Eve travels to Aoi’s school, Raiou Girls Academy. Before they reunite, golf club girls challenge Eve to play a hole.
Episode 9 – “Ichina Saotome Wants to Be a Pro Caddy!”
Hmm.
Welcome to the BIRDIE WING anime reset. Eve’s gritty, crime noir, pseudo-sci-fi backstory changed into a cute-golf-girls-do-cute-golf-things slice-of-life sports tournament anime. All the cliches were here. Side character Ichina is late to school! The aspiring caddy thinks she can replace Aoi’s caddy, Amane. Those clues were enough to tell us who Eve will have carrying her bags around the golf course. The anime even turned Eve into a mysterious, beautiful foreign transfer student. Evangeline F. Kimishima mysteriously speaks fluent informal Japanese!
Although the next act of BIRDIE WING has the lighter tone of a high school sports anime, it did keep us grounded in Eve’s dark past. I’m talking about the darker history behind her amnesia. Eve remembering to speak Japanese is a clue to her surname “Kimishima.” She used the language of Nafrece, either French or Italian, but then turned to English in Japan. How would she know English? And what language did she speak when talking to Aoi and Amane? Did those two girls also know English? Or did they use the romance language of Nafrece?
I would like BIRDIE WING to show us consistency here, especially when we had that jarring scene of Eve suddenly speaking Japanese to Ichina. Not only that, the informal Japanese that Eve uses makes her sound like a Yankee delinquent. Could she be a yakuza princess? We know the mafia in Nafrece likes blowing up cars with grenade launchers, so we can expect them to treat the Japanese mob the same way. I hope the anime can answer these questions before the end of the season.
Heh.
Hello, Mount Fuji! BIRDIE WING made it to Japan. At the dorms of Raiou Girls Academy, we follow a brand-new character. Ichina Saotome slept through her alarm and overslept again. She’s a golf girl too. Fans of thick eyebrows, rejoice! Tongue-in-cheek cliches in action. She’s a late student, running to school with bread in her mouth! I doubt she’ll run into a love interest, but she did miss the bus. Oversleeping is a bad habit for a pro caddy.
Aoi offered a ride, but Amane said no! Amane hasn’t changed since we last saw her in BIRDIE WING. She also doesn’t like suggestions or criticism of her caddying choices. Aoi still hopes to see Eve log into the VR golf game. I don’t believe a real estate company sponsors that game… The Raiou Girls Academy logo is on the golf ball in the opening credits.
Look at the video game-style architecture in BIRDIE WING. I sense a golf event coming which unlocks a new golf course. Meet Haruka, the golf girl slacker. Ichina has the mind of a caddy. She keeps track of player rankings and skills. Ichina found Haruka wanting. I think we’ve found Eve’s new caddy! Blue Bullet! It’s the birdie wing logo! Eve came straight from the airport. Hahaha! Poorly accented English! Eh? Eve speaks rude Japanese… that she’s been using the entirety of the season! Amnesia solves all plot holes. The anime could have used a sci-fi, universal translator. And that would still be credible this late in the season. Ahahaha! Eve slammed a Blue Bullet between the girls to get their attention.
Ichina just became Eve’s second Japanese fangirl. Eve already had a couple of Nafrece fangirls earlier in the BIRDIE WING season. The golf club president enters the show with preloaded drama. Aw. Ichina reminds Eve of Lily. Me too! Oh, geez. Ichina made me so jealous! Hoho. Eve needs to read her name off her passport. Who is this “Evangeline F. Kimishima?” Eve is ready for kung fu golf! Club president Kinue becomes the quest giver for Eve. To reunite with Aoi, Eve must first defeat Haruka. Hey, if Eve gets to play more golf, why not?
Aoi feels distracted because she misses Eve. Amane can’t pierce the motivational haze. I have a feeling BIRDIE WING will change that today! Haruka was the third-ranked golfing junior high school girl, but that won’t matter when Eve pierces her heart with her rainbow bullets. Man, Eve is scary already, but what if she knew how to put backspin on her layup shots? What the… did Eve make a flirty joke? Wow, she’s relaxed now. Too late for Haruka, though. Eve demoralized her on her second shot. Haruka didn’t follow through on her putt.
Ha! Eve didn’t need to wait long to see Aoi. She ran right to Eve! Eve is not prepared for the pure yuri. BIRDIE WING will ease us slowly into the yuri subplot. The audience is ready for implied yuri. Shower scene! Let’s go! Eve explained vaguely to Aoi that she couldn’t return to Nafrece. Hoho! Now Aoi can’t handle the pure yuri!
Epilogue time. Aw. Klein and Lily’s family are doing fine. Klein dresses like the youngest Master in Nafrece. Lily needs to change her wardrobe, though. What will Eve do now that she’s in Japan? Aoi has ideas! Har. Clichéd transfer student! Eve still needs to read her name from her passport. Not suspicious!
Next time, Eve plays golf for much lower monetary stakes.
BIRDIE WING: Golf Girls’ Story (BIRDIE WING -Golf Girls’ Story-) streams on Crunchyroll and VRV in Japanese audio with English subtitles.
