Simulwatch VIII - Ping Pong the Animation [episode 10]

[Strat]

Sorry for getting this thread up so late, I've been really busy lately and I'm really terrible at planning stuff.

Streaming on Animax UK

MAL
ANN​

Synopsis:

"The hero comes. The hero comes. The hero comes. Chant these words in your mind, and I'll surely come to you..." This mantra is what Makoto Tsukimoto repeats as a source of motivation when he fights through the stress of not only grueling ping pong matches, but also in situations of his life. Makoto doesn't fight alone; he and his friend, Yukata Hoshino, nicknamed Smile and Peco respectively, are two boys who have grown up playing ping pong together nearly every day. Peco, brimming with confidence, aims to be the best table tennis player in the world; Smile, on the other hand, shows little ambition. Nevertheless, the two have always stuck together, with a bond built upon their mutual love for this sport.

Every year, students from all across Japan gather for the inter-high table tennis competition to achieve national and international stardom. Through intense training and competition, only the very best persevere.

From the avant-garde director of Tatami Galaxy, Masaaki Yuasa, Ping Pong The Animation serves a tale of ambition with its fair share of bumps along the way. Whatever the odds, Peco and Smile will face them together.

Viewing Plan:
The series is just 11 episodes long so one episode a day shouldn't be too hard to keep up with. Just in case though, we could do what Prof suggested for the Nadia simulwatch and do a bigger post after every [4,4,3] episodes in addition to or in place of the daily one, for people who prefer to watch in chunks or can't guarantee a daily episode. You are of course free to write as much or as little as you feel like.

 

[Smeelia]

Episode 1

Overall, the first episode was quite good and a reasonable start. For the first half I wasn't entirely sold on it, since it's mostly introducing characters that didn't seem easily likeable and not doing much else. Introducing another unlikeable character to show the protagonists up was probably quite a good way to balance the episode out and make it a little easier to consider supporting the protagonists.

The comments on talent vs hard work were kind of interesting. It makes me wonder if Peco/Hoshino has actually developed more through his efforts than he's letting on while Smile/Tsukimoto has more natural talent. I'm pretty confident that at least the latter is true but it also seems possible that the writing is taking the view that a certain amount of talent is essential and each player will only have a certain potential based on that.

While the Hero stuff didn't appear for long, I'm curious if it's going to be a major factor. It seems like it could be but you never know with these things.

The show didn't seem to be too interested in explaining Ping Pong as a sport initially, although the comments in the last match seemed to be giving a better idea of things. They don't really need to explain too much if the show is going to be more about the characters but I think Hoshino's first match might have worked better if it was more clear what he was doing that made him more effective than his opponent. I suppose it can be a tough one to balance, especially in terms of explaining things without getting boring.

The art style is interesting, it felt particularly effective in the match at the end by highlighting some key details in both the play and the feelings of the players. I don't think I'd want every show to be like this (and that would probably defeat part of the point anyway) but it seems like it could work quite well for this show.

I was a little hesitant at first but I'm looking forward to seeing more.

 

[Morbo]

Overall, the first episode was quite good and a reasonable start. For the first half I wasn't entirely sold on it, since it's mostly introducing characters that didn't seem easily likeable and not doing much else. Introducing another unlikeable character to show the protagonists up was probably quite a good way to balance the episode out and make it a little easier to consider supporting the protagonists.

I couldn't agree more, the first half of the episode felt like I was waiting for something to happen to get me interested in one of the characters they were introducing. While you say that Wenge was even more unlikable than the protagonists, I actually quite like him and enjoyed his complete thrashing of Peco. I always seem to become endeared to characters that humble any overconfident protagonist, especially if they are not exactly likeable themselves.

I didn't really get why the captain of the school's team decided to punish everyone who turned up for practice because 2 team members decided to no show. I'm not sure how he expects that to motivate everyone to keep attending? The other team members are going to now blame Peco and Smile, which in turn is probably going to push their star players away. Or Maybe I'm focusing too much on a point that will not result in anything.

I'm still getting used to the art style, it started to grow on me by the end of the episode but sometimes the characters looked a bit 'plain' for lack of a better word just yet, but I do think it's going to work well on this occasion as the animation in that match at the end really impressed me visually.
I just hope it doesn't end up taking away from my enjoyment of the show like Kill La Kill's animation did, it's not like they are entirely similar it's just that's the last show I watched that I didn't enjoy as much as I probably would have done if it was done in a different style, but time will tell.

The episode ended strong for me and made me eager to see what will happen next. I want to see what Smile's true match performance is like against Wenge.

 

[Professor Irony]

Afraid I'll be away for the next couple of days and won't be able to contribute anything for now, but I really like the show, so I should be able to catch up pretty quick.

 

[Smeelia]

While you say that Wenge was even more unlikable than the protagonists, I actually quite like him and enjoyed his complete thrashing of Peco. I always seem to become endeared to characters that humble any overconfident protagonist, especially if they are not exactly likeable themselves.

I really meant unlikeable in the sense that it'd be tough to get along with them. I do think Wenge seems like a good character and I wouldn't mind seeing some development in future episodes (though it's tough to imagine there being time to develop several characters over 11 episodes). At least we did get some insight into the reasons for Wenge's feelings and attitude, which probably also helped make the match more satisfying.

I didn't really get why the captain of the school's team decided to punish everyone who turned up for practice because 2 team members decided to no show.

One of the problems with Peco and Smile is that they both seem to be arrogant (Peco certainly is) but they're also actually quite skilled/talented. If the captain could actually beat them at their own game then he'd probably be the type to be arrogant as well but since he can't he just ends up frustrated and takes that out on the team. Punishing the team is just redirecting his anger and it's a bad decision, the team should really call the captain out on it but there's every possibility that they'll make exactly the same mistake and blame Peco and Smile (it kind of seems they're already doing that to an extent). That's my interpretation anyway.

On a related note, it should be interesting to see how Peco reacts to being in a similar situation.

I'm still getting used to the art style, it started to grow on me by the end of the episode but sometimes the characters looked a bit 'plain' for lack of a better word just yet, but I do think it's going to work well on this occasion as the animation in that match at the end really impressed me visually.

I'm wondering if the contrast between the more "plain" moments and the more visually impressive ones is deliberate. The visuals seemed to be doing much the same as the story, starting slowly then really coming together towards the end.

 

[qaiz]

I really meant unlikeable in the sense that it'd be tough to get along with them. I do think Wenge seems like a good character and I wouldn't mind seeing some development in future episodes (though it's tough to imagine there being time to develop several characters over 11 episodes). At least we did get some insight into the reasons for Wenge's feelings and attitude, which probably also helped make the match more satisfying.

You're in for a surprise, Wenge is the best character in the series and the development of its characters is the highlight of this series.

 

[MrLaserSharkKH]

I was distracted last night watching documentaries on Netflix, but now I have had the chance to watch the first episode of Ping Pong the Animation and it's definitely off to a promising start. I admit when I first heard that Masaaki Yuasa who is a favourite of mine was going to be directing a work from probably one of the most unique and hardworking Manga Creators out there in Taiyo Matsumoto, I was quite excited but also slightly apprehensive as I was concerned the two different minds at work would cause a mismatch in an essence. But I think this episode has put those fears to bed.

Echoing thoughts it took a while for the episode to hook me in, but the appearance of China was the shot in the arm it needed. The stakes and the tension were raised and makes me interested to see what interesting devolopments occur next. Smile and Peco have an interesting dynamic to their relationship that I can only describe as double-edged, on the one hand they seem to have a nice chemistry with each other but on the other hand it comes across as a destructive one for both parties.

Top Marks go to the Music/Sound used in the episode, everything was on point from the music used in the OP/ED as well as the tracks used throughout the episode, very pleasant to listen to and along with great sound direction make for probably my favourite parts of the episode.

 

[BanzaiJedi]

Episode 1

This is obviously no generic sports anime. The animation took a little getting used to, but after ten minutes it felt perfectly natural to me. But then I'd expect no less from the director of Tatami Galaxy. And there was no explanation of the sport's rules. Thankfully I'd learned a fair bit from the olympics about the different styles of holding the paddle, the basic rules, and also why the game is so historically important to the Chinese. Without that knowledge I'd be feeling a bit lost during that match at the end.

Plenty of interesting characters here. Smile reminds me of myself somewhat in his apathetic attitude to almost everything and everyone. The series is certainly hinting quite strongly that if Smile could just find it in himself to care then he could be exceptional. Peco is a typical overconfident 'ace' who cannot find any worthy opponents locally, so the match with China was quite the shock for him. China's arrogance was understandable (or at least I was left feeling it was) by the end of this episode, and I'm expecting plenty of growth from his character as the series progresses. And the teacher is taking it all very seriously, despite his outwardly laid back attitude which leaves the seniors to mostly run the club as they please (which has resulted in them getting carried away with the power they hold). It was odd to hear him throwing random English words around, I wonder what that's all about?

A very promising start, I'm looking forward to the next episodes.

 

[Smeelia]

Since everyone else seems to just be on Episode 1, I'm wondering if I should wait until Saturday to watch Episode 3. I'm still going to post about Episode 2 for now while it's fresh in my memory, so potential spoilers below for those who haven't watched it.

Episode 2

In which Smile kills an old man...

To be fair, he did kind of deserve it and seemed happy enough with that outcome.

The exploration of Smile's fear of people was pretty interesting and easy to sympathise with. His logical attempts to stay out of the way and remain neutral backfire by drawing more attention to him and even when he tries to do nothing people are still interpreting that in their own ways. I mentioned that the captain probably thinks of Smile as being arrogant and it seems less and less likely that he actually is. Dealing with people can be tough.

I'm not sure if uncaring robot Smile is necessarily a better way to deal with people. It might make it easier for him play well but it's really just hiding in a different way, presumably that'll be brought up at some point.

It does seem likely that Smile has been holding back against Peco out of a desire to avoid hurting him. Still, maybe Wenge had a point that holding back isn't fair to the opponent since Peco might have benefitted from having a strong opponent to play against that could provide a challenge and motivation to improve.

Peco's says that he doesn't care if others suffer for him to have fun but he still returns to practice when he realises staying away is making things difficult for others. It feels like quite a lot of this episode was about trying to maintain a balance between caring about others and looking after yourself (I could see that being a bit of a running theme).

I did quite like the humour in this episode, I'm not entirely sure if the apparent English teacher being less than great at English was deliberately done for humour (I suspect it may have been, though from what I've heard it may not be entirely unrealistic either).

Another solid episode overall and it feels like things are moving at a good pace so far.

 

[Morbo]

Since everyone else seems to just be on Episode 1, I'm wondering if I should wait until Saturday to watch Episode 3. I'm still going to post about Episode 2 for now while it's fresh in my memory, so potential spoilers below for those who haven't watched it.

I watched episode 2 last night but haven't had time to comment until this morning, if we are ahead maybe it will be best to hold off a day?

Episode 2

In which Smile kills an old man...

Wait he died?! I thought he just exhausted himself and broke a hip or something. Damn that's cold blooded. But He did push himself and subsequently, Smile pushed back which made him happy in the end I guess.

I'm wondering if the contrast between the more "plain" moments and the more visually impressive ones is deliberate. The visuals seemed to be doing much the same as the story, starting slowly then really coming together towards the end.

I think you hit the nail on the head here, again the animation started off rather plain but then highlighted its benefits in the match between coach and Smile, I especially liked the animation of 'the robot skeleton of Smile' that really rocked my boat.

I'm wondering if the hero was real or just a manifestation of Smiles imagination? Was it someone coming to look for him which he thought wouldn't happen and he appeared like a hero to him, the question is who was it? Or was it just a way for him to gain confidence in himself, is the hero really him? Probably the latter, I'm almost sure.

They introduced another rival in the form of Dragon, add in a friendly rivalry between coaches and he seems to be heading to a face off with our 'hero'.

I'm looking forward to seeing the next episode tonight

 

[Smeelia]

I watched episode 2 last night but haven't had time to comment until this morning, if we are ahead maybe it will be best to hold off a day?

If no one else is posting about Episode 3 today, I'll probably wait and post about it tomorrow (I'll maybe still watch it later). Most people are probably doing the same as you, it makes sense that if you're watching something at night then you might not want to stay up to post about it (having time to digest probably doesn't hurt either).

Wait he died?!

It's possible he might be getting better.

I'm wondering if the hero was real or just a manifestation of Smiles imagination? Was it someone coming to look for him which he thought wouldn't happen and he appeared like a hero to him, the question is who was it? Or was it just a way for him to gain confidence in himself, is the hero really him? Probably the latter, I'm almost sure.

Assuming the locker situation is real rather than metaphorical, it seems likely someone would have gotten him out. It could have been tough to break out with the broom in the door, although I suppose he could have managed and maybe felt he was only able to do so with the help of the hero within.

It does feel like Smile is talking to himself while he's in the locker, he claims to feel safe and comfortable but the hero contradicts what he says. It could well be that the hero is just an aspect of himself that he can't quite bring to the surface, he's able to become a robot to deal with the match but can't manage to summon the hero at this point. Even if there's a real person behind the hero, the hero as Smile sees it is probably mostly his own ideal.

I'd have guessed it would be Peco who opened the door, that'd maybe be an obvious choice but this show seems willing to be obvious at times (not in a bad way). It could work for Peco as well, since he does seem to feel that he needs to look out for Smile. It could also be interesting if Peco being protective of Smile has meant that Smile may have missed out on opportunities to learn and build confidence in standing on his own, in a similar way to Smile holding back at Ping Pong meant that Peco didn't have as many opportunities to develop.

 

[BanzaiJedi]

Okay, two episodes today since I missed wednesday, I've caught up now.

Episodes 2 & 3

So Peco 'rescued' Smile from bullying, becoming the hero he wished for. A fairly typical friendship then, if not necessarily a healthy one, though Smile seems to be realising that their friendship needs to change for both of their sakes. Peco certainly seems to be noticing that the dynamics of their friendship are starting to shift.

Teacher pushes Smile until he 'awakens' and shows his true talent. Good luck getting that to stick.

Ping Pong balls being played like music. Reminds me of Stomp. A reflection of the artistry that can be hidden within sports, perhaps?

Nice use of the '24' style split screen. Showing various characters having multiple thoughts at the same time very effectively.

Smile gives up at the end of the match, after seeing how much it means to China in comparison to how little it means to himself. Though I suspect that, at least partly, he didn't want to draw too much attention to himself by winning. China hit the nail on the head early in the match by saying that Smile has never been pushed to be better, perhaps this is a reason for his uncaring attitude towards everything. As opposed to China himself who has been pushed non-stop to be better for a long time and has everything to lose as a result. And then there is the player who quickly realised he was outmatched and gave up, going to the beach both mentally and physically. This episode was a demonstration of how important the player's mentality for success.

Smile stays calm and analyses his opponent early in the game and then uses that knowledge to tactically slaughter him. That's a characteristic I've seen in a few sports anime, and is one of the few obvious tropes in this series.

First sighting of schoolgirls is in episode three, and only for a few seconds. It's unusual for anime to not even have a token schoolgirl as part of the main cast. And no female club members either, now that I think about it. Maybe the protagonist's school is an all boys school?

 

[Smeelia]

Episode 3

I quite enjoyed the subplot about Smile's opponent, it was funny and also managed to be somewhat meaningful (I like the way BanzaiJedi put it).

I'm very curious as to how the show is going to deal with Smile's attitude about winning. He does actually have a point, winning doesn't have to be the most important thing and it could be dangerous to invest too much of yourself in a need to be the absolute best at that one thing. I get the feeling that the show is going to take a somewhat balanced approach that will acknowledge what people can get out of competition but also note that there can be more to life. At least I hope it'll go that way, I couldn't see a message centred on competition above all else working too well for me.

It's interesting to see the different goals that the players have. Kazama seems entirely focussed on building a strong team and doesn't seem as interested in personal glory, while Wenge (and probably also Peco and Sakuma) seem to play entirely for themselves. It does seem that Sakuma may want Kazama to take a bit more credit for himself as well but I could be reading too much into the little we've seen of them so far. It does seem pretty clear that Sakuma respects Kazama but doesn't entirely agree with him on everything. It could also be a team loyalty issue, where Kazama seems willing to bring in players to build a strong team while Sakuma might prefer loyalty to the existing members and trying to develop them instead (sort of a practical versus emotional issue, I guess).

First sighting of schoolgirls is in episode three, and only for a few seconds. It's unusual for anime to not even have a token schoolgirl as part of the main cast. And no female club members either, now that I think about it. Maybe the protagonist's school is an all boys school?

I think there might have been at least one girl when we saw Peco and Smile in class, though I could be wrong. Sports are often split into male and female teams so presumably that's the case here as well.

 

[Morbo]

Episode 3
I don't have much to add to whats been said above already. I'm not sure Smile intended to loose so many points in the first match with Kong. Sure, he was doing the normal get beaten down to learn their weakness shtick, but he was also using a new paddle (oh god that's the right term right?) and you could tell he was adapting to that as well.

I liked the comments about how talent is sometimes given to those who don't want it or even deserve it, the running theme of hard work vs talent is pretty strong in this series. (more about this in episode 4)

Episode 4
Okay so we get 2 matches in this episode. First the Peco and Nekota (I think that's his name ) match, rivals from their training dojo when they were kids.
Peco glided by on his talents alone when he was younger and rather than giving up Nekota put his nose to the grind stone and worked for every win he received. He showed his former training partner that you can win with hard work and clever tactics with another tried and tested routine in anime 'make your opponent tired and then crush them'. Facing his second loss we see at the end of the episode that Peco's spirit appears to be crushed, in my opinion rightfully so, he never practiced and ran his mouth about becoming the best in the world. To be the best at anything you have to work hard and he has learn that lesson the hard way.

Now onto the second match, between Kong Wenge and Ryuuici 'the dragon' Kazama. This match is were they upped the animation to almost shounen levels. Ryuuici literately took the form of a dragon in Kong's eyes, as he hit the ball so hard it was made out they were almost paddle splittingly strong. As mentioned the animation worked really well for this as Ryuuci grew from a normal sized (okay a large & muscular) person into a monster that loomed over the table, then into a lightning dragon due to his speed of returns. This loss left Kong in a similar situation to Peco where he had to face bitter defeat, he seemed to take it rather well accepting his coaches advice that he has only just reach the starting point in this life, not Ping Pong but real life. It made me think back to how Smile thinks of Ping Pong.

Next episode, I'm not sure where its going, both main characters didn't make it to nationals but Ryuuici tried to recruit Smile to his insanely organized and expensive looking school of ping pong. That place reeked of effort which I'm sure Smile picked up on and has no interest in going.

 

[Smeelia]

Episode 4

I guess we had the most blatant confirmation that the show is interested in the characters and their lives as more than just part of a sport in this episode. It's funny how common this seems to be in "sports" anime and it's a shame that some people miss out on these stories because of preconceptions about what a "sports" anime might involve.

I guess I was wrong about Peco being one of those "secretly works hard behind the scenes" types, instead we have Sakuma representing hard work over talent. It seems that he also represents the very technical side of sport, where victory can be achieved in an efficient but unexciting way. It's something I find quite interesting because sport almost always has a spectator aspect and that kind of play is likely to only appeal to a select few people. If a sport was always dry and technical then it might lose too much support and be unable to continue, so there may be more to think about than just winning the next game.

I suspect I may also have been wrong about Sakuma's thoughts regarding Kazama, there's a decent chance that he just wants recognition from players he respects (that's probably what he originally wanted from Peco as well). I'm not sure he'll get that from Kazama though, while Sakuma's strategy worked against Peco due to Peco's inflexibility, his technical play style wouldn't work so well against a proficient and balanced opponent. Still, they do seem to have similar mentalities in a way. Kazama seems focussed on having a winning team even if it means poaching players, outspending opponents and other questionable tactics (though presumably stopping short of cheating).

I'm interested in seeing exactly what Wenge does next (assuming we get to see that), his storyline really has been quite strong so far. It was also nice to see his coach acting as a human being rather than just existing for his job, which I suppose is kind of relevant to the show overall. The show does seem to be quite effective at giving it's characters quite a bit of personality and purpose even with just a short amount of time and a few scenes.

Since folks have been catching up, I guess I might try to get round to Episode 5 by the end of the day but I might end up being behind until tomorrow.

 

[Strat]

Since everyone else seems to just be on Episode 1, I'm wondering if I should wait until Saturday to watch Episode 3. I'm still going to post about Episode 2 for now while it's fresh in my memory, so potential spoilers below for those who haven't watched it.

Yeah I'm sorry, I guess I messed up by creating the thread so late on Wednesday.

I was quite excited but also slightly apprehensive as I was concerned the two different minds at work would cause a mismatch in an essence

Matsumoto x Yuasa had to happen.



Episode 1

Out of curiosity, what version of the opening does Animax feature? Am I right to assume it's the same as the one that aired? Because that one basically consisted of looped scenes from the episode, whereas they worked on a new (amazing) OP later on.

Anyway, pretty relaxed first half, we get introduced to some of the characters and where they stand. There's the cocky Peco, the apathetic Smile and the observant coach. The two boys have obviously known each other for a long time and are close friends.
Midway through the episode enters Wenge, acting as the adrenaline shot this first episode needed to really get things going. His arrival effectively disrupts the rythm of both the episode and character's routine. He might come across as unlikeable at first, but it seems clear that it is a reflection of his underlying frustration. Something else is on his mind during his match with Peco.

It's not really Peco he's angry at, is it?
​

Ping Pong's artstyle really shines when it comes to displaying the characters' emotions, its roughness making them all the more expressive and, as a result, all the more human. Not that the background art looks bad...

​

Anyway, Peco got skunked, and it seems to be taking quite a toll on him.

Top Marks go to the Music/Sound used in the episode, everything was on point from the music used in the OP/ED as well as the tracks used throughout the episode, very pleasant to listen to and along with great sound direction make for probably my favourite parts of the episode.

Glad someone mentioned this! The soundtrack is great, and so is the overall sound direction. In fact, I'd say that Wenge and his coach listening to Smile and Peco's match and basically revealing their relationship dynamic was a highlight of this episode for me.

​

Pretty damn effective introductory episode if you ask me.


Episode 2

We gain some insight into the various characters' approach to table tennis in this episode. Wenge is practising intensely with his coach, Smile says that it's just a way to kill time before begrundgingly starting to practise too and Peco, well... Peco's just kind of sitting there with a lollipop, having fun.
We also see some more of Smile's Hero, although, as others have pointed out, it's not made clear if he's real yet.
I love Wenge and Koizumi's VAs, they're doing a great job. I liked how the latter, who's always sprinkling some English word in his Japanese, basically says that high school English is useless... during an English test.

Coach pushes Smile to his limits, forcing him to deploy his wings as his hero isn't coming to help him. Which, in a way, reinforces the likelihood of it actually being someone, proabably Peco, rather than imaginary.
Anyway, the match itself looked amazing, just like all 'high-profile' matches do in Ping Pong. Some great sakuga right there.

​

They're still very much taking advantage of the split-screen. This match made it clear that Peco is only now realising his friend's potential.
I'm going on ahead, Peco.

​

I just kind of feel the need to post this frame because it's beautiful. Pretty sure @qaiz used it in his review and @Jatz in his 3x3, and rightfully so! I really like Butterfly Joe's theme too, it contrasts with most of the soundtrack but really fits perfectly.

Episode 3

I liked the part with Smile's first opponent, though I guess we all kind of did. Don't worry, we'll see more of that guy!
Also, can we just sit down and appreciate how solid this scene was?

​

After Wenge wrecked his opponent, Smile expressed his feelings about winning, and this attitude is what ends up making him lose as when the coach starts yelling in Chinese he realises the stakes are much higher for his opponent than him.

I think Akum—I mean, Sakuma (not my fault, this guy really looks like a demon...) was a bit envious of the attention Smile got from Kazama. Couldn't help but feel a bit bad for him when Kazama said he was the only strong player in their team.

Episode 4

Sakuma worked really hard to get where he is while Peco slacked off. The latter's defeat pushes him down to rock bottom.

Now on to the second match, Kong 'China' Wenge vs Ryuichi 'Dragon' Kazama.
Simply put, they nailed it. The scene manages to perfectly transmit the sense of oppression that completely engulfs Wenge through powerful visual imagery (though I guess Dragon's theme helps too).
Kazama turns into a monster and Wenge can only try and catch his lightning bolts, running in a seemingly endless, now pitch-black room.

Proportions are purposefully distorted—hardly Yuasa's first—to better convey how Wenge feels.

The plane, symbolising his ticket home, is at Dragon's mercy.
​

I've now caught up, no more huge posts (hopefully).

 

[Smeelia]

I think Akum—I mean, Sakuma (not my fault, this guy really looks like a demon...) was a bit envious of the attention Smile got from Kazama. Couldn't help but feel a bit bad for him when Kazama said he was the only strong player in their team.

"Akuma" does actually seem to be Sakuma's nickname, I think Smile briefly mentioned it when they first saw him.

Regarding Kazama's statement, I was going to comment on that but wondered if I'd misunderstood. He says something about there only being one strong player but I wasn't sure if he meant there'd only be one after he left next year (I think he's a third year) or if he really was making a backhanded comment that Sakuma wasn't a strong player (which still could have been the case anyway if the one strong player wasn't Sakuma). It makes sense that it'd have been that he was suggesting Sakuma wasn't good enough, especially if Sakuma has an issue with not getting the respect he feels he deserves.

Sort of related to that, it's funny that Sakuma was exactly as horrible to Peco as Peco was to Sakuma (and his other opponents) in the past. I suppose Peco deserved it, and maybe Sakuma doesn't treat all of his opponents the same, but you'd think he'd want to rise above that if he really understands how it makes people feel to be on the receiving end.

 

[qaiz]

Fantastic post BlackStrat, the screens and gifs do an excellent job of demonstrating just how diverse the visuals are in this show. Y'all making me want to rewatch this. For people watching this for the first time, I look forward to seeing your reactions to future episodes.

 

[Smeelia]

Episode 5

This episode brought to you by Pepsi.

I wondered if I'd missed something to begin with but it's just that some time is skipped and we're gradually filled in as the episode goes along (unless I really did miss something).

It's difficult to be too sympathetic towards Sakuma when he starts off being arrogant and then assaults a random passerby when things don't go his way. It still makes for a good story, though, and not an unrealistic one.

I'd imagine we might see Sakuma again but it's not entirely clear. I do wonder if getting away from Ping Pong will do him some good or if his inability to overcome his limitations will consume him (I guess he's leaning towards the latter at the moment).

I was glad to see the continuing odyssey of Smile's opponent, I'm curious to see where he'll end up.

Something that is quite interesting about this show is the way it's brutally honest about how little room there is at the top of competitive sports. That it manages to do so without feeling overly negative is somewhat impressive. I'm not sure anyone would be particularly inspired to take up the sport by the show but it might help build some respect for the competitors.

 

[MrLaserSharkKH]

Matsumoto x Yuasa had to happen.

Definitey, I can safely say that now after the fact. I'm not to sure why I was ever too concerned in the first place, there is absolutely no one I can think of in the industry at this moment in time better suited to bring the Anime to life than Yuasa. I suppose there is always that element of doubt that there would be a clash of styles.

Episode 2

I admit I did watch this episode shortly after I watched the first episode but didn't get around to posting about it due to being busy this weekend. From memory, Smile got a lot of character development throughout the episode. As has been sort of mentioned above there is a certain crescendo to the episode just as there was in the first episode climaxing at the tail end of the episode with the "robot transformation". There was also a lot of symbolic references throughout the episode, I feel as though at some point I may have to go back as I missed some of them. But I definitely got how the food used (of course I did it's food!) is kind of a reflection of their personalities and mannerisims. Pretty effective. That Poor Lady's Burger Though!

Out of curiosity, what version of the opening does Animax feature? Am I right to assume it's the same as the one that aired? Because that one basically consisted of looped scenes from the episode, whereas they worked on a new (amazing) OP later on.

Yes it was that version of the opening that was used in the broadcast version, I believe there were some issues in production that forced them to not be able to use the main OP, wasn't really following the show at the time so not too sure what happened. The Main OP is introduced by Episode 3.

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Glad someone mentioned this! The soundtrack is great, and so is the overall sound direction. In fact, I'd say that Wenge and his coach listening to Smile and Peco's match and basically revealing their relationship dynamic was a highlight of this episode for me.

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I can honestly say that it's been a long time since I have come across a series where the sound used has really grabbed me, certainly nothing recently that I can name anyway, but this series just seems to have had an impact on my consciousness straight away. There's just something about the way sound is used that has struck a chord, anyway...

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Episode 3

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...That crescendo of rackets and ping pong balls leading into the tournament qualifiers was beautiful! Going back to what I said before Smiles devolpment before it continues to roll along again in this episode. The exchange with the Kaio team champion was great – all the key characters have unique personalities which makes for an interesting dynamic. It will be intresting to see what happens when Peco has to face up to Smile at some point if that will be a feature of the series.