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Okay, look at me, finally writing a newreview because I actually watched something new at last!

I am continuing my trip down the anime timeline, because apparently these types of action are much more common for titles of the past rather the current ones. This time we're going all the way back to 1996.

Meet Birdy, a Federation agent kicking criminals' asses and taking names.

The premise of the plot is hardly a spolier, since it happens right there in the first five minutes of the first OVA and is plastered across any description you can find. Birdy is a hotheaded, super-strong and hard to kill alien agent who came to Earth chasing some intergalactic criminals (and a personal vendetta, too). Due to being impulsive she accidentally kills an innocent human boy called Tsutomu, which her higher-ups are decidedly not going to stand for. The only way to save Tsutomu is to merge their bodies together - that way he's technically kept alive by Birdy's lifeforce. The thing is, the poor kid is trying to take exams, deal with his family and not be a total awkward jelly in front of a certain pretty girl - and the intergalactic agent now living in his body and able to take over it any time he doesn't actively resist it wants to go look for dangerous criminals and fight some scary mutants and robots. You can see how their interests can clash juuust a little bit.

Spoiler alert (not really) - the two eventually find some common ground and are able to play off of each other's strong sides pretty damn well. Especially when the whole city ends up in danger - Tsutomu might be a scared teen, but he does want to save his family and friends, too.

But we all know why I am here. Let's talk Birdy some more.

Now, I didn't dig into the deep lore (aka I haven't read the manga or watched the reboot), so going off what we're given in the OVAs - girl has her own trauma to work through. When she was a kid she lost someone important to her named Violin (who might've been a cyborg, although I can't say for sure, the scene is very dramatically poorly lit and awash in red) thanks to Christella Revi, an alien criminal who Birdy is hunting to this day. We're talking the classic "Lose all your shit the second you see THAT person" type of vendetta here. Ah yes, my favorite.

Apart from hints at tragic backstory and having a very serious job, Birdy can be a bit of a goofball, which is adorable. The moment Tsutomu gives her control over his body for an extended period of time the girl immediately dresses up and goes around the city trying ice cream and catching runaway baloons for children.

She's also, as already mentioned, extremely reckless not just in terms of fighting, but also in terms of, you know, transforming when people can see them (rip to Tsutomu's father who was thoroughly gaslighted that he did not, in fact, see a naked woman in the bath) and considerably endangering Tsutomu's everyday life in the process.

But more importantly, because this is my review, she is, in fact, a little bit unhinged.

Look at that grin. Brilliant.

All in all, the 90s animation really does this anime justice. Birdy's agent costume is of course quite form-fitting, but that's not unusual for anime. As long as they spare us awkward angles, I'm good. On that topic though, I could use less scenes of Tsutomu's horny classmates, but, eh, boys will be boys I guess. Lusting for porny magazines is not a crime.

Without major spoilers, however, I'd say it's endearing to see the character growth both Birdy and Tsutomu undergo in just four episodes. The finale is somewhat open-ended, but not to a disappointing degree.

One last thing I'd like to confess though: as a gnc women enjoyer, I have a particular weakness for scenes where Birdy stays in Tsutomu's clothes for one reason or another. Boys school uniform suits her, what can I say?

Badass woman for a protagonist: Yup, one of them definitely is.

Badasness: Still thinking about the scene where she yeets a whole truck at a bad guy.

Bloodiness/fighting: Little to no blood, but the fighting is enjoyable.

Fanservice: Some porn magazines appearing in frame, that's all. Unless you count the form-fitting "uniform", which is up to your preference.

Romance: Nothing that involves Birdy. Tsutomu has an awkward crush on another girl tho.

A child: No strong feelings, but yeah, I'd adopt her.

Recommend: Definitely. Can't say it shook my world, but I don't regret of one minute spent.

Oh, a word of warning though: if android abuse is a topic that makes you emotional, prepare some tissues. I know I needed those at one point.

Actually: two words of warning! There are quite a few "gasp! a boy crossdressing???" jokes in the show thanks to the nature of the whole body switching predicament (i.e. Tsutomu borrowing his sister's clothes for Birdy or Birdy getting caught with his ID), so if you know that will irk you - just be warned! They're not too mean about it - not meaner than the basic "shock! could it be?!" one-liners.