PING PONG

Punkish ping pong prodigy Peco (Yosuke Kubozuka; Go, Silence) is on a losing streak, not helped by his friend since childhood, Smile (ARATA; After Life, United Red Army), intentionally letting him win in their practice sessions. As tournament day draws near, it is up to Peco to regain his mojo to take on such fearsome opponents as China (Sam Lee; Made in Hong Kong), who has fallen off the Chinese national team and wound up, bitter, in Japan, and Dragon (Nakamura Shido), their arch-nemesis from the rival Kaio Academy team, who approaches the table with an almost militaristic fanaticism. Adapted from Taiyo Matsumoto''''s cult manga series, the debut feature of Fumihiko Sori (Vexille, Fullmetal Alchemist) is a zero-to-hero tale of friendship, dedication and sportsmanship, featuring exhilarating table-tennis battles that will make you never look at the sport in quite the same way again.