S01E01 The Wind Makes It Too Hard to Hear
Two old friends go to spy on a new table tennis champ at a rival high school, but meanwhile their own team is falling apart.
Ping Pong the Animation
Enter the hero! Enter the hero! Enter the hero!
Overview
Makoto 'Smile' Tsukimoto and his friend Yutaka 'Peco' Hoshino have been playing table tennis together since they were kids, but as they enter high school, they find that the game, and how they see it, has changed. Peco, brimming with confidence and energy, wants to be the best in the world, but the reserved Smile has little fighting spirit and doesn't want to sacrifice others' happiness just to win, despite his innate talent. As the two grow, and experience the ups and downs of the sport – and life – they try to figure out exactly who they really are and what drives them to play.
Episodes
S01E02 Smile Is a Robot
Coach Koizumi has started working Smile hard, and he definitely doesn't appreciate the extra attention.
S01E03 Staking Your Life on Table Tennis Is Revolting
All the teams gather at the prefectural qualifiers, and China gets to play Smile at last.
S01E04 The Only Way to Be Sure You Won't Lose Is to Not Fight
Peco learns a hard lesson from someone he never took seriously enough, and then we finally see how Dragon earned his name.
S01E05 Where Did I Go Wrong?
Dragon's obsession with Smile prompts Akuma to do something rash.
S01E06 You Love This Sport More Than Anyone!!
Five athletes have five very different Christmas Eves, and Peco gets a wake-up call.
S01E08 The Hero Appears
Smile, Peco, Dragon, and China begin another prefectural qualifier. Will the results be different this year?
S01E09 Gonna Cry a Bit
In the third round, Dragon has an unexpected visitor, Sanada questions himself, and Peco scares lots of people in lots of ways.
S01E10 I Thought You Were the Hero!!
Peco and Dragon tackle the question of whether only birds can fly.
Cast
Koki Uchiyama
Makoto 'Smile' Tsukimoto (voice)
Fukujuro Katayama
Yutaka 'Peco' Hoshino (voice)
Yousei Bun
Wenge 'China' Kong (voice)
Shunsuke Sakuya
Ryuuichi 'Dragon' Kazama (voice)
Subaru Kimura
Manabu 'Demon' Sakuma (voice)
Yusaku Yara
Jou Koizumi (voice)
Masako Nozawa
Obaba Tamura (voice)
