Birdie Wing -Golf Girls' Story-

Episode 25

It's been quite the journey tagging along with these golf girls this past year, but we've reached the end of the Venus Line, and there's nothing left to do except take one last look at the fairway and sink our final putt. I can't help but feel like this finish comes along too quickly. While a portion of that is longing on my part, I think a 26th episode could have done wonders for the pacing of the conclusion. There's no breathing room here at all. On the other hand, though, Birdie Wing should go out in a full sprint, filled with last-minute twists and new peaks of golf insanity. I'm glad I could spend my final week with this series the same way I spent all 24 previous weeks: in glorious, mouth-agape disbelief.

If we look at Birdie Wing as your typical sports anime, this finale does a lot by the book, and that's good. You want to walk away from these narratives seeing and feeling particular things. We get plot-based and cinematic parallels to the premiere, emphasizing the distance our heroines traveled and reminding us of their day-one drive and appeal. We check in with all of the side characters and past opponents because Aoi and Eve's story could not have happened without them. And while our heroine wins, it's not a victory we can tie a bow on. It's still incomplete, heralding further challenges and growth in her future, whether we will be privy to them or not. Eve's story will continue past the end credits. I like that kind of conclusion when I have a lot of affection for the characters. They've earned the right to live on in that ellipsis.

Of course, Birdie Wing isn't your typical sports anime, so Kuroda pairs these crowd-pleasing beats with one more extra-large gobful of golf absurdity. A perfect example is the specter of the golf mafia returning to ruin Eve's day one last time. I just love seeing the not-BBC seriously reporting on golf crime, and it's great that Juha's caddy Karen has underworld contacts she's willing to utilize to get an edge on their opponents. It makes their world that much more colorful. And the best part is that Eve doesn't care about any of this. It doesn't affect her game in the slightest. All Karen does is give Juha a pyrrhic victory that has to frustrate her pride as the world's top professional female golfer. Her only real fault was her overconfidence, so this gentle kind of comeuppance (winning only because her top two opponents lost by technicality) feels like a fitting rebuke of that.

The finale's biggest and best surprise sees Aoi finally pledging herself to Eve…as her temporary caddy. Okay, maybe it's not the marriage proposal we all wanted (they were still a bit young for that anyway), but I can't think of anything more romantic than strutting onto St. Annlies together and showing the entire world the special golf shot they made by merging each other's signature moves. If it's good enough for battle shonen, mecha battles, and magical girl fights, then it's good enough for the links. Furthermore, who needs a wedding ring when you've got a 48-inch driver, and who needs “I do” when you've got the “Shining Rainbow Burst”? They are wives now. Naturally, Eve has the smoothest line of the entire season, when she reveals that she's been playing the entire day like Aoi had never dropped out. While Juha made for a worthy opponent, Eve only ever had eyes for Aoi. And in the end, it's their combined power and dedication to each other that cinches their ultimate victory. They lose this battle, but they both survive to square off another day. They resurrect and renew their promise from its ashes, and it soars skyward borne on the back of a rainbow. That's pretty gay if you ask me.

The epilogue zaps us four years into the future and gives us a glimpse of the fruit of their efforts (and advances in golf-wasting disease medicine). It does feel like a bolt of lightning, leaving us no time to linger on how long those years must have been, or how Eve and Aoi might have handled their estrangement. But at least we get to see a bunch of new haircuts! It was especially sweet that Eve went back to fetch Ichina (caddying for the old guy from episode 1, of all people), and Eve and Aoi's reunion, while temporally attenuated, was sweet nonetheless. Aoi's still pouting, Eve's still a smarmy bastard, and they look into each other's eyes like they've got the whole rest of their lives ahead of them. And like any good anime that knows it has a killer opening song, Birdie Wing deploys "Venus Line" as its coup de grâce. That's cinema.

If I were to take a huge hit of copium, I'd say that they've teed up a perfect opportunity for a post-time skip movie chronicling Aoi and Eve's true battle. That would be a lovely epilogue. The icing on the cake. The dainty little flag on top of the pin. However, it is not needed. We have the complete story. It's not about who beats whom, and it never has been. Birdie Wing has always been about two talented golf girls driving each other towards longer drives with long drivers. They make each other better, and they make the sport better. I won't be able to watch golf anymore without imagining exploding rainbows and screeching phoenixes. Birdie Wing hit a hole-in-one right into my brainpan, and it's going to be rattling around in there for the rest of my days. Therefore, I'm content saying bye-bye to Birdie Birdie. Even if it never returns, it'll never truly be gone.

Rating: Eagle

Cumulative Score: -34

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.