Review of Ping Pong the Animation

Spoilers ahead. This anime is good. CHARACTERS The characters are fleshed out. Their troubles hit close to home. Hoshino's sad state when he was demotivated is similar to how I feel sometimes. I'm glad he came out of that phase, it gives hope for me.I'm glad Kazama doesn't feel as stressed as before when thinking about ping pong. I would've liked to see the process and the realization.

Some character changes felt rushed, like Sanada giving up his infatuation with the ad girl.

STORY

The ending episode(s) felt weird:

- First, the final tournament. It feels like a lot less effort went into hiding the plot armor. I definitely felt weird after Hoshino beat Wenge and Kazama since they trained really hard, a lot more than Hoshino. Maybe it was to illustrate once again the importance of talent in winning.

- Second, the time-skip at the end. I'm glad there's a happy ending. I felt emotional. But I was a bit disappointed that it's like a happily ever after. Maybe it's better than a forced sad ending, I don't know. I'm glad all characters are doing well.

ART

Rough lines made for more dynamic feel, sometimes.

It helps also that I didn't find any of the characters attractive just because of how they look. If I did, it was because of who they were.

SOUND

Opening has some lyrics that make me emotional when I see them.

ENJOYMENT

It's 3:46 am as I write this as I finished watching the anime.

Definitely the emotions are stronger because I'm in a though spot. I have a lot of responsibilities I've ran away from that are on the verge of collapsing on me.

I empathized on a hard level with the characters and I hope I can stop running away.

OVERALL

A great watch. The characters are well developed. There are many lessons to be taken too.

One quote that resonated with me was:
"The only way to be sure you won't lose is to not fight."
- Sakuma to Hoshino. Episode 4. 8:57.