×
  • remind me tomorrow
  • remind me next week
  • never remind me
Subscribe to the ANN Newsletter • Wake up every Sunday to a curated list of ANN's most interesting posts of the week. read more

Forum - View topic
EP. REVIEW: Birdie Wing -Golf Girls' Story-


Goto page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10  Next

Note: this is the discussion thread for this article

Anime News Network Forum Index -> Site-related -> Talkback
View previous topic :: View next topic  
Author Message
John Thacker



Joined: 28 Oct 2013
Posts: 1006
PostPosted: Wed Apr 20, 2022 2:59 pm Reply with quote
Quote:
It's big enough that Eve is able to support a gaggle of adorable orphans purely through her illegal winnings.

Arguably the most important influence on Birdie Wing is Osamu Dezaki's legendary anime adaptation of Sumika Yamamoto's shoujo tennis manga classic Aim for the Ace!.


Perhaps, though the "supporting a gaggle of adorable orphans with winnings," while a pretty commonplace trope, points to some Tiger Mask influence as well. Tiger Mask has inspired other donations to orphanages to this day. (Ashita no Joe used it as well.)
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
omnistry



Joined: 03 Mar 2005
Posts: 1015
PostPosted: Wed Apr 20, 2022 3:14 pm Reply with quote
I’m surprised by the lack of Happy Gilmore references in this review. The story of a person taking on golf to help those close to them? Both Eve & Happy would get along swimmingly!
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website
druv



Joined: 17 Nov 2020
Posts: 34
PostPosted: Wed Apr 20, 2022 4:05 pm Reply with quote
This has an interesting dynamic between the main characters, and a whole lot of passion, which is all I'm really looking for in a sports anime. It also has some absurd crime boss shenanigans which I'm all for, and manages to not push fanservice in your face too aggressively, which is otherwise often a problem with female protagonists in sports animes.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
thadec



Joined: 02 Apr 2022
Posts: 45
PostPosted: Wed Apr 20, 2022 4:10 pm Reply with quote
omnistry wrote:
I’m surprised by the lack of Happy Gilmore references in this review. The story of a person taking on golf to help those close to them? Both Eve & Happy would get along swimmingly!


Doesn't fit really. Happy Gilmore was a total guy movie - 100% testosterone - of the sort that Hollywood won't go near today. It was also far more negative towards the affluent and privileged than this show is going to be to Aoi. Another thing is that Happy actually hated golf. He wanted to be a pro hockey player. Happy didn't embrace golf until the very end of the movie. Until then he was only interested in saving his grandmother's house and beating his rival - (again, a much less sympathetic figure than this show's Aoi) - and in that order.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
ATastySub
Past ANN Contributor


Joined: 19 Jan 2012
Posts: 637
PostPosted: Wed Apr 20, 2022 5:04 pm Reply with quote
thadec wrote:
omnistry wrote:
I’m surprised by the lack of Happy Gilmore references in this review. The story of a person taking on golf to help those close to them? Both Eve & Happy would get along swimmingly!


Doesn't fit really. Happy Gilmore was a total guy movie - 100% testosterone - of the sort that Hollywood won't go near today. It was also far more negative towards the affluent and privileged than this show is going to be to Aoi. Another thing is that Happy actually hated golf. He wanted to be a pro hockey player. Happy didn't embrace golf until the very end of the movie. Until then he was only interested in saving his grandmother's house and beating his rival - (again, a much less sympathetic figure than this show's Aoi) - and in that order.

I regret to inform you that Adam Sandler has kept making movies with the same exact attitudes to this day despite whatever culture war nonsense you've decided stopped him.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
yuricon



Joined: 06 Oct 2004
Posts: 145
PostPosted: Wed Apr 20, 2022 8:27 pm Reply with quote
My visor off to Steve here, for some perfect prose in honor of a near-perfect anime.

Capitol of the Bee Train "girls with guns on the run" series of the 00s, Nafrece is now home to the finest sports anime I have seen in years.

Great review. Truly outstanding.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Picky33



Joined: 09 Jul 2021
Posts: 263
PostPosted: Wed Apr 20, 2022 9:02 pm Reply with quote
I'm not sure what I was expecting with this anime but it's surprised me. For me sports anime fall on a scale between Cute (boys/girls) sometimes do sports to Hardcore teaches you about the sport including tactics. this is some where closer to the center but with a 90 degree turn towards crazy. at this point I'm kind of looking forward to this series.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
RenRen94



Joined: 08 Jul 2018
Posts: 221
PostPosted: Wed Apr 20, 2022 11:19 pm Reply with quote
Lucen007 wrote:
Hot sexy ladies doing golf. Great animation and art style. Shame that there are at least two worthless m*les who are relevant. Serious letdown, reminds me a lot of Two Car. Hopefully those m*les don't get in the way of the Golf Girls' Story and the girls will stand out more. At least this is what the poster should have been.


Dude, just say males. It's not that difficult, and also not something to get worked up about. Pretty sure the blond guy with the scars is Eve's parental figure/teacher, so he needs to be there. Not sure about the other guy yet, he's part of the staff at Aoi's golf school (which I'm assuming Eve joins later on), so he will also probably have a prominent role to play.

Never thought I would be enjoying an anime about girls' golf, but it caught my interest after the buzz it made on the Preview Guide. If more ladies sports anime were like Birdie Wing and less vapid and fanservice-y, I'd watch more of them.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Gina Szanboti



Joined: 03 Aug 2008
Posts: 11306
PostPosted: Thu Apr 21, 2022 1:35 am Reply with quote
Well, 5 stars for that opening paragraph! Very Happy

I'm less enthusiastic about the series, but given that it's about golf, which I despise, the fact that I'm still enjoying this kinda speaks volumes on its behalf.

I was a bit shocked when she entered the under-15 tourney, as I'd been under the impression that she was an adult. And even then, I'm not sure if "under-15" means 14 and under, or 15 and under. Because I'm having a hard enough time buying that she's 15, let alone 14. Aoi I could believe is 14 or 15. Then again, I suppose Eve could just be impersonating a kid. My point is, I'm not sure what it is I'm supposed to believe about Eve's actual age.

And I wholeheartedly agree with RenRen's last sentence. I'm generally all-in for any sports anime no matter how stupid, with serious reservations about boxing and gory bash-fests like Baki the Grappler, but women's sports anime usually grind my gears so hard I can't even. And that's coming from someone who really enjoyed Keijo!^8. Smile
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
SHD



Joined: 05 Apr 2015
Posts: 1752
PostPosted: Thu Apr 21, 2022 5:35 am Reply with quote
I still can't quite get over that we're supposed to just accept that poor orphan illegal squatter, must-hustle-to-eat Eve just kind of decided to go for golf, the ultimate "very rich person" sport. I mean I guess your calling is your calling, but, er, lol.

Anyway, I can't say I'm enamored with this show, for one I'm not really good with sports anime most of the time, and two, it's one of those series I've been seeing a lot in these past years, that seem like they time-traveled here from the '00s or even '90s. (Many people may embrace this with nostalgia, but for me it's just kind of weirdly tonedeaf/outdated, and I say this as someone who was already watching anime in the '90s.) But it's not bad or anything, so I guess I'll watch a few more episodes to see if it gets any more interesting for me. I do like how it doesn't seem to have that overwhelming "we have a story and everything, but also GUYS there are hot sexy ladies, ogle them to your heart's content!" attitude (...so far) that turned me off of so many shows from that era.

RenRen94 wrote:
Never thought I would be enjoying an anime about girls' golf, but it caught my interest after the buzz it made on the Preview Guide. If more ladies sports anime were like Birdie Wing and less vapid and fanservice-y, I'd watch more of them.

That's why I want an anime adaptation of Teppuu. It's is pretty much the only even remotely recent girls' sports manga I've seen that is, in fact, about girls doing sports (MMA in this case) and not about girls being cute while also doing some sports. They're not Cute Girls or Hot Sexy Ladies, they're not there to be ogled or cooed over, there's no cutesy shenanigans, just girls doing competitive sports while being actual people with personalities, thoughts and flaws and issues.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
enurtsol



Joined: 01 May 2007
Posts: 14746
PostPosted: Thu Apr 21, 2022 7:57 am Reply with quote
Well, let's get down to the real mechanics of golfing - big boobs can get in the way:

"Golf Tips for Women With Large Breasts"

"Golf Tips for Women – Grip, Posture and Breast Battles"

"Why Women Stand Up When They Play Golf: The Secret Behind Their Biggest Swing Fault"

(Yes, golfers watch close attention to the mechanics, why do ya ask? Laughing)
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
njprogfan
Collector Extraordinaire



Joined: 08 Feb 2007
Posts: 1155
Location: A River Named Toms
PostPosted: Thu Apr 28, 2022 2:48 pm Reply with quote
I knew, KNEW Steve would love this episode. As I was watching every nanosecond of episode 4 I immediately thought of the eventual review, and it didn't disappoint. Steven, spot on review, spot on! I'm so enjoying the mitigatingly utter trashiness of this series and how low-ball it can go. I just hope it does keep the seriousness throughout, because without it it'll just become a parody and that would be a shame. BTW, about that ED; I'm assuming Eve is the eagle and is that a gull for Aoi?
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message My Anime My Manga
darkchibi07



Joined: 15 Oct 2003
Posts: 5459
PostPosted: Thu Apr 28, 2022 5:58 pm Reply with quote
Shape-shifting golf course and a stinky snake lady golfer. Man, when was the last time we had a girls' everyday sports anime that went this bonkers?! Laughing

And not to mention having Eve only set her sights on playing with Aoi than dealing with this is just the cherry on top! Though I do appreciate that she figured out her gimmick. I wonder if we're going to see that snake lady again.

Now are these the feelings fans felt when watching dude-oriented, ridiculous sports anime like Sk8 or Prince of Tennis?
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message AIM Address My Anime My Manga
Regalli



Joined: 26 Apr 2022
Posts: 105
PostPosted: Thu Apr 28, 2022 6:05 pm Reply with quote
Is Vipere every predatory lesbian stereotype thrown into a blender, especially if you take the show at face value that Eve’s supposed to be 15? (Which is basically the only evidence AGAINST her and Aoi being secret half-sisters via biological implausibility?) Yes. Does this unrepentantly absurd trashiness make it wrap back around to absolute delight? Also yes.

I think - THINK - what the show’s going for is that her spoiler[secret anti-golf perfume is supposed to be localized to the snake tattoo or something, and so her zipping up reduces the scent somehow because apparently perfume is way more precise in this world, like how Mai in Yu-Gi-Oh could individually perfume her cards and they remained distinct rather than a jumbled mess of scents.] This makes no sense whatsoever in any real-world logic, but it’s Birdie Wing and real-world logic has no place here.

I love this ridiculous show so much.

Incidentally, given what we’ve heard about Eve’s technical golf skills since the opening scene where she impersonates an actual pro (where, you know, she apparently has none, or at least doesn’t use those skills at all if she’s playing as herself,) and the part where I’m pretty sure Chris Christina was supposed to be an adult, the fact that Eve could impersonate her just keeps getting more implausible. Gotta love that Scooby Doo Mask Technology.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Beltane70



Joined: 07 May 2007
Posts: 3868
PostPosted: Thu Apr 28, 2022 9:13 pm Reply with quote
Regalli wrote:
Is Vipere every predatory lesbian stereotype thrown into a blender, especially if you take the show at face value that Eve’s supposed to be 15?


Eve might not necessarily be 15 years old, they could have easily just lied and said that she was 15 in order to enter the tournament.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message My Anime My Manga
Display posts from previous:   
Reply to topic    Anime News Network Forum Index -> Site-related -> Talkback All times are GMT - 5 Hours
Goto page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10  Next
Page 1 of 10

 


Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2005 phpBB Group