Review of Ping Pong the Animation

Additively perfect. Many stories tend to appeal to certain people, and in many ways, only because of that appeal, we watch them or enjoy them. "Ping-Pong The Animation" differs from any other sports anime I've ever experienced. Sometimes, it transcends its own genre, conventions and limitations. Deceptively, this isn't a story about ping-pong, it's about what it means to enjoy something. The story follows the "invincible" protagonist; one that demolishes anybody in his path. The people around this person are the interesting aspects at the beginning, since we feel loss to an unfathomable degree. A sport, a hobby, a passion, it can all get trampled downby somebody who has simple, unrelenting talent. We've seen the "talent vs hard work" story before in many ways, usually telling you how hard work matters more. This is a brutally honest portrayal of life, grounding what we think of ourselves. A protagonist that doesn't experience loss, but how the lack of it affects those around him. We get this sincerity to how people react, how nothing you ever do seems to work, and it won't work, you gotta do something else. "Maybe I'm not made for this"; it's tragic, but necessary to ask oneself how much this is working or not.

Of course, it's not all just brutal honesty, and about tragedy; it's about how this experience helps you understand yourself a lot more. The characters go through the ringer, slowly finding life enjoyable after giving up on obsession, letting the ones that needed this world to follow it. I felt for every, single, fucking character and their struggles. Nothing rings more powerfully than somebody asking you, "But do you like it?", "Who are you doing this for?", "Why are you still doing it?".

The animation is the next aspect that feels so fresh. This isn't how anatomy works, but somehow it still feels so realistic, so human. Fluid, emotional, colorful, stylistic, entertaining; I couldn't stop for a second to look away, to get more of those spectacular visuals, I just can't believe it exists this way.

I can't even find faults, since it even contains musical motifs, visual callbacks, voice acting that reflects all you see on the screen; it's mind-blowing that I finally, after so long, get to see a perfect anime that I want to show everybody. However, it'd be hypocritical of me, since I put it off for the same reasons many will.

This is a perfect anime, with such a short amount of time, reaching heights that many others don't get in double or triple the amount. Do yourself a favor, and watch this masterpiece.