Review for Birdy The Mighty: Decode Part 2 (Review)
Tuesday, 30th August 2011, 16:54

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Introduction
It's been something of a summer of disappointments this year when it comes to serial anime, and we're not just talking about Blu-ray cancellations. Time and again, shows have demonstrated imagination and promise in the first half, only to fall flat in the second. So far I've been disappointed by Casshern Sins, Xam'd Lost Memories, Nabari no Ou, and Shikabane Hime. Against this background of deflation, Birdy The Mighty: Decode has come as an unexpected, and very pleasant surprise. After all, I wasn't expecting much from such a ridiculous title and its rather daft gender-bending sci-fi premise. But the first half of the series turned out to be one of my summer highlights, the sort of fun, action packed, and entertaining anime that so strongly reminded me of why I fell in love with the medium in the first place. Also, Birdy The Mighty: Decode 01 told its story in entirety, a very nice beginning, middle and end. Birdy The Mighty: Decode 02, which I now review is a brand new story, following on from the previous one, and unlike the four titles I mentioned previously, if this should disappoint, it won't in any way reflect on Part 1. That's a pessimistic outlook, and given how Part 1 delivered, I am far more optimistic about the second half of the series.

Birdy Cephon Altera is a cop. She is a space cop for the Federation though, hunting down the nefarious scum of the galaxy. She's also enthusiastic about her job, to the point where among the criminal fraternity, she's known as Birdy the Berserk Killer. Tsutomu Senkawa is your everyday high school student. He does have an odd hobby though, he likes exploring abandoned buildings, which is why he happened to be in an abandoned hotel with his friend Natsumi Hayamiya, at the same time that Birdy showed up trying to capture an arch criminal named Geega. Geega had stolen the ultimate weapon; a devastating device called the Ryunka, and was hiding on Earth. One thing led to another, and Birdy killed Tsutomu. So while his body regenerated, Birdy let his consciousness take lodgings in her body. By day, Tsutomu went to school, living his everyday life, but by night, Birdy was in command, hunting down the criminals and trying to find the Ryunka, as well maintaining her undercover identity as idol Shion Arita. But trouble ensued when Tsutomu's world and Birdy's collided, and some of Tsutomu's friends got involved in the hunt for the Ryunka in the worst possible way. Poor Tsutomu had only just got his newly repaired body back, when the Ryunka was activated, threatening the world itself. The only way he could save the world was to sacrifice his body once more…

Which is why at the start of Birdy The Mighty: Decode 02, Tsutomu is once more timesharing in Birdy's body. The aftermath of the Ryunka affair continues to play out, when the six criminals responsible for the theft and the attempt to test the weapon on Earth, escape from custody. Ironically, they flee to Earth, the very planet they attempted to destroy, to hide out among the locals. Birdy's superiors order her to find and recapture the felons. At the same time, Birdy runs into a face from her past. An Altan refugee named Nataru that she grew up with is now living on Earth, working as a nurse in a nearby hospital. Happy reunions are all well and good, but Birdy has bigger problems when the first of the fugitives is found dead. There's someone else on Earth hunting the fugitives, and he's not too bothered with arresting them.

In Japan, Birdy the Mighty Decode was released as two separate series, 01, and 02. The Western release that Manga Entertainment is following gathers it all as one series, Birdy the Mighty Decode, but releasing it in two halves keeps the series separate anyway. This second instalment gathers all thirteen episodes of Birdy the Mighty: Decode 02, and presents them across two discs.

Disc 1

14. After All
15. Simple Twist of Fate
16. Somewhere In Time
17. Tears Are Not Enough
18. Before It's Too Late
19. A Prisoner of the Past
20. We Will Meet Again

Disc 2

21. Falling In Love With Love
22. Space, Time, and You
23. It Never Entered My Mind
24. Both Sides Now
25. Before Long
26. Between You and Me

Picture
Birdy the Mighty: Decode gets a 1.78:1 anamorphic transfer, which courtesy of Madman in Australia is a very appreciable native PAL conversion, with the 4% speedup that implies. The image is clear and colourful throughout, there's no ghosting, and compression artefacts are hardly noticeable. The only issue really is the ever so slight aliasing around fine detail and sharp lines, but that's par for the course for anime. The animation itself is bright and lively, with likeable character designs, and a colourful and detailed world design. You can see some of the continuity in art style if you have seen Heat Guy J and Noein, but there is a lot to Birdy that is unique as well, the various aliens, the cetacean-like spacecraft and of course the action sequences which are top notch and energetic. At the same time the animation of the more sedate scenes is also imaginative and vivid. This isn't one of those shows where exposition means the image remains static except for mouth flaps. Instead there is vitality to the animation that marks it as a recipient of a nice, generous budget.

The weird strobe effect I noticed in the first half wasn't evident this time around.

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