While pursuing an alien fugitive, Birdy Cephon Altera—a bombastic police officer from the Space Federation—finds herself on Earth. Her target, Geega, has disguised himself as a human and assimilated into the fashion industry, so Birdy follows suit and joins a modeling agency, taking on the identity "Shion Arita." Her position as a rising model has her posing for photo shoots by day and chasing intergalactic criminals by night.
Meanwhile, Tsutomu Senkawa, an average high school student, explores an abandoned building with his friend, and coincidentally, Birdy has tracked down Geega to the same building. Senkawa briefly witnesses the battle before being seized as a hostage by Geega. However, Birdy, oblivious, attacks Geega and accidentally kills Senkawa. Distraught, she quickly decides to save him by integrating his consciousness into her body.
Now, Birdy and Senkawa must not only cohabitate the same body, but also balance Senkawa's high school life, Shion Arita's modeling career, and Birdy's increasingly dangerous job as a Federation officer.
[Written by MAL Rewrite]
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Comentários
Archaeon
I will freely admit that I'm a fan of the original Birdy the Mighty. I watched the original OVA back in 1997, and I loved the show for it's surrealistic sci-fi premise. When I heard that the show was being remade into a 13 part TV series, it goes without saying that I was looking forward to it. The original Tetsuwan Birdy manga was created by Yuuki Masami (who is more well known for his Mobile Police Patlabor series), and ran in Shounen Sunday Super magazine. However, Yuuki's work on Kyuukyoku Chojin R (The Ultimate Esper "R"), for the same magazine eventually led to the mangabeing abandoned. The original manga was received rather well though, which led to it's adaptation as a four part OVA.
It wasn't until a few years later that Yuuki went back to the original Tetsuwan Birdy series, and instead of continuing with the series from the time it was abandoned, he decided to do a complete revision of the series from scratch. The new series, Birdy the Mighty II, began serialisation in Weekly Young Sunday magazine in 2003.
The story for both the original OVA and the new series generally follows the same path. Intergalactic police officer Birdy Cephon Altera and her cyborg partner Tute arrive on Earth in pursuit of a wanted alien criminal and, whilst chasing that criminal, she accidentally kills a high school student named Senkawa Tsutomu. However, this is not the end for Tsutomu as the Federation that Birdy works for will provide him with a new body. In the interests of not causing undue alarm to the people around him (and letting him continue with his life), Tsutomu's "soul" is merged with Birdy's body (allowing them to switch between each other), whilst his new body is made.
In all honesty, I preferred the story in the OVA. The new series, whilst being more in depth, also tends to drag its heels with regards to the plot. The OVA had a much tighter story, and the pacing was far better because of the time constraints. The new series, whilst giving more information, is also guilty of not using the extra time in the series to drive the story forward. Indeed, there are to many occasions in the new series that can only be described as "filler" moments (thankfully though, there's no real filler episodes).
The most noticeable thing about this series is the quality of the artwork and the animation. The character designs are very much in keeping with both manga, however the level of detail in the designs is superior than that of the OVA. The backgrounds are often very well done, and the CG sequences are very smooth, especially during the sequences in space. A-1 pictures have done some excellent work animating the show, and nowhere is this more noticeable than in the various action sequences. The various fights and chases are extremely fluid and surprisingly detailed.
Sound is another big plus for this series, and is definitely better than that of the OVA. The sound effects used throughout the show are generally very good, although some of the effects can be a little odd in their usage. The OP is a pretty good J-rock track by Hearts Grow, entitled Sora. I have to admit that I much prefer the track used for the ED though, as it seems more in keeping with the slightly whimsical nature of the show.
Birdy is actually a pretty good character on the whole. During her time on Earth she moonlights as an up-and-coming idol named Arita Shion. The nice part about giving Birdy a "secret identity" is that it allows more of her playful personality to come to the fore.
Tsutomu, on the other hand, is more of a typical high school boy of the type that appear in many anime. The relationship between Birdy and Tsutomu works surprisingly well however, especially during the time they share one body. There is a definite chemistry between the two characters that was never really developed in the OVA, and the conversations between the two are often lively.
The downside though, is that a number of the other characters aren't developed well (or at all in some cases). Some of the more prominent characters (Nakasugi Sayaka and Satyajit Shyamalan for example), could have received a great deal more development than the show provided, especially in the case of Shyamalan.
That said though, this is still a entertaining series. There's enough going on in the show to keep you interested, although the end of the show was rather predictable. I did enjoy the series on the whole, and whilst it may be superior to the OVA in many respects, it doesn't have the same pacing or the tight storyline of the original.
This is a show that action fans may enjoy, but it may also appeal to those who want to see a strong female lead. If you simply want a show that's got action without being too serious, then it may be worth giving this a try.
Given a choice though, I would go for the OVA before watching this.
sanimej2
Please bare with me thou this is my first review. I just finished watching Birdy - Decode and I have to say "Great series". The story itself was good in this series. Maybe they had spread it over 12 ep. instead of just 4 OVA's back then. I remembered watching the "Birdy" first OVA's many moons ago and I was like "eh" about the anime back then. When I saw they were coming out with an 12 episode series, I was willing to give it a try and happy I did. It's refreshing to see a anime thats differentfrom your run of the mills anime. I'm sad that it ended, but I've enjoyed every episode and can't wait for the 2nd season.
The animation was crisp and smouth especially the fighting scenes. The color palet theyused is very soft, not to loud in some anime I watched. Also the voice acting was great. Also the bgm was good not to heavy, just right. I also enjoyed the OP and ED music they used. Very up-beat and goes with the anime.
The characters designs are great. Every one was drawn completly different from the other and aways wore something different. Also they we're believable and wasn't annoying.
Overall, I really enjoyed this series to the point that when it finished I wanted to see whole series again at that point. I strongly recommend "Tetsuwan Birdy Decode" To anyone who want to see something different. I also recommend that you watch the first OVA's before watching the series to see the diffence between them.
itsthatguy
I have never seen the original Birdy OVA so I cannot possibly compare between the two series. Therefore this version is going to be reviewed on its own merits. I actually found this show when it was recommended to me on Netflix. It looked interesting so I gave it a shot. Birdy had a pretty original premise and that was what initially got me hooked. It seemed like it was going to be mostly an action-based series with aliens thrown in, which is exactly what it is at times, but a lot of the fight scenes are pretty intense and fun to watch.The story didn't focus entirely on the intergalactic alien hunter aspect of the series though which was nice, call it a pleasant case of Multiple Personality Disorder. It added a little bit of comedy, mystery, and some romance from Tsutomu's part in the series. This worked out to be a nice balance as it gave enough to satisfy the cravings of those action junkies out there while providing general entertainment for those other viewers.
The show climaxed nicely with everything that had been building up and the ending was so bitter-sweet that it actually made me like the series more. However, the ending was far from conclusive for the Birdy franchise as a whole. The last episode left with more questions and mysteries left unsolved than when the season began, working as a nice setup for season 2. Unfortunately I will say that the show has a tendency to drag its heels at times, moving the pace to almost a crawl occasionally. And while no episode is truly filler as something important to the story always happens, there still were a lot of moments that served only to slow the series down.
I thought that the art for Birdy was pretty good, actually really good, which is most likely the result of it being a newer title. There was a pretty nice mix of CGI and animation which helped when combined with the overarcing theme of sci-fi and aliens. The fight scenes were always nice to watch and were nice and dark and gritty. On the flip side when the animators wanted to they came out with some really nice looking peaceful and artistic scenes and some nice everyday animation.
My only problem with the animation was that sometimes things looked TOO nice. It kind of reminded me of watching the special effects that you see from movies in the 70's or 80's in that things didn't look right with the rest of the scene. Sometimes the animation would be so intricate and detailed that the scene or one aspect of the scene would look clunky or awkward in regards to the rest and that took away from the overall experience at times.
All of the characters had extremely unique appearances so there was no possible way of confusing one character with another, I'll chalk that one up to a plus for the animators and animation. The development of these characters was not quite as refined however. Most of the character development in our main twosome is through Birdy by means of various flashbacks and references from other characters, but these are usually left untouched and are a part of the slew of mysteries that were left at the end of the series. Birdy's alter ego Shion Arita, while not making many appearances, served to add a dash of humor to the series at times too. Tsutomu was a pretty average male anime lead but he grew up a bit over the series, apparently dying does that to you, or maybe it's just puberty, I can't say for sure, and there were definitely times where he showed some balls throughout the series.
On a side note this reminds me of another point I wanted to make. Despite the fact that this show is about a teenage boy sharing a body with a hot alien girl, Tsutomu always remains a perfect gentleman and doesn't act weird when he's riding around in Birdy's body. The series refrained from using that plot point as an excuse for having weird ecchi moments with Tsutomu and Birdy for cheap kicks. This show was about as un-ecchi as you can get. Birdy takes like 20 baths over the course of the series but not once does Tsutomu try to say or do something weird or perverted with their body, which makes me give major props to the director of this show for not tailoring to those who only picked up the series because there was a hot alien girl as the main character.
Some of the background characters have important roles in regards to the main story. Others have absolutely no relevance to it at all. And still others appear to have some role but that role is unknown for now and the viewer won't know for sure until...you guessed it, season 2. As for the primary antagonists, they aren't really given a good amount of devlopment either but it doesn't particularly hurt the story in any way.
The opening theme "Sora" wasn't anything unique but it was still pretty good and I liked it while the ending theme "Let's Go Together" is just a fun and peppy "just don't give a fuck" kind of song that was always pretty enjoyable.
This was a pretty good action show. It was a pretty good sci-fi show. It was also a pretty good looking show with some good characters and a good plot. Basically what I'm saying here is that Birdy the Mighty: Decode is a solid show all around and if you don't mind it being a bit slow, I don't see why anyone wouldn't enjoy it. It's diverse in the genres that it throws at the viewer, it's a unique story, and it leaves you wanting more at the end. Overall I would highly recommend this series for action, sci-fi, and overall anime fans in general.
SamFury
================== Comments and Constructive Criticism is Welcome ================== = = = = = Story = = = = = I was in search for breasts. I know… I know… Ecchi anime doesn’t usually leave a pleasant taste in the mouth, but I’m a man, and I live in the now! No one can tell me that alien crime fighters with swelling bosoms aren’t quality entertainment. So I sat there, legs crossed, pondering what I could watch. I took the necessary steps, asked a few of my friends who lurked in the dank recesses of their mother’s basement, desperate carnal housewives and of course, the internet. To my surprise the vast archivesGoogle unfurled the arms of its vast archives to reveal Birdy: a futuristic Venus, flecked tresses and state-of-the-art thong. Was she who I was looking for?
It’s easy to see the lead’s character model in the opening few minutes of Birdy the Mighty: Decode and inaccurately assume that this show aims for sensuality instead of substance. On the contrary, it’s a blend: a large helping of action and science fiction, a few doses of political struggle and a shot of comedy some zest of romance thrown in for good measure. These elements play friendly enough together, but this is where the series falters; the plot strands tangle themselves into a distracted wreck.
It starts modestly enough; Birdy has come to Earth from Altaria to investigate Geega, a smuggler who nabbed an unknown alien artifact. Her pursuit leads her to the abandoned hollows of an abandoned warehouse, where Tsutomo becomes ensnared in the ensuing melee between the two extraterrestrials. The experience leaves him a mangled mess of crimson pools and crippled limbs. The solution: our heroine decides to house the boy’s conscious in her own body while his carcass is shipped off for reconstruction.
The narrative is driven by the quarrels between the two, both trying to reconcile the fact their lives aren’t their own anymore. As Tsutomo tries to get back on the rails of reality, Birdy struggles for control, trying to maintain some job security as an intergalactic investigator. My interest in their back and forth was slender at best, most of the dialogue slanting towards comedy punctuated by tender moments of little depth. A simple remedy would be to focus on the potential of the relationship and expanding it, but as I said before the plot pieces on so many factors they can’t fit into the 13 episodes.
The scenarios begin to thicken with the introduction of the Fedearition and the Union, two large interplanetary governments that are vying to annex the neutral territories that separate them and suppress conflict. After taking front stage and center for a few installments it disappears into the background, nonchalantly hinted at in the last two sections. The product of this bureaucratic boxing and science fiction setting establish frames for some intense action, which fade when the writers decided to blanket the storyline with a romance.
Tsutomo begins to mingle with a classmate, Sawaka, which eventually blossoms into the wholesome love of youth. It’s a touching affair, choreographed dances of awkwardness and naivety. It might be the strongest aspect the entire series, as it burgeons into a memorable peak. It would have left a palatable taste in my mouth if it weren’t for the wrap up in the final episode.
The pulp of Birdy the Might Decode is disemboweled from the fruit and tossed out in it’s a final moments. The climax is rendered to meaninglessness and the courtship of the two children is scrapped. I thought to myself, “What the hell was all this for then?” Backtracking, I revaluated my final impressions, “Well this is a sequel, and perhaps there is hope.” The program is unsatisfying, yet it benefits from having a future; that maybe space-cop and I can kiss and make up.
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Art
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Amazing. Few shows can match the quality of animation in Birdy the Mighty Decode, being beat out by productions such as X’amd: The Lost Memories. The world vibrates with color, accented with unpretentious cell shaded CGI. The alien set-pieces favor using natural curves, their technology giving living and breathing impression. The character designs reflect the form, sleek lines and bold hues. They look at their best in action, moving gracefully over building rooftops, theatrical sets and extraterrestrial arenas. Watching them being reduced to rubble by otherworldly brouhaha is a feast for the eyes.
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Sound
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The sound does not match the ‘amazing’ of the animation but holds it’s own. The voice actors earn their salaries, but don’t go over and above the call of duty. The opening is a sprightly J-pop tune that follows the vivid palette. The rest of the soundtrack is a mesh drawing from both techno-pop and classical instruments mirroring the clash between the hi-tech Altarians and the underdeveloped earthlings. It’s a decent package rounded out by the happy-go-lucky ED that annoys with it’s extensive use of Japlish. I guess it could be considered cute… but broken English doesn’t sit well with my ears.
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Characters
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It’s fitting the Tsutomo and Birdy share a body, each being so meager in depth that you could fit it into one frame. More so the former than the latter, as he proves to have an uncompromised sense of a justice and gawky handling of the female species typical of middle-school aged males. Scenes of Birdy’s past are shaded in, indicating she wasn’t always the goody two shoed defender of the galaxy she is now. It’s paltry, but at least its something.
The supporting cast doesn’t offer much either, the fair face Sawaka being the most delectable of the group. Her balancing act is impressive, teetering from pubescent teen to tortured soul to the sterling daughter of a tycoon. The other notable character is the antagonist, Shyamalan, who give no rhyme of reason as to why he is the bad guy. He ends up coming off as a Global Neo-Nazi Facist with a fetish for Darwinian lingo. An improvement in character development would have helped prop up and even suppress some of the disorientation of the plot, but instead just adds to it.
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Overall
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It’s hard to recommend Birdy the Might Decode because of its wayward storytelling and cardboard characters. But it does offer entertainment, a slick production and engaging combat all within thirteen episodes. It’s a short series that pledges a sequel, a continuation that hopefully unlocks the promising aspects of the series while maintaining it strengths. It wasn’t the hi-tech ecchi series I was looking for, but the results were the same, the insipid relish left lingering on my tongue.
ngohongsui
Birdy the Mighty is a thoroughly enjoyable exercise of an interplay of good and okay execution. Story: 7. Birdy the Mighty is forgettable plotwise due to a tired genre of Alien superiority. The whole "Aliens are stronger than us but we must survive somehow" premise is dealt by the novels like "War of the Worlds" by H.G. Wells or even t.v. shows like "Star Trek" in a greater and more investing manner. The sharing of a body aspect however is quite interesting as it leads to clever and fun character interactions. Art: 8. The aspect of this show that really brought me in was the directionin which the art took. I saw a show with clean animation and cool character designs. I wasn't disappointed, but I also wasn't blown away. Birdy's movements in battle however are truly stunning. The animation style shifts during fight scenes to something else entirely. It takes the simplistic approach of a bare minimum to show movement and coherence and blasts it in front of you in full glory. The fights in this show are something to behold.
Sound: 9. Birdy the Mighty has a stirring and befitting soundtrack. Similar to the Christopher Nolan "Dark Knight" movies, the soundtrack in exciting scenes drives and pumps you up. It creates a truly atmospheric feeling that draws you into the anime as if you were really there.
Characters: 8. The character dynamic between Birdy and Tsutomu, who share a body after Birdy accidentally kills Tsutomu, is refreshing and interesting to watch because the two are at polar ends of the spectrum. Birdy is a stubborn but likeable action hero who stifles crime with her fists and Tsutomu is just an everyday guy trying to maintain his life while dealing with extraterrestrial affairs. However the supporting cast is quite weak and the villains utterly boring.
Enjoyment: 9. I really enjoyed this anime and would recommend it to any action lovers. Shows like this really demonstrate that if every component is at least good in the show, the show can be great. The overall product is what really struck me as nearly poetic as profound themes are lightly explored. However this is still an action show and should be watched as such, just expect to pick up some things along the way.
Injenss
12 Years. I've had this anime sitting around for 12 years without finishing it. That was a mistake, because this anime is awesome. It has so much going for it, but I think the key thing is that while this anime is centered mostly around high school kids, it's not childish. It's a mature story, and very well told. Not a lot of plot holes, not a lot of moe, or nosebleeding, and it actually intersperses adults naturally with children. It's not like most animes today where adults are these far away uninvolved authority figures who only show up at keytimes to push plot. You had adults working side by side with the kids to figure out what was going on. I liked that as it made the anime feel more realistic and mature.
I also liked the main characters, Birdy and Senkawa. But, especially Birdy. Strong, capable and intelligent, but also goofy and humorous at others. The villain, Shymalan was pretty strong as a villain as well, but a bit too arrogant, so you knew what would happen with him eventually. But, what was great about it, is that there are other forces at play behind Shymalan, throughout the anime which left you guessing what was actually going to happen with the Ryunka and where the anime goes from here. There's a lot of double crossing, and government subterfuge involved in this anime, as alien forces are jockeying for power with Earth as a pawn in the middle.
I also loved that this anime wasn't focused on keeping things happy and upbeat. There's a fair amount of death in this. So, even though it has a kind of animation style and feel like it should be more peppy and sweet, it's really a more serious anime with serious consequences.
While Birdy was great and I'm going to jump straight into the sequel, it did have a few flaws. Mainly, the ending was predictable. As soon as they revealed a way to have a somewhat happy ending, you knew instantly how things were going to play out in the finale. So, while it was still a good ending, it was easy to see how things were going to finish. Still, it managed to happen in a way I didn't quite expect, so I was still a little surprised.
Another thing was the cast had a few irritating characters. Particularly Natsumi, who was way too naggy as Senkawa's childhood friend. She just never stopped nagging. She is definitely someone's future ex-wife. Really, most of Senkawa's childhood friends were irritating. Ryouta was just a constant jerk all the time for no reason and I can't remember his name, but the guy who was so overly hyped about exploring abandoned buildings was extremely irritating. I wanted him to die. Fortunately the latter two didn't get too much screen time to drag the anime down.
Other than that this was a very good anime. So, if you're just cruising for something from the good ole' days, this is something to check out.
agau4779
Note: I haven't watched the original OVA of Birdy, so I therefore am not judging the series based on its older portrayal. Tetsuwan Birdy Decode depicts the clash between two totally different people, Birdy Cephon, an agent of the alien "Federation", and Senkawa Tsutomu, an ordinary high school senior in Japan. In her chase after an interplanetary criminal, Birdy accidentally destroys Tsutomu's body in her fight with the criminal. However, through some alien power, Birdy saves Tsutomu's mind by absorbing it into her body. While Tsutomu's body is being repaired by scientists in the Federation, he must share a body with Birdy and help her protectthe galaxy. (Keep in mind that Birdy can shapeshift back and forth between her body and Tsutomu's, and that she can surrender or grant control of the body to Tsutomu.)
The story is a unique cross between slice-of-life and science fiction. However, the series can be extremely confusing with the plot going every which way- political intrigues on the planet Altaria, Tsutomu's relations with his classmates, the mysteries surrounding Shyamalan Satyajit. The flow of the plot feels too fast though- again, too many events squeezed into a mere thirteen episodes. Even so, the show keeps a great balance between humorous and serious moments. I was disappointed in the lack of the more perverted humorous scenes I was expecting- like Tsutomu overreacting while being in a hot female body, for instance, or Birdy's reaction to being in Tsutomu's body.
The animation and sound are great. I enjoyed both the OP and ED, which really matched the cheerful, determined mood of Birdy and Tsutomu. The art style of the series was great- I especially liked how the expressions of the various characters were animated, with good taste too (none of those overused, overdramatic face faults many other animes favor). I felt that the animation worked very well, almost seamlessly with the music and voice acting.
Unfortunately, the only characters that I truly liked were Birdy and Tsutomu. And even then, admittedly, Tsutomu was the typical weak, jaded, yet gallant boy who works (in Tsutomu's case, is forced to work) with a powerful girl. Most of the other characters seemed very flat. Tsutomu's classmates all can be relied on, in every scene Tsutomu's not there, to complain about his abscence, make fun of him, and/or whine about their own circumstances. The main 'villains', Shyamalan and Capella, seem disappointingly stereotypical of the devious, calculating, power-hungry baddies, although they aren't totally unoriginal. Then again, there weren't many opportunities for side characters to develop very far, seeing as the show focuses mainly on the two main characters.
Overall, Tetsuwan Birdy Decode possesses an original and fresh background, interesting character development, and is overall a good watch. However, to me, the storyline felt somewhat rushed and the side character interactions were admittedly much less interesting than those between Birdy and Tsutomu. Despite these shortcomings, the show is very entertaining and worth the watch.
WeeabooHunter101
I found Birdy the Mighty through S.A.V.E. so I wasn't expecting very much from this series. I also wasn't expecting much with a premise about a high school boy sharing bodies with a hot alien super cop. Now I am so glad that I decided to buy this series and hope more people seek it out in the future. I was expecting loads of fan service, but that was kept to a relative minimum. I found the story to be decently paced and the characters to be developed well. The fight scenes were well done and overall the animation was nice. I have a few issueswith the English dub, but that is mostly word choices in a few spots that didn't seem necessary. I also found the music to be catchy and can easily recall the OP tune in my head. While it isn't fantastic, I do believe the series in underrated and deserves a little more attention as an overall good anime.
Overall this series is a 5/5 star in my book, and I hope more seek it out in the future.
OddOtaku
Season 1 of Tetsuwan Birdy Decode is a stunning reboot to the old OVA and pays homage to the manga which also got rebooted but about 5 more times? Reboots aside, this is one of the best shining examples of story and character done right. With one exception. For the most part the characters are believable, you can understand why every character acts and portray themselves surprisingly realistically. But the main villain. He's almost a disappointing level of why. He's great for memes and in his own way feels like he belongs somewhere, but that place isn't here sadly. While this is a fun anime,it's never had anything to really take you out of belief till he shows up and it's blatantly obvious. Aside from him, I do love the art style but it isn't always top quality, especially in action scenes when visuals are needed, and I've heard people don't always enjoy the audio but I don't recall it really but not to say there isn't any. I can definitely say this is a fun anime with natural characters and relations between the them. No forced romance here. There is some ecchi though but it doesn't really get too in the way. I would recommend this to most people.
Review for season 2 continued and if you need more to go on.
JustGoodAnime
"Tetsuwan Birdy Decode," or "Birdy the Mighty: Decode," is a smartly written show with decent production values and a good hook. It is not an ambitious show however. Birdy the Mighty is a show that proves to be quite entertaining, but its not likely to leave you with much after the credits roll. There's nothing wrong with that, but its something to keep in mind when deciding to watch it or not. Birdy's characters are likable enough, but not particularly complex. The show does provide a nice duality between public and private life though. Whether its Tuto's charming mix of effeminate charisma and straight facedmentorship, or Birdy's public role of air headed, demure pin-up girl contrasted with her brash, independent nature as a galactic cop. Birdy and high schooler Senkawa also have fairly good chemistry together. The story makes sure to establish early on that Birdy and Senkawa's relationship is strictly platonic, which is good because sexual tension between two people sharing the same body could prove more than a little unnerving.
I don't recall the music too well outside of a fantastic opening and a catchy ending. That doesn't necessarily mean the score was bad, it just wasn't particularly memorable. At least it wasn't distracting, and sometimes that's all that matters.
The art is smooth and clean, with a soft color palette. It does tend to get rather sketchy when there's a lot of movement on screen, making the action hard to follow sometimes. Conversely, the sketchiness allows the fight scenes to be fluid and dynamic. In my opinion, it was a fair trade-off.
As far as conflict goes, I found it hard to take the main antagonist seriously. Perhaps that's due to the fact that he takes a passive role in the story and rarely interacts with the protagonists. Or maybe its because he has a tendency to spew rather cliched villain rhetoric. It doesn't help that he's an Indian television producer named after M. Night Shyamalan. The dubious homage is a tad bit humorous, but it really doesn't help his credibility as a villain. Although to be fair, it could rightfully be argued that he's not the main threat, but to follow that line of thought any further would be to risk delving into spoiler territory.
Birdy the Mighty: Decode is a show that's consistently entertaining, but very rarely impactful. If you're looking for a meaningful animated experience, you'd be wise to look elsewhere. But if you're in the mood for something fun, and occasionally touching, then you could do a whole lot worse than Tetsuwan Birdy Decode.
ggultra2764
I must admit that I got quite a bit of enjoyment out of seeing Birdy the Mighty: Decode. While the series does seemingly set itself up as a typical space action-adventure about an alien agent stopping criminals, it does quite a bit to make itself stand out. It sets up Tsutomu having to share Birdy's body after his body accidentally gets wasted by Birdy during a fight with a thug. This sets up the entertaining chemistry between the two characters as they often get at odds with one another over who gets to snag control of Birdy's body as Tsutomu wants to retain whatever normalcyhe can in his life while Birdy wants to press on with her mission on Earth where possible.
I've seen a number of reviews online criticize about how they find Tsutomu's character to be rather annoying as he complains very often throughout the series. But considering the kid's a teen, I think his complaining is justified as he deals both with the typical things a kid his age would go through combined with adjusting to his unique circumstances of sharing a body with an attractive female alien agent. His character does develop throughout the series as he learns to cooperate with Birdy as she helps her out at some points within the series and develops a relationship with one of his classmates that the series takes enough time to properly develop and make it credible that Tsutomu would fall for her, especially as said classmate is another central character in the mission Birdy undergoes in this series.
As for the central plot to the series, it is a typical case of an alien threat setting out to wipe out humanity via a powerful weapon. The show takes its time laying out its developments in regards to Birdy tracking down the alien thugs and finding the location of the weapon they brought to Earth. The series tosses in some twists in regards to who has it and what it is capable of with some elements being fairly typical and others somewhat surprising to see unfold. This becomes prominent in Birdy the Mighty Decode's second half where we get introduced to an influential human character whose plans with the weapon are fairly typical of shallow anime baddies and the weapon's nature bringing about some shocking developments involving said mentioned classmate with Tsutomu. One major flaw with Birdy the Mighty: Decode is that it makes mention to some character alliances and aspects of Birdy's past that aren't expanded upon in this season of the show, especially with the show's lack of a proper ending.
In terms of visual presentation, Birdy the Mighty Decode is a mixed bag. While sporting decent-looking scenery and having moments of great animation in action scenes, the character designs look rough and don't have much in the way of detail. The show also takes occasional shortcuts with its animation featuring static shots of the characters, speed lines and some other apparent methods.
While not a perfect title, Birdy the Mighty Decode made for an entertaining series thanks to its unique character chemistry with Tsutomu and Birdy, Tsutomu's developments and some of the later developments involving the alien weapon. It looked apparent that the show still had more to tell considering the hints dropped of Birdy's past and said mentioned character alliances thus I plan to give Birdy's second season a shot at some point.
acceleratum
A good watch for any occasion, Tetsuwan Birdy Decode provides some originality bringing back the open imagination to the anime, instead of the usual school plots or mechs it feels refreshing to come up with a different sci fi. Being a remake it was a good option since the old OVA didnt fulfill half the potential of the plot. The animation is very good in the fight scenes preventing the show from falling into boring, the plot itself is interesting and featuring only 13 episodes they are quite enjoyable. The end leaves promises of more to come, and it wont hurt to get another season, some showsfeel like dragging for too long or sometimes they seem good but no room for future seasons, in this case there isnt any issues left hanging, providing a proper ending but leaves room for future adventures.
The relationship between Birdy and tsutomu is the higlight of the show, provides some comic relief and a bit of drama but is generally light hearted, fun and lots of action.
Wouldnt go as far as saying its a must watch but good entertainment worth a peek.
DrProfHectorPhD
I was on my Netflix account, cruising for new and interesting anime to watch, when I noticed Tetsuwan Birdy Decode. I'm not really sure what compelled me to watch it, since I'm not usually drawn to anime with title art such as this, but I started watching and I couldn't stop. Birdy definitely surprised me with her confidence and character development. The story itself didn't feel "cookie cutter" and the music went along very well.
Qdew
Tetsuwan Birdy Decode is a story with a great premise, that was unfortunately underutilized by the creators. I had high hopes when entering this series, it had me eagerly waiting to see how the story may develop, but it did not live up to my anticipations, and my interest was steadily dropping after 3 episodes. Let’s first look at what the first episode leaves us with. The series starts off with a flashy and entertaining introduction of the female lead - Birdy Cephon Altera an intergalactic police officer, and moves on to showcasing her earthly alter ego - a rather promising introduction. We are shown theincident regarding Tsutomu Senkawa, and the start of one of the main plot points - two people sharing one body, and with it a common predicament.
The story up to this point has left me hopeful, a likable protagonist, interesting setting to explore and a good (but not unusual) art style with well drawn animation on top of that.
The aforementioned elements stay there, but are hindered with bad handling of the script. New arcs and characters are layered on top of each other and left behind, often with no need to introduce them in the first place. The anime tries to do too much in it’s 13 episodes and ends up leaving underdeveloped bits all over the place. The show declines in quality, to the point where watching the last 2 episodes was almost a chore.
Let us now look at the characters, of which there is a big quantity with a questionable quality. I already mentioned the female lead and I would say she is the most well written out of the entire cast. We have another fun individual - Tuto; then archetypical school types; a simple, bland villain; and others. The show's writers try to use these characters in creating emotional moments, but those moments lack the necessary depth and have little effect on the viewer.
Sound is rather good, I wasn't a huge fan of the OP and ED, but they may be quite appealing.
Animation was, as I already said, well drawn.
I can recommend this anime to you if you want some action, but you’ll have to go somewhere else for a good story, as it left me shaking my head with disappointment at the ruined potential.
Alinhje
Berserker Killer Birdy is a woman with a strong will, yet cheerful and determined. I loved almost everything about her and her personality is what I liked most in the anime. That doesn’t mean that I do not think the other aspects weren’t good as well. Story (8/10): The story isn’t complicated, but it has a few nice twists. It begins quite simply and slowly introduces you into a more complex network. Though thanks to the slow introduction, it’s all quite easy to understand. More than half of the episodes had an exciting end, leaving me eager to watch the next episode. Art (8/10): The animation isnice, it has a soft touch. Backgrounds are detailed but I would have loved a bit more details in the characters (for example in the eyes), but it didn’t really bother either. I truly enjoyed the action parts, because those were nicely animated (and accompanied with suitable sound effects). I particularly enjoyed the way Birdy’s multicolored hair moved around.
Music (9/10): music of the beginning and ending themes matched with the animation, they also contained a soft touch. The ending theme made me happy every time I heard it, but since the story isn’t all about sunshine and rainbows, that felt sort of weird.
Characters (8/10): Almost all emotions are shown quite brightly, though some emotions seem to have a bad timing and aren’t as touching as they could have been. As already mentioned, I really liked Birdy’s character, she’s sad when she should be, upset when she should be, … Though she seems to have a great capacity of hiding her emotions as well. During the story, no one really seems to undergo any character-development, but all characters are shown with much detail.
Enjoyment (9/10): I was totally absorbed into this anime and could not let it go (I constanly desired to watch another episode), so I truly enjoyed this anime.
Overall (8/10): the anime had a lot of good aspects, and a few flaws. I think anyone who can appreciate action, romance and science-fiction would probably at least be entertained by this anime (of course I cannot speak for all of you).
I’m truly looking forward to watch Decode II.
lamaraptor
I thought this was going to be a rehash of the original OVA, but I didn't know going into it that there are actually two versions of the manga as well. The original OVA was based on the older manga, while this one is based on the new series that fleshed out the story a bit more and added some new characters. I've got some question. Why is M. Night Shyamalan the villain? Were they trying to say that there was going to be a twist ending? Was the twist that he died? He was so convinced that he was creating a perfect society and thathe would be chosen for it but he was literally the first person to die.
I wasn't really having much fun with this series, it was more of a chore to watch than anything. The ending song slaps, but the rest was pretty mediocre. Needs more Shion Arata and less Birdy alien stuff. 7/10
DesolatePsyche
First things first. My "reviews" system is explained on a blog entry. Which can be found through my profile. ------ ✦Story Aside synopsis, I have to say I expected this Anime being one of those older "niche" series that probably are utter boredom. But it was actually much more enjoyable than I imagined it to be. Anyhow the progression felt great, I also grew into characters. And I did really like Sayaka. Anyhow, development and story felt as well quite nicely wrapped up. Obviously story goes one but for "act 1" it was good. ✦Art & Sound Art was somewhat flat, but in a enjoyable way. Animation also felt quitenice. There was subtle touch of obvious fanservice, but nothing bad.
Now as for music&ost, I wasn't fond of the songs in this anime, especially the ending theme. But OST I did quite like. Especially I loved the "Sayaka theme".
✦Character
MC with straight-man slapstick act. Who is whiny at start, gets used, ends up with humane values and risking for those.
Main girl (Birdy) the mischievous agressive-type girl. Who has bad habits, but ultimately is quite caring.
Rest are side kicks mostly with various personalities, but my fav is Sayaka. Quiet/kind beautiful ojou-sama with a bit of sadness.
There were also bunch of aliens, who were okay and Villains were also quite acceptable.
✦Enjoyment & Overall
Ended up adding comments to each section so I don't really have else to add. As said, unexpectedly good Anime. Finished almost in a day.
Cespar
Birdy the Mighty: Decode, as I’ll refer it to as, isn’t what I expected based on its cover. It’s a mixed-genre show with some fun action and entertainment. However, by no means is this a terrible show, but it is fairly above average and competently made. * I will note that this is far from an ecchi anime. It's actually a reboot to the 90's 4 episode OVA. * I will also note that this is based on a more objective 5 as the mean instead of 7 in standard grading. Story- 5/10 Intergalactic criminals have opposed the Federation and snuck into the backwater planet called Earth. Nowour bodacious female lead, the extra-terrestrial federal investigator Birdy Cephon tails down their track. However, an ordinary high school student named Tsutomu Senkawa was caught in the crossfire in the chase as Birdy smashes his body. In direct share of her fault, she loans her body for his conscious to live until they repair his body.
The idea of the body sharing of our two main characters, the male teenage student, Tsutomu Senkawa and Birdy Cephon Altera, is the main focus of the story. With their quirky interactions and squabbles, both attempt to balance their contrasting lifestyles; Birdy hunts down criminals that landed on Earth while our male protagonist continues to be a high school student in the midst of all things.
The format for the first part (first 6 episodes) initially follows a more episodic stand point in which it introduces a monster of the week and various characters to flesh out its universe. Unfortunately, it doesn’t really go anywhere nor does it well congeal together, making it seem disjointed and weirdly paced.
However, the second part (the latter part) of the story becomes a better story arc with Tsutomu and that follows more of a mystery story that slowly builds up to the show’s climax. It becomes much more focused on its characters and it has its moments, but it is fairly straight-forward and predictable with its ending. Also, the resolution to amend the problem is there, but it’s seemingly rushed with a minute worth of explanation.
Characters- 6/10
The main character definitely is Tsutomu. He is your average high school student who doesn’t act outrageously based on his adolescent mindset. However, he is a bit bland but it is certainly entertaining to see the platonic interactions between him and Birdy, making him more likable as a character and less cringe-worthy on its gender-bending premise (though I prefer it to call it an identity switching, similar to superheroes). He shines more in the second half but that would be spoiler territory.
Birdy is, however, the much better character. Despite her cheesecake appearance susceptible to loads of fan service, the nudity is toned down very much and helps complement her personality. Her Earthling persona as Shion Arita, the pin-up model, is a façade to her true self and her more serious attitude to chase the criminals. Her enjoyment in taking baths becomes an avenue for her to unwind after her job as it’s different from the regimented healing tubs she is accustomed. It’s a shame her secret identity doesn’t get further expounded or gets used.
The others are characterized quite decently such as Tuto, Hayamiya and many of Tsutomu’s friends, however, they lack proper screen time for them to be memorable. In addition, they aren't exactly relevant to the overall story which again makes them more of a hindrance at times than an asset. Unfortunately, Sayaka Nakasugi, one of Tsutomu’s friends, seems too dull and too stereotypical despite a lot of screen time. However, she isn’t as bad as the main antagonist who has more characterization from his parodied name than most of his clichéd dialogue.
Music-7/10
Overall, the music is fine and enjoyable to hear. It’s pretty well rounded with rock, piano, and sometimes with more funky and jazz sounds. It accompanies the show well, but they aren’t quite memorable and doesn't use its repertoire of music to the fullest. The biggest downside to it would be the repeated looping that I noticed within a 5 minute interval of the romantic piano music.
Animation/ Art-8/10
Either you like its style or not.
It’s one of the biggest highlights of the anime and has a great production value in 2008. The style provides thin contours and softer colors which makes it easier on the eyes and helps tone down the fan service it appears to carry.
Colors schemes of the blue moonlight and orange sunset are used a lot, often appealing landscapes and wonderfully used great lighting effects. The CG (or CGI) is implemented in the backgrounds that blend fairly well. However, the most noticeable use of CG would only be in Birdy’s ship, Lailalo, that appears on a few occasions and even then it isn't too jarring.
Character interactions rely less on the cel animation and often have characters move more dynamically than more traditional anime. However, some won’t like this style and prefer the smoother framing of animation with more vivid colors.
There are also some well-animated fights. The choreography is well done without panning elsewhere despite Birdy’s skimpy outfit. Heck, within one fight scene a female robot gets her clothes blown off for reasons to animate her easier rather than to titillate the audience. Unfortunately, the astounding kinetic motions are few and far between each other in the course of 13 episodes to really consider this a heavy action-oriented anime.
Enjoyment- 6/10 for the first six episodes, 7/10 for the latter episodes
I was fairly impressed with this series as it did entertain me for what it wasn’t. It’s definitely a light and enjoyable action anime with likable characters without the use of panty shots and groping that normally I would expect from the cover and its heavy focus on high school students. However, for what it is, it's just painfully generic for my taste and I had to slog through the first few episodes.
As I kept watching, I started to get impressed with the second part as there was a more definitive direction. It has some touching moments for me and I praise it for not gradually ruining my interest but to slowly build it up in expectations and continue improving.
Overall- a mid 6/10
It’s an anime that’s certainly well-rounded in genres and doesn’t necessarily do anything wrong. It has its fair share of comedy, romance, action, and slice-of-life and juggles it well. It, however, just doesn’t have that impressive WOW factor and plays it safe. It may even come off as fairly generic for more avid anime fans. But don't be fooled by my low score as it can still be great fun.
Fortunately, it does set up a solid premise near the end in which it helps compliment to the OVA (the Cipher) and the more engaging sequel (Birdy the Mighty: Decode 02).
ktulu007
Tetsuwan Birdy Decode is an anime from late 08 based off of a manga from the mid to late 80s. It was originally written by Yuuki Masami. The anime was handled by A-1. Yes, them again. And this one came out before Kuroshitsuji too. Which will officially make it the earliest A-1 anime I’ve reviewed. I don’t know what to expect since their quality is so variable. Let’s have a look. Story: We open with our titular Birdy in pursuit of some criminals. Turns out she’s a federation security agent and yet she doesn’t wear gold. In any case, she captures their getaway driver but they scarper.Cut to some time later, Birdy and her squid friend have tracked the criminals to Earth. Because of course you have to set things on Earth instead of an alien civilisation. It just makes things so much more interesting when we see the usual scenery. Also, much easier than developing an alien culture. Any way, they manage to confront one of the crooks only to have him play operation human shield with a random civilian, thereby getting said civilian sliced in half. They transfer his consciousness into Birdy’s body while they fix his and the misadventures of these two swapping places and clashing begins.
Let’s start with the biggest narrative problem, the aesthetic. This series takes itself pretty seriously while including some really goofy content that’s actually impossible to take seriously. For example, the main characters sharing a body and having to swap control and forms, because I guess Birdy can shape shift. That’s an element you’d expect to see used for goofy sitcom style shenanigans, but this series largely tries to use it for drama. Including having situations where people die or get hurt because these two find themselves in an awkward predicament. Then we have one of the major antagonists, Shyamalan. This dude looks like he’s intended as a stand in for M Night Shyamalan & happens to completely unsubtly have the same family name. Again, this is something that could be great in a comedy. A criminal Shyamalan parody who sets up dumb twists for his crimes. Robs a bank while taking hostages, turns out the small children in the crowd are his accomplices and they pull out comically large weapons that would only be legal to buy in America. He hijacks a plane but it turns out that he owns the air line and he’s technically allowed to have one of the planes go somewhere else, it’s just terrible customer service. That could be hilarious. But this series just plays him as a subdued, narcissist and tries to have some serious scenes with him that you can’t actually take seriously because he’s a fucking M Night Shyamalan stand in.
There are also a lot of little plot details that don’t go anywhere. The undercover modelling career Birdy has for, like, an episode and then doesn’t get mentioned again. The whole issue where Tsutomu’s mind might envelop hers but it never really becomes an issue. But I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt on these in general since there is a second series. Maybe that one actually does something with them.
With that being said, the series does have some interesting stuff. What little we actually see of the alien society is pretty neat. The narrative has enough intrigue to keep it compelling, even if impossible to take seriously. To be honest, I am kind of interested in seeing the second series. The big climax has some strong moments and I do appreciate that they resolve the major conflict of the series and leave a more minor thing that crops up as the sequel bait.
Characters:
The characters in this, at least the major and important secondary ones, are largely pretty decent. Shyamalan is kind of your generic “I am super important and therefore can do what I wish for my goals” types of villains & a lot of the class mate characters are pretty dull too. There are also the “mysterious” characters who may get some development in the second series but are just vaguely cryptic in this one. Our main pair has some complexity to them. I appreciate that the series doesn’t push a romance with them, giving Tsutomu a different girl he likes. Because it’s just really stupid when a series goes “we pushed these two characters together with some contrivances. Now they’re in love.” Hayamiya is interesting. Tuto has his moments. I kind of like that he puts on the guise of super flamboyance and seems to enjoy himself doing it but has significantly more to him. There are too many characters out there who are just flamboyant.
Art:
The artwork is nothing spectacular. In general, it looks fine and the stylistic way they do action for it can really work but the characters look a bit plain and the backgrounds are just functional and kind of bland. Like Mito, the aliens are largely just animal people but this series does put considerably more effort into making them look interesting. I actually kind of like the alien designs, when they don’t just look human. Pity you see so little of them.
Sound:
There are some good performances from Chiba Saeko, Sakamoto Maaya, Irino Miyu, Itou Kanae & Kawada Shinji. Even the actors who voice less than interesting characters do pretty darn well in their roles. The music from Kanno Yugo is quite good.
Ho-yay:
Tuto is, I’m pretty certain, not straight. Him aside, none of the other characters really come across as being romantically interested in anyone of the same sex. It’s like the exact opposite of the stories I write in that regard.
Final Thoughts:
Tetsuwan Birdy Decode has some pretty severe problems. It has elements that would only work as comedic but played far too seriously. Its characters range from mundane to pretty good and its art has a lot of meh to it. Overall, it’s not a bad anime by any stretch but I can’t call it a good one either. It’s an average work that had the potential to be so much more with some effort and thought. So, I give it a 5/10. Next week, Pokemon: Mewtwo no Gyakushuu.
