Ping Pong (film)
Encyclopedia
is a 2002
sports film directed
by the Japan
ese filmmaker Fumihiko Sori
. It is based on Taiyō Matsumoto
's manga
of the same name and is about the friendship between two high school
table tennis
players.
The film concentrates on these two friends, their two mentors, and three players who they encounter at high school table tennis tournaments. It explores the different motivations and philosophies that they have towards table tennis and tries to portray the excitement and subtlety of the sport.
Ping Pong was nominated for eight Japanese Academy Awards
in 2003
; Shidō Nakamura won the 'Newcomer of the Year' prize for his performance as Dragon.
The cast includes Yosuke Kubozuka (Peco), Arata
(Smile), Sam Lee
(China), Shidō Nakamura
(Dragon), Kōji Ōkura (Akuma), Naoto Takenaka
(Butterfly Joe, the high school coach) and Mari Natsuki
(Obaba, Peco's mentor).
, which is on the shirt of Peco after his first interhigh tournament loss. The characters have known each other, and Demon (Akuma 悪魔, real name Manabu Sakuma), since primary school. Despite Smile's greater natural talent, he sees the sport as simply a way to pass the time, and often lets less able players such as Peco beat him out of consideration for their feelings.
Peco hears about a new table tennis player brought over from Shanghai
, China
, to beat local hero Dragon for Tsujido Academy: "China". Dragon (real name Ryūichi Kazama) plays for the fight, in search of a worthy opponent, similar to Street Fighter character Ryu (vs. Ryuichi). In an informal set, China (real name Wenga Kon) completely shuts out Peco, winning 21 to 0. Peco is devastated by the loss. This is compounded at the next inter-school competition where Sakuma also beats Peco in the third round of the tournament. Smile, meanwhile, lets China beat him out of kindness for his opponent. Sakuma's team from Kaio Academy—led by Dragon, a top competitor and strict disciplinarian—wins the overall competition.
Sakuma confronts Peco, telling him he lost because he was coasting. Peco jumps into a river as a symbolic rebirth and trains with Tamura to get back into his school team. In the next high school tournament, Peco beats China in the first round and Dragon in the semi-final despite an injured knee. During this match, Dragon experiences the joy of playing table tennis for the first time. Peco and Smile meet in the final. Several years later, Peco has fulfilled his dream of playing professionally in Europe, while Smile helps a young boy learn the sport. A photo behind Smile shows Peco, Smile and Dragon having taken first, second and third places respectively.
2002 in film
The year 2002 in film involved some significant events. The first significant releases of sequels took place between The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones, Men in Black II, Analyze That, Spy Kids 2: The Island of...
sports film directed
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
by the Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese filmmaker Fumihiko Sori
Fumihiko Sori
Fumihiko Sori is a Japanese film director and film producer. He received a nomination for the 'Best Director' prize at the Japanese Academy Awards for his directing debut, Ping Pong.-Director:*2002 Ping Pong*2007 Vexille*2008 Ichi...
. It is based on Taiyō Matsumoto
Taiyo Matsumoto
is an influential manga artist. He made his debut in Afternoon, Kodansha's monthly seinen manga magazine, but is probably best known for his works with Kodansha's rival publisher Shogakukan, including Tekkonkinkreet, Ping Pong and Number Five. He has received critical praise for his unconventional...
's manga
Manga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
of the same name and is about the friendship between two high school
Secondary education in Japan
Secondary education in Japan is split into middle schools which cover the seventh through ninth grades, and high schools which mostly cover grades ten through twelve...
table tennis
Table tennis
Table tennis, also known as ping-pong, is a sport in which two or four players hit a lightweight, hollow ball back and forth using table tennis rackets. The game takes place on a hard table divided by a net...
players.
The film concentrates on these two friends, their two mentors, and three players who they encounter at high school table tennis tournaments. It explores the different motivations and philosophies that they have towards table tennis and tries to portray the excitement and subtlety of the sport.
Ping Pong was nominated for eight Japanese Academy Awards
Japanese Academy Awards
The , often called the Japan Academy Awards or the Japanese Academy Awards, is a series of awards given annually since 1978 by the Nippon Academy-shō Association for excellence in Japanese film...
in 2003
2003 in film
The year 2003 in film involved some significant events. Releases of sequels took place with movies like The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, 2 Fast 2 Furious, Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle, The Matrix Reloaded, The Matrix Revolutions, Pokémon Heroes, Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines,...
; Shidō Nakamura won the 'Newcomer of the Year' prize for his performance as Dragon.
The cast includes Yosuke Kubozuka (Peco), Arata
Arata (actor)
Arata is a Japanese actor from Tokyo, Japan. He writes his name in Japanese as ARATA using capital letters.-Filmography:* Wonderful Life * Shady Grove * Distance * Ping Pong...
(Smile), Sam Lee
Sam Lee
Sam Lee Chan-Sam is an actor from Hong Kong. He started his film career when he was first spotted by director Fruit Chan who cast him in Made in Hong Kong. Since his debut, Sam has been working hard on many films. In 1999, he made thirteen films in that year alone. He appeared in a Japanese...
(China), Shidō Nakamura
Shido Nakamura
, better known by the stage name , is a Japanese kabuki and film actor.- Background:Born in Tokyo, the son of kabuki actor Nakamura Shidō I, young Nakamura made his kabuki debut at the age of eight. He took the name Shidō the following year, following his father's retirement...
(Dragon), Kōji Ōkura (Akuma), Naoto Takenaka
Naoto Takenaka
is a Japanese actor, comedian, singer, and director from Kanazawa-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture affiliated with From First Production. He is married to idol singer and actress Midori Kinouchi.-Director:*Munō no Hito *119...
(Butterfly Joe, the high school coach) and Mari Natsuki
Mari Natsuki
Mari Natsuki , real name Junko Nakajima , is a Japanese singer, dancer and actress....
(Obaba, Peco's mentor).
Plot
Peco (real name Yutaka Hoshino) and Smile (real name Makoto Tsukimoto) are members of Katase High table tennis club. Peco is charismatic and has a passion for the sport, while Smile is introverted. Tsukimoto's friends in the table tennis club nicknamed him "Smile" as he does not smile often. There are also many parallels to Street FighterStreet Fighter
, commonly abbreviated as SF, is a series of Fighting Games developed in Japan in which the players pit the video games' competitive fighters from around the world, each with his or her own unique fighting style, against one another...
, which is on the shirt of Peco after his first interhigh tournament loss. The characters have known each other, and Demon (Akuma 悪魔, real name Manabu Sakuma), since primary school. Despite Smile's greater natural talent, he sees the sport as simply a way to pass the time, and often lets less able players such as Peco beat him out of consideration for their feelings.
Peco hears about a new table tennis player brought over from Shanghai
Shanghai
Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...
, China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, to beat local hero Dragon for Tsujido Academy: "China". Dragon (real name Ryūichi Kazama) plays for the fight, in search of a worthy opponent, similar to Street Fighter character Ryu (vs. Ryuichi). In an informal set, China (real name Wenga Kon) completely shuts out Peco, winning 21 to 0. Peco is devastated by the loss. This is compounded at the next inter-school competition where Sakuma also beats Peco in the third round of the tournament. Smile, meanwhile, lets China beat him out of kindness for his opponent. Sakuma's team from Kaio Academy—led by Dragon, a top competitor and strict disciplinarian—wins the overall competition.
Sakuma confronts Peco, telling him he lost because he was coasting. Peco jumps into a river as a symbolic rebirth and trains with Tamura to get back into his school team. In the next high school tournament, Peco beats China in the first round and Dragon in the semi-final despite an injured knee. During this match, Dragon experiences the joy of playing table tennis for the first time. Peco and Smile meet in the final. Several years later, Peco has fulfilled his dream of playing professionally in Europe, while Smile helps a young boy learn the sport. A photo behind Smile shows Peco, Smile and Dragon having taken first, second and third places respectively.
Soundtrack
- Yumegiwa Last Boy — SupercarSupercar (band)was a Japanese rock band active from 1995 to 2005, and who made their debut in 1997. Consisting of songwriter and vocalist Kōji Nakamura , guitarist Junji Ishiwatari , bassist Miki Furukawa , and drummer Kōdai Tazawa , Supercar is best known for combining alternative rock with electronic...
(4:11) - Spring Sponsor — Subtle (4:55)
- Strobolights — Supercar (3:27)
- La Peggi (Ping Pong Original Short Size) — Takkyū IshinoTakkyu Ishino, born December 26, 1967 in Shizuoka, Japan, is a Japanese composer and music producer. He is a member of the technopop group Denki Groove.- Singles :* anna - letmein letmeout （1999）* Stereo Nights （2001）* Takbam （2001）...
(4:58) - E.D.E.N. (Ping Pong Original Short Size) — Dub Squad (5:23)
- Rise (Ping Pong Original Short Size) — Sugar Plant (6:37)
- Breakdown — [Ma-O] (2:21)
- Before (Ping Pong Original Short Size) — Group (6:02)
- Canned Beat — World Famous (3:01)
- No Sun (Ping Pong Original Short Size) — Yoshinori Sunahara (4:28)
- Scatterin' Monkey — Boom Boom SatellitesBoom Boom Satellitesis a Japanese electronic music duo consisting of guitarist and vocalist Michiyuki Kawashima and bassist and programmer Masayuki Nakano. While their music can be mostly classified as big beat or nu skool breaks with heavy jazz influences, they are famous for the heavy usage of electric guitars in...
(5:26) - Cicabow (Ping Pong Original Short Size) — Cicada (4:52)
- The Good Timing of World of Love Song — Yoshinori Sunahara (2:21)
- Angelic Butterfly — [Ma-O] (1:51)
- Free Your Soul — Supercar (4:19)