First, the gangsters fell, then the State Alchemists. Now, the reclaimers have set their sights on Birdy Cephon Altera.
Earlier today, Funimation announced that their license for Birdy the Mighty: Decode will expire on October 14. The company will remove the show from its FunimationNow service, and Funimation will cease production of DVDs after this date.
Birdy the Mighty: Decode is the fourth title in Funimation’s stable that’s reverted to Aniplex in 2016. In February, Funimation’s Baccano! license expired. In March, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood and its associated OVAs and films returned to Aniplex’s control. In July, the original Fullmetal Alchemist rejoined Aniplex’s stable.
Birdy the Mighty: Decode is based on Masami Yuki’s (Patlabor, Assemble Insert) Birdy the Mighty manga from 2003. The series received two seasons (Birdy the Mighty: Decode and Birdy the Mighty: Decode 02), both of which were helmed by Kazuki Akane (The Vision of Escaflowne, Code Geass: Akito the Exiled) at A-1 Pictures. Hiroshi Ohnogi(Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, Arjuna) was in charge of series composition on the first season, with Seishi Minakami (A Certain Scientific Railgun, Heaven’s Memo Pad) sharing the role in the second. Ryo-timo provided character designs for the project.
Funimation describes the show as:
Birdy is a jaw-dropping, pin-up sensation with a secret. Under cover of darkness, this dream girl becomes a bad guy’s worst nightmare. Birdy dons her crime-fighting costume and hits the street as a lethal, interstellar federation agent charged with nailing the most dangerous criminals in the galaxy. Her latest case involves a gang of extraterrestrial terrorists and a stolen space weapon that could nuke every living thing on Earth. Birdy’s got the moves to stop them dead in their tracks, but there’s one big problem: she’s got a nasty habit of going berserk, and somebody always gets hurt. Yeah, Birdy may be dreamy, but she’s also the only thing more dangerous than the bad guys.
Yuuki’s 2003 Birdy the Mighty manga was actually a reboot of a previous project he’d worked on in 1985. The one-volume project spawned a four-episode OVA series, which was directed by Yoshiaki Kawajiri (Ninja Scroll, Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust) at Madhouse. Central Park Media released the title on VHS and DVD under their “US Manga Corps” label.
Source: Funimation Blog
