Ping Pong the Animation is a rare type of series for multiple reasons. For one, the animation style is very different from many of the mainstream series. Another is that the whole story concludes in one 11 episode season. Most anime I’ve watched with just  1 season is usually not enough to develop the plot in a meaningful way. That is not the case here.

The main reason I liked this series is because it gives an authentic perspective on passion in sports. Each of the characters followed in the series have their own reasons for playing ping pong, which one way or another leads them to the most competitive tournaments in the country. They also face their own unique obstacles, all having to find different motivations for continuing to train. Every character faces defeat at some point in the show, and I respect that a lot. I prefer watching shows where characters have to work through shortcomings.

I resonated most with Hoshino, who early on was recognized for his talent in the sport. Like Hoshino, being naturally good went to my head and led to me not taking training very seriously for a long time. That’s why it was so impactful watching him grow throughout the series. His defeat in a scrimmage against Wengge also hit home, because I too went through a long period of discouragement after witnessing people who were hopelessly better than me at things I thought I was good at. Seeing that it took Hoshino such a long time to recover from that loss while each of the other characters began to step up their training was huge motivation for me. It reminds me of something David Goggins says, ‘If you’re not getting better, you’re getting worse. There’s no such thing as staying the same’.

My favorite part of the series is how it all concludes. After each character goes through their own training to prepare for the inter-high tournament, the show starts to emphasize that it takes more than hard work to come out on top.

Episode 10 is one of my favorite episodes out of everything I’ve watched. We get to watch Kazama, the top player of a ping pong focused school, vs Hoshino, who finally pulled himself out of misery and is fighting for the top spot with a hurt knee from overtraining. After getting crushed in the first two games, Hoshino finds himself looking inside for more. What he discovers is that his true ability comes from his genuine passion for the sport. He realized he needed to stop thinking and instead use the intuition he built from years of having fun playing ping pong. Not only does this drastically improve his play, but he makes a huge positive emotional impact on his opponent. Kazama, who had been relentlessly training ping pong for years, had sacrificed everything around him to be the best. He was constantly feeling the pressure to win every game.. During that match, Kazama realizes his journey all started from playing ping pong with his dad and genuinely having a good time. For the first time in a while, he no longer feels the pressure to win and finds himself just enjoying the game.

I’ve rewatched this episode many times because it helped me reconnect with the feeling of truly having fun. Win or loss, being able to express myself this way is something I won’t ever get tired of. Everyone has different things they feel this about, so it’s a takeaway I think anyone can learn from.