Commemorating the release of "Dirty Pair COMPLETE Blu-ray BOX"! Original author Takachiho Haruka, Matsumoto Rika (Kei), and Kunifuda Mariko (Yuri) sit down for a discussion!

The space opera milestone "Dirty Pair" is finally getting a Blu-ray BOX in celebration of its 40th anniversary!

In addition to the legendary original "Dirty Pair" TV series, theatrical movie, and OVA, this product also fully encompasses the OVA "Dirty Pair FLASH" series that started in 1994.
Akiba Research Institute has previously published interviews about "Dirty Pair," and this time it features a conversation between Rika Matsumoto, who played Kei in the "Dirty Pair FLASH" series, Mariko Kunifuda, who played Yuri, and Takachiho Haruka, the original author.
The interview is a rare opportunity to hear about the behind-the-scenes story of "Dirty Pair FLASH" that can only be told now!

Please also check out this page!
⇒ Saeko Shimazu was also nervous at the first "Dirty Pair" event in over 30 years! The report on the "Dirty Pair" talk stage, where the talk was filled with love for the work!
⇒ Dirty Pair COMPLETE Blu-ray BOX" to be released on 12/18 !
⇒" Dirty Pair" is not an individual title, but a concept... - Part of the interview with Takachiho Haruka, the original author of "Dirty Pair COMPLETE Blu-ray BOX" will be shown in advance!

--We started the discussion with the video of "Dirty Pair FLASH" playing in the background.

Matsumoto: I haven't changed my voice at all (laughs).

Takachiho That's admirable. That's really admirable.

Matsumoto: As I recall, I was told to sound like Hitoshi Hyuga from "Absolutely Invincible Raijin-O." Takachiho: I sounded more like Hitoshi than Hitoshi.

Takachiho I think I asked them to make my voice one or two years older than Hitoshi's. They said they could change my voice in one or two year increments.

Kunifuda That's so cool!

Matsumoto Yuri was played very cute.

--How did the casting process go?

Matsumoto: Was there an audition?

Kunifuda: I did. The office asked me, "Do you know the movie "Dirty Pair"? I was asked by the office, "Do you know "Dirty Pair"? My sister had all the original books and I grew up reading them, so I was so happy that I recorded my lines on tape that day at ......, even though it was still tape at that time (laughs).

Takachiho: As for Rika, after listening to the various materials Mr. Chiba (Koichi) gave me, I decided to go with her! I think I decided on Rika after listening to various materials from Mr. Chiba. But for Yuri, among the tapes I received as candidates, there was no one I could say, "This is the one! I couldn't find anyone I liked. Then, I watched the tapes I had at home one after another, and when I heard the voice of Okine-chan (from "GS Mishin"), I thought, "Oh, that's the one! I thought, "Oh, that's her!

Kunifuda: Wow! That makes me happy.

Takachiho: Kay also started out with a feminine voice, but I insisted, "I'm going with a boy's voice! I insisted and rewrote all the lines.

Matsumoto That's right. I prepared for the scene by having a woman's voice, but when I got there, Takachiho's voice was not the same as the one I had seen on .......

Takachiho: She had rewritten the lines.

Matsumoto That's right (laughs).

Takachiho So the Sunrise producer read the scenario and said, "It's totally a man! He said, "It's totally a man! I thought "FLASH" was the right choice for Kay. I was convinced that Rika could do it.

Matsumoto: I was very worried about it. I was really struggling with Kei, thinking back to when I was little. But it is an anime with a lot of action. When we were recording, there were almost no pictures, so that was also very difficult.

Takachiho: When I saw the finished pictures, they were perfect. Both Kay and Yuri are perfect!

Matsumoto: I am very happy to hear you say so. I worked very hard and Yuri is very cute, and the part she plays in the movie is perfect for her, as she is always pushing everyone around her. ......

Kunifuda: Is that a diss or a compliment?

Matsumoto I'm complimenting you (laughs).

Kunifuda Heh heh heh heh.

Matsumoto: You haven't changed at all in this respect (laughs). But I felt that the difference between the two of us was so clear that I am sure the audience would enjoy watching it.

--How was the recording with Koichi Chiba, the sound director?

Kunifuda: There was a one-and-a-half page long dialogue in the CD drama, but I just couldn't get an OK. Normally, I would have said, "That's enough," but Mr. Chiba let me try several times. On the day I got the OK, he asked me, "How are you doing? I told him, "I don't know if what I'm doing now is the right thing! I'm doing it!" That's the end. He told me, "It would be much better to face the play like that, lost and confused. He guided me with great love.

Matsumoto: Mr. Chiba himself used to be a voice actor, so I really learned a lot from his tips on expression and detailed description.

Takachiho: I had complete trust in Mr. Chiba, so I knew that if he accepted the position of sound director, I would be OK.

Matsumoto: Mr. Chiba's direction was unconditionally believable.

--At that time, you often held events in various places, didn't you?

Matsumoto: I went to a lot of them all over the place.

Kunifuda: Speaking of events, I really remember when we went to Hokkaido. Rika-san said, "I won't go back to Rika if I don't eat salmon roe on rice! and we all went to eat it together, but it was too late to catch the plane. ......

Matsumoto Ah! That's right! We rushed to the airport by cab!

Kunifuda But the staff couldn't catch the plane, so we spent the night at Chitose Airport.

Takachiho You have a great memory.

Kunifuda: I was happy to be able to meet all the people who always watch the show at the events.

--Do you have any episodes from the recording at that time?

Takachiho: Oh, I remember Rika-chan was trying her best to give a sermon.

Matsumoto Oh! (Laughs)

Kunifuda Eh! I have never been lectured.

Takachiho You are not conscious of it?

Matsumoto I was giving you advice, not a sermon.

Kunifuda Eh?

Takachiho: You must have listened to him.

Matsumoto But, you know, Mariko was perfect for Yuri. She really did it naturally.

Kunifuda It was the result of their friendship or love .......

Matsumoto Yes, I don't think I would give advice if I didn't have love for you, Mari.

Kokubuta I think so too.

Matsumoto You are just like Yuri (laughs).

Takachiho That's for sure (laughs). (laughs) At that time, I asked Yuri to play the role of a girl who is disliked by everyone.

Kunifuda Yes, ....... I wanted her to be the worst heroine in the history of anime.

Matsumoto Then it would be pitiful to call her "perfect" (laughs).

Kunifuda That's why I thought you were dissing me all the time.

Matsumoto No, no, no.

Kunifuda But I think Yuri is very cute in my opinion. ...... It would be interesting to have her as a friend.

Takachiho If that's what you thought, it was perfect.

Matsumoto So it was a good casting.

Takachiho Yes. I thought so from the beginning, but when I went to the recording studio and heard it, I thought, "What a genius I am.

Kunifuda Wow! I'm so happy.

Takachiho: I refrained from talking about "Dirty Pair" because it was for TV and I thought it would interfere with the schedule, but for "FLASH" I was already talking a lot. It had been a long time since I had worked on an animation project, so it was a lot of fun.

Kunifuda: I was very happy that he came to the site.

Matsumoto It was the same with the people from VAP, and you could feel their love for the work at the site. The studio was always full of people.

Takachiho At that time, were you already "Satoshi-kun"?

Matsumoto Not yet.

Takachiho Yesterday, I told the owner of the bicycle store that I would be with Satoshi-kun tomorrow, and he respected me.

Matsumoto Ha ha ha ha.

--The OP and ED theme songs were also sung by the two of you, weren't they?

(Top: "Dirty Pair FLASH3" ED "Kokoro de Gazing at You" / Bottom: Same OP "Don't Take Me Seriously")

Takachiho Even though it was an OVA, the OP and ED were released.

Matsumoto Wow, I miss those long and thin ones! Wow, it's totally different from now! See! This jacket ("Gazing at you with all my heart") was made when he was swinging a woman. The pose is so different! Oh no!

Takachiho: This one ("Don't be serious") is also very bad (laughs).

Kunifuda: This is a request from ...... camera, so please send it to .......

Matsumoto What is it? No, no, no, what is it really? I mean, look at this picture. Look at this picture.

Kunifuda Eh? It's beautiful.

Matsumoto It must have been a time when they were making a lot of noise.

Kunifuda Can I dig deeper into that?

Matsumoto She has long hair.

Takachiho If you say that, they will use this picture.

Matsumoto Oh, ....... No, let's use it! It is better to have it left.

--Lastly, do you have a message for everyone?

Kunifuda: After watching this film, you will feel good and wish you could be a part of this world, so please watch it! Please watch it! And please get it so that there will be a sequel.

Takachiho Wahahaha!

Kunifuda Please recommend it to your friends! Please recommend it to your friends!

Takachiho: When I showed "FLASH" at the Japan Science Fiction Convention this summer, people thought it was interesting too. I knew there were a lot of people who had not seen it because it was an OVA. It is very well done even if you watch it now, so I would like those who have never seen it and those who have to watch it to see it.

Matsumoto: Even if you watch it now, it doesn't feel old at all. The first "Dirty Pair" was followed by "FLASH," but it is not a sequel. The characters, visuals, and mechanisms are different, so I would like you to watch it as "Dirty Pair FLASH. I hope that people who liked the first "Dirty Pair" and people who are watching it for the first time will enjoy it. I am glad that the work in which we participated will remain in this form.

Takachiho: Yes. When we first released it, some people thought it was a sequel and said, "No, it's not! But we released it as a different work to begin with, so as Rika said, we want people to see it as a stand-alone work. ......It all came together perfectly.

Everyone laughed out loud!

The "Dirty Pair COMPLETE Blu-ray BOX" includes all the video works including "Dirty Pair FLASH" and the "WWWA Official Premium File" which is a bonus for the limited first edition includes an interview with Tsukasa Sunaga and Tomomitsu Mochizuki, who directed the "FLASH" series.
Please enjoy the world view of the "Dirty Pair" concept!

Product Information

Dirty Pair COMPLETE Blu-ray BOX
Release date: December 18, 2019
Price: Limited First Edition 50,000 yen (excluding tax), Normal Edition 46,000 yen (excluding tax)
Release date: December 18, 2019 ・Sales agency: VAP

<First Limited Edition Special Features

Three-sided box (special initial limited edition design), illustrated by Teiji Toki and Takahiro Kimura
Official WWWA Premium File" (100 pages)

＜Special features of the standard edition
Three-sided BOX (Normal Edition design)

Main story *Common to both Limited First Edition and Normal Edition
All 24 episodes of the TV series
Dirty Pair: From Lovely Angel with Love" (2 episodes)
Dirty Pair: The Mystery of Nolandia
Dirty Pair (The Movie)
Original Video Series Vol. 2, 10 episodes
Dirty Pair Plot 005
Dirty Pair FLASH All 6 episodes
Dirty Pair FLASH 2 Total 5 episodes
Dirty Pair FLASH 3 total 5 episodes
＜Special video＞ ※Common to both Limited First Edition and Normal Edition
Non-credit OP/non-credit ED
Commercials and promotional clips aired at the time of the program, etc.
Specifications and special features are subject to change without notice.
*Specifications and special features are subject to change without prior notice. Please understand in advance.

© Takachiho & Studio Nue, Sunrise