It’s a testament to how much Ping Pong respects its characters that the person who would occupy the “villain” role in a traditional narrative is here simply the most tragic member of a selection of co-protagonists. Kazama is an unhappy boy, and this episode was largely dedicated to defining and exploring that unhappiness.
Category Archives: Episode Writeup
Ping Pong – Episode 6
“Heroes don’t exist. What exists is reality, and the fact that only those who can adapt to reality win.”
There’s a kind of fatalism to Ping Pong, something that separates it from a lot anime out there. Some of its characters aren’t very good, or have damaging weaknesses. Because of this, they fail. There’s no “I’ve got to give it my all anyway” here. There’s no “genius of hard work.” Yeah, you do have to work hard – everybody has to work hard. But sometimes working hard doesn’t mean chasing any dream you choose.
Sword Art Online – Episode 9
Oh shit, another Sword Art Online post only a week after the last episode? Don’t worry, what I’ve given up in tardiness I’ll make up for in laziness. I actually do want to finish this damn series before the second season comes out, and at this rate, that is very much not happening. So let’s burn some episodes down! Time to fight a giant monster wooooo!
Ping Pong – Episode 5
Two weeks ago, I described Ping Pong as a “small symphony,” where all the moving parts just work together and elevate each other. This week, that ephemeral quality was probably best expressed not through any one scene, but through the transitions between them.
Sword Art Online – Episode 8
Hello hello hello again! It’s been a while – I’ve been both on vacation and busy writing essays on shows I actually really like, because I’m apparently not just a cranky asshole who only talks about things that are terrible. Not that Sword Art Online is terrible, of course – I don’t think it’s very good, but it’s still enjoyable, and I definitely get the impression of creator passion from it. Considering we’ve apparently just emerged from the Enchanted Forest of Twenty Minute Love Interests, I guess it’s a fair time to take stock of what we’re dealing with here. So what’s Sword Art Online so far?
Ping Pong – Episode 4
You know how sports or action shows often have that one character who has to explain what’s actually happening, so the audience understands the stakes and back-and-forth? Ping Pong apparently forgot to include that guy, so instead, they decided to illustrate conflict so that audience can actually understand it themselves. This was clear in the second episode, where they framed a practice match as the battle to ignite Smile’s spirit – everything necessary was conveyed through the robot imagery and the expressions of the contestants. It was clear last week, when, in spite of every set of eyes being on Smile and Wenge’s match, we only received muttered asides from the spectators, and the match largely spoke for itself. And it was clear this week, when Sakuma’s strategy is made visually obvious as Peco returns lob after lob with his same unthinking intensity. It’s very smart work, and indicative of how good Yuasa is at playing to his medium’s strengths to convey necessary information. As an avowed fan of Speedwagon, I am continuously impressed by how gracefully Ping Pong demonstrates that the Speedwagons of the world are generally a crutch, not a necessary variable.
One Week Friends – Episode 3
Management: I know, right? Another accidental writeup here, this time in my usual style. I only realized I’d become trapped in a writeup about halfway through the episode, so it’s a little sparse, but hopefully still enjoyable!
So yeah, One Week Friends is pretty great. It’s got a wonderful atmosphere, its characters are absolutely charming, its direction does great work in driving home the emotional states of the characters, and it actually digs at some really poignant stuff. As I said in my week in review, One Week Friends kind of covers the same territory as Evangelion – a fear of human connection underlines all the actions of this series. But One Week Friends is a much more upbeat show than Evangelion, so it doesn’t just wallow in that fear – by design, it exists in the fraught space between isolation and comfortable connection, meaning it is pretty much always about the importance, difficulty, and power of trust. Due to Fujimiya’s memory, its characters are continuously reaching out, continuously being forced to extend a hand they’re not sure will be reciprocated. And through both the narrative and the cinematography, One Week Friends demonstrates again and again how extending that trust can open up your world.
Ping Pong – Episode 3
Management: I know, this is highly irregular. I was just writing my usual week in review blurb for this episode and then just kept writing, so I guess I kind of accidentally wrote an episodic post. Apologies.
Not content to be impressive merely for its merits in writing, art design, and direction, this episode helped demonstrate that equally important to Ping Pong’s magic is its wonderful sound design. This should have been obvious, actually – after all, the first episode’s highlight was a scene where Wenge and his trainer tracked the course of a match through the sound of rackets alone. But this episode got even more ostentatious about this strength, opening with that beautiful crescendo of rackets and ping pong balls leading into the tournament qualifiers. The effectiveness of that moment is pretty much how it goes with Ping Pong – like with Tatami Galaxy, basically every quality I turn to and focus on is clever and creative and uniquely effective.
Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei – Episode 2
Management: I didn’t really intend this to be so brutal, but now that it’s finished and I’m looking over it… yeah. This one’s kinda merciless, and posting it makes me a little nervous. I don’t mean to directly attack anyone with this piece – it’s mainly about being aware of the subtext of media, and not letting things that appeal to our base needs trick us into bad attitudes. I wrote it both because I find the psychology of media interesting and because I think Mahouka is a perfect representation of some of media’s more questionable powers. If you like Mahouka, that’s totally cool, I’m not saying you’re wrong to enjoy it. If you’d rather have something more positive, please enjoy this delightful gif and check back next time.
There are a number of different ways to approach criticizing a text. You can criticize the beauty of the execution itself – how it obeys certain agreed-upon rules of aesthetic execution, and how it exists purely as an object to marvel at. You can try to put it in a given historical or social context, or explore the life of the creator to see what demons the text may be working to exorcise. You can isolate certain details, or try to fit the overarching structure into a certain aesthetic or psychological framework. You can talk about themes, both intended and unintended. You can work off your gut, your training, or some arbitrary ideal of perfect beauty.
Normally, I try to come to shows open to however they may strike me. If a show strikes me as entertaining, I’ll try to critique it as entertainment. If it strikes me as insightful, I’ll try to engage with its insight. All of this is deeply colored, of course, by my own priorities – I wouldn’t recommend myself as the premier source for critiques of action shows, for example. But Mahouka already seems like it will reward one specific, fairly compelling exploration, and so that’s what I’m probably going to focus on here.
Sword Art Online – Episode 7
You thought this would be some fancy concept writeup. BUT IT WAS ME, DIO!
Glad to be back covering this fairly silly show. Sorry it’s been a while – I’ve been busy with all sorts of crazy projects and essay stuff recently, so I haven’t had the time to sit down and Sword Art Online.