Simulwatch VIII - Ping Pong the Animation [episode 10]

Back in the land of the living now, so hopefully I'll be able to catch up soon. I've watched a few episodes of Ping Pong before, but as its legitimate stream was on a site I had no intention of subscribing to and my conscience was getting the better of me, I always figured I'd wait until it was available as a home release before I finished it. Unfortunately, I can't remember how far along I got with it. Anyway, I rewatched the first two today.

Episodes 1-2

As I'm behind, I figured I'd just add some general thoughts on the visual style of the show, as it's probably what intrigues me most about Ping Pong, and I've been interested to read everyone else's comments on the art and animation.

I find it really tempting to describe the art as 'naive', but I don't think that's right. It's got a definite lo-fi thing going on, but at the same time, it's much more realistic looking than most other anime out there - it clearly took a lot of work to make the show look like this. It seems a strange choice at first, but I think it makes perfect sense the moment you see it in motion. This is very much a show about movement and every aspect of it reflects that; it's like the visuals have been pared down to make you focus on how they're moving instead of what they look like. Even when it's standing still, the shakey lines vibrate with the movement used to draw them.

The animation of the matches and the quirky visual flourishes like Smile's transforming arm are great and have already been mentioned, but the other thing that really drew my attention was the use of split screening - I'm a big fan of Osamu Dezaki's work from the '70s and 80s and that was one of his signature moves. It would be nice to think it's a nod to him, but I think it could also be going back a bit further, as John Frankenheimer's 1966 film Grand Prix famously made extensive use of split screening during the race scenes and set a trend for the technique in film and on tv going forward (or certainly helped to, I don't know if this was where it was actually coined). There's a handy montage of the split screen shots from the film here, if anyone's interested: Montage of split screen driving sequences from John Frankenheimer's Grand Prix

I also didn't know it was graphic design hero Saul Bass who did those scenes for the film. Today, I learned something.
 
Some thoughts. Forgive me if they don't make much sense and tend to ramble, I'm really tired as I write this.

Episodes 4 & 5

There has long been two trains of thought in sport, one saying that pure talent is the most important quality in a player, and another saying that hard work is more valuable. Sakuma and Peco represent both of these philosophies, and yet they both failed equally because they were never heading in any particular direction. Sakuma was always looking at Peco, and Peco was always looking at Peco as well. Someone like Kazama sees far beyond any one opponent, and that (combined with both talent and hard work) powers him forward inexorably.

Loads of imagery and metaphors going on in ep 4. The butterfly stuff was a little obvious, but the match between Kong and Kazama was extremely well done, showing Kong's changing psychological state in a way that voice acting alone would struggle to manage. After the match, Kong reflects while a plane takes his future away with it, and Peco sits outside the closed stadium with his dreams locked inside.

In ep 5 lots of characters are looking for some kind of future. Mr Beach Dreamer gives up again and goes up a mountain in search of he knows not what. Peco drifts aimlessly at the beach, only realising too late that everyone and everything he knows has left him behind. And the club seniors have a vague knowledge of the shape of their future, but there is so much uncertainty in that shape that they still wish for something different. It seems only Kazama, Kong and Smile have a defined vision of a future they actually want. Speaking of which, didn't Smile quit? I guess Kazama's sales pitch had a big affect on Smile's ambition. Also, when the seniors were talking about their future prospects, it sounded to me like they had always believed those futures were in store for them and they had never seriously entertained the thought of Ping Pong being a part of that. It's ironic then that Smile became known for always giving up easily, yet he was surrounded by people who demanded he at least try while they themselves had already given up long ago.

These thoughts are brought to you by Coca-Cola. Because Pepsi sucks. ;)
 
Episode 6

I think I enjoyed this episode the most so far, maybe it was all the Yuri...

Actually, it was probably the singing. That whole segment was pretty much non-stop brilliant (including the build up to it). In a few scenes they managed to pretty much summarise all of the character arcs and hint at where they might be going as well. It felt like a great combination of all of the stuff people have been discussing with the visuals, sound and writing all coming together at once.

Something else I'm quite fond of is the way that Wenge's story is being told, it feels like they're really keeping any unnecessary verbal explanations to a minimum and I think it's quite an effective method. I suppose there's a fair bit of non-verbal storytelling in the show in general but it feels like Wenge's tends to have less said than any other. I'm not sure if that's just my perception or not.

I was quite impressed with Sakuma's return as well, I wasn't sure we'd get such a positive development there but it felt like they justified it well. While not everything was so positive in the episode, I did get a kind of overall hopeful feeling from it and I'm kind of hoping that doesn't all get torn apart by the end. I mean, a more grim ending could work but I'm not sure it'd be as satisfying. Still, it wouldn't entirely surprise me if they managed to pull it off.

Kazama's story seems to have taken an interesting turn (or more likely I was just missing the previous signs). It seems that he's maybe sacrificing what he really wants because he feels obliged to make the most of his talents. I'd suspect that he just doesn't want to be seen as a failure by focussing on things where he won't achieve as much "success" but it also seems that those things would be more likely to make him happy if he could just get over that.

At this point, the hero vs robot story seems very obvious. It's so obvious that I'm wondering if they're planning on having a twist that throws it off or if they'll follow it right through. I actually think that following through on it might work best (at least for me), I don't think being obvious or blatant is inherently a problem and the story being told here seems like a good one. It does feel like there's enough room for some complexity without it having to be a cheap attempt to trick the audience so it'll be interesting to see how it goes.
 
Smeelia said:
The show does seem to be quite effective at giving it's

kcharacters quite a bit of personality and purpose even with just a short amount of time and a few scenes.
[...]
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.
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I'm glad you feel that way, I know I do. In fact I'd say it's much more about the characters than the sport, and considering its runtime and number of characters, I believe they were handled pretty well.
Smeelia said:
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).
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Why not both? Not simultaneously obviously, he does lean towards the latter in this episode but that doesn't mean there's no room for improvement.

Professor Irony said:
It's got a definite lo-fi thing going on, but at the same time, it's much more realistic looking than most other anime out there - it clearly took a lot of work to make the show look like this.
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I think this description is on point. I find it amazing that they managed to balance two things so antithetical by nature as well as they did.

BanzaiJedi said:
Smile's ambition
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Can't say I agree, I don't think he really has ambition. He does seem to have a goal, there's definitely something he wants... but I wouldn't call it ambition, if that makes any sense.

Episode 5

We're introduced to Yurie but it's not exactly the first time we see her—she was watching Kazama's match with Kong in the previous episode. The way the shots have been framed in both episodes seem to point at something. Sanada (eyebrows) is looking at her while she's focused on Kazama. Who or what does Kazama have his sight set on?

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Peco goes to the beach with a girl but doesn't seem that interested in actually doing anything with her as he just wanders off alone. He seems to maybe want to take some time off table tennis but can't fully let go yet, as shown by the fact that he's reading about it on his phone. I like what BanzaiJedi said about this scene.

It was nice seeing beach-guy again, I wouldn't say he's 'giving up' though. I think he's just looking for something without knowing what it is and settling for something that might not be 'it' is what would really be giving up.


​
We also get a fairly short but emotional scene that manages in 30 seconds to feel more genuine than a lot of shows could ever dream of achieving in their full runtime... Hang in there, Wenge!


​
The conflict between Kazama and Sanada really showed just how much the former cares for the Kaio name and feels no need for values that do nothing for it. How did it come to this?

​

Sakuma didn't seem to like how focused on Smile Kazama is, so he goes there to play him and ends up being brutally defeated. Ensues a cry from the heart (shout-out to the VA btw) as he tries to understand just why, before Smile completely finishes him off by telling him he simply doesn't have a talent for table tennis.


The frames in Ping Pong are rarely this empty, making it all the more powerful when they are.

Even though they are both in the same room, only Sakuma's part of the screen is filled with void.
​
The episode ends with Peco throwing his racket, seemingly having completely given up on table tennis.
 
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BlackStrat said:
Can't say I agree, I don't think he really has ambition. He does seem to have a goal, there's definitely something he wants... but I wouldn't call it ambition, if that makes any sense.
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Yeah, goal would be a better word to use. If Smile has any ambition it's not been revealed yet.
BlackStrat said:
It was nice seeing beach-guy again, I wouldn't say he's 'giving up' though. I think he's just looking for something without knowing what it is and settling for something that might not be 'it' is what would really be giving up.
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I meant that he's given up on ping pong and the beach being the thing he's looking for, and so is moving onto the next random idea that pops into his head. Maybe 'moves on' would be a better way of saying it than 'gives up'. In any case I suspect he'll go through quite a few ideas before finding his place in the world.


Episode 6

The whole Robot vs Hero thing is very prominent now, and Peco's turn around would seem to suggest that he might be the 'Hero'. He's the obvious candidate at least, but as Smeelia has said this series doesn't always take the obvious path. In any case it's looking like there will be a four way battle in the end between Kazama, Kong, Smile and Peco.

I'm glad to see that Sakuma didn't go completely off the rails, and has recovered his friendship with Peco.

A great musical sequence which transfers much more information to the viewer than dialogue could, it's becoming something of a trademark of this series. Interesting to see the dynamics of the main competitors personal lives over christmas. Kazama has chosen isolation over his girlfriend(?), Smile has isolated himself with his attitude to others (even the teacher wants a break from him), Peco has finally realised he's not alone, and Kong is now surrounded by friends (a big turn around from how he started out). That's some amazing character development in just six episodes.

Mr Beach Dreamer returns, still hasn't found what he seeks and moves on once again.
 
Episode 7

I have to wonder if Yurie is going to make it to the end of the show with driving like that. That's at least two ways that Kazama could lose her being established in this episode. It's possible that the threat of losing her could make him rethink his priorities but it's a risky road.

It's hard to say if Sanada is really more interested in Yurie or Kazama, he could well be trying to motivate Kazama by going after Yurie. I guess Sanada is jealous either way but exactly of who and in what way could be a more complicated issue.

I have to admit that I might have gotten a little mixed up with the Butterfly Jo story, am I right in thinking that his opponent was the now Kaio President and Kazama's and Yurie's grandfather? Given that he seems like a bit of an arrogant jerk, I guess maybe winning that way didn't necessarily do him good. The opportunity probably helped him financially but I wonder if at least some people would be happier if he'd been taken down a peg and had realised that he wasn't as good as he thought in the first place. It's kind of an interesting story, I'm wondering if we'll get to see more of the other side as well.

Presumably the story is supposed to have parallels with Peco and Smile too, although Peco has already had a healthy dose of reality. While the situations could end up with similarities (especially if Peco's injury gets worse), it does seem that they're going to be a bit different if it comes down to it.

If they are going to build up to a big competition at the end, it should be quite interesting to see how they handle it. It kind of feels like it might not actually matter who wins in the end, since that'd probably be less important than who the characters end up being (though maybe the outcome would be influenced by that).

I quite liked the parts with the captain of Smile's team in this episode. The way the show uses these minor/side characters is really effective and it does make it feel like everyone is a person with their own life (even if we don't see all/much of it). I'm continually impressed that they can manage to do quite a lot with just a few moments/scenes.
 
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Episode 7

It's good to finally see the teacher's backstory, and is also interesting to see that he, Peco's chain smoking trainer, and the principal of Kaio have history together. And now their students are maybe going to repeat some of that history, especially if Peco's knee gets worse.

Kong is practising against a robot. How ironic.

It's good to see that the secondary characters are not being treated as being disposable. Smile's senpai and Kazama's team-mate are both adding considerably to the story.

Yurie should maybe reconsider flower arranging lessons, the way she drives I think she'd do well as a rally driver.
 
Episode 8

They got back into the competition stuff pretty quickly, I suppose it makes sense that there'd be something afterwards since the actual matches and winners are probably only going to be part of the story. That is, unless the competition is going to last for the next three episodes. I guess it could but I'd expect at least one epilogue episode.

It's interesting that the old lady had to retire due to a knee injury as well, that's at least two knee injury related stories to compare to Peco's situation.

It feels like a bit of a shame to see Wenge lose after going through so much. Still, in some ways it doesn't seem so bad because there's more to his life than just the competition. He has plenty of time ahead to still continue playing if he wants to and maybe he'll be able to build a life in Japan if he ends up staying.

It seems that things might be changing for Kazama as well. There really is a lot going on.
 
Eps 3-7

Nearly caught up now. Ep4 was about the limit of where I'd watched up to previously, so it's been great to finally see the continuation of the story.

I think what's really resonated with me most going forward has been the way we've been able to see such a diverse array of perspectives on the sport the characters are involved with. I've never played sport competitively, but I've been in the art game for long enough to experience a lot of the same feelings about the relationship between talent, motivation and hard work. I know exactly what it's like to get hung up about whether or not other people got to where they are by talent alone, and whether you can ever get to be where they are by virtue of sheer hard work alone.

Some of the story beats in the show have felt a little predictable, but I'm constantly impressed by its sheer richness of character and often how funny it can be in those little touches, like the repeated appearances of beach-guy or Peco's mother looking exactly like him.
 
Episode 9

So it turns out that the pace is slowing down for this, with at least two matches still to go in the next episode (or two). It mostly worked but, I have to admit, a few of the matches with "lesser" opponents did feel a little repetitive. I think it probably doesn't help to see the contrast between a basically irrelevant match and the far more meaningful stuff like Sakuma's conversation with Kazama or Sanada's story. In fairness, it was only a small part of the episode and it maybe only feels more noticeable because the show has otherwise used it's time quite effectively.

I think I'd have liked to have seen a bit more of Wenge in the episode too, although it's likely there'll be more to come in at least one of the remaining episodes.

It should be interesting to see where things go in the next couple of matches (or possibly just one match since the last one could end up called off). If Peco actually beats Kazama it might not be such a good thing for Smile since he'll have to choose between holding back against Peco as he has gotten used to (and fed up of) or having to beat a weakened Peco rather than the strong one he wanted to face. I supose it's possible that Peco could still be strong enough to have a proper match but it's seeming pretty unlikely at this point.

Kazama beating Peco (or Peco dropping out) seems somewhat likely but it's hard to say if that would be as good for his story since he'd be passing up an opportunity to show compassion for his opponent and go against the "victory at all costs" idea that he's been following. It is possible that Kazama will continue to play (and maybe win this tournament) but it feels like his story is heading towards him quitting to do something he wants instead. Still, maybe the real story will be that he's actually playing for something that does matter to him (presumably related to his father).

It does feel like there's room for things to go a few different ways so I'm looking forward to seeing what happens.
 
Episodes 8 & 9

The episodes are in full competition mode now, presumably until the end.

Mr Beach must be fairly wealthy to wander around the world like that.

The depth of Peco and Smile's friendship is now very clear, and the motivation behind Smile's sudden hard training has been revealed. The story is heading towards them both being in the final, though I wouldn't be too surprised if that didn't happen in the end (this series likes to throw curve balls at the viewer from time to time, much like the style of table tennis in this tournament actually). I just hope the story doesn't have Peco use the generic 'overcoming a crippling disadvantage with sheer willpower' trope that is so common in sports anime. I don't expect it will, as everything up to now has been anything but generic, but I'm not sure Peco defeating Kazama would be believable in his condition.

Kazama's backstory is partially revealed, with more to come. I'm really interested to see how that goes.

It was sad to see Kong go out so early, but it was well done and it felt like just another step on the path his life is now on (if that makes any sense).

And why were the teams not notified about the usage of mats at the tournament? Seems like a fairly unprofessional way to run such an event. Even if it was considered to make no difference to the players performance, the organizers should still have made that information clear to everyone involved.

The urge to just watch the last two episodes right now is strong. Must. Resist.
 
Episode 10

It seems that Kazama's story and Smile's story are kind of similar in a way, Kazama was trying to find the fun in the sport that he had when he started but lost along the way. You could mostly blame his grandfather for pushing the idea of victory being essential and burdening Kazama with the implication that losing would mean letting down his family and the memory of his father.

I thought it all worked really well but the issue with Peco's knee does detract a little. It's not impossible that he could play through the injury but it might have been better if it had really only become bad at the end of the match or something. It feels like a minor point in the face of a really strong story but maybe that just makes it stand out more.

Since they used that trick here, I really can't see them using it again for the last episode. They'd have to do some clever writing to make it work, it seems unlikely the whole knee injury thing was faked but that might be the most plausible. I'd imagine it's somewhat likely that the last episode will take a different route so I'll stay cautiously optimistic that they can finish on a strong note (whatever it may be).

It's interesting that this episode technically covered even less time than the last but the pacing felt much more effective. Even when things were being repeated it still felt like every moment was contributing something worthwhile. It does feel odd that there's only one episode left and I'm hoping we get a bit of an epilogue for at least some of the characters. Still, the show has been able to say a lot in a short time before so hopefully it'll be able to pull that off again. I suppose there may not even be too much to cover anyway since, as with any slice of life, there'll always be more ahead for the characters that we may not get to see.

On a sort of related note, it's a shame we didn't get to see a bit more with Kazama's grandfather. He has had quite an impact on the story but hasn't really had a major part in it directly. I suppose that's maybe all part of a whole other story though.
 
Episode 11

I have to admit, I'm overall quite impressed with how the final episode turned out. It does manage to wrap things up in a fairly satisfying way, with time to offer an effective epilogue for most of the characters. It even found time to fit in a bit of development for Kazama's grandfather (and his relationship with the other old players).

I'm still not sure it was such a good idea to oversell Peco's knee injury (which ultimately seems to have been something of a distraction) but it doesn't end up being an issue here because it's ultimately irrelevant who wins the match between Peco and Smile. Where Kazama wanted to recapture the fun of the sport, Smile mostly just wants his friend back and perhaps also to recapture the fun of life.

Overall, it's a thoroughly enjoyable show with some very strong character arcs and development. I think it probably deserves extra credit for being able to cover so much with so many characters in what seems like a short time. The art, animation, sound and writing each do their part and combine to make for a stronger overall experience, also resulting in some particularly effective and enjoyable individual sequences. There's a pretty good chance I'll want to watch this again and I'd be inclined to recommend it to anyone who likes character driven/focussed shows.
 
Episode 11 always makes me cry, but these tears are not those of sadness but rather of happiness. It's a beautiful show. It might just be the pinnacle of anime. "Blood tastes like Iron"
 
Episodes 10 & 11

Not showing the whole final match was a brave choice, but as the trainers said it wasn't important who won. Also, the sport of ping pong is itself nothing more than a medium for the characters to develop, and you could replace it with just about any other sport and get the same fantastic story.

I feel I should heap some praise on the director as well. The way he used the animation to bring across the various character's mental states was inspired. And the start of the last episode even showed us the thoughts of the spectators between matches, which was a really nice touch and gave the tournament a distinct feel of reality.

I find it hard to accept that Peco's knee could hold out so well through both those matches. I would have believed the injury's severity was being overstated if it wasn't for everyone around him being genuinely concerned for his long term health. I get what the series was saying about the pain not mattering to him any more, but there's still a finite amount of strain an injured knee can take before it fails catastrophically. It would have been perhaps more believable if Peco had taken permanent damage as a result, but considering the epilogue that is clearly not the case.

I think the above point is the only negative one I have about this series. The depth of the characters, and their development, was top notch and this is very much the sort of anime I enjoy most. I think that Kazama's story was particularly beautiful to watch, and the sheer joy of Smile and Peco's match was a great way to end. It was nice to see a proper epilogue too, something that's unfortunately rare in anime.
 
Blargh, I did not realise we'd hit 11 already - I've only just finished 9. In the passing, I'll just add that Smile bending his own section of the screen to overtake Sanada was a thing of beauty.
 
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