Tetsuwan Birdy Decode:02

The original is always better than the sequel. Or is it.........?

Being a long time fan of the original Birdy the Mighty OVA from 1997, it goes without saying that I was definitely looking forward to the new series of Tetsuwan Birdy Decode. Unfortunately the first season of Decode, whilst being good and great in some areas, was lacklustre in others - especially where the pacing of the story was concerned.

Thankfully, A-1 Pictures have changed the whole ball game with the release of Tetsuwan Birdy Decode: 02.

The second season picks up directly after the end of the first. Tsutomu and Birdy are still sharing a body ... for the time being whilst the world tries to make sense of the Ryunka incident. Meanwhile, a prison transport belonging the the Intergalactic Police is attacked by an unknown assailant. The escaped convicts take shelter on earth, and Birdy is ordered to find and capture them. During the course of her investigation though, Birdy runs into an old friend...

The story seems pretty straightforward on the whole, and there are some predictable events that occur, however don't be fooled by the failings of the first season as Decode: 02 is a completely different beast. The story is much tighter this time around, and is very much focused on Birdy rather than Tsutomu. One irony is that, whilst the first season looked at Tsutomu's love life, the second season is very clearly about Birdy's relationships, and I found that this aspect was far more engaging than the sci-fi school romance that was season one.

One of the main problems I had with the first season was the inconsistent, and often slow, pacing of the series. I just wanted the show to get on with the story rather than beat around the bush. As with any story, no matter how good, unless the pacing is correct the audience will lose interest, and season two is no slouch is this department. The tighter storyline, combined with some excellent pacing and some great (even with the predictable bits), plot development, allows the audience to become far more engaged in the story. The added bonus of this season being mainly about Birdy makes her character far more accessible,and endearing, as well.

Oh, and we also get to find out why she's called "Berserker Killer Birdy".

The animation for Decode: 02 is easily on par with that of the first season. The incorporation of CG is almost seamless, and the character movements, especially during the action sequences, are exceptional. One thing that may have detractors though, is that some sequences have a decidedly "rough and ready" look to them. This isn't due to a lack of time or skill on the part of the animators though, as it is very much intentional. The aim of these sequences is to direct the viewers attention to the characters and their struggles, allows the animators greater freedom and flexibility when it comes to character movements, and promotes a greater degree of emotion than a clean, clinical finish could everallow. The reason they chose to do this is purely because Birdy is an Ixion Altairan, a genetically engineered "super-soldier", and when you watch those scens, you'll begin to understand why they work on several levels. Fans of the awesome Casshern: Sins will recognise this technique as it is used heavily in that show as well.

Sound has been improved in the second series, with the characters themselves expressing a greater degree of emotion through their respective seiyuu (more on this in a bit). One of the high points of the voice acting occurs when Chiba Saeko (Birdy), and Irino Miyu (Tsutomu), speak exactly the same lines at exactly the same time. I won't say why this happens, however the degree of emotion expressed by both is extremely well synchronised.

Music is also a step up from season one. The OP and ED are just as good as the first series, however I did find myself preferring the OP to Decode: 02. The thematic music used throughout the series follows the same trend as season one, however it seems to work better here. This may be due to the tighter storyline, however it may also be due to the fact that there have been some changes to the tracklist, so some thought looks to have gone into what works where.

One of the driving forces of the Tetsuwan Birdy Decode series has been it's characters. In season one both Tsutomu and Birdy were engaging, yet both lacked a certain polish. In Decode: 02 however, Tsutomu is far more composed and mature (the Ryunka event and it's aftermath having been a rite of passage of sorts). Birdy has also undergone some improvement, and is far more endearing than she was in the first season. The fact that this season delves more into Birdy's past also helps to round out her character a lot, as the audience can begin to understand her motivations and goals.

I absolutely adored this season, and it is easily one of the best follow-ups I have seen in anime - period. This show has something for everyone, from human interest and romance, to mystery and major ass-kicking (super-soldier style).

Decode: 02 proves once again what we all know already. With a little care and thought, the sequel can easily surpass the original.

Tetsuwan Birdy Decode:02


As time goes by, you notice more and more which anime "Darling in the Franxx" was inspired by. And this is another one of them, as far as the second season is concerned.

This season hangs right on the heels of the last episode, including the Ova and follows the new events from season 1 with a pretty fast pace, especially at the beginning.

Honestly, I had high hopes for this season as it got off to a pretty solid start and possessed a pretty interesting implementation and portrayal of the vigilante theme.
Together with the new third protagonist of this season around ... which the story revolved, this was on the whole an interesting plot. Unfortunately, until about episode 8, everything after that was boring, stretched out, and covered with an absurdly stupid finale. Seriously? Of all the things you could have done, you chose this paradoxical decision? And then with such a bad implementation and explanation? That was even more of a failure at the end than "Mirai Nikki".
Of course, this spoiled the whole positive build-up of the season, although I would have liked to say that this season was better than the first. It was superior in terms of faster pacing, better writing, and characters.

Story [5]

And here's where another problem has been. The entire story arc was only connected to revenge, on the masterminds of the first season. Otherwise, it dealt with nothing more than the various ambitions of the characters. But thanks to the much better execution than in season 1, this had been presented very creatively.

Unfortunately, the finale to which everything boiled down was quite a disappointment. "Time" is a dangerous topic, especially if you can't properly implement it in the plot. Because of this poor approach, everything that was built up for this finale was naturally ruined.

Characters [6]

Honestly, this surprises me, but I couldn't give this season fewer points. Not only did we see a very understandable presentation of revenge and vigilante justice. But also many character conflicts and developments, especially between the finale of the first season and the transition to this one.

The protagonist learned and developed through his mistakes so he could help Birdy with the same problems. Kind of ironic, isn't it? First, he was the problem child who couldn't accept the truth and wasn't aware of his feelings and now the roles have reversed.

The antagonists this season have unfortunately been very empty and had almost no screentime nor real ambition. The only thing they had was a hateful personality so that you would feel a "good feeling" as soon as their karma reached them.

My favorite this season, however, was a new character that everything revolved around. His calm yet impulsive personality and a strong quest for justice made him completely understandable and relatable.



Animation [6]

Predominantly subtle in the day-to-day and increasing in the action. This dynamic style of animation is atrocious in terms of detail, all you see are stone blocks flying around and characters playing Twister. However, they have been very suitable for larger stage changes in the battle scenario, as well as the choreography of the fights.


Music [6]

The intro...I kept having Darling in the Franxx flashbacks, help?
It was musically satisfying, as well as visually. On the whole, neither an earworm nor a major recognition value is present, just as with the outro.

Only a few osts have been stimulating and interesting.



Conclusion

I don't know the manga, but after a quick check, I noticed that there are significant differences between the manga and the anime already at the beginning. Therefore, it could be that the flaws in the work are "Anime Only". Unfortunately, I won't know and since this season has an open and unfinished ending, it will probably be the same for many.

It was a decent anime for in between, which had good approach but failed in a meaningful implementation.


Enjoyment - 5]

This is my first review, so I'll keep it short for two reasons. Firstly, I don't really know what I'm doing, secondly I watched this series ages ago.
That being said, it pissed me off enough to remember to review it here.

I watched the first series mostly because I saw it had Micah Solusod voicing the lead role. Hey, Soul (Soul Eater) was cool, so surely some of the coolness would rub off?

Which brings me to the sound of the series. I watched the english dub, and the cast was stellar. Big industry names were everywhere and it was a pleasure to play "guess-the-actor". However, ... this is just about where the good news ends.

The first series could be considered mediocre. Birdy was fairly cool, the shared-body spiel was mildly entertaining and the aliens were ugly. Fine. No problem. The second season was nothing like it.

I'm not sure exactly where the producers wanted to take this show. Where ever it was, it is a dark, dark place. Most of the ridiculous gore and hammy dialogue could have been endured, if they didn't bring kids into it.

Yeah, they were aliens in kid's bodies. Yeah, the person killing them had some sort of revenge backstory. I don't actually care. Watching this made me feel ashamed, unclean and morally bankrupt. They didn't die painlessly; they were mutilated and while they screamed and begged for mercy, the guy told them they deserved it. There should be lines, and for me, this didn't merely cross a line, it bulldozed it with a frikken tank. Where do people take a step back and go "no, this is wrong, we should not encourage the production of this sort of media"?

And the worst part was, this killer was actually supposed to be some sort of sympathetic character. Hell, he was the love interest!

Additionally, Tsutomu barely features after being built up as a protangonist in the first season. You are instead deluged with flashbacks and backstories, which, while explaining some of Birdy's history, had moments that were largely irrelavent.

The story ended up being quite predictable. Not to throw up too many spoilers here, but the aliens are going to get picked off one by one. Then there won't be any aliens left, which pretty much concludes the season.

The art was fine, till the last few episodes, where funding ran out and the art team made some creative decisions in the fight scenes that pretty much remove background, gravity and proportions from the show. For me, the show also lacked any sense of catharsis: it's clear that they way is being left wide open for another series. Which I won't be watching.

There was a lot of blood, a lot of screaming, a lot of Birdy being pathetic. I really wouldn't bother with this season if I were you.