madilyn.considine - 2015-05-12 20:02:08

Okay so it's very, very hard to put a note on this anime.

It's like a total outsider. Animation is unusual. Story is unusual. Art in general is unusual, Characters are unusual. The OST is... a bit more usual but very good still.

It's a very hard to apprehend anime. I mean seriously. I loved it, but anyone could totally hate it and it wouldn't be less legitimate.

I think it's one of the most amazing animes I've watched in a damned while (and it doesn't mean I don't watch good anime), but probably the hardest one too, and not because of graphical violence or harsh subject. It's just... really unusual.

I think you should watch it. But don't do it if you don't really want to.

maribel.ledner - 2015-03-25 16:56:44

one of the best sport anime you will ever watch forget free!, ace of diamonds and prince of tennis this is where it's at. It's got a gripping story and all in all is a must watch for anime sport anime fan or anime fans in general.

valentin.kunze - 2015-03-07 20:28:26

My experience with Ping Pong the Animation, was one that I won’t be forgetting anytime soon. When I came into the show, I had no idea what to expect other than it came with the name Masaaki Yuasa--director of Mind Game and the Tatami Galaxy. I consider those to be two of the most unique and profound works I’ve ever had the pleasure of seeing. So with Ping Pong, I came into it with some expectations. But you know what? The show managed to exceed expectations and become one of my favorites of 2014.

The main animation director was Shinya Ohira. His style is interesting to begin with. Most notably in my mind, he’s the guy who animated episode 3 of Fooly Cooly. He also spontaneously works for Ghibli animating specific scenes in films like Howl’s Moving Castle.

Combine Ohira with a fairly un-notable studio and a small budget--what you have one of the most rough art styles ever conceived. I dunno if this is true or not--but supposedly Masaaki Yuasa had to beg people over twitter to help him out with the production. I can’t imagine how crazy it must have been to develop this anime. Hell, It’s a miracle it was even made. 

Anyone in their right mind would slap on a 3/10 for all those sins, but I wouldn’t. Ping Pong’s art is kinda’ like a story that’s logistically bad--but extremely self aware and well executed. And that’s sort of what makes Ping Pong special. It doesn’t try to hide how ugly it is. It embraces it and transcends all odds to create something that’s--so hideously raw--it’s borderline beautiful. The cinematography is often done in such a way as to allude to comic strips; taking fragments and piecing them together in interesting ways:

The character designs, while not exactly appealing in terms of the way they look, really stick out. Each of them looks realistic with a couple of exceptions. Ever notice how anime doesn't like to do that? The thought process behind the character designs are akin to Satoshi Kon. Masaaki isn’t afraid to portray people how they actually look like: imperfect.

The art style and directing is stunning. The way lines swivel and spiral evoke an almost Shel-Silverstein-meets-Quentin Tarantino-like-appearance. Proportions are all over the place, but they define the actions in powerful ways that something without exaggeration couldn’t accomplish. It’s inconsistent sure--but it knows when to break out its small vault and pour the money into the scenes where it counts. And let’s not even talk about episode 10, which blew me away with how amazing it looked in combination with the narrative and visual symbolism (IE Robot and Superhero.)

Speaking of which, Masaaki Yuasa absolutely strikes out with this story. It was based on the manga Ping Pong by Taiyou Masamoto and it’s just lovely. Saying this show is about ping pong, table tennis, whatever you want to call it--is selling it too damn short. Cause it’s not. At the end of the day, Ping Pong the Animation is a character piece with well honed philosophical statements about the nature of action, why we play games, and what drives us to behave the way we do. It then focuses on the drive of happiness and what makes us enjoy life. It’s so down to earth with these themes that it’s hard not to enjoy analyzing them. It’s simple and focused. It tells you about all these aspects of humanity without ever needing to say it out loud all-the-while being honest about it.

There’s one character in episode 5 who comes to a brutally harsh realization--but one that is absolutely true. Because of its unflinching honesty and subtlety, I cried twice throughout the course of the show and had to step back and realize exactly what I was watching.

The actual narrative structure though, was really built to support the characters. It’s not hugely complex and has its fair share of conveniences. One could also say it might even feel a bit too rushed and hectic--but at the same time, I think it’s perfect for what it is. Again, Ping Pong is a character piece, and for that it accomplishes what it sets out to do. Each match between everyone is not really about the actual match, but more about what that match means for the player. And for that, it earns my unflinching respect. It’s also not exactly what I’d call predictable. In certain regards, you really don’t know who to root for. I think that’s excellent.

The characters themselves are surprisingly fleshed out and multifaceted. I was shocked to find that most of the characters in the show, no matter how one dimensionally evil they are at first glance or insignificant, play into the plot later or you find out that there’s more to them than what you’d expect.

Our protagonist Smile is no better than the antagonist who is no better than our other protagonist Peco. Because in the end, everyone in this show is human. HOW NOVEL.

Peco, one of our two heroes, seems to love games, but ultimately the show takes a step back and shines a mirror in front of him--asking whether he likes games, or really just likes winning. There’s a certain arrogance to his character, but it’s not overblown. He’s genuinely a decent person, but has flaws in a realistic way. There’s even small perks each character has. Like Smile and his weird quirk with playing his atari vita.

I felt the story portrayed the characters in an extremely mature way. Even more so than some of my all time favorites like Evangelion (though I still think Evangelion is better BLAH.) I won’t go into any more of the nuance though--that’s part of the fun of actually watching this thing.

Before ending the review, I want to quickly brush on the sound in this anime. I’m going to be as upfront as ever and say it’s fantastic. From a mixing perspective, the sound effects are to die for. Each clack of the ping pong paddles reverberates through your mind and really highlights each action. The basketball-like shoe slips also punctuate the tone of every match and everything just comes together in combination with the animation.

As for the soundtrack, it’s equally as good. One song in particular stands out my mind and uses the ping pong paddle sound effects to construct the song. 

Also, props to the opening and ending themes. Both of which I felt as counter balances to one another and were just stellar.

Something else that was really stellar though was the voice acting. I was taken aback that they got some lesser known seiyuus--but getting them really paid off. I mean, Yousei Bun as Kong of China was awesome. He had to juggle speaking both Chinese and Japanese at certain parts in the series and did it fairly well with annunciation (I studied Japanese for two years, and while I can't speak/read fluently, I can hear the effort Yousei put into his acting)~ 

Same goes for Peco who’s seiyuu has never had another voice acting role before this. I'd be really surprised if they didn't get more voice acting roles after this show.

Ping Pong the Animation is kind of an achievement in my mind. Honestly, EVERYONE should give Ping Pong a chance. Trust me. This isn’t your typical sports anime. Look. If you can hop over that animation barrier, you’ll have one of the better shows you’ve ever seen. I’m absolutely certain of that. I cried twice. At a show about goddamn ping pong! Look, here's the score:

Sound - 9Story - 7Characters - 9Animation - 8OVERALL: 8.25

NOW GO WATCH IT! RIGHT NOW!! And you better bring it on blu ray funimation. Otherwise there will be consequences.

If you enjoyed Ping Pong the Animation--then I’d recommend watching Kaiji: Ultimate Survivor. It’s a show about a gambler trying to get out of debt and is sure to get your blood pumping.

Or if you’re looking for something more artistically fulfilling, try the Tatami Galaxy. This one’s about a guy stuck in a time loop trying to accomplish his ultimate destiny--also it was directed by Masaaki Yuasa as I mentioned earlier, so there's that. Both shows rest in my top fifteen anime of all time and I’ve also done reviews on both:

Kaiji Review
Tatami Galaxy Review

Thank you all for reading! See you next time!

mfarrell - 2014-09-14 04:34:50

PROBABLY THE ONLY "SPORTS" ANIMU/MANGO I LIKE. I PUT SPORTS IN QUOTES BECAUSE I BELIEVE IT IS GOOD ENOUGH TO TRANSCEND THE NEED FOR A GENRE LABEL.

helene.dooley - 2014-08-29 05:58:27

I'll keep this review as short as possible. This anime will surprise you, I wasn't expecting much going into it but I was impressed after watching an episode or two. Others have criticized the artstyle but I actually really like it, at times it can be silly but that's what is charming about it.

The story is great, the soundtrack is perfect, the animation is awesome and silly at times, the characters will grow on you throughout the anime and the ending is in my opinion flawless.

Overall I would give it a 10/10 in it's genre.
Anime of the season for sure.

arch.hayes - 2014-07-18 09:42:17

Ping Pong: the Animation is a beautiful, heart-warming anime. It truly cannot be called anything other than masterpiece. Leaving me in tears of joy, Ping Pong truly shows you can go beyond the norm and create your own animation style and have more of an impact than many hyped-up animes such as Kill la Kill and Sword Art Online.

I wish there was more, but I'm not sad that it ended so abruptly. There's no loose ends, only truly beautiful writing and characters. It left me craving for more and more after each episode, forcing me to be on the edge of my seat and cheering on these wonderful 2-D characters.

Say what you want about the art, about how it wasn't crisp or superficially straight, but that's the real beauty behind Ping Pong: the Animation. The story and ultimately, the anime itself, is driven from the heart, not aiming to sell out for big bucks and make corporate cash from it's merchandise. It's truly a wonderful experience, one that I'll never forget,  because it went above and beyond expectations.

I can't be very critical about Ping Pong, because it set itself out from mainstream forms of entertainment and challenged our ideology of anime that the anime-watching community seems to hold. I recommend this show to anyone and everyone, because of it's uplifting and inspirational story. You can succeed, you can achieve and you can find your hero when you search for it. 

Feel free to message me regarding Ping Pong or any other anime, because I'd love to talk to you! 

irwin.hettinger - 2014-06-30 02:31:29

Ping Pong the Animation Review

Did this anime go under the radar undeservedly?

Story:

The story takes from the main POV of 'Smile' with multiple episodes dedicated to other characters. The story is great, does what it wants to do and wraps it all up cleanly. Hard to find many faults with it personally, but I am not a huge sports anime fan.

Animation:

This is the biggest issue I had with the anime. The animation is not good. It just isn't. I felt like the animation they ended up going for was really poor and full of just below average quality in general. It seems this studio has an issue with good animation in between scenes (like Psycho-Pass) but they tried to pass this one off as a stylish choice. But they didn't draw the entire anime like this and in fact the whole thing switched between beautifully drawn shots when they are on the train in episode 1 and then shitty ones similar to the one scene where all the Keno members are exercising  on the floor. I guess the animation could be opinion based or they could've been on a small budget but don't make your title 'Ping Pong the Animation' if the animation is your weakest point.

EDIT: Noitamina is a television block in Japan and not related to Psycho-Pass in terms of who animated what, from what I understand.

Sound:

Great soundtrack, loved it. The 'hero appears' song was music to my ears and my favorite track of the season. Some of the songs felt out of place towards the end of the show but its too small to consider worthy talking about.

Character:

Great characters, the show gave amble time to everyone and developed all the main characters adequately. They showed off how all their arcs ended (even for the side characters) and it really goes to show how good the team they originally developed this is at writing.

Enjoyment:

While the animation took me out of the enjoyment a little bit, the show was still held up well in every other category. I still very much enjoyed it.

In Conclusion:

I didn't like the animation. Whether it was a style choice, laziness choice, or budget choice it was poor and it only served to hold Ping Pong the Animation back. Had it been better or different it would've been my anime of the season.

Do I still recommend Ping Pong? Absolutely. If you can get past the animation you have almost a perfect gem of a sports anime.

senger.oran - 2014-06-19 19:56:25

Ping Pong The Animation, originally created by Matsumoto Taiyou, is more than what one would call unique, even more so if you just look at sports Anime.The story of Ping Pong The Animation is unexpectedly complex while simple at the same time. It's not a light-hearted watch but nor is it deep enough to drown. The story follows multiple characters, highlighting Peco and Smile, while developing them all in amazing ways. There is always something to look forward to, whether there's a cliffhanger or not. Ping Pong The Animation feels like such a smooth watch; there are no bumps along the way. Doubts were had by many people before it started airing, but those were all cleared in the first episode. Not once did the story break down. It was solid throughout it's duration and left us on an incredibly strong ending. Unfortunately, it's an ending that leaves you begging for more even though there is no more that can be done. It leaves a somewhat small void.The art and animation is the highlight of this Anime for me. If I had to point at one show with the nicest look, it would be this. No less would be expected Masaaki Yuasa. The Anime strives and succeeds in looking like its source material, and does a grand job in doing so. Ping Pong wouldn't be the same without the unique style it has. This style I mention isn't restricted just to art, but to every single part of the Anime. Some parts look absolutely outstanding, especially in flashbacks or when the Anime is tackling the psychology of a character. The opening and ending look magnificent and really do capture the essence of what is Ping Pong.The sound in Ping Pong doesn't fall short compared to its other strong points. The sound a ball being hit, the sound of movement on mats, the music featured; it's all amazingly well done. The OST is one of the most surprising things in this Anime. It manages to strengthen every scene. A good OST for a sports Anime is one that gets your blood pumping, one that allows to you to follow what's happening even more closely with ease; that's what Ping Pong's OST does. The seiyuus do an amazing job as well, and the it's no surprise with the seiyuu being who they are. Smile's voice captures that of an emotionless robot which enhances the metaphor constantly used throughout the Anime. Peco is the opposite. He's a quirky, spirited character who's voice is also captured perfectly.The characters in Ping Pong are phenomenal. No one is just there for the sake of being there. Most characters have their mentality explored in some way even if they only explore once. This is one of my most favourite things about Ping Pong. No one is left out in the dark. Ping Pong fleshes out the characters perfectly with flashbacks and a inner monologue here and there. It sounds like a simple thing to do, but not many series do it well. In addition, the characters feel like magnets; I'm attached to all of them. There's always one character that you're rooting for. There's always one you'll want to see more of. Each character is done justice by the time the series end.I enjoyed this a whole lot, which is already obvious. Overall, this is an incredibly strong dent built in to the sports genre. Every single element in this Anime helps another to be something amazing. Each element is nothing without the others. The characters are accompanied greatly by the art, which is boosted up by the music, which is held up by the atmosphere. Everything comes together to create something that is a must watch for a unique, but great experience in the world of Anime.Recommendation: If you haven't already, and you want more Anime of this level, I suggest you go and check out Tatami Galaxy, which is directed by Masaaki Yuasa.

spinka.alycia - 2014-06-18 10:49:58

=====Story/Introduction ===== Ping Pong the animation is a show which aired during the Spring season of 2014. Directed by Masaaki Yuasa and based off of a manga by Taiyo Matsumoto, it's a show that is not so much about the game of Ping Pong itself, but the people who play it and the influences it has on their lives. 

To be honest, on the surface, the story of Ping Pong isn't anything new, the structure is basically just a group of characters and a big ping pong tournament, however, where Ping Pong deviates from this is that instead of focusing on the Ping Pong competition itself, it instead uses it as a vehicle for its characters to develop. As a character-focused show, the story did its job impeccably. 

Ping Pong the animation is primarily a character study. It focuses on the idea of what success is and the different viewpoints on it. The show was gripping enough for me to keep watching and want more by the end of it. Also, the story has a very solid conclusion where all the loose ends (at least the ones i could think of) were tied up very nicely.

=====Music=====
The soundtrack for this show was extremely fitting. The songs used throughout complement the scenes without taking focus away from the show itself. In other words, they worked very well as background songs, building the mood of the scene where-ever it needed to, however weren't overbearing. 

There was a distinct use of loud electronic music in Ping Pong matches which made the show a lot more exhilarating. However outside of these matches, i didn't find the music to be too memorable, however served their purpose just fine. The show does make good very use of ambient sounds, such as the sound of ticking clocks and ping pong balls hitting the table, adding realism to scenes and to an extent also acts a symbols for its themes. This video displays it well.

There were quite a few stand-out songs that when used in certain episodes gave me shivers such as the ED at the end of each episode.

=====Animation=====
The animation of this show is what I believe to be the main turn-off for people who want to watch this show. However, i believe this show as a very distinctive art-style which fits the show extremely well as it adds a lot of weight to certain scenes. For example, the animation during the table tennis matches is exhilarating and full of emotion. 

As well as this, the animation has a lot of stylistic flair. 

There is a tonne of visual metaphors used, not just to look cool or seem intellectual like some shows, but to represent certain ideas and themes which are explored constantly throughout the show’s 11 episodes. I particularly loved the use of images like planes to reflect certain characters. Because of this, the show has a lot of depth to it, and some ideas such as “what it takes to succeed at something” can even extend past the show and connect with some people. 

However, that does not mean to say that the animation quality is perfect. I heard somewhere interview that the animation team had a very limited time to work on the show’s animation and it definitely shows. Some scenes such as when characters are speaking feel very stiff and some character designs, especially designs for insignificant characters just look plain crap. Take this for example... 

As well as this, there was a lot of repeated animation, particularly when characters are speaking. This primarily took away some immersion from the show as they just looked so absurd. Despite this, there is still some incredible animation during the ping pong matches and the important characters are animated quite well. In particular the matches nearing the end of the show had some of the best animation I’d seen in the season.

The animation isn't bad, but does take some getting used to. Personally I didn't really care much about the low quality animation and I got over the unique art style a few minutes into the first episode. High quality may not mean the animation is good, and low quality may not mean the animation is bad, and Ping Pong is a great example of this. Even though the quality may be quite bad at times, but the artistic style and personality is utterly brilliant. 

=====Characters=====
Oh boy. Throughout the entire 11 episodes of Ping Pong, the cast is constantly changing; evolving and devolving. I won’t want to spoil how the characters change as this show is mostly a character driven show and spoiling it would probably detract from the experience, but I will say that the entire cast was very well development and 3-dimensional. 

Our two main characters Tsukimoto and Peco are incredibly interesting to watch as their personalities contrast each-other and they each develop alongside each-other. Now this use of contrasting characters has been done many many times before to the point of becoming cliched, however the relationship between Tsukimoto and Peco is done in a way that feels fresh and unique. For example, there is a sense of mutual understanding between the two without the show ever needing to show hefty exposition in your face like some other shows. 

Many of the side characters such as Wenge Kong were extremely well done, and by just a few episodes in I felt very engaged and sympathetic towards the characters. This is possibly enhanced by the spectacular voice acting for every character. I felt that all the characters were cast extremely well and not one voice felt out of place. Each episode unveils new aspects of characters and their reason for playing Ping Pong. There were a few minor characters that could have been developed more as they remained rather two-dimensional throughout, however what the show did during its limited time span is still very admirable.

=====Enjoyment===== Without a doubt, this is one of the best shows of Spring. This show had me hooked throughout and each episode just seemed to keep on getting more interesting as characters were developed and questions were answered. Almost every episode past episode 3-ish left me speechless. Of course, that would probably just be hype doing that, but nonetheless I still found it one of the most enjoyable shows I’ve seen and definitely anime of the Spring 2014 season, perhaps even AOTY.

Ping Pong the Animation can sit up close with Masaaki Yuasa’s other works like Tatami Galaxy, Kaiba and Mind Game and is an excellent adaption of the manga. 

This show won’t be for everyone as the animation is quite unusual and will definitely put a lot of people off. However, if you are willing to look past that, you will find an extremely entertaining gem of a show with quite a bit of depth to both its plot and characters. 

Even though i tend not to give shows full score, but for my personal enjoyment, i just have give this show a 10/10 without any hesitation, but deduct a few points if you really can't bear the quality and style of animation.

Recommendations:

Tatami Galaxy, Mind Game and other works by Masaaki Yuasa.

jo25 - 2014-06-18 10:35:11

Warning: this is not a shounen sports anime. The audience for this anime is seinen. It is not animated in a standard style, which could be off-putting.Ping Pong is not your average sports anime. It is very focused on character development, personal stories and plot. It does not spend a lot of time actually showing ping pong. I would actually like a bit more discussion of reverse penhold backhand grip and so forth. But I accept this choice by the creators of the anime. It completely bypasses having to make up new magic tricks for each match.The voice acting in Ping Pong is awesome. They actually got a real Chinese speaker for Chinese dialogue (Wen Yexing voicing Kong Wenge) but they also inserted a nice karaoke scene for him. I wish English speakers in anime were native speakers as well.The character development is superb, characters have highs and lows, have motivation problems, get depressed. It feels very real and personal. It doesn't have the same narrative a lot of sports show have that hard work and the power of friendship beat everything. Ping Pong is rooted in the real world where talent matters.Ping Pong is my favorite anime of this season, I look forward to it the most out of all the shows I follow. It breaks with traditional sports anime enough to be accessible by people who don't even like sports anime. I would recommend this anime even for people don't play table tennis.