First Look: Spring 2023 Anime Overview: Birdie Wing Season 2 (Patreon)

Premise: Season 2 of the saga where two girl golf geniuses just want to face each other one the green and have their homoerotic sports rivalry like they were MEANT TO, but weird family drama and the actual mafia keep getting in the way.

In my review of Birdie Wing's first season, I completely enjoyed the show's absurdity, but was worried it could all come crashing down in the second season. Fortunately, it did not! Birdie Wing remains a bombastically absurd sports anime that is fun to watch all the way through. Please come watch these girls get ridiculous sports injuries, scream their super golf attacks, and be ten times more intense than your average shonen sports show.

Birdie Wing also pulled some great moves this season, like having Eve's caddy from golfing high school be pulled into the absurd world of the gold mafia and react to it with the same panicked confusion the audience might. "They're going to KILL you if you LOSE A GOLF GAME? Why is the golf course like this? How much does this cost?" While Eve just shrugs everything off.

Meanwhile, the show finally brings in the bread and butter of sports anime- injuries and diseases that the main characters are going to ignore for the love of sport. But the tired trope becomes wonderfully absurd and almost verges on pointed commentary when it's GOLF, the sport of retirees, causing these ridiculous injuries. Seeing Eve gets covered with bandages because she golfed too fucking hard, or having this line:

It really throws into perspective how ridiculous sports anime is when it glamorizes people destroying their bodies for the 'love of the game'. I don't know if that was intentional, but it is very funny.

I am immensely grateful that the plot twist I was fearing didn't come to fruition in the show- instead, in classic Birdie Wing fashion, they teased that terrible plot twist, but instead gave an explanation that was a thousand times more soap opera-esque and ridiculous. I have to to applaud that moxie.

But what's important is that the true believers made it through. We're okay. (If you want to know what I'm talking about and don't mind spoilers, please enjoy this meme I made based off a famous tweet by Crunchyroll).

I must share an anecdote- I had to watch the finale while on vacation with my Mom. When she overheard all the yelling, she was like "are you watching a magical girl show?" "no it's a sports anime- they're playing golf" "Oh...why does it sound like a magical girl show?"

Sadly, the finale was a little bit of a let down- it was rushed compared to other parts of the show and felt like less than it could be. (Considering G-witch had the same problem, I wonder if it was a Bandai wide problem).

But it was still fun. While Aoi and Eve sadly do not kiss or become an explicit couple (despite Aoi very much wanting to!), there is at least absurd golf team up moment you could read as being a Super Deep metaphor for their love. Not much of an excuse, but it's something. The end of the show didn't go as hard as it could have (or, I think, should have) but it was still ridiculously, wonderfully Birdie Wing.

 I was disappointed Aoi and Eve were separated this season so much (and unlike the first season, did not pine for each other nearly as much during separations since they were busy contending with ridic plot stuff), but on the plus side, there weren't really many 'sexual menace' or jarringly mature moments like the first season had. 

Overall, I think it was a really solid follow up, and I can now wholeheartedly recommend Birdie Wing as a show. Just heed the content warnings I left in my first review so you too don't get killed by golf! Once you're ready, let the glorious golf wash over you. You won't regret it.