Birdie Wing -Golf Girls' Story-

Episode 17

Rejoice, my Birdie Wing brethren: the golf mafia is back. That, however, is just one of the many details that makes this the strongest episode of the second season so far. This was so good that, due to some technical difficulties on Crunchyroll's side, I watched the whole episode without subtitles first, and I still hollered with delight throughout it. Eve's escapades in Nafrece transcend the fenceposts of logic and language. This, as always, is a series in which its characters fly unfettered towards ever higher acmes of pure camp.

The events of this week provide a good opportunity to reflect on how great a character Eve is. She has the swagger of an action movie star, completely unfazed by her kidnapping and deportation. We see her in peak dirtbag lesbian form when she shamelessly flirts with Vipere to worm her way back into her good graces—which works, by the way. She's driven and resourceful, finding her grandfather's identity and confronting him with zero regards for his status. She's sensitive to Allen's explanations and sympathetic to her parents' star-crossed love affair. And she kills yet another hapless challenger in golf. She gets all these different emotional and dramatic registers in just one episode, and at no point stops being the coolest person in the show. It's a tour de force.

Plot-wise, the reintroduction of the golf mafia is the most important development here, particularly the revelation that Eve is the granddaughter of the most powerful don of the links in Europe. This fact alone opens up all kinds of absurd avenues for the narrative to explore. The most exciting and likeliest prospect is a mob war against Catherine since whacking her would free Eve to go pro and play against Aoi. The rivalry between Athens and Arios also adds yet another layer of international intrigue on top of Aoi and Eve's relationship. I'd expect to see the patriarchs of these dynasties use these children (with their absurd golf superpowers) as their foot soldiers in the battle for brand saturation, where the apotheosis will have both girls break free of these familial chains. And then maybe they'll finally make out.

The true brilliance of Birdie Wing's story shines in its revolutionary realization that all narrative gaps and roadblocks can be solved by the golf mafia. I'm not kidding. I ran out of room to do so, but last week I had intended to point out that Eve's backstory felt half-baked still. A freak boating accident taking her parents out smacks of convenience over satisfying writing. However, all that changes now that we know both Eleanor and Kazuhiko were scions of rival golf conglomerates with mutual penchants for extralegal problem-solving. I'll bet anything that the “accident” was much more nefarious than Eve remembers. And boom, just like that, Birdie Wing fills in a gap with the golf mafia, and all's right with the fairway again.

There will be plenty of time to mull over future plot twists, though, so let me spend the rest of the review focusing on the now, and by that I mean my sheer delight at the return of Vipere. First things first, I love her new updo. I'm also happy that, while my favorite snake seductress with a stanky tattoo has settled down with her beau, it hasn't stopped her from being the unwitting straight man and chauffeur to Eve's bullheaded antics. The story has her trespass onto a high-security golf course just so she can commentate Speedwagon-style on Eve's new techniques. It's ridiculous, and it's perfect.

This episode is structurally flawless as well. It begins with a thug using chloroform to deport Eve back to Nafrece, and it ends with her tromping a professional athlete in the company of her mafioso grandfather and his army of armed men in black suits. All along the way, there are twists and turns that further connect Eve to her parents and provide insight into Aoi's inner turmoil. And the post-credits scene sees Eve effortlessly convince Ichina to abandon everything except lugging around our heroine's giant sack. There isn't a single dull moment. It's hit after hit, with a capstone of even more superhuman trick shots decked out in rainbow regalia. Nobody does it like Birdie Wing.

Rating: Hole in One

Cumulative Score: -22

Postgame Analysis:

- Favorite moment of the week: Michael Burton solemnly telling his goons, “And you two. This is a golf course. Behave,” as they slowly return their handguns to their holsters.

- Remember the Madlax Cinematic Universe? It never left.

Birdie Wing -Golf Girls' Story- is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.

Steve is on Twitter while it lasts. He still disrespects golf. You can also catch him chatting about trash and treasure alike on This Week in Anime.

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Disclosure: Bandai Namco Filmworks Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Bandai Namco Holdings Inc., is a non-controlling, minority shareholder in Anime News Network Inc.