Birdy the Mighty


Birdy the Mighty 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.
An anime television adaptation, titled Birdy the Mighty: 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.

Plot

Birdy Cephon Altera is a Federation agent chasing criminals to the planet Earth. While in pursuit of one such criminal, she accidentally kills a high school boy named Tsutomu Senkawa. However, 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

Civilians

Aliens

;
;

Media

Manga

The original manga ran in Shōnen Sunday Zōkan, but when Masami Yuki began serializing Kyūkyoku Chōjin R in Weekly Shōnen Sunday it began appearing infrequently, and was eventually abandoned. Only one volume was ever collected. 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.

Anime

Original video animation

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.

Anime television series

Birdy the Mighty Decode was first announced under the name Birdy the Movement. It was then revealed in the Tokyo International Anime Fair that the show would be aired in summer 2008 as Birdy the Mighty Decode.
A second season of Birdy the Mighty: Decode began to air on January 9, 2009, 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.
The first DVD for Birdy the Mighty Decode was released on September 24, 2008.
Funimation's home distribution and streaming rights for the Decode series expired on October 14, 2016 and the series was transferred back to the original Japanese license holder.

Music

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

Theme Song CDs

Sora is the opening theme to the TV animation adaptation titled Tetsuwan Birdy: Decode. It is performed by Hearts Grow.
Kiseki is the opening theme to second season. It is performed by Nirgilis.
  1. Sora
  2. Mirai Sketch
  3. Sora - Instrumental
  4. Kiseki

    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. 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.". 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." Josh Viel of the Escapist, praised the visuals and soundtrack of the first season, bringing particular mention to the show's use of foreshadowing. 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.". Further points were directed toward the second season for having the same issues, yet still recommended the series as a whole.

Legacy

said the anime was an inspiration for his take on Man of Steel.