The Japanese DVD release of “Ping Pong” has (in addition to English subtitles for the main film) a music only audio-track which saved me from buying the soundtrack. The second disc with extras is not subtitled but nevertheless quite interesting (side-stories, special effects, table-tennis background, …). It is also anamorphic. Well worth it!

In spite of my last CTM project (Computing Techniques & Modelling), I watched the Japanese live-action film “Ping Pong” yesterday and it is very good. On the surface it is about a high-school table-tennis club, but in reality it is more about the friendship of two unequal members of the club. The actual table-tennis is good (and looks real) but the focus is not on the matches but on the players, which works really well (although I wanted Mr. Tsukimoto to win in the end). The main-characters are believable and well-acted, which cannot be said for some of the supporting cast; but it never drags down the movie. The soundtrack consists of ambient-techno (most of which is by “Supercar”) which works surprisingly well. The R3-release unfortunately is not anamorphic but otherwise looks flawless w/ a high bit-rate and good english subs…

Actually watched “Hikaru no Go” up to episode 64 (from scratch) and I must say I very much enjoyed it. The middle arc with the pro-exams was a bit long and arduous, but they always managed to surprise me and the last batch of epsiodes (45+) was very good and daring in many ways… Can’t wait to see how it goes on! Although I still (think) I prefer “Hajime no Ippo” as it is for a slightly more mature audience (but I’ve seen much less of it); but “Hikaru no Go” gets more mature as well as you see characters aging, progress and change.