The content of this piece was written during a viewing of the first episode of Birdy the Mighty: Decode on November 18, 2010. Edits have been made for spelling and grammar, but the rest is completely untouched, and un-edited from its original format.
8:35 PM:Good evening everyone, and welcome to another Showblog.
8:36 PM:Tonight’s feature is .@funimation’s release of Birdy the Mighty: Decode.
8:36 PM:This looks to be a revamp of the original Birdy the Mighty OVA from 1996 (’98 in the US).
8:36 PM:Frankly, that seems like a good thing. :D I just hope it ends better than the original.
8:36 PM:I mean, really – I’m one of those geeks that was waiting to see more for 12 years. :
8:36 PM:Anyway, before I go on, I’ll get the basic info out of the way:
8:36 PM:Directed by Kazuki Akane (Heat Guy J, Geneshaft, Ronin Warriors, Escaflowne)
8:37 PM:Created by Masami Yuuki (Assemble: Insert, Patlabor)
8:37 PM:Music by Yuugo Kanno (D.C. ~Da Capo~)
8:37 PM:Character Designs by Ryousuke Sawa
8:37 PM:Animated by A-1 Pictures (Big Windup!, Black Butler, Perona: Trinity Soul)
8:37 PM:Anyway, I’ve wasted enough time, so away we go. :)
8:38 PM:Opens to space… the final frontier :o
8:38 PM:Where all ships look like purple monsters
8:38 PM:Looks like Birdy’s in pursuit of, uh, someone
8:39 PM:Holy crap Admiral Ackbar XD
8:39 PM:“Shake ’em off T_T ” that’ll work
8:39 PM:…Geega? :o He’s early
8:39 PM:Bacillus, too. Hah :D “Can I eat this guy?”
8:39 PM:Space fights are already pretty impressive.
8:40 PM:And Birdy’s ship’s name is Tuto. Cute. :D
8:40 PM:What the crap… she punched through the fucking WALL of the ship O_o
8:40 PM:“You caused me trouble T_T” Ass kicking is go.
8:41 PM:…And wow – that’s a dorky space suit
8:41 PM:Ohh… it’s an octopus… avatar for her ship I guess >_>
8:41 PM:wtf.
8:41 PM:Anyway, looks like Geega and Bacilus are off to earth, and so is Birdy.
8:42 PM:Opening credit song isn’t bad – bouncy pop rock song.
8:43 PM:…So ah… when do we see Kristella Revi or Gome- GOMEZ :D Thank you opening credits for giving me hope of seeing Mr. Porno ‘stache!
8:44 PM:Back to the show
8:44 PM:Where we see… is that… a brunette Birdy? O_o wat
8:44 PM:“Shion Arita” – gotcha
8:44 PM:And wow… okama manager ftw
8:45 PM:“De arimasuuu~ :D” So she’s ah… got an Osakan drawl for sure
8:45 PM:“The airheaded alien character :D” hah
8:45 PM:Looks like this girl’s huge
8:46 PM:And two guys are fawning over her magazine while Tsutomu isn’t interested. >->
8:46 PM:“Shiorin! :D”
8:46 PM:“She’s older than my sister T_T” Makes sense.
8:47 PM:Enter: Natsumi. :D
8:47 PM:XD “This is Shion, who plays that stupid alien T_T” Cue freakout while Shion walks behind and buys armloads of food
8:47 PM:And she’s hungry D:
8:48 PM:Looks like my instinct was right – Shion = Birdy and okama must be Tuto?
8:48 PM:…Tuto is creepy XD
8:48 PM:And Birdy seems frustrated by it all… who wouldn’t be? >_>
8:49 PM:Apparently, Geega’s in the entertainment industry now?
8:49 PM:And Earth is a “hick planet in the boonies” – how nice, Birdy.
8:49 PM:HOLY SHIT ZOMBIE! O_O
8:50 PM:Oh wait… that’s an old lady named Irma >_> Still… damn
8:50 PM:“If you don’t earn good money as Shion Arita, you might be here forever :D” hah – that got a fire up Birdy’s butt XD
8:51 PM:And she conveniently has a lead. >__>
8:51 PM:Geega looks like a frog man still. :D
8:51 PM:And… those are a lot of dolls :-| creepy
8:52 PM:Looks like Birdy’s on the prowl. Fun. :3
8:53 PM:I have to admit – the action sequences are fun to watch – very flashy and well-animated
8:53 PM:Hah! She missed the building :D “Let’s pretend I didn’t do that D:” cue crushed car
8:53 PM:Looks like Tsutomu is a haikyo freak now. >_>
8:54 PM:And he got stood up by his buddies again… only to get caught by Natsumi
8:54 PM:“You’re such a kid :D” “LEAVE T_T” uh… cute girl wants to spend time with you >_>
8:54 PM:“My ass is stuck T_T” how elegant, Natsumi.
8:55 PM:“It’s filthy and smells like mold D:” yep… that’s an abandoned hotel for ya
8:55 PM:Heh… Tsutomi romanticizing the decrepit hotel before Geega butts in #cockblock
8:56 PM:“If you don’t scream now, I’m gonna call the cops T_T” nice man you are… creepy frogman bastard
8:56 PM:Hah… Natsumi’s offended even though she’s trespassing
8:56 PM:Tuto-Okama is go :D
8:57 PM:“I’d love you you to use my girl on Empire TV! :3”
8:57 PM:Looks like Birdy’s screwing with his head. Fun.
8:58 PM:And the real fight begins.
8:58 PM:Birdy the Berserker Killer – that’s a charming name >_>
8:58 PM:Bionic man – more advanced, just as fragile
8:59 PM:“Gross D:” …I agree :-|
8:59 PM:“He’s undergone biological alterations >_>” YA THINK?! o_o
8:59 PM:More epic battles are go… and Geega has a monoboob
9:00 PM:Tsutomu and Natsumi are trying to get out – I know where this is going >_>
9:00 PM:D: Geega almost killed the okama! Bastard
9:01 PM:Random stalker guy – dropped his camera off a 12-story building while trying to videotape the fight. XD oops
9:01 PM:And we have contact. Or a semblance of it as Geega finds our intrepid bystanders again.
9:02 PM:>_> Yep – Geega still needs a meat shield: Read – Tsutomu
9:02 PM:And holy shit O_o that’s… brutal – she blew him to tiny bits
9:03 PM:“I feel kind of cold…” Yeah, dying people do that.
9:03 PM:And the next morning – all is well again. Dream? Well… nah :3
9:04 PM:Hmm… THIS sequence wasn’t borrowed from Spider-man! Nosiree!
9:04 PM:Heh – his parents are still awesome, and his sister doesn’t seem like a giant bitch anymore. Go fig
9:04 PM:“I had a weird dream :o” “me too :D” hint: It wasn’t a dream :D
9:05 PM:New character: Nakasugi, who is apparently sickly. And rich.
9:05 PM:And Tsutomu’s friends.
9:05 PM:Hah :D They cut to Geega in a Hawaiian shirt nursing his wounds and… is that Gomez?
9:06 PM:It’s Gomez :3 He’s just awesome ’cause of the porno ‘stache
9:07 PM:Home alone – “I’ll be alone from now on -_-” “not exactly :D” Schizophrenia is a bad thing, Tsutomu
9:07 PM:“You’re not alone :3” She’s gonna tell him to burn things soon, isn’t she? >_> Though that WOULD be funny for a while…
9:07 PM:Heh. :D realization kicks in
9:08 PM:“I’m… a pretty girl? :o” …could be worse fates – like that death thing you were experiencing :D
9:08 PM:And end of episode
9:08 PM:Verdict: I am absolutely enjoying this.
9:09 PM:Some of the writing is a bit cheesy, but it’s solid – and there are enough nods to the original OVA to keep old farts like me pleased.
9:10 PM:The animation is great, and the new characters are tons of fun. And then, there’s Gomez who is still 100% epic in a green suit & porn stache
9:11 PM:The only real complaint I have is a minor quibble with the translation – “de arimasu” does not equal “yessiree”
9:11 PM:But that’s very minor in the scheme of things. I’ll definitely be looking forward to watching the rest of this!
