Eunyoung Choi
Director
Ping Pong the Animation (2014)
Season 1
Makoto 'Smile' Tsukimoto and his friend Yutaka 'Peco' Hoshino have been playing table tennis together since they were kids, but as they enter high school, they find that the game, and how they see it, has changed. Peco, brimming with confidence and energy, wants to be the best in the world, but the reserved Smile has little fighting spirit and doesn't want to sacrifice others' happiness just to win, despite his innate talent. As the two grow, and experience the ups and downs of the sport – and life – they try to figure out exactly who they really are and what drives them to play.
Released April 11, 2014
Episode 23 min
14+
Genres: Animation, Anime, Anime: Seinen, Anime: Sports, Drama, Sport
Keywords: tmdb.coming-of-age, tmdb.based-on-manga, tmdb.seinen, tmdb.anime, mdblist.imdb-tv-mini-series, mdblist.has-trailer, tmdb.ping-pong + 62 more, tmdb.table-tennis, mdblist.ext.2k-blu-ray, tmdb.high-school, tmdb.sports, tmdb.spirituality, tmdb.self-reflection, imdb.racket-sport, imdb.tv-mini-series, imdb.table-tennis, imdb.ping-pong, imdb.ping-pong-tournament, imdb.ping-pong-club, imdb.mantra, imdb.nickname, imdb.ping-pong-match, imdb.based-on-manga, imdb.ping-pong-ball, imdb.ping-pong-player, imdb.ping-pong-table, imdb.ping-pong-paddle, imdb.playing-ping-pong, imdb.chinese-ping-pong-team, imdb.bald, imdb.high-school, imdb.knee-injury, imdb.world-champion, imdb.childhood-friend, imdb.handheld-game, imdb.anime-animation, tmdb.bromance, tmdb.prodigy, imdb.teen-drama, imdb.school-club, imdb.delinquent, imdb.noitamina, imdb.tournaments, imdb.school-life, imdb.teen-sport, imdb.psychological, imdb.tournament, imdb.angst, imdb.time-skip, imdb.youth, imdb.cgi, imdb.primarily-teen-cast, imdb.rotoscoped-animation, imdb.primarily-male-cast, imdb.seinen, imdb.school, imdb.psychological-drama, imdb.bullying, imdb.coming-of-age-drama, imdb.teacher, imdb.seinen-anime-animation, imdb.coming-of-age, imdb.rotoscoping, imdb.philosophy, imdb.male-protagonist, imdb.language-barrier, imdb.badminton, imdb.hand-drawn-animation, mdblist.anime-dub
Watch Providers: Crunchyroll, Crunchyroll Amazon Channel
Production Companies: Tatsunoko Production, Aniplex, DENTSU, Kyoraku Industrial Holdings
Network: Fuji TV
5.3
S1E1 - The Wind Makes It Too Hard to Hear
Two old friends go to spy on a new table tennis champ at a rival high school, but meanwhile their own team is falling apart.
April 11, 2014, midnight
9.0
S1E2 - Smile Is a Robot
Coach Koizumi has started working Smile hard, and he definitely doesn't appreciate the extra attention.
April 18, 2014, midnight
9.0
S1E3 - Staking Your Life on Table Tennis Is Revolting
All the teams gather at the prefectural qualifiers, and China gets to play Smile at last.
April 25, 2014, midnight
7.0
S1E4 - The Only Way to Be Sure You Won't Lose Is to Not Fight
Peco learns a hard lesson from someone he never took seriously enough, and then we finally see how Dragon earned his name.
May 2, 2014, midnight
4.3
S1E5 - Where Did I Go Wrong?
Dragon's obsession with Smile prompts Akuma to do something rash.
May 9, 2014, midnight
3.7
S1E6 - You Love This Sport More Than Anyone!!
Five athletes have five very different Christmas Eves, and Peco gets a wake-up call.
May 16, 2014, midnight
5.7
S1E7 - Yes, My Coach
Players, coaches, captains, and their families.
May 23, 2014, midnight
4.3
S1E8 - The Hero Appears
Smile, Peco, Dragon, and China begin another prefectural qualifier. Will the results be different this year?
May 30, 2014, midnight
8.3
S1E9 - Gonna Cry a Bit
In the third round, Dragon has an unexpected visitor, Sanada questions himself, and Peco scares lots of people in lots of ways.
June 6, 2014, midnight
7.7
S1E10 - I Thought You Were the Hero!!
Peco and Dragon tackle the question of whether only birds can fly.
June 13, 2014, midnight
7.7
S1E11 - Blood Tastes Like Iron
The final match is on.
June 20, 2014, midnight
Network: Fuji TV
Episode Runtime: 23 min.
Season Runtime: 253 min.
Released: April 11, 2014
Last Air Date: June 20, 2014, midnight
Status: Ended
Certification: TV-14 / 14+
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