Almost immediately from the time the TV series opened, the anime version of the Lovely Angels generated a substantial response among anime fans, with countless works of fan art in Japan, including cameo appearances in other series, and numerous doujinshi right up to the present day. Because of its relative emphasis on story-telling through action, rather than chiefly through dialogue, the Classic anime made a successful leap over the language barrier to the United States and Europe with its likeable characters and often clever comedy.
One of its early fans in America was a 1985 enrollee in the Joe Kubert School of Cartoon and Graphic Art named Adam Warren. After seeing some untranslated TV episodes over Christmas break that year, he thought the Lovely Angels would work well in an American comic-book format and began working on short graphic stories. On his own, he had no success in obtaining license rights, so the idea languished for a year. During 1987, by way of fellow artist Jim Hudnall. Warren's work came to the attention of anime and manga fan Toren Smith. On a visit to Japan, Smith approached Nihon Sunrise first with the comic-book idea; since the production company still had other DP projects under consideration at the time, they were not excited by the idea of granting an American license. However, Smith had also met Takachiho Haruka a few times in the past and suggested the idea to him; he granted his permission, making it clear that Sunrise and Studio Nue could have no objections, provided Warren did not use the anime character designs. With this legal restriction present, it actually left Warren free to try out his own artwork and story ideas. With his own dark, satiric sense of humor and influences from Masamune Shirow, Egawa Tatsuya, and a hot of other manga and anime influences, the American artist-writer created a third version of the Lovely Angels, leading to seven story series between 1988 and 2000.
During most of 1991-92, Takachiho published his fourth DP novel, as a way of ending the series in a blaze of glory. He had by this time also written eleven Crusher Joe novels and wanted to move on to other story series and project ideas. He put the Lovely Angels into "cold sleep" at the end of this story and announced at the 1992 SF WorldCon in Orlando, Florida that he would be quitting the space-opera genre.
Sunrise and Bandai Entertainment apparently had hopes of continuing with the Pair, however, and were able to convince Takachiho to assist with a new animated series to appear in 1994. Not being an author to repeat himself, he chose to re-imagine the "DP Concept". The basic idea of the two differing characters and their roles was kept, but Yuri and Kei were age-regressed to seventeen and became two girls who had not already been friends of long acquaintance when they started working together. The crux of this new version would be for these two antagonistic teammates to learn how to work together and overcome their differences. The stories were set forward into the year 2248, in the aftermath of a major Galactic war, leaving no question that this would be a completely new series, possibly in a different timeline. Because these Lovely Angels could change into their "battle outfits" in a transforming "flash sequence", this "new DP" was titled Daatipea Flash.
Besides the three sets of episodes making sixteen in all, for which Takachiho wrote the dialogue, he also wrote stories and dialogue for four Stereo Drama albums,
as well as writing three DP Flash novels.
Two manga series were also sanctioned for Dengeki Comics, which were later compiled.
Takachiho didn't entirely leave the Lovely Angels behind after that. In 1997, the Microsoft Network commissioned a fifth original DP novel, which was made available on the Internet to members of MSN. To get around his having placed his characters in cold-storage, he set the novel two years earlier, when Kei and Yuri were rookie Tro-Cons and still learning their jobs. This story then appeared in print in 1998.
There is much more that can be told of these two women detectives and adventurers, which will be left for the other panelists today. The Lovely Angels have, in their twenty-five years, attained the status of popular icons, being immediately recognizable in Japan and appearing at times in public advertisements.
A vast amount of related merchandise has been marketed and, with the current nostalgia for the 1980s, there has been a revival of interest, particularly in the Classic anime characters. They continue to be celebrated in fan art,
fan fiction and cosplay.
The novels are comics are still in print and their animated stories are now widely available through satellite, digital video, and Internet distribution throughout most of the world.
Although individual fans have their own favorite version, the Dirty Pair are today more popular than ever before.
Epilogue: The preceding was put together and presented only a couple months before the announcement of the planned publication of a new DP novel by Takachiho, who has since returned to writing new adventures of Yuri and Kei and also of the Crushers.