Pingu-Pongu (2002)

Director:

Fumihiko Sori

Writers:

Taiyo Matsumoto (comic)
Kankurô Kudô (screenplay)

Release Date:

30 July 2004 (UK)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Sport

Plot:

The film traces the growth and friendship of two very different high-school ping-pong players. "Peco" Hoshino is a brash...

Plot Keywords:

Ping Pong | High School | Coach | Training | Based On Manga

Awards:

5 wins & 7 nominations

Cast

Yôsuke Kubozuka	...	Yutaka Hoshino / Peco
Arata Iura	...	Makoto Tsukimoto / Smile (as Arata)
Sam Lee	...	Kong Wenge / China
Shidô Nakamura	...	Ryûichi Kazama / Dragon
Kôji Ôkura	...	Manabu Sakuma / Demon
Naoto Takenaka	...	Butterfly Joe
Mari Natsuki	...	Obaba
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
YosiYosi Arakawa
Takahiro Hirano
Mako Ishino
Kôen Kondô
Erika Mabuchi
Suzuki Matsuo	...	Policeman
Asumi Miwa
Ayumu Moriyama
Akira Nishihara
Teppei Sasaki
Mikio Satô
Kenichi Suemitsu
Kiyotaka Suzuki
Chie Tanaka
Yôhei Toyoda
Kanji Tsuda
Hua Rong Weng
Shinji Yamashita
Satoshi Ôe

Directed by
Fumihiko Sori

Writing credits
Taiyo Matsumoto		(comic)
Kankurô Kudô		(screenplay)

Produced by
Toru Ishitoya	....	assistant producer
Shinji Ogawa	....	producer
Tamotsu Shiina	....	executive producer
Sanae Suzuki	....	producer
Mitsuru Uda	....	assistant producer

Cinematography by
Akira Sakoh

Film Editing by
Soichi Ueno

Art Direction by
Koichi Kanekatsu

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Shinsuke Ono	....	assistant director

Sound Department
Hitoshi Yamada	....	sound

Visual Effects by
Toshinori Takata	....	technical director

Camera and Electrical Department
Koichi Kuroda	....	still photographer
Kôichi Watanabe	....	gaffer

Production Companies

• Asmik Ace Entertainment
• Tokyo Broadcasting System (TBS)

Distributors

• Asmik Ace Entertainment (2002) (Japan) (theatrical)
• Viz Pictures (2007) (USA) (theatrical) (subtitled)
• Filmfreak Distributie (2008) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Tokyo Broadcasting System (TBS) (2003) (Japan) (TV)
• Viz Pictures (2007) (USA) (DVD)

Special Effects

• Imagica Corp.

Other Companies

• Artnature  wig
• Mitsukaido Daiichi High School  filming cooperation
• Mitsukaido Daini High School  filming cooperation

Also Known As:

"Ping-Pong" - International (English title) (literal title)

Runtime:

114 min

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese | Cantonese

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

UK:12A | South Korea:All

Filming Locations:

Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan

Company:

Asmik Ace Entertainment

Movie Connections:

References "Gigantor" (1964)

There will never be a better movie about ping pong

I watched this movie in Japan, in the theater, twice. At $25 a shot. But it was worth every dollar. And this was without understanding much of the dialogue, because I don't speak Japanese. When the DVD was released with English subtitles, I purchased it immediately. And again, it was worth every dollar.

This movie is fantastic. On the surface, it's a movie about sports and competition. Beneath this, it's a movie about heroes and friendship. There's no clear-cut "bad guy". Every character has depth, motive and pain.

In short, the filming is great, the story is fabulous, and the actors are well-cast. Even watching it in Japanese, the acting was good enough to convey the general story without me understanding what was being said.

I love this movie. In fact, whenever I meet someone who hasn't seen it, I make them watch it.