Alternative TitlesSynonyms: Tetsuwan Birdy (2008), Birdy the Mighty TV, Birdy the Mighty Decode Japanese: 鉄腕バーディー (2008)
Information
Type: TV
Episodes: 13
Status: Finished Airing
Aired: Jul 5, 2008 to Sep 27, 2008
Duration:
24 min. per episode Rating:
PG-13 - Teens 13 or older
L represents licensing company
StatisticsScore: 7.611 (scored by 3862 users)
Ranked: #8062
Popularity: #632
Members: 7,744
Favorites: 22 1 indicates a weighted score
My Info
Popular Tags
action sci-fi |
SynopsisBased on a shounen manga by Yuuki Masami, serialised in Shounen Sunday.
Tsutomu Senkawa is an average high school kid who is busy studying for his senior entrance exams. Tsutomu goes out for some fresh air, after a hard day's work studying for a big test, when he runs into a guy fleeing from a pretty young lady. The pursued man is actually an interplanetary criminal on the run from a Federation agent called Birdy Cephon Altera. Caught in the midst of this chase, Tsutomu gets thrown by the man at Birdy, which kills Tsutomu. Fortunately for Tsutomu, there is a way to keep him alive, although it comes at the price of discarding his body. He ends up merged into Birdy's body.
(from AniDB) |
Related AnimeAdaptation: Tetsuwan Birdy II, Tetsuwan Birdy Alternative version: Tetsuwan Birdy Sequel: Tetsuwan Birdy Decode:02, Tetsuwan Birdy Decode - The Cipher
Characters & Voice Actors
Staff
Reviews
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Archaeon
42 of 66 people found this review helpful
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13 of 13 episodes seen
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| Overall |
7 |
| Story |
7 |
| Animation |
9 |
| Sound |
8 |
| Character |
7 |
| Enjoyment |
7 |
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 manga being 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.
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sanimej2
14 of 36 people found this review helpful
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13 of 13 episodes seen
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| Overall |
9 |
| Story |
8 |
| Animation |
9 |
| Sound |
8 |
| Character |
8 |
| Enjoyment |
9 |
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 different from 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. read more
Recommendations
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Both have the similar plot of a male to female sharing of bodies/souls. If you like either one, then you should give the other a go!
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The entire Birdy franchise and the Nanoha franchise are very similar. Comparison can be made between the Time-Space Bureau and the Federation Police. One deals with interdimentional crime related to magic and lost technology. The other deals with galactic crimes with aliens and lost technology. Both involves these dangerous technology being implemented on the characters.
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Opening Theme"Sora" by Hearts Grow
Ending Theme"Let's go together" by Afromania
Fansubbing Groups
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Aya [Aya] (Brazilian Portuguese)
Related ClubsWe're Not the Real Birds of MAL, Fans of Gender Bending/Gender Swapping, Purple Eyes Fanclub, Nice Shades ~ The Sunglasses Fanclub, Miyu Irino Fans!!, Tetsuwan Birdy DECODE, !~~tsubasalover's Friendships~~!, ~Slit Cat-like Eyes Club~, Bath Scene Club, Scary Girls Club, Maaya Sakamoto fanclub, ~ Colorful Hair Club ~, The Favorite OST Petition Club, No More School Days References!, Moetaku, Aniplex Studios Fan club
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