After picking up the rights to release the series Ping Pong the Animation in the UK just over a week ago, Anime Limited has now set out some formalized pieces to it with solicitations now showing up at aretailers. The series is being planned for an October 26th, 2015 release where it’ll be done as a bilingual DVD/BD collector’s edition currently priced at £41.48. No details as to how it will be a collector’s edition and what differences there might be from the FUNimation edition released earlier this year.
The release will feature the 11 episode series and include Episode Commentaries, Japanese Box Set Commercials, TV Spots, Original Trailer, Next Episode Previews and Textless Songs, though they note some may be specific to one format.
“Ping Pong is a title I’ve had my eyes on for a quite for a while” said Andrew Partridge, President of Anime Limited back at MCM when they announced the acquisition. “It’s unique animation style coupled with the quality of story telling and the actual playing of Table Tennis itself, keeping in mind I’m really not that well versed in the sport at all, makes this show something that everyone should really go out of their way to see. I’m delighted we’ve been able to add this to our ever-expanding catalogue.”
The series is based on the manga that ran for five volumes between 1996 and 1997. The original manga came from Taiyou Matsumoto, which spawned a 2002 live action film as well, and Tatsunoko Productions brought this anime form in the spring of 2014 with Masaaki Yuasa directing it.
Plot concept: Smile and Peco. Peco and Smile. Besties from the beginning, both with a badass backhand. Peco is known for his arrogance on the table tennis court, and Smile for his silence. But with a new school year and a new high school table tennis team, both boys are in for a challenge, on – and off – the court.
Peco’s slacker ways are hurting his game, and after getting crushed in a tournament, he decides to quit. Smile is finally learning to harness his natural talents, but can he squash his sympathy for his opponents enough to beat them?