Review of Ping Pong the Animation

Ping Pong the Animation comes very close to being a masterpiece, but is lacking in the visuals. It is a mixture of hard character development, great action, and in depth look into sports and table tennis. The story is perfect for 11 episodes. Everything at the end was concluded; all threads were tied and the viewer is left feeling satisfied. 10/10. The OST for ping pong is one of my favorites. The intense opening and "battle" themes really set the mood for the action sequences. There are appropriate slower songs for the sad moments, and other nichesongs that fit well. Give the soundtrack a listen to after watching it. 10/10

The characters are what you'd expect from a sports anime: there's "hero" who develops his skills due to his persistence and support; the anti-hero who strives for the same goal as the hero, but takes a different path; the sage who guides our hero's, etc. They all fit together nicely, and left me rooting for multiple characters. 10/10

I enjoyed this anime without any table tennis experience or knowledge prior, and with some experience for my re-watch. 10/10, i cri errytime.

The animation is the only wavering factor in my mind. Some call it masterful due to its charm that fits the show so well, some call it too low budget that ruins the rest of the experience. I am with the former; however, I accept the criticisms towards it as reality. It may not look that good at first, but after a few episodes, the animation quality isn't worse, just different. 6/10

Even if you hate sports anime, Ping Pong is still a masterpiece in it's genre. A strong contender for AotY for 2014, and one of my favorite anime I've seen to date. 9.6/10