Ranked #1914

Tetsuwan Birdy

This little OVA series packs everything you really need in an anime into two hours: violence, romance, and a pathetic male lead scrambling around with a girl trapped in his body. Particularly the latter. Sometimes there's nothing wrong with a traditional "save-the-world" plot, if it's this entertaining. After more than a decade, Tetsuwan Birdy still holds value.

The character designs are what may initially turn off the viewer. All the characters, especially the three leads, suffer from lackluster nineties fashion and puffy hair. Birdy's half jumpsuit and hair design feel distinctively dated. However, Madhouse produced excellent work for this OVA, so the animation is surprisingly smooth and consistent throughout. The fight scenes are well done and reminiscent of the much more recent "DECODE" remake.

What makes Tetsuwan Birdy as worthy as its remake is its humor. Tsutomu doesn't have the easiest time with having someone else in his body, particularly when Birdy switches forms on him. The fight against evil (the plot's a bit weak in that respect) usually forces Tsutomu to run out of his house in the middle of night, leaving his quirky family to conclude that he's lost his mind. Birdy herself is potent, but impulsive and hot-tempered, which is what forces her to share a body with Tsutomu in the first place. She does little to fix the awkward situations Tsutomu stumbles into, including being spotted mid-transformation.

The plot does suffer from the "massive evil plot" syndrome of action series: Birdy has had past conflicts with the main baddie, there are plenty of disposable henchmen to work with, and of course, a simple answer to something that supposedly could end the Earth. This flaw is concealed by Birdy and Tsutomu's combination of humor and hard-hitting teamwork, which drives the series through its weak-points.

"Intellectual" anime aren't the necessarily the only good or enjoyable one's out there. Looking beyond the dated elements reveal a spirit and quality here that make Tetsuwan Birdy as worthwhile as anything being produced today. If you consider yourself an action fan, or even just need a good pick-me-up, try this one.

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The original Tetsuwan Birdy manga was written by Yuki Masami back in 1985. The manga ran for three years before it was abandoned by Masami. In 1996, the single manga volume of Birdy was adapted into a four episode OVA series by Madhouse. The OVA covered what little material there was from the original source before seeing it's end in 1997.

The original Tetsuwan Birdy OVA follows the story of two completely different main characters. On one hand, you have Birdy Cephon Altera, an intergalactic police officer on the case of many of the universe's most wanted criminals. On the other, there's Tsutomu Senkawa, an average high-school student that worries about passing his exams and getting the girl he likes. By some twist of fate, the two end up becoming a part of each other's lives in a way you would never expect.

The story begins with Birdy in hot pursuit of a wanted space alien on the planet Earth. As she finally corners him, the alien throws and unsuspecting Tsutomu at Birdy to defend himself. Surprised by the attack, Birdy defends herself by electrocuting Tsutomu, thus killing him in the process.

The next day, Tsutomu wakes up in his room completely unharmed. He assumes that what happened last night was probably just a dream and rushes off to take an admission test for high-school. As with most hapless students, Tsutomu forgot to study and is fated to fail his test. However, his hand begins to move on it's own and effortlessly starts answering all the test questions for him. It is then when Tsutomu realizes that there is someone in his head, or rather his body! In order to save Tsutomu from dying, his and Birdy's conciousness were merged together to exist as one entity. So now Tsutomu resides in Birdy's body and Birdy resides in Tsutomu's. All of this comes with the great addition of both characters being able to communicate telepathically and switch bodies with one another at will.

And so begins a brand new life for average high-school student,Tsutomu, and intergalactic police officer, Birdy. Tsutomu now has to balance his school life with fighting aliens all the while keeping this secret safe from his family and friends.

While Birdy and Tsutomu sharing the same body is indeed a fairly shocking plot twist, the rest of the OVA's story is fairly straightforward and predictable. That's not to say it isn't done well. Aside from gender, Birdy and Tsutomu are two completely different individuals. Of the two, Birdy is definitely the more interesting as she is hot-headed, impulsive and possesses super-human strength. Tsutomu is more like your average-high school student that you've probably seen before in many different shows. And while he may seem average on the surface, Tsutomu is still a very rational person that is able to assess situations quickly and come up with a solution. The strengths and weaknesses of the pair complement each other very nicely. It is only through Birdy's super-human strength and Tsutomu's rational thought that they are able to defeat foe after foe. As the plot progresses, the bond between Birdy and Tsutomu increases where they start thinking and moving as one. The best part is that there is no forced romance between Birdy and Tsutomu. By then end of the OVA, the two feel more like a team than anything else.

The supporting cast isn't nearly as strong as the OVA's dynamic duo, but they still help move the plot along or provide instances of comic relief. Tsutomu's family members are pretty average as far as side-characters can get, but they add a sense of tension to Tsutomu's life now that he has to hide his dual persona from them. Then there's Natsumi, a girl whom Tsutomu has a crush on. While the fluffy romance between the two isn't really developed or focused on much, it adds to Tsutomu's character. On the opposite side, the numerous aliens and villains don't receive much character development either. I will say that the designs of the aliens are quite neat since they are often a blend between humanoid figures and mythological beings. The motives of the main antagonists aren't really revealed until the end, and while nothing out of the ordinary, they serve to strengthen Birdy's resolve to continue fighting.

The sound and animation also fit the mood and plot of the OVA very nicely. The animation is very reminiscent of anime from the 90's. Being filled with shadows, different lighting effects and colour pallets. It only helps to create a mysterious atmosphere which complements the character designs nicely. The music used in the OVA is generally pleasing and tends to fit into each scene nicely. Most of the soundtrack is fairly evocative of the time period, being filled with upbeat pop tracks. Voice actors for Birdy and Tsutomu both do an excellent job at portraying their respective characters. Kotono Mitsuishi (Birdy) conveys Birdy's upbeat and hot-headed personality effortlessly. Tetsuya Iwanga (Tsutomu) also does a great job of delivering the worries and thoughts that Tsutomu has.

Since the OVA is only four episodes long, the storytelling is very concise and to the point. Time is given when important details need to be explained, but there are few instances when unnecessary events of filler moments take place. While I wholeheartedly enjoyed the OVA and liked both of the main characters, I really would have liked to see more character development and the motives of some of the antagonists explained in greater detail. Although, this may have been because there was only a single volume of material to adapt into an anime.

Despite it's shortcomings, Tetsuwan Birdy is still an enjoyable experience and should be watched by any action or classic anime fans. While the story and characters are nothing ground breaking, the solid storytelling and well-animated fight scenes are enough to keep one's attention. Those that are interested in finding out more about Tsutomu and Birdy should check out the 2008 TV series, Tetsuwan Birdy: Decode to see the pair in action again. read more