Ping Pong Blu-ray Review: Balls of Furi

At the start of this century, three notable live-action sports comedies emerged from Asia: Waterboys, Ping Pong, and Stephen Chow’s Shaolin Soccer. A quarter century later, Ping Pong finally bounces onto Blu-ray in the U.S. in this lavish limited-edition release from 88 Films. Based on the manga by iconoclastic artist Taiyo Matsumoto (Tekkonkinkreet), the film follows high school athletes training for a table-tennis tournament as they navigate heated rivalries and lifelong friendships. 

As in Tekkonkinkreet, the story primarily focuses on two close friends: the hyper, punkish Peco and the reserved, morose, ironically named Smile. They’ve been friends and devotees of the game since early childhood, and now train together on the same high-school team. When a brash upstart arrives from China, quickly nicknamed China (Sam Lee, Gen-X Cops), he threatens to disrupt the team dynamics. Meanwhile, a highly regimented rival team from Kaio Academy is nipping at their heels, generating dread via their cult-like training, attire, and matching shaved heads. 

The story has some similarities to Cobra Kai as the rival teams train, duel, and shift allegiances, but played for laughs due in part to the decidedly lower physical stakes. Many of those laughs come from the laid-back, hands-off coaches: assistant Obaba (Mari Natsuki) and head coach Butterfly Joe, the always amusing Naoto Takenaka, who also played the coach in Waterboys. Yosuke Kubozuka confidently carries most of the broad comedic load as Peco with his animated expressions and demeanor, a fitting yang to Smile’s cold, passive yin. 

I first watched the film on VCD shortly after its theatrical debut, with quality similar to the dodgy old trailer below, so this new Blu-ray is a real eye-opener. Color saturation is robust, details are superbly defined with minimal grain, and no flaws are evident. The only downside of the astounding clarity is that the film’s limited CGI stands out much more, particularly a jarring scene on an exterior bridge that instantly dates its age.

The disc presents the film in its original 1.85:1 aspect ratio, with DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 sound and excellent new English subtitles. Bonus features are headlined by a wide-ranging new appreciation of Matsumoto and the film by Michael Arias, the director of Tekkonkinkreet and a frequent translator of Matsumoto’s manga. The other primary new bonus is a video essay about the film by Jasper Sharp. A trailer and still gallery round out the disc. The 4000-copy limited edition packaging includes reversible cover art, a booklet essay, and a removable, numbered obi strip.

While I recalled the film being more uproariously comedic, like its cohorts Waterboys and Shaolin Soccer, the laughs and sports action really only arrive in short bursts. As directed by Fumihiko Sori (Fullmetal Alchemist live action) in his debut, the primary impetus of the film is driven by the contemplative musings of Peco and Smile as they ruminate on high-school life. The narrative arc follows conventional sports-film logic, with the buildup to early disappointment paving the way for later glory, but at its core, the table tennis is just a vehicle to facilitate the charming evolution of Peco and Smile’s lifelong friendship.