Birdie Wing


Contributors to Wikimedia projects

Article Images

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.

Birdie Wing: Golf Girls' Story

Key visual

Genre
Created byBandai Namco Pictures
Anime television series
Directed byTakayuki Inagaki
Written byYōsuke Kuroda
Music by
StudioBandai Namco Pictures
Licensed byCrunchyroll
Original networkTXN (TV Tokyo, TVO, TV Aichi, TSC, TVh, TVQ)
English network
Original run April 6, 2022 – June 24, 2023
Episodes25 (List of episodes)
Video game
Developer
GenreSports
PlatformNintendo Switch
ReleasedJune 15, 2023
icon Anime and manga portal

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.

Eve (イヴ, Ivu)
Voiced by: Akari Kitō[2]
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[2]
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[3]
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[3]
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[3]
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[3]
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[4]
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[4]
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[4]
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[4]
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[4]
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[4]
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[4]
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[4]
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[4]
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[5]
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[5]
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

edit

The original anime series was announced on October 28, 2021.[2] 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.[6] The series aired from April 6 to June 29, 2022, on TV Tokyo and other networks.[3][5][a] Crunchyroll streamed the series.[8] Medialink licensed it in Southeast Asia and Oceania minus Australia and New Zealand; they streamed it on their Ani-One YouTube channel and Bilibili.[9] 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.[10]

Following the conclusion of the series, a second season was announced to be in production.[11] It was initially set to premiere in January 2023, but was later delayed. The second season aired from April 8 to June 24, 2023.[12][13][14][b] The opening theme song for both seasons is "Venus Line" by Kohmi Hirose.[16] For the first season, the ending theme song is "Yodaka" (ヨダカ) by Tsukuyomi.[4] 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.[17]

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.[21] A mobile game and virtual reality experiences based on the series are also planned to be released in the future.[22]

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".[23] She later described the series as a "fantastically campy golf (love) story".[24] 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".[25]

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".[26] 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".[27]

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.[1] 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.[28]

Influence and legacy

edit

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.[29]

  1. ^ a b TV Tokyo listed the series premiere at 24:00 JST on April 5, 2022, which is effectively April 6 at midnight.[7]
  2. ^ a b TV Tokyo listed the season premiere at 25:23 on April 7, 2023, which is effectively April 8 at 1:23 a.m.[15]
  3. ^ a b All English titles are taken from Crunchyroll.[19]
  4. ^ a b c d e f Information is taken from the ending credits of each episode.
  5. ^ The episode had an advanced screening on December 25, 2022.[13]
  6. ^ This episode aired at 12:10 a.m. JST, 10 minutes after the original air time on TV Tokyo.
  7. ^ This episode aired at 3:09 a.m. JST, 2 hours and 46 minutes after the original air time on TV Tokyo.
  1. ^ a b Moore, Caitlin; Beckett, James; Silverman, Rebecca; Eisenbeis, Richard; Dupree, Nicholas (June 21, 2022). "The Spring 2022 Preview Guide: Birdie Wing -Golf Girls' Story-". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on June 21, 2022. Retrieved July 2, 2022.
  2. ^ a b c Pineda, Rafael Antonio (October 28, 2021). "Bandai Namco Pictures Unveils Original 2022 Golf TV Anime Birdie Wing". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on June 2, 2022. Retrieved October 28, 2021.
  3. ^ a b c d e Mateo, Alex (December 6, 2021). "Birdie Wing Original Golf TV Anime's 1st Promo Video Reveals Additional Cast, Staff". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on June 1, 2022. Retrieved December 6, 2021.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Pineda, Rafael Antonio (February 17, 2022). "Birdie Wing Golf Anime Unveils More Cast, Ending Song Artist". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on June 4, 2022. Retrieved February 17, 2022.
  5. ^ a b c Pineda, Rafael Antonio (March 3, 2022). "Birdie Wing Golf Anime's Video Announces More Cast, April 5 Debut". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on June 2, 2022. Retrieved March 3, 2022.
  6. ^ Moo, William (February 18, 2022). "Birdie Wing -Golf Girls' Story- Reveals Additional Cast Members, ED Song Artist". Anitrendz. Archived from the original on June 18, 2022. Retrieved June 17, 2022.
  7. ^ "Terebi Anime "Bādī Uingu -Gorufu Gāruzu Sutōrī-" Kōshiki Saito (Bādī Uingu)" TVアニメ『BIRDIE WING -Golf Girls' Story-』公式サイト(バーディーウイング) [TV Anime "BIRDIE WING -Golf Girls' Story-" Official Website (Birdie Wing)]. birdie-wing.net (in Japanese). Archived from the original on March 29, 2022. Retrieved March 29, 2022.
  8. ^ Mateo, Alex (April 5, 2022). "Crunchyroll Streams Birdie Wing, Deaimon, Heroines Run the Show, Miss Shachiku and the Little Baby Ghost, RPG Real Estate, More Anime". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on June 2, 2022. Retrieved April 6, 2022.
  9. ^ Pineda, Rafael Antonio (April 5, 2022). "Ani-One Asia Streams Birdie Wing, Deaimon Anime". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on June 18, 2022. Retrieved June 17, 2022.
  10. ^ Morrissy, Kim (May 24, 2022). "You Can Now Buy the Outfits in Birdie Wing's ED". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on June 2, 2022. Retrieved June 2, 2022.
  11. ^ "Season 2 of the Birdie Wing Golf Girls Anime Series Will Premiere Next January". 29 June 2022.
  12. ^ Mateo, Alex (June 28, 2022). "Birdie Wing Golf Anime Gets 2nd Season in January 2023". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on June 28, 2022. Retrieved June 28, 2022.
  13. ^ a b Cayanan, Joanna (October 26, 2022). "Birdie Wing -Golf Girls' Story- Anime Season 2 Delayed by 3 Months to April 2023". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on October 26, 2022. Retrieved October 26, 2022.
  14. ^ Hodgkins, Crystalyn (February 24, 2023). "Birdie Wing -Golf Girls' Story- Anime's 2nd Season Reveals Visual, April 7 Premiere". Anime News Network. Retrieved April 3, 2023.
  15. ^ "Terebi Anime "Bādī Uingu -Gorufu Gāruzu Sutōrī-" Kōshiki Saito (Bādī Uingu)" TVアニメ『BIRDIE WING -Golf Girls' Story-』公式サイト(バーディーウイング) [TV Anime "BIRDIE WING -Golf Girls' Story-" Official Website (Birdie Wing)]. birdie-wing.net (in Japanese). Archived from the original on June 29, 2023. Retrieved March 29, 2022.
  16. ^ Pineda, Rafael Antonio (January 6, 2022). "Birdie Wing Golf Anime Unveils 2 Videos, More Staff, April Debut". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on June 1, 2022. Retrieved January 7, 2022.
  17. ^ Loo, Egan (December 25, 2022). "Birdie Wing -Golf Girls' Story- Season 2 Unveils 1st Video, Song Artists". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on December 25, 2022. Retrieved December 25, 2022.
  18. ^ a b "Terebi Anime "Bādī Uingu -Gorufu Gāruzu Sutōrī-" Kōshiki Saito (Bādī Uingu)" TVアニメ『BIRDIE WING -Golf Girls' Story-』公式サイト(バーディーウイング) [TV Anime "BIRDIE WING -Golf Girls' Story-" Official Website (Birdie Wing)]. birdie-wing.net (in Japanese). Archived from the original on June 29, 2023. Retrieved April 6, 2022.
  19. ^ "BIRDIE WING -Golf Girls' Story- - Watch on Crunchyroll". Crunchyroll. Retrieved April 6, 2022.
  20. ^ a b "Episōdo Bādī Uingu -Gorufu Gāruzu Sutōrī-｜Terebi Tōkyō Anime Kōshiki" エピソード BIRDIE WING -Golf Girls' Story-｜テレビ東京アニメ公式 [Episodes BIRDIE WING -Golf Girls' Story-｜TV Tokyo Anime Official]. TV Tokyo (in Japanese). Archived from the original on June 29, 2023. Retrieved March 4, 2022.
  21. ^ Romano, Sal (April 6, 2023). "BIRDIE WING: Girls' Golf Story announced for Switch". Gematsu. Retrieved April 6, 2023.
  22. ^ Hodgkins, Crystalyn (April 7, 2023). "Birdie Wing Anime Gets Switch Game in English on June 15". Anime News Network. Retrieved April 7, 2023.
  23. ^ Lawrence, Briana (May 2, 2022). "There's No Heterosexual Explanation for the Golf Girl Anime". The Mary Sue. Archived from the original on June 9, 2022. Retrieved July 2, 2022.
  24. ^ Lawrence, Briana (June 29, 2022). "The Unapologetically Campy and Extremely Gay Girl Golf Anime Tees off for Season 2". The Mary Sue. Archived from the original on July 1, 2022. Retrieved July 2, 2022.
  25. ^ Friedman, Erica (June 29, 2022). "Birdie Wing -Golf Girls Story-, Season 1". Okazu. Archived from the original on July 1, 2022. Retrieved July 2, 2022.
  26. ^ Henderson, Alex (June 24, 2022). "BIRDIE WING – Golf Girls Story – Episode 1". Anime Feminist. Archived from the original on June 24, 2022. Retrieved July 2, 2022.
  27. ^ Kaiser, Vrai (May 4, 2022). "2022 Spring Three-Episode Check-In". Anime Feminist. Archived from the original on June 15, 2022. Retrieved July 2, 2022.
  28. ^ Dupree, Nicholas; Jones, Steve (May 10, 2022). "This Week in Anime: Birdie Wing Has Big Camp Energy". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on June 13, 2022. Retrieved July 2, 2022.
  29. ^ Farris, Christopher; Jones, Steve (March 28, 2024). "This Week in Anime: Did Birdie Wing Start a Golf Anime Renaissance?". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on March 28, 2024. Retrieved March 28, 2024.