Lately, zany sports movies have taken Asia by storm. Whether it's a group of awkward high school boys forming a synchronized swimming team in Japan's Waterboys or a bunch of out-of-work monks earning a living by using kung-fu moves to play soccer in China's Shaolin Soccer, this new genre of movies have no signs of slowing down. Now, famous Japanese manga artist Taiyo Matsumoto's Ping Pong hit Japan's movie theaters this past summer and is the next flick to fall into the sports movie category.
Ping Pong is an original manga series created in 1996 by Taiyo Matsumoto. Matsumoto is critically acclaimed worldwide due to his edgy and unique manga style. It has been reported that Matsumoto is fond of sports and originally desired to become a professional soccer player. However, he debuted as a manga artist in 1986 instead. His passion for sports is reflected in his manga and he has published numerous sport-themed storylines including a boxing story entitled Zero (1990) and his debut work Straight featuring basketball. His manga series Tekkonkinkurito (or known as Black and White) is currently available in the domestic market from Viz Comics.
The second live action film produced from Matsumoto's works, Ping Pong is a story about two longtime high school friends Peko and Smile and their dedication to the game of table tennis. Peko, portrayed by the rising star Kubozuka Yosuke (Laundry, Go) is over-confident ping pong lover determined to become the best ping pong player in the world. His close friend, Smile (Arata) ironically nicknamed that because he never smiles, does not share the same determination as his friend. Even though Smile views Peko as his "hero," he plans to play table tennis just to kill time until he dies.
However, their friendship is tested when Smile discovers he has surpassed Peko's skill as a table tennis player and slowly becomes more determined in the game. Peko must deal with his weakness along with other powerful ping pong players such as Akuma (Koji Okura), whose drive leads him to practice ping pong all the time, China (Sam Lee), an international student from Shanghai, and Dragon (Shido Nakamura), a monster ping pong player and high school champion of Japan. The childhood friends Peko and Smile find themselves losing direction and drifiting apart. The characters struggle both emotionally and physically to find their way back and are determined to be victorious in the sport even if there can only be one winner.
With award-winning screenwriter Kankuro Miyafuji (Go) responsible for the script adaptation and breath-taking special effects, Ping Pong has earned favorable reviews. Digital special effects similar to those found in Matrix were used to enhance the playing scenes between the characters and seems transforms ping pong into an extreme sport. Although table tennis is not the most popular sport in Japan, Ping Pong's all-star cast, acclaimed storyline, and special effects are sure to attract movie fans from all around.
Get your Ping Pong movie merchandise here from Akadot Retail.
A variety of Matsumoto Taiyo merchandise and collectables are also available here from Akadot Retail.
