Man I kinda wish you would go on, as a person who knows nothing about table tennis this was interesting to read lol
Lol ask and you shall receive.
Another part that bothers me is basically the whole premise of mc's abilities. Maybe it's just something lost in translation but the whole "memorize the opponents attack patterns" is so funny to me. It's like the authors understanding is sorta there but not quite. As far as Im aware you don't memorize sequences of patterns that the opponent has lmao, nobody plays in patterns of the same thing over and over it don't work like that - the ball goes to different places, this is also dependent on where you place the ball. It's more accurate to say that you look for the opponents tendencies and habits and exploit them. For example, when I play the ball here, they tend to do this so Ill exploit it by doing so and so.
Lets say even if he did manage to memorize the opponents patterns, it is not realistic that his body and reactions would be able to keep up. There was one rally where the ball went super deep and angled to the forehand and he basically dived to get it and somehow managed to get the ball back on the other side. While this does happen in real life it's only at the higher level. The amount of body coordination as well as touch and feel you need to pull it off simply isn't something a beginner can achieve. I think Id have a better idea of his level if they actually showed what his training is and what sort of drills and exercises he's been doing but they dont actually show that very well ¯_(ツ)_/¯
lmao I remember they had one scene of him doing multiball (basically one person stands at the side of the table and continuously feeds balls to the person hitting) and it looks like the manager like, smashed the ball at him or something? and then was like, 'Is that all youve got?' like bruh Id throw my racket at them if my coach was like this lmao. Unless you're practicing blocking smashed or something (not very common to do especially if youre still a beginner) it's weird for her to be putting that much strength into the ball.
Im getting nitpicky at this point but I think some of the drawings weren't exactly accurate technique wise, but for the most part ping pong is very hard to draw because of all the nuances and fine details so I think they did a pretty decent job drawing it.
Another thing that makes me think the author may not be too knowledgeable on the sport is that they drew people tossing the ball with their hand over the table when serving which is an illegal move lol
Ya sports manga tends to not be too technical. It's more about the emotion and shit. Prince of Tennis, Haikyuu, Kuroko no Basket, Eyeshield 21, Ballroom e Yokousou are all unrealistic. Maybe it has to do with the history of the genre because old sports manga like Speed Racer and Captain Tsubasa are also more about the drama and less about the sport. The only sports manga I've read that feels more realistic is Ookiku Furikabutte. It focuses on the relationship of the pitcher and catcher which is very important in real life baseball. Also doesn't have super powers or anything.
I watched ping pong the animation and loved it. It's not your traditional sports anime and moreso an anime about life lol which just happens to involve table tennis. That's why I went into this manga hopeful, but alas.
Ive seen Haikyuu, Kuroko and Big Windup and yeah, they are very much your traditional shounen sports anime - but from what Ive understood from watching pro players reacting to haikyuu, the author had a very good understanding and grasp on the sport. While it might not have been realistic for highschoolers (?) it was still done well with believable plays and set ups that made sense. I think this is where this manga falls short. While I appreciate the mangakas efforts and Im thankful they wrote a story around table tennis, I think their knowledge on the sport is still lacking.
I hadn't heard of Ping Pong the Animation. It looks good. Will check it out :3
Ayy nice :3 be aware the art style is pretty out there and may take some time to get used to lol
That's fine with me. I actually like seeing different art styles (๑•ㅂ•)و✧ I dont even mind reading really old manga.
This is my perspective coming from someone who has played the sport competitively - I'm sort of disappointed.
I think that table tennis on its own is a very interesting sport as long as it's done well; you dont need an mc with some unheard of illness to try and draw people in.
Table tennis is a very technical heavy sport. In order to improve fast you need proper coaching, and Im telling you right now, the chances of a complete beginner gaining perfect technique purely by watching is zero. Another vital component of table tennis is spin. This manga has zero mention of what proper form is (this is essential for beginners) and never touches on what spin even is. Later on the mc plays against the third year who very clearly topspins the ball. A beginner will not be able to keep that ball in play, they probably wouldn't even be able to return the serve. Table tennis is not just about pure speed and power. It's so much more complex than that and I think the element of spin is something unique to table tennis which is part of what makes it so interesting. I could go on but Ill stop there lol