Review of Ping Pong the Animation

愛してるぜ (Aishiteruze) Ping Pong the Animation is certainly an underdog-style show. I went into this anime not expecting much. It had a bizarre art style and was adapted from a manga that's around twenty years old now. Yet this show quickly became one of my favorites this season and proved that it was probably this season's biggest underdog next to some of the more hyped shows. That actually fits this show perfectly since it's the story of an underdog. However, being an underdog in most people's eyes doesn't mean you're not the hero in someone else's. It's pretty much impossible to talk about the story in thisheavily character-driven sports anime without talking about the characters instead. The show begins with a couple of disorderly ping pong players at a high school with no reputation in the sport. Smile and Peco seem like the strangest pair of friends you'll ever meet. Smile never smiles and Peco's a ball of energy with no off-switch. They're pretty much exact opposites no matter how you look at them. While I didn't find either of them to be very likable right off the bat, the show develops both of them incredibly through many flashbacks to their childhood as well as displaying their motivations in the present. The rest of the side characters are also well developed throughout the show. My favorite is the Chinese player Kong Wenge. This is one of the only shows I've ever seen actually use non-Japanese voice actors for foreign characters and it was a pleasure to hear. Kazama Ryuuichi is the favored player throughout the show and has garnered fame through his playing and his family. Despite his determination to get better at the sport and be the best, he doesn't really enjoy playing ping pong. The development everyone in this series experiences whether they are high school players, a coach, or other side characters is incredible. They do have faults especially in the beginning, but this character cast definitely shined bright at the end.

Now for the most controversial part of the show: the animation. This show uses a very experimental style which ranges from working perfectly with the feel of the story to just being awkward at times. For the most part it works excellently, but, especially during the ping pong matches early in the show, the animation is just distracting and poorly done. As the show goes on and the matches become more important, the animation improves, however some of the earlier matches consist of one repeated rally with nothing else shown. As for the many flashbacks, the show utilizes it's animation very well to give them an emotional feeling and to build up why you should care for these characters. While some of the flashbacks are used a little too much, they still have an amazing impact on the show and build the foundation for the characters. Especially for Smile and Peco, these flashbacks are really well executed.

The soundtrack for the most part is just there to set the mood and not much else. At first it mainly consists of background sounds and some instrumental tracks to go along with the more emotional and dramatic moments. Towards the end with some of the final ping pong matches, the soundtrack really stands out, especially in the second to last match played in the show. The ED theme is also something I'll mention since it is one of my favorite songs from any anime this season.

Ping Pong the Animation is the underdog anime of the season and with this exceptional character cast of heroes, underdogs, and fallen heroes, it really fits the show unintentionally well. I'm not really a big fan of sports anime, and if you are, you may not actually like how this show is done. That's not fact of course, I'm just mentioning it since this is more of a character-driven psychological friendship story than your typical sports anime. If you're looking for a show that focuses on the sport and the special techniques of it that most shows in this genre use, then you'll probably be dissatisfied. However, if you're just looking for something that gets inside of the characters' heads and analyzes their reasons for playing a sport and their motivations that drive them to continue, then this is something you'll probably enjoy.