PING PONG: The Animation! Episode 2 Reaction! SMILE IS A ROBOT?!
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- Опубликовано: 10 фев 2025
- LINK TO REACTION: share.vidyard....
*ROBOTIC HEADPHONE WARNINGS*
Peco has the blues from his defeat from Kong, but Smile is being oh so mysterious and stubborn when the coach tells him he needs to up his training to prepare for the Inter-High Preliminaries!
There are two robots waging war inside of Smile...and I just want our boy to find his self-worth and passion as a player...but dang, this coach isn't going to let up on him, is he?!
Thank you for watching with me and for all the support!
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Romania Black
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I don't comment much but I've been watching this wonderful channel for a long time! Thank you for reacting to this often-overlooked series. It is very dear to me, and I still think about these characters a lot, even 10 years later.
There's also a live-action adaptation which came out in 2002 (12 years before this anime) which I think is quite good. It doesn't quite have the depth that the anime does, but I think you'd enjoy watching it after you've completed the series.
"Enter the hero", is such a simple but powerful mantra. The translation I watched at the time used the phrase "the hero appears". I think both work very well and as a teenager I would often repeat them to myself before I needed to do something difficult.
Thank you!
Hey! It’s so nice to see a comment from you! Thank you for the support on the channel - this series is SO GOOD so far! I am LOVING IT! I can’t believe it’s been out 10 years!
Oooh, thank you for the knowledge on the live action! I may check that out in my spare time, so thanks! And “Enter the Hero” - yes, what a mantra! Definitely great to tie to teenage Smile, right? Thank you for the comment and kind words! I hope you enjoy my future reactions and rambles to this series!
I didn't think I'd ever hear Kong being compared to Gary Oak, but it made me laugh. I loved your reaction to his stare at the "chopper with glasses" they brought.
15:41 I would argue that someone quitting because it's "too much work" or something can often still be a matter of mental health or trouble at home. They might not want to share that or describe it that way, or don't even understand the mental health struggles they're going through enough to see the real problem themselves. I know there are people who genuinely just don't want to put in effort, but even that can come from a serious underlying issue, not just laziness or ignorance.
I'm not saying to let everyone give up or not hold anyone accountable for their responsibilities. Putting in work and effort when you don't feel like you can or want to is helpful and good in many situations. And it must be frustrating as the coach not knowing the situation and being unable to do much when you know at least some of them would benefit more if they stayed. But I just wanted to point out there's sometimes more underneath the surface, as someone who's given lame excuses for many things in life when the actual problem was depression or something else I didn't want to talk about.
Hahaha, I'm glad the Gary Oak comparison was welcomed! :D Thank you so much!
Oh, I said in the discussion, I understand if it's mental health, and I gave an example, I believe. I'm a coach, so trust, we have had students leave for that reason, and I talked about it in the actual discussion, if you want to go back and check that out!
I do talk about that as well, so I think you missed my words in the discussion if you want to go back and re-listen! :)
Thanks for the support!
Peco is such a child lol. Can be entertaining but also frustrating. I relate to smile more off the bat when he said that interacting with people gets tiring👽sometimes just keeping things fun is enough otherwise it could become a situation where winning is everything. love your breakdown of the different robots. the visuals are so good too. perhaps the robot smile turned into was the monster robot from the game he was playing haha. Koizumi's training love letter reminded me a bit of Chris's training menu to Sawamura🗿
I love Peco he is such a reflection of teenage me with all the ups & downs, so i can't not root for him lol
Ahh, thank you for the comment! Yes, Peco definitely is entertaining, but is such a kid, and it can be frustrating! And I feel Smile’s “interacting with people is tiring” - especially after a day at work! Ooohhh, I hadn’t thought about the game robot, so that is good to note!! And YES!! Koizumi does have a Chris vibe to him, doesn’t he? Loving this series so far!
Love this episode. One understated bit I love is that extended shot of Peco's back as he contemplates quitting and goes "Yeah..... no reason to force myself." Small moment, but really gets me emotional thinking about what feelings are being pushed down while he's saying that.
Smile is especially interesting in contrast to virtually all Shonen protagonists being the polar opposite, where drive and desire to win is often the defining quality (sometimes the only quality) that they start with.
Oh good, you have coaching experience, this should be perfect for you, then. The show explores so many themes involving all things competition, and so many characters are like a different Venn diagram of those elements.
Thank you for the comment and kind words! I really am loving the coach character in this show and what we’re seeing with other coaches, and honestly, it’s funny you bring up the Venn Diagram - Whiteboard-kun will have something similar in a few episodes! ;)
I really love how different Smile is from other protagonists as well - it makes him really fresh as a character! And ooohhh, that shot of Peco, YES! I totally agree!
Ping pong is Seinen for a reason haha. although I do know some other shonen sports protags without the starting motivation to win as well
Let's gooo! I love this episode, in general the anime it's so artistic, and for me that shot of smile as the butterfly it's so iconic, it's thanks to that show that I knew that I was watching something special.
And the dialogs too "You can't fly across the ocean with wings so thin", it just hits different man.
The animation has really caught on for me and I can see why it works so well for this series - and the butterfly metaphor is so so fun!! And YES! That dialogue -- some of it in this series takes me out for sure! Thank you for the comment!
When Kazama refers to Smile’s school team as those “playing in yukata,” he is degrading them to those who play ping pong at onsen. For some reason, many hot springs have ping pong tables for the guests.
I feel like Smile, in the locker scene, is brainwashing himself into non-existence, and robot is the closest thing.
There is so much I have to say about Smile, but it's still too soon hahaha! But that's interesting to know that about the yukata - I'll have to note that for a future episode intro, so thank you for that and the comment!
Loved this! I enjoyed you talking about your coaching experiences & going over small details of the show that I forgot but are super fun. Hearing your thoughts about the robot and hero brings me back to when I first watched it too (very different from after I watched the later episodes)!
By the way, I don't know if you noticed, but in episode 1 Kong says in Chinese that it's tragic (or could be translated to he is pathetic) that Smile doesn't have the fighting spirit, but then adds that he himself is the really pathetic one for being all confidence and no talent. It adds such an interesting layer to his personality in the first episode alone and instantly brought me closer to this character as more than a simple antagonist, but rather a boy that's lost and frustrated (even though he's still a diva haha).
Looking forward to your next reactions!
Ahhh, thank you so much! I really appreciate the kind words and comment! I really like the coach so far in this show and can’t wait to see more of it! And the robot!! Ahh! We shall see where it goes! And ooohhh, I hadn’t noticed that with Kong, but that does add a layer to his character! I’m glad you pointed that out! Thank you for the comment and I can’t wait to see where it goes!
sorry it's so long i just love this anime lol
smile my boy he really went through it this ep, i actually like that he didn't even check on the coach he was on smile's ass the entire time lol it's cute that the only time we see smile actually smile is when he was a kid and talked about wanting to be like Peco, really shows how important Peco is to him .
for Peco I know he is immature and childish but he is still a kid so it's normal imo also I find it interesting how aware Peco is yet how unaware he is at the same time in this ep we see him actually wanting smile to be better and to practice yet when he saw him playing so differently he was shocked, so I think Peco deep down knew that smile is letting him win but he didn't want to admit that or even acknowledge it cause if he accepted that smile who he taught ping pong is now better than him he may actually stop playing for real but at the end of the ep it looks like he is starting to somewhat come to terms with it, i really like that even tho Peco is childish he doesn't take his frustration on Smile but is supportive of him unlike the other teammates .
it always bugged me how super focused the coach was on only smile like even though smile's teammates are annoying I kinda feel bad for them cause the coach makes it clear that smile is more important than them and more valuable.
Hey! No worries; I’m glad that you’re commenting on the series! Thank you! I really am so intrigued by these characters and their development so far! But yes, you can tell that Peco is important to Smile! I will have a lot to say about them as we go through this series! 😀
Honestly, I will talk about this in another episode but I get (as a coach myself) where he’s coming from - there will be moments where he offers the other characters the chance to do what he and smile are doing in training, and the others don’t step up. And they have reasons to, but at the same time - if you don’t give it your all…do you really have the right to complain when a coach focuses attention on others that do or that show potential? 😛We shall see where it goes to from here! Thank you for the comment and I can’t wait for you all to hear my rambles on this great series!
With Kong, he doesn't just want a good opponent. When Smile left on the first episode Smile said he wouldn't play against Kong because he would lose anyway. Because of the translation, Kong didn't understand whether Smile was talking about himself or Kong so now he pretty just wants to beat Smile so he can maintain superiority.
That definitely makes sense! Thanks for the comment!
Idk this anime
All I know is ur evergy as enthusiastic and borderline psycho so I'm down
I LOVE this anime so far so much! It's so fun and the energy is chaotic! I love it! Thank you for the comment!
@RomaniaBlack I don't know this anime but I do know once u make it around to an anime I like it's gonna be super interesting to see ur reaction so I'll just subscribe n wait for you to make ur rounds
I didn't want to say it for the first episode, but there is something wrong with the opening here. It has its own visuals in a different artstyle, it is really cool. Here is not only just a footage from episodes, they also spoil stuff. It is unfortunate
Episode 3 will pick up with the new opening - please have faith and wait to see when it comes out. I would encourage everyone to do their own research and check ahead to see that it shows up in the future episodes (as it does) so it doesn't bombard me with the same comment over and over again. Thank you for the support!