Back to CD2411's Profile CD2411's Profile

The anime industry is plagued with generic harems and bad writing. But occasionally a series will appear that stands out. A diamond in the rough. Ping Pong is one of these series.

The story of Ping Pong is, on the surface, about ping pong. However, dig a little deeper and you will find a fantastic series about growing up. The series focuses on themes such as insecurity, anxiety and most notably, courage. These themes are explored to the fullest with seemingly insignificant scenes such as those featuring The Hero becoming increasingly relevant as the series progresses. This is not to say ping pong isn't relevant ... to the story, the competitiveness of the sport plays a large part throughout the series and is sure to appeal to any spots fan. It's the kind of show that requires your full attention. Seemingly minuscule and irrelevant events are important to the overall delivery of the series. These can include the speech of background characters or even the backgrounds. The story is paced exceptionally well with the exception of the last episode which as a manga reader I felt was dragged out and features too many flashbacks. Overall, the story is solid. There are lots of interesting themes that are handled very well throughout the series and the pacing is very good.

The art of Ping Pong can be a bit off-putting, but after just one episode it will begin to grow on you. It's unique, and that's a good thing. It makes the series feel very mature (not to say the series isn't) as the art is more realistic than most modern anime. The animation is incredibly fluid. There are some shots of Ping Pong bats that look absolutely fantastic . There are a few scenes with noticeable budget drops, however, and these become increasingly common as the series progresses. Overall, very good animation and art.

The OST of Ping Pong is excellent. Every track fits its purpose well. The OST makes the matches feel very tense and overall very interesting. The OP is very fitting with the lyrics reflecting some of the major themes of the series and the genre fitting the tone of the series as a whole. My personal favourite is the ED, which I feel is excellent. It suits the atmosphere of the series and leaves you wanting more. The voice actors are fitting, particularly Katayama Fukujurou (Peco) and Uchiyama Kouki (Smile). I felt their performances were very good. My praise also goes to Yousei Bun (Wenge Kong) for his performance in Chinese, it's rare not to see anime butcher foreign languages and it was nice of the studio to hire an actual Chinese voice actor for the role.

The characters in Ping Pong are the best part, in my opinion. They are developed extremely well. I feel Peco's development was handled brilliantly and gives the viewer and in-depth look into his mind and ideologies alongside his emotions. This is not to say other characters are done badly, Smile, Sakuma, Kong and Kazama all receive incredible growth throughout the series and are for the most part likeable. The transition between Kong's initial arrogance and later his kindness was done beautifully. There is not a single pointless character, they all exist for a reason. Even the seemingly insignificant speech of the background characters is important. There's not a single undeveloped character and for this reason, I believe the characters are the best part of Ping Pong.

Ping Pong is a very enjoyable series. Every episode leaves you wanting more. The series makes you feel a range of emotions from pity to happiness. It was a very fun series to watch.

Ping Pong is an excellent series, a must-see for all anime fans. The themes, the characters, the music; everything is brilliant. I believe the anime to be better than the manga, and by choosing the manga you would be missing out. The series does require the full attention of the viewer however, and for this reason it's not the easiest to marathon because there's a lot to take in. Otherwise though, it's one of the best series of 2014 at the time of writing.

Toradora is easily one of the worst anime around. It can't decide if its a romance/comedy or a romance/drama. Combine that with some of the worst characters ever and you have the final product.

Story:
The story is bland. It has been done so many times before the word cliché doesn't do it justice. You know the ending within the first 5 minutes of episode 1.

It is very slow-paced. A 25 episode series that could have very easily been done in 15. It spends time on pointless scenes that are irrelevant to the main series and feel more like a filler episode of a popular long-running ... shounen.

I will admit, the comedy scenes at the beginning were funny. However, an intelligent viewer will quickly realise the comedy is playing off of the female MC's tsundere archetype and the jokes become painful to watch.

The drama was forced and melodramatic, especially for a series not even tagged as a drama on MAL. The feeble attempts to provoke an emotional response were poorly written and painful to watch.

Art:
The animation isn't bad but it isn't good. The backgrounds are decent but there is nothing particularly memorable regarding the art.

Sound:
The series use two opening themes which would have been very fitting if it hadn't had so much melodrama which makes the themes seem more suitable for a series with more comedy.

The OST is average at best. The composer didn't really have his own style which made the music seem bland and uninspired.

Some of the songs fit the scene but you won't notice them unless you focus on the music.

Character:
The worst part of Toradora.

The male MC is a teenager who is isolated from his class mates because of his appearance. You know who else doesn't have any friends? Otaku.
He is too shy to tell a girl he likes her. You know who else is very shy? Otaku.
You can see where I am going with this.
The male MC is basically otaku-pandering.
I also view the MC as being a poor rip-off of Clannad's male MC. They both have few friends and are considered delinquents and both have blue hair.

The female MC is easily the worst character ever written. She is the personification of the tsundere archetype which shows poor writing and a lack of creativity of the author's part. By the time the show gets started on her character development you already hate her so much you don't care. Additionally, all her issues in the show could be resolved if she stopped being a bitch. Her voice actor only makes matters worse. Its Rie Kugimiya, need I say more?

The side character are a mixed bag. Minori is just as bad as Taiga but for different reasons. Namely a bipolar personality and generally being an annoyance. The other two ,Kitamura and Ami, are actually decent but are thrown to the side for the worse characters.

Enjoyment:
It took me two months to finish this, purely because I don't drop shows. I felt my IQ getting lower as I watched each episode. It isn't enjoyable. I'm certain that listening to Rie Kugimiya's voice is a method of torture at guantanamo bay.

Overall:
It could have been a decent show if the story wasn't so cliché and the characters weren't so poorly written. It had some good scenes that were held back by reasons previously stated. Scenes that seem significant later become redundant and everything is so predictable. As a fan of the romance genre I wouldn't recommend this to anyone.