Shakunetsu no Takkyuu Musume

In the world of Japanese ping pong, a mighty king has fallen. An underdog team suddenly breaks the indomitable Oudou Academy's nine year winning streak, creating a power vacuum as players everywhere are given hope that they too can reach the national tournament.

Suzumegahara Middle School is home to a small-time team: Hanabi Tenka, who has a rapid attack style; Hokuto Itsumo, who can predict the ball's most likely path; Agari Kamiya, famous for her signature backhand smash; vice-captain Mune Oomune, who has an aggressive playstyle; and team captain Kiruka Ushirode, who possesses an impenetrable defense. Despite their skill at ping pong, the team has never made it further than the local city tournaments.

But everything changes when transfer student Koyori Tsumujikaze arrives in town. Filled with an intense love of the game, she quickly makes a name for herself as another top player on the team. Koyori's positive attitude towards ping pong lights a fire in each of the girls' competitive hearts, and together they embark on a mission to win the national tournament.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Tsumujikaze, Koyori Main

Hanamori, Yumiri Japanese

Itsumo, Hokuto Main

Kuwahara, Yuuki Japanese

Kamiya, Agari Main

Tanaka, Minami Japanese

Ushirode, Kiruka Main

Toujou, Hisako Japanese

Tenka, Hanabi Main

Kouno, Marika Japanese

Oomune, Mune Main

Imamura, Ayaka Japanese

Futamaru, Kururi Supporting

Izawa, Shiori Japanese

Tsukinowa, Kumami Supporting

Ueda, Reina Japanese

Zashikiwarashi, Zakuro Supporting

Furuki, Nozomi Japanese

Yuragi, Yura Supporting

Aoyama, Yoshino Japanese

Beniya, Yoshikazu Producer

Fukuda, Jun Producer

Hotta, Shouichi Producer

Tanaka, Hiroyuki Producer

Reviews

Sep 23, 2024

Sapphire97

Recommended

Sooo... Scorching Ping Ping Girls...

Well I'll keep this short, I think this show is pretty good for a Low Budget show and what it manages to accomplish.

Animation is great for the low budget, little details like the sweat and little movements you find are great, facial expressions and animation is passable nowadays and most of it doesn't look distracting or lacking.

I think my biggest gripe with the show is that it lacks in areas where the setup was excellent. The character dynamics of some of the characters are great such as the Agari and Koyori relationship, especially at the beginning but feel a little half-baked ... in other characters like Mune or Kiruka. That and the middle point of the show... was a bit of a slog to sit through.

I think if it had more character development in some areas, a more interesting middle arc and maybe some more episodes to flesh them out more... it could have been even better and potentially up there as one of the greatest sports x slice of life anime ever made.

But despite everything, I'd still recommend it for what it managed to accomplish.

Reviewer’s Rating: 6

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May 8, 2019

nugenki

Mixed Feelings

I play a little bit of table tennis, and a few other sports, and usually sports anime resonate well with me. For some reason though, I found this to be pretty mediocre. There was little excitement, but I can't wait to watch Ping Pong the Animation.

I like the characters. They a vivid and lively. They are all unique, which in the case of a non serious anime, makes it's all the more fun to watch.

Sometimes, the animation was amazing, especially in episode 1, which tricked me into watching it. It's not amazing compared to all other anime, but was amazing in the sense that there ... was more action sequences that showed the ping pong battle, than just freeze frames of people talking. There were even a few rotoscoped sequences sprinkled throughout the series, and made everything feel much more lively. Unfortunately, episode 1 got special treatment, and most of the scenes afterwards, are just still frames.

There were some details of the sport that you'll learn throughout, like replacing the rubber on the paddles, or the effects of spin shots. The mangaka obviously knew the sport well. The only thing I can point out bad, is that the spin shots were usually reserved for only the highest ranked players, when in reality, they are easy to learn.

The story is whatever, but more importantly, the battles seriously drag the enjoyment down. Every single battle was as mediocre as you could imagine. Everybody always ties, and then someone loses. Or learning to overcome a weakness near the end, and then winning. Or the negative person, learning the meaning of having fun, after being shown a fighting spirit. And many, many other examples of the most cliched things you can think of.

Reviewer’s Rating: 5

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Dec 19, 2016

Tozzy

Not Recommended

Shakunetsu no Takkyuu Musume (Scorching Ping Pong Girls) is a textbook case of 'I should have known better'. This anime from studio Kinema Citrus - following the trials and tribulations of a middle school girls table tennis team - had the potential to be an interesting experience but the warning signs were there from the opening episodes. What unfolded was a by-the-numbers moe-sports hybrid. You've seen this before: New girl has skill, makes number one player jealous and the pair work hard to overcome their faults and step up their game. Is there at least interesting characters or twists to the story to make ... this predictable formula exciting? Don't get your hopes up. Annoying mannerisms from the cast, bland character design and a drab narrative all play their part in making Shakunetsu no Takkyuu Musume a show I'd backhand off the table in a hurry.

Our main character is Koyori Tsumujikaze, a shy transfer student who finds the perfect place to seek excitement thanks to the Suzumegahara Middle School table tennis club. It's there she runs into the number one player, Agari Kamiya, a confident but jealous girl. Koyori is in search of the player who can bring out the best in her, and Agari fits the bill. Agari has never been greatly tested by the rest of the club but when the talented Koyori shows up things start to change.

It feels kind of wrong to hate on such a light-spirited show but when its characters sound and act like fingernails on chalkboard then it's hard not to. To counter this I've come up with a way to make watching Shakunetsu no Takkyuu Musume somewhat bearable. It's "Tozzy's Scorching Ping Pong Girls Drinking Game", and the rules are simple. Grab a bottle of your favourite spirit - the kind that makes your head throb harder than Koyori's heart - and make sure you key in the emergency number on your phone beforehand, just in case. Then take a shot every time Koyori mentions the excitable state of her heart, Hokuto converses with a character not by name but by the colour or composition of their underwear, Kiruka decides to nest her noggin in Mune's comically large chest, Hanabi squeezes or fiddles with someone's hair or one of the first-years need the game explained to them during the middle of a point. It's not so much that there's anything wrong with these things, it's just that their repetition reinforces little surprises Shakunetsu no Takkyuu Musume is willing to throw the viewers way. The show is built upon characters who act a particular way, and one way only. Sweet, jealous, insecure, creepy, quiet or loud. The end result? No curveballs. Little development. Rarely entertaining.

If you've followed through my drinking game I apologise in advance. I assume by the point you've made it through the 12 episodes adhering to these rules then you're in trouble. Regardless if you're staring down an empty bottle or into your soul contemplating why you watched this show there's one thing that's clear to see - Shakunetsu no Takkyuu Musume is no different from the last moe dribble you watched. It's sickeningly sacchrine and painfully dull. All these faults, cliches and annoying characters are actually disappointing because there's the odd moment of glorious animation in this show but it's not worth slogging through the remainder of the series to witness it. Some of the table tennis scenes (the main reason I watched this show) look fantastic, at least when the characters decide to shut up and let the game unfold, that is.

Thanks to a one-dimensional cast and a story that ends at an awkward moment Shakunetsu no Takkyuu Musume earns three heartbeats out of 10. Someone get me a defibrillator and make my heart race again.

Reviewer’s Rating: 3

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