Review of Ping Pong the Animation

Ping-pong is a rather odd show when looking at it from outside, mostly due to the shows art style and the sport the the character play ping-pong. I mean ping-pong is fun and all, but when people talk about sports especially professional sports I doubt that ping-pong would be the first thing that they would think of. Still that’s the part of the show that the story and character gravitate around which are the factors that make this show a blast to watch. Without looking really to into it the show is rather straightforward as it follows two childhood friends and ping-pong players as they gothrough their high school career of ping-pong. Both characters contrast each other with Tsukimoto “smiles” being a stoic and serious type who has no grand ambitions with playing ping-pong but plays nonetheless, and Hoshino “Peco” a more energetic and carefree type who lazes around but still has dreams of grandeur. Along the way they meet other players most notable being Kong and Kazuma who not only serve as rivals/antagonists, but as other characters with their own motivations which shows due to how heavily the show also focuses on them. Still i don’t think the story itself is all that great since it just a series of ping-pong matches with very little at stake for the characters, a somewhat predictable storyline that becomes more obvious as the story continues, and some absurdities that really can take you off the show. However it does help that the show doesn't focus just on the sport, but also the character, their interactions,and their purpose.

Each of the characters go through their own trials whether it leads to success or failure, and how they are able to cope with it. It’s through the coping that the characters develop gaining new insight in life and purpose. Characters that seem like asses are given depth and growth that they become more endearing as the show goes along. Even when two known characters are matched against each other, and it’s obvious who’s going to win. It’s disheartening to see the other player lose. Sometimes. Still i wished they expanded on some of the side characters because it’s evident that something there that can be looked into, but is just kind of passed aside.

Yes, the artstyle does look very weird, and personally i thought i would have a hard time adjusting to it, but i actually found it rather easy to get used to. Still it does look silly, especially the character designs, and the animation in a traditional sense isn’t that good as well. However as the show goes along it’s really hard to imagine the show looking any other way but this. The show uses the style to an effective degree to convey a message that’s easy to grasp via visuals alone.
The soundtrack for the show is alright i guess but nothing noticeable outside the ping-pong matches except when the characters sing during christmas, and the sound of ping-pong creating some sort of rhythm. The voice acting for the show however was good with everyone doing an exceptional roles with maybe a few jarring voices coming from some of the side characters.

Overall i really did enjoy the show. Despite it’s short run time of 11 episodes it was able to present a great cast of characters, and a quick story that doesn’t overstay its welcome.