Birdy the Mighty
Birdy the Mighty is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Masami Yuki. His initial attempt with the story ran in Shogakukan's Shōnen Sunday Zōkan from 1985 to 1988, but it was eventually abandoned. Over a decade later, Yuki began a reboot, which was serialized in Weekly Young Sunday and Weekly [Big Comic Spirits] ; its chapters were collected in 20 volumes. A sequel, titled Birdy the Mighty: Evolution, was serialized in Weekly Big Comic Spirits from 2008 to 2012, with its chapters collected in 13 volumes.
In 1996, Birdy the Mighty was adapted into a four-episode original video animation directed by Yoshiaki Kawajiri. A 25-episode anime television series adaptation, titled Birdy the Mighty: Decode, animated by A-1 Pictures and produced by Aniplex, was broadcast for two seasons from July 2008 to March 2009.
Plot
Birdy Cephon Altera is a Federation agent whose mission is to pursue interplanetary criminals on the planet Earth. While pursuing a criminal suspect, she inadvertently kills a high school student named Tsutomu Senkawa. However, there is a method to ensure his survival. He is integrated into Birdy's body, and this union must persist until the completion of his physical restoration. Tsutomu must share a body with Birdy while concealing her existence from his family and friends, as Birdy also conducts her investigation. They join forces to combat a clandestine extraterrestrial group that is planning to conduct experiments on unsuspecting Earth inhabitants.Characters
Main
In the 2008 anime, her false identity on Earth is rising Japanese idol Shion Arita. She is accompanied by a robot named "Tuto". Birdy is an "Altan", a human-like alien, possibly from a planet orbiting the star Altair. More specifically, Birdy is an "Ixioran Altairian", a bio-engineered supersoldier bred for combat.Civilians
Aliens
Media
Manga
Written and illustrated by Masami Yuki, Birdy the Mighty was serialized in Shogakukan's manga magazine Shōnen Sunday Zōkan from 1985 to 1988, being serialized while Yuki was working on Kyūkyoku Chōjin R in Weekly Shōnen Sunday. Yuki eventually abandoned the project, leaving it unfinished. Shogakukan released a single volume, which was listed as "volume 1", on July 18, 1996.Over a decade later after its original run, Yuki decided to make a reboot of the manga, keeping certain details from the original work. The series ran in Shogakukan's manga magazine Weekly Young Sunday from December 26, 2002, until the magazine ceased its publication on July 31, 2008. It later ran in Weekly Big Comic Spirits from September 6–22, 2008. Shogakukan collected its chapters in twenty volumes, released from June 5, 2003, to October 3, 2008.
A sequel, titled Birdy the Mighty: Evolution, was serialized in Weekly Big Comic Spirits from October 11, 2008, to July 23, 2012. An epilogue chapter was published in Monthly Big Comic Spirits on August 27, 2012. Shogakukan collected its chapters in thirteen volumes, released from February 27, 2009, to September 28, 2012.
Original video animation
The original Birdy the Mighty manga was adapted into a four-episode original video animation by Madhouse and directed by Yoshiaki Kawajiri, released by Bandai Visual on VHS from July 25, 1996, to February 25, 1997. The four episodes were later re-released on DVD on June 25, 2001.In North America, the OVA was licensed by Central Park Media, who released the episodes on two VHS sets in 1999, and on two DVD sets in 2004. The OVA was broadcast with an English dub on Starz Encore's Action channel in 2000. Central Park Media discontinued the series' distribution in 2006, before filing for bankruptcy in 2009.
Anime television series
An anime television series adaptation was announced by Weekly Young Sunday in 2006. Titled Birdy the Mighty: Decode, the series was animated by A-1 Pictures and directed by Kazuki Akane, with Hiroshi Ōnogi handling the series' scripts. The series was first broadcast on TV Saitama for thirteen episodes from July 5 to September 27, 2008. Aniplex collected the episodes in seven DVDs, released from September 24, 2008, to March 25, 2009.The series was followed by a second season, Birdy the Mighty: Decode 02, which was broadcast for twelve episodes from January 10 to March 28, 2009. Aniplex collected the episodes in six DVDs, released from April 22 to July 1, 2009. An unaired episode that connects the first and second seasons was included with the special DVD "Birdy the Mighty Decode: The Cipher", released on July 22, 2009.
In North America, the series was licensed by Funimation in 2009. The rights to the series expired on October 14, 2016.