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White Album 2 is an odd show before the viewer even takes the first step into it. The title alone would give most people pause; White Album 2? What of White Album 1? Well, it would appear (correctly) that White Album 1 is not needed to watch this show. It takes place about 10 years after White Album 1 with a whole different set of characters; the protagonists of WA 1 are only referred to in passing, when they are credited with song names. The songs actually serve more purpose than the characters who originally sang them do.

I heard the stories and the murmurs ... of those who were saying back in 2013 that this was the greatest anime drama ever produced. I try and keep my hype and expectations low for such things, having been disappointed by far too many shows in the past. But being a sucker for romance and drama I couldn't pass this up. So I sat down on a Sunday and watched all 13 episodes to understand what I was missing. And I sure as hell was missing a LOT.

Story

So where do we start? At the beginning? Sure. From the very beginning of the show it almost looks to be nothing special. What, just another band anime where someone is trying to make their "dreams" come true? Boring. Seen it a thousand times. NEXT. But no, it teases you. Sucks you in with the concert at the beginning and then the flashback to how it started. The dream has been realized, but you don't know how or why. I give credit to Satelight for making a premise that has been tried time and again and making something fresh out of it. I have to say though, some of the story did tend to trend towards odd decisions made by characters that were most likely left out of the VN due to time constraints. Unfortunately it makes for a less than perfect story.

As for how the whole story goes up until that concert at the beginning is a different story. The only spoiler you could find is that it is indeed a romance so yes, there will be romance in between here and there. And yes it is a drama so there will be drama, etc. etc. It's impossible to tell you how the story is without you having watched it. It's something words can't convey, it's "you had to be there". It's wonderful and it's dramatic.

Art

Talk about a beautiful show. Whether it be looking out on a crowd, a snowy mountain, or a simple still shot from the top of the school, the imagery and camera angles do wonder to tell the story. Some scenes look almost movie quality and the characters are all very pretty. And the HAIR seems to be quite the focus. Flipping, twirling, falling down naturally, it is definitely something the animators spent a lot of time on.

My only small criticism with the art is probably more of a criticism of the original artistic choices. You're always reminded that you're indeed watching an anime due to the somewhat odd physics of some characters' hair. It doesn't seem to fall naturally and I'm not sure how many naturally orange or green haired girls Japan has. Regardless this is as minor as minor can be, but something big enough to irk me.

Sound

A music show with good sound. Who would have guessed. A fantastic use of vocal songs sung by the characters themselves combined with intense piano pieces and the oh so familiar "song being sung while montage happens." This happens more than once in the show but it's a show about a band who is making music. Of course there's going to be an abundance of music; for a 13 episode show the OST in its entirety has about 60 tracks. Some J-pop, some piano, some background music.

I can't find a criticism with the sound itself. Nothing sounded "generic" or boring. It was used perfectly to set the mood when it was needed and blended seamlessly with the show when there was the need for it. Never a silent moment. Plus, it fit the mood of the season. All is white during the Christmas season and there's that specific tone of music you just HAVE to have. And the show hits the nail on the head, time and time again.

Character

We have three main characters who feel utterly real. The biggest fault is that the main character could be seen as one of those normal, generic, nice guy MCs but he's given enough personality that the viewers can actually care about him. He has his passions and his desires and his faults. He's not perfect but he's not a helpless little child. We have the good girl who is the school's sweethart, surprisingly shy given her status, with the beautiful voice. And we have the n'er-do-well anti-establishment bad girl who appears cold, distant, and cruel.

But even though you could shoehorn them all into a character archetype it wouldn't be fair to the characters who feel so utterly real. Their struggles and their emotions are all conveyed so well to the viewers that they appear as any teenager would - brash, foolish, full of hope for the world. And that's why I enjoyed them. I love those characters you can relate to with life experience. The struggles that feel REAL.

Overall

If you want a drama THIS is a drama. Nothing comes close in terms of quality. This should be the poster child for years to come about romance and drama and how the two of them blend together. There's no telling how each individual person will feel by the end of the show; of course, it's something each person has to experience for themselves. Anyone who has ever loved another person will understand these characters and what they're going through. Anyone who has ever been a TEENAGER will understand.

This show should absolutely be viewed by anyone who even has a passing interest in drama or romance. Say what you will about your tastes and what's interesting to you, but the show, the director, and all the staff who worked on it deserve praise in turning what could have EASILY been a generic visual novel adaptation into one of the mostly highly praised works of 2013.

Note: This is my first really serious review, so any feedback is appreciated!

Where do I even begin. I've asked myself that question about that show time and time again. I guess the best place to start, as always, is the beginning. Be warned, there are slight spoilers although I try not to. It's hard gushing about a show I love so much now without talking about ALL of it.

I saw this show on the Spring anime list. I thought, "I like ping pong, that's pretty funny, I wonder what the show will be about." I had not read the manga, I did not know any ... of the backstory. Looking back at it now, I much preferred it that way.

The first episode was good. Not incredible, but good enough for me to say "Hey, maybe this can go somewhere." As I continued to watch, every week, I thought, "No way, this just can't get any better. There's absolutely no way this show could be any more awesome." And then, just like that, it was over. It was 11 weeks but it felt like a flash.

What caught me initially, what really hooked me and continued to play a strong role throughout the whole show (and what I'll be focusing on in the review, for good reason), were the characters. Oh man, the characters. Smile, Peco, Kazama, Butterfly Jo, the mountains guy, Akuma, Wenge... all of them were amazing in their own way. This wasn't a show about ping pong so much as it was a show about who they were.

Seeing all these characters grow and learn was a wonderful experience. First, there was Wenge who lost and got knocked off his high horse. That was something, but even more so was when he got back up and set his mind to bettering himself with the support of his new team.

Second, seeing Kazama go from the "big bully" to learning about why he did what he did. He wasn't just a gigantic a**hole who crushed people because it was fun. He had a REASON. His backstory showed how much pressure was on him to win. And, towards the end, he remembered how to have fun. That was a pleasure to see.

Third, and more of a minor thing, is seeing Akuma freed from his chains. His thought process was so single minded that he seemed to have forgot that there was more to life than just ping pong. It seems like a strange thing to say when so much of the show revolves around it, but he found happiness without a wooden paddle.

Fourth, learning about the character's backstories was handled exceptionally. Bits and pieces were sprinkled throughout the show, never overwhelming the viewer with one character at a time. And they were put in where they were needed most.

There was a unique reason for each of these characters to play. They had their flaws, their strengths, their friends, and their foes. There were "main" characters in Peco and Smile, but after seeing Wenge and Kazama and even Akuma develop as I talked about, they felt like just as big parts of the story as Smile and Peco.

But don't get me wrong, the culmination of the story was all Smile and Peco. The show did an incredible job of showing why they're such good friends. It's not because Peco talks a lot and Smile doesn't. It's because Smile was always pushing Peco from the shadows, rooting for his success because he liked seeing his friend happy. And Peco supported Smile by being there for him whenever he was needed. He was the "Hero" in Smile's life.

Smile seemed like he was a robot. The joke from the beginning of the show was that he never smiled. Why was this? Why would a kid who seemed to be well off enough never smile? Why did he never go all out against his opponents when he was young? Those questions were presented and answered in a satisfying way.

Peco was also on a high horse. He didn't handle getting knocked down as well as Wenge, but the support from the old lady and Smile (although extremely indirectly) let him get back up again. Would he have done the same thing without his friends help? Who knows. The thing is, he had those friends to push him.

Among those interactions, the psychological aspect of the show was incredibly strong as well. Questions like "Why do we play ping pong?", "Who do we play for?", "Is it about having fun or being the best?" caused me to think throughout the entire season and those questions were reflected individually with each character.

Kazama played because he NEEDED to be the best. He had no alternative.
Akuma played to become like Kazama. He wanted to be that good.
Wenge played because it was his escape. He wanted to go back home.
Smile played because he liked seeing Peco succeed.
Peco played... because it was fun.

On to the art. Some people might have turned away from this show because of the artstyle. I'm incredibly sad at this realization because a show's art style doesn't determine how good it is (see: Legend of the Galactic Heroes or Aku no Hana). It's a shame so many people are so ingrained in how anime is "supposed" to look that they can't see the beauty of a different style.

And this show managed to be beautiful. The art direction, the color changes, the subtle and drastic shifts in tone showed what good directing can do. An art style doesn't have to be the prettiest in the world to be the best. There are other ways art can take shape.

Continuing on, the way the art was used throughout the story was truly unique. Giving the characters their own "avatars" in a way, the animators were able to create scenes that added immense value and emotion to some of the scenes where the characters are simply playing ping pong. Dragons, planes, heroes, robots... if someone heard this show out of context, they might think it was an action show.

The soundtrack was always top notch as well. The opening? Fantastic. An amazing visual and auditory sensation combined into one powerful opening song with lyrics that reinforced the idea of having fun. It was always changing too. From episode to episode, it matched the mood and the tone, even if it seemed silly at times.

Story was a bit lower than the others because honestly the story was in the characters. At a base level, it can be described as "Ping pong players try to compete for the world championships" but to leave it at that would be doing a huge disservice to the show. The characters made the story.

I can't express how much I enjoyed this show. After I let it sink in I'll know a bit better, but I'm pretty sure it's my favorite of all time now. Every week I was dumbfounded at how a show about ping pong could be so overwhelmingly awesome. The answer is that it wasn't just about ping pong. It was about the characters as well.

What I'm going to take away from this show is that ping pong, as well as all sports, is about having fun. If you focus on winning all the time, you're going to feel hollow and empty inside even if you DO win. And sometimes, we all need a reminder that having fun is the most important thing.

Even with all its slight flaws I give Ping Pong the Animation a 10/10. The rating says 10 is a masterpiece and I could not agree more with that. If I ever find out how to write to the author of this manga/the studio that made this show I'm going to express my enjoyment and my thanks. They did something utterly amazing.

Ping Pong, you were truly a show that was enjoyable above all others.

Hero Kenzan! Hero Kenzan! Hero Kenzan!

When I heard Shinkai was releasing a movie this Summer, my excitement could hardly be contained. I was always a fan of his works, having met him at a convention a few years back and getting him to sign my copy of 5 Centimeters per Second. So of course, after watching the visually stunning preview for this movie I couldn't wait.

I noticed that it was another short movie by Shinkai, which I never consider a bad thing. It's just long enough to build up characters and a story but not lengthy enough to need unnecessary elements or time wasters. And man, this movie did not ... waste any time.

Some might be turned off by the slow pace, as I've seen with his other movies. But if you realize that a slow pace is what you're in for, there's no reason to complain. All the details of the characters he puts in are essential in one way or another in order to give them a background, a story, something to make you feel like these characters are real people.

Speaking of the characters, Takao was much, much more interesting than the typical bland main character. He has interests, a love of shoe-making and the rain, and he's trying to figure out what he's doing with his life. Then there's Yukino, who's older than Takao and strange in her own right. Not much is ever revealed about Yukino, especially early on. This hurts the characterization because it seems the focus was on developing Takao while only throwing Yukino a bone or two every once in a while.

The story was above average. The two meet under cover from the rain every so often and they get to know each other. But there were points during the movie that seemed forced and sometimes the emotions conveyed didn't make much sense given how the characters were behaving early on in the movie. Also, as others have pointed out, if you know Shinkai as a director the ending of the movie probably won't surprise you, or have the same effect that it should have.

The art was astounding. There's nothing really to add here. All of Shinkai's movies are beautiful and it seemed like this one had special attentoin put into it. The rain, the leaves, the city, everything was what you'd come to expect of the studio that made Children Who Chase Lost Voices from Deep Below.

The sound track was also fascinating but it had very minor hiccups and flaws that make it just under stellar. You could hear the music getting a bit repetitive towards the end, and sometimes it almost sounded Studio Ghibli-esque. Plus, the ending song that is so key to Shinkai's movies didn't really have much feeling to it, other than the lyrics.

In the same vein, the voice acting was astounding in some regards but fell short once in a while. Takao seemed to have an awkward time conveying anger or any emotion that he was feeling. But Yukino's VA, Kana Hanazawa, did an exceptional job as she always does. It was easy to empathize with her because of the emotion conveyed through her voice.

Overall, it'd be very hard to improve upon this movie. It made me cry, it made me laugh from time to time, and it got me attached to the characters without caring that one was 15 and the other was 27. It also accomplished its goal of teaching a lesson without directly stating it, which is one of the things I loved about 5 Centimeters per Second. I'm probably going to watch this movie again and again when I get the chance. It also made me cry the most out of any show I've watched (Even Clannad: After Story and Toradora!).

A must watch for any Makoto Shinkai fan, and a must watch for anyone who is a fan of romance.