- Source: Birdie Wing
Birdie Wing: Golf Girls' Story (stylized as BIRDIE WING -Golf Girls' Story-) is a Japanese original anime television series about golf produced by Bandai Namco Pictures and directed by Takayuki Inagaki. The first season aired from April to June 2022, while a second season aired from April to June 2023. A sports video game developed by Viverse and WOWWOW Technology was released in June 2023.
Plot
In the European state of Nafrece, a girl named Eve uses her crude yet effective golfing style to act as a ringer and take money from various challengers in unsanctioned golf games, hoping to earn enough to secure a future for her adopted family and their bar. However, one day after beating another challenger, Eve meets with Japanese golfing prodigy Aoi Amawashi, who manages to defeat her in a 1-hole match. After suffering that defeat, Eve becomes obsessed with her newfound purpose of challenging Aoi to a full 18-hole match and beating her, while Aoi finds herself infatuated with Eve's attitude and determination. However, Eve is forced to battle through various challenges thrown in front of her by the Nafrece mafia, while Aoi's mother and her personal assistant try to get her to focus on her budding golf career.
Characters
Eve (イヴ, Ivu)
Voiced by: Akari Kitō
A girl with a bullish golf style who makes money from underground golf games. Using her "Rainbow Bullet" and other golf styles, she easily defeats her opponents. Later on in the series, she enrolls in an all-girls school with a strong golf program, where Aoi and the others also attend. In Season 2, it is revealed that her full name is Evangeline Burton.
Aoi Amawashi (天鷲葵, Amawashi Aoi)
Voiced by: Asami Seto
Daughter of the Amawashi Group's CEO, she is a skilled golf player who is part of the golf club at Raiho Girls' Academy. It is said that her smile can grind her opponents to defeat. However, she has a rare disease that threatens her life.
Amane Shinjō (新庄雨音, Shinjō Amane)
Voiced by: Ami Koshimizu
She is Aoi's best friend and her caddie. She has extensive knowledge, whether of psychology, statistics, or meteorology, along with detailed information on rivals and courses that Aoi will be participating in, so as to give her a significant edge.
Lily Lipman (リリィ・リップマン, Rirī Rippuman)
Voiced by: Akira Sekine
She is the friend of Eve, living in the Nafrece slums with her and her sister, Klein. She is energetic, cheerful, and good-hearted. She is often Eve's caddie during her underground golf games.
Reiya Amuro (亜室麗矢, Amuro Reiya)
Voiced by: Tōru Furuya
He is the golf club adviser at Raiho Girls' Academy. There are questions about who he really is until in Season 2, when it is revealed that he is Aoi's father.
Leo Millafoden (レオ・ミラフォーデン, Reo Mirafōden)
Voiced by: Shūichi Ikeda
He is Eve's golf trainer who left her after he had finished teaching her the golf skills she "needed".
Rose Aleon (ローズ・アレオン, Rōzu Areon)
Voiced by: Toa Yukinari
The go-between for Eve and Klein to the mafia underworld. She is also a skilled golfer.
Ichina Saotome (早乙女イチナ, Saotome Ichina)
Voiced by: Saki Fujita
A first-year student at Raiho Academy, with ambitions to become a professional caddie. She is Eve's caddie who can observe all about golf courses.
Kinue Jinguji (神宮寺絹江, Jingūji Kinue)
Voiced by: Mai Nakahara
Team President of the Raiho Golf Team. She is currently on the injured list with an elbow injury.
Mizuho Himekawa (姫川みずほ, Himekawa Mizuho)
Voiced by: Yukari Tamura
A second-year student at Nadanan Sports Academy and the defending Japanese Amateur Champion.
Kaede Oikawa (及川楓, Oikawa Kaede)
Voiced by: Yū Kobayashi
A second-year student at Nadanan Sports Academy and Mizuho Himekawa's doubles partner.
Kaoruko Iijima (飯島薫子, Ījima Kaoruko)
Voiced by: M.A.O
A third-year student at Shizuoka Girls' High School and their golf team's captain. She uses "In the Zone" to play her golf.
Kuyou Iseshiba (伊勢芝九葉, Iseshiba Kuyō)
Voiced by: Satomi Arai
A second-year student at Shizuoka High School and Kaoruko's Doubles Partner. She is known as a golfer by the nickname "Ball Path Tracker".
Vipere (ヴィペール, Vipēru)
Voiced by: Kaori Nazuka
A famous golfer in the underground world who faces off against Eve when hired by Mafia boss Nicholas. She later becomes Eve's friend.
Haruka Misono (実園遥香, Misono Haruka)
Voiced by: Rina Satō
A first-year student at Raiho Academy who aspires to make the first team. She wants Ichina to caddie for her.
Seira Amawashi (天鷲世良, Amawashi Seira)
Voiced by: Yūko Kaida
CEO of the Amawashi Group and Athena Golf Brands. She is also Aoi's mother.
Klein Clara (クライン・クラーラ, Kurain Kurāra)
Voiced by: Sayaka Kinoshita
The sister of Lily and owner of the illegal shop where she, Eve, and Lily are living along with her three orphan immigrant children. Thanks to Eve and Vipere, she could set up a cafe called The White Hart with Lily and send her children to school.
Production and release
The original anime series was announced on October 28, 2021. It was produced by Bandai Namco Pictures and directed by Takayuki Inagaki, with scripts written by Yōsuke Kuroda, and music composed by Kōtarō Nakagawa and Hironori Anazawa. The series aired from April 6 to June 29, 2022, on TV Tokyo and other networks. Crunchyroll streamed the series. Medialink licensed it in Southeast Asia and Oceania minus Australia and New Zealand; they streamed it on their Ani-One YouTube channel and Bilibili. On May 24, 2022, Bandai Namco teamed up with Jack Bunny!! to recreate and market the golf clothes used by Eve and Aoi in the ED sequence.
Following the conclusion of the series, a second season was announced to be in production. It was initially set to premiere in January 2023, but was later delayed. The second season aired from April 8 to June 24, 2023. The opening theme song for both seasons is "Venus Line" by Kohmi Hirose. For the first season, the ending theme song is "Yodaka" (ヨダカ) by Tsukuyomi. For the second season, the ending theme song is "Kimi ga Iru kara" (君がいるから, "Since You're Here") by Sarasa Kadowaki.
= Episode list
=Season 1
Season 2
= Video game
=An eponymously-titled sports video game developed by Viverse and WOWWOW Technology was announced in April 2023. It was released on June 15 of the same year for the Nintendo Switch. A mobile game and virtual reality experiences based on the series are also planned to be released in the future.
Reception
= Critical response
=The series received generally positive reviews. Briana Lawrence of The Mary Sue called the series "delightfully bonkers" and predicted future episodes would expand its "wacky, sapphic vibe". She later described the series as a "fantastically campy golf (love) story". Yuricon founder Erica Friedman argued that the series is similar to isekai like I'm in Love with the Villainess and argued it flouts the rules of the sports anime genre. She also called it a "delightful romp" with openly yuri themes and said it is close to becoming the "greatest Yuri sports anime of all time".
Alex Henderson of Anime Feminist, reviewing the first episode, criticized the series for its "questionable tropes" and tackling "touchy subjects with [fairly] wild abandon" but still argued it is entertaining and the most fun they "ever had watching golf". Vrai Kaiser of the same publication, reviewing the first four episodes, argued that the show's "extreme sports angle" wasn't as strong as it could be, and described the show as "flashy" and "weird" but said that the rivalry between Eve and Aoi gave the series "an unexpectedly solid core".
Reviewers for Anime News Network were more positive. They stated that they either loved the series, said it was cool with an "utterly ridiculous premise", were invested in seeing where the Aoi/Eve relationship went, described it as the best sports anime of the season, or otherwise praised the series. Nicholas Dupree and Steve Jones, writing for the same publication, said, in the This Week in Anime chatlog, that the series had a compelling angle when it came to the "rivalry/romance between Eve and Aoi" and praised the opening sequence.
= Influence and legacy
=In March 2024, reviewers Christopher Farris and Steve Jones, of Anime News Network, discussed whether the premiere of anime such as Sorairo Utility, Rising Impact, Oi! Tonbo, later in 2024 is the result of Birdie Wing causing a "golf anime renaissance" while comparing the series to Haikyu!!, Robot × LaserBeam, Chihayafuru, and Nobuyuki Fukumoto's Nikaido Hell Golf, and PuraOre! Pride of Orange.
Notes
References
External links
Official website (in Japanese)
Official TV Tokyo website (in Japanese)
Birdie Wing (anime) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia
Birdie Wing Metaverse
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