OBSCURE O.V.A.S, *Birdy The Mighty

Masami Yuki first wrote his manga of Birdy The Mighty in the mid-80s that was later remade in the 2000s. The original interpretation was adapted into a 4-episode OVA series in 1996 directed by none other than Yoshiaki Kawajiri who created Ninja Scroll, and splendidly animated by Madhouse studio just before they did the Darkstalkers anime. The manga also had the feather in its cap of beating out Ranma 1/2 for the random gender-swapping concept by at least a year, even though its anime didn't premiere until years after the Ranma 1/2 TV series had already ended. The OVA wasn't the only conversion into anime as the remake got its own TV series a while ago that also garnered success with the superhero and tokusatsu audience. U.S. Manga Corps released the OVA in two separate VHS and DVD volumes with an uninspiring dub that brings on nothing but cringe.

Tsutomu is a struggling teen trying to pass his entrance exams into high school when out of nowhere he gets killed. Turns out that he wandered into the middle of fight between a poliosis-haired female space spy named Birdy who was chasing down an alien outlaw. To make amends for having his body damaged, the space patrol fused Tsutomu's body with Birdy, so now both consciousnesses are active in the same vessel which Birdy can change on and off when the need calls for it. The fact that Birdy's form is a curvy cutie in a very revealing uniform with the added bonus of super-strength comes in handy when they need to bust alien menaces. Birdy's investigation on Earth leads to a conspiracy between intergalactic terrorists and a typical mad scientist that fuses human DNA with that of other space races. Adding to the frustration that Tsumotu's life is now under constant danger as his body had been roped into an astronomical affair, he has to worry about Birdy trying to set him up on a date with the only other person who knows his new secret. All this, and there is an outside party watching the whole thing play out with designs of their own for the fate of the Earth.

The gender-bending genre owes much to Birdy The Mighty for pioneering this path that unfortunately for creator Masami Yuki has been attributed to later manga-ka. The OVA adaptation is like a teenage comedy take on Ultraman where a common Earthling has to timeshare his body with an outer space superhero, although here it is a bouncy anime girl with extraordinary powers instead of a giant metal man. Kawajiri's direction operates efficiently with spirited action scenes that are up to par to theatrical animation. The OVA concludes with room for more adventures in store for Birdy and her human partner despite the fact that it didn't continue, but the TV series has more room to round out the story further.