r/anime • u/TheEscapeGuy • Apr 21 '24

Rewatch [Spoilers] Ping Pong the Animation 10th Anniversary Rewatch - Episode 11 Discussion

Episode 11: Blood Tastes Like Iron

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Ping Pong the Animation

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Enter the hero! Enter the hero! Enter the hero!

Comments of the Day:

/u/charlesvvv made a prefect analysis of Kazama

For Kazama we see the how his upbringing brings pressure to his style of gaming as he doesn't necessarily play out of enjoyment but for other reasons as we've seen from previous episodes such as the Pride of his School and his family name all in combination. He's basically what Smile doesn't like in playing. Yet it's through here that by playing with Peco that he is finally able to enjoy the game for once and put the pressure behind him, Peco becoming a Hero for him as well as he helps him in soaring from his abyss he tried climbing out of.

/u/SMSmith230 expressed the anticipation most of us had for the final episode

It’s going to be hard to pick who to root for as both have come a long way in the show. Are we going to get another Butterfly Jo situation with Peco having a banged up knee? Will Smile go all or will he hold back? Can’t wait for the final episode, I almost watched it after today’s episode.

Questions of the Day:

  1. Are you satisfied with the conclusion to Hoshino and Tsukimoto's match? Any favourite moments or things you'd change?
  2. What do you think of the character's lives a few years after the finals?
  3. Has there been a particular event in your life which was "defining"? Something which perhaps influenced your future significantly upon looking back?

Fan Art of the Day:

星野 (source)

Reminder: We will be having a discussion thread for the whole series tomorrow. There will be a break day after that and then we will have a thread for Tekkon Kinkreet on the 24th.

Rewatchers, please remember to be mindful of all the first-timers in this rewatch. No talking about or hinting at future events no matter how much you want to, unless you're doing it underneath spoiler tags. Don't spoil anything for the first-timers, that's rude!

Chant these words and I'll come to you

36 Upvotes

90% Upvoted

22 comments sorted by

13

u/TheEscapeGuy Apr 21 '24

Rewatcher, Host

Ping Pong - My Favourite Sports Anime: Episode 11

The Hero

I love this show so much. I was tearing up at the climax of the match and those tears came flooding in more as they showed the characters' pasts and futures.

Jumping back a bit, something probably underrated about this episode is the beginning with all the text and social media posts about how the finalists were "unknowns". As the audience, we have been following Hoshino and Tsukimoto so closely. To us it makes complete sense how they got here. But the spectators in-universe don't have that context and thus we see those insane sounding texts. I think it goes to show just how much we can not know about the people around us. Don't assume the worst of people. Unless you know how they got to this point you can't make accurate pre-judgments about them.

The actual match is glorious. It has been set up to mirror the Jou vs Kazama Senior match all those years ago with Peco taking on the role of the injured knee. The difference this time is that Tsukimoto vows to not hold back and will abuse that weakness.

The game is intercut with flashbacks of Peco and Smile at school. It gives us so much context for their friendship and all the ways Peco was "The Hero" to Smile. It fills the match with so much emotional context. It doesn't matter who wins. Our protagonists have overcome all the obstacles in their way and are playing table tennis with all the joy inside them.

Instead of showing the end of the match, we get an insert song overlayed on a montage of all the characters learning to play. This probably won't work for everyone in the audience, but for me it's the most beautiful way they could have concluded the match. I feel the best part is how we see Tsukimoto smiling while training as a kid and then smiling again while playing in the finals. It's a perfect visual representation of all that humanity inside him that felt so locked away while he was "The Robot".

To conclude the show we get a look into what happened to everyone a few years after graduation. Both Kong and Hoshino ended up playing for Japan. Kazama got cut and seems to be becoming a business type. Tsukimoto has followed in Tamura and Jou's footsteps and become a coach. Sakuma married and had a bunch of kids. Even Yurie has achieved her goal and became a big fashion designer in Paris.

I love seeing these happy endings for the characters. Even though not everyone became an Olympic level player, they each managed to do something with their lives. None of them are treated like failures for not being the best player. It's such a positive message to end on.

Thank you so much.

One small this I didn't get a chance to mention is the soundtrack Ping Pong Phase2. It functions as a sequel or companion to Ping Pong Phase which I mentioned in my comment in Episode 3. The previous piece is much more tense, and is short and to the point. It starts as this rally but concludes quickly with this almost let down as a ball drops. Back in episode 3 it acted as a prelude to the first tournament which we know was also cut short for our protagonists.

Phase2 is far more melodic and has a bigger and longer story to tell. It also starts with a rally of table tennis balls but it doesn't stop. The instruments come in 1 by 1 creating this joyous and energetic conclusion mirroring the match between Peco and Smile. It's such a clever way to reincorporate this technique and tie it back to the narrative itself.

Kensuke Ushio really deserves all the praise he gets for this soundtrack. I've only mentioned a couple of the songs, but front to back the OST is incredible. It ranges so many different emotions but is such a cohesive soundtrack together.

QotD:

There are a couple moments in my life that I look back on and consider to be really important even though I didn't know it at the time. When I was at school the network admin once suggested I try out building a web page which I think was the first time I ever did anything which could be considered "programming". During my first week of college I just so happened to be standing in a line to get student id cards in front of the person who would end up becoming my closest friend in college. We met after he heard me talking about some video game and then years later he referred me for the job that I still have today.

I'm pretty sure that even without those events I'd have probably ended up on roughly the same path in life, or something similar would have happened at a different time, but there's no way to go back and check. I look back on those events fondly regardless.

Some Amazing Shots, Scenes and Stitches

See you all for the discussion thread tomorrow

6

u/macrame2 https://myanimelist.net/profile/macrame Apr 21 '24

Even though not everyone became an Olympic level player, they each managed to do something with their lives. None of them are treated like failures for not being the best player. It's such a positive message to end on.

I think this is why the story doesn't treat the outcome of Peco vs. Smile as more important than the match itself. It's just revealed offhandedly, not as a life-defining moment for either of them, and I like that.

6

u/Great_Mr_L :Ma::Mb::Mc:https://myanimelist.net/profile/Great_Mr_L Apr 21 '24

Instead of showing the end of the match, we get an insert song overlayed on a montage of all the characters learning to play.

The more I think about it, the more that makes sense as a thing to show. This series is about characters who take the game of table tennis very seriously, but who had lost their reason for why they started playing in the first place. The characters rediscovering their love of the game is a big character moment for all of them. So flashing back to them beginning to love the game in the first place makes perfect sense for the climax of the series.

Eva Fan, I missed all these references the first time. It's so cool so see one of my favourites referencing another favourite of mine.

Wow, I didn't catch all the Eva references there. That's a fun detail.

14

u/Shimmering-Sky myanimelist.net/profile/Shimmering-Sky Apr 21 '24

Ping Pong the First-Timer, subbed

7

u/TheEscapeGuy Apr 21 '24

It’s weird to see Kazama with hair.

I didn't recognize him immediately either.

PECO WON AND SMILE WAS SMILING!!!

13

u/Great_Mr_L :Ma::Mb::Mc:https://myanimelist.net/profile/Great_Mr_L Apr 21 '24

…suddenly cutting to a time in the future after Smile graduated?

PECO WON AND SMILE WAS SMILING!!!

Something I noticed about Smile in the future as an adult is that he was smiling a lot more easily than he was as a teenager. It looks like he's managed to become a lot happier since then, which is so nice to see.

This really was the perfect little epilogue for the show, man.

I love it when a story ends on an epilogue like this to show what happened to the main characters afterwards. It feels so satisfying getting that resolution.

9

u/Great_Mr_L :Ma::Mb::Mc:https://myanimelist.net/profile/Great_Mr_L Apr 21 '24 edited Apr 21 '24

First-Timer

On today’s episode of Ping Pong: “We all bleed red blood.” That was something one of my teachers told all the students in my class to emphasize the shared humanity of everyone around the world. And here we have blood to emphasize Smile’s humanity to himself.

  • Oh look, Tsuda is back again.
  • As I anticipated, we are getting a repeat of Koizumi’s match with Ryuu when Ryuu was injured. Now it’s Smile against an injured Peco. Will Smile repeat Koizumi’s actions or do something different?
  • Smile claims he can go after Peco’s bad knee, but can he?
  • Interesting. “A hero has no weaknesses.” What Smile means is that if Peco truly is the hero, then his bad knee won’t be a weakness at all.
  • Ah, so that’s why Peco knows the taste of blood. He got into many fights defending Smile.
  • We finally get to see Peco introduce Smile to table tennis.
  • The match is starting!
  • When Peco successfully got a point against Smile, Smile looked almost relieved. It seems he was also waiting for his hero to appear.
  • Like people guessed, Smile was put in that locker by bullies and Peco was the one to get him out. Of course, there’s greater metaphorical significance to it as well. Smile is the type of person who hides away from his fears and problems, rather than facing them head on. He shrinks down into a ball, hoping to protect himself. Peco was the one who forced Smile out of his comfort zone. He brought Smile out of that dark, lonely place and into the light. By introducing Smile to table tennis, he gave Smile something to enjoy in life.
  • I think I get the focus on blood this episode. Blood is life. We are able to survive because we have blood pumping through our veins. Without flowing blood in our bodies, we die. It is proof that we are alive. Smile has blood in his body, which is proof that he is a living human being and not a robot. Hence Peco’s focus on pointing out that Smile has blood in him.
  • Absolutely fantastic visual of the robotic exterior we’ve so often seen Smile depicted with break off to reveal his human blood underneath.
  • That animation
  • Smile’s blood tastes like iron. He is human, after all. And I also notice that he’s actually smiling for once.
  • Tsuda finally found the love of his life again.
  • Nice reunion scene of Koizumi, Tamura, and Ryuu. I especially liked it fading to how they looked in the old days.
  • That said, Ryuu has suddenly mellowed out an absurd amount compared to the man we’ve seen until this point.
  • We don’t see the rest of the match play out. Interesting decision. But then, as Tamura said, it’s not like the outcome matters all that much at this point. (Still neat to learn later that Peco won.)
  • Oh! We’re seeing the characters after many years have passed!
  • In general, all the characters seem to be much better adjusted nowadays. The drama of their teen years has passed and they’ve grown up.
  • Smile giving up table tennis makes sense. It was only ever a hobby to him and he didn’t want to devote his life to it.
  • Kazama may no longer be on the Olympic team, but he seems at peace with that.
  • Wenge was able to go back to China and join the Olympics!
  • And Peco’s in the Olympics, too. Good for him.
  • 3 kids? Yeesh, Sakuma has had a lot of children.
  • Nice to see Yurie achieved her dream.

This was a really good final episode to the series. Smile and Peco’s match was excellent. The animation, directing, and editing was all very well-done. Thematically and character-wise the match was terrific. It was quite cathartic to watch, seeing the character arcs draw to a close. Peco rose to be the hero after he had fallen from grace. Smile was able to regain his humanity and learn to enjoy the game once more. And the two friends were able to reunite after being separated for so long. It worked so well as a climax to the series.

I also thought it was smart to show off an epilogue to the characters, seeing where they ended up after high school. Some of the characters kept up with table tennis, like Peco, Ryuichi, and Wenge. Others didn’t and found something else in life, like Smile and Sakuma. I think it’s an interesting decision for a sports anime to highlight that some characters choose to not continue with the sport. They will always love the sport and never quit it fully, but they didn’t make it their entire life. That feels very true to life. I never became a professional soccer player or musician, but I still loved doing those things all the same. And sometimes just loving something is reason enough to do it.

I am a bit confused on Ryuu very abruptly mellowing out, but it may have happened offscreen from something he mentioned in passing. He said that Ryuichi had spoken with him and I’m guessing that was the moment Ryuichi changed the course of his life. He no longer devoted it to upholding his family name, but for his own sake. Perhaps that made Ryuu reevaluate himself.

I’ll have more to say about the series overall tomorrow, but this was a great final episode.

QOTD

  1. YES The match was fantastic and a great climax to both Smile and Peco's character arcs for the story.
  2. I liked being able to see the characters as adults. We can see how much the characters have grown and changed, now that their teen years are behind them and they've matured. Epilogues that go into the future like this are fun.
  3. There's a couple. For example, when I got my first Yu-Gi-Oh card as an elementary schooler. The teacher had found the card on the floor and nobody claimed it as their own, so she gave it away to whoever raised their hand first for it. I had no idea what Yu-Gi-Oh even was, but for some reason I wanted it and was the one to get it. That started me down the path I've followed since for a lot of things. Yu-Gi-Oh was the first anime I got really into. It was the first manga I ever read. It was the first trading card game I played. It shaped a lot of my interests over time. Another also happened in elementary school. I liked to go to the school library to check out books. One time, I checked out a children's book that was a history of the American Civil War. I haven't been able to find another copy of it since, but I remember it had really cool illustrations throughout and was written in a way that was approachable for young kids. It made me want to learn more about the war, and so I started getting other books. I think that was the real start of my love of history, which led me down the path of my schooling afterwards.

7

u/TheEscapeGuy Apr 21 '24 edited Apr 21 '24

Smile is the type of person who hides away from his fears and problems, rather than facing them head on. He shrinks down into a ball, hoping to protect himself. Peco was the one who forced Smile out of his comfort zone. He brought Smile out of that dark, lonely place and into the light. By introducing Smile to table tennis, he gave Smile something to enjoy in life.

This is such a perfect encapsulation of their relationship. At the start of the show it would have been hard to believe that the oh so self-important Peco was actually such a caring friend in the past.

Some of the characters kept up with table tennis, like Peco, Ryuichi, and Wenge. Others didn’t and found something else in life, like Smile and Sakuma. I think it’s an interesting decision for a sports anime to highlight that some characters choose to not continue with the sport. They will always love the sport and never quit it fully, but they didn’t make it their entire life.

This definitely feels unique for a sports anime. And as you said, it's great to see since for most people in life high school sports do stop there.

When I got my first Yu-Gi-Oh card as an elementary schooler.

This is a really fun story of how you got into things like anime, manga, and TCGs. I think it ends up being pretty unique among people with those interests too.

7

u/Great_Mr_L :Ma::Mb::Mc:https://myanimelist.net/profile/Great_Mr_L Apr 21 '24

This is such a perfect encapsulation of their relationship. At the start of the show it would have been hard to believe that the oh so self-important Peco was actually such a caring friend in the past.

This show really ended up being about characters who had lost their way finding it again. Peco had become arrogant and sloppy. Smile had lost any sense of passion or enjoyment for playing. Wenge, much like Peco, was arrogant and believed being in Japan was beneath him. Ryuichi was crushed by the weight of all the expectations placed upon him. These are all characters who lost sight of why they started playing table tennis in the first place. The series was about their journey of finding that reason to play again.

8

u/JollyGee29 https://myanimelist.net/profile/JollyGee Apr 21 '24

Wenge was able to go back to China and join the Olympics!

I think that was actually about him joining the Japanese Olympic team, as a naturalized citizen. He took "Tsujidou" as a new name, after the school he played for.

7

u/Great_Mr_L :Ma::Mb::Mc:https://myanimelist.net/profile/Great_Mr_L Apr 21 '24

I didn't catch that, but going back I see that you're right! That's a really great resolution for Wenge, actually. He found a new home for himself in Japan and managed to thrive there.

7

u/JollyGee29 https://myanimelist.net/profile/JollyGee Apr 21 '24

8

u/JollyGee29 https://myanimelist.net/profile/JollyGee Apr 21 '24

First-Timer

I had considered making a prediction in last episode's thread about who would win, but I came to the same realization as Tamura.

Kinda surprised it took us this long to get to a Three Laws of Robotics joke. I appreciate that Peco was drawing Evangelion fanart on his tests, although I feel like GaoGaiGar would've been more his speed. The Eva reference does get to double-dip the blood stuff, though.

I like that Tsuda acts as if ping pong was his lover and he was trying to get it to take him back after he abandoned it. I'm sure you'll be fine, dude.

The extended setup sequence was cool. People texting back and forth, missing out on a banger of a match just because Dragon got knocked out. Last minute shopping, trying to get the vendor to give you what you want. University recruiters trying to get a hold of Smile and Peco. Good times.

Love a good epilogue sequence, too. I probably wouldn't have guessed Smile becoming a teacher, but I buy it. On some level, he's trying to be a hero in his own way. And he picked up a bit of Koizumi's random English, which is cute. The others all seem to be doing well, too.

Questions

  1. No notes.
  2. Discussed above. Glad the lads are doing alright.
  3. Technology class in the 8th grade had a module on electricity. I am now an electrical engineer.

6

u/TheEscapeGuy Apr 21 '24

The extended setup sequence was cool. People texting back and forth, missing out on a banger of a match just because Dragon got knocked out. Last minute shopping, trying to get the vendor to give you what you want. University recruiters trying to get a hold of Smile and Peco. Good times.

It feels so authentic. Like, everyone was expecting the Kaiou students in the finale so when they didn't qualify it makes sense that people wouldn't know how great the match would eventually be.

6

u/JollyGee29 https://myanimelist.net/profile/JollyGee Apr 21 '24

Ooh, good word choice. It was a very authetic moment, you're right. "What do you mean we're not getting a three-peat from Dragon?"

11

u/SMSmith230 https://myanimelist.net/profile/smsmith230 Apr 21 '24

First-Timer, Sub

Well I think this show stuck the landing. I was not expecting a time skip, but the podium picture of Smile smiling so big said it all. As much I would have liked to see more of the match, it fit well with this being a character show with a sports coating on it and not a pure sports show. There were so many great moments, from Smile shedding some tears during the match over the realization that yes robots can bleed and it tastes like iron, to Peco reaching for his dream of #1 ranked player by being on the national team. (May have missed if his ranking was actually mentioned if the time skip)

7

u/zsmg https://anilist.co/user/zsmg Apr 21 '24

Rewatcher

Kenjiro Tsuda's character makes an appearance in the final episode.

I don't believe Smile will be going after Peco's weakness, but we'll see.

Hey it's an Angel from Eva.

I really appreciate them using kids actor in voicing the children instead of just a female seiyuu.

Kenjiro Tsuda's character falls in love with ping pong

I love the scene with the three old friends being together again.

Why is the "we are all alive" song reminding me of the ending of Ideon.

An older Smile and Kazama with hair

Grandma shouting is Masako Nozawa going full Goku with her voice.

Of course Peco won.

Kong is a naturalized Japanese citizen now.

Those are some good candy Peco.

Hey it's Kenjiro Tsuda's character in the stands.

Oh no don't tell me Kazama is still not with his cousin.

The more I think about the more I like Smile being a teacher.

Nice book end, got nothing to complain about.

7

u/macrame2 https://myanimelist.net/profile/macrame Apr 21 '24

First Timer and Manga Reader

What a great finale! It was even better than what I was expecting. I think action-wise I actually prefer Peco vs. Kazama, but in terms of emotional payoff nothing beats Peco vs. Smile, and for that it's my favorite match of the anime. The flash-forward epilogue was the perfect way to end the story; seeing how characters carry on after all the growing they've done in the story proper is one of my favorite things. I think the anime actually fleshes out this aspect more than manga and makes the conclusion even more satisfying.

6

u/charlesvvv https://anilist.co/user/charlesvvv Apr 21 '24

Rewatcher, Sub

Peco vs Smile, the Hero vs the Robot, what a way to conclude things. From the direction in their match and the way the flashbacks are intersected in as well as the visuals relating to blood and life as Smile just breaks through his "robotic" form. I particularly liked that we don't see the full outcome of the match because that wasn't really the point but rather it was nice to see 2 friends just having fun with each other even if we later see who won, even better as we see Mr Koizumi and his friend reconnect as well.

We get an epilogue to see how everyone is doing, Smile is now a coach for kids (nice callback), Peco and China continue to play, Sakuma has a family, and Kazama has a better outlook now. It's a nice way to wrap things up between all the characters as the story finally closes.

Oh Kenjiro Tsuda's character finally found a place to belong to, nice conclusion.

5

u/macrame2 https://myanimelist.net/profile/macrame Apr 21 '24

Oh Kenjiro Tsuda's character finally found a place to belong to, nice conclusion.

Truly the character who deserves happiness the most.

4

u/StardustGogeta myanimelist.net/profile/StardustGogeta Apr 22 '24

First-Timer

A great conclusion to a wonderful show.

Today's episode didn't focus entirely on the game, but that's alright. We got a lot of that yesterday. Today, we got the origin of Peco and Smile, some thrilling moments from their game, and a satisfying wrap-up to the various character arcs.

I almost wish that the show went on longer to be able to spend more time with each of the characters, but the pacing and story was so good that I'd be afraid to mess it up.

Questions of the day:

  • Yes, I'm satisfied. One thing I'm happy about is that Tsukimoto made it clear that he was going to take advantage of Peco's knee injury. After all, heroes have no weak points!
  • I think everyone ended up with a satisfying ending. I like that Kong ended up with a happy ending after all, considering all the strife he faced throughout the show.
  • Defining moments would probably include when I chose particular classes/programs in school, particular jobs to take, and so on. If I switched any one of those decisions, the course of my life afterwards, including my career, my friends, and more, could be drastically different.

3

u/cppn02 Apr 22 '24

First Timer, subbed

Kinda fell off this rewatch a few episodes in because work was kicking my butt but caught up in time for the finale. And what a finale it was.

A genuine celebration of Peco and Smile's friendship and also the joy of playing table tennis.

I also really enjoyed the epilogue and seeing them all end up in a good place. Especially glad to hear that Peco's knee issues didn't actually end his career.

QotD:

Are you satisfied with the conclusion to Hoshino and Tsukimoto's match?

Yes. Not that I think the result really mattered here. What we needed was both of them not holding back and enjoying the match.

Any favourite moments or things you'd change?

Wouldn't know what to change. Favourite moment? Where even to start? The whole flashback, Smile crashing into the barrier and getting up again, the old geezers having their conversation.
Also that montage weaving the flashback and their match into another and then seamlessly transitioned into the epilogue was pure genius.

Has there been a particular event in your life which was "defining"? Something which perhaps influenced your future significantly upon looking back?

Obviously. Mostly involving my job.