Birdy the Mighty: Decode 02

This is the second part of the new Birdy Decode series, but you wouldn't realise it. The first season was good, but the sequel comes along and totally blows it away in almost every department. Most notably would be the animation - 02 exhibits some of the most incredible animation in a 13-episode series for a long, long time. Where other shows might shell out for a good fight scene here and there, 02 provides stunningly kinetic action scenes throughout the entire run, most notably in its incredible finale. If you like good animation, it's a must. But it's not just the animation that dominatesover the first season. The characterisation and setting also prevails - the plot gives a more Birdy-centric view, and Tsutomu loses any annoying qualities he once had. Their chemistry is quite nice to watch, and other characters also receive some good development. Nataru, a new character, is an excellent addition and forms a large part of the plot, fitting in well with the setting and providing some great development for Birdy. The new antagonists are also worthy, and the colourful villain cast makes a nice change to the vague enemies of the first season. The music is nothing particularly amazing, but it serves its purpose well. The OP and ED are just as good as the previous ones, and the Main theme that plays here and there is a joy to listen to. If there is one obvious complaint, then it would have to be the art. In some places, it really suffers, looking lazily drawn and messy - however, this is all intentional in providing some high-quality animation and making an otherwise bland enviroment or dramatic scene come alive. For once, it's nice to see a studio favour the movement and action that you would expect from an animated piece of work, rather than focus on static close-ups and un-necessary amounts of shading. And, an extra added difference to the second series is that it heavily ramps up the Gore-factor. This is good or bad depending on your persuasion, but the series certainly does not take shortcuts when it comes to brutality. In my opinion, this makes everything even more refreshing, but opinions may differ. - Overall, Birdy Decode: 02 is a rarity in that it's much, much, much better than its predecessor - which is almost a shame, as people who disliked the first season would be put off by the second, despite it's many corrections and improvements. Overall, I recommend this anime to ANYONE. Whether you saw the first season, whether you didn't, or whether you liked it or not, you should give this show a try.

Tetsuwan Birdy Decode 02 is possibly one of the greatest follow ups to a mediocre first season. It takes all the flaws of the original and simply does away with them while throwing in a much more focused plot and characters. While the first season wasn't bad by any stretch of the word, it was fairly uninspired. It often felt like the series didn't know what it wanted to be, not really striking a balance between the slice of life elements or the science fiction. The pacing was all over the place, often ranging from adequate to mind-numbingly slow. The last couple of episodes feltvery rushed and a lot of plot points that were introduced earlier never really amounted to anything substantial. A-1 definitely got their act together for the 2nd season, with a far more enjoyable plot. The second season picks up not too long after the first and everyone is dealing with the damage dealt to the city by the Ryunka in the the finale of first season. While the previous season focused on Tsutomu's life and problems, the 2nd season completely focuses on Birdy, leaving Tsutomu (rightfully) in the backseat. A lot of the slice of life elements are cut out in favor for a focused exposition on the plot. Nataru, Birdy's childhood is introduced in this season and plays a very important role to the plot as well as a foil to Birdy. The aliens who were behind the Ryunka in the first season are also introduced and are (ironically) hiding from galactic law on Earth. All these characters come together in a plot of revenge, conspiracy, conflict, relationships and bloody resolution, basically all the elements of a good story. Birdy really becomes a much better in this season. Instead of just being there to kick ass and make the occasional joke, we get an in depth look into her character, explaining the "Berserker Killer" title she has as well as her origin. Her story is much more interesting compared to Tsutomu's anyway, and I'm glad that A-1 went in the direction they did. The animation and art...where do I begin? The animation is probably the best aspect of the series, and the 2nd season doesn't disappoint. It has a distinctly different style from the first season. Instead of top notch art and smooth animation, they opted for less detailed yet expressive art and jerkier yet stylistic animation. Its not fair to say that the first season had better animation, sure there were more frames but the 2nd season really delivers with its unique animation. The fights are a wonder to behold, truly some of the best in the industry. The last fight is especially incredible and breathtaking, often mimicking cinematic movement. The music is also a step up from the original, the soundtrack has many more orchestrated pieces and its used wonderfully in context with the animation. It definitely sets the mood whether it be comedic or serious in tone. The opening completely owns the first one, fitting the scenes and context of the story perfectly. All in all, the music is much more memorable this time around. In conclusion, Decode 02 is how great sequels are done. It improves on all aspects of the original while fixing up issues and tightening up the writing. Its definitely one of my favorite shows and I think everyone should give it a shot. If you stick with it, it'll pay up in spades.

[Story:8.5] After how mediocre the first season was, I initially had no intention to continue with the sequel – that is, until seeing several screenshots and raves about it on the net, which prompted me to give it another go. Thank goodness I decided to give it a chance as the second season is fantastic, to say the least. The first season was insipid because the focus is on the school life aspect while the more appealing intergalactic setting and aliens in masquerade get demoted to the background for a relatively large part of the series. The whole ordinary kid stuck in extraordinary eventspremise is overshadowed by the fact said extraordinary events are way more interesting that the ordinary kid. Naturally, the reverse is what made the sequel so much better. In addition, season 2 deals with alien fugitives taking cover on Earth, allowing the introduction of Birdy’s childhood friend, thus giving the opportunity to explore Birdy’s back-story. To put it simply, the sequel did practically everything that I complained was lacking in its first season. As such, it can be argued that the real reason that season 1 is mediocre is because the real 'story' have not occurred. And it makes sense when one consider the case of the so-called standard 26-episode series. The alien they fought at the end of the first season? It's not the so-called ‘real’ Final Boss. It was not the actual climax. The secret project and experiments was just the set up, merely to prepare the stage for this sequel. Indeed, this one is when it’s finally ready to deliver what it has been building up previously. This is when things finally start to get serious, hence why the pace in season 2 is much faster and with more events occurring. [Characters:8.0] As said, the character of focus is one of the key reasons defining Birdy Decode on the whole. Previously, the side characters doesn't really contribute much to the story. For all intent and purpose, the only relevant characters were mainly just Birdy, Tsutomu and Natsume who got caught in the event. Now, apart from the protagonists, the main antagonist too gets the fair share of back story and other minor character also get their share of the limelight. And of course, there is much drama and development to be had for Birdy herself. From her comedic Arita Shion persona to flashbacks involving her past, the scenes were well executed. The lighter moments are comedic when it needs to, while the heavier and darker scenes are dramatic without being overdone. In particular, the story can get surprisingly quite touching and bittersweet in the latter part of the series. The choice of voice-acting cast was great too. As with the prequel, I like the voice acting for Birdy, especially when she is in her Arita Shion mode. Special mention goes to Mamiko Noto as Birdy’s caretaker. [Art:8.5] Another compliment goes to the major improvement in production values. Not only is the story better, even the animation quality is much higher. The action sequences are fantastic, albeit some of them being rather brutal. In short, the art style is excellent and in particular, I like the mix of animation styles - for example, the sketchy style (similar to those of Gainax productions) is highly appropriate for some of the more emotionally chaotic moments. [Music:7.5] Decode has good soundtracks, but the prequel didn’t quite get to put them to good use. Thankfully, this season rectify that. Furthermore, the choice of opening and closing themes are also much more agreeable. [Summary] With a classic science-fiction setting, some romance and plenty of cool action sequences, it shall suffice to say that Birdy Decode 02 is definitely worth the watch. Personal Overall Rating: 8.5

After the whole Ryunka incident that kill half of Tokyo and turn it into a pile of rubble in first season the story continue............ If you already seen the first season you'll be surprise how good this s2 will turn out, it even make S1 looking seriously mediocre in comparison. Everything just being done better this time. This time the new antagonist and the culprit behind the incident is introduce. Prior to save the world plot in S1, S2 is consider more down to earth and focus toward aftereffect of the incident, How did it effect the people who were involve in it.The main protagonist Tsutomu Senkawa a take a back sit in this whole story. It pretty well thought out I would say, instead being man-up just to fit in, he just being himself. Definitely a plus for me since it do not fall toward generic power up shounen. Birdy on the other hand take on the spotlight, and we get to know her hidden past. The story is extensively center toward the antagonist and birdy, their past and relation. Without giving anything away, I would say it was relatively touching story and it doesn't force the viewer to like it or GTFO. you basically could like it even though if you doesn't really find it was touching. The execution/directing in this season is one of it main factor why it good. The pacing was great throughout the whole 12 episode. Furthermore it don't take no for an answer, every death being done in rather brutal way. It maybe a bit shocking for some, but it definitely make the stake seem much higher this time around. The animation was great probably one of the best if not the best for tv anime, the most notable episode is 7 and 12. If you ever watch Kemonozume or mind game will notice the similarity in style. instead being use for the whole show like kemonozume, TBD02 use those style just for a few action sequence, with an amazing end result. the music was good, and the sound effect is good as well. As expeted by A-1 Pictures "a subsidiary of Sony's anime production firm Aniplex". Overall I would give this anime a fairly well deserve perfect 10, you couldn't find any anime out there that use a perfect balance in its strength. You could hate all the character and yet it still good, you also could hate the story and yet it still good, you could hate the animation and yet it still good, and none could not hate all three unless you're an contemptible person. No matter what kind of an expectation you have in this, it save to say it will definitely deliver and "Shipping" expectation don't count.