Ask John: Why Hasn’t Dirty Pair Been Revived?

Question:
Why isn’t there some sort of Dirty Pair anime revival in Japan? They got sequels and spin-offs of a lot of old shows including some obscure Go Nagai mech anime from I.G and even Casshan in spite of the live action movie bombing. They even brought back Bubblegum Crisis in spite of Crash, and managed to make Gegege no Kitaro a viable property again. And Miike’s live action take on Yatterman ended up being a bigger hit in Japan than James Wong’s take on Dragon Ball. But it seems like the adaptations for Dirty Pair died with ‘Flash.

So is the proliferation of moe to blame, since a pair of heroines of legal age can’t compete? Or has darker shonen and seinen anime and like Trigun and Hellsing cornered the whole “shooter” market so there’s no room for more light-hearted fare like Dirty Pair? Or is there a possibility that Takachino himself isn’t interested, since he’d have to be forced into allowing his female characters to dress and act sluttier to compete with the likes of Tenjho Tenge and Ikki-tousen?

Answer:

I, as much as anyone, would love to see classic Dirty Pair – opposed to Dirty Pair Flash – get new anime. I’m not self-absorbed enough to call myself America’s biggest Dirty Pair devotee, but I’m probably one of them. (My collection of Japanese Dirty Pair merchandise is quite extensive.) However, I suspect that the possibility of a Dirty Pair revival is slim, and it’s not entirely the fault of the modern obsession with moe anime. Unlike many other older anime titles that have been revived lately, Dirty Pair is a much more cultish title, which may limit its present day audience potential.

Certain veteran anime franchises like Lupin III and Ge Ge Ge no Kitaro have been revived because they’ve never really gone away. Despite not having a weekly television series since 1985, Lupin has been getting annual TV specials since 1989. Ge Ge Ge no Kitaro has gotten a successful television series every decade since the 1960s. Similarly, there should be no surprise to see the current Shin Mazinger Shougeki Z-hen television series because Go Nagai robot anime has maintained an active cult following for a number of years recently. Casshan, Yatterman, and Yuusha Reideen have been revived recently, but these titles are nostalgic classics that enjoy some degree of fondness in the hearts of mainstream Japanese audiences. If Dirty Pair was an entirely forgotten mid-80s anime like Hikari no Densetsu, Hai Step Jun, or Bug-te Honey we wouldn’t even be wondering why it hasn’t been revived. Dirty Pair is a significant enough franchise to serve as a legitimate candidate for revival, but it’s not one with enough mainstream Japanese recognition to make a revival calculable. Revivals of vintage giant robot anime; franchises with large cult followings like Hokuto no Ken and St. Seiya; revivals of franchises from luminary creators like Osamu Tezuka, Fujiko F. Fujio, Shotaro Ishinomori, and Go Nagai; and revivals of series with mainstream nostalgia aren’t especially surprising. (Regarding the last point, I’m still a bit surprised to see that titles including Kyoujin no Hoshi and Gamba no Bouken haven’t yet been remade.) However, Dirty Pair doesn’t fall into any of those categories; it’s been out of the public eye, unlike Hojo Tsukasa’s City Hunter, which captured public attention again with its Angel Heart sequel; and its studio doesn’t appear to be soliciting its revival. AIC is actively trying to get its 80’s titles like Bubblegum Crisis back into action, but Sunrise hasn’t shown any signs of similar plans for Dirty Pair.

I believe that the assumption that moe has dominated contemporary anime is over exaggerated. Contemporary anime including Seirei no Moribito, Aika, Sora wo Kakeru Shoujo, Sisters of Wellber, Mnemosyme, Nijuu Menso no Musume, Soul Eater, Mission-E, Tetsuwan Birdy Decode, Yakushiji Ryoko no Kaiki Jikenbo, Michiko to Hatchin, and Shikabane Hime provide ample evidence that it’s still very possible to develop anime starring competent leading ladies that don’t pander to tsundere fantasies or moe crushes like Toradora, Lucky Star, and K-On. (I’m not suggesting that there’s anything wrong with shows like Toradora, Lucky Star, and K-On; they’re just shows with a different objective.) In fact, in the same way that the concept of 1982’s The Kabocha Wine has been revived as Love Com, 1983’s Plawres Sanshiro was recreated as Angelic Layer, and 1987’s Dead Heat has spiritually reincarnated as RideBack, Dirty Pair can be seen in contemporary anime including Sisters of Wellber, Mission-E, and even Pretty Cure’s Nagisa and Honoka, who parallel Kei and Yuri respectively in personality (broadly) and appearance. So the concept of Dirty Pair hasn’t lost its viability to younger and cuter moe anime, nor have shows starring men displaced heroines. Dirty Pair simply may not have as much contemporary name recognition and audience viability as its die-hard fans would like to believe.