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.

It's been roughly twelve years since Central Park Media unleashed the original OVA on America. If this first episode is any indicator, it was definitley worth the wait.

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!

Birdy The Mighty: Decode was released in America by FUNimation Entertainment.

The series can be purchased at Right Stuf.