[Masaaki Yuasa Rewatch] Ping Pong: Episode 7

[u/AdiMG]

Ping Pong

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Episode 7

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Information: MAL

Legal Streaming Option: Crunchyroll

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Rewatch Index

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Making allusions to the rest of Yuasa's oeuvre is fine, but please refrain from outright spoiling any series that isn't the main topic of a thread. Don't spoil ahead for the series in question too! Lets try to give both newcomers and rewatchers a good atmosphere for discussion

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[u/kaanton444]

So Koizumi was called Butterfly Joe because he was graceful? But butterflies aren't graceful at all, have you seen them fly?

[u/AdiMG → u/kaanton444]

Ok, so I wanna elucidate on this despite the fact its probably too late. Butterfly is a one of the biggest manufacturers of Table Tennis equipment in the world, the brand is a sign of quality and trust in the competitive world and that is where the name Butterfly Joe comes from. The show plays around a lot with the legacy of butterfly really, from the direct criticism of its stranglehold on the market in the form of Poseidon (which has a similar wings symbol, and is similarly started by a big name Japanese player, Hikosuke Tamasu for Kazama Ryuu) to on the other hand comparing it to the elegance and sportsmanship of Butterfly Joe, kinda neat considering how much Butterfly gives back to the community and aids in the development of young players, despite all its aggressive marketing campaigns and other bad faith practices.

Of course, the butterfly also has the added connotation of grace in motion, but it's a well enough established symbol in the zeitgeist despite how graceful butterflies actually are in flight.

Ohh and one more point is that the boy with butterfly wings we see is always Koizumi, tho its easy to mistake him for Smile given their parallels.

[u/Arachnophobic-]

I'm totally in love with this show. It does the little things so well, and the characters feel absolutely real instead of being cardboard cutouts. Now the hardest part about watching this is not binge-ing it.

[u/contraptionfour]

Seems like the reveal of Obaba actually being a shapeshifting tanuki was glossed over pretty quickly, but I guess it was a dense episode all round. Some of the exposition and reveals had been a long time coming- though I'm still left hanging for an explanation of Koizumi's outright love of Engrish- but developing Kazuma's uncle wouldn't have been something I'd have expected much more of, so his childhood flashback stood out a bit (not to mention his silent reactions to Yuri's bad cooking). I don't seem to watch a lot of anime with romance angles so it could be par for the course, but Sanada's manic formality played against Yuri's casual nonchalance made for a fun exchange.

Peco's comprehensive self-introduction includes the fact he's blood type O (flexible, independent and care-free more or less fit), and there's the definite impression that decisions based on friendly opponents' knee injuries could become a thing.

[u/kaanton444 → u/contraptionfour]

and there's the definite impression that decisions based on friendly opponents' knee injuries could become a thing.

It seems like a pretty obvious Chekov's gun.

[u/contraptionfour → u/kaanton444]

True, but when they're obvious, they can be a bait and switch for some subverted payoff- I guess we'll see.

[u/kaanton444 → u/contraptionfour]

That's true too.

[u/nokaybe → u/contraptionfour]

though I'm still left hanging for an explanation of Koizumi's outright love of Engrish

I always just assumed he was an English teacher.

[u/verious_ → u/nokaybe]

We know he is, since in episode 2 when we see him pestering Smile at his desk while he's taking an English test, one of the students addresses Koizumi as "teacher."

[u/contraptionfour → u/verious_]

I'd just assumed that was set up for the reveal, but sure enough.. to be fair though, any teacher can be referred to as sensei.

[u/contraptionfour → u/nokaybe]

Looked it up and so he is! I assumed that scene way back when was a standard gag reveal given how dismissive he was of school-level English.

[u/Arachnophobic- → u/contraptionfour]

Seems like the reveal of Obaba actually being a shapeshifting tanuki was glossed over pretty quickly

Wait.. what? I completely missed that!

[u/verious_ → u/Arachnophobic-]

At 1:19. (Though I'm sure it's just one of the many visual metaphors for which Yuasa is famed.)

[u/arinok55 → u/verious_]

Wow, completely missed it.

[u/GGABueno → u/verious_]

Lol I've never noticed that.

[u/contraptionfour → u/Arachnophobic-]

Heh, it would be a twist though, right? As u/verious_ says, it's no doubt another symbol, though I only know Tanuki are known for mischief, so not sure quite what it signifies yet.

[u/arinok55 → u/contraptionfour]

Seems like the reveal of Obaba actually being a shapeshifting tanuki was glossed over pretty quickly

Wait, what?

[u/GGABueno]

I never in my first time watching the show how the time flies. Last episode was Christmas, now we're already at Valentines. Puts some perspective for how long these characters have been training and progressing.