Birdy the Mighty DECODE (Tetsuwan Birdy DECODE) is a remake of an OVA from the nineties, which itself was a remake of a quickly-canned manga. Its newest incarnation is more than worth watching, and something I wholeheartedly recommend if it can keep the pace and mood the first two episodes have.

Story

We’re introduced to our heroes: Birdy, a Federation Space Officer notorious for her mercilessness against fugitives, her robot sidekick Tute, and Tsutomu Senkawa, a sort-of average teenage boy. Birdy and Tute are on Earth looking for a criminal named Geega, who has chosen to hide out as a TV network bigwig. To break into the entertainment industry, Birdy disguises herself as smokin’ hot Japanese Idol Shion Arita while Tute uses a robot suit and latex mask to become Shion’s manager. She secures an interview with Geega in her cover identity at an abandoned building and prepares for a bust. Meanwhile, Senkawa decides to indulge in his one hobby: Exploring abandoned buildings. The same one Birdy’s sting will be at. He gets used as a human shield, and is promptly skewered by a misfired energy ray.

Whoops.

The Federation Space Police, thankfully, have a better solution to accidental murder than Earth’s police. Senkawa’s consciousness is transferred into Birdy’s body while his is put back together at a Federation hospital. She transforms into a duplicate of him during the day and gives him control of her body, allowing him to continue his life. At night, Birdy resumes control to find Geega and his thugs and bring them to justice.

And if you call it Ranma in Space I’ll send bad men to your house.

Story: 8/10 – Very Good

Animation

Pretty much standard for an anime. I didn’t notice any problems, a lot of the effects were well-done, with the notable exception of the lack of detail in Birdy’s transformations, but bonus points for how they did the above face-melting sequence in episode two. The fight scenes are awesome, as are Birdy’s "Freerunning" segments.

Animation: 8/10 – Very Good

Sound

The sound effects are average. Guns sound like guns, cars sound like cars, nothing really special. The incidental music serves its purpose, but isn’t very memorable. The acting is quite good, though and carries the characters’ personalities well.

Sound: 7/10 – Good

Design and Art

I’m really fond of the designs in Birdy DECODE. Besides Birdy’s uniform being more than a little revealing (which is not a complaint), nothing really looks weird or out of place, and the characters all look vibrant and interesting. The scenery needs work, though. A lot of the finer details seem shoddily done, and most special effects are just some CGI neon lines, nothing very impressive. The aliens and spaceship interiors are all very creative though, so bonus point for that.

Design and Art: 8/10 – Very Good

Final Thoughts

Birdy the Mighty: DECODE is a very well-done action/comedy anime with an interesting twist, and I’m likely going to keep watching it. I encourage you to do the same.

Final Score – 8/10: Very Good