My first impressions on the show can be found here:
Ping Pong The Animation (2014) - Episodes 1 - 3 (out of 11) (First Impressions)
I watched two more episodes of
Ping Pong and as I expected, the series is not deviating from greatness and as such my general impressions on the show continue to hold weight and so I find it pointless to regurgitate what I've said yesterday. Instead, I want to focus on these two episodes in particular and more importantly on what they brought to the table.
The animation in
Ping Pong is continuing to be a delight for the eyes with each frame surprising me in new ways.
Episode Four for example continues the tradition of using split screens in order to display interactions between two and sometimes more characters in a way that mimics comic book or manga panels. I find that this makes the show more intimate as you see each character up close and personal as they retort with one another. In fact some of these close-ups are static with voice overs playing in the background which is a stylistic choice utilized mainly to depict conversations one is having with himself, almost as if the world has paused while the character remarks about their opponent. Not to spoil anything but a certain scene is repeated over and over again in episode four in order to display the constant use of a certain shot or serve which works to great effect in making you the viewer feel exhausted like the character on the receiving end. The first half is really good with a great match, sprinkled with many flashbacks in order to add emotional weight to each and every hit of the ball.
The second half right off of the bat gets really emotional with symbolic imagery being used in order to depict the old days as the two elder characters discus years gone by. How they'd push themselves to their limit in order to win to avoid rejection is something we all can relate to on a human level whether you play Ping Pong or any sport which is what makes
Ping Pong The Animation such an emotionally charged series. It’s less about the sport and more about the people behind the rackets. Talented people lose their drive as they know who they are while people who find themselves lost try hard to prove themselves, struggling just to win. The second match is action packed and really shows off how amazing this series can be. How something as simple as Ping Pong can be depicted as an epic battle fit for the best shounen series is a testament to the direction and storyboarding. The characters seemingly teleport around the table as electrically charged shots ricochet back and forth with velocity. It really does feel do or die.
It gets really emotional towards the end with some fantastic framing and some soothing music playing in the background as we see a little more about one of the characters past.
This leads into one aspect of
Ping Pong that I wanted to touch upon earlier but never got the chance to. I really do believe that there are no bad characters in this show, and not just in terms of development but also in motives. I really can and do root for each and every cast member. There’s no black or white here, instead each character has their own motives and use the game of Ping Pong in order to prove themselves worthy, to hone their skills and to find themselves a place that they belong to. This is an aspect of the series that I admire and appreciate greatly. It’d be easy to just have good guys vs. bad guys. The episode ends with an amazing shot as it pans out and fades into the credits.
Episode Five is a mellow one, an episode that is emotional and has me excited for the future of this show with the way in which it concludes. It focuses mainly on the opposing team which again to lead back into what I said earlier humanizes each every character instead of creating black and white villains and heroes. There’s quite a bit of humor here to balance out the more emotional scenes. The humor definitely feels cut from the same cloth that the comedy of
Kaiba was born from however it feels a lot more appropriately placed here which was one of my major issues with
Kaiba. I never truly knew how to feel within
Kaiba.
One scene in this episode had me tearing up; it was a simple and short scene but was executed perfectly and again worked to humanize each and every character.
Ping Pong often allows the images to speak for themselves and it really hits you right in the gut. No spoken words needed, the actions and facial expressions speak for themselves.
The episode accumulates into a bout that ends cathartically with an outpouring of emotions that makes me again feel for a character that in theory and in any other show would be one that I’d be forced to hate. But here I don’t because everybody is treated as human beings. Some powerful imagery and fantastic voice acting builds up into an explosion of emotions.
Ping Pong is continuing to prove itself to be the best in its class, unrivaled I find myself craving more. Ping Pong truly is a powerful series, one that is very much human, and that’s the key word for today,
human.
And in case you're wondering who my favorite character is, its Wenge.
