LogFAQs > #968758789

77. Scorching Ping Pong Girls
https://myanimelist.net/anime/33031/Shakunetsu_no_Takkyuu_Musume
Fall 2016 (12 episodes)
My Score: 7/10, MAL Score: 7.06/10
Best Character: Tsumujikaze Koyori

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9LDe0g0A1Tk

Premise: Kamiya Agari dreams of leading her schools ping pong team to Nationals. Then a new student joins, and Tsumujikaze Koyoris passion and skill threatens Agaris position as team ace.

The Good: Scorching Ping Pong Girls is a cute girls sports anime. My favorite part about it is how it adds almost fantastical powers to a real-world sport. Nothing they do is impossible, but its stylized to the point where one player freezes time to calculate optimal trajectories. Another has their backspin represented as a whirlwind forcing the ball to the side. Its always fun to watch. Even though I know nothing about ping pong, SPPG also does a good job explaining the intricacies and lots of little techniques. Watching them learn how to use forehand smashes vs backhand, or how different rubber on the racket impacts the ball, is always neat. The cute girls have some surprisingly intense matches. Ill talk more about Koyori below, but shes the kind of energetic character I love. Its neat how she manages to bring out the best in her opponents.

The Bad: This tells a fine story with what time it has, but this really needed additional seasons. While anime telling only part of a story and then urging viewers to head to the source material is nothing unique, Scorching Ping Pong Girls handled it in a particularly clumsy way that left it feeling incomplete. The last few episodes continue introducing new rivals with no resolution to them. The final episode even has a montage of unique teams Ill never see. Its disappointing.

Overall: Scorching Ping Pong Girls is a great cute girls sports anime. If it had been given another season or two, I really think itd be seen as one of the standouts in that subgenre. As it stands, I just need to content myself with the one good season we received. Koyori is a wonderful character, and her relentless enthusiasm definitely made my heart race!

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/1/3/2/AABz_zAADyOE.jpg

CHARACTER: Tsumujikaze Koyori (Scorching Ping Pong Girls)
https://myanimelist.net/character/139364/Koyori_Tsumujikaze
Voiced by: Hanamori Yumiri
TOP 100 RANK: 65th

SPOILERS FOR SCORCHING PING PONG GIRLS

VIDEO LINK: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GkbCQz_6bfE

Tsumujikaze Koyori is a new addition to the ping pong team. She gets attention early on when its revealed that she reached prefectural semifinals at her old school. The best the teams current ace ever managed was city quarterfinals. Agari, who until this point lived for the adulation of being the best, is immediately terrified. For her part, though, Koyori isnt trying to steal the limelight or knock anyone down. Her passionate love for the game is all about bringing out the best in whoever she faces, because thats what makes her own heart race.

Koyori is amazingly shy most of the time, usually cowering behind Agari and communicating just as much with her expressive pigtails as she does with her stammering voice. However, once she starts playing ping pong, and especially once she starts feeling the doki doki of an intense match, the real Koyori comes out. She has a broad skillset that lets her counter others no matter their strength. Its fun watching her break down an opponents previously unbeatable strategy, forcing them to find something new and gain a new appreciation for the game in the process.

I like how genuine of a person she is. Theres an arc in the middle of the season where, when questioned by an opponent, Koyori begins to wonder why she plays ping pong at all. She soon realizes there doesnt need to be some grand meaning behind it. Koyoris heart races when shes fighting a strong opponent, and she dedicates herself to making their heart race too. Thats all there needs to be.

Her final match point against that opponent, Kururi, is the video I chose for this. Kururi had just been using the same unbeatable shot over and over. Then Koyori finally managed to beat it, and, after a bit of panicked soul-searching, Kururi finally tries something new. Koyori manages to counter that too, but Kururi still comes out of the match loving ping pong even more than she did when she had one boring, unbeatable shot. I think that perfectly encapsulates the kind of person Koyori is. Win or lose, shell bring out the best in her opponent. That video also showcases the wonderful visuals Scorching Ping Pong Girls used for the matches, which I enjoyed a lot.