Episode 4 – “Vipère”
Hmm.
If James Bond battled superrich golfing gangsters instead of megalomaniacs bent on world domination, he would be sipping vodka martinis. Shaken not stirred, in the casinos of Nafrece. BIRDIE WING’s method of creating a credible world behind a golfing video game includes using hydropower instead of the geothermal power of volcanos. Video game worlds are incredible! In four episodes, BIRDIE WING showed us how a plausible world of underground golf could build the backstory of a golf video game. Backed by organized crime on the coasts of Cannes, Nice, Monaco, and San Remo, we’ve got a campaign mode. There’s a challenge mode, minigames, and even a custom course designer already featured for a hypothetical game from Bandai-Namco. It’s hilarious!
Mafia golfers cheat. They get away with whatever they can to win. We’ve seen Anri use magnets and blinding lasers. Vipère uses poison gas to affect her opponent’s balance. Is there a PGA official at their matches to disqualify them? No, so the other underground golfer needs to cheat too. They also need to be observant like a poker player to enact countermeasures to win. But what if you want to occupy both worlds of sanctioned golf and gangster golf? Eve’s bullet-style golf is custom-designed to poke holes in an opponent’s tactics in both worlds. BIRDIE WING is still building its world and the lead characters’ relationships. But the hints at Eve’s origin story keep me looking forward to later in the season.
The Rainbow Bullet does have a complete rainbow of shots. Eve’s bunker shot is yellow! BIRDIE WING has shown us four rainbow colors, so I’m curious what Eve needs an orange or violet bullet for. Does she have a golf shot for hitting out of water? What if she has a lie that she can’t shoot straight the pin? What colors would those be? It’s fun to guess what the remaining rainbow colors correspond to.
Heh.
Oh well. We should have known from past BIRDIE WING episodes that Rose and Anri would cheat. A laser in the eye is dangerous. Aoi is tough. She didn’t make excuses. If she were a better golfer, she would not let anything distract her. Rose’s reason to keep Eve “motivated” is wrong, though. Eve wants to win against any opponent.
Nice. Aoi and Eve made another date. Five o’clock in the morning is too early for an outing, but golfers are used to those hours. Anri drives an old Jaguar convertible. It’s showtime! Time to pay back Catherine.
Why are French subtitles in my English translation for the BIRDIE WING episode title? “Vipère” is French for “viper,” but that’s more specific than the Japanese 毒蛇 (dokuhebi, poisonous snake). We’re in the middle of a mob movie. Eve needs a blindfold, so she doesn’t know where someone’s secret lair is. It’s not in the middle of a volcano, is it? Catherine is a Boss Lady! Haha! Golf champions duel to the death to avoid a mob war over real estate! Or lose at match play. Let’s not get more dramatic than the anime already is.
Ahahaha! Catherine built the Death Star of Golf in her underground bunker! The Catherine Golf Course is a real-life course generator and designer. Rich people have more than a couple hundred bucks to spend on a TV, game console, and the BIRDIE WING golf game. Catherine takes high roller wagers on golf games here. Nafrece is totally in Monaco or Nice. Even the gangsters dress well. Of course, the land dispute is over a new casino, resort, and golf course.
Here we go, here we go! Eccentric, sexy player characters! Vipère the Reaper has fangs! She and Rose have a history together. Eve doesn’t care about old-timers’ gangland golf stories. She has a golf date at five A.M. Vipère likes Eve’s style and wants to spend quality time with her after the match. Make a side bet to get a side squeeze! Eve only wants a ride home from the Reaper. Uh, wouldn’t Anri and Rose do that for her? Yuri fans, rejoice! Eve declared Aoi’s name already in her heart! Squee!
Enough foreplay. Fore! BIRDIE WING did it. The anime built a golf video game’s random course generator next to a mafia boss’s reservoir. One might think Mazinger or an Evangelion would pop out of there after all this infrastructural activity. But no, it’s just moving sod, water, and trees around. Ha! Catherine feels defensive about how she spends her money.
Finally. A genuine underground golfer matchup in BIRDIE WING. Any advantage goes, even cheating. Especially cheating. Rose thinks she fired up Eve’s motivation to win by manufacturing a tie against Aoi. How far does that zipper go down, Vipère? Oops. Eve’s Blue Bullet hooked! What happened? A quick check-in with Aoi. No stress on her part. Aoi’s mom also noticed Eve in the golf tournament, so we have a foundation laid for future plot development.
Underground golf is all about figuring out how the other player has an advantage. BIRDIE WING already told us about the demoralization strategy, so Vipère employed a trick. Eve needs to solve that problem and turn it back on Vipère. Oh! Rose did find the right motivation to make Eve win. She knows Eve wants to hurry back to Aoi.
Vipère likes to unzip her suit. Please keep doing so! Oho. Eve missed her short putt. The Rainbow Bullet will figure the connection out between her misses and Vipère standing close to her. Elsewhere in BIRDIE WING, Aoi needs to go to bed!
Vipère showed off her cobra tattoo, so her secret is about a scent she conceals with perfume. Pheromones mess with the inner ear and balance. Oh? Eve held her breath. Did she discover Vipère’s secret? Ah! Escaping Yellow Bullet! That’s Eve’s bunker shot. Eve called out Vipère’s poison scent. The Reaper missed her easy putt, so Eve’s bullet pierced her heart. Enough whining. Eve needs a ride!
What the heck, BIRDIE WING? Catherine’s supervillain lair was four hours away by car! Don’t these mobsters have helicopters? Eve missed her five o’clock tee time date with Aoi. Bugatti roadster as a golf cart, why not? Don’t make Pac-Man cry! Um, I don’t think authorities let you hurl projectiles next to airports anymore. Aw. Aoi recognized the Blue Bullet. How will Eve the Liar reconcile with Aoi?
Next time, Eve becomes a digital cat girl to play virtual golf with Eve. Amane calls that “OB.” Out of bounds!
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