The Birdy is Mighty
Click to viewI love the internet. It brings me copious amounts of treasure from my home away from home in the heathen-filled Far East. Birdy: Decode is something I literally had to slap myself in the face over because I doted over the “Birdy the Mighty” OAV mini-series put out over ten years ago and since my rapid departure of Otakuhood into work, school, writing, etc. It makes me teary with nostalgia for the days when anime was always a sumptuous feast of entertainment and my omnivorous appetite never left me wanting. As Pokemon heralded a new frontier for Japanese corporate plunder; quality waned and my searches from anime tended to be more about collecting old favorites rather than seeking out new treasures in a sea of brightly colored turds.
Anyway, yes, that is a girl turning randomly into a guy and visa versa, it’s kind of complicated to explain but they are a male high school student and a female galactic police officer respectively and they are currently time-sharing the same body. It’s a little strange and extremely violent in spite of its initial warm and fuzzy appearance as it brings family favorites like death, dismemberment and a healthy amount of painful body snatching. What sets it apart from most shows is they extent of realistic motion they animate and the melancholy tone of the story as they build up to moments of wanton destruction and violence.
This is a joy to finally see in action. It was an acquired taste at first because I was so married to the look and feel of the original OAV, but this series is a beautiful spin-off that adds much needed depth and character development without hurting the original story and deepens the strength of the wholly platonic relationship between the two leads.
If you genuinely wish to see more; fansubs of the first season and some of the second are available for view on youtube and at www.onlygoodanimes.com, the latter of which holds a collection of joyous delights.