Golf girls Aoi and Eve play against Kaoruko’s powers of concentration in the Doubles Championship semifinals.
Episode 14 — “A Certain Truth Sleeping in the Girl’s Memories”
Hmm.
We started seeing building blocks for the primary theme in BIRDIE WING appear after Eve moved to Japan. “The sins of the father” is shorthand for the current generation paying the consequences of the past generation’s actions. Golf coaches and parents placed unreasonable expectations on their students and daughters, then we saw the drama play out in a round of golf doubles match play. Three girls suffered headaches from trauma buried in their memories. All of them were caused by golf coaches trying to compensate for losses at the hands of two golfing giants. Now, teenage girls feel the pain of their regrets.
The foreshadowing skills in BIRDIE WING continue to impress me. Eve’s game of putt-putt with Kuyou and Kaoruko four episodes ago brought us to Amuro’s backstory spilling out during one round of golf. Back then, it was a puzzle why the Raiou Academy golf coach could have a rival golfer do him favors. And during this episode, stray looks and stray moments hint at Aoi’s headache coming, Kaoruko’s stamina failing, and Eve’s next rainbow color bullet shooting.
Even how Eve said using Orange Bullet gives her headaches hinted at the surprising moment when she regained some of her lost memories. BIRDIE WING gave a wonderfully shocking cliffhanger! Is Eve Aoi’s half-sister? Did Kazuhiko have a secret double life? Was Aoi in the car accident too, which would explain her headaches? I’m impatient for answers!
Heh.
Welcome back! BIRDIE WING -Golf Girls’ Story- continues into the fourteenth episode as if a year hasn’t nearly passed. Reminder: Aoi has extra motivation not to make mistakes — she’ll get kisses from Eve every time the blond bomber makes one. Whoops! Aoi’s golf ball hit a rock in the fairway! There goes her kiss!
BIRDIE WING’s opening credit song and sequence appear and sound the same as last season’s intro, except for new scenes with Lily and Ichina. Lily’s grip strength must have improved from all the nipping of Gundam model parts. The mysteriously silhouetted man with the Rainbow Bullet Swing is Aoi’s father. I’m still trying to find clues about the episode by noting which logo is on the teed-up golf ball. Will Kaoruko and Kuyou be the focus because we see Kouran’s golf ball?
Eve’s first bullet of the second season is Green Bullet. Smack that putt! Eve and Aoi will have Kaoruko and Kuyou as their opponents in the semifinals. Oho. Dramatic backstory time. Amuro used to be Kaoruko’s golf coach but walked away from her. Kaoruko wants revenge (on the golf course)! Aoi laments no kissing.
Amuro needs Eve to find another gear for her golf game, so he “motivates” her by revealing he knows her golf coach, Leo. According to Amuro, Leo wasn’t an underground golfer or a pro. He was a golf master seeking students and rivals. Leo and Amuro’s scene hints that the Raiou Academy golf coach hurt his arm during his defeat by Leo. The big revelation: only one person has ever beaten Leo at golf: Kazuhiko, Aoi’s father! Amuro knows Eve has seven bullets but has only seen five of them. Eve needs to bring out the other two!
Semifinals round of golf, let’s go! More drama between coaches in BIRDIE WING. Amuro didn’t want Kaoruko to rely on her “In the Zone” technique, but Date took the opposite approach. Kaoruko can raise her focused concentration repeatedly. The orange color of “In the Zone” will mean something because BIRDIE WING pushes rainbow imagery onto the screen. We saw Kaoruko use her golf technique in miniature golf at Amuro’s request. Those scenes explain what is happening now. We have ample foreshadowing that Kaoruko will run out of mental stamina before the end of the match.
Aoi makes me giggle whenever I see how excited she is to watch Eve drive a golf ball. Jazzy music during the golf-round montage. The leaderboard reminded me that the golf Doubles Championship is match play. Oh? Eve calls Kaoruko’s “In the Zone” another name: Orange. Does she have an Orange Bullet? What will that look like? Whoa. The Deep Zone is purple. Orange and purple are the two colors left in Eve’s Rainbow Bullet.
Uh oh. BIRDIE WING added drama by dropping a headache on Aoi. We still need to hear the origin story of that ailment. Amuro knows all the secrets behind his golf girls. Odd. End credits now with a lengthy epilogue after. A new song. And the new sequence uses the same art style.
And back to the match. Kaoruko used her Deep Zone too many times. Her golf fell apart just like Amuro warned her. Ack! Aoi also faltered. Har. Kinue was more worried about Amuro calling Aoi by her first name instead of Aoi’s headache. How will Eve put the golf ball in the cup from the rough? Eve has a plan, but using it hurts her head. What is it? A sniper rifle and an Orange Bullet! Hit the flag and drop the ball in! Concentrating that hard on a target made Eve remember her mother and father. Why does he look like Kazuhiko with a Rainbow Bullet Swing? Mizuho and the coaches recognized Eve’s form as belonging to Kazuhiko. BIRDIE WING will have much to unpack before the final round of golf!
BIRDIE WING -Golf Girls’ Story- streams on Crunchyroll and VRV in Japanese audio with English subtitles.
Are you as excited as I am about watching girls handle shafts and balls again? If so, you must love witches riding broomsticks. Look at Elaina as she flies around in this adorable figurine. Let her fly into your heart at the J-List store today.
