Sometimes it's difficult to understand the relatively high visibility of the Dirty Pair in America. Streamline Pictures seems to have placed the Pair in high regard, giving them prominence on their Web Page. (Then again, the future of Streamline Pictures as an anime distributor is unclear.) Paradoxically, very little of the Pair's output has been released by Streamline, and what Streamline has released is often spotty. Their short-lived TV series, for example, is nowhere to be found on legitimate video shelves in the USA. Yet the Dirty Pair have captured the hearts of many anime fans, and live on in fan fiction and Mystery Science Theater- style fandubs.
In keeping with the curious nature of Dirty Pair fandom is the short video Affair on Nolandia. Unlike the bulk of the Dirty Pair's adventures, this one owes little to the pulp spy-and-sci-fi of the 1960s. Instead, the film is an X-Files exercise in paranoia. Much of the film can't be discussed in a review without giving away the surprises, but Affair on Nolandia contains psychic projections, official coverups, and some truly disturbing dream sequences. Grim and serious, Affair on Nolandia is an often intense viewing experience, especially the hallucinatory middle third.
However, inconsistent characterizations sabotage the solemn story. The Pair goes from steely-eyed to ditzy at the drop of a hat, an annoyance that only increases as the film goes on. Yes, some comedy relief is necessary, but here the comedy is incredibly inappropriate. It's as if Clint Eastwood suddenly decided to toss in a few Woody Allen lines while playing Harry Callahan. There's also the inclusion of a few gratuitous nude scenes that, again, seem out of place and only serves to objectify the characters with which we are supposed to empathize. If such scenes are a cliche in direct-to-video B-movies, they are an institution of OAV anime.
Affair on Nolandia is a worthwhile experience if you can overlook these flaws. It's about as good as a first-season episode of The X-Files, which is very high praise. However, be warned that the rest of the Dirty Pair's film work is nothing like this.
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