5/16/2023 0 Comments Tetsuwan birdy decode![]() ![]() Really, I’m surprised to see animation of this quality in a series that doesn’t seem to have made much of an impact in Japan. Vivid colors and fluid animations permeate the series’ visual spectrum, and skillful blending of CGI with traditional animation make for scenes with far more movement and activity than is usually seen in an anime. To be fair, both of these issues are clearly side-effects of setting-up for a second season – which has already aired in Japan – and to be perfectly honest, at this point, I’m probably just nitpicking.Īs a showcase of animation, Decode is an absolute gem. On the other hand, the ending gave me the opposite feeling – for all of the complexity the plot builds before the climax, in the end, everything is wrapped up a little too tidily for my tastes, with things returning to the status quo more easily than they probably should. ![]() ![]() I could have done with a few fewer villains – there seem to be at least three distinct groups of antagonists milling about at any given time, each with their own shadowy agendas, and it was difficult to get a feel on which was supposed to be the primary one until the last few episodes. Still, there are some elements of the story that could have benefited from being a little simpler. And like a good mystery novel, Decode continually foreshadows bits and pieces of the overall plot without ever giving too much away, leaving the viewer with no shortage of questions to chew on: What exactly is the Ryunka? Why was it taken to Earth? What does the Federation really want with it? In fact, I can scarcely recall a time in the series’ thirteen episodes where I could say that absolutely nothing was being developed in regards to the plot, and yet this story density almost never seems to hamper the show because of how well these developments are woven into everything that happens. Instead, they went the extra mile, taking the simple bases of the characters and setting and continually fleshing them out, adding layer after layer of complexity to the plot as it ramps up. The premise I mentioned above is fairly simple, and the writers could have left it as is and probably still manage to pull off something that was decent. Perhaps the most surprising thing I discovered in Decode was just how complex a plot it has. Much to my surprise (and subsequent delight), however, Birdy the Mighty: Decode turned out to be almost the exact opposite: an action-drama with surprising depth and a strong story. Now, just knowing this basic premise from my research before watching the series, I immediately assumed that Decode was going to be one of those weird action-slapstick-comedies that I’ve never really been able to follow (but Japan seems to be so fond of making) with the body-sharing element as the central gimmick. In the meantime, Birdy must continue her investigation and track down the Ryunka, with Tsutomu – quite literally – in tow. Without a body to host it, Birdy’s only recourse is to transfer Tsutomu’s consciousness into her own body while the student’s body is repaired back on her homeworld. ![]() Seeing an opening, one of the criminals tosses Tsutomu into the path of Birdy’s attack, escaping and killing Tsutomu in the process. Birdy is an investigator for an interstellar government called the Federation, and she is charged with tracking down two criminals in particular, whom stole a mysterious super-weapon known only as the “Ryunka.” Unfortunately, the criminals escape from Birdy and make their way to a backwater planet on which they hope to hide – Earth.īirdy catches up with them in an abandoned building that our second protagonist, a student named Tsutomu, just so happens to be exploring. We first meet Birdy as she chases down a transport ship suspected of harboring intergalactic criminals. And really, how can you go wrong with a name like “Birdy the Mighty?” Said character is the protagonist of the 2008 anime Tetsuwan Birdy: Decode, or, in English, Birdy the Mighty: Decode. I’m not exactly sure what it is about my native language that our friends over the Pacific pond seem to like so much, but if they keep giving me characters with names like “Birdy,” then I don’t really care. There’s something about English that Japan just seems to love. ![]()
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