Excerpt from my lil blog/newsletter: https://youbetternotbeonline.substack.com/p/ping-pong-is-about-everything

Watching Ping Pong: The Animation and reading Ping Pong the manga are in many ways aesthetically same-y. They both use scale to showcase momentum, stature, presence and power. But I favor seeing that drawn on a flat piece of paper. In both cases, its dialog is tight, sharp, and yet so many panels in this manga hold immense weight without the use of words. It’s lean.

Smile’s quiet, calculated, reserved demeanor hits hard for me, someone who’s sometimes insecure with Actually Trying. Competition can turn serious at the expense of fun. On the other hand, Peco’s raw and obnoxious “bring it on” energy feels like the overdressing and self-hype I use to compensate for a lack…of something else. But beyond the characters, the manga’s depiction of motion and speed is something else — it breezily reads, no wasted panels. It has that stutter-step feel of ping pong, but on paper. It captures the sport’s kinetic blur without an animated frame. Ping Pong is about the weird, messy friendships you keep showing up for, whether or not you’re interested in chasing trophies.

https://youbetternotbeonline.substack.com/p/ping-pong-is-about-everything