Birdy the Mighty

Birdy the Mighty

Cover of DVD release of the OVA series
鉄腕バーディー
(Tetsuwan Birdy)
Genre Comedy, Science fiction
Manga
Birdy the Mighty (original)
Written by Masami Yuki
Published by Shogakukan
Demographic Shōnen
Magazine Shōnen Sunday Super
Original run 1985 – 1988
Volumes 1
Original video animation
Directed by Yoshiaki Kawajiri
Produced by Masao Maruyama
Atsushi Sugita
Fumio Ueda
Kazuhiko Ikeguchi
Satoshi Yoshimoto
Written by Chiaki J. Konaka
Yoshiaki Kawajiri
Music by Kow Otani
Studio Madhouse
Licensed by
Released July 25, 1996
Runtime 30-40 minutes (each)
Episodes 4
Manga
Birdy the Mighty (remake)
Written by Masami Yuki
Published by Shogakukan
Demographic Seinen
Magazine Weekly Young Sunday → Big Comic Spirits
Original run December 26, 2002 – July 31, 2008
Volumes 20
Anime television series
Tetsuwan Birdy: Decode
Directed by Kazuki Akane
Written by Hiroshi Ōnogi
Music by Yugo Kanno
Studio A-1 Pictures
Licensed by
Original network TV Saitama, tvk, KBS, Sun TV, Tokyo MX, BS11, TBC, TVQ Kyushu, Okinawa TV, CBC, Chiba TV, Animax, Hokkaido Broadcasting
English network
Original run July 4, 2008 – September 29, 2008
Episodes 13
Anime television series
Tetsuwan Birdy: Decode 2
Directed by Kazuki Akane
Written by Hiroshi Ōnogi
Music by Yugo Kanno
Studio A-1 Pictures
Licensed by
Original network TV Saitama, tvk, KBS, Sun TV, Tokyo MX, BS11, TBC, TVQ Kyushu, Okinawa TV, CBC, Chiba TV, Animax, Hokkaido Broadcasting
English network
Original run January 9, 2009 – March 27, 2009
Episodes 12
Original video animation
Tetsuwan Birdy: Decode - Cipher
Directed by Kazuki Akane
Written by Hiroshi Ōnogi
Music by Yugo Kanno
Studio A-1 Pictures
Licensed by
Released May 28, 2009
Runtime 25 minutes
Manga
Birdy the Mighty Evolution (sequel of remake)
Written by Masami Yuki
Published by Shogakukan
Demographic Seinen
Magazine Big Comic Spirits
Original run October 11, 2008 – August 27, 2012
Volumes 13

Birdy the Mighty (鉄腕バーディー, Tetsuwan Bādī) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Masami Yuki. His initial attempt with the story ran from 1985 to 1988. In 1996, the story was made into a four-part Original Video Animation directed by Yoshiaki Kawajiri. The character designer and animation director for the series was Kumiko Takahashi. In 2003, Yuki began the second serialization under the title Birdy the Mighty Evolution in Weekly Young Sunday which ended in 2012.[1]

A anime television adaptation, titled Birdy the Mighty: Decode (鉄腕バーディー DECODE, Tetsuwan Bādī DECODE), was animated by A-1 Pictures and produced by Aniplex, premiered in Japan on TV Saitama and other broadcast networks on July 4, 2008. The series is directed by Kazuki Akane, written by Hiroshi Ōnogi, with its character designer and overseeing animation director being Ryo Timo.[2]

Plot

Birdy Cephon Altera is a Federation agent chasing interplanetary criminals to the planet Earth. While in pursuit of one such criminal, she accidentally kills a high school boy named Tsutomu Senkawa. Fortunately for Tsutomu, there is a way to keep him alive. He ends up being merged into Birdy's body and must remain so until the repair of his body is complete.

So, Tsutomu is stuck sharing a body with an attractive, strong, and impulsive space police agent while trying to keep his family and friends from finding out about Birdy. In the meantime, Birdy continues her investigation. Together, they take on a secretive group of evil aliens planning to perform experiments on the unsuspecting inhabitants of Earth.

Characters

Main

Protagonists of Birdy the Mighty: Decode TV series. From left to right: Tsutomu Senkawa, Birdy Cephon Altera.
Birdy Cephon Altera
Voiced by: Kotono Mitsuishi (Japanese); Alex McCord (English) (OVA)
Voiced by: Saeko Chiba (Japanese); Luci Christian (English) (TV)
A Federation police officer, she arrives on Earth in pursuit of alien criminals who are using the planet as a refuge. During one of her missions, she accidentally kills Tsutomu and has to fuse with him in order to keep him alive. In Birdy the Mighty Decode she meets her childhood friend Nataru later admitting to Tsutomu that she is indeed in love with Nataru.
In the 2008 anime, her false identity on Earth is rising Japanese idol Shion Arita. She is accompanied by a robot named Tuto.
Birdy is an Altan, a human-like alien, possibly from a planet orbiting the star Altair. More specifically, Birdy is an Ixioran Altairian, a bio-engineered supersoldier bred for combat.
Tsutomu Senkawa
Voiced by: Iwanaga Tetsuya (Japanese); Justin Thompson (English) (OVA)
Voiced by: Miyu Irino (Japanese); Micah Solusod (English) (TV)
A high school student who has his mind hosted within Birdy after being killed during her confrontation with an alien criminal. Birdy tries to let him live a normal life until his body is rebuilt.

Civilians

Natsumi Hayamiya
Voiced by: Yukana Nogami (Japanese); Matty O'Shea (English) (OVA)
Voiced by: Kanae Itō (Japanese); Cherami Leigh (English) (TV)
Tsutomu's female friend and classmate. In the OVA she has a more prominent role while in the television show she is just a minor character.
Hazumi Senkawa
Voiced by: Tomoko Maruo (Japanese); Debora Rabbai (English) (OVA)
Voiced by: Mikako Takahashi (Japanese); Jamie Marchi (English) (TV)
Tsutomu's older sister. She does not live with Tsutomu and is rarely seen on the show. She comes by for random inspections and is first seen in the first episode saying goodbye to their parents.
Sayaka Nakasugi
Voiced by: Maaya Sakamoto (Japanese); Brina Palencia (English) (TV)
Sayaka had a weak body until she was involved in a car accident. After she healed from the accident, her demeanor became more cheerful. She also changed from being sickly to very strong and also became more social. These changes were not gradual, but were very sudden. She then starts to become very close to Tsutomu after the car accident.
Shoko Kagami
Voiced by: Ayako Kawasumi (Japanese); Maxey Whitehead (English) (TV)
A young girl whose legs are recovering. She's very fond of Nataru and tends to be hostile towards Birdy because she thinks Birdy's trying to 'steal' him from her. She had also lost her older brother in the Ryunka incident.

Aliens

Georg Gomez
Voiced by: Akio Ōtsuka (Japanese); Cory Carthew (English) (OVA)
Voiced by: Unshō Ishizuka (Japanese); Newton Pittman (English) (TV)
An alien criminal who had been hiding on Earth in disguise. He's an Altarian henchman of Christella Revi.
Christella Revi
Voiced by: Mako Hyōdō (Japanese); Mary Alice McGuire (English) (OVA)
Voiced by: Mako Hyōdō (Japanese); Monica Rial (English) (TV)
A rogue alien scientist who is the antagonist of the story.
Nataru Shinmyou (ナタル)
Voiced by: Masaya Matsukaze (Japanese); Eric Vale (English)
Birdy's Childhood friend. He lives on Earth as a refugee and pretends to be a human. Nataru is an Ixioran like Birdy and has the ability to teleport. In Birdy the Mighty Decode he confesses to Birdy saying he's in love with her.
Skelezzo
Voiced by: Norio Wakamoto (Japanese); Christopher Sabat (English)
Skelezzo was once Birdy's advisor. He now resides on Altaria.

Manga

The original manga ran in what is now Shōnen Sunday Super, but when Masami Yuki began serializing Kyūkyoku Chōjin R in the pages of Shōnen Sunday it began appearing infrequently, and was eventually abandoned. Only one volume was ever collected.[3] From 2002 to 2012, Masami Yuki moved to Weekly Young Sunday, a seinen magazine, and produced Birdy the Mighty Evolution, a new version of the story.[4]

Anime

OVA

The original Birdy The Mighty was an OVA release in 1996 by Madhouse studios licensed by Bandai and Emotion. It featured 4 episodes based on the 1980s manga. Later anime iterations were based on a subsequent manga in 2003.

Television

Birdy the Mighty Decode was first announced under the name Birdy the Movement.[5] It was then revealed in the Tokyo International Anime Fair that the show would be aired in summer 2008 as Birdy the Mighty Decode.[6][7]

A second season of Birdy the Mighty: Decode began to air on January 9, 2009,[2] known as Birdy the Mighty Decode: 02. It concluded in May. There is no indication that there will be further seasons.

A subsequent OVA titled Birdy the Mighty Decode: Cipher features an unaired episode, named "Between you and me", that connects the first and second seasons. It released on DVD on July 22, 2009. [8]

The first DVD for Birdy the Mighty Decode was released on September 24, 2008.[9]

Based on Hulu's expiration date, Funimation's home distribution and streaming rights for the Decode series will expire on October 14, 2016 and the series will be transferred back to the original Japanese license holder.[10][11]

OST

The Birdy the Mighty Decode OST was released on September 24, 2008 in a simultaneous release with the DVD.[9]

Theme Song CDs

Sora is the opening theme to the TV animation adaptation titled Tetsuwan Birdy: Decode. It is performed by Hearts Grow.[12]

Kiseki is the opening theme to second season. It is performed by Nirgilis.

Track listing

  1. Sora (そら, Sky)
  2. Mirai Sketch (未来スケッチ, Sketch of Future)
  3. Sora - Instrumental (そら)
  4. Kiseki (奇跡,Miracle)

Reception

Since its release in the West, Birdy the Mighty: Decode has received generally favorable reviews. Bryan Morton, from The Fandom Post, was positive toward the first season, citing the visuals and action as factors for it. In his review of the second season, while Morton stated that it was as enjoyable as the first, he was more critical of it.[13] Several criticisms were drawn to Tsutomu and his friends being more sidelined in the story, and the animation, which he pointed out as, "...appearing to have been animated on a shoestring budget.".[14] Bob Muir , from Japanator, noted the ending for the show made it feel rushed, but overall recommended the series, calling it "...just plain fun, with no insipid moe characters or deathly serious world domination plots to drag it down."[15] Josh Viel of the Escapist, praised the visuals and soundtrack of the first season, bringing particular mention to the show's use of foreshadowing.[16] On DVDTalk, Todd Douglass Jr. commended both seasons for their character development, though criticized the pacing of the first season, as well as the antagonists, calling one of them, "... more of a Cigarette Smoking Man kind of guy and really seems to just be some shadowy figure doing what he wants to do in the sidelines.".[17] Further points were directed toward the second season for having the same issues, yet still recommended the series as a whole.[18]

Notes and references

  1. ↑ Yuki Masami's website
  2. 1 2 "TV ANIMATION 鉄腕バーディー DECODE". Retrieved 2008-07-12.
  3. ↑ Birdy The Mighty. Archived May 15, 2008, at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved on July 6, 2008.
  4. ↑ "Patlabor/Birdy's Masami Yuuki to End Hakubo no Chronicle Mystery Manga". Anime News Network. Retrieved 2017-02-27.
  5. ↑ New Birdy the Mighty Anime. Retrieved on July 13, 2008.
  6. ↑ New Birdy's Title Revealed: Birdy the Mighty Decode. Retrieved on July 13, 2008.
  7. ↑ TVアニメーション「鉄腕バーディーDECODE」KICK OFFステージ. Archived 2008-05-26 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved on July 13, 2008. (in Japanese)
  8. ↑ "Tetsuwan Birdy Decode OVA Announced". Animekon. Retrieved 2009-03-09.
  9. 1 2 Birdy the Mighty Decode DVD & CD Information. Retrieved on July 13, 2008. (in Japanese)
  10. ↑ http://www.fandompost.com/2016/01/31/more-upcoming-hulu-anime-expiring-dates-revealed/
  11. ↑ http://www.funimation.com/blog/2016/09/02/birdy-the-mighty-decode-expires-in-october/
  12. ↑ Official Birdy the Mighty Decode Music Page. Retrieved on October 3, 2008. (in Japanese)
  13. ↑ "Birdy The Mighty: Decode Part 1 UK Anime DVD Review". The Fandom Post. 2011-08-29. Retrieved 2017-04-30.
  14. ↑ "Birdy the Mighty: Decode Vol. #2 UK Anime DVD Review". The Fandom Post. 2011-11-08. Retrieved 2017-04-30.
  15. ↑ "Japanator Recommends: Birdy the Mighty: Decode - Japanator". Japanator. Retrieved 2017-04-30.
  16. ↑ "Anime Review: Birdy the Mighty". The Escapist. Retrieved 2017-04-30.
  17. ↑ "Birdy the Mighty: Decode Part 1". DVD Talk. Retrieved 2017-04-30.
  18. ↑ "Birdy the Mighty: Decode 02". DVD Talk. Retrieved 2017-04-30.
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