Kei

Of the two, Kei is the more feisty and boisterous. Kei is the firebrand of the group. Of the two, she is more quick to anger, and much harder to reason with once she gets angry. More than one incident has been precipitated by Kei's violent temper. And the easiest way to get on her bad side is to refer to her and Yuri as the Dirty Pair.
Kei has a love of weapons—all weapons, as can be seen by the wide array of weaponry she uses throughout her various incarnations. A large blaster, a small blaster, a rocket launcher—they are all means to an end for her. Sometimes her motto seems to be "Just shoot everyone and let God sort it all out." Needless to say, this aspect of her character does not endear her to her WWWA colleagues.
Kei also has a great dislike for authority, unless she is wielding it. She snubs local government officials and police, and sometimes comes across as conceited and condescending.
For all her bluster, though, Kei has a compassionate and caring side to her seemingly rough, tomboyish personality. And nowhere is this more apparent than in her concern and dedication to Yuri. Despite all their name-calling and arguing, they really are best friends. Of course, Kei also has a romantic side, which was explored in the movie when she and Carson D. Carson fell in love.
Overall, Kei is a bright, if overzealous, attractive woman. She is definitely someone you do not want to anger.

Yuri
Usually the quiet and sensible one, Yuri too possesses a fierce temper. Her fuse is a bit longer than Kei's however, so she usually settles into the role of negotiator between Kei and whoever she is arguing with. Sometimes she is surprised at Kei's violent outbursts and seems to be unable to counter with a response of her own.
Yuri, in many ways, is the "brains" of the group, who handles much of what Kei would call the dreary business of searching computer files and the like. Although her technical prowess is high, she oftentimes leaves the more routine tasks to Mughi.
Although Kei is the one with the love of guns and explosions, Yuri is more than capable of utilizing all of the weapons at their disposal, including the dreaded Bloody Card. Yuri, however, relies on violence as more of a last resort and does not usually seem to get the same intense pleasure out of blowing things up that Kei does. Yuri prefers to work within the system to accomplish as much as possible, rather than go in underprepared. Still, she knows that sometimes Kei's preferred methods are advantageous.
Yuri is the more feminine of the two, and when out of uniform is more likely to be seen in dresses and other "feminine" attire. She often teases Kei about being a tomboy.
Because she is the more reserved of the Lovely Angels, Yuri is often underestimated. But anyone who has seen her in action knows better.

Mughi
Mughi, like the Lovely Angels themselves, has gone through several incarnations. In the novels, Takachiho described Mughi as a fierce, intelligent catlike creature from another planet. He had two prehensile tentacles just over his shoulder blades, and the hairs in his ears gave him control over electromagnetic devices. Yasuhiko's original illustrations reflected this design.
However, when he was introduced in the television series, Mughi had developed a weight problem as well as a case of the cutes. He became less an integral member of the team and more of a pet used for comedy relief. In the first episode of the TV series, Mughi appears with his tentacles. (This actually came in very handy because they prevented him from being swept away by the tide of water). However, after episode 1, the tentacles mysteriously disappeared with no explanation.
And while Mughi does retain this new "comedy relief" status throughout the series, he also does come in handy when it comes to fixing the mechanical and computer equipment.
In the movie, the OVA series and the one-shot OVA THE FLIGHT 005 CONSPIRACY, Mughi is firmly entrenched in his role as comedic sidekick, although he does help out by providing timely rescues or operating some equipment on multiple occasions. But it seems that the role given Mughi in the anime is very different from that originally envisioned by Takachiho. Sure, he comes to the rescue, but it's often with a very strange look on his face as he flies by in a ship, rather than leaping fangs and teeth flashing into a crowd of attackers.
With the advent of DIRTY PAIR FLASH, Mughi once again got an overhaul, but this one was much more radical. Mughi had now become a sort of kitten with bat wings who didn't really seem to do very much at all except add to the cuteness factor of the show. Mughi, like his human companions, has evolved into something different from what he originally was.

Nanmo

Appearing only in the television series, Nanmo is a robot that belongs to Kei and Yuri. He, like Mughi, provides technological expertise when it comes to making repairs. In difficult situations, Nanmo also lends an extra pair of hands (or perhaps more accurately, claws) to the situation, and has bailed Kei and Yuri out on more than one occasion. Also like Mughi, he serves as a source of comedy relief in the series. Even his appearance is somewhat comical, and he has been compared to a big egg on a single shoe.

Chief Gooley

About the only other recurring character is WWWA Section Chief Gooley. He is a neurotic, anxious man, but considering he's Kei and Yuri's boss, that is hardly surprising. His main role in the television and OVA series is to give the Pair their assignments, warn them not to destroy anything, and then cringe in horror as he either hears about the results of their solution or witnesses the carnage firsthand.

The Lovely Angel

One of the few constants in the differing versions of the DIRTY PAIR is that their ship, the Lovely Angel, gets redesigned for every series. It seems as if the guys at Sunrise can't make up their minds as to what they want the ship to look like. Below are some images of the various Lovely Angels.
From the television series, this ship looks like a flying pink cosmetic compact with wings. Not exactly awe-inspiring.

Lovely Angel - TV Version...

...and OVA version

The OVA Lovely Angel looked more streamlined and functional than its television predecessor; it has lost a lot of the "cute" that the designers tried to instill the first time around.

Dirty, Stormy Destiny

The DIRTY PAIR has had a long life as anime. Several incarnations of Kei and Yuri have made it to the screen, and while each has their distinctive differences, they all seem to retain the ultimate essence of what the DIRTY PAIR is all about. From their earliest novel incarnations to the most recent DIRTY PAIR FLASH, all versions of the Dirty Pair conjure up images of two young women traveling through the galaxy "solving" problems and leaving a trail of destruction as their calling card. And whether your like your DIRTY PAIR serious, funny, or overbearingly cute, there is a version that is most probably right for you.

Images © Takachiho Haruka & AA, Sunrise, NAS