Infamous among those who gamble on golf games, Eve uses her exceptional skill in the sport to earn a living—by betting and winning against various opponents. Known as the "Rainbow Bullet," she vows to beat her foes and conquer the world of underground golf using only three clubs. However, the universe where Eve knows no defeat is shaken after she plays a clean game with Aoi Amawashi, a golfing prodigy that came to the country of Nafrece to enter a golf tournament. Armed with talent and born into the perfect environment for golf, Aoi the "Innocent Tyrant" calmly crushes her enemies with a bright smile on her face.
After their game-changing match, Eve and Aoi become intrigued with each other and promise to battle again someday. As Eve's aggressive and risk-taking approach challenges the elite and steady playstyle of Aoi, the two geniuses may just manage to bring golf to unexpected heights.
[Written by MAL Rewrite]
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Comentários
somaisbatman
This show is good enough that it got me to round up my lesbian friends and play mini-golf. That’s the short review, but I can go long as well. You should know going into this that I despise real golf and everything it stands for. But lucky for me, Birdie Wing is not a show that respects its sport. In the very first episode, our main character declares “I don’t play golf. I hit a ball with a stick for money.” She's so stupid. This *show* is so stupid, the kind of stupid you get out of 2000's anime and can't help but adore. It's alsothe most fun I've had out of a seasonal in years.
Birdie Wing’s production details have been a hilarious mystery to unravel. Original sports anime are quite rare, so I was baffled as to how this show even got made until I started digging further. Bandai-Namco is our production company, which quickly becomes evident with the tongue-in-cheek Gundam product placement. But behind the scenes, Birdie Wing is inexplicably being financed by HTC’s virtual reality branch. On top of the anime, this partnership will result in a “metaverse museum” and a Nintendo Switch game.
So how well did they use their VR bucks? Well, Birdie Wing’s production values are never excellent, and CG is understandably used to cut corners on the golf courses. However, the character designs are superb, with plenty of unique outfits for the main duo. The animation can be limited at times, but it hits when it needs to, with absurd golf swings and imposing shot angles. The Osamu Dezaki-styled dramatic watercolor freezeframes are an excellent homage. It’s pretty clear that someone on the production team has a waifu, as Aoi is animated way better than everyone else.
Perhaps the greater miracle is that Birdie Wing is good. Everything I mentioned above ends up being a pretty sketchy foundation for a show, and since it’s an original, the screenwriter attached to the project matters a lot. They ended up bringing Yosuke Kuroda on board, whose writing credentials include girls-with-guns kinda-yuri Madlax and the extremely pornographic combat definitely-yuri Valkyrie Drive: Mermaid. So we’re getting lesbians, and we’re getting ridiculous over-the-top action scenes. Somehow, I think he was one of the best possible picks for this.
His script does the impossible and makes golf entertaining. We get a main character who despises her sport and tears it apart with brute-force power and precision. We get a seedy underground golf mafia arc. We get a roulette of increasingly depraved older women in said mafia. We get golfing abilities described with brazenly pornographic innuendo, delightful over-the-top melodrama, classic sports anime rivalry, and maybe even an assassination or two. And most importantly, we get delicious, delicious yuri-bait.
Look, I’m a lesbian first and a golfer last, so I’m going to be real with you. This is a “show, don’t tell” kind of yuri. There’s plenty of plausibly-deniable romance scenes, but you won’t be getting any confessions up-front. However, actions speak louder than words, and when Eve hits a ball so far that Aoi can see it from her flight about to take off, and Aoi makes vows to meet her again while wearing a Char cosplay on a VR golf course, that’s the kind of stuff that counts for me. If I’m reading the foreshadowing right, there’s a nonzero chance that they’re going to be revealed to be sisters in the second season. It would be a laughably bad move, but given the unavoidable skeeziness of some of Kuroda’s works, I can’t say I wasn’t ready. Also this show does the delightful women’s sports anime thing where most of the side characters pair cleanly off with each other.
I’m so glad this show exists, and that it’s somehow the opposite of a soulless money-grab given its circumstances. I could care less about the planned tie-in content landscape, but what matters is that Birdie Wing the anime is made out of love. In my ideal world, we would have one of these every season. Sports yuri is the good stuff, and I can’t wait to see the golf butches being teased for Season 2 in action.
Marinate1016
If there’s anything that can make golf enjoyable, it’s anime. Cute girls, over the top golfing scenes and great character interactions make Birdie Wing a fun watch for even the biggest of golf haters. Admittedly, coming into this season when I saw the promo art for Birdie Wing, I was not sold on it. Yea there were cute girls and some nice art, but who the hell wants to watch golf, right? Boy was I wrong. Like 99 percent of seasonals, I tuned into Birdie Wing and from the very first episode I knew we had something special brewing here. The epic and tense golfing matches,the drama, the stakes, the waifus, etc. It was all just everything you need in a sports anime. I instantly fell in love with Eve as an MC and she quickly became one of my picks for waifu of the YEAR, not just season. She and Aoi’s rivalry was a treat to watch develop and even made me want to go out and learn how to golf.
While I did really enjoy the story, just when I thought I was getting the hang of this show, it throws a literal curveball at us with an absolutely ridiculous(in a good way) mafia plot which culminates in a pretty surprisingly dark end to the first 75 percent of the show. There’s so much wacky action in Birdie Wing that makes it a glorious and fun journey. My honest recommendation is to turn your brain off and try not to think too much about it. Enjoy the ride and try to learn a thing or two about golf!
Eve and Aoi are amazing characters and they’re both top 10 waifu material for me, but the other characters in the show are great as well. All bring a little something special to the story and help Eve to grow whether as a person or golfer. I think as an anime original show, it can be difficult to have a really all around solid cast, yet Birdie Wing managed to pull it off along with an engaging story. Credit has to go out to Banco for the job they did here.
I really hope that we get a manga adaptation or a gacha game or something to expand the story of the girls. The anime started a tournament arc right at the end of the season which was really not enough time to adequately wrap everything up as well as tie up the loose ends that Eve left as a result of what happens at the end of that mafia arc. It’s rare that anime original stuff get second seasons and I don’t think Banco animation are known for it, but I would absolutely love to see more Birdie Wing in any capacity as it will no doubt be one of my top shows of the year and one of the best sports anime I’ve seen. I will certainly miss Birdie Wing Tuesdays.
Birdie Wing gets 10 Blue Bullets out of 10.
Edit: Looks like Banco have all but confirmed a second season, let’s gooooo
literaturenerd
Birdie Wing is my vote for the most surprising anime of the season. This is an original property not based on a manga, VN, LN, etc. The script writer of Excel Saga just decided one day that he wanted to make a women's golf anime in which professional women's golf is heavily tied to the mafia. The mafia places bets on the golfers in order to settle disputes and the golfers compete in a massive underground lair based on the NERV GeoFront from Evangelion. This anime is fucking insane. You never know exactly what you're going to get from script writer Yosuke Kuroda. Sometimes hisbatshit insanity actually manages to work splendidly, as is the case with Excel Saga, Trigun, and Hellsing Ultimate. Unfortunately, he's also penned some duds like Goblin Slayer, Jungle de Ikou, and Valkyrie Drive Mermaid.
Kuroda's writing quality and consistency invokes the opening lines of A Tale of 2 Cities. "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way."
How do you convince people to watch an anime about women's golf? No seriously, I'm asking the reader! I know 6 guys offline who watch anime and I've failed to convince any of them to watch a single episode of Birdie Wing despite begging them for 2 months straight.
I know everyone else is going to mention this, so I may as well address it. Birdie Wing is officially the gayest sports anime ever made! Yuri on Ice has NOTHING on Birdie Wing. Yuri on Ice is the story of a depressed, down on his luck skater who has to recapture his passion for the sport and bounce back. He kind of has a thing for his coach, but there honestly isn't a lot of sexual tension in most of the scenes they share together. Birdie Wing feels like the main 2 girls are going to throw their clubs to the ground and frantically start making out in basically every scene they share. There was even a meme article called "There is literally no heterosexual explanation for Birdie Wing". However, Birdie Wing isn't tagged as a yuri. It was never advertised as a yuri. The studio has never said that it's a yuri. I thought that surely if this was intended to be a yuri, they would have said so at some point during Pride Month and yet they didn't. So, was this accidental? Is it all a joke? What the fuck is this? I have a hard time believing that this was done on accident. The first Top Gun was probably an accident. Birdie Wing was almost certainly on purpose, so I can only conclude that this is a stealth yuri that doesn't want to advertise itself as such. Possibly to avoid it getting banned in certain countries. That's honestly my best theory. Now fans in Indonesia can buy Birdie Wing. Fans in Saudi Arabia can buy Birdie Wing. Fans in Russia can...pirate it like you guys always do anyways.
Finally, I'll get to the conventional part of the review. Birdie Wing is a mixed bag overall. Firstly, I'd like to start with the positives. The characters are really fun. The plot takes turns going from predictable to being utterly insane. Birdie Wing is often laughably ridiculous, but that's the point and it doesn't take itself too seriously. I also really like Eve and Aoi as a couple. They are so cute together! The OP is also amazing, and I've not skipped it a single time. On the negative side, Birdie Wing's sheer stupidity can be off-putting to many people. I've never had to work this hard to sell my offline friends on an anime. Usually, I can get at least 1 of them to watch any given anime. The CG is also pretty egregious at times. This was not made on a high budget and certainly won't be winning awards as the prettiest looking anime of the season. Lastly, the relationship between Eve and Aoi at this point is simply bait with no official confirmation that they're actually a couple. I will actually be pissed if Eve and Aoi don't kiss at some point in S2. For the show to bait THIS hard and then chicken out because they're afraid of the show getting banned in countries that don't legally purchase or stream anime anyways would be pretty shitty.
Would I recommend Birdie Wing? Yes. This is definitely one of the must-watch anime of 2022, for the absurdity if for no other reason. I found it highly entertaining, and I hope anyone who I convince to try it out will be entertained as well!
Gween_Gween
One of the issues while assessing the quality of an anime is that it is always assumed that the people behind the project are trying to deliver a product that is intended to be, at least, entertaining and profficient. The problem of Birdie Wing is that behind the shock factors and subversive absurdities there is an extremely bland progression, with endless tensionless episodes, awfully forced comedic gags, and an uninteresting artistic direction, defined by stiff characters gestures and an awful artificial green color that my eyes cannot but cringe to. The reality is that the anime is obviously not trying at all on those aspects,and it will subsequently enter the category of “Too bad that it could be good” type of shows that some people are obsessed about, for better or worse. To elaborate this, there are three fair warnings before even starting this anime:
-The golf aspect is garbage, they never try to do more than skeletal montages of people using superpowers to create entertainment out of it. The cause of this decision is that the production thinks that golf is boring, so they tried to do a Mario Golf type of anime, or another reference, I don’t know about that stuff. Maybe they want to promote a game, I don’t care.
-Most episodes are a drag at face value, they normally feature one or two moments that could give you a sincere laugh or a sudden shock, but most of the time they are just mundane dialogues interpolated with some scenes that try to wake up the viewer by blasting you with a surprise
-By using the two definitions above, the only correct way of watching this anime is to laugh at the decisions that the team behind this anime made, not the content by itself. Whether the entertainment out of that is valid or not depends on the individual.
Going to the details, the premise of the show is basically the journey from poverty and delinquency to legit golf competition of the main girl. This is apparently unoffensive at first, but the anime manages to make it an explosion of absurdity by using the implications of her wealth position, as the logic of being able to even do such transition doesn’t add up unless certain requirements are completed. The next paragraphs have some mild spoilers to explain why this anime is not just random stuff, but why it also sucks.
The first important detail about the premise is that it is trying to portray the rivalry about two girls that live in diametrically opposed positions in the scale of privilege, and it tries to portray such rivalry through a sport where they must face each other, to finally converge into a friendship relationship of mutual respect and love, as they both grow of each other. This is the first subversion, as golf is a sport that is normally associated with an elite, with wealthiness, and having no connection with the sport or being poor is just a high hurdle that is hard to jump.
Those two main characters are Aoi, a Japanese girl, and Eve, a European girl (?). As you may guess, Eve is the one that is poor and Aoi is the one that is rich, because that is how anime works. As the subversion exists, the anime tries to give a proper answer to the fact that Eve could even be good at golf. The solution is generating an underground system that enables Eve improvement, despite her overbearing family responsibilities and her incapability to enter the circuit. Therefore, the mafia aspect is not as nonsense or random as it may seem, it is just a logical consequence of how to establish a proper reasoning behind her opportunities.
Once given this reasoning, the mafia aspect and the mysterious trainer start to make some sense. Underground gambling, fraudulent tourneys, real estate corruption, all of them enable Eve to be able to break free from poverty through golf, because otherwise she wouldn’t have the resources to begin with, criticism towards social mobility. What this seems to propose is that, with the current state of things, there is no other option but to incur in such shady operations. Eve’s trainer also represents the basics of how education manage to empower the character to be able to compete with those who had proper advantages produced by an actual infrastructure, the presence of such legendary golfer in that context is fixed by a set of coincidences, as people in the situation of Eve could just find such opportunity by a strike of luck and an actual interest to be good at their craft, the value of education and motivation in disadvantaged communities.
The underground activity also brings parallels to different perspectives about the same development. Rose represents those who find comfort into staying as the biggest fish in a small tank, while Vipere represents those who have no qualms about cheating the system to survive. As Eve develop her golf and find the light at the end of the tunnel, she must now stay away from her past. The system that allowed her to get out of the slums is also biting her back.
As a matter of summary, Eve is Chief Keef. RIP Nipsey
If this anime was just a mafia anime with golf, then it would be an interesting ride, the underground antics could have a better emphasis and the characters would be able to develop a multitude of hardships that come from modern issues. Sadly, for anyone who has no interest on mediocre yuri attempts, the anime stops using this concept at the final third of the anime. The last arc of the anime is just a bunch of pathetic golf montages that abuse a joke that has been tired in the second episode of the anime and the cast simping or hating on Eve.
While one can see this ending of the cour fitting, as the struggle of Eve has been finally overcome and she can reap the fruits of her effort, the reality is that this final stretch can be just enjoyed by laughing at some ridiculous decisions of the anime (Or by shipping, I don’t kink shame). Awful lip syncing, slideshows with awkward music, jokes about the laziness of the writing, reusage of material, over dramatic shots, the anime just have nothing else to say and start to do dumb stuff to wake up the viewer, the momentum just hit a full-stop when they must dedicate themselves to golf. Maybe the caddie of Eve and Aoi could now represent a new element of overcoming the status quo, as Aoi must face her mother and the weight on her shoulders and the caddie must showcase her talent against the odds, but their gags and developments are just too mundane to be enjoyable, as they are barely anything but sporadic statements about their feelings.
As a conclusion, if Birdie Wing tried to be an enjoyable anime that makes golf a fun experience, then they completely failed, as the golf aspect is simply the worst part of the whole experience. It is not equivalent to the typical sport anime that develop tension, knowledge, and more importantly, interest about it. Birdie Wing instead look for elements that could bring entertainment and drama in-between the golf matches, entertainment that takes a nosedive once the unique and absurd aspect of the show disappears, and the trail of entertainment is composed by tropey silly power-ups. Sadly, if I want to see a rich girl and a poor girl being rivals and developing a hilarious comedy with an honest friendship I would watch others shows, and if I want to see a golf anime that use this kind of superpowers I would rather sleep.
KANLen09
A golf show? About the story of complete opposite spectrums of stories of golf girls? Not to mention that the strokes will result in birdies and soaring on wings like eagles? Hell yeah, sign me up because I'm about to experience some wack-shit plot that doesn't take itself seriously, yet is self-aware enough to try to be at the very least fun! Okay okay, in all honesty, Birdie Wing: Golf Girls' Story is a fine lil' show that is a fairly niche original show that does have a fair few surprise elements if you actually take the time to appreciate what it's trying to exhibitin its entirety.
The way that Birdie Wing tells its unorthodox-yet-unequivocal story of golf girls is IMO, nothing short of decent, but thanks to veteran scriptwriter and series composer Yousuke Kuroda, has some ingenious storytelling that showcases the setting of the sport that is golf (that I believe this is the first full-fledged show to showcase the sport) in both being the usual and unusual premises of life and thrill. The golf girls' stories of Eve and Aoi Amawashi, two girls growing up in two very different lifestyles, yet have one common interest, and that is to play golf the way of their own know-how.
Let's cover Eve's side of the story first: the proud and unabashed girl with an exhorting personality, playing golf with a bullish style, because she lives in an environment identical and similar to that of poor habitual slums and immigrants whom don't get as much coverage and care from their own government, where money is hard to find, and the only way to earn more is to participate in underground games of unusual golf courses, where the sport is all they have to put their bets on the line. The adage of "Finders (winners) keepers, Losers weepers" is honestly the best way to sum the type of game that Eve plays her golf with, whether is it with fellow punters or even against the Mafia with even more skillful players that more often than not, have a trick up their sleeve. But this all pales in comparison to the corny "special attack" names that Aoi dubs her power of "Rainbow Bullets", where it's just power for show, but it has a purpose for being outlandish that is the centerpiece of Eve's character to eke out wins, even at the expense of miracles.
And then there's Aoi Amawashi, or should I say: the Juliet to the female Romeo (just to show off that Yuri feel) that always presents a formidable challenge to even the most skillful players. Unlike Eve, Aoi doesn't have any kind of "superpower" that can match Eve's level of idiosyncracy, but she has a simple "superpower": her wistful smiles that are like silent draws of blades to cut at her opponents. The kind of girl with a sass personality that has people taken notice of her because of her connections to the rich men's world and being part of the golf club at her school of Raiho Girls' Academy, but it's not until she shows off her capabilities, that she's like a lioness or a tigress awaiting to prance on her prey and eat away at their advances, the amicable kind of person where her unkempt psychology will make or break people. These two are honestly the kind of Yuri-pandering couple that I didn't know I needed, and yet manage to balance the Wild West of story elements with the all-too-usual modern setting, which keeps this show fresh from the tried-and-true "wash, rinse, repeat" predictable formula. And yes, this show does get predictable, but at least it keeps you on your toes to anticipate what are the next strokes around the course.
This ain't a golf show of just the golfers alone, and this is where the caddies come in to help spur both Aoi and Eve into their ever-growing "red thread of fate" of coincidence and camaraderie in distinct ways. For Eve, this comes at the support of her friend Lily Lipman and her sister Klein Clara who's the owner of an illegal bar, and living with 3 orphaned immigrant children in the Nafres slums, an area that's controlled by the Mafia under the go-between head Rose Aleon. This is also further cemented by Lily being the energetic, cheerful good-hearted goofball that serves has her caddy being able to pinpoint the accuracy of stroke shot to lead Eve to victory, though Eve proclaims that she isn't needed most of the time, being very reliant on her Rainbow Bullets for power strokes. And it is with absolutely no doubt that the underground world can seem messy with many connections that could result in the bet of one's life taken away, but it's the same environment that allows Eve to thrive being at her very best. This is the same for Aoi being your stereotypical golfer participating in high-profile golf tournaments and exerting her status as one of the premier young-age skillful golfers ever to grace the heated competition and leaving everyone behind in the dust with her perfect strokes. And for that, Amane Shinjo as Aoi's caddy, she's the analyst character that is a professor of intel at detailing on her rivals and courses to give her best friend the unrivalled advantage, and for the most part, she's the type that you would most certainly expect to act that maintains an upright serious fervor. Seriously, relax, dear Amane, have fun and be in the moment with your best friend who's also having fun golfing. I'll admit that the supporting cast feels like there's too much, but contrary to the usual, this is also akin to the usual golf settings to help push both Aoi and Eve into the best version of themselves, and that is playing golf in total exhilaration. That's a resounding notion if you ask me.
BN Pictures (that stands for Bandai Namco Pictures) hasn't really had a ton of experience producing anime, from the safe likes of many childrens' shows to taking on the final phases of Gintama's adaptations, to the most recently the studio's flagship series: Mairimashita! Iruma-kun a.k.a Welcome to Demon School! Iruma-kun, and the golf course outing here is just decent with a lot of repeating frames that only add to the insanity of the show that's par for its course. And under the direction of the somewhat wonky director Takayuki Inagaki who's only done less noteworthy shows (I still hate the anime adaptation of 2008's Rosario to Vampire, that shit lingers in my mouth even 15 years later), the more recent of which is Summer 2018's Chio-chan no Tsuugakuro a.k.a Chio's School Road (which is undoubtedly his best effort so far), and it's safe to say that his directorial inputs in this show does cock up some wavering storytelling that at times, don't make sense, or even worse, rushing the process to get from point A to B. Regardless, this show doesn't need an outlandish director just to make things work, and for all the effort that Takayuki Inagaki did here, it was just enough for a self-contained experience. Also, since this is Bandai Namco at it, there're references if you look hard enough: from the Gunpla mechs that serves as Eve's gifts to Lily, to Aoi's "Pak-kun" Pac-Man golf ball.
But what I believe makes or breaks the show is in the music department, which easily surprises the hell outta me to declare it in its goodness. For one, Kohmi Hirose is a well-established J-pop singer that easily stood out in her primetime of the late 90s being one of the most vocal and multi-million seller singers of her time, the people of Japan affectionately calling her the "Winter Queen" because of her record-breaking single in 1993 and also tying to that, the sponsorship with the skiing goods company Alpen. And since this is yet another sport of golf, you need not lean too far to know that the Winter Queen is back for another song, but to put it in the best summing way possible: Birdie Wing doesn't deserve Kohmi Hirose. All I can say is that "Venus Line" is a mind-boggingly incredible, amazing and catchy OP song that perfectly fits the show's thematics, and after the first few listens or so, raises up to be one of the sleeper banger songs of the season. Tsukiyomi's ED is just fine, and Hajime Takakuwa once again did one hell of a very good job showcasing why he's one of the top sound directors with works like Black Clover and Kono Oto Tomare! credited to his name.
All in all, to say that Birdie Wing: Golf Girls' Story "is a mood", you're definitely right it is, but I can understand if some people don't vibe the show the way that it represents itself as it is, and this is completely fine. While I for one, can just see this as some mind-numbling decency that strikes the fun strokes when it can, everything else around it are just for show and serve no purpose other that over-the-top drama to add to the plot. Whatever it is, you'll just have to accept the give or take that this golf show just isn't for everyone. It's a niche show for certain people whom are looking for pure entertainment more than anything else, and I respect Birdie Wing for what it encompasses to give its allure, and that's just more than enough.
If you like it, there's Season 2 coming next Winter, so there's more enjoyment to behold! Until then, this is what we have, and I'm hoping that it will be a lot better than the set-up season here turned out to be.
RebelPanda
Birdie Wing Golf Girls’ Story makes the impossible possible. It made me enjoy my least favorite sport, and it has everything I could ever want from an excellent sports-romance hybrid anime. High-stakes tournaments? Check. Lesbian romance? Check. Badass heroine? Check! Hilariously campy tone? Check. Catchy soundtrack? Check. Mafia conflict? Check? Clever writing? Check! Golf sakuga? BLUE BULLET!I’ve never seen anyone take golf as seriously as these girls, which makes it so amusing. Eve, also known as “Rainbow Bullet,” is a teenage golfing prodigy who plays in high-stakes competitions against the best-of-the-best. She becomes entangled in the underground world of bidding on golf to provide for her found family. In these over-the-top competitions, losing is not an option. The story has no elegance or assumptions of intellectualism, but it is hilarious, adrenaline-inducing, and refreshingly new. I laughed through most of each episode, and when I didn’t, I had a smile on my face. I’m sure that’s how they intended viewers to consume it. Though the characters take themselves seriously, the show definitely does not. Birdie Wing’s premise and presentation scream rule-of-cool rather than pretentiousness commonly associated with golf. When has there ever been a sci-fi anime about lesbians golfing to save their family from corrupt cops and the mafia?
Most surprisingly, Birdie Wing is quite class-conscious for an anime about teenagers playing golf. A willingness to embrace absurdity is required to tackle classism and gentrification through the lens of an adrenaline-fueled sport. And I mean it. These golfing tournaments are filled with shouting, catch-phrases, ridiculous twists, fierce competitiveness, and golfballs flying at the speed of a bullet. Despite juggling an over-the-top plot with an appropriately serious tone, it miraculously manages to be far better than expected. Golf is a costly sport, and it draws in snobbery. The idea of a working-class teenage girl supporting her single mom and family of five kids through one of the most exclusive sports is so ridiculous it just barely works. Golf was undoubtedly the best sport to tell this story because the juxtaposition of the heroine’s home life, class status, and even her three worn-out golf clubs, with her wealthy opponents and luxurious golf courses, encourages analysis from a socioeconomic perspective. The anime as a whole has a consciousness of class and race, so rarely seen in this medium.
Eve’s rival-turned-love interest Aoi is a foil to her class status. Aoi is introduced in a plane sitting in first-class, monitoring golf competitors, whereas Eve is making ends meet fraudulently disguised as the professional golfer she’s reading about. Note: The anime never frames Eve as a villain for crimes she commits because it is for the sake of her family; she’s a person with practical issues despite the bizarre premise, not some morally grey anti-hero. The further into the anime, the closer they become, and the second season will doubtlessly focus on their relationship as a power couple. Eve's irreverent attitude reflects Aoi's playful approach to the sport, their charming relationship is loaded with chemistry.
Only in Golf Girls’ Story would it be possible for a villainous Snake Woman working for the golf mafia to have a redemption arc, become part of the team, and assist Eve’s family in finding a new home and getting her siblings their citizenship. I was pleasantly surprised by this part of the show because it was great to see ethnic representation in anime. It is very uncommon for anime to cast people of color who aren’t subjected to racism by the writers. I wouldn’t go so far as to say it is an explicitly progressive text, but it comes close, especially by portraying the cops and bourgeois as caricatured villains and indefensible trash.
Even the upper-class golfers it does make us sympathize with are based on their personalities rather than defending their class status, suggesting their flaws and inconsiderateness are caused by it. For instance, Eve is late to a golf match with Aoi because she is caught up in a high-stakes match that could decide her family’s fate. Rather than waiting longer, Aoi leaves and is seen on a plane in first class as Eve hilariously fires a golf ball so fast that Aoi can see it from her window seat. Once you abandon all sense of logic, you can see how it is an unsubtle metaphor for Eve matching Aoi’s pace despite their wealth inequality. Challenging the status quo of snobbery inherent to the sport is the meaning underlying every conflict. The on-the-nose metaphor even extends to their caddies: Eve’s uses a pen and paper, and Aoi’s has a tablet that calculates everything necessary to succeed, yet they are equally matched.
Even the so-so art quality is bolstered by dynamic direction, imaginative storyboards, and visual storytelling. The artists, without a doubt, use the low budget to the best of their abilities. The outdated CGI environments are well utilized as establishing shots. A few highly detailed freeze frames convey a laughably campy tone to mask a lack of animation during dramatic dialogue. Right down to the exaggerated transitions effects show how much consideration went into every category. Everything Birdie Wing: Golf Girls’ Story aims to accomplish is achieved with flying colors.
Ginsu48
This is rough in almost every way possible. The characters are basically static and tossed in random events where they can continue to be broken records in the most asinine scenarios. Some people praise it for the "yuri". But holy damn the other girl isn't even present in 90% of the anime. It's just not even a factor. Nothing in the show is here for accuracy nor consistency. 20 yards between balls? Like 3 feet at best if you just look at the distance of the balls. There's basically zero stakes even when the show is trying to tell you how high the stakes are. Everything is just donein the most trope way they could manage. The end result is a dull experience where you can pretty much guess the "twists" before they even happen.
The entire anime is just Eve yelling out colors anime style like she's goku as she hits golf balls.
SanaeK10
Goddammit Sunrise (You're still Sunrise to me, BN Pictures). After what seems like eons being trapped in the Gundam and Love Live salt mines, finally do they come up with another wacky original. I thought, man, it's just Golf, quite possibly the most boring sport in the whole world, how could they pull it off. And boy oh boy how glad I was to be proven wrong. First off, the gritty noir faux-European setting one would associate more with Bee Train than Sunrise didn't clue you in, then the fact that half the series takes place in Nafrece would let you know all you needto know. This show, like Bee Train's "Girl With Guns" trilogy, is written by none other than Kuroda Yousuke, although with a lot less angst (think somewhere in between Valkyrie Drive and Madlax).
And wouldn't you know it, our main character Eve, sprouts out nothing but gun metaphors when she golfs. Oh sorry, "golfs". There is very little connecting this to the actual sport of hitting a ball with a club. Sure the characters talk about finesse and technique, but in practice it's no different to Donkey Kong swinging his club in Mario Golf or whatever. And it is glorious. Just absolutely glorious to behold. The show is very confident and proud of its stupidity and wears it like a badge of pride throughout. And the best part is, it (mostly) takes itself seriously. All that gritty noir mafia business, they all tie into a silly underground shifting mecha randomizer golf game! Apparently in this universe everything important ties back to golf somehow. The owner of the biggest conglomerate in Japan is Golf. The Nafrece Mafia is Golf. Eve "sells herself"(?) with Golf. Golf Terrorism? You bet! And don't forget Golf Lesbians. God, and even when the show finally calms down from its wacky yet serious mafia adventures as Eve settles down in a Japanese high school, somehow everyone she faces has Golf-related superpowers. It's absolute madness.
And I love every second of it.
That season 2 better come soon. I need my Golfing Mechas on a Space Colony.
8/10
EveAleon-88
I don't write reviews very often around here, but this time I felt the need to because this was MY FAVOURITE SHOW OF THIS SEASON. If I had to give the main reason why I would recommend this series it is because EVE IS AMAZNG MAIN CHARACTER. She doesn't fit into the stereotype of "cute girl" so common these days, but rather she is a character worthy of admiration, full of courage, and who has the necessary guts to face any challenge that comes her way. Personally, I have always found attractive the characters with dominant characteristics, which generate great influence on the rest of the accompanyingcast, making the work interesting by following in their footsteps.
Regarding the sporting aspect, golf works as a device for developing personal interactions. It is not an account of life disguised as a sports series, nor does it monopolize everything. It is the right and necessary dose.
ZNoteTaku
SPOILER-FREE! Golf and I get along like oil and water – we simply do not mix. I’ve gone to the driving range several times, spent some days out at the links (both voluntarily and when I’d rather not), and have even tried watching the Master’s on television. Even after all these years, actually playing the sport itself just bounces off me like rubber. I can see why it has the appeal that it does, but I think it’s fair to say that I’ve given golf more than my own fair share of time and chances. There comes a point where you must shake your head andadmit that something’s not worth pursuing as a hobby or activity any longer. It’s a shame, but that’s sometimes the way things go.
BIRDIE WING: Golf Girls’ Story was therefore a show that I was taking a major chance on. There was, however, reason to be hopeful – earlier this year, a 15-minute OVA called Sorairo Utility featured a slice-of-life take on golf, which I found pleasant, even if a little bit flawed. A thought then occurred to me – it is possible that golf and I were going to have a magical reconciliation, that I would gain new appreciation for the sport and see something within it that I had somehow missed all this time? I doubted it, but I still nevertheless decided to give this new series a drive.
Eve is a blonde-haired golfer who takes on various golfing challenges. She earns money on these challenges with her “bullet” style of golfing, which doesn’t adhere to any of the techniques or refinement that one expects from a typical golfer. Her playstyle however attracts the attention of the young golf champion Amawashi Aoi, and Eve challenged to a hole on the range. After losing, Eve finds herself excited and wanting to challenge Amawashi again. She’ll have to deal though with other golfers desperate to knock her off her pedestal, as well as deal with her boss who holds a mafia-esque grip on her.
In effect, BIRDIE WING: Golf Girls’ Story is a shonen in sports clothing, all done for a sport that, in theory, complements the idea the least. One of golf’s appeals is the relaxed nature of the whole, an underlying classiness and etiquette that is meant to be adhered to. It is a sport that requires patience and calculation, which allows one to stop and take the time to enjoy the setting and the company you’re keeping. It’s supposed to be encapsulated by the visual imagery of the course, expansive and lushly green with its bodies of water…so long as the bunkers and rough don’t eat your golf ball alive in the process. With the bombast and sense of extreme escalation that shonen is known for bringing to the table, golf is one of the sports that doesn’t sound at all ripe for making into a larger-scale spectacle.
The show attacks that very mindset head-on, best demonstrated with its main character. Eve’s very manner of being is the polar opposite of everything that you reasonably expect from a golfer. Her attire looks like it was hastily thrown together in the dark, no doubt a result of her struggling financial situation both for herself and the family that she’s helping to care for (Gundam model kits included, evidently). Even her hair is largely unkempt, flowing down but without a ponytail or other way to keep it tidy. It makes for a perfect mirror to her personality: abrasive, blunt, and always ready to reach for her driver and destroy whoever lies in wait.
And destroy them she does – despite her unorthodox style of presentation, it makes for highly-effective golfing. The training she underwent caused her to develop what she calls “Rainbow Bullet” golfing, in which she attacks the courses with a series of strong, blasting swings that take on particular effects to get the ball in the hole as quickly as possible. While she’s quite skilled, her style is also rife with risk, leaving the ever-lingering question behind of when, or if, the method will fail her. But when it clicks, the look on the faces of her opponents usually comes in two delicious flavors: resignation, or absolute fury at their sport being “desecrated.”
Contrasting Eve is Amawashi, the perfect posterchild for the golfing world. Not only has her play been recognized (not to mention commented upon and envied) by her peers, but she also has the perfect smile and temperament to match. Much of BIRDIE WING: Golf Girls’ Story’s drama comes from these two girls from two different worlds colliding on the day of their fateful encounter, the results of which leave lasting impressions on both. In that sense, the show adopts the classic shonen trope of friendships being forged on the “battlefield,” establishing the kind of spontaneous connection that defies explanation or description. Their dynamic is a walking example of the old adage that “opposites attract.”
That attraction is spilled all over the anime. In an effort to leave the audience with the yearning to have the two see each other again, the show manages to concoct various do-or-die scenarios for Eve in the mafia’s vicegrip, or play up the melancholy Amawashi feels since she cannot see the person who has thrilled her more than anyone else (much to the consternation of her caddy, who’d sooner throw Eve off the side of a cliff if she could). There is no attempt here to hide yuri baiting, whether it be conveyed through actual dialogue or when the anime decides to temporarily adopt shoujo-style bubbles with a glowing border and many sparkles. In this case, the bait is part of the appeal – BIRDIE WING: Golf Girls’ Story fully commits to its desire to go over the absurd threshold and not look back. The result is that the “romance” between Eve and Amawashi is odd and fun.
Odd and fun, wonderfully enough, refers to much of the other cast as well. With the mafia backdrop, there is no shortage of rich, pompous slimeballs who delight in using a dignified sport for their undignified operations. The web of how the mafia operates, both in external effects on the world and with its internal politics, is something that series composer Kuroda Yousuke clearly had fun reveling in. The labyrinth runs hilariously deep, with so much goings-on that the golf matches both act as plot threads to move things forward and fun little digressions when the narrative isn’t spending time teeing up its next crazy situation. No matter what situation is present at the moment, its always stupidly enjoyable.
Though the animation could, at best, be considered “acceptable” given that it’s not particularly excelling in any respects. There is nothing fundamentally wrong with the character models, occasional use of CGI, or the backgrounds and layouts. The visual element suffers from mostly just being unimpressive, and at times the lighting and compositing gives things an unusual sheen, even in the sunlight. Musically, the series doesn’t really have anything to offer either, as the tracks themselves seemed to exist more as placeholders and ways to fill space rather than incorporating anything noteworthy.
But more than any of that is just the sensation that I couldn’t help but feel that I wondered into the wrong country club. I mean that in the best way possible. Everything in BIRDIE WING: Golf Girls’ Story’s existence is over-the-top and impossible to take seriously. It is a mosaic of ideas where everyone involved in production seemed to ask themselves, “Why the hell not? Throw it in!” and ran full-tilt with that ideology. What should have been, under virtually all other circumstances or conditions, bugs in the design instead became features. The series is a chimera of hilarity and that indescribable feeling of enjoying something that, by all accounts, should not exist.
As I’ve hinted at throughout the course of this writing, that, I think, is part of the reason why the show worked for me – in a way, BIRDIE WING: Golf Girls’ Story is the thematic antithesis to golf despite taking place within a golf framework. Eve’s sheer brutality and unrefined attitude functions as a fun contrast to the more prim-and-proper Amawashi, and the fact that so much of Eve’s circumstances is rooted in a kind of seedy, golf underworld is bizarrely entertaining. I was left with so many questions as to why things transpired the way that they did, but always with a wink and a nod rather than a headshaking disappointment.
I was quirkily amused by its silliness and occasional ineptitude such that I couldn’t help myself but have fun. How else would one plausibly explain why an entire mafia underworld golf course is in the subterranean basement level of a real estate office, taking place in a gigantic wind tunnel and with mechanisms in place to randomize the course however you see fit? I suppose in a way it’s rather sad that golf had to take such a perverse angle on itself to capture my attention, but, nevertheless, capture my attention it did!
BIRDIE WING: Golf Girls’ Story embraces its absurdity by taking the finesse of golf and making it more rugged. While in many respects it fails as a piece of entertainment given the animation, compositing, and music, its characters and the story they inhabit are such an odd bunch that it manages to hold itself together. I fault no one for saying this show is garbage, since I can’t even bring myself to disagree that much; but as a piece of entertainment, it amused me in a way that real golf never did. I won’t be grabbing a five-iron anytime soon, but I certainly won’t be forgetting this show anytime soon, either.
PraxisCat
The beauty of animation is that you can tell any kind of story you want, lifted from the constraints of set design, cinematography, and editing. In animation, you can tell any kind of story you want. Birdie Wing takes advantage of that in ways I could not imagine. No part of this show stands out as what one would conventionally call "good." The art is not particularly descriptive -- the main characters, who are apparently 15 and under, absolutely look and were designed like women in their young 20s. The voice acting is competent, but nothing that sounds out as career defining. The animation isperfectly decent. The music is nothing to write home about.
But even so, the first episode, natch, the very first sequence, blew me away -- not because of any amazing animation, or a touching story, or cool character designs or ideas present in the story. But because we start the story with golf crimes.
Of all the things you could make a show about, this is a show about a golf criminal.
Birdie Wing is not a good show, but it is an incredible show. You should watch it.
After the third episode, there was not a single moment in the story I felt safe with knowing what was going to happen next. This is a story that takes a premise -- "what if Girls 15 and Under golf was the most important thing in the world to literally everyone", and runs with it. The drama is contrived, the characters are goofy, the pacing is bad and the plot is chaotic. None of that matters. The show doesn't care, all it seems to want to do is to up the stakes in some completely bizarre twist, complete with old-fashioned postcard stills. I cannot tell you if this show is a parody or if it is sincere, but it is one of the funniest things I've seen in a long time.
I haven't talked a lot about golf in this review, and that's because this show isn't about golf, not in a way that matters. The main character's main golfing strategy is just "hit the ball, really hard." She doesn't care, the writers of this show didn't care, and neither should you. This is a show about a 15 year old golf criminal in a world that really, really cares about golf. Don't expect a good story. Don't expect any of the plot holes or inconsistencies to be filled. Just watch it, watch it and wonder what could possibly happen next.
Longnines
A teenage girl involved with some questionable acquaintances is a wonder with a golf club, so much so that she makes her rent payment through playing courses for professionals as a proxy, and through private bets where the stakes are high. Her perspective and ambitions are challenged and changed completely when she meets another junior golfer her age, who is also an aspiring professional. Birdie Wing has everything and the kitchen sink, from shady organizations that engage in life-and-death gambling, to rainbow-colored and specially-named golf club swings that make them seem like some kind of ultimate attack, to corporate ambition and greed. It dangles the prospectof the main character building a meaningful relationship with her foil in front of the viewer like a carrot, while also juggling a plethora of whacky twists and turns. It does this all while maintaining a serious narrative about one of the most irrevocably boring sports in existence.
The writing is not merely entertaining, but it is so ridiculous that the show must be seen to be believed. It is a spectacle and has several serious character moments that simply cannot be taken seriously at all. It is unintentionally funny and unpredictable. The pacing is good for the entirety of the season and does an admirable job at keeping the level of intrigue high. The animation is fine for what it is.
The characters are decently written, have a variety of traits, and continue to develop as the series progresses. The main character is delightfully confident in her own abilities, which was refreshing for a medium where most main characters are deeply plagued by some form of insecurity.
If you are a fan of adventure, sports drama, and/or yuri-baiting then I recommend Birdie Wing. I recommend it anyway if you are looking for something entertaining that has a plot it is trying to follow. This is an entertaining show; while it does not do anything unbelievably innovative, its greatest achievement is that it has effectively made golf interesting.
The_Namer
Based on the title and the key art, I assumed this would be a typical high school sports anime, perhaps one with tea parties and cake. I was wrong. I was so, so wrong. I like to think that this show's genesis started with a production committee telling an animation studio that they wanted a story about crazy golf, but the writer had never heard of crazy golf. So instead of ramps and miniature windmills we find ourselves in a world where the criminal underground makes decisions based on the outcome of high stakes golf matches. Since Birdie Wing has no interest in subtlety, these matchestake place literally underground. Golfers shout the names of their special golfing moves. There is psychological golf warfare. There's a nymphomaniac snake woman with fangs and questionable personal hygiene. The protagonist's scar-faced golf coach is voiced by Char frakking Aznable himself. Sounds crazy? I haven't even mentioned what happens when the golf mafia doesn't like the results of a match. Let's just say rocket launchers may be involved. I won't spoil the most jaw-dropping moment in the series; just make sure you keep watching after the end credits in episode 7.
Birdie Wing occupies that special zone of anime madness perfected by Fist of the North Star, where it simultaneously serves up deadly serious drama and over the top lunacy in equal measure, and you're never 100% certain if the people making it are in on the joke or playing it straight. Every episode I thought I'd acclimatised to it, and every week it proved me wrong. At least up until episode 9.
Perhaps the weirdest--and most disappointing--thing about Birdie Wing is the abrupt gear switch it pulls in episode 9. The golf mafia arc concludes, the protagonist moves to Japan and transfers to the same high school as her rival, and suddenly I was watching the high school sports anime that I'd expected at the beginning. By the time the first cour ends, the first 8 episodes started to feel like a fever dream that I'm not entirely convinced I didn't hallucinate.
In no way does it become a bad show, but it does become more conventional. The trailer for next year's second cour hints that the madness might just be lurking out of sight for now, but the 12 episodes we have for now make for an oddly anticlimactic experience by the end. It would be like if the original Dragon Ball had opened with several episodes of Frieza blowing up planets and then switched to kid Goku sparring with Krillin and Yamcha for the rest of the season. The viewer can't help but wonder where the crazy went.
jXcileJ
To Eve: The way you golf is ridiculous. Eve: To me, it’s the proper way to golf. Birdie Wing: Golf Girls’ Story is Decent to watch. I'm not calling it “Mid”. It just had ups and downs from start to finish. Plus, I never would’ve thought that golf in anime is pretty entertaining…unless you put some absurd amount of things that Anime could do. Like, a Baddie Snake Woman, moving Facility that can make the world crumble, Mafias’ betting all their money to golf, VR that is identical to real life experience. You name it! There’s more things to say, but I’m not here to diss the show. Yet. I’mhere to find out what got me to like watching this show.
First and foremost. The intro.
I already found that the first three of the episodes were somewhat decent to watch. Because I was talking to my brother and told him, “Dude, Idk man. Golf in Anime f***ing slaps”. It already shows how the characters build up to their background stories. And how great they use the OST and Animation. It was great.
Until I watched episode 4, 5, and 6.
This is where everything changed my perspective from watching the show.
It introduces new characters where Eve is living in a life of poverty. BUT
On Episode 4, Mafias were introduced. Underground Pro Golfers. And a huge facility is made just for golfing. It got me thinking. WTF is happening. Onto episode 5, VR is somewhat big. Even professional players are taking it. And lastly. Episode 6. Eve’s instructor named Leo was introduced. Snake Woman became Eve’s caddy. So much trusting a person in a mafia people. And Leo, Eve’s instructor. He used to teach Rose right before she loses her arm(one of Eve’s rivals in episode 7).
With an abominable amount of games. Finally, Eve won her underground tournament which led to having a loathsome amount of money. So after winning a mafia game, Eve gets targeted by the Mafia Boss.
And here she must set a new arc.
Arriving in Japan
While she runs away from her home country. As she set foot in Japan to find her Rival ”Aoi” . And not knowing a single thing about their language. Until….. I have to say this unless this wouldn’t complete my review.
**Eve said in English, “Are you from here? I asked if you’re from here. Do you understand what I’m saying?”. Ichina replied, “I’m still studying English”. Eve in out of nowhere said in Japanese, “You from around here?” Ichina questioned her, “You can speak Japanese!?” And Eve replied to herself in Nihonjin, “I guess I can. Why, I wonder?”**
I paused for a moment. And straight up bursting laughter. I was dying from laughing. And It got me thinking. (I need to write a review on this. I need this so badly.)
At this point, I don’t even know if this show is valid for its sports genre. Sure it is pretty entertaining if they focused on golfing and with rivalries, but it just went like. **?What?**
And what also got me thinking in every episode is the “Mr. Incredible becoming Uncanny” meme. It started good and slowly pacing to unusual progression and gets right back to the track where it became a golf again.
And thus the review is done.
Story- [I don’t find this an average show. I just find it uncertain]
Progression- [I know what is happening, but at the same time. I Don’t.]
Art- [The Art caught me first because of how well detailed the surroundings are]
OST- [It’s good they added a banger soundtrack, or else the Swinging sequence wouldn’t be working out]
Enjoyment- [Golf parts are entertaining. I had some laughs at the middle part of series and overall…]
Overall- 5/10
This is my own experience of watching this show. If you find it more entertaining than in my standard. Good for you.
And to people who hasn't watch the show and reading this review. Give it a try.
SSJ-SUP3RM4N
The idea of a golf anime, for some, may be hard to comprehend. Golf is not the most riveting sport in the world (I actually quite enjoy it, and even I admit it is not the most exciting). That said, what better place is there than anime, where any and everything can be taken up to 11, to make such a non-riveting sport into a wacky, fun story all about it? Enter Birdie Wing. As the synopsis suggests, the intertwining of the arcs of the two MCs, Aoi and Eve, is the focal point of this story. The contrast of their prefaces is hardlyoriginal between Aoi, the renowned child prodigy, and Eve, the disgruntled vet who fought her way to the top. As it is with most facets of this anime, the golf motif makes such elements feel quite original. What makes this duo, and many others like it, so endearing is that though they're both so different in circumstance and personality, they get on the same wavelength in a very natural way. In this case, they are both unstoppable forces in the world of golf, but are such forces in entirely different ways. They both respect each other's game highly and quickly recognize their differences when it comes to their play styles, making for a fulfilling rivalry. The yuri bait starts to pile on at points, but such tends to be the nature of anime sometimes with a two-girl MC duet.
The story across these 13 episodes exists in two distinct halves. For spoiler reasons, I will avoid covering the exact topics. The two halves are quite different, with the first expressing a sense of urgency and emotional intensity that is lacking in the second. Though some darker topics are touched upon, the story itself is not particularly deep or profound. Both main girls are introduced right at the very beginning, but Eve is the main driver of the story early on. The first half ends in a way that leaves some of its plot points open to potentially return to in Season 2. Though the second major arc lacks the intensity of the first, it is still decently enjoyable. Aoi and Eve start to share the screen more and their chemistry really starts to take off. In addition, a whole new wave of characters is introduced, helping keep things fresh. That said, the change in story direction from the first to the second half is quite jarring, especially considering how much more emotionally packed the first half is. When considering the two halves as an entire package, many elements feel disjointed. This change is also felt in the cast of side characters introduced in the beginning and those introduced at the second half. There is a good variety to the cast, but there are many sorts of characters that will never meet, simply due to how separated those two plot points are. That notwithstanding, there is a big positive in that, the spin on the actual golf being played is different between the two, keeping the on-screen product from getting stale.
Since this is a sports anime, it is very important that this distinction is made now. This is a golf anime, but this is one of those entries where keeping the on-screen product factually accurate to the sport it is portraying is never a priority, a practice done in the same vein as entries like Kuroko's Basketball and, more recently, Blue Lock. That said, it is not so far gone that it lacks the finer strategies of golf, mainly thanks to the visual and audio cues. While some may find issue with this, it could also be seen as this show's greatest strength. This show is not afraid to express its unconventional ideas in the slightest. The characters’ actual playstyles are not too unique, using the tried and true method of ‘shonen-ifying’ for lack of a better word, meaning their playstyle is expressed as some sort of supernatural power. Again though, the X-factor this show has in this regard is due to the golf devices. I have never heard of a golf swing being so rigorously compared to firing a gun, and I doubt I will hear such a thing anywhere else. Other story beats, like the mafia settling business through games of golf, are just as fanciful. Those elements and others all feel wacky and almost nonsensical, but at the same time, the all-encompassing style of golf gives this show a feel of fun as well as its own flavor that is hard to easily replicate. So many elements here are so out-of-the-box that they feel fresh and exciting, leaving a novel sense of anticipation. On the other hand, such an approach leads to the more serious parts of the story feeling almost out-of-place at times.
Visually, this anime holds up. The art style is clean, if not a bit generic. The fidelity and detail are passable, though there is a general low-bugdet feel to a lot of the backdrops. The balance of color is mostly clear and consistent, though it can be a bit over-saturated at times. Given that the cast is almost entirely female, there is good variety to the designs. The sense of fashion is also solid, with the golf motif once again leading to some more unique designs. The aforementioned contrast between Aoi and Eve also applies visually, helping set in that sense of variety. The visual aspects of the golf being played are not consistently dynamic, but they are good enough to get the point across. Characters' swings are fluent and smooth for the most part. The distinct visual effects that accompany players’ 'powers' that come with were also fine albeit a bit generic. In terms of the courses, there are some more realistic designs and some completely not so at all, but both types looked good. The shades of green across all of the courses, realistic or absurd, are steady and consistent, helping maintain the color balance and keep the saturation between the character designs and the backdrops consistent.
Sound design is also solid. The voice acting is very good. Though many of the side characters are voiced by names not too familiar, Asami Seto and Akari Kitou are two super-heavyweight names who both bring their A-game here. Their respective performances as Aoi and Eve truly take this pairing to the next level. The music is good but not as much so, though Venus Line is a banger of an OP. The OST is good and has a decent variety of sounds, but it needs more songs. There are some serving as character themes of sorts, but others are rehashed with not enough consistency to when they were used. The sound effects have decent depth to them. The metal clang of the club hitting the ball, the soft thud of the ball hitting the green, the swaying of the wind as the ball travels through the air and many other effects all almost serve as the main devices that remind the viewer that no matter what foolishness may be occurring on screen, it is still at least some form of golf. The ‘powers’ also get their own effects, which have a similar sort of strong 'pop’, but some do not feel as surreal as they could or should be.
As enjoyable as this show is, it hardly moves the needle in any substantial way. A common theme in this review has been the golf themes and motifs are what make this anime stand out. Though this could be interpreted as its major strength, it could also be seen as a fresh coat of cherry-red paint hiding a dull gray interior. It does take some dissection, but a lot of the story beats can come off as quite generic with the golf removed. Again, generic does not mean bad, so though it is not a non-issue, it is not a problem that detracts too much from potential enjoyment. It also helps that the second season actually does not have this issue, as the story starts to come full circle there, but that's for a different review.
Though this show will hardly make any sort of great wave, Birdie Wing is a perfect example of simply having a good time with an established set of ideas. It takes a lot of risks with its novel spins on tried-and-true ideas and reaps the rewards. This anime has a strong sense of its identity in the face of its unorthodox progression. Even with some of the scenarios lacking in true originality, credit is due for the creativity applied to still succeed in making them feel unique, as outlandish and even downright nonsensical they can get. Though generic it may be after taking away the ‘golf’ skin, the execution still works out well here. There is no shortage or substitute for the excitement in the watching experience, even with the all-around mid-budget feel. The characters are fun and their developments are unpredictable and enjoyable. The audiovisuals are not ground-breaking by any stretch, but have a consistent quality. Even with how much there is to like, in all honesty, though the show itself is quite good, there's not too many elements to it to truly draw viewers in. I found this anime because I was interested in the golf motif and I would definitely recommend it to those with a similar sentiment.
xXDAGGERHEARTXx
Birdie Wing is a surprisingly engaging show about the world's most boring sport; golf. I'm surprised how engaged I got with all the matches and genuinely cheering for Eve and hoping she could get out of her bad circumstances with her family. The stakes of them losing their only home gave what could easily feel like repetitive golf matches the necessary tension. With the addition of her beginning to reach higher and care for her craft Eve was given plenty to work with as a character. Gave her some good depth. The characters definitely are the highlight of this show. They're all very charming with unique, eyecatching designs. Golf clothes are typically stereotypically ugly in things so it was fun to see the actual types of designs that professional golfers would wear. Well, for the ones who were normal golfers anyways. As much as I liked Vipere she is an outlier clothing wise lol.
I also went into this not expecting it to be angling towards yuri, I hope it continues in that direction as I loved Eve and Aoi's friends/rivals relationship and would love to see it get expanded on more.
My only real complaint is that the first season feels like half a season. It ends really abruptly and at a strange point that feels like it should be midseason rising tension. I haven't had a chance to watch the second season yet but if it ends the arc successfully I'll probably boost this first season up to a 9.
Edit: Season 2 is a hot mess, score adjusted accordingly.
Jozuwa-_-
What a bizarre experience this Anime has been. From having a story with an awkward Spanish-Teledrama vibe to having bonkers so-bad-it's-good moments. From trying hard to justify the "Golf" concept to basically going "Heck it! It's Yuri on Greens Motha'F'ers!". Idk y'all...I liked it. It's like a guilty pleasure I can be proud of. With that being said I'll have to admit... Story's poop XD So this review will likely be more negative than a positive one. STORY: Golf was just the chosen gimmick, nothing more. It could have been any sport, any competition, any kind of battle, just simply "anything" and the story they told would've still endedup being the same. It was more of a Trash-Talk battle with the one who gets the final burn, winning or a battle of feelings where the one who has more regrets, insecurities, and weaker resolve, loses. But credit where credit is due, they did manage to make it seem Golf is a factor in the story by involving it in dialogues more often than not. Just a shame that they didn't make the actual Golf match shenanigans interesting enough. So don't expect much from its "Sport" aspect as this is far from the likes of "Prince of Tennis" or "Eye-Shield 21" where each individual player will have their own style and techniques (they do have "Special Attack" names though :P) and most definitely far from the likes of "SlamDunk" or "Major" where the sport really heavily drives the story, along with the connection to characters.
One thing I DO appreciate about the story though is the premise. "Shoot through your opponent's heart with one shot. Destroy your opponent's spirit so they won't dare challenge you again". The idea of a protagonist not just winning a match on their better day, but winning decisively and strong to be etched in the opponent's memory, rendering them courageless to face them again is one helluva strong point... if only the competition aspect of the Anime was good enough to make use of that *sigh*
CHARACTERS:
When a story is bad, the only thing that could save a show is the characters.
EVE Aleon (the protag) fortunately has a striking personality for a protagonist; straightforward, somewhat abrasive, competitive, risk-taker, and confident. It sometimes helps in making the Golf matches a bit interesting with her aggressive and stubborn play-style being her weakness when she's already being deemed as a strong Golfer by her opponents and spectators.
AOI Amawashi's story has already been set up way back in the first half of the season but they saved it for the next season, likely to be the main plot for that. So for now, she's your usual bubbly, classy, cutesy, innocent, perfect-athlete-specimen-with-a-family-name-to-live-up-to character.
I'll refrain from mentioning the others to avoid spoilers seeing as characters (imo) would most be the only reason one could enjoy this Anime.
But I'll vaguely share some that I appreciated, and some I'm curious about:
Eve's "counter-part" was probably the most interesting adversary, at least character-wise and, they did manage to make golf gambling feel serious during that part. The "caddie" was also a fun POV character addition. And I'm still curious about that one "rival" they introduced/planted waaay waaay back but only showed up again once, shown being grumpy as she sees Eve's name. Not sure if I just misunderstood but, I really have a feeling she'll be the main rival for Eve. we'll see.
ART & SOUND:
Straight up... art was overall low-quality. They did just enough to give characters some distinguishable features.
The VAs were pretty good too... not so much for the male characters though.
But here's the biggest reason I ended up enjoying every episode even when it's being too corny or awkward or both... the SoundTrack. Mostly the ED "Yodaka" by Tsukiyomi. It's just so lovely in my ears that I now play it on a regular basis. The OP is quite fitting and catchy too.
OVERALL:
This is something that should've been completely poop but, with some proper directing, they managed to salvage it and utilize the very few strengths of the Anime. I just hope they're finally really done with the corny story plot from the first half and just focus more on the competition aspect of the story... not that the Golfing part factors that much. it's just more tolerable with that instead of the Underground, life-threatening Golf-Gambling crap.
TL:DR
If you like a female character-heavy Anime with a sprinkle of "Yuri" romance and a sports theme, might wanna check this out. But only if you have enough patience to bear with the corny chapter for the first 5 episodes.
AkiraChinami
In case you missed the sole morsel of good news to grace our society this past week, Birdie Wing will indeed be returning in January with a second season. I mention this up front for two reasons: it's a blessing deserving of the most joyous of canticles, and it helps calibrate expectations for this week's episode. It's a season finale in name only, going about its typically bonkers Birdie Wing business without any concern for placing a punctuation mark on the end of part one. In a sense, it's relieving. This means the showrunners always planned to have a second cours and thus wrote theshow with that in mind. We even get a normal episode preview despite the incoming six-month gap. But it also means there's no heart-racing cliffhanger or explosive developments to whet our appetite for part two—unless, of course, you count Aoi and Eve flirting harder than ever before.
Birdie Wing tells the opening act of the doubles tournament in an intelligently truncated fashion. We already know who the big players are thanks to the past several weeks of buildup, so there's no need to focus too much attention on the early fodder. Rather, the show uses this time to show us that, despite their reality-bending level of talent, Eve and Aoi are far from infallible. They're winning handily, but they're making mistakes that will cost them if they play that way against Koran or Nada. While that's typical tournament arc fare, it's made that much better with the knowledge that these rival high school girls are even scarier golfers than the mafia-affiliated ones. That's the correct way to scale power levels.
This episode is most intriguing, however, when it steps away from the young pups in the competition and starts peeling layers away from the adults' backstory and motivations. They're every bit as melodramatic as anything else in Birdie Wing, with impending deaths, power-hungry CEOs, legendary golfers, and drunkard coaches peppering the cast. Eve and Aoi's story right now is an extension of these past conflicts and current grudges. Eve's carrying on Golf Char's frightful legacy whether she wants to or not, while Aoi sees her father in Mizuho's carefully prepared form. Winning this tournament will require both of them to confront the specters of the father figures, who each remain veiled by a thick curtain of mystery. This tiered, multi-generational storytelling tack is a smart, time-tested way to flesh out characters and their narrative (Evangelion is a great example), and it'll help set up whatever's in store for the next arc as well.
But that's enough about stodgy old fogies and the problems they inexorably foist upon the next generation. Let's talk about what really matters: Eve and Aoi being cute idiots together. The opening is a perfect example, with Eve planting a peck on Aoi's cheek and playing it off like it's a normal Nafrecian custom (Nafrece, recall, is a stand-in for France). In truth, Eve knows exactly what she's doing, and she's just a demon who loves watching Aoi squirm. What is that if not the definition of true love? Their rapport on the green is similarly great, as they drive each other to golf better and goof off in equal measure, much to consternation of their caddies. These growing pains, however, are the whole reason for tournament arcs. They're learning how to be partners. If it takes wagering hamburgers and kisses, then that's just the cost of doing business, and by business, I mean flustering your golf girlfriend to high heaven.
There's not much else to comment on this week, aside from taking a moment to appreciate the individual things Birdie Wing has done consistently well throughout the season. The writing is obviously the star here. Yosuke Kuroda lovingly embraces all the absurdities of these characters and their world, and he embroils them in deceptively complicated conflicts while peppering the proceedings with plenty of snappy humor and playful genre affects. Both he and the entire cast have a lot of fun with the script, and it shows. Director Takayuki Inagaki deserves a lot of credit too, stretching the modest production values with eye-catching (and sometimes hilarious) postcard memories and enough dynamism in framing to complement the over-the-top flair of the writing. He also storyboarded all but the last two episodes by himself, which is no small feat. The soundtrack by Hironori Anazawa and Kotaro Nakagawa, meanwhile, is probably the most unsung hero, or at least I wish I had taken more time to highlight it previously. Those bright, jazzy horns have become iconic. The character design from Kei Ajiki works extremely well too, from the gaudy serpentine clownshow that is my beloved Vipère, to the more mundane yet all the more frightening menace that emanates from Mizuho. Sometimes, Birdie Wing feels like an anime displaced by a few decades, but if so, that only means it has sturdy bones that have weathered the slings and arrows of the industry.
Before the spring season commenced, I certainly didn't foresee being blown away by a cult classic in the making about high tension aboveboard and under-the-table golf girl shenanigans, yet here I am, thirteen weeks of slack-jawed disbelief later. While the premiere alone convinced me of Birdie Wing's quality and potential, there was no way to know whether or not that opening drive would sustain enough momentum to carry an entire cours' worth of fairway fracases. Well, now I know, and I can't wait to see how high Eve's Blue Bullet takes us in six months. See you on the back nine! Or back thirteen. Or however many more episodes we're blessed with.
jmckenna15
I love golf. I enjoy playing it, watching it, the whole culture surrounding golf, and will wait in line for hours to get US Open tickets, and someday dream of heading to St. Andrew's -- the home of golf -- to play a round (even though I suck at golf personally). So on that alone, I was hoping Birdie Wing would be a fun watch -- because it's a golf anime, and we don't see that often! I therefore expected a typical sports anime with cute girls doing golf and it being well animated I didn't get that. But what we got instead is even betterthan what I hoped.
Essentially this is less "The Legend of Bagger Vance" and more "Rounders" to use IRL movie references. There's an underground golf mafia, a girl (Eve) who only plays for money, and who eventually runs into another girl (Aoi) who is seen as a prodigy and together, they pledge to eventually play a round with eachother. Along the way, there's a neighborhood that needs to be saved, illegal orphans living in a bar who depend on Eve's ability to make money on the underground circuit, and enough lesbian energy that has me praying that doujin artists can keep us satisfied until s2 comes out in January.
Heck, the fact that it has people who aren't that interested in golf -- or for whatever (dumb) reason hate the sport -- excited about the anime makes me think it could get more young people fascinated by the sport by showing it in a new, cool light. That would be a win for both sides wouldn't it?
So yeah, if you love golf or are just interested, this is the anime for you. Come for the golf, stay for the thinly veiled yuri and mafia shenanigans. You won't be disappointed.
