Birdie Wing: Golf Girls' Story

JustInCaseD Sep 3, 2022

7

I wasn't expecting this to be good ngl, far from it. When I first heard of the "lesbian/golf/mafia anime" I immediately thought we were gonna be in for a dumpster fire. A turn your brain off and watch the carnage type of show. But it genuninely surpised me, and I am pleased to be wrong for once. It somehow took a concept that could've easily been a mindless, fanservicey trainwreck and instead wrote a genuinely well written story - Complete with dynamic characters, development, genuinely good animation, and solid setup for the part 2. It didn't just spend 3 episodes and dive right into some tournament arc like some other sports anime do, which I cannot stand. It spent 12 episodes building up to something, introducing and aquainting us with the characters for us to understand and get attatched to, and have left on a roughly ideal spot to end the first part. It took a sport as mundane and boring as golf, and instead of taking itself super seriously it decided to have a lot of fun with it. It really put a true anime feeling into it and made the shots both fun to watch without going over the top into stupid territory. It also kept just enough weight and stakes in the plot to drive it forward and keep tension throughout it. The writers plotted this out well and I commend them for it. Now all the praise aside, it's not a perfect show. Some of it's non-golf scenes were not up to par with the rest of the show, likely due to a definite lack of investment into these scenes. A certain goodbye scene I won't spoil was almost ruined due to how floppy and bad the characters running animation looked, and took a bit of focus away from the emotional aspect because it was noticeably bad. But this was the only "important" scene ruined by this element, so the animation still gets a high grade overall. Also, the 3 kids Klein are raising don't have their names ever uttered once in the show? Despite being a central focus for the main character to fight for. They have names in the database apparently, because I had to go looking to find them. But they're just refered to as "the kids" and nothing else. It's not really a big or impactful issue, but it was definitely a detail that irked me. I think it speaks volumes for it's quality that the only issues I really had with this anime are things I really have to fine comb and nitpick for to critique.  I went into Birdie Wing expecting it to be trash, but came out genuinely hooked. It went way above my expectations and I am genuninely happy to report how wrong my first impressions of this anime were. This is a massively overlooked gem from the Spring '22 lineup that I wish I found sooner. Depending on how they handle the follow up this could very well end up as one of the greats of Sports Anime, if albeit an underrated/overlooked one for the time being. Will absolutely be watching part/season 2 this coming Winter. 

iforinsignificant Nov 23, 2022

8

Well, well, well... How unexpected of this show to not only turn out to be pretty damn good but also make me not hate golf as much anymore. As elitist, boring and exclusionary I find golf as a sport, I enjoyed all aspects of this show relating to it. The best part was the two leads, they had pretty great chemistry even though when it comes to characters most of the supporting cast were underdeveloped and didn't contribute much, but still none of them were outright unlikeable. One gripe I have with this show is the fact that for how utterly absurd the situations were in the first half,  the bizarre high stakes and people dying didn't quite gel with the vibe it was giving off. Still, it was pretty unique and entertaining despite all that. The second half was quite an improvement even with the overdone high school setting in Japan. I can't believe the last episode left things where it did. Things had gotten so interesting with all that build up but the payoff never came. I hope season 2 gets here soon. Another gripe I had with the show is the animation, it's quite inconsistent. The golf swings are animated really well mostly all the time but the rest of the movements, especially running, look pretty awkward. I would imagine the animators could have at least hid the imperfections better because as is evident from the golf swings that they are pretty good at their job. I know the golf swings are the most important bits so all the budget went there but when lives were at stake, the jerky, intensity lacking animations just broke the immersion. All in all, quite a unique experience that managed to make me interested in something related to golf of all things, mostly because of the characters, so this one gets a straight forward recommendation from me. I also want to give this show bonus yuri undertones points but I know I'll be disappointed if I expect anything halfway decent in that respect so I'm going to hold off until the next season comes.

Teoca317 Nov 3, 2022

8.5

Story: A girl, Eve, who partakes in underground golf matches meets a successful Japanese golf player, Aoi. Together they remember why golf is so fun, make new connections, try to maintain their old relationships, and make lily flowers bloom. The story is pretty interesting and I liked seeing the season progress based on Eve's POV. Animation: I thought the animation was pretty good. Seeing the golf ball fly in the air, through forests, and across rocky cliffs were a treat to watch. Some short scenes are a bit repetitive, (Eve's Blue Bullet for example) but it's still enjoyable.  Sound: The opening is one of my favorites! The energy definitely gets you hyped for each episode. I also think the background music for Eve's Rainbow bullets is pretty good Characters: The characters have so much personality. Eve puts on a strong "street-girl" cover, but on the inside, she desperately cares about her family and friend. Aoi rediscovering golf after meeting Eve was nice to watch. The "antigonists" are loveable in their own ways.   Overall: I really enjoyed this anime. Who knew that an anime about golf would be so lovable and exciting to watch? Even if you don't play golf or know anything about it, I think that you'll enjoy this anime. Also, yuri-bait (do I need to say anymore?)