Dude, that ain’t Jurai.
Ok, so, short summary today because I’m trying to watch the U.S Women’s Olympic softball match against Venezuela (which they are winning quite handily), and also because unfortunately I have a really deranged song stuck in my head; it is very, very distracting.
Muroto is in a restaurant, on the phone with someone claiming that he has good evidence this time, but the perosn hangs up anyway. Muroto looks at the TV and wonders why his former classmate, Kaori, is kissing up so much. Kaori is interviewing Shyamalan, who says he wants to make the world a good place.
In Tsutomu’s house, Birdy is enjoying a bath and dinner. Tsutomu is annoyed, since he thought she wanted to use the body to do something more useful. He remarks that she must be glad that Tute isn’t around to tell her off about it, and she aims a fist at her face, but switches back to Tsutomu in time for him to punch himself in the face.
Later, while Tsutomu sleeps, Birdy takes over and blasts off into space. Tsutomu wakes up, freaks out, and Birdy tells him to shut up – they’re going to her home planet. Tsutomu complains about missing school right before midterms, but Birdy tells him that this is for getting his body repaired, so he quiets down.
At school in the library, Hayamiya and Tsutomu’s other classmates are getting ready for midterms. Kawasugi comes along, and asks where Tsutomu is; Hayamiya says he just called because he has a cold. Kawasugi then invites everyone to her house the following Sunday to celebrate her being healthier and out of the hospital.
Birdy lands on the planet, and her things are taken away to be inspected. She also must be inspected, and undergoes a brain scan; Tsutomu sees brief glimpses of some of her memories, many of which are not good.
After, Birdy checks in with her commander, and Tsutomu is weirded out by the fact that the commander is a really big bug. Birdy’s commander tells her she needs a new guardian. Then, a dog-woman walks in, and Birdy happily shouts her name – Weegie; it seems they are friends. Weegie has Birdy’s medical report, which is pretty clear. Birdy’s commander then tells her that Tsutomu’s body will be all fixed in three months.
Walking outside afterwards, Birdy is accosted by Skeletsu, a guy who looks like a dinosaur. Skeletsu is her guidance director, and she cheerfully fights him, but he remarks that she isn’t as sharp as she used to be, as she is operating as the body for an Earthling. Skeletsu recommends getting rid of the Earthling to Tsutomu’s partial horror. However, Skeletsu pronounces Tsutomu cute when he actually sees him.
Birdy must appear in a trial for one of the beings she caught in the first episode, but the Deity Nejula Gate Altaria intervenes and questions Birdy specifically about the Ryunka – does she even know what it does? Why did she let it get onto Earth in the first place? And she killed a civilian on low-level planet, didn’t she? When Nejula declares at the end of questioning Birdy that she dislikes her, it comes as no surprise.
However, in the meantime, the nature of the Ryunka is revealed – it is a weapon that can destroy an entire world, like an atomic bomb that wipes out all life on a planet.
Nejula says she will be monitoring Birdy from now on.
After the trial comes to a close (Nejula sentences the real defendent to twenty-five years of solitary confinement – something which is fairly excessive for a smuggling charge, as noted by other characters present), Birdy’s commander tells her she should look for a new guardian. But Birdy insists she’ll be fine, since she has Tsutomu as a ‘buddy’. Weegie gives her a small device made with some of Tute’s components to aid her in her mission.
Back on Earth, Shyamalan is speaking with a man about the Ryunka – he seems to think it can bring the world happiness.
Birdy has left headquarters, and is walking around the streets. Tsutomu remarks that the citizens look like Earthlings, and Birdy points out that it is because they are Altarians like herself. Tsutomu also asks if the place is Birdy’s hometown, since she is reminiscing about the neighborhood. Birdy says that it sort of is, and points out a store… only for it to explode.
Impressions:
Well, talk about a cliffhanger.
My favorite moment in this episode was when Birdy made Tsutomu punch himself in the face – that was really a classic right there.
In the Birdy the Might OVA we never got to see her home planet, so it’s kind of cool to see it here. There definitely seems to be more of an outer space vibe running through this incarnation than the original OVA (but of course, given that they’re based on two different manga tellings of the story), since the OVA solely occurred on Earth. Going to Altaria opened up the possibility of meeting more of Birdy’s associates, although we didn’t learn anything really from any of them – it seems that Birdy’s background isn’t going to get major development until a bit later in the series.
However, we did learn about the Ryunka, finally – guess it’s an ultra-powered atomic bomb, basically, based on the scenes of it vaporizing people.
I continue to be pretty happy about the animation. And just the whole thing. This is certainly not a TV series I ever saw existing, that’s for sure – I remember first watching the OVA, and thinking, “Gee, too bad that that’s it.”
GAR GAR Stegosaurus 