Review of Ping Pong the Animation

At the opening scene of this short series, I knew that I was in for a treat. From the script to the soundtrack to the unconventional animation, it couldn’t be anything less than a thrill despite the plot’s focus around a sport I once found quite dull. However, despite my anticipation of greatness, what I walked away with was more than I could have foreseen and for that, this series has worked its way into my top favorite animated jewels. We open the episodic journey with two boys, both young and naive, and we end with the same pair’s growth into adulthood. Friends since childhood andteammates in high school, the two have a strong relationship, and one that any person might relate to and find emotionally compelling. One child bullied and the other popular, the two were opposites that eventually elicited the best out of one another, unearthing seasoned potential and also, their devotion to the ones and things they care about. The story’s main focus winds around the two’s prosperity and the concluding result of such weighty character development leaves you weakened by their strength and love.

Our main protagonist, a distant and downtrodden boy that goes by the nickname Smile is a table tennis player who doesn’t share the same desires to succeed and improve as his close friend Peco; simply, he seemingly plays for no fundamental reason which hinders his potential of accomplishing feats and meeting standards that otherwise could be achieved.

Through the series, we watch as Smile is personally taken under the wing of his high school’s, table-tennis coach, a gruff, 70-something with plenty of dedication and love to spare. Side by side, they train to lift Smile to a higher level of competition. Together, Smile and his coach build and hone in the boy’s potential and are eventually rewarded with a spot in the country’s national table tennis tournament.

While Smile trains alongside his coach, Peco takes a different route. Guided by an elderly woman who once fiercely competed in ping pong herself, Peco finally finds the gumption to emerges from his chrysalis, a gorgeous, proud and strong player after rigorous months of training and a ripe does of character insight.

By the concluding episodes of this wonderful series, I was left clinging to the edge of my seat, drinking in both the brilliant animation style and the story of these fleshed out characters. Each moment is gorgeous and meaningful. Scene per scene, Ping Pong the Animation continuously delivers some of the best script writing and progression I’ve seen in a series so short.

This piece will steal your heart away with its dynamite style, its intelligent writing, the wonderful soundtrack and the characters that coincide with such brilliant elements. Despite this not being a particularly sorrowful piece, I was left with tears trailing down my cheeks as the series came to its end due to the emotional weight it evokes. Here, in this story, I found motivation, wisdom and words that personally unveiled my own desire to make something of myself.

This is not simply a sports story, but one of friendship and love. What we learn through each character, even the side rolls, is that everybody is afraid of something and this weakness, this fear of the unknown, is what grounds us; to fly, we must believe in ourselves and overcome the hurdles that life tosses our way.