Dirty Pair – Kei and Yuri

Manufacturer: Dark Horse ( 2003)

The Breakdown: Kei and Yuri: The Dirty Pair from Dark Horse

Being pre-programmed to search out a superior sculpt due to my 4 years as an art major, I’m always worried when a company wants to pack a ton of articulation into a female figure. Until now, you couldn’t get a super articulated female figure while retaining all that keeps her..well..feminine! Notice I said..until NOW. You get a ball jointed head, standard shoulder cut and upper shoulder hinges, mid bicep swivel, elbow hinges, wrist swivel, standard hip joints, mid thigh swivel, double hinged knees and ball jointed ankles. That makes 21 points! Being an anime/cartoon property, this high amount of posability was key. After all, the Dirty Pair is all about action, sex appeal and blowing stuff up. These figures were sculpted by Steve Kiwus, who you might recall was the mastermind behind countless Toybiz figures, though he can be credited for much more. Dave Scroggy of Dark Horse says “Of particular interest is Steve’s sophistication in the area of articulation. We are very happy with it, and particularly find the knee and shoulder solutions to be effective. As you know, it has been challenging to create a shapely female leg and articulate it at the knee while still conveying the sexiness and realism. I think Steve did a fine job here. It is also important to note that these figures are based on the Adam Warren interpretation of Dirty Pair. Dirty Pair is a Japanese anime creation. In an unusual (and to my knowledge unprecedented) deal, Mr. Warren , through our partners Studio Proteus, was given the rights to create new manga adventures of the Dirty Pair for the American and European market. These books do not appear in Japan. Adam Warren provided visual reference for Steve Kiwus on the characters before Steve started sculpting.” In my opinion, a group effort always makes for a better end result.

So..now you’ve got this super posable female that comes with an extra gun and “bloody card” (razor-like rectangular throwing weapon usually worn as an earring) for each figure. Can you achieve all those ass whupping poses your hoping for? Hell yes. The joints are nice and tight as evidenced in the “bullet time pose” and karate kick. Also note that the pegs on their bases are extremely usable..high enough to work, wide enough to hold the figure firmly in place until you pull your girls off.

Now the main difference you may have noticed between the figures I’m reviewing now and the Kei test shot I reviewed back during pre-toy fair is the cord going from the flight pack to the gun. With that in the way, where do you stash the gun? Magnetic leg band! Stumbled on this while searching for a hook of some sort. It’s insane that there’s no mention of this on the package!! At any rate, check the pictures. The gun sits perfectly on that black WWWA leg band and won’t fall off until you want it to. Great features, sharp paint choices, cool articulation...we’ve got a winner..and my new favorite anime toys take their place on the shelf.

Nomad