Ping Pong
First things first: I want to clarify that I have typically always strayed away from sports manga. The genre seemed generic to me and I am usually drawn towards more something with more fantasy or sci-fi elements. That being said, I did not find Ping Pong generic at all. In fact, what drew me into reading Ping Pong in the first place was its art style. I flipped through a few pages a few months back and was taken aback. The characters seemed loosely drawn, the landscapes were abstract, yet the pages felt so alive. In the loose lines of the characters there is a great amount of detail. I had never considered the intensity of a ping pong match until I had this visualization in mind.
Among the emotions portrayed by characters in Ping Pong, tragedy is among them. One chapter that stood out to me against the rest in Volume One was “Butterfly Joe”. Here, Tsukimoto and his Coach Joe are playing match against each other, and Matsumoto gives a look into the past of Joe. Joe, like Tsukimoto, is pitted against his best friend in their ping pong skills. Even though these characters have close relationships, they are put toe to toe in the name of the game and are at constant odds with one another. The tragedy arises, will you win no matter what, even if it means putting your friend out of a career? What do you value more, your friendships or your own security?
These are the kinds of questions that come to mind in Ping Pong, and it creates very tense and heartfelt moments among the characters as they grapple with their pasts as well as trying to be the best ping pong players they can be. Ping Pong is a sports manga, but it portrays an often-forgotten side of sports: the psychological. It is evident in its exploration of characters and the limits they are pushed to. Matsumoto has crafted the perfect sports manga in my eyes, one that can draw in sports fans and outsiders as well. Do not let this manga pass you by, as I am sure it will be remembered as one of the greats.
Overall rating: Very good
