destruction" or the movie "Flight 005 Conspiracy" as a first choice, though the ending of the "005" movie is a bit more somber by comparison.

It is hoped that this and the other movies sell well enough that the 26 episodes of the TV series are dubbed and offered in 2004 by ADV films. 2004 is considered by many to be the "25th anniversary" of the Dirty Pair (the first story was published in 1978). Perhaps with enough interst, there may even be more episodes generated or a live action movie. (One can only hope)

Take a galactic cruise with the original anime version of "bikini girls in space". The Dirty Pair! Originally done as series of Japanese sci-fi novels, they made their first anime appearance in a cameo in the Crusher Joe movie(which happens further in the future). After that, there was a Dirty Pair TV series, two OVA one-shot specials, and an OVA series. But Project Eden was their only theatrical movie

In case you didn't know, the anime is about a team of trouble consultants for an interstellar welfare originization called the WWWA. The fiesty Kei and the vein Yuri often try to emphasize that their codename is the "Lovely Angels", but their habit of causing unwarrented destruction throughout the galaxy has them referred to as the Dirty Pair. So anyway, Kei and Yuri are assigned to look into the attack of two different nations on the planet Argena that contains one of the galaxy's richest deposits of a mineral called Vizorium which is used to power spacedrives. Their investigation leads to a thief named Carson who they find in the ruins of one of attacked mineral refineries. Then, they're all attacked by bizarre creatures which look like a cross between leeches and the aliens from the Alien movies. Kei and Yuri team up with Carson to find where the creatures originate, a strange fortress belonging to the eccentric scientist, Prof. Watsman. He has been creating a new race genetically evolved from the Vizorium, but they keep meeting in failure. Carson is after him for a special bottle of wine made a few centuries ago that was stolen from him after he stole it(for himself!). After getting a spare arsenal from their loyal cat/grizzly bear Mughi, they fight past the horde of alien creatures and Watsman's butler who apparently was a former Jedi. They capture Watsman, and supposedly take Carson into custody too, but alot of the film was built around Kei and him developing somekind of romance. Before they leave though, they accidently set off a device in Watsman's lab that evolves all the Vizorium, and leaves the entire planet overrun with brutal creatures popping out of the ground.

This was a good outlet for the Lovely Angels, but took them a little more of their normal element. Usually, there's alot more action involved. The first 10 minutes and the last 15 or so minutes are pure great sci-fi action, while the rest of it involves Kei exploring her fascination with Carson, while Yuri is just sort of there. Like most movies that are based on an anime franchise(Sailor Moon, Naruto, Pokemon)the majority of the story revolves around the characters original to the movie, and not so much the ones the series was based on. However, it does work fairly well here. This is still a well animated movie for the mid-80s, and very visually appealing.

Project Eden, formerly known as the Dirty Pair Movie, is actually the scond movie release by Sunrise/Studio Nue in the late 1980s after the TV series was cancelled. It proved to be the most popular, however.

This version is not to be confused wit he VHS version of the same movie that was produced by Streamline Films in the late 80s. They had a different voice ensemble, and took some liberties with the plot and script to make it more "Americanized".

The DVD is more true to the original script, as one would expect from ADV, and has the classic voice of Pam Lauer as Kei and Allison Summeral taking over for Jessie Calvello as Yuri.
For those of us who learned about and learned to love and Lovely Angels (as we Angelheads call them) these are THE Voices and personalities of the Dirty Pair. ( no offense to Lara Cody or Wendy Lee)

Unfortunatly, the voice acting takes second place to the story and the action sequuences, which are quite good for 1980s cel animation. The villian has some long speeches, which make a lot more sense in this version, than the VHS, for example, but Kei and Yuri have less time and occassion for the banter and "uncharacteristic behavior" that make them what they are.
(The bathing sequence is a classic!)

For the new DP fan, I would suggest they introduce themselves with the OVA (original video animation) DVDs "Girls with Guns" or "Damsels in Destruction", each of which contain 5 of the 10 episodes made after the TV series.

It is a very well done movie and should find a place in the collection of any Dirty Pair, er Lovely Angels fan. One can only hope that ADV comes out with the 26 TV episodes as well in 2004

Much Americans clam to misunderstand Nippon Anime. Such silly! Anime great more sensical that large-cost "Godzilla" movie from a small number of years ago. True pale impersonation of Gojira, to talk the least. Demonstrating that true Japan entertainment cannot be intimated.

Story and graphics capture attention, convoy message on supersense level! Worth every penney, so numerous layers to enjoyment!

The Dirty Pair, Kei plus Yuri, are extremity beautiful and give my intense personal simulation. The music tunes are vibrate and catching.

You will like! Massive joy for you, cowboy!

I'm a big fan of the Dirty Pair series. This movie just uses the names, drawings and voices but somehow the writers decided not to use the personalities created in the original series. It was a major disappointment.