Anime Review: Yowamushi Pedal / Ping Pong the Animation

I've never been a big fan of sports anime; the excessively dragging pace seen in some of the more popular ones (Slam Dunk, for example) made watching some of the portions a chore.  I've recently watched two sports anime series whose approach to storytelling are quite polar opposites of each other.

Yowamushi Pedal, all 62 episodes of it, is done in the traditional 'long form' sports anime format, where you see minutes of actual events stretch into several episodes worth of screen time.  The art is conventional anime Shōnen (anime aimed for kids), with gorgeously rendered, cel-shaded bicycles (which is what this sports anime is all about) which blend seamlessly with some of the more traditionally drawn anime parts.

Ping Pong the Animation is a whole different beast: it is only 11 episodes long, with art that is a jarring mix of real world 'rotoscoped' art and strangely drawn animation reminiscent of some of the in-between animation shown in those old MTV animation sections.  The art and animation works and works better the more you get into the series. The story is short and succinct, with editing and excellent pacing working hand in hand in getting the story across in just 11 episodes.

Both anime succeeded in getting their story across, despite differing so much in their approach.  They hooked me in with their respective sports of choice, and despite having the barest knowledge and enthusiasm for either cycling or ping-pong, I felt like getting on a bicycle and playing ping pong while riding.

Yowamushi Pedal is a master of stretching out the moment, of building tension and releasing.  You get to know each and every character, whether hero or baddie, see and understand their motivations, and even go as far as rooting for the villain, for they are, all of them, on the same path towards excelling not just against the competition, but against their innermost fears and shortcomings.

Read that last statement as mere stuff, but in the end, Yowamushi is one damn good series and despite watching all 62 episodes, it left me wanting more.

Ping Pong the Animation, despite being only 11 episodes long, covers the same journey as Yowamushi Pedal -- it tells the tale of two friends and their road towards the Inter-High, or the Japanese version of the National competition between high school students.  The pacing here was not rushed, despite the small number of episodes.  Storytelling was cleverly done with flashbacks and fast forwards used unobtrusively, and you never feel confused with what's going on.  Though the art can take quite some getting used to -- it's almost like Van Gogh being animated into playing Ping Pong.

Lastly, the opening and ending music for both series are also quite good, it's like cherry on top of an already excellent sundae.

Verdict:

Both series are worth watching, even if you do not fancy sports anime as a sub-genre.  I rate them both 5/5

Details:
Series: Yowamushi Pedal
Genre: Sports Anime, Shonen
Date Shown: October 7, 2013 – July 1, 2014 (1st Season), October 6, 2014 – March 30, 2015 (Grande Road)
Number of Episodes: 38+24

Series: Ping Pong the Animation
Genre: Sports Anime, Seinen
Date Shown: April 11, 2014 – June 20, 2014
Number of Episodes: 11