![]() In Decode, we actually see Tsutomu naked more than we do Birdy. Things are made worse by the implication that on Birdy’s planet, the higher ranked you are the less clothes you have. (The show even misses the chance to make Birdy getting attacked by a goo monster “sexy”.) The fan service boils down to just Birdy being on screen in this outfit and for me the actual simplified image of Birdy’s butt and boobs outlined is less offensive than the marketing intent behind it. Under cover of darkness, this dream girl becomes a bad guy’s worst nightmare.”īut despite this, the show doesn’t have that much fan service in the sense of the camera caressing Birdy’s body or her boobs going out of their way to defy gravity. Instead it says things like: “Birdy is a jaw-dropping, pin-up sensation with a secret. After all that seems to be the selling point of the show if you check Funimation’s description for it, which doesn’t mention Tsutomu or the sharing a body thing. So Birdy’s outfit and footwear, that are often the focal point of action scenes (seriously, there’s a lot of close ups of her shoes), are purely the result of the show’s creators deciding to make Birdy’s design into a typical feminine sex object. It more resembles body paint with matching heels.Įssentially no time is spent explaining alien technology besides that it’s really, really advanced and so things like the sparks flying off of Birdy’s heels as she leapfrogs across skyscrapers, are obvious short hand for “these are special space heels” but the show’s shitty world building actually contradicts this lame excuse where other characters in the same outfits with the same powers as Birdy are wearing flats. It gets referred to as “armor”, but that doesn’t actually mean anything. The second reason it’s impossible to take this show as serious as it wants you to is Birdy’s outfit. ![]() Maybe the sequel Birdy the Mighty Decode 02 has some answers but the fact that I have no idea how the organization employing Birdy actually functions or why they care at all about humans or earth after 13 episodes is just ridiculous. The first is that the series tries to build a world that includes intergalactic war, genocide, and terrorism without giving proper explanation as to why these things are occurring or why we should care about them beyond the oversimplification of bad people doing bad things is bad. In Decode, however, the comic relief is literally killed off a few episodes in and the show tries to sell us its premise with a completely serious tone. The wackiness interspersed between action sequences made it feel like a fun buddy cop flick where the ridiculous premise was much easier to swallow because it was apparent that the show didn’t take itself too seriously. The other thing I appreciated from the original was the comedy. When Birdy and Tsutomu swap places some flashing lights are used to get it over with quick rather than do anything visually interesting. It keeps the concepts of creepy alien monsters but its no longer a focus or strength of the series. Decode’s TV budget animation and visual direction fails to create the same intriguing supernatural body horror. One of the most memorable parts of the OVA was it’s transforming monsters along with how Birdy would morph into Tsutomu and back again, all animated with old fashion hand-colored cels. In one of her pursuits, Birdy accidentally kills a human boy, Tsutomu, and takes responsibility by sharing a body with him until his decimated corpse can be fixed with alien technology. ![]() The series is about Birdy, an agent of The Space Federation investigating alien criminals hiding on earth. Birdy the Mighty Decode Review and ComparisonĪfter watching the original Birdy the Mighty OVA, my curiosity was piqued so I decided to check out the TV reboot, Birdy the Mighty Decode since its license is about to expire.ĭecode keeps the original premise and cast while adding new characters to the mix which actually take up most of the show’s focus.
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