Review of Birdy the Mighty: Decode 02
Tetsuwan Birdy Decode is one of the best popcorn/low-investment series out there. Both seasons of Birdy but the second in particular really have it all - the pacing and character arcs are so on point that it makes it very hard not to binge and the stylistic range on display from the art/animation sqaud is peak A1-Pictures and a rare treat. Honestly, this is one of the few Anime I would be shocked for nearly anyone to watch all the way through and tell me they didn't enjoy. The fanservice that comes through the gender-bender angle is so modest and sparsely/creatively applied that it hitsdifferent and feels very "normie". That atypical mark of quality - namely doing sophisticated sex appeal that isn't creepy, something they also manage with the romance angles they take - is a microcosm of the quality directing in Birdy Decode. All the beats feel just right and basically never make you think "man if only they had just ____, that would have been awesome..." Instead you're like "wow I can't believe they actually just ____, awesome!". You'll find yourself laughing, nodding, and emotionally golf clapping all the way through this one as you sit back, take your cynical weeb hat off and watch the pros show you why they are the pros. In contrast to the more typical smh lolololols that are so much easier to come by, Birdy is a solid, fun show with high entertainment value that doesn't dumb anything down, with a compelling narrative and the balls to manifest a tidy ending in both seasons.
Birdy's story rounds itself out extremely well, doing just about everything really well at the same time spread across multiple main and side characters - slice-of-life, action, coming of age, sci-fi, space, superpowers, comedy, romance, sakuga, school stuff, sympathetic villains, mystery - and generally a cut above the shows you might compare Birdy to in each of those categories. A1-Pictures really found that sweet spot and spread the art and animation budget out in such a way that they just win those categories. The character models are unique and organic, with something of a star wars/marvel universe "all aliens are some ungodly bipedal versions of an organism from earth or basically humans" thing. It's serious and fluffy and complex all at once, which comes as a side-effect of just letting the creatives on the project do their thing without giving a shit about some target audience or whatever. That's the feeling Birdy radiates, one of genuine expression and creativity coming from people who love to do what they do, like it has a soul. And who doesn't love it when a show has that going for it, or wonder why the hell it has to be so rare.
Another thing that really deserves praise here is the English dub. It's hilarious, heartfelt, and mature. The voice actors gave this one their all and not just the main characters but almost every side character absolutely comes alive. The excellent dub work finds fantastic synergy with the mix of statuesque, comic book style side characters like the giant cockroach guy or the Pontiff which exist right alongside the very expressive art style chosen for more central characters where there is an uncommon focus on facial expressions and dynamic close ups that let you really take those in. The villains in Decode:02 step it up a notch from Decode:01 as well, displaying more intelligent strategies and being much more relatable and sympathetic in addition to the personal stakes between them and the main characters being higher. And that's saying a lot because that angle was covered pretty damn well in Decode:01 already.
On that note, definitely recommend starting with Tetsuwan Birdy Decode season 1 if you can, since Birdy Decode:02 does a great job of focusing on exactly what you would want to see explored in a second season if you just got done enjoying the first.
It's hard to overstate how much better this show is than the various descriptions and summaries out there might suggest - if you're on the fence do yourself a favor and fire it up, I promise you won't regret it until it's over and you can't help but wish there was a Birdy Decode:03 out there too!