×
  • remind me tomorrow
  • remind me next week
  • never remind me
Subscribe to the ANN Newsletter • Wake up every Sunday to a curated list of ANN's most interesting posts of the week. read more

News
Kick-Heart's Yuasa to Direct Ping Pong Anime for Noitamina

posted on by Crystalyn Hodgkins
Tayo Matsumoto's manga about 2 friends originally inspired 2002 live-action film

FujiTV's late-night Noitamina programming block revealed on Thursday that Masaaki Yuasa (Mind Game, The Tatami Galaxy, Kick-Heart) will direct a television anime adaptation of Taiyo Matsumoto's Ping Pong manga this spring. Fuji TV began streaming a 30-second commercial for the anime on Thursday.

Matsumoto's (Sunny, Tekkon Kinkreet) Ping Pong manga previously inspired a live-action film starring Arata as Smile and Yosuke Kubozuka as Peco. Viz Media released the film on DVD in 2007.

The manga revolves around two longtime friends Smile and Peco who are both of the ping pong club at their high school and are both very talented at the sport. However, Smile's quiet personality keeps him from being able to win against Peco. The club's teacher takes notice of Smile's talent and works to change his attitude toward the sport.

The five-volume manga originally ran in Shogakukan's Weekly Big Comic Spirits magazine from 1996-1997.

Source: Comic Natalie


discuss this in the forum (43 posts) |
bookmark/share with: short url

this article has been modified since it was originally posted; see change history

archives