Ping Pong the Animation

It's a Masaaki Yuasa adaptation of a Taiyo Matsumoto comic. Two great tastes that taste great together. Incredible animation, great characters, yada yada. I think the thing I love the most about this, though, is that it's a sports anime that understands that the sports in sports anime are not the important part, it's more about the characters involved and their interactions with each other. The ending is, I think, perfect for this kind of story, and I wish it would show up more often.

Turned out to be an awesome series, to nobody's surprise. Even if you have no real interest in Table Tennis (like me), this series is still worth watching. As mentioned in my other shout, it has some great staff behind it and it shows. The characters are interesting and watching them grow throughout the series in a believable way is very enjoyable. Although the series often resorts to a kind of comic-panel-not-quite-still-frame style for some of it's action pieces, the fully animated parts are very fluid and exciting to watch. Overall just a damn good show. And don't be a snob about the art style, for the love of god. Some people might not like it (I didn't mind it at all), but don't let that put you off watching it - the story and characters more than make up for it. I'm hovering between giving this one an 8 or a 9. I've rated it 8 for now but it's something I might revisit at some point.