Ping Pong, an anime with a very particular style, is available on DNA. Do not miss this series with undeniable charm that will disconcert you but above all captivate you!
WHAT IS IT ABOUT ?
Ping Pong follows Makoto Tsukimoto (nicknamed Smile) and Yutaka Hoshino (nicknamed Peko). They are friends despite their very different characters: Smile is calm and reserved while Peko is lively and energetic. But the two acolytes are united by a passion: table tennis.
THE WORLD OF PING PONG
In Japanese animation, sports animes are very numerous and the choice is abundant, whether on football (Olive and Tom), basketball (Kuroko’s Basket, Slam Dunk), volleyball (Haikyu), tennis (Prince of tennis), rock climbing (Iwakakeru), boxing (Ippo the challenger), skateboarding (Sk8 the Infinity) or baseball (Ace of Diamond).
Among these excellent series, Ping Pong proposes to focus on the very particular world of table tennis. The show stands out and turns out to be one of the best sports anime. Directed by Masaaki Yuasa (Devilman Crybaby, The Night is Short, Lou and the Sirens Island), this atypical work is taken from the famous manga of the same name created by Taiyo Matsumoto.
The style of the two artists mix really well, all in the service of a captivating story, of which Ping Pong is only the backdrop. The real theme of the anime remains the friendship, that between Makoto and Yutaka, exalted by sport and competition.
DNA
FRIENDSHIP AND QUEST FOR IDENTITY
At first, one can be easily taken aback by the animation and the graphic style of Yuasa, who likes simple drawings, fine lines and skinny characters. After this moment of astonishment, the story transports us and galvanizes us, between dantesque confrontations in table tennis and the quest for identity. What give us real thrills!
If the sporting sequences are exceptional and exhilarating, the emotion is also at the rendezvous thanks to a rare mastery of the psychology of the characters and a rhythmic narration. All sublimated by an epic music, composed by Kensuke Ushio, maestro behind the scores of Devilman Crybaby, Silent Voice or the highly anticipated Chainsaw Man, which should land in early 2022.
Don’t miss this little masterpiece of Japanese animation, now available in entirety on DNA (11 episodes).
