Episode 11 – Birdie Wing – History Of Golfers – Tech Tribune France

Amidst all the back-nine crime, corner sorcery, and yuri aspirations, it can be easy to forget that even Bird wingThe universe of contains a lot of normal golfers who just want to enjoy a nice round on the links once in a while. Many sports anime spotlight impossible athletic feats, many of them also collide with the fate of people who only live their lives within the realm of the possible. How do you reconcile this disconnect without unnecessarily tethering the momentum of the story to the anchor of realism, or without escalating the stakes too far beyond the point of view of the spectacle? There is no easy solution to this. This week, Bird wing responds with a quieter episode that gives club president Jinguuji the opportunity to move beyond her supporting character status and wrap her fingers around a surprisingly grounded piece of pathos. Maybe it’s not that Bird wing is (in)famous for, but it’s not unwelcome either.

Jinguuji may as well be a tabby cat in the presence of lions. She’s a passionate and hard worker, but she just can’t match the raw abilities and/or privileges that players like Eve and Aoi possess. I have a lot of affection for her archetype, because I think characters like her tend to be easier to relate to than protagonists with their streak of hits, no matter how deserved. It’s a numbers game: for every winner, there are many more losers. Relatability isn’t the be-all and end-all of art either, but I’m especially sympathetic to stories that explore the nobility of failure, and Jinguuji is about the noblest loser possible. She was dealt a shitty hand (and a shitty elbow), and even in the best-case scenario, her efforts would have only given her a chance to play second fiddle in a tournament designed to crown Aoi on her own. Worse, she knows all of this and accept the heartbreaking truth.

Coach Amuro, in turn, grants him the small consolation of being able to bully Eve over a long weekend. It’s good-natured and deliberate bullying, sure, but I have to imagine there’s some deserved catharsis for Jinguuji as well. And Bird wingin its typical form Bird wing fashion, elevates the formation into the pleasant absurd. It’s just inherently funny to see Jinguuji pick up Eve’s ball and put it in a bunker. These sudden and egregious violations of golf standards, such as when Jinguuji later snatches Eve’s ball out of the air, are the show’s daily bread. Jinguuji never breaks character either, which is all the more impressive in hindsight. Her career dreams have been dashed, but she still manages to troll and teach Eve while sporting her seemingly unfazed face. While she may think her golfing talent was tragically short, her ability to teach golf is clearly formidable.

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As for pacing, it makes sense to insert practice (with a goofy edit) here just before the tournament, but by nature, practice episodes don’t tend to be high points. So it’s effective writing to fortify this episode with a character study of Jinguuji. A bit of grounded golf melodrama is actually refreshing, and it helps reestablish a narrative base that Bird wing can play in the next episodes. Although it lacks the instant laughs of the show’s craziest dates with Golf Ragnarok, the confidence of Bird wingThe voice of is louder and as clear as ever. Jinguuji’s weed metaphor is over the top and cutesy, but it’s on par with the rest of the show’s emotional extremes. There’s no winking at the camera or self-aware dialogue. He embraces every inch of his tragedy, because Bird wing, golf is more important than oxygen. Golf is their lifeline.

On the Eve and Aoi front, as the show continues to kick the date free for their departure further down the line, there’s plenty of cute material here to satisfy. Aoi frolicking with the family dog, for example, contrasts nicely with her grandfather and Shinjo seriously discussing the importance of the upcoming tournament. The girls may only have eyes for each other, but these outward machinations of powerful figures keep the momentum going. Ichina is also a wonderful addition to the cast. She distributes the Gundam references in Lily’s absence, she gives Eve wise tactical advice like “just smash it,” and she’s wiped out by a tsunami of sand when we need a laugh. All of this is equally important.

And that’s when I repeat there’s no way Bird wing can wrap up each plot thread in two weeks. This episode alone drops way too much development in both the foreground and background. Consider, for example, how the camera lingers on this photo of Aoi’s mother when she was young, and how much she looks like Eve at that age. Coach Amuro hints that he may have intentionally let Jinguuji get injured in order to make room for a superior player to guarantee Aoi his doubles victory. Jinguuji herself introduces a bunch of new names and faces that Eve and Aoi will have to stomp together in the tournament. There is too much ground to cover, even for Bird wingmark of unbridled ridicule.

Apparently, Bird wingthe time slot only goes until 13 episodesbut before I apologize for jinxing it, I want to say that split-Classes anime happens all the time. And even if those wings end up brutally clipped, the anime’s soaring spirit and remarkable consistency would still earn it my top marks for this season, this year, and beyond. It might have been the most “normal” episode yet, but Bird wingThe unshakeable belief in the power of melodrama over golf still keeps me spellbound.

Classification: normal

Cumulative score: -13

Birdie Wing -Golf Girls Story- currently broadcasting on
Crunchyroll.

Steve is a world-renowned golf expert and commentator, but if you just want to read his thoughts on anime and good brows, then there’s always Twitter. Otherwise, catch him discussing junk and treasure in This Week in Anime.