We learned back in February that the “classic” anime series The Ping Pong Club was getting a new DVD box set release in Japan. The new set comes from TC Entertainment and is planned for a May 27th, 2016 release priced at 21,600 yen. As we’re now much closer to that release, TC Entertainment has let loose with the artwork for the set and it’s… pretty much what you’d expect. Well, I was expecting more butts and fart noises to be included, to be honest.
It’ll contain the full twenty-six episodes to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the series with this remastered edition. It’ll feature just the original Japanese language track in mono across three discs and does not include the English materials that were produced for the Central Park Media release years ago.
Based on the thirteen volume manga series from Minoru Furuya that ran from 1993 to 1996, the anime adaptation aired in the spring of 1995 for two cour as animated by Studio Hibari. Masami Hata directed it based on the scripts and series composition from Sukehiro Tomita. The series saw a bilingual release from Central Park Media which included actors such as Crispin Freeman, Veronica Taylor, Rachael Lillis and more.
Plot concept: Inaho Jr. High’s Boys Ping Pong Club has only 6 members, the club minimum. Takeda is your average nice guy. Kinoshita is good looking and popular with girls. Unfortunately, the rest are branded as losers. Tanabe is too foreign, while Tanaka is petite and perverse. Maena and Izawa are truly deviant, and their crazed antics have earned the team some powerful enemies. In spite of their differences, the team needs to work together to retain their practice room and club status.